FW: LVSC health update - Sept-Oct 2015

 

Forward to a friend | Web version | Unsubscribe October 2015 Dear colleague, Welcome to the September-October 2015 edition of our regular health ebulletin bringing you news from LVSC, Regional Voices (of which LVSC is a constituent member), the Department of Health, Public Health England, NHS England and Care Quality Commission. Ebulletins may include information from London's voluntary & community sector (VCS) as well as regional policy news - e.g. from the Greater London Authority, NHS England (London region), London Senate, etc. We also intend to keep you up to date on the government's Five Year Forward View, including the vanguards in London. If you wish to discuss any items to be included in future bulletins, please feel free to contact me. Sandra Sandra van der Feen Policy Officer, LVSC sandra@lvsc.org.uk Mondays - Wednesdays only   LVSC news LVSC health work update I have recently met Abigail Jago, Programme Director, Tower Hamlets Integrated Provider Partnership (THIPP) one of London's vanguards. We looked at how we might share learning about working with the voluntary, community & social enterprise sector (VCSE) from integration pilots with the vanguard. THIPP will share information about how they are currently working with the VCSE and patient groups. We also explored a possible learning workshop with the VCSE in the New Year. I have met with the Communications Manager at the NEL Commissioning Support Unit (NEL CSU) to explore potential links,better engagement and co-production between CCGs and the VCSE. I will be meeting with the Office of CCGs later in October to discuss how we can make better links between CCGs and the VCSE at a strategic and regional level. I am about to complete a  case study in partnership with Kensington & Chelsea Social Council and  Healthwatch CWL looking at co-production between the CCG, Patient Panel, Healthwatch and KCSC re their Whole Systems Change integrated care programme. The case study will be published within the next few weeks. Work on a London wide social prescribing map with links to London based social prescribing programmes is also in progress. I will be liaising with lead people in social prescribing areas and hope to have a map published late November - early December. Also a gentle reminder that there is less than a month to go before the VCSE Review consultation closes. It's really important to feed in your views particularly in view of the future of the voluntary sector investment programme.  My colleague Matthew Scott, London for All Manager at LVSC and I will be responding to the review. If you would like to feed in some key issues but don't have time to formally respond, please let me know. I have copied and pasted the online questions into two Word documents so that you can have a quick look at the kind of issues and questions raised. More information including links to the surveys and Word documents can be found below. For more information also feel feel free to contact me: sandra@lvsc.org.uk Return to top Who's Who for London update (reminder) Each of the regional networks that comprise Regional Voices including LVSC, have produced a "Who's Who" guide to key people working in health, wellbeing and care in each region. The guides include relevant people from clinical commissioning groups, health and wellbeing boards, CQC, NHS England area teams, commissioning support units and local Healthwatch. The most regularly updated version of the guide is available here. Please help us keep this guide up to date by notifying us of any changes, gaps or corrections. Return to top Pathways to Wellbeing - Maximising Health Opportunities. Stonewall Housing Read what members think about LVSC services. You may find Pathways to Wellbeing – Maximising Health Opportunities, Stonewall Housing of particular interest.   Return to top London & national news New hospital vanguards announced NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens has announced radical new options for the future of local hospitals across the NHS. The new models being developed by 13 new hospital Vanguards represent the next stage of implementing the NHS Five Year Forward View. The Vanguards involve some of the best-known and best-run hospitals in the country. They will now be extending their geographical reach, stepping up to the challenge of driving efficiency and improvement across the country. Acute Care Collaboration Vanguards are designed to spread excellence in hospital services and management across multiple geographies. In London: UCLPartners - Four new vanguards across the partnership to improve care for thousands of patients Four hospital vanguard have involvement from trusts across UCLPartners, meaning that patients in this region are likely to be the first to benefit from the innovative improvements in care. The new vanguards are designed to spread excellence in hospital services and management across multiple geographies. The trusts will receive financial and practical support, and learning from their experience will be used by other areas in coming years. Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust aims to identify the best approach to establishing and sustaining a chain of services and to produce a toolkit which can be used to roll out service level chains regardless of the specialty to benefit patients in other parts of the NHS. In addition to analysing the best approach for a successful chain of services, the trust will also explore the opportunities and risks associated with running an extended network of eye services, based on increasing the number of Moorfields satellite sites and widening the trust's geographic reach. The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust plans to become the heart of a group that other organisations will want to collaborate with. The trust is considering options including buddying, merging specific office functions and other innovative models such as joint clinical and corporate ventures. The key benefits of this approach are that it would reduce the variation patients can experience in care, increase efficiency and can be delivered at reduced cost to the healthcare economy. Potential partners will be identified as the proposal is. The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital