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Latest News 2008

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Library: December CNO Bulletin Now Available

Posted 17th December 2008

The December issue of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Bulletin is now available in the Other Bulletins section of the Resource Library.

Contents of the December edition includes:

Measuring quality - what does "good" look like?
Putting people first - duty to involve guidance.
Social enterprise - learn more about the "right to request".
Mental health - seven steps to improving patient safety.
Meeting the targets - healthcare-acquired infections update.
Festive season safety tips for staff.
A round up of industry awards.
Clinical leaders network - leading from the frontline.
Enhancing the care environment - how art is helping to heal.
An insight into the NHS blood and transplant team.

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General: Improving the Value of Drug Treatment Systems - NTA Consultation

Posted 24th November 2008

The NTA are now half way through the consultation period for comments on their draft assumptions for their proposed model of drug treatment systems. This means there are just six weeks to go, the last two of which will be taken up by the Christmas period.

Below is the original NTA announcement, with links to the draft guidance and consultation proforma. Please have a look, if you haven't already, and make comments while there is still time...

Dear Colleague,

As you may be aware, the NTA has been asked by the Government to develop a model of drug treatment systems, and a related tool, that can help commissioning partnerships in delivering the best possible outcomes from the available resources for their treatment systems. This is in response to the recent increases in pooled treatment budget funding, the availability of more robust performance and cost data for treatment services, and the publication in 2007 of a suite of clinical guidance for the drug treatment field.

The NTA is asking for comments on the draft assumptions behind the proposed model. Once these assumptions have been agreed, the NTA will publish a tool which will enable areas to combine their outcomes and their unit cost data for those key substantial components of the drug treatment system that are described by this model, and to assess these against national benchmarks. It is hoped that this will provide partnerships with a powerful aid for considering whether any changes may need to be made to the design of the treatment system so as to optimise outcomes, taking into account their own local needs assessment or other relevant local factors.

The development of the model to date has been informed by relevant Government departments and a consultation event with stakeholders held in July 2008.

Copies of the draft guidance and consultation proforma are available on the NTA website.

Consultation responses should be made on the consultation proforma and returned by e-mail to model@nta-nhs.org.uk by 5pm on 5 January 2009. If you have any queries about the consultation process or the content of the document, please contact Matt Gill, matt.gill@nta-nhs.org.uk.

We look forward to receiving your comments.

Best wishes
Matt Gill

Value Improvement Project Manager
National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse
8th Floor Hercules House
Hercules Road, London SE1 7DU
Web: www.nta.nhs.org.uk
Tel: 020 7261 8487

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Library: November CNO Bulletin Now Available

Posted 21st November 2008

The November issue of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Bulletin is now available in the Other Bulletins section of the Resource Library.

Contents of the November edition includes:

The modern nurse - practitioner, partner and leader.
Technology to tackle infections.
Is human error inevitable?
Nurses instrumental in falling C.difficile rates.
How to be a productive leader.
Clinical academic careers.
Care regulation.
Learning disabilities - a new three-year strategy.
Interview with the winner of this year's Mary Seacole awards.
The therapeutic use of humour in mental healthcare.

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Library: 2008 ANSA Conference Presentations Now Available Online

Posted 17th November 2008

Presentations from the 23rd National ANSA Conference - Developing Roles & Services in Substance Misuse: Responding to Change (27-28 March 2008, University of Chester) are now available in PDF format to view or download in the Conference Materials section of the Resource Library.

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Library: Alcohol & Drug Issues in an Acute Medical Setting Presentations Available

Posted 6th November 2008

Presentations from the Alcohol & Drug Issues in an Acute Medical Setting conference (24 October 2008, Postgraduate Medical Centre, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust) are now available in PDF format to view or download in the Conference Materials section of the Resource Library.

The event was a one day conference organised by ANSA in conjunction with Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

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Library: October CNO Bulletin Now Available

Posted 23rd October 2008

The October issue of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Bulletin is now available in the Other Bulletins section of the Resource Library.

Contents of the October edition includes:

Driving up the quality of care.
Nurses and service transformation.
Nurse training moves to all-degree programmes.
Primary and community care strategy.
The link between staff morale and patient experience.
What's new in mental health?
Have your say in the NHS Constitution.
Bringing learning disabilities services up to date.

