What’s the true cost of axing culture? 20 December 2013 As councils contemplate where next to cut following Tuesday's announcement of a 2.9% reduction in total spending power next year, support for culture risks another financial battering. With individual councils facing funding cuts of up to 6.9%, and growing concern in some authorities about their long-term ability to meet statutory obligations, spending on culture has inevitably been slashed in many areas. However, in a few places councils are fighting hard to maintain support. Read the full article on the Guardian local government network __________________________________________________ Good NHS trusts welome complaints 12 December 2013 Complaints and compliments should be key drivers of reform in any NHS organisation. Services constantly alert to the experiences and views of their patients and staff will spot problems early, respond quickly and effectively, and welcome rather than resent criticism. When warning signs are ignored or not pursued, small difficulties will develop into crises. In the review by NHS England medical director Sir Bruce Keogh of the care provided by 14 trusts with high mortality rates, being slow to learn lessons when things went wrong and failing to drive change through the system were among the faults he identified. Read the full article on the Guardian healthcare network __________________________________________________ US mayors give lesson in leadership 6 December 2013 The growing energy and activism of city mayors in the United States stands in sharp contrast to the UK's ambivalence towards clear civic leadership. US mayors are confronting the big problem in their communities – from education and inequality to transport and crime – using both formal powers and informal leverage. Kansas city mayor Sly James has earned a reputation as an innovator in both transport and technology. Read the full article on the Guardian local government network __________________________________________________ NHS competition is out of control 28 November 2013 The government's doctrinal obsession with competition in the NHS is damaging care, holding back improvement and undermining integration. But ditching competition is not the solution. Numerous studies on the impact of competition on the quality of healthcare (John Appleby of the King's Fund has written an excellent summary) broadly demonstrate that when used appropriately it can bring benefits, but it is by no means a universal tool for improvement. Read the full article on the Guardian healthcare network __________________________________________________ How to keep people out of social care 27 November 2013 Adult social services epitomise the values of a caring community – supporting us when we are at our most vulnerable. But funding cuts mean local governments can no longer meet the needs of local people. A new approach to social care has to be found. The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services reports that in the three years to March 2014, £2.68bn – or about a fifth of the total funding budget – will have been cut from adult social care. Read the full article on Guardian Social Care Network __________________________________________________ Core Cities make a bid for freedom 22 November 2013 The UK's eight largest cities are making a bid for freedom. Following on from the success of the city deals negotiated with the coalition they are now building the case for how devolving power to them will unleash economic growth. At the Core Cities Summit on Thursday Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield presented compelling evidence from across Europe of a link between devolved political power and economic growth. Read the full article on the Guardian local government network __________________________________________________ Can companies back public health? 18 November 2013 Public health is not yet occupying the space envisaged for it under the Coalition government’s health reforms. Then health secretary Andrew Lansley’s vision was to remove ministers from day-to-day running of the NHS while greatly increasing the Department of Health’s focus on public health. Before the election the Conservatives even floated the idea of renaming the DH the Department of Public Health. Jeremy Hunt is instead micromanaging the NHS and giving far less emphasis to the work of Public Health England. Read the full article on the Cambridge Health Network __________________________________________________ Keogh A&E plan faces major risks 14 November 2013 At last NHS England has the beginnings of a solution to one of the major crises facing the health service. Its long-term plan to address the A&E problems, unveiled on Wednesday, is clinically led, evidence-based, and provides a route to public acceptance. But it will be extraordinarily difficult to implement. Such is the public's attachment to A&E that it probably took a crisis to stand any chance of convincing them of the need for change. Read the full article on the Guardian healthcare network __________________________________________________ Stevens ushers in hospital data era 13 November 2013 Simon Stevens, incoming chief executive of NHS England, has global expertise in buying healthcare. His arrival will trigger the development of a more analytical, quality focused and rigorous commissioning regime which will compel providers to change their models of care. NHS England's attempt to run the whole system has led to confused lines of accountability with the Care Quality Commission, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority. Read the full article on Health Service Journal __________________________________________________ Councils chiefs go for growth 12 November 2013 The chief executive role is getting harder. Now the easiest