Tuesday 30 September 2014

The September edition of the Words Worth Reading Ltd newsletter is now available to download

The September edition of the Words Worth Reading Ltd newsletter is now available to download.


Autumn is almost here and this month the Words Worth Reading Ltd team have been busy fundraising for Little Havens Hospice. In the office we have been helping clients to maintain compliant with the Information Governance Toolkit with our remote external auditing service. 


To get the latest news about business, healthcare, writing, student life, and to find out what the Words Worth Reading Ltd team have been up to, download this month's newsletter from our website by clicking here.


The advert-supported Readfy ebook service launched this week

The much anticipated advert-supported Readfy ebook service opened to the public this week. The service has a catalog of 25,000 titles read on Android, iPad, and iPhone, at no cost to the user.
Unlike Scribd and Kindle Unlimited which charge the reader directly,  Readfy subsidises free reading by selling adverts, and inserting the ads into ebooks. Banner ads occupy the upper edge of the screen while an ebook is open, and Readfy also inserts ads at chapter breaks.
In exchange for watching adverts, readers can immerse themselves in ebooks published by a number of German publishers, including around 6,000 self-published titles.
Readfy’s not the first to try to fund an ebook service through adverts; But Readfy is perhaps the most uniquely financed ebook service. The Düsseldorf-based startup raised 500,000 euros this spring in a crowd funding campaign which drew the support of 1,363 investors.
But Readfy may soon be in direct competition with Amazon, sources say that they may be launching an Unlimited service in Germany in the near future. 
If you are a writer looking to get published, our specialist team at Words Worth Reading Ltd can help with our publisher packs tailored to your needs. 
Source: The Digital Reader
Image: Catorze14, Flickr

Monday 29 September 2014

There's still time to enter our Colouring Competition!

Words Worth Reading Ltd are currently running a colouring competition for children and young people aged 0 - 16 years.

Entrants are asked to re-design the Words Worth Reading Ltd logo. Any colour scheme and imagery can be used - the more imaginative and creative the better! A blank version of the logo can be downloaded from our website, via the following weblink: http://www.wordsworthreading.co.uk/logo-for-colouring.pdf

Entrants will be separated into four age categories; 0 - 3 years, 4 - 7 years, 8 - 11 years and 12 - 16 years. The winner from each age category will win £25 of Amazon vouchers.

An overall winner will then be chosen, and this entry will become with Words Worth Reading Ltd logo for autumn / winter 2014 / 15.

Entrants are asked to make a £3 donation to our JustGiving Page, which is there to raise money for SMA Support UK.

This charity works with children and families of children with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). This fatal disease is the biggest genetic killer of children under the age of 2 years.

For more information, please visit the Fundraising page on our website.

Thank you for helping us help others!

Dental registration and compliance to change

Care Quality Commission (CQC) have announced that they are proposing to change the way in which Dental Services are regulated in the future. They have recently published a document, 'A Fresh Start for the Regulation and Inspection of Primary Dental Services', which outlines the organisation's thoughts on how these services should be registered in the future.

The document outlines the priorities that the Care Quality Commission will focus on with regards to dental care in the future. These priorities are;

1. Working with partners to develop a shared view of risk, agree roles and responsibilities, and identify gaps.

2. Improve registration processes and ensure that the CQC adapts their model to meet forthcoming changes to regulations and new enforcement powers.

3. Developing an approach to inspection that protects the public from unsafe care.

4. Adopting a thematic approach.

A formal consultation on the CQC's proposed guide to inspection for Dental Services will open in November 2014. 
 

Thursday 25 September 2014

Proposed changes to how the CQC plan to regulate and inspect primary care dental services

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has released a signposting statement setting out their initial thoughts on a new regulatory model for primary dental care practices. Their aim is to make changes quickly but without compromising their commitment to co-production and quality. The plan is to actively engage dental providers, patients and other stakeholders to ensure a regulatory model that reflects the key characteristics, risks and quality issues of the sector is developed, and is seen as fair, transparent and effective in helping to improve services for those who use them.
The regulation of dental care is extremely important as good dental care plays an important role in people’s health and wellbeing. Having poor oral health has been shown to be linked with many other health diseases such as stroke, diabetes and heart disease. It can also have a negative effect on a person’s quality of life, such as not sleeping or eating properly.

Inspections of primary care dental services by the CQC, including NHS and private dental services, in the last two years have identified that, compared with the other sectors that are regulated by them; dental services present a lower risk to patients’ safety.

However, there are already a number of organisations involved in monitoring the quality and safety of dental services and dental care professionals; The General Dental Council (the professional regulator), the Care Quality Commission (the systems regulator) and NHS England (the commissioner of NHS dental care services, which also holds a list of suitable performers) have a mutual interest in ensuring that patients receive high-quality, safe dental services from professionals and organisations that are competent and meet national standards, and that services improve. Where concerns about the safety of dental care emerge, these three organisations between them have the legal powers to intervene to mitigate risks to patients and the public. Currently, the potential for significant overlap within this structure, as well as the opportunity for regulatory gaps to emerge is significant. Therefore, the CQC, the General Dental Council and NHS England, along with NHS Business Services Authority, have established a Tripartite Programme Board to review the approach to dental regulation and inspection across England, assess current arrangements and determine an effective model for regulation for the future.

The principles and key elements of CQC’s operating model will be adopted, but some of the details will be different. The CQC will explore with their partners how they use data and share information. They will also explore how Experts by Experience are used in their new approach, and whether or not a specialist adviser is required on every inspection.