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General: NICE Recruiting for Health Technologies Advisory Committees

Posted 22nd September 2008

NICE is recruiting new members to independent advisory committees on the use of health technologies.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is recruiting new members to join its three independent advisory Appraisal Committees. The Appraisal Committees consider and interpret evidence on the clinical and cost effectiveness of health technologies and formulates recommendations on their use.

Members of all Committees are drawn from the NHS, healthcare professionals, patients and carers, and the academic world. Committee members are not appointed to act as representatives of a particular organisation. They will be expected to apply the experience and judgement from their individual backgrounds to the topics considered by the Committee and in doing so actively contribute to improving the quality and consistency of care provided by the NHS. They will be helping the Institute take some of the most difficult decisions in public life.

NICE currently have vacancies for:

Consultant Physician
Clinical Pharmacologist
Health Economist
NHS Management
Consultant Surgeon
Psychiatrist
Professions Allied to Medicine
Nurse

Time commitment and conditions: Committee members attend eleven day-long committee meetings per year as well as an annual Away Day. Appraisal Committee meetings are held at the NICE offices either in central London or Manchester, and dates are fixed and made available to Committee members up to a year in advance. Committee membership is unpaid although expenses, including overnight accommodation, are reimbursed. The period of Committee membership is for three years in the first instance.

The information and application pack can be accessed on the NICE web site.

For further queries please contact Kim Turner at the address below.

Completed applications should be returned by Wednesday 8 October 2008 to:

Kim Turner
Project Manager
Centre for Health Technology Evaluation
NICE
Mid-City Place
71 High Holborn
London WC1V 6NA
E-mail: kim.turner@nice.org.uk
Tel: 020 7045 2238

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Library: September CNO Bulletin Now Available

Posted 21st September 2008

The September issue of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Bulletin is now available in the Other Bulletins section of the Resource Library.

Contents of the September edition includes:

The "Confidence in Caring" framework.
Research careers for nurses.
Matron Rachel Lewis as she takes up a Harkness Fellowship in Boston.
Ways to boost direct care with patients.
New training to improve patient safety.
Darzi and David Nicholson at an SHA near you.

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Events: ANSA Alcohol & Drug Conference Programme Now Available

Posted 18th August 2008

The Conference Programme & Registration Form for the "Alcohol & Drug Issues in an Acute Medical Setting" conference is now available in the Events & Conferences section.

This one-day conference, to be held on Friday 24 October 2008, is organised by the ANSA in conjunction with Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust to examine alcohol and drug issues in the acute medical setting. For full details, please see the Events & Conferences section.

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Library: July/August CNO Bulletin Now Available

Posted 8th July 2008

The July/August issue of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Bulletin is now available in the Other Bulletins section of the Resource Library.

Contents of the July/August edition includes:

Next Stage Review pledges to empower frontline staff.
Update on NHS 60.
Matron numbers double in 12 months.
Nurses develop support tool for children with complex health needs.
Changes to the Mental Health Act.
Nurse-led research on experiences of urgent care.

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Library: April, May & June CNO Bulletins Available Online

Posted 16th June 2008

The April, May & June issues of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Bulletin are now available in the Other Bulletins section of the Resource Library.

Contents of the June edition includes:

Celebrating 60 years of nursing.
Primary and community care conference.
Improving nutrition for patients.
Awards for armed forces' healthcare staff.
Investment in ward efficiency.
Pilot study into childhood deaths.
Cash boost for stroke care co-ordinators.

Contents of the May edition includes:

Making the case for integrated care approach between nurses and pharmacists.
Update on innovative parent support programmes.
A look back on the past 60 years of England's health service.
Practice based commissioning toolkit for nurses.
Increased support for those most at risk.
Impact of mental health nursing review assessed.
NHS staff have their say.
National vascular screening programme.
Recognising and responding to acutely ill patients in hospital new consultation.

Contents of the April edition includes:

Online training in nutrition care for all nurses.
Diabetes specialist care in the spotlight.
Leading role for nurses in primary health care.
Tackling obesity at a local level.
Child Health Promotion Programme updated.
Mums are urged to continue breastfeeding.
Improving mental health patient safety investigations.
Travel costs scheme to tackle one million missed appointments.
Mary Seacole Awards promoting equality and diversity in nursing.

