The challenge facing the NHS in recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic was underlined this week with the latest figures on the size of the backlog of postponed care. And costing figures have revealed the virus’s significant impact on NHS productivity.
There are many misconceptions and myths that relate to temporary staffing, which can cause confusion and cloud people’s judgement. Leigh Malyon, head of medics and 247Time at healthcare people management software specialist Allocate Software, identifies the five most common temporary staffing myths and offers solutions to how these misconceptions can be addressed.
Government proposals to reform social care must address the need for change in the social care market, as well as how it is funded, or the sector will collapse, the Nuffield Trust claimed.
Plans for more frequent national cost collections could involve just a sample of providers submitting costs or be based on much lighter touch costing standards, NHS England and NHS Improvement have revealed.
Those of us working in healthcare, who care about reducing health inequalities and providing a sustainable environment for our children to build upon in generations to come, can help to deliver urgently needed action. And the finance community needs to be at the heart of this agenda.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are encouraging acute trusts to re-engage with their Exceptional Quarterly Collection (EQC) and hoping to expand the costing programme to cover mental health services.
England this week stood on the verge of further relaxations in social distancing measures, although modelling points to a third wave of Covid-19 over the summer. Meanwhile the government announced a ‘course correction’ for its vaccination programme.
The NHS is in a different position at the start of the new financial year, and faces further challenges
Last week marked not only the beginning of the new financial year, but also the latest stage in the demise of clinical commissioning groups, with a new wave of mergers reducing their number to just over 100 and all their successor bodies established.
This week’s initial easing of lockdown measures was accompanied with further encouraging news about vaccine effectiveness, although blood clot concerns re-emerged. And there were continued warnings to keep observing the remaining social distancing and protective measures.
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