has also been selected as a partner in the National Orthopaedic Alliance vanguard to develop a UK-wide franchise or chain of orthopaedic providers to deliver outstanding and consistent care in more areas. The partners will explore formal ways of collaborating more closely as well as the possibility of delivering exemplar orthopaedic services on a franchise model across England. The work will include developing a single common model for NHS franchising that can be picked up by any speciality; to implement best practice; to identify ways of expanding across a wider geography; and to ensure that scale brings with it stronger local patient and community involvement. Along with the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, UCLH (University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) has formed a joint Cancer Vanguard that will aim to enhance and expand the existing cancer networks, such as London Cancer and Manchester Cancer, to give patients earlier diagnosis and reduce variations in the quality and cost of care. Return to top   National news New NICE home care guidelines A new guidance has been published, promoting high-quality home care services for older people, at a time when demand for such services is set to grow. The focus of the guideline is on ensuring that home care services support the aspirations, goals and priorities of each person. The guideline is the first to be developed on behalf of NICE by the NICE Collaborating Centre for Social Care (NCCSC), a partnership led by SCIE. Read the NICE press release   Return to top The VCSE Review engagement process and consultation In November 2014, the Department of Health, Public Health England, and NHS England initiated a review of their investment in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. The group overseeing the review has representatives from the VCSE and public sector including Regional Voices. Their purpose is to gather views and evidence to make recommendations about two key elements: Investment and partnerships between health and care agencies and the VCSE sector across England. Central government grant funding of the VCSE sector contributing to health and care.  This is a joint funding programme across the system partners, administered by the Department of Health. This part of central government funding is called 'the Voluntary Sector Investment programme'.  Launched in April 2009, the programme seeks to enable the voluntary sector to work in equal partnership with public sector health bodies to help shape and deliver policies and programmes to improve health and wellbeing outcomes.  Approximately £22 million is available for the whole programme annually. There are three main schemes within the programme: the Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund (IESD); the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund (HSCVF); the Health and Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partners Programme. Visit the website to comment on blogs or contribute your own. Contribute your own response via the two online surveys: VCSE Review: Discussion Paper on the Voluntary Sector Investment Programme VCSE Review: Discussion paper on the challenges and solutions to better investment in and partnership with the VCSE sector In case you want to have a quick browse and /or don't have time to formally respond, LVSC pulled together the surveys into two Word documents. You can let me know your key issues by email:sandra@lvsc.org.uk by 28th October. Survey questions in Word: Voluntary sector investment survey questions VCSE challenges and solutions to better investment survey questions   Return to top Smoking in cars with children banned from 1st October To protect children from the dangers of second-hand smoke, it's now illegal to smoke in cars and other vehicles with someone under 18 present. As from now, new legislation in England and Wales makes it illegal to smoke in a vehicle carrying someone who is under 18. It is now also against the law for a driver not to stop someone smoking in these circumstances. The fine for both offences is £50. The change in the law is to protect children and young people from the damaging effects of second-hand smoke, which can put them at risk of serious conditions such as meningitis, cancer, bronchitis and pneumonia, and make asthma worse. To read more, visit the government website. Return to top Gearing up for one of the most fundamental changes in NHS history Sir Bruce Keogh has outlined an emerging strategy for Personalised Medicine in the NHS. NHS England's National Medical Director said it would entail a move away from a 'one size fits all' approach to the treatment and care of patients with a particular condition, to using diagnostics, genomics, data analytics and other emergent technologies to identify the underlying cause of disease. He told NHS England's Board this was the way to ensure the right patient gets the right treatment at the right time, leading to improved outcomes. To read more, visit the NHS England website. Return to top You are not alone: Help is at Hand for anyone bereaved by suicide People who have been bereaved by suicide have used their experiences to lead the revision of a support guide to help others affected by someone taking their own life. Help is at Hand provides people affected by suicide with both emotional and practical support. The most recent official figures reveal 6,233 suicides of people aged 15 and over were registered in the UK in 2013 and suicide has far-reaching effects among friends, family, colleagues, and the wider community. Those bereaved by a suicide are at increased risk of mental health and emotional problems and may be at higher risk of suicide themselves, so receiving the right support is essential. You can download the full support guide here Return to top Go sober for October Macmillan Cancer Support are running Go sober for October, a national campaign that is not only good for your health but also helps to raise money for Macmillan and people facing cancer. Giving up the booze for a month can help you feel healthier, sleep better and improve your energy levels, all whilst raising money for a great cause. More information is available here Return to top Breathe Arts Health Research Recognised by