Saturday 28 February 2015

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

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


So far this year the Words Worth Reading team have been rushed off their feet completing Information Governance audits and helping clients prepare for their Information Governance Toolkit submissions. We have also been reflecting on our own professional development, completing some online training.


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.


Friday 27 February 2015

Creating a Medical CV - tips for them BMA

The bma.org.uk website has provided a useful article for medical students or Doctors looking for a new challenge. The article provided top tips for writing a medical CV. We have provided the content of this article here:

Medical CVs

Why do I need a CV?

A CV should tell the story of you and your career.
When reading your CV, even at a glance, it should be clear why you are the best person for the role you are applying for.
By taking the time to regularly review and update your CV, it allows you to create a standard format that you can adapt for each position that you apply for, giving you the best chance at landing the position you really want.

What about job application portals?

With the growth in medical job application portals such as Oriel and NHS Jobs, which require you to fill out an online applications form, you might wonder why you need a CV at all.

CVs are a valuable part of any doctors portfolio, no matter what grade or specialty and regardless of how you apply for jobs during your career.

As a junior doctor or higher specialty trainee, most people produce a CV that is part of their portfolio assessment. In addition to this, at your ARCP or RITA for example, a CV can be a good way of succinctly writing what you have achieved since your previous review.

For GPs, a CV remains a key requirement when applying for posts, whether as a locum, salaried or partner position.

Similarly for consultant posts, a CV can be cited as an accompaniment to your application through the NHS jobs portal.

The NHS and Values Based Recruitment (VBR)

The NHS is taking on Values Based Recruitment (VBR), which is when employers seek to recruit staff with values that fit with their organisation.

VBR will be used from 2015 to help attract and select students, trainees and employees, whose personal values and behaviours align with the NHS values outlined in the NHS Constitution.
As a result of VBR, changes will occur to the way pre-screening assessment takes place, as well as how you are interviewed.

In the context of your CV and preparing for future job roles, think about how your personal values align with the NHS.

It also makes sense to think about how you weave this not only into your CV, but your e-portfolio and application form as you progress through your career.

VBR looks at three aspects:
  • your motivation and commitment to the NHS and the role
  • your ability to work in multi-professional teams
  • the central importance of the patient's experience

The Resuscitation Council (UK) awarded NICE accreditation


The Resuscitation Council (UK) [RC (UK)] has become one of only 19 UK charities to receive NICE accreditation.

In 2012 the National Centre for Clinical Excellence (NICE) awarded the RC (UK) accreditation for the resuscitation Guidelines 2010. Three years on the RC (UK) applied for and has received NICE accreditation for the process used to assemble and produce all its guideline documents.

The RC (UK) works to promote high-quality, scientific resuscitation guidelines that are applicable to everybody, and to contribute to saving life through education, training, research and collaboration. In October 2015 the RC (UK) will publish new resuscitation guidelines.

The NICE accreditation mark will be displayed on guidelines to inform users that they can expect it to be a high quality source of information. The accreditation is valid for five years from March 2015.

Dr Jasmeet Soar, member of the Executive Committee and Lead Author of the process manual said, “I’m pleased that NICE has recognised that RC (UK) has a robust guidelines development process that both healthcare professionals and the public can rely on.”

Since 2009, NICE has accredited 62 guidance development processes on a number of different medical areas. The Resuscitation council (UK) is proud to be part of this number.

Professor Martin Underwood, Chair of the NICE Accreditation Advisory Committee said: “I am delighted to congratulate the Resuscitation Council (UK) who successfully met all 25 criteria on which their processes were assessed. The charity aims to save lives through the education of the public, as well as improving the education of healthcare professionals in relation to resuscitation. Therefore I am particularly pleased to congratulate them on the degree to which lay members are involved in development of their guidance.”
Source: resus.org.uk

Get ready for World Book Day

World Book Day on March 5 celebrates authors, illustrators, books and most importantly, it celebrates the wonder of reading, to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.

Libraries across the country will be hosting a wide range of activities to celebrate World Book Day 2015. From arts and crafts making, quizzes - to dressing up as book characters - take a look at your local library's website to find out how your local community is celebrating the day, and how you can be a part of the celebrations. 


St Helens Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing, Planning and Community Safety, Councillor Richard McCauley, said: “World Book Day is a great opportunity to go down and support your local library and get involved in some fantastic activities.

