December

Health Literacy podcasts

18 December 2009
News & Events > Health literacy

"Health Literacy Out Loud" is a US based website which hosts podcasts about a wide range of health literacy issues. There are interviews with experts from across the world talking about different aspects of health literacy. Podcasts include those on writing for the web and using design to get people reading and keep reading.

New Care Quality Commission Guidance

18 December 2009
News & Events

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have published guidance for all health and adult social care providers on meeting new essential standards of quality and safety that will apply across the care sector. The essential standards relate to important aspects of care such as involvement and information for people, personalised care and treatment, safety and safeguarding. Subject to legislation, the new registration system comes into force for NHS trusts on 1 April 2010.

New funding for volunteering

18 December 2009
News & Events > Patient and public involvement

A new funding model designed to broaden and strengthen investment in volunteering in health and social care was unveiled this week. The Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund, will pave the way for a renewed focus on volunteering projects in the NHS and social care by managing the grants system centrally. The scheme will prioritise projects which work towards key aims such as improving adult social care and reducing health inequalities.

2nd World Social Marketing Conference

18 December 2009
News & Events > Education and training

The 2nd World social marketing conference will be taking place in Ireland next year and will bring together those interested in applying strategic communications, marketing and behaviour change methodology to solve key social challenges. Leading thinkers and practitioners from all over the world will be attending and providing delegates with their most up to date ideas and research. Practitioners will have a chance to share practicable examples of interventions and the impact and learning that they produced.

Communications toolkit for Patient Participation Groups

18 December 2009
News & Events > Patient and public involvement

The Growing Patient Participation campaign has created a new communications toolkit for Patient Participation Groups (PPGs). It's a practical guide to help new and established groups engage with the local community, publicise their successes in the media and become an 'ambassador' for PPGs.

NHS strategy and operating framework 2010 "“ 2015

18 December 2009
News & Events > Policy matters

The Secretary of State has introduced a five-year plan, NHS 2010 "“ 2015: from good to great, to reshape the NHS to meet the challenge of delivering high quality health care for all in a tough financial environment. The vision is for an NHS that is organised around patients, giving them more choice, convenience and control over their care. For the first time payment will be linked to patient satisfaction.

Supporting patients to make informed choices in primary care: what works?

18 December 2009
News & Events > Producing and disseminating health information

Six reports and a summary were commissioned from the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham. They examine evidence and good practice relating to the content, format and delivery of information for patients and the public. They also give practical information, advice and guidance in a concise and easy to follow format.

Membership review

19 February 2010
News & Events > PiF membership news

As from 1st April 2010 PiF will be making changes to membership services and benefits as well as to fees. We will be introducing new membership categories for small teams and organisations, whilst retaining the individual membership that PiF members enjoy now. There will also be membership opportunities for larger organisations that wish to partner with PiF or more generally support the organisation. There will also be more services and benefits on offer to members. The membership fee will rise from April 1st, so if your subscription is due before then, make sure you take advantage of the current rate.

Birth and beyond: antenatal education provision

11 December 2009
News & Events

Researchers at the University of Warwick have issued a report examining stakeholder perspectives about current antenatal education (ANE). Antenatal education aims to prevent complications of pregnancy and ensure the wellbeing of mother and child. The research findings suggest that there is an urgent need for the materials and methods used as part of ANE to be updated and improved.

NHS Direct to research services for long term conditions

11 December 2009
News & Events

The National Institute for Health Research has awarded at grant of £2million to NHS Direct to explore how the way it helps people with long term health conditions could be transformed. A five year research programme aims to find out the type of services that people with long term conditions (LTCs) would like NHS Direct to provide and the types of people who would find this most useful. The researchers will then develop suitable services and test whether they work.

NHS IT faces major budget cuts

11 December 2009
News & Events > Using electronic media

The Chancellor Alastair Darling announced on Sunday that the NHS IT programme was "not essential to the frontline", which prompted a swift statement from the Secretary of State for Health defending the scheme. The Health secretary said the programme was a "key part of the modernisation of the NHS" and that the health service could not function without it. £600million is to be cut from the programmes budget.

