13 March 2015

MCA DoLS Event!

9th March – 13th March 2015

On Tuesday, I attended a great event which explained the MCA (Mental Capacity Act) DoLS (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) background and policy. The Mental Capacity Act came into play in 2005 and there was been a recent introduction of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, which aims to protect vulnerable people's freedom. The event was held by our CCG, along with our neighbouring CCGs; South Cheshire and Vale Royal. There were several speakers who presented their views on MCA DoLS and how it affected different organisations. Speakers included; head of adult safeguarding from Southern Derbyshire, a barrister who provided the legal context of the policy, the MCA DoLS policy lead from the Department of Health and representatives from Cheshire police.

The MCA DoLS enable vulnerable people, who lack the capacity to make informed decisions to be protected of their liberty. If a person is identified as having a lack of capacity to make decisions, a DoLS application can be sort.
The event allowed me to gain more of an insight into the legal context of the policy and understand what affect it can have from a police perspective. Something which was apparent in all of the speakers’ presentations was their passion towards the policy and ensuring people’s freedom is protected in the correct manner. A number of the speakers made the valid point of ensuring that each MCA DoLS situation is different and must ensure that the person’s wellbeing and best interests are at the heart of everything. A decision made on behalf of a person who lacks capacity, must be done in that person's best interests.

The event was a great success!

6 March 2015

Awaiting the Contract for 2015/16!

2nd March - 6th March 2015

We are currently playing the waiting game... along with other CCGs in England, we are awaiting the national guidance for the NHS Standard Contract which is published each year by NHS England. The NHS Standard Contract template allows the Contracts Team at the CCG to produce new contracts and create contract variations for the local healthcare providers. Each year the NHS Standard Contract varies; the structure and content may differ slightly, therefore we must follow the guidance and template available on a portal to produce the contracts for 2015/16. I will be helping the Contracts Team here at Eastern Cheshire CCG so hopefully the guidance and contracts portal will go live very soon!

The national guidance for CQUINs (Commissioning for Quality and Innovation) has recently been published by NHS England, therefore a number of my tasks this week have involved developing the CQUIN goals for each provider, with particular focus on producing the rationale and the milestones for each goal. Each local provider has a different number of local CQUIN goals which they must achieve. At the CCG, the Quality Team is responsible for producing and implementing the local goals and meeting with the providers to ensure they are realistic and achievable. The process involves a lot of negotiation to ensure the provider is happy with the goal and the milestones they must achieve; working collaboratively with the providers makes sure that high quality care is delivered and patient safety is key.
The local healthcare providers must also achieve National CQUINs which are created by NHS England. The 2015/16 National CQUINs will focus on reducing the rate of AKI (Acute Kidney Injury) and early identification and treatment of SEPSIS within Hospitals. The 2015/16 National CQUINs for Mental Health providers include improving Dementia and Delirium care and also improving the physical health of patients with SMI (Severe Mental Illness).