Health Service Journal
Stuart Shepherd
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Public health: Is your activity on target?
20-Aug-2010
In the second part in our series on social marketing, Stuart Shepherd looks at an online toolkit that can help improve productivity and service quality by targeting resources effectively -
Gypsies' and Travellers' health: the road to greater inclusion
17-Aug-2010
Gypsies and Traveller community members have been adopted as ‘health ambassadors’ to educate NHS staff in the East Midlands. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Social marketing in health: the right tools for the job
11-Aug-2010
Social marketing is playing a growing role in strategies to improve population health. In the first of two articles Stuart Shepherd examines the National Social Marketing Centre’s social marketing planning guide and toolbox -
The cost of poor quality healthcare and how to put it right
13-Jul-2010
Improvement initiatives can save money, but how to make real change remains a challenge, finds Stuart Shepherd -
How to achieve value for money priorities
5-Jul-2010
Value for money priorities are achieved by getting a good understanding of local needs, says Stuart Shepherd. -
Plugging the inequality gaps with prevention
29-Jun-2010
A workforce in the West Midlands uses its community knowledge to help some of the most at-risk and disadvantaged people, as Stuart Shepherd explains -
Residential care commissioning leaves room for improvement
7-Jun-2010
Despite their complex needs it has been revealed that many care home residents lack access to specialist services, reports Stuart Shepherd -
Transforming community services for people with long term conditions
23-Feb-2010
Community healthcare is widening the focus from just a patient’s condition to their whole life, says Stuart Shepherd -
Public health: Birmingham gets fit with a purpose
9-Feb-2010
An HSJ Award winning scheme is out to discover how much fitter a whole city can become. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Health improvement collaboration: top tips
11-Jan-2010
Health and care professionals from the eight biggest cities outside London are collaborating to share expertise in tackling inequalities, reports Stuart Shepherd -
Integrated services: reducing hospital admissions among older people
3-Nov-2009
Integrated services mean many older people can stay out of hospital while receiving care, says Stuart Shepherd -
How to increase BME access to psychological therapies
13-Oct-2009
A programme to improve access to psychological care is reaching into BME communities, reports Stuart Shepherd -
Improving diet to improve mental health
29-Sep-2009
Dieticians in mental health trusts can help make the shift to preventive wellbeing services, says Stuart Shepherd -
Patient safety: how to connect with its human side
16-Sep-2009
Training, systems and process design help all health team members prioritise safe patient care, says Stuart Shepherd -
Care homes: getting to grips with GP retainers
15-Sep-2009
GPs demanding fees from care homes must justify their charges to avoid provoking a scandal, says Stuart Shepherd -
Health overview and scrutiny committees: building better relationships
2-Sep-2009
How can NHS trusts build an open, amiable relationship with local authority health committees? Stuart Shepherd explains -
How to support NHS staff through retirement
20-Aug-2009
Preparing employees for their retirement is good practice – and so is recognising that some staff will offer a valuable resource after they have retired, reports Stuart Shepherd -
NHS smoking cessation: sticking with quitting
17-Aug-2009
NHS stop smoking services’ 10th anniversary marks one of the strongest public health interventions of a decade - and there are plans to maintain the momentum. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Know the figures behind the facts on health inequalities
7-Jul-2009
In an age of information overload, the need for relevant data is growing as boards face tough decisions on reducing health inequalities, as Stuart Shepherd explains -
How community geriatricians are the linchpin of elder care
23-Jun-2009
Community geriatricians can make a massive difference to older people’s lives and post hospital recoveries, so why are they so thin on the ground? -
The Patient Safety First Campaign – 12 months on
8-Jun-2009