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General: Free Subscription to Addiction Today, Worth £55!

Posted 6th June 2008

All delegates who attended this year's ANSA Conference (27-28 March 2008) are eligible to claim 1 year's free subscription to Addiction Today, which usually costs £55.

Simply contact projects@addictiontoday.org, quoting the conference, and they will organise the free subscription.

Please note that this offer only applies to delegates who attended the conference!

Addiction Today is the most widely-read publication in the UK drugs- and alcohol-treatment field.

Published bimonthly since 1989 by the Addiction Recovery Foundation charity, the Addiction Today journal is devoted to leading-edge and evidence-based treatment and good practice so that professionals can help people desperate for help and their families to attain long-term, sustainable recovery from addiction/dependency.

It offers proven techniques to help people to change, trends in treatment, policies, book/CD reviews, diary dates, It also gives details of proposed legislation when it is still in consultation stage so that YOU can influence it. It is the public face for professionals endeavouring to guide those who need it to alcohol- and drug-free lives.

The journal is read by commissioners/purchasers of treatment, providers of a range of treatment options, counsellors, therapists, doctors, nurses, researchers, members of parliament, the media and many more. Join them today!

For more information, please see the Addiction Today web site.

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Library: 2006 ANSA Conference Presentations Now Available Online

Posted 26th May 2008

Presentations from the 22nd National ANSA Conference - Innovations in Joint Working: What's On The Horizon? (20-22 September 2006, Chester College University) are now available in PDF format to view or download in the Conference Materials section of the Resource Library.

In addition, a summary report on the conference, including a compilation of all presentation slides, can be found in the ANSA Journals section.

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Library: More ANSA Booklets Now Available Online

Posted 26th March 2008

The following two ANSA documents are now available in the ANSA Booklets section of the Resource Library.

Working within Accident & Emergency
Working within Maternal Health

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Library: March CNO Bulletin Now Available

Posted 9th March 2008

The March issue of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Bulletin is now available in the Other Bulletins section of the Resource Library.

The March issue contains features on:

Health visiting.
Improving maternity and neonatal services.
Tackling childhood obesity.
Children with palliative care needs.
Diagnosing Hepatitis C.
New online stroke resource.
Organ donation.
Midwifery recruitment.

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General: ANSA Conference Prices Revised to Enable More Nurses to Attend

Posted 3rd March 2008

In the past 3 months there have been significant documents released from the NTA, Department of Health and NICE:

2008 Drug Strategy
3 month Consultation on Clinical Governance NTA
UK Clinical Guidelines 2007
Non-medical prescribing Guidelines 2007

Substance Misuse Nursing has never been higher on the agenda.

In light of this we have revised the cost of our 2008 National Conference, keeping the price as low as possible to enable more nurses to attend.

The revised cost is just £39.00 per person, plus £10 per person for accommodation if required.

The conference is being held 27-28 March, at Chester University. Come and join us and influence the future of Nursing in Substance Misuse!

For further information, please see the Events & Conferences page.

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General: ANSA Annual General Meeting Announcement

Posted 28th February 2008

ANSA wishes to announce its Annual General Meeting. As per our constitution we will be holding our AGM on Thursday 27th March 2008 at the University of Chester, Chester campus.

Please could full members wishing to submit items for the agenda do so to m.beverleystone@ansauk.org by 5th March 2008.

For further information, please see the Meetings page.

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Library: December/January & February CNO Bulletins Available Online

Posted 26th February 2008

The December/January & February issues of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Bulletin are now available in the Other Bulletins section of the Resource Library.

The December/January issue contains features on:

Health visiting.
World class commissioning.
Health and social care bill.
The new acuity tool for ward care.
Our NHS, our future review.
Specialist stroke nursing.
2007 state of the nation's health report.

The February issue contains features on:

Clean, safe care strategy.
New national screening programme.
2008/09 operating framework.
Analysing patient safety incidents.
Nutritional care in hospital.
End of Life Care strategy.
Good practice in learning disability nursing.
Mixed sex accommodation.