Five year plan for NHS England - includes patient information

11 December 2009
News & Events > Policy matters

This week saw the launch of a five-year plan to reshape the NHS in England to meet the challenge of delivering high quality health care in a tough financial environment. The report describes practical measures to meet the demands of an ageing population and the increased prevalence of lifestyle diseases. There are two specific mentions of information for patients and the public - one outlining an expansion to NHS Choices and the other highlighting the Information Standard.

Prime Minister outlines greater use of information and technology

11 December 2009
News & Events > Using electronic media

Gordon Brown announced this week that as part of plans to create 'smarter government' the NHS and the public sector would be encouraged to make greater use of information, online services and text messaging. He used the example of text messaging to remind people of their GP appointments as an effective use of new technology to save money.

Patient knowledge of hospital medicines

11 December 2009
News & Events > Medicines information

In a new study to assess patient awareness of medications prescribed during a hospital visit, published this week in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, 44% of patients believed they were receiving a medication they were not, and 96% were unable to recall the name of at least one medication that they had been prescribed during hospitalisation. The study authors found significant deficits in patient understanding of their hospital medications even among patients who believed they knew, or desired to know, what is being prescribed to them in the hospital.

Social media could transform the NHS

03 December 2009
News & Events > Using electronic media

The BBC this week covered the MyPublicServices conference about citizen engagement with public services online, including the NHS. The conference was about how the traditional public sector values of fairness, solidarity and equality are meeting the new networked values of participation, transparency and usability to create new services or add to old ones.

Keep track of your drinking by mobile

03 December 2009
News & Events > Using electronic media

With the festive season soon to be upon us, the Department of Health in England has developed a new mobile phone application that helps people to keep track of their drinking. Available from iTunes and the NHS Choices website it helps people to work out how many units they are drinking and personalised feedback on their drinking. Probably not for the faint hearted!

Wales CHCs to be restructured

03 December 2009
News & Events > Patient and public involvement

Edwina Hart, Minister for Health and Social Services in Wales has announced that Community Health Councils (CHCs) are to be significantly restructured following a lengthy consultation with stakeholders. From April 2010 seventeen of the existing CHCs will be dissolved and six new CHCs will be created.

Health Literacy conference

03 December 2009
News & Events > Health literacy

Health Literacy: Making the most of health is a three day conference at London South Bank University in February 2010. National and international experts will host a series of seminars to review current knowledge and discuss the importance of Health Literacy (HL) in the UK. Seminars will be interactive, with speakers and the audience reviewing current knowledge and the relevance and importance of HL in UK health, education and society.

Commissioning guide for promoting health and well-being

03 December 2009
News & Events > Producing and disseminating health information

This month will see the launch of a new commissioning guide for promoting health and well-being by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), in partnership with the National Social Marketing Centre. Practical and accessible, the Guide is based on the many developments that have taken place in the practice of health promotion and social marketing in recent years.

The state of consumer health information: an overview

03 December 2009
News & Events > PiF membership news

PiF Directors Sarah Smith and Mark Duman have written a review article for the Health Information and Libraries Journal. The review, called 'The state of consumer health information' takes a broad look at consumer health information in the UK, exploring issues such as health literacy and new technologies and examining the current and future role of library services in providing consumer health information.

New sexual health campaign and resources

03 December 2009
News & Events > Sourcing health information

A new campaign will help young people to make more informed choices about contraception, look after their sexual health and avoid unwanted pregnancies. The campaign aims to promote more open and honest discussions about sex, relationships and contraception among 16 to 24 year olds and their parents. The first phase of the campaign, Contraception. Worth Talking About will increase young people's awareness of the different types of contraception.

Patient Information in Europe

03 December 2009
News & Events

Patients' representatives and public health organisations in Europe last week held a press conference aimed at highlighting the need for access to high quality patient information while recognizing the important role of patients' organizations as information providers. The European Public Health Association annual conference in Lodz addressed the broader issues of health in Europe as well, including the health of migrants and low health literacy.

Event: What information do people want about their medicines?

03 December 2009
News & Events > Medicines information

This Learning Event aims to explore with Voluntary Health Organisations (VHOs) the question 'What information do people want about their medicines?'. You're invited to take part in the Learning Event, and to work together with other VHOs to research this question. VHOs already participating include Diabetes UK, MacMillan Cancer Support and Arthritis Care.

PiF Conference 2010 - only a few delegate places left