Miscellaneous Flashcards
What is the purpose of a post mortem examination?
- coroners post-mortems aim to find out how, when and why a person died and determine whether there should be an inquest
- hospital post-mortems aim to further scientific understanding of disease
In what circumstances is a post-mortem required?
a coroner is required by law to carry out a post-mortem when a death is suspicious, sudden or unnatural
What do Strategic Clinical Networks do?
- bring together those who use, provide and commission a service
- in order to make improvements in outcomes for complex patient pathways
- using an integrated, whole system approach
What are the aims of Strategic Clinical Networks?
- reduce unwarranted variation in health and well being services
- encourage innovation in how services are provided now and in the future
- provide clinical advice and leadership to support their decision making and strategic planning
Who is involved in Strategic Clinical Networks?
- Clinical Commissioning Groups
- Acute Provider trusts
- NHS England Area Teams
- Local authorities
- Public Health England
- Health Education England
- Academic Health Science
- Network
- Research Networks
- Third Sector
- Education Providers
- Intelligence and Informatics Network
What is the purpose of the National Cancer Research Network?
improve the speed, quality and integration of research with the ultimate aim of improving patient care
How is the National Cancer Research Network funded?
Government
What do the National Cancer Research Institute do?
- initial purpose: identify where cancer research was most needed and where it would be most likely to contribute to progress, establish the cancer research database
- current role: address some of the challenges identified in cancer research, delivering activities to advance the progress of cancer research e.g. NCRI Groups for researchers to collaborate, events to disseminate research
What are the stages of an audit cycle?
Stage 1: Preparing for audit -
identify the problem and the resources available
Stage 2: Set standards -
determine what you are trying to measure and define gold standards
Stage 3: Collect data
Stage 4: Analyse data and implement improvements
Stage 5: Repeat audit - assess for sustained improvement over time
Do audits work to improve quality in healthcare? Why are they important?
- we don’t know if audits work, the evidence is unclear but the most recent meta-analyses show audit may improve practice
- audit is part of clinical governance, to assess whether patients are receiving the best quality of care, so its essential we measure practice to know when we need to change it
Who can a patient go to with a complaint about NHS care?
- directly to the NHS service provider OR
- the service commissioner (e.g. NHSE, local CCG)
not both
Who can help a patient in the complaints process?
- PALS
- independent NHS Complaints Advocacy Service
How can a patient make a complaint about NHS services?
- verbally, in writing or by email (verbal complaint will be recorded in writing and the pt will be provided with a written copy)
- within 12 months of an incident or of the matter coming to their attention
What will happen when a patient makes a complaint about NHS services?
- they will recieve acknowledgement of the complaint and an offer to discuss the handling of the complaint within 3 working days
- the discussion will explain the timeframe within which a formal response is likely to be sent (there’s no set timeframe, it depends on the nature of the complaint)
- when the complaint has been investigated, the patient will receive a written response which explains how the complaint was handles, sets out the findings and, where appropriate, provides apologies and information about what’s being done as a result of the complaint
- it will also explain the patient’s right to escalate the complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