Approximately 10% of providers will be inspected, starting from April 2015. The general model of inspection includes the ability to rate care providers on their quality of care. It is not intended to rate primary care dental services when the new approach commences in 2015/16; however, as part of this new approach the CQC is seeking feedback on whether ratings should be carried out in the future. Although the CQC receives few complaints from the public in relation to primary care dental services, they are committed to working with the public and other stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the risks within the primary care dental sector and, in particular, understand whether there is a link between the number of complaints and the actual risk to patient safety.

There have been significant changes to the contract monitoring and quality assurance arrangements of NHS-funded primary care dental services and all of these have an impact on how the CQC regulates primary care dental sectors.
Primary care dental practices have varying characteristics that will inform the changes needed to be made to the way the CQC monitor, regulate and inspect providers. These include the:

-       Complexity and range of services offered and the size of the dental team.
-       Oral health needs of the population, including the variation of oral health in our society (oral health inequalities).
-       Type of services offered, for example out-of-hours care, general dental care, sedation, NHS-funded care, private dental care, domiciliary dental care.
-       Level of risk to patient safety and the quality of dental care.

The CQC have identified four main priorities as part of this statement.

Priority 1: Working with partners to develop a shared view of risk, agree roles and responsibilities, and identify gaps.

Priority 2: Improving their registration processes and ensuring that they adapt their model to meet forthcoming changes to regulations and their new enforcement powers.

Priority 3: Developing an approach to inspection that protects the public from unsafe care.

Priority 4: Adopting a thematic approach.

For more information on the proposed changes to how the CQC regulates primary care dental services visit www.cqc.org.uk

Source: www.cqc.org.uk
Image: Liz West, Flickr


Friday 12 September 2014

CQC Inspections Announced for Independent Sector

This week Professor Sir Mike Richards, CQC Chief Inspector of Hospitals, has identified eight hospitals that are going to be inspected under a new inspection approach.
The first new style inspections will happen from October 2014. The aim is to test the new model of inspection in independent hospital settings. The CQC expects to receive equivalent performance information from providers to what is found in NHS hospitals.

The new approach for the independent health care sector means that, for the first time, these providers will be awarded ratings from April 2015. This means there will also be a significant increase in access to information that will help people who use the services to make decisions about their care.

The inspections will include announced and unannounced elements and may include inspections in the evenings and weekends when people can often experience poor care.
Core services that are being assessed include:
  • surgery, including cosmetic surgery.
  • urgent care services.
  • medical care.
  • children and young people’s care.
  • outpatients.
Each inspection seeks to answer five questions - is the service: 
  • safe?
  • caring?
  • effective?
  • well-led?
  • responsive to people’s needs?
The eight hospitals that will be inspected include: 
  • Baddow Hospital, Essex
  • BMI Mount Alvernia, Surrey
  • The Lister Hospital, London
  • The London Welbeck Hospital, London
  • Nuffield Health Tees hospital, County Durham
  • Oaklands Hospital, Salford
  • Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre, Devon
  • Spire Southampton Hospital, Hampshire
The aim of these new inspections is to bring the independent sector in line with the same standards that NHS hospitals are expected to meet. 

Source: www.cqc.org.ik
Image: Must be Art, Flickr

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Words Worth Reading Ltd’s Colouring Competition: raising money for SMA Support UK

We are delighted to announce that our 2014 colouring competition is now open to entries. 

We are asking that children and young adults aged 0-16 use the blank template of the Words Worth Reading Ltd logo (that can be downloaded and printed from the link below), and colour it in as imaginative and unique a way as they'd like. 

Completed, coloured logos should then be scanned (or digitally photographed) and emailed to submissions@wordsworthreading.co.uk, and at the same time, we ask that a £3 entry donation is made to our JustGiving Page: https://www.justgiving.com/account/your-pages/Samantha-Pearce6 Donations received will be sent to SMA Support UK. 

SMA Support UK supports families affected by Spinal Muscular Atrophy. SMA is the biggest genetic killer of children under the age of 2. The charity provides valuable emotional support and guidance, practical support, treatment and therapy, and funds research into potential cures for this disease. 

Entries will be separated into 4 age groups for judging. These age groups are: 
- 0-3 years 
- 4-7 years 
- 8-11 years 
- 12-16 years 

The winner of each age group will receive a £25 Amazon gift card. An overall winner will then be selected, and it is this entry that will be used as the Words Worth Reading Ltd logo throughout Autumn / Winter 2014/15. 

The blank logo for colouring can be accessed here: 

Click here to open the logo template, you can then print it. 


The deadline for entries is Sunday 12th October 2014. The winners will be announced on Saturday 18th October 2014. Many thanks for your participation. 

Monday 8 September 2014

The Boardman Tasker Prize shortlist announced

The Boardman Tasker Charitable Trust was established to promote literature by providing an annual award to authors whose work has a similar theme, mountains.

The prize commemorates the lives of Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker who were last seen on Mount Everest. The two men left two legacies, their climbs on high peaks with bold, innovative methods and the books they wrote and left behind.

The Boardman Tasker Prize for mountain literature was set up by family and friends in 1983.

This week, the short list for the £3,000 prize has been announced. Judges including Audrey Salkeld, Chris Harle and Robin Campbell, have selected books from Jules Lines, Tony Smythe and Frank Nugent to name just a few. 

You can see all of the books that made it onto the shortlist by clicking here

Image: Amir Holy, Flickr