Twelve months have passed since the June 2008 launch of the Patient Safety First Campaign. Promoting a vision of an NHS with no avoidable death or harm, the campaign is helping to make patient safety the highest priority for everyone from chief executive to ward cleaner, surgeon to visiting carer. -
Using business intelligence to drive improvement in the NHS
1-Jun-2009
Business intelligence can help health managers get the most out of the data available. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Interim NHS managers help solve long term crises
28 May 2009
NHS organisations can fill management gaps with talented interim professionals. Stuart Shepherd looks at the work of a programme that specialises in bailing out trusts in need -
Facilities: Implementing the NHS carbon reduction strategy
21 May 2009
The Climate Change Act has set some tough targets for cleaning up the environment. The NHS carbon reduction strategy should help trusts to achieve it. Stuart Shepherd explains -
Community engagement: how to help people care about health
28-Apr-2009
A national team is delving into why public health messages have low impact in some UK areas. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Put co-ordinators at the heart of organ donation
27-Apr-2009
The NHS has been challenged with upping organ donation. Stuart Shepherd looks at the vital role transplant co-ordinators can play in meeting this ambition -
Safer Care: the Leading Improvement in Patient Safety programme
23 April 2009
The Leading Improvement in Patient Safety programme is enabling acute trusts to develop their capability and frontline teams by giving them a framework from which to develop their safety strategy. -
Domestic violence: its cost and the success of prevention
8-Apr-2009
The NHS has long been used to treating the results of domestic violence but targeting the causes and perpetrators is a new avenue in preventive healthcare. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Improve dementia care through a pathway to early diagnosis
2 April 2009
Launched in February, the National Dementia Strategy identifies 17 main objectives for improving the quality of services to people affected by the condition. -
Service line reporting - a frontline perspective
25-Feb-2009
Professor David Fish talks to Stuart Shepherd about how service line management can improve patient care -
Social marketing: the medium is the message
26-Jan-2009
Health promotion suffers from a 'conspiracy of passive failure'. Could work in the North West turn it around, asks Stuart Shepherd -
Alcohol policy: battle of the binge
8-Dec-2008
As drink gets cheaper and licensing hours get longer, stemming the effect on the nation's health and the NHS budget is causing headaches. Stuart Shepherd reports -
'This is a phenomenon'
6-Nov-2008
The NHS has seen countless initiatives but the Productive Ward seems different - in the sheer enthusiasm it provokes, the refreshing lack of jargon and the way it was developed from the bottom up. Stuart Shepherd explains -
Organ donor reforms speed delivery of gift of life
6-Nov-2008
Organ transplant services say they have had to succeed in spite of the structures around them. Under bold new plans local managers will play a pivotal role in increasing donations. Stuart Shepherd reports -
NHS change strategy: everything going like clockwork
13-Oct-2008
Stockport foundation trust has put lean thinking at the heart of its successful early compliance with the European working time directive. Stuart Shepherd explains -
Catching mental illness early
22-Sep-2008
New primary care teams are helping to catch people early in the spectrum of mental illness. Stuart Shepherd explains -
Health system integration: straight to the point
15-Sep-2008
Data analysis is revealing why people make inappropriate calls to the emergency services and prompting the discovery of new solutions to the problem, reports Stuart Shepherd -
NHS IT connections: one network to rule them all
15-Sep-2008
An entire health community has been wired to a high-bandwidth network that allows GPs to book hospital appointments, gives them instant access to test results and promises efficiency savings. Stuart Shepherd plugs in -
Solving the patient perception puzzle
25-Aug-2008
A London trust improved patient experiences with dedicated staff - and came up with an award-winning campaign concept. Stuart Shepherd explains -
Uproar over mental health advocacy services delay
25-Aug-2008
Campaigners are frustrated by the delay to independent advocacy for mental health patients. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Finance: make your business boom
