End of Life Care report published, DH investigation describes Savile’s associations with NHS as “unusual to the point of being scarcely credible”, plus the rest of today’s news and comment

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4.46pm The health secretary Jeremy Hunt is now speaking at the Nuffield Trust summit.

 

 

 

4.15pm King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust has appointed a turnaround director to tackle its finance and performance issues, we report today.

Steve Leivers has been appointed director of transformation and turnaround.

The trust is forecasting a deficit of £42.5m and has struggled to meet the four hour target in its two accident and emergency departments for over a year.

3.40pm This story, posted on HSJ today, seems particularly pertinent after the publication of the Savile report:

The Care Quality Commission board has raised concerns over the performance of the organisation in responding to safeguarding information and taking action against persistently non-compliant providers.

Papers presented to the CQC’s board this week show it is missing its targets for following up on the safeguarding information it receives that may indicate that patients are at risk.

Safeguarding issues raised with the regulator are registered as “alerts” when it is the first agency to receive the warning, and “concerns” when information has already been given to another organisation.

3.30pm NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens has also been speaking at the Nuffield Trust summit.

HSJ’s editor has been listening in:

 

3.17pm Over to the Nuffield Trust summit where HSJ editor Alastair McLellan and correspondent James Illman has been hearing from Labour peer Lord Hunt.

Here’s what he said in a series of tweets:

 

3.10pm Here’s what the speakers have been revealing at the pharma summit:

 

 

14.59pm HSJ’s Will Hazel has been reporting from the Economist’s pharma summit today Speakers included the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s executive director Commercial UK Alison Clough and Sir Andrew Dillon chief executive of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

12.55pm A review board established by care minister Norman Lamb has published its blueprint to improve patient choice for end of life care.

The report, What’s important to me: A review of Choice in End of Life Care calls for a new ‘national choice offer in end of life care’, backed with an extra £130 million from the next spending review

It says that too many people still do not receive good quality care which meets their individual needs and wishes, despite the “great strides forward” since the publication of the government’s End of Life Care Strategy in 2008.

The report recommends:

·        Each person who may be in need of end of life care is offered choices in their care focused on what is important to them.

·        A new right in the NHS Constitution for everyone to be offered choice in the end of life care, and for these choices and preferences to be recorded in their own personal plan of care.

·        Round the clock end of life care for people cared for outside hospital should be in place across England by 2019

·        Everyone in need of end of life care should have a named senior clinician responsible for their care and preferences and their own care coordinator.

·        The government should implement a clear policy to make access to social care for people at the end of life fast and free

·        There needs to be more honest and open communication about end of life issues, with better support for health and care professionals and increased awareness raising amongst the public.

Claire Henry, chair of the Choice in End of Life Care Review Board and chief executive of the National Council for Palliative Care, said: “Despite end of life care having made some great strides forward in recent years, far too many people who are dying continue to receive inadequate care that is ill-suited to their needs and wishes.

“Yet, as we heard time and time again during the course of the review, end of life care can be transformed by listening and acting upon what people want, in contrast to the enormous sadness, pain and regret that barriers to choice are currently causing.”

12.18pm Mr Hunt has explained why he has not introduced legislation immediately to legally enforce mandatory reporting of alleged abuse.

“While we all want to have proper strong incentive for people to report concerns, [we] also want to avoid unintended consequences if such legislation was badly drafted.

“[We] want to avoid risk that processes followed and decisions made not in best interest of children or adults because professionals following legalistic process.

“Following a consultation we will legislate if necessary.”

Mr Hunt says there is also a role for NHS professional bodies to change their professional codes, as they did following the Robert Francis report.

11.45am Labour shadow Andy Burnham now speaking in Commons.

Burnham says he applauds government for commitment to facing up to these events for the past.

He says it is a mistake to say the reports are all about stopping another Savile.

We have to think more broadly about how abuse can take place in a wider context

11.41am Hunt says: all trusts must review practices in light of recommendations within three months.

Clear from reports should have been stronger incentive on staff and managers to pass information on.

New requirement of mandatory reporting of abuse on children and vulnerable adults.

11.38am: Jeremy Hunt is speaking in the Commons on the Savile report

Because of his celebrity and useful fund raising skills, the right, hard questions were not asked. Suspicions not acted on; staff ignored.