“Reading is a wonderful gift that the council will continue to encourage. That is why it is important to highlight events like World Book Day – to get people together to appreciate the joys of reading.”

Wednesday 25 February 2015

New articles added to website for free download

Additional articles have been added to the website, ready for you to read and download for free.

The two latest articles to be added are related to healthcare. The first looks at the Better Care Fund, and identifies ways in which the Better Care Fund will impact on nurses working for the NHS. The second article examines the difference between a Complaints Policy and a Whistleblowing Policy.

All articles can be found in our Resource Centre.

Carers Trust identify their 10 priorities for the General Election

Ahead of the General Election on 7 May, Carers Trust wants all political parties to take account of these 10 key priorities for carers:

1. Government needs to commit more funding to social care
2. Give carers a break
3. No charging for carers
4. Carers of people with dementia must be properly supported
5. Carers of people with mental health problems must be identified as key partners
6. Young carers must be identified and supported
7. No cliff edge in support for young adult carers
8. A duty on the NHS to identify carers
9. Quality care and support for all carers
10. Health and care services need to be better coordinated to deliver for carers

Fully-funded PhD scholarships in Lincoln

The University of Lincoln has a range of PhD funding, including fully-funded PhD studentships for high quality candidates wishing to begin their doctoral studies in September or October 2015.

Studentships are available across the University’s three academic colleges, spanning arts, science and social sciences. There is a broad variety of thematic and cross-disciplinary projects led by experienced supervisory teams.

The quality and breadth of research at the University of Lincoln was highlighted in the national Research Excellence Framework 2014. More than half (53%) of the University’s submitted research was rated as internationally excellent or world leading (3* or 4*). Lincoln was placed in the top ten nationally for the quality of its research outputs in two major subject areas.

The University is making a significant investment in providing research opportunities for exceptional doctoral candidates through its annual half million pound Research Investment Fund.

Deadline for expressions of interest is close of day on 13th March 2015. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be notified on Friday 20th March with interviews during the week commencing 6th
April.

Further details on PhD funding and studentship opportunities for 2015, including how to make an expression of interest, can be found at lincoln.ac.uk.

Time to place your nominations - nursing times awards

The nursingtimes.net has released the following guidelines for those looking to submit their entries for the Nursing Times Awards 2015:

You must submit your entry online by 17 April 2015. However you do not have to complete it in one session - once you have registered you can save your work as you go along. To resume your entry, click on My Entries and sign in.

Getting started

Entering the Nursing Times Awards is easy and free:
  • Register your details here
  • Choose which categories you want to enter of nominate someone for
  • Complete your entry and submit it using our simple online system
You can enter more than one category and have until 17 April to submit your entries.

If you need any help with your entries then please contact Eloise Puffett by emailing her on Eloise.puffett@EMAP.com or calling her on 0203 033 2671.

Helpful hints

  • Preparation is the key - allow yourself plenty of time to develop and submit your entry - make a note of the deadline 17 April 2015
  • Make the judges' job easy - write in clear, plain English, avoid jargon and use bullet points where appropriate to break up the text
  • Pay attention to grammar and spelling – poorly presented entries lack credibility
  • Involve the right people - if your work was a team effort, involve the other team members in developing the entry
  • Use the option to attach documents to support your entry with useful information such as audit data, cost analyses, patient experience survey results, documentation you have designed or anything that will help the judges to understand the impact of your work
  • Ask someone else, such as a colleague or manager, to look through your entry before you submit. It can be helpful to ask someone who was not directly involved in the work you are entering - like the judges they will not have detailed knowledge so they suggest ways to clarify the entry
 Text taken from nursingtimes.net

Care Show 2015 will focus on the Big Debate...just in time for the election!

One of the biggest events for those involved in health and social care, the bi-annual Care Show continues to go from strength to strength, offering innovative products a way into the market and giving key industry debate a platform to flourish.
 
The show is held in both Birmingham and Bournemouth, with events dates falling in March for Bournemouth and November for Birmingham.

One notable addition to the event’s seminar programme is ‘The Big Political Debate – The Political Parties share their Vision for Care’, which will be attended by local MPs and welcomes contributions from visitors keen to pose questions.