Lambeth NHS with Prestigious Innovation Award Breathe Arts Health Research (Breathe), the not-for-profit social enterprise which uses the arts as a basis for pioneering healthcare programmes, is pleased to announce it has won the inaugural "Innovation in Lambeth" prize at the borough's NHS Clinical Commissioning Group's recent Lammy Awards. Yvonne Farquharson, managing director of Breathe, said:  "We are delighted, and humbled, that our work has been acknowledged with this award. To be recognized by the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group is an vital seal of approval for the value of injecting creativity into healthcare programmes. We know it has a profound impact on patient outcomes and, therefore, recognition by the NHS is a tremendous step forward for all of us pioneering this approach." Breathe, best known for its flagship 'Breathe Magic' intensive therapy programme, also delivers the largest performing arts (including music, magic, theatre, creative writing and poetry) hospital programme currently running in the UK, and works in partnership with the National Theatre and other leading cultural institutions. For more information please contact: Yvonne Farquharson, Managing Director, Breathe Arts Health Research yvonne@breatheahr.org | 07885912727 | 02032902013 Return to top   Events Third Sector Commissioning Conference 21 October, London The Third Sector Commissioning Conference examines how to improve partnership working with the third sector to enable the most effective delivery of public services, with both financial and social benefits. Speakers include NCVO's chief executive Neil Cleeveley. Return to top NHS England Pilot: Special Offer for volunteers who support improvements to health and social care Free courses are available for volunteers who support improvements to Health and Social Care. There are three free courses on offer, all offered by a Department of Health funded partnership called 'Engage for Change'. You can choose one of the courses to take part in: Understanding the Health and Social Care Environment (UHSCE) is a course exploring the stakeholders in the current health and social care environment. Course participants will learn about influencing change and undertake a practical project as part of the course. Facilitation and Engagement in the Health and Social Care Environment (FEHSCE) is a course covering the engagement of seldom heard groups, facilitation skills.  Course participants will have to plan and carry out a practical engagement exercise(attachments) Using Data in the Health and Social Care Environment (UDHSCE) is a course focusing on key terms used in data, and where to get data to support a case for change, and course participants will have to plan a report and find data to back it up on the health and social care subject of your choice. (attachments) The courses are delivered online, courses 1 and 2 above also have a face to face assessment day.   If you have any questions, please contact Alice Williams: Alice.williams2@nhs.net Return to top Road safety: a public health issue event – Race Equality Foundation Race Equality Foundation are holding a half day event to explore road safety policy and have discussions around reducing the number of collisions for young people and addressing road danger in different areas. The session aims to  ensure local voluntary and community organisations are better informed about road safety policy, how to engage  with road safety initiatives,  and explore any particular issues for the communities they work. There will be round table discussions to explore a number of issues and presentations will include:   overview of London road traffic and road safety policy - Transport for London research on road safety risk and diverse communities -  London School of Tropical Medicine Further information and how to register   Return to top   Post Communications Officer – National Aids Trust (NAT) Part time 21 hours per week Full time Salary: £23,147 (pro rata £13,888) Based in London ECIV NAT is the UK's leading charity dedicated to transforming society's response to HIV.  They provide fresh thinking, expertise and practical resources.  NAT champion the rights of people living with HIV and campaign for change. NAT is looking for a  creative, confident and energetic person to join our small but dynamic staff team, reporting to the Marketing and Communications Manager. Your role will be integral to shaping our external communications – supporting our fundraising and policy teams, helping to devise and develop new communications initiatives, playing an important role in their World AIDS Day plans and raising awareness of NAT and HIV in the UK. Closing date: 10 am on Friday 23 October 2015 Interviews: Monday 2 November 2015 The application pack documents can be downloaded here or by sending an e-mail quoting the job title, together with your name and address to recruitment@nat.org.uk or by calling 020 7814 6767. All materials are available in larger fonts upon request.   Return to top   ABOUT REGIONAL VOICES This e bulletin is published monthly by LVSC as the London region member of Regional Voices. Regional Voices champions the work of voluntary and community organisations to improve health, well-being and care, across England. Regional Voices is a partnership of nine regional networks. Together, we directly connect to over 25,000 voluntary and community organisations. Our coverage is broad, deep and well-established. Our vision is for a society where voluntary and community organisations are connected with decision-makers at all levels, able to influence policy and improve community health, care and well-being through better services. Regional Voices partnership is hosted by Involve Yorkshire and Humber,Registered charity number 1127119   |   Company registration number 6752034 London Voluntary Service Council (LVSC) Registered charity number 276886   |   Company registration number 1395546 We try to check all the information in this bulletin and the web sites it links to, but we cannot accept responsibility for the contents of the websites and articles or guarantee their validity. Links should not be taken as an endorsement of any kind. Telephone: 020 7832 5830   |   Email: info@lvsc.org.uk   |    Opt out of all LVSC mailings

