Correspondence

FT Bulletin 20 January 2016

Published 20 January 2016

Applies to England

1. For action

1.1 Planning update ahead of the 8 February deadline

All of the planning guidance, including technical guidance and annexes to help with your operational plans, has now been published.

Annex 5 to the shared technical guidance provides detailed guidance for all NHS and foundation trusts on your 2016/17 operational plans, and seeks to address the challenges you’re currently facing, as well as opportunities for improvement.

As previously shared with you, we can confirm the following drafts are due by midday, Monday 8 February:

• one-year plan summary (max. 20 pages)
• annual plan review (APR) template (covering finance, activity and workforce - see Annex 6 for help)
• annual activity plan for acute and specialist foundation trusts (your commissioners will submit the following day)

Please also submit your contract tracker: first as fortnightly submissions on 8 February and 22 February, and then weekly from 7 March to 25 April. Please refer to Annex 1 for guidance on completion of both the contract tracker and the activity plan.

For assistance with any aspect of your operational plans, please contact APR@monitor.gov.uk.

Many of you have already submitted questions to us and we’ll publish our responses to these shortly on the main planning guidance page.

1.2 2015/16 out-turn values in your month 9 report and draft operational plan templates

Your month 9 reporting template is due by midday, Friday 29 January. Your reported 2015/16 out-turn should match that reported in your draft operational plan for the coming year, which is due on 8 February.

If new information comes to light in the interim that requires an adjustment to the out-turn in your draft operational plan submission, please briefly explain this in the ‘finance’ section of your accompanying narrative.

1.3 Chief executives and chairs: register now for major provider conference in February

If you haven’t already done so, please register for the provider conference we’re hosting jointly with NHS Providers on 11 February. Please register by 5pm on Monday 25 January. If you are unable to attend, please delegate your place to a colleague.

We’ll provide you with further details on the agenda and speakers for the day shortly.

Please email events@nhsproviders.org if you have any questions.

1.4 New framework arrangements to tackle agency costs and support staff back into substantive and bank roles

The price caps that we introduced with the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) in November are already having a positive effect. Many of you have reported that they are helping you to take a stronger position with agencies, to negotiate lower rates and secure a better deal for your staff and patients.

Find out more about the latest measures including the steps we are taking with the NHS TDA and framework operators to strengthen the agency rules and help you prepare for the reduction of caps that comes into place on 1 February.

You can also join one of our upcoming webinars, which we’re running in response to your requests for more support to implement the caps: more details to follow.

1.5 Transforming costing – are you interested in being a mental health and ambulance road map partner?

We’re seeking expressions of interest from mental health and ambulance NHS and foundation trusts, to partner with us to develop new costing standards, as part of our Costing Transformation Programme (CTP).

The CTP aims to improve costing processes and information in NHS providers with a long-term aim to introduce a single, mandated patient-level cost collection across all care settings.

Development of the first draft acute costing standards is well underway, and our road map partners have proved invaluable in ensuring that these standards are practical and implementation plans realistic: we’re now looking for representatives from mental health and ambulance NHS and foundation trusts to work with us as we look to develop these standards for all providers.

You’ll have a direct influence on the development of the new standards and will receive on-site support from our costing team during implementation. Improving the quality of costing information in your organisation will help you to identify possible efficiency savings, and can be used to inform service development and redesign to improve patient care.

We’ll shortly send an email to our costing contacts at mental health and ambulance trusts with details of how to apply.

For more information email costing@monitor.gov.uk.

2. For information

2.1 Improving cultures in the NHS

NHS Improvement and the King’s Fund are working together on a 2-year programme to help foundation trusts and NHS trusts develop cultures that enable and sustain continuously improving, safe, high quality, compassionate care.

Tools will be developed with 3 pilot providers that will enable them to diagnose issues, design leadership strategies and support implementation of the strategies. The pilots will test the resources and share their experiences so that we can provide step-by-step practical support for the culture change process.

Sign up for alerts to keep up-to-date with developments in this programme.