Because of his celebrity and useful fund raising skills, the right, hard questions were not asked. Suspicions not acted on; staff ignored.

11.09am Here are some key lines from the report on the six areas for improvement in the NHS.

Security

“Hospitals should try to reduce opportunities for those without legitimate reasons from gaining access to wards and other clinical areas.

“The Leeds investigation report shows that Savile was an accepted presence at Leeds General Infirmary for over 50 years.

“He wandered freely about the hospital and had access to wards and clinical areas during the day and at night.

Treatment of VIPs

“The failure to draw up a policy for managing celebrity and VIP visits leaves hospital organisations vulnerable to mismanagement of approaches from celebrities and VIPs for such visits and of the visits themselves.”

Volunteers

“The scale of the volunteer presence and the extent and nature of the work they do means that the arrangements for managing volunteers, and the risks associated with their presenc e in hospitals, need to be robust and command public confidence.

Safeguarding

“Effective safeguarding requires organisations to encourage openness and listening when people, including children, raise concerns.

“It also requires senior staff to be approachable and well informed about what is happening in their organisations.”

Raising complaints and concerns

 “It is important in encouraging hospital staff to overcome or question the behaviour of others that managers are present within the hospital and approachable.

“Managers need to be trained to deal positively and appropriately when matters of concern are reported to them.”

Fundraising and charity governance

“We believe that staff with little or no experience of managing relationships wi th celebrities and major donors are at greatest risk of being “star struck” and of mishandling such relationships. They must be able to refer to guidance in a formal policy.”

Observance of due process and good governance

“Savile’s involvement with Broadmoor and Stoke Mandeville hospitals was supported and facilitated by government ministers and senior civil servants.

“Ministers and officials have a responsibility to ensure that h ospital managers are able to implement and adhere to these recommendations.”

“They should not undermine the processes of good governance and local management.”

10.51am Savile report pinpoints six key areas for improvement in the NHS today:

  • Security and access arrangements, including celebrity and VIP access;
  • The role and management of volunteers;
  • Safeguarding;
  • Raising complaints and concerns (by staff and patients);
  • Fundraising and charity governance; and
  • Observance of due process and good governance

10.35am. From the Savile report: “features of [this] story have everyday implications and relevance for the NHS today”.

10.29am: While junior staff at Stoke Mandeville were annoyed and distressed by Savile’s “sexual innuendo” and “disruptive behaviour”, senior employees saw him as an “important asset” to the hospital.

The report states that senior staff did not seem to be aware of his actions.

“It would appear that at no stage were senior managers made aware of either his sexual offending or his unsatisfactory portering performance and poor moral behaviour”.

10.22am “Weak leadership” at Stoke Mandeville Hospital when Jimmy Savile was allowed access to the hospital led to a lack of “oversight”, investigator Androulla Johnstone, has said.

Former barrister Ms Lampard says further abuse could be prevented by the Department of Health and NHS England establishing a forum for voluntary services managers in the NHS where they can receive support, training and share best practice.

10.15am: First report in from the Department of Health briefing: Trust staff and volunteers should receive regular safeguarding training and legislation should strengthened to ensure all those in contact with patients and visitors are subject to criminal record checks, investigators examining the historic sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile have said.

An investigation into Mr Savile’s abuse at Stoke Mandeville Hospital found there were 60 victims between 8 and 40 years old. The victims included patients, staff, visitors, volunteers and charity workers.

Mr Savile worked as a voluntary porter at the hospital and was appointed with no checks or monitoring in place. He had access to the entire hospital site 24 hours a day.

9.56am The Department of Health has published its report: Themes and lessons learnt from NHS investigations into matters relating to Jimmy Savile.

It describes “the story of Savile and his associations with NHS hospitals [as] unusual to the point of being scarcely credible.”

More soon..

8.25am: Later this morning the Department of Health will publish the findings from the investigation into Jimmy Savile’s activities at Stoke Mandeville hospital, as well as a report on the lessons learnt from this and previous investigations.

Check HSJ Live throughout the day and follow HSJ correspondent Sophie Barnes on Twitter for the latest updates.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected to make a statement to Parliament on the investigations later today.

7.00am Good morning and welcome to HSJ Live.

We kick off the day with a comment piece by Tim Bolot, suggestin we should provide a road map for private providers and incentivise them to drive forward the new models of care, says.