Event director James Samuel comments: “With the subject of care continuing to feature high on news agendas, we are delighted to be able to introduce further innovative care solutions and inspiration to Care Show Bournemouth again in 2015. We are delighted to be working with Nadra Ahmed of the National Care Association in facilitating our topical Big Debate and look forward to welcoming many visitors to share their views with local MPs.”

Other panel discussions and presentations include ‘Managing medicines’, ‘Occupancy strategies: Maintaining increasing & managing occupancy’ and ‘Funding strategies: Coping with budget cuts’, all put together based on feedback and requests from visitors, including ‘Understanding and marketing to the self-funder – the secrets to success’ which proved to be a productive seminar at the last Birmingham event, brought back by popular demand.

Over 170 exhibitors have already confirmed their participation, including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), who are keen to exhibit their new and advanced care home monitoring software. Other exhibitors include Access UK, apetito, Boots Care Services, Danfloor UK and Renray Healthcare.

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Ivy House Nursing Home, West Yorkshire, rated inadequate by CQC

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Ivy House Nursing Home in Shipley, West Yorkshire as inadequate during an unannounced inspection in November 2014.
The nursing home has been told by the CQC that it must make improvements or face further enforcement action.
When the home was inspected last year inspectors found that they were failing to provide care which was safe, effective, responsive or well led. Inspectors also found that improvements required as a result of a previous inspection in April 2014 had not all been made.
A full report of this inspection has been published on the CQC website this month. www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-307138236.
Image: Must be Art, Flickr

A Controversial Topic: Hidden Cameras to Monitor Care

The CQC have published information for people who are thinking about using hidden cameras, and other types of recording equipment, to monitor care.

The leaflet is aimed at families, carers and people who use health and care services. Created by the CQC the leaflet sets out some of the things you can consider if you are thinking of using recording equipment, as well as explaining other steps you can take to raise your concerns.

The use of recording equipment to monitor care is a controversial topic, but the CQC want people using health and social care services to receive safe, effective, high quality and compassionate care.
Sadly, from the stories in the press, we know that not everyone receives the quality of care they have a right to.This causes people, either for themselves or a loved one anxiety and distress. 
Some people choose to use surveillance, whether openly used by services or hidden by families, to monitor care being given. However, there are others who feel this is an invasion of people's privacy and dignity. Many don't know what to do if they are concerned.
You can click here to go to the CQC website to find the leaflet about the use of recording equipment to monitor someone's care. 

Thursday 5 February 2015

Author of "To Kill a Mockingbird" Harper Lee is to publish a second novel

“To Kill a Mockingbird” is considered to be an American literary masterpiece, a best seller that has provoked many discussions about racial and social injustice. It brought instant fame to its author, Harper Lee, but she never published another book...until now!

At the age of 88, Lee has revealed that she wrote another novel, a sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird,” featuring an aging Atticus Finch and his grown up daughter, Scout.

This month, Ms. Lee’s publisher announced its plans to release the novel, recently rediscovered, which Ms. Lee completed in the mid-1950s, before she wrote “To Kill A Mockingbird.” The book will be titled “Go Set a Watchman,” and takes place 20 years later in the same fictional town, Maycomb, Ala. Jean Louise Finch, or Scout, the heroine of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” returns to visit her father. It covers racial tensions of the South in the 1950s and looks at the complicated relationship between father and daughter. The novel  is to be released this July. 

Harper Lee abandoned the manuscript after her editor suggested she write a new book from the young heroine’s perspective and to set it during her childhood. No doubt her publishers will be hoping this second novel has the same success as "To Kill a Mockingbird" adapted into a 1962 film and has sold more than 40 million copies globally since it was published in 1960.

Ms. Lee said she had thought the draft of “Go Set a Watchman” had been lost or destroyed. Then last year her friend and lawyer, discovered the manuscript attached to an original typed manuscript of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

The book’s publisher, HarperCollins, plans to print two million copies of the new book and release it on 14 July this year. 

Find out more about our publisher packs by clicking here

Image: Horia Varlan, Flickr

The CQC has published the latest reports into the service provided by GP practices

The Care Quality Commission has published a further 63 reports on the quality of care provided by GP practices inspected under its new approach.
Following the inspections last year, the CQC's specialist teams found 53 of the practices have been rated as Good, one has been rated as Outstanding, seven have been rated Requires Improvement and two have been rated Inadequate. 
Under CQC’s new programme of inspections, all of England’s GP practices are being given a rating according to whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.   
The majority of England's GPs are providing a service which is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. Patients should be able to expect high quality and consistent care from every GP practice. Where the CQC want to see improvement, the practice is expected to take the necessary steps to address the issue, and the CQC will return to see that those improvements have been made.