FW: Now published! Systematic review on Community-Based Rehabilitation for People With Disabilities in Low- and Middle-income Countries

 

                                                                                       

 

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

The International Centre for Evidence in Disability is delighted to announce the publication of the Campbell Review on Community-Based Rehabilitation for People With Disabilities in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Systematic Review.

 

Recent estimates suggest that there are over one billion people with disabilities in the world and 80% of them live in low- and middle-income countries. Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) is the strategy endorsed by the WHO and other international organisations (ILO, IDDC and others) to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The coverage of CBR is currently very low, and the evidence-base for its effectiveness needs to be assessed in consideration of scaling up of this intervention. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of CBR for people with physical and mental disabilities in low- and middle-income countries, and/or their family, their carers, and their community.

 

We included 15 studies, out of which six focused on physical disabilities (stroke, arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and nine on mental disabilities (schizophrenia, dementia, intellectual impairment). The evidence on the effectiveness of CBR for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries suggests that CBR may be effective in improving the clinical outcomes and enhancing functioning and quality of life of the person with disabilities and his/her carer. However the heterogeneity of the interventions and scarcity of good-quality evidence means that we should interpret these findings with caution.

 

The full review in English (with abstract in French and Spanish) is freely available for download here http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/3887/Iemmi_CBR_LMIC_Review_v2.pdf

 

The policy report and policy brief will be soon available here http://www.3ieimpact.org/en/evidence/systematic-reviews/details/209/?search_path=/evidence/systematic-reviews/&q=&funded=True&all=on&result_number=1&total_results=36

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions and please do circulate, many thanks,

 

Best regards,

 

Valentina Iemmi, Hannah Kuper, and Karl Blanchet

 

 

Valentina Iemmi

Research Fellow, International Centre for Evidence in Disability

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom

Fax. +44 (0) 20 7958 8325

Email: valentina.iemmi@lshtm.ac.uk  

 