cuts have been made, local authority heads are faced with changing the purpose, culture and organisation of their councils to get them through another decade of austerity. Graham Farrant, joint chief executive for Thurrock unitary authority and the nearby London borough of Barking and Dagenham says that although the first years of cuts have meant tough decisions, they have been manageable and in some cases improvements have been made. Read the full article on the Guardian local government network __________________________________________________ Health boards need quick success 8 November 2013 In the run-up to the launch of the new NHS structure in April, one of the few aspects which everyone agreed on was that health and wellbeing boards were a good idea. They were to be the place where clinical services could co- ordinate with all the others which shape people's health – notably social care, housing, and public health – to tackle the root causes of ill health and inequality. Read the full article on the Guardian local government network __________________________________________________ Cuts spur social care integration 6 November 2013 Across the NHS, social care and government officials are talking about integration. But political and institutional inertia, and public resistance to change, are impeding progress. Back in 2010, progress was being made towards integrated care in New Zealand's Canterbury region. Then came a series of earthquakes, which significantly damaged hospitals' capacity to function. And yet this gave the integrated care initiative more impetus; disaster compelled change. Read the full article on Guardian Society __________________________________________________ How will Simon Stevens lead NHS? 31 October 2013 When Simon Stevens takes over as NHS England chief executive next April he will become the principal figure in a system that does not work and which lacks a credible plan for addressing a huge and widening funding gap. His time in charge will be split into two phases. For the first year, his ability to secure visible change will be hampered by the intense political fighting in the run-up to the 2015 general election. Much of that period will be used preparing the ground for more radical activity after polling day. Read the full article on the Guardian healthcare network __________________________________________________ MPs’ scrutiny of councils has limits 25 October 2013 Whitehall and parliament are tightening the screw of central control again, and this time Margaret Hodge is coming after local government. The Labour chair of the public accounts select committee said last week: "You will be accountable to us; we will be able to haul you in." The committee is planning to do a "broad review" of local government with close examination of some individual councils, as well as headline programmes such as the work on troubled families. Read the full article on the Guardian local government network __________________________________________________ GPs’ only chance to lead the NHS 24 October 2013 Just seven months ago, GP commissioners were poised to lead a clinically driven revolution in the NHS. Their deep understanding of the needs of patients and ability to eyeball hospital clinicians on service quality were billed as the levers for radical improvements. But there is a grave danger that much of the early ambition around the reform of commissioning is being thwarted by two major obstructions—competition rules and financial instability. Read the full article at the British Medical Journal __________________________________________________ Who will lead the NHS out of crisis? 17 October 2013 The Foundation Trust Network has been gathering in Liverpool for its annual conference against a background of drift and crisis in the NHS. Like soothsayers in the dying days of a crumbling empire, the service is beset by reports and speeches predicting collapse. Harder to find are leadership and answers. No week would be complete without another report telling us how many billions of pounds the NHS needs to save, how quickly it needs to do it, and how little chance it has of achieving it. Read the full article on the Guardian healthcare network __________________________________________________ Harnessing the power of Big Data 16 October 2013 Digital services and big data are rendering traditional ways of organising local government obsolete, compelling councils to collaborate both internally and externally. What's more, the public-sector spending cuts are accelerating this change as councils seek to share costs while developing services that offer the hope of long-term savings, such as early intervention to help older people live independently. Read the full article on the Guardian Society __________________________________________________ Council chiefs stay calm in a crisis 11 October 2013 Local authority chief executives and senior managers gathered at the Solace Summit this week in York where the incoming Solace president Mark Rogers, from Solihull council, urged members not to be overawed by austerity and to think about the whole system when finding a way through for their councils and communities. Read the full article on the Guardian local government network __________________________________________________ Tories winning war of words on NHS 3 October 2013 At their conferences the political parties laid out their campaigns on the NHS for the 2015 election. Labour talked about ideology; the Tories talked about patients. Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham had written his speech for the party faithful. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt aimed his squarely at the voters. Read the full article on the Guardian healthcare network __________________________________________________