Report shows the use of the Mental Health Act in 2013/14

The CQC has been responsible for reviewing uses of the Mental Health Act for the past five years and their latest report, Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2013/14, shows that use of the act continues to grow with 23,531 people subject to the act at the end of 2013/14 - an increase of 6% from 2012/13. 
The data collected shows that black and minority ethnic people continue to be overrepresented in the detained population. The CQC have called for providers to undertake ethnic minority monitoring of their activities.
84% of records examined showed that patients had received information about their legal rights, with evidence of staff discussing rights with patients in 82% of records, an increase from 71% from last year.
The mental health inpatient system has continued to run over capacity. The number of available mental health NHS beds in Q4 2013/14 had decreased by almost 8% since Q1 2010/11. 
In 2012/13, there were reported 21,814 uses of section 136 in England, which rose to 24,489 in 2013/14, an increase of 12%.
The report shows there have been small improvements, but the provision of and access to child and adolescent services was not good enough. The needs and best interests of patients under 18 must be taken into account when accessing mental health services.
The report into the use of the Mental Health Act (MHA) tells you about the experiences of patients who received care under the act throughout 2013/14. To read more about the findings in the report, click here. 
Image: Ricardodiaz11, Flickr

Wednesday 4 February 2015

STWA welcomes self-published authors!


'In a referendum with a third of voting members participating and over 6 to 1 in favor, the membership of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has approved bylaw changes that enable SFWA to accept self-publication and small-press credits for Active and Associate memberships in the organization. We are using existing levels of income but are now allowing a combination of advances and income earned in a 12 month period to rise to the qualifying amounts.

SFWA President, Steven Gould, states, “Writers write. Professional writers get paid a decent amount for what they write. For the past five years it’s been apparent that there are ways to earn that decent amount that were not being covered by our previous qualification standards. Though these changes took a substantial amount of time, I’m grateful to everyone who worked toward this end.”

According to SFWA Vice President Cat Rambo, “I’m very excited to see SFWA moving forward and adapting itself to the changing face of modern publishing. SFWA will be much richer for the influx of knowledge and experience that the new members who have focused on independent and small-press publishing will bring with them.”

Specific details will be posted at sfwa.org by the first of March, but the basic standards are $3,000 for a novel, or a total of 10,000 words of short fiction paid at 6 cents a word for Active membership. A single story of at least 1,000 words paid at 6 cents a word will be required for Associate membership. Affiliate, Estate, and Institutional membership requirements remain unchanged.

Self-published and small-press works were already eligible for the Nebula and Norton Awards, SFWA’s member-voted genre award, and will remain so.

SFWA will open to applications from small press and independent publishing qualifying members on March 1, 2015. Further information will be available at that time here: http://www.sfwa.org/about/join-us/sfwa-membership-requirements/'

Source: direct quote from sfwa.org

New A&E indicators for consideration


The Health and Social Care Information Centre have released information on five indicators that provide information on the quality of service delivered in A&E departments across the country.

The report, generated from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) A&E data, sets out data coverage, data quality and performance information for the following A&E indicators:

- Left department before being seen for treatment rate
- Re-attendance rate
- Time to initial assessment
- Time to treament
- Total time in A&E

Publishing these data will help share information on the quality of care of A&E services to stimulate the discussion and debate between patients, clinicians, providers and commissioners, which is needed in a culture of continuous improvement.

The data used in these reports are sourced from Provisional A&E HES data, and as such these data may differ to information extracted directly from Secondary Uses Service (SUS) data, or data extracted directly from local patient administration systems. Provisional HES data may be revised throughout the year.