FW: LVSC health update - August 2015

Forward to a friend | Web version | Unsubscribe August 2015 Dear colleague, Welcome to the August 2015 edition of our regular health ebulletin bringing you news from LVSC, Regional Voices (of which LVSC is a constituent member), the Department of Health, Public Health England, Care Quality Commission and NHS England. Where relevant, the ebulletins may include information from London's voluntary & community sector (VCS) as well as regional policy news - e.g. from the Greater London Authority, NHS England (London region), London senate, etc. We also intend to keep you up to date on the government's Five Year Forward View, including the vanguards in London. If you wish to discuss any items to be included in future bulletins, please feel free to contact me. Sandra Sandra van der Feen Policy Officer, LVSC sandra@lvsc.org.uk Mondays - Wednesdays only   LVSC news LVSC health work update I have recently met with the engagement and development managers at South East Commissioning Support Unit (SECSU) as well as London Senate and the London Strategic Clinical Network leads.  The aim of the meetings were to identify ways to encourage engagement between commissioners, the CSUs, the senate, clinical strategic networks and the voluntary, community & social enterprise sector (VCSE) to promote co-production in service re-design. I hope this will lead to the development of some good practice case studies. In the long run, these could be utilised to bring together commissioners and the VCSE through master classes or workshops. We will also share information in future bulletins to promote regional engagement between commissioners and the VCSE. I am currently developing a case study in partnership with Kensington & Chelsea Social Council and CWL Healthwatch looking at co-production between the CCG, patient forum, Healthwatch and KCSC re their Whole Systems Change integrated care programme. The case study will be completed and published early autumn. I have also started work on developing a London wide social prescribing map with links to local social prescribing programmes. I will be speaking to the lead people in each area but more information will follow in September. Watch this space… In the meantime, if you would like your area featured, do let me know! In the meantime see Dr. Everington of Bromley-by-Bow's blog on what social prescribing means for GPs. For more information contact me, Sandra van der Feen: sandra@lvsc.org.uk Return to top Who's Who for London update Each of the regional networks that comprise Regional Voices including LVSC, have produced a "Who's Who" guide to key people working in health, wellbeing and care in each region. The guides include relevant people from clinical commissioning groups, health and wellbeing boards, CQC, NHS England area teams, commissioning support units and local Healthwatch. The most regularly updated version of the guide is available here. Please help us keep this guide up to date by notifying us of any changes, gaps or corrections. Thanks to everyone who has provided me with changes, including from NHS England, London region. The guide now includes all contacts from the Healthy London Partnership. Return to top   London wide news London Borough Grants Scheme – Consultation on its Future London Councils have launched a review of The London Borough Grants Scheme, the programme through which it commissions our London for All capacity building project and 34 other pan-London initiatives and for the first time asks whether or not the scheme should continue.  The consultation is primarily online but written submissions following focus groups or other consultation methods will be accepted. LVSC will be submitting its own response but we encourage everyone to submit their own – we cannot emphasise how important it is that as many organisations as possible respond to the consultation.  The link for the consultation. The deadline for responses is Friday 2 October 2015. Return to top   National /regional news   Urgent and emergency care – new approaches to improve the coordination of services and reduce pressure on A&E departments The first eight urgent and emergency care vanguards have been announced by NHS England to spearhead new integrated models of delivery. NHS England said the new systems would launch the transformation of urgent and emergency care for more than 9m people. The new models will see care delivered by GPs, pharmacists, community teams, ambulance services, NHS 111, and social care. For more information on the London emergency care vanguard see below. The announcement is the latest implementation of the urgent care review led by NHS England's medical director professor Sir Bruce Keogh and the NHS in England's Five Year Forward View plan to reshape care delivery. In March, 29 new care model vanguards were announced including GP-centred multispecialty community providers (MCPs) and vertically integrated primary and acute systems (PACS). In London these are located in Sutton and Tower Hamlets (see our previous LVSC health ebulletin for more information). Sandra van der Feen, LVSC will be meeting with the Sutton and Tower Hamlets vanguard leads at the end of September. The London emergency care vanguard: Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge System Resilience Group Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge System Resilience Group (SRG) aims to create a simplified, streamlined urgent care system delivering intelligent, responsive urgent care for 750,000 residents in the most challenged health economy in the country. The SRG believes there is a need to do things differently and that patients are confused by the many and various urgent and emergency care services available to them – A&E, walk-in centre, urgent care centre, GPs, pharmacists, out of hours services. Becoming a UEC Vanguard will support the SRG in its ambition to streamline these points of access to just three – supported by a smart digital platform that will recognise patients and personalise the help they get as soon as they get in contact. This involves: 'Click' – online support and information – will help people to self-care and book urgent appointments when needed.  'Call' – telephone for those who need more advice, reassurance or to book-in. 'Come in' – where patients really need emergency care – the front door of the hospital will become our new ambulatory care centres. More information can also be found here See also NHS England  vanguard support package Link to the Involve, Yorkshire & Humber's "Vanguard & new models of care" briefing Return to top   National news REMINDER - Consultations to shape voluntary, community and social enterprise sector involvement in health and social care The VCSE review advisory group have recently released two consultations. The first consultation asks for views from the voluntary sector and from those working in health and social care on the current state of investment, partnership working, and how closer collaboration could be fostered. Link here including link to the online consultation The second consultation asks for views on the role and effectiveness of the government's current 'Voluntary Sector Investment Programme' suite of grants. Link here including the link to the consultation survey To view the advisory group's interim report please go to the VCSE review website The consultations will help determine the future of voluntary sector involvement in health and social care; make sure your voice is heard and please share with your networks. The consultations are open until Friday 6 November. LVSC will respond to the first consultation and would welcome your input. You may find it useful to have a quick look at the questions to determine which are most relevant to your organisation. To help you with this, LVSC has copied and pasted the questions from the survey which can be downloaded here. The survey sections comprise: Recognising the value of the sector and making the most of local assets How the sector is funded Commissioning VCSE Infrastructure/networks Demonstrating impact Promoting equality and addressing health inequality National investment in the VCSE sector Developing services and policies together Local partnerships Improving national relationships with the sector In summary, you can respond to the first consultation in the following ways: Respond directly via the online consultation survey (see bottom of page - you can respond to relevant sections for your organisation only) Select the relevant questions/sections you would like to respond to and respond to me, Sandra van der Feen, LVSC via email (Sandra@lvsc.org.uk) by Monday 2nd November Attend an online consultation webinar 10 September from 15.00 pm-15.45 pm. More information and registration   Return to top NHS Citizen NHS Citizen is primarily a way people can have their say on health issues that matter to them. 'NHS Citizen Gather' was launched recently - the online discussion forum - which you can find here. The forum is its early stages but it's essentially a space where people can raise and respond to issues. Of the issues raised, some will be chosen by a citizens jury to go to the NHS Citizen Assembly Meeting in November, where citizens and senior NHS England leaders will work together to decide on what the NHS should do next. NHS Citizen is keen to hear from as many voices as possible so please spread the word across your members and networks. It can be on Gather, on social media (@nhscitizen / #nhscitizen) or NHScitizen on Facebook. Or people can email NHS Citizen at hello@nhscitizen.org.uk. They can also come to existing events or join existing conversations. NHS Citizen is about listening to and joining up what is already happening. NHS Citizen is also able to offer members a complimentary pass to the upcoming NHS EXPO for those wishing to contribute to NHS Citizen sessions being held at EXPO. You can find out about these here. If you would like to take up this offer please contact england.ppvibsu@nhs.net. Suggested Facebook text: There is new a project called NHS Citizen. Everyone is invited to a conversation on how we can work together to improve the NHS in England. NHS Citizen Gather is now open for comments, suggestions and questions about the NHS in England.Please join the discussion and spread the word. Suggested tweets: Have your say on the NHS in England! Ask questions, make suggestions, talk to others! Visit #nhscitizen now http://gather.nhscitizen.org.uk/ What do you want to talk to the most senior leaders of the NHS about? Join #NHSCitizen Gather now! http://gather.nhscitizen.org.uk Return to top NHS Standard Contract and Contract Light In previous bulletins, we mentioned that Regional Voices are aware of