3. Events and webinars

Event name	Event details	Who is it for?	Why attend?	How can I sign up?
NHS trust and foundation trust finance directors meetings	London, Monday 25 January: Manchester, Wednesday 27 January	London: finance directors from London and the South region; Manchester: finance directors from the North and Midlands and East regions.	Hear from topic experts who will present on the expectations and challenges facing finance directors in closing 2015/16 and planning for 2016/17 onwards.	Email tdafinance.taunton@nhs.net to book your place.
Introduction for new foundation trust and NHS trust medical directors	London, Wednesday 27 January	New foundation trust and NHS trust medical directors.	Monitor and the NHS TDA are holding this workshop to support you in this demanding role both now and in the future.	Find out more and book your place now..
Chief operating officer development event	Leeds, Wednesday 27January. (Please note: this event was originally scheduled for 25 January. All registered delegates have been informed of the date change.)	Foundation trust and NHS trust chief operating officers (COOs).	The morning of this event is a development session for COOs and will cover career development, improving organisational change and meeting the challenges of the current strategic and operational environment. The afternoon will be dedicated to A&E and winter pressures, and will be led by Jim Mackey.	Find out more and book your place now.
Delayed transfers of care roadshow	Newcastle, Wednesday 27 January	Morning session: chief executives, chief operating officers, clinical commissioning group accountable officers. Afternoon session: staff who deal with admission and discharges on a daily basis.	Hear about the revised delayed transfers of care guidance and find out how you can put it into practice using case studies and best practice examples.	To book a place at the event, please email transformingcare@local.gov.uk.
Demand and capacity planning events	Various dates and regions throughout January	Colleagues who are involved with demand and capacity modelling.	These events aim to improve understanding of the basics of demand and capacity planning, and will provide access to a number of models which will inform the production of local activity plans for the 2016/17 planning round.	Find out more and book your place now.
Provider conference: jointly organised and hosted by NHS Improvement and NHS Providers	London, Thursday 11 February	NHS trust and foundation trust leaders.	Hear about and discuss: the provider ‘roadmap’; the planning round and immediate priorities for delivery; the role and purpose of NHS Improvement.	Find out more and book your place now.
Nurse director engagement and improvement events	London, Wednesday 20 January: Manchester, Friday 5 February	Nurse directors from NHS trusts and foundation trusts.	Discuss national priorities and common challenges.	Email Henal.Patel@monitor.gov.uk to book your place.
Medical director engagement and improvement events	Birmingham, Monday 22 February: London, Thursday 3 March	Medical directors from NHS and foundation trusts.	Discuss national priorities and common challenges and a focused session on the national planning guidance. Please note that the event on 10 February has been cancelled due to the proposed junior doctors’ strike.	Find out more and book your place.
Whistleblowing employment support scheme workshop	London, Tuesday 23 February	HR directors and local guardians.	This workshop is for employers, regulators and whistleblowers, and will explore ways to help whistleblowers return to work where they have lost their jobs as a result of raising a concern.	Register your interest by emailing alison.kirk5@nhs.net.

3.1 Reducing use of agency staff: support for NHS trusts and foundation trusts

Alongside the NHS TDA, we’ll be hosting a series of webinars for NHS trust and foundation trust nursing directors, HR directors and deputies, to help you manage the move to reduce spend on agency staff.

Effective rostering, mid-February

This webinar will cover principles of efficient rostering including e-rostering, how efficient rostering can reduce agency spend and case studies of good practice.

Setting up a staff bank, end of February

This webinar will cover the benefits of staff banks, challenges in setting up a staff bank, regional and other bank options, and case studies of good practice.

International recruitment, March

This webinar will cover examples of successful international recruitment.

As soon as we have dates, we’ll publish them on our website and feature them in a future FT Bulletin.

NHS Employers event

We’d also like to draw your attention to the NHS Employers event Workforce supply: retaining staff - through the generations on Thursday 4 February in London. This event will look at how responding to the different needs of both longer serving staff and the younger workforce, can result in broader support and development packages that help to improve retention.

Find out more and book your place now.

4. External updates

4.1 NHS trust and foundation trust medical directors, patient safety leads and clinicians: reminder of your requirements to report and investigate hospital-associated VTE

Following a venous thromboembolism (VTE) related patient safety incident, Dr Mike Durkin, NHS England Director of Patient Safety, has written to all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) requesting them to routinely ensure their providers are complying with all of the requirements relating to VTE in the NHS standard contract.

Ahead of contact from your CCG, please read the letter and its appendix to remind yourselves of the contractual obligations in relation to compliance with NICE guidance (CG92, CG144, QS3), and the context in which learning from the investigation of all cases of hospital-associated thrombosis should be applied to continue to improve outcomes for patients and prevent avoidable harm.

4.2 From NHS England: new RTT webpage

The NHS Constitution sets out that patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment (RTT). To support this NHS England has launched a dedicated RTT webpage, providing a central collection of resources for providers, commissioners, and the public. It offers access to best practice support and guidance on:

• recording and reporting
• non-reporting
• reviewing patient pathways
• maximum waiting times
• NHS Interim Management and Support (IMAS) and elective care

4.3 From the CQC: Dame Eileen Sills DBE announced as the first National Guardian for freedom to speak up in the NHS

Dame Eileen, Chief Nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, will help to lead a cultural change, initially within NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts, so that healthcare staff always feel confident and supported to raise concerns about patient care.

Find out more about the role of the national guardian and what it could mean for you and your organisation as we strive towards the NHS having a truly safe and open culture.

5. Get in touch

5.1 Our latest job opportunities

For more information or to apply, please visit our recruitment website joinmonitor.com.

5.2 Queries or feedback

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