Key facts

  • A&E HES data contains 1.59 million A&E attendances for October 2014 at all types of A&E.  However, A&E HES data are incomplete; over 1.69 million A&E attendances were reported in the Department of Health Situation Report data collection for the month, and 58 organisations that report data to Situation Reports did not report data to A&E HES; these organisations are mostly lower acuity services such as minor injury units and walk-in centres.
  • Several organisations reported data that did not meet the data quality checks required by A&E indicators.  The 95th percentile and longest single wait information are particularly sensitive to poor data quality, outliers and data definitional issues, which contributes to why some unusually high values may be observed for these measures.
  • Nationally, 2.6 per cent of attendances at A&E departments were recorded as having left A&E before being seen for treatment, and 7.7 per cent of attendances in A&E in October 2014 were unplanned re-attendances within 7 days of a previous attendance.
  • The median average time to initial assessment for attendances brought to A&E by ambulance was 5 minutes, with 95 per cent of patients being assessed within 116 minutes.  For all patients receiving treatment, the median average time to treatment was 53 minutes with 95 per cent of patients receiving treatment within 3 hours 6 minutes.
  • The median average total time in A&E for all patients was 2 hours 17 minutes, with 95 per cent of patients departing A&E within 5 hours 42 minutes of arrival.
 Source: hscic.gov.uk

111 workload concerns highlighted by the BMJ



Article taken from the Mail Online...

'The NHS 111 helpline is piling pressure on health services, with the number of calls referred through to GPs and to A&E departments respectively increasing by almost 200%, according to healthcare leaders.
The claims come as the NHS has faced one of its toughest-ever winters, with figures showing that A&E departments across the country have missed their four-hour waiting time target for 15 weeks in a row.
Analysis by the British Medical Association (BMA) suggests that the number of calls referred through to GP services has increased by 186%, and to A&E by 192% - with some patients referred to GPs when they've reported symptoms of colds and sore thumbs.
Separate figures also suggest a sharp drop in the percentage of calls where patients had been given safe "self-care" advice over the phone rather than being referred to NHS services.
The analysis by the BMA of NHS England's latest statistics on NHS 111 found that the number of calls referred to GP services from the helpline rose by 186% when comparing January-October 2013 to January-October 2014 - from 2,844,452 to 8,138,863 - an increase of 5,294,411.
The number of calls referred to A&E services rose by 192% when comparing the same periods, from 374,506 to 1,092,967 - an increase of 718,461.
Figures from the Primary Care Foundation estimate that the number of calls designated as "self-care" - where patients can safely treat their condition after advice from a call hander - may have also declined from 48% in 2012 down to an average of 15% in 2013 and 2014.
Dr Charlotte Jones, BMA's GP lead on NHS 111, said the BMA has consistently highlighted serious concerns about NHS 111 and how it is "not delivering appropriate advice and outcomes" for patients who call the service.
She said before it was launched in March 2013 that the BMA's GP committee warned that it would struggle to cope with demand, a prediction she says "proved to be correct when large parts of the system collapsed immediately after they opened".
She said: "Although there have been some improvements in capacity since its disastrous early introduction, this analysis of referrals over the past two years demonstrate that there has been a huge increase in the number of people put through to key parts of the NHS such as A&E and general practice.
"There is no doubt that if a patient needs any form of medical care they should be referred through to an appropriate doctor or nurse, but there are serious doubts as to whether this huge increase in workload is clinically necessary.
"Anecdotally, GPs have reported to the BMA that patients have been referred to them with colds, sore thumbs or other conditions that could have been treated safely by sensible advice over the phone, advising a patient on how to self-care, such as picking up medication from a local pharmacist."
Dr Jones added: "There is little doubt that the NHS cannot afford to have unnecessary workload being created given the unprecedented pressure on our health service.
"GP practices are already struggling to deliver enough appointments to their patients as demand rises, resources fall and staff shortages continue to undermine GP services."
BMA chair of council Dr Mark Porter said a "fundamental problem" with NHS 111 is that it employs "non-clinically trained staff who follow a formulaic script rather than using clinical judgement to assess how calls are dealt with".
He said: "Understandably, this is likely to lead the call handlers, with limited experience of medicine, to be cautious and refer patients to the NHS when a trained professional could have encouraged them to effectively self-care.
"Key NHS services cannot afford to be taking on unnecessary work when they are struggling to treat the number of patients who do need genuine care."
Dr Porter said the government needs to do "a serious and urgent analysis" of the effect of NHS 111 on the "wider urgent and unscheduled care system" to determine where it may be working inefficiently and to ensure that it is cost effective.
"This should lead to recommendations on increasing the level of self-care and ensuring that we have a programme to increase the number of expertly-trained clinicians answering calls from patients," he said.