many issues in commissioning the voluntary sector- one of which is the disproportionate nature of the NHS Standard Contract. Regional Voices and the wider Health and Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partnership, have  met with Simon Stevens, the head of NHS England, and have committed to supporting NHS England develop a lighter touch version of the NHS Standard Contract- more proportional and suitable for use with VCSE organisations. Regional Voices have also responded to consultations about the NHS Standard Contract with our intelligence of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) experiences. The NHS Standard Contract and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector- reflecting on NHS England's response to the consultation results (Dec, 2014) Regional Voices' Response to NHS Standard Contract consultation  (Sep, 2014) During 15/16 Regional Voices will work with NHS England to develop a "Standard Contract Light"- which is more proportionate for smaller VCSE organisations. Watch this space…. Link to Regional Voices' work on grants (including bite size guide to grants). Link to our analysis of current commissioning issues. Return to top The NHS needs a transformation fund The Health Foundation and King's Fund argue that now, more a new, comprehensive approach is needed to support and implement change. That is why the two leading think tanks are calling for a £1.5bn transformation fund. The King's Fund and the Health Foundation have spent the last nine months examining case studies of transformational change, from within the health sector and beyond, and capturing the experience of NHS organisations seeking to deliver the vision set out in the NHS five year forward view. They make the case for the need of a NHS dedicated transformation fund. This should be independent of the current regulatory and performance management system, transparent and publicly accountable, with clear measureable objectives. Its role should be to support investment in innovative new models of care and, when they have demonstrated their value, support the wide-scale spread of these models. This would include supporting investments beyond traditional NHS organisations - in social care, public health, charities and the private sector. More information can also be found on the Health Foundation website Return to top Opportunity to apply for a grant from NHS England The closing date to apply for funding is 12 noon on the 28th September 2015. Has your community or voluntary group been working to involve patients and the public in improving health care services?  NHS England will be awarding a number of small grant awards to organisations who can tell the story of their patient and citizen involvement and engagement work in a creative and interesting way.  Grants are available of up to £1,000 each.   To find out more or make an application please visit the NHS England website. If you have any queries please contact us on england.ppvcommunitygrants@nhs.net Return to top Tell DoH about your experiences of transformative health technology innovation for patients – barriers and best practice The Accelerated Access Review is particularly keen to reach charities with its request for case studies to support the Accelerated Access Review (the Review aims to speed up access to transformative health technology that can help change the lives of NHS patients. You can find out more here.   This is the specific ask for case studies which DoH would really appreciate you promoting.   And this blog from their patient champion adds a bit more background to the ask. Return to top Connecting with the wider public health workforce The Centre for Workforce Intelligence and Royal Society for Public Health, supported by Public Health England, have recently published reports highlighting the importance of engaging the wider public health workforce to support improvement in population health. They have identified approximately 20 million people across England with the potential to be part of the wider workforce, encompassing 57 different occupation groups. The reports argue that the wider workforce could support a "radical upgrade in prevention", and they provide a number of recommendations to achieve this. More information:"Rethinking the Public Health Workforce"  and "Understanding the Wider Public Health Workforce" Return to top   Resources & information Integrated care – commissioning & contracting King's Fund reading list A range of useful links to resources from the Kings Fund library about integrated care - contracting & commissioning Return to top Commissioning, influencing, funding & costing and collaboration resources Following a series of recent health commercial masterclasses, led by NCVO (funded by the Cabinet Office), a range of useful resources have been made available. They include links to the PowerPoint presentation used at the events as well as flipchart notes. I have put them all together and they can be found here. Resource sections: The health commissioning 'landscape' Influencing decision makers and commissioners Procurement and contracting Funding and costing Collaboration and consortia NCVO commercial masterclass (resources that accompany the main commercial masterclass series that this one-day event was derived from.) April-May health commissioning masterclass PowerPoint and flipchart