18-Aug-2008
Commercialism in the health service means that trusts must look for profitable growth. Stuart Shepherd explains how developing service-line reporting can achieve this -
Marketing in the health sector: the dawn of the Facebook fan
18-Aug-2008
Do you want to be a 'fan' of your local trust, or Alan Johnson's friend? With Facebook you can. Stuart Shepherd looks at how NHS organisations are using Web 2.0 to connect with patients -
NHS retirement: old enough to know better
4-Aug-2008
The NHS Retirement Fellowship must attract younger members if it is to continue to represent ex-staff. Stuart Shepherd reports -
One year on from the smoking ban
21-Jul-2008
One year into the smoking ban in England it is still too early to predict its long-term effects on public health but there are reasons to be cheerful, says Stuart Shepherd -
Happy staff equal happy patients
17-Jul-2008
Healthcare organisations with happy staff are more likely to have satisfied patients, the Healthcare Commission has revealed. -
A look inside a care trust plus
7-Jul-2008
North East Lincolnshire is home to England's first care trust plus. Stuart Shepherd spoke to its ambitious - and entirely local - leader -
NHS60: Run with a rod of iron
30-Jun-2008
The formation of the NHS brought together many different organisations, with their own ideas of hierarchy, writes Stuart Shepherd -
NHS60: The team dream
30-Jun-2008
The germ of multidisciplinary teamworking existed even in 1948 and has blossomed in recent years, reports Stuart Shepherd -
Labour market research
17-Jun-2008
As the rapidly changing face of healthcare provision presents new challenges for workforce planners, Skills for Health has created labour market intelligence manuals, constantly updated online -
New roles in the health sector
17-Jun-2008
A series of projects under the Skills for Health banner is developing new roles to support the ever-changing health service -
Sector qualifications strategy
17-Jun-2008
Action plans for each UK country are building up the formal recognition for people seeking to enhance their work prospects, and this includes the rebirth of apprenticeships -
Sector skills agreement - smarter together
17-Jun-2008
The sector skills agreement is the mechanism by which employers, stakeholders and funding will be harnessed together to raise workforce standards. We look at how this is happening in health -
Self-harm services: help with the pain
19-May-2008
An award-winning service earns the confidence of people who self-harm with empathetic care. Stuart Shepherd reports on how it is improving the lives of vulnerable people -
Sexual health - protection plea
28-Apr-2008
Stuart Shepherd visits Nottingham to see how the NHS is coping with a surge in sexually transmitted infections, amid calls to keep them top priority -
Career Path: working in mental health
18-Mar-2008
Not many managers in mental health nursing can claim to have worked in the Royal Engineers and as a healthcare assistant. For Andy Johnston, however, it was those early experiences that led him to start nurse training in 1988. He is now a hospital manager. Here, he charts his career's trajectory -
Who cares for the carers?
21-Feb-2008
People caring for a relative are a vital part of the health and social care system - but many feel isolated. A national strategy aims to help by making GPs and community services more carer friendly. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Career Path: rising to the top
19-Feb-2008
Dr Simon Eccles talks to Stuart Shepherd about his path from medical school to a variety of roles in NHS management -
Career Path: rising to the top
19-Feb-2008
Dr Simon Eccles talks to Stuart Shepherd about his path from medical school to a variety of roles in NHS management -
HSJ talks to NHS Networks head Edna Robinson
4-Feb-2008
Whether leading from the front or prompting from the side, Edna Robinson's goal has always been joined-up thinking, she tells Stuart Shepherd -
It’s all about the individual
23-Jan-2008
This HSJ Award-winning training and quality development programme for educators teaches a thoroughly patient-centred approach. Stuart Shepherd is keen to learn more -
Perfect match
21-Jan-2008
The training of more junior staff has been neglected in the past. But an initiative that provides match-funding for investment in their skills is a big boost for those in bands 1-4, reports Stuart Shepherd -
Mental health professions - whose job is it anyway?
