Correspondence

FT Bulletin 26 August 2015

Published 26 August 2015

Applies to England

1. For action

1.1 Help shape the 2016/17 national tariff proposals

We’d like your views on our proposals for the 2016/17 tariff:

• currency design and relative prices (until midday 14 September)
• national variations and locally determined prices (until midday 21 September)

We’ll also be sharing our proposals for the efficiency factor, cost base and service development after the spending review.

Your feedback will be important in helping to shape the final proposals, which will be subject to statutory consultation.

1.2 Medical directors of acute foundation trusts: establishing a baseline for 7 day services

Last month we wrote to ask for your support in establishing a robust baseline for the 4 priority, 7 day services clinical standards. Once established, this baseline will be used to track progress against the roll-out of the standards nationally.

A reminder to please:

• identify a lead in your trust who will be responsible for collecting and inputting the data onto the NHS Improving Quality 7 Day Service Self-Assessment Tool (7DSAT)
• act as (or identify) the executive director in your trust who will quality assure the data prior to submission and subsequently report your baseline position against the standards to your board of directors

The final submission date is 5pm Friday 4 September.

We appreciate that you are entering a particularly difficult time of year for data collection and sharing, and that we are asking for a very quick response. You can request support and advice on how to gather, input and assure data from NHS Improving Quality colleagues by emailing [email protected].

1.3 Are your contracts for 2015/16 signed?

If your contracts with your commissioners are still unsigned by Friday 4 September 2015 then we expect you to enter the contract arbitration process, which will be re-opened from Monday 7 September. You should submit the arbitration papers by midday on 4 September to [email protected].

If you have concerns about meeting the 4 September deadline, please contact your Monitor relationship team as soon as possible to discuss your options.

1.4 Board secretaries: please share our survey with your chief operating officers

Please ask your chief operating officer to complete a short, anonymous survey to help us understand their work, priorities and challenges, so that we can offer support that meets their needs. The deadline for responses is 18 September.

Please email any questions to [email protected].

1.5 Do you have a view on the commissioning of services in North East London?

Last month we launched an investigation into how Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge, Havering, and Waltham Forest Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) selected Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust to operate the North East London NHS Treatment Centre, following a complaint by Care UK Clinical Services Ltd.

We are examining whether the CCGs’ arrangements to select a provider of these services were in the best interests of patients.

If you have information or views in response to the background to the complaint or the issues that we intend to investigate, please email these to [email protected] by 5pm, Friday 11 September 2015.

We intend to publish all submissions received - if yours contains anything that you do not wish to be published, please state which information is confidential and why.

2. For information

2.1 Support if you are contemplating transactions involving new care models

The Five Year Forward View identified the urgent need for new models of care that can be replicated easily across the NHS. In light of this, we anticipate foundation trusts will be contemplating an increasing number and variety of transactions associated with new care models over the coming years.

Our aim is to support, as much as we can, organisations at the forefront of implementing new care models that work well for patients. Nonetheless, we need to recognise that many of the associated transactions are likely to be inherently risky because:

• they are unlikely to have been tested as they are by definition innovative
• they may involve complex/new legal structures
• they may involve the provision of services outside a foundation trust’s normal areas of business

In order to balance these potential risks against the need to support rapid change, we are modifying our regulatory approach to transactions involving new care models so as to maximise the chances of success whilst minimising any disruption to trusts of our regulatory process. We aim to do this by identifying risks early and tailoring a streamlined work programme proportionate to the risks faced in each case, as outlined in our guidance.

If your transaction involves new care models, we will work with you on a 3 stage review which will be very similar to the way we now support foundation trusts contemplating mergers.

In the long run, we anticipate this approach will help providers and Monitor share knowledge of common risks faced in the introduction of new care models and how best to mitigate them, ultimately accelerating the implementation of sound new models.

Please keep us informed

If you are contemplating a new care model in the next 12 months, whether involving an acquisition, a new legal entity or a new type of contract, it would help to let us know what the stage of development is. Please do this by informing your relationship manager.

2.2 Final decision published on investigation into NEW Devon CCG

We found that Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group has not breached NHS commissioning regulations in selecting Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust as its preferred provider of community services for adults with complex care needs in East Devon.

The commissioner took into account patient needs and the service improvements it requires and designed a process to select a provider from the available options. However, the CCG now needs to do more work to ensure that it will get value for money before awarding the contract.

3. Events and webinars

Webinars: watch again

Watch these webinars to find out more about the processes involved in setting the national tariff including details that help to inform the proposals for the 2016/17 national tariff:

3.1 Price modelling - from reference costs to tariff prices

Who is it for?

Acute providers only:

• finance directors/managers
• clinicians
• costing specialists
• service managers

Why watch?

Find out how the annual reference costs submitted are changed into tariff prices.

We explain:

• how we calculate tariff prices
• what steps we take to clean the data
• an outline of the review process

Please note that this does not include information on tariffs currently in development – it is an overview of the current process.

Watch the ‘Price modelling’ webinar.

3.2 Best practice tariffs explained

Who is it for?

Acute providers only:

• finance directors/managers
• clinicians

Why watch?

Hear from Monitor and NHS England on best practice tariffs.

We explain:

• the basic principles of best practice tariffs including how they are constructed and how they operate
• the rationale for amending the methods of price calculation for 2016/17

Watch the ‘Best practice tariff’ webinar.

3.3 Health and Care Innovation Expo 2015

2-3 September 2015, Manchester

Who is it for?

Executive and non-executive directors

Why attend?

Less than one week to go until Expo 2015, an event that brings together change agents from health and care, the voluntary sector and local government.

Monitor, the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) and NHS Providers are running dedicated sessions for providers, which include:

Session title	What will be discussed?	Who is speaking?
Enabling new care models – locally led, nationally supported	Hear about the support available to support new care models and to ensure their replicability. Organisations already in the vanguard will share their experiences and innovations.	Paul Dinkin (Programme Director on the New Care Models Team, and Provider Sustainability Director, Monitor) and Ralph Coulbeck (Director of Strategy, NHS TDA).
What is the success regime and how will it affect you?	Discuss the success regime and how together we aim to provide a systematic approach to tackling entrenched issues across health and care, in particular across local health economies.	Adam Sewell-Jones (Director of Provider Sustainability, Monitor), Ralph Coulbeck (Director of Strategy, NHS TDA), Saffron Cordery (Director of Policy and Strategy, NHS Providers).
Developing cultures to deliver value	Looking at the leadership capabilities needed to deliver on the ambitions of the Five Year Forward View. A focus on enabling change from within by developing cultures that support staff to deliver value, and the importance of strong local leadership in actively engaging staff and patients in the redesign and transformation of healthcare.	Suzie Bailey (Development Director, Monitor) and Jo Vigor (Senior Development Advisor, Monitor).

We are also running 2 sessions for commissioners, in the pop up university, looking at managing conflicts of interest, and involving patients in commissioning community services. Book your place now.

Visit us and the TDA on stand 96 to talk to us about our work.

Free tickets are still available for NHS provider organisations – register online using code PROVEXP1 if you are a chair or chief executive, or PROVEXP2 for other roles.

3.4 Strategy in practice workshops

Various locations, 29 September 2015 – 