notes  Return to top   Events UCLPartners Patient Experience Learning event UCLPartners would like to invite you to the next UCLPartners patient experience learning event focused on making better use of patient and carer feedback. They would so appreciate it if you could also pass this invitation on to relevant others. Time and venue are: Tuesday 8th September, 3pm-5pm, Room 422 Roberts Building, University College London, WC1E 7JE. Patient experience is an ongoing high priority for UCLPartners trusts and much work is taking place to drive forward improvements. Resource for this work has been scattered and staff talk about wanting to do more to demonstrate impact and define focus, making better use of feedback. All Trusts are regularly collecting feedback data on patient experience but there is wide variety on how data is analysed and provided back to teams and staff. They have invited Gary Etheridge, Deputy Chief Nurse at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University NHS Trust, and Lisa Anderton, Head of Patient Experience at University College London Hospitals NHS FT, to speak about their tips, tricks and challenges. They'll also have one of the national patient insight team from NHS England join them to talk about their work to enable improvements in care through feedback. Please register via the EventBrite link here Patient experience staff across UCLPartners have mentioned feeling like they are swimming in data and are keen to "measure without duplication" and "ensure data collection is used meaningfully for improvement". They hope this event will begin to unpick this knotty issue and develop learning across the partnership. Return to top Health Innovation Network – South London – Experience Network, in partnership with Shaping Our Lives HIN states that in recent years they have got better at asking the people who matter most – service users and carers – what matters to them.  However, all too often, there are groups and individuals that get left out of participation and co-design activities.   This event will be a way to share and learn, across South London, to improve the way that diverse groups and those often excluded can be involved in improving service design and delivery more effectively. When and where? 14th October, 10am-3pm Robens Suite, 29th Floor, Guys Hospital Tower Learn inclusive participation techniques from Shaping Our Lives – a user controlled network and think tank. Practical case studies from local Healthwatch. Including a key note from Peter Beresford, author of Beyond the Usual Suspects. Secure your place now: Click here Return to top HEAR Human Rights and Equalities Network New free half day training from HEAR to help make your services more accessible - Managing Accessibility in the Third Sector 23 September 2015 10.15 am-2.30pm (lunch and refreshments provided) with networking session until 3pm Centre for Accessible Environments Holyer House 20-21 Red Lion Court, EC4A 3EB This free training is being delivered through a collaboration between HEAR Human Rights and Equalities Network and the Centre for Accessible Environments, and hosted and facilitated by CAE. The session is valuable for managers and other staff in voluntary sector organisations who want to improve the accessibility of their services, including the built environment. Participants will learn about: regulations and legislation relevant to physical access supports available for access auditing and capital costs access planning everyday improvements that are easy to achieve and cost little or nothing, yet make a big difference to service users. Please arrive at 10:15 am for a 10:30 start. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Feel free to join until 3:00 pm to network with fellow attendees! Note: Eligible participants must represent a voluntary or community sector organisation based in Greater London. Only one person per organisation may apply. To book your place on this course, please complete the booking form Please contact info@cae.org.uk if you have any additional questions or require more information about this course. Return to top   ABOUT REGIONAL VOICES This e bulletin is published monthly by LVSC as the London region member of Regional Voices. Regional Voices champions the work of voluntary and community organisations to improve health, well-being and care, across England. Regional Voices is a partnership of nine regional networks. Together, we directly connect to over 25,000 voluntary and community organisations. Our coverage is broad, deep and well-established. Our vision is for a society where voluntary and community organisations are connected with decision-makers at all levels, able to influence policy and improve community health, care and well-being through better services. Regional Voices partnership is hosted by Involve Yorkshire and Humber,Registered charity number 1127119   |   Company registration number 6752034 London Voluntary Service Council (LVSC) Registered charity number 276886   |   Company registration number 1395546 We try to check all the information in this bulletin and the web sites it links to, but we cannot accept responsibility for the contents of the websites and articles or guarantee their validity. Links should not be taken as an endorsement of any kind. Telephone: 020 7832 5830   |   Email: info@lvsc.org.uk   |    Opt out of all LVSC mailings