21-Jan-2008
New professional roles that have come with the Mental Health Act 2007 have been broadly welcomed, despite continuing debate about other opportunities that have been missed. Stuart Shepherd explains -
Six of the best
17-Jan-2008
Six national demonstrator sites are leading the way in using a powerful new set of tools from Skills for Health to redesign jobs and services, says Stuart Shepherd -
National IT programme: stepping into the unknown
7-Jan-2008
Chief deployment officer at Connecting for Health Claire Mitchell talks to Stuart Shepherd about risk taking and realism in her role -
Recruitment advertising - the rules of attraction
19-Nov-2007
Attracting the best applicants to a post is skilful work in itself. Stuart Shepherd talks to some top recruitment agencies -
Mental health: unhappy old age
29-Oct-2007
Dementia is far from the only mental health problem for over-65s, yet the millions who struggle with depression are scandalously neglected. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Online resources for healthy workplaces
9-Oct-2007
Stuart Shepherd dips into NHS Employers' latest update of The Healthy Workplaces Handbook, also known as the 'Blue Book' – and now also available online -
The seven failings of really useless leaders
9-Oct-2007
Professional development gurus have identified all the pitfalls for aspiring great leaders and put them into a book. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Leadership: what not to do
8-Oct-2007
Management development gurus have written a motivational book of 'what not to do' for would-be great leaders, writes Stuart Shepherd -
Occupational health: making workplaces healthy
8-Oct-2007
The latest edition of the NHS's guidance on healthy workplace practices is a greatly expanded resource, reports Stuart Shepherd -
Service design: how does it feel to be our patient?
8-Oct-2007
An unusual change project drafted in anthropologists to explore patients' experiences. Stuart Shepherd takes a look -
Training on a tight budget
2-Oct-2007
Affordable methods of training are giving a healthy return on the investment, writes Stuart Shepherd -
Building a sustainable workforce in the NHS
1-Oct-2007
The need to trawl worldwide for newly qualified staff may be gone for the NHS but ensuring the right people find the right jobs remains a challenge, reports Stuart Shepherd -
Training budgets: recovery due for learning
1-Oct-2007
Experts argue that it is time for training to return to NHS employers' agenda, claiming cost-effective learning improves organisational performance. Stuart Shepherd reports -
Equality - tools of the trade
20-Sep-2007
Ethnically diverse populations present a range of challenges for healthcare. But help is at hand with Hammersmith's award-winning cultural toolkit, says Stuart Shepherd -
Enthusiasm for equality
10-Sep-2007
A recent study has shown that although measures are in place to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexuality, it is still being demonstrated throughout the NHS. Stuart Shepherd reports on why many are choosing to hide their sexual orientation from colleagues -
Mental health special feature: discharging responsibility
10-Sep-2007
Mental health providers are working to tackle the problems of over-occupancy, length of stay and over-representation of black and minority ethnic groups. But are they doing enough, asks Stuart Shepherd -
Built to care
3-Sep-2007
With new building assessment methods looming for the NHS, Stuart Shepherd highlights a key shared learning resource -
Good neighbours
16-Jul-2007
Moving in with the competition could have unexpected benefits, writes Stuart Shepherd -
How to optimise weight management interventions
12-Feb-2007
With early deaths from obesity set to overtake those from smoking, a primary care service encouraging patients to address their weight is achieving measurable results -
Gateshead Health foundation trust: safety check on blood
8-Jan-2007
Mismatching blood in transfusion operations can be deadly. So when a national audit revealed some worrying gaps in safety measures, Gateshead Health foundation trust was quick to respond -
Doncaster PCT: helping benefit claimants back to work
11-Dec-2006
Barriers to Employment is as ongoing partnership project in Doncaster that supports Incapacity Benefit Claimants (IBCs) to improve their health and well-being and return to work where possible. -
United Bristol Healthcare trust: child obesity
11-Dec-2006
Childhood obesity has doubled in England in the last ten years. The condition affects one in four children aged 11-15 and has been increasing in prevalence since the mid 1980's. Where it used to be the view that overweight children grew out of the condition as they moved into adolescence and beyond, improved tracking techniques and predictive models show more and more of them becoming overweight adults. -
Reducing health inequalities for South Asian population
27-Nov-2006
Knowledge that the risk of dying prematurely from coronary heart disease is 50 per cent higher in the South Asian community - immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - than in the indigenous population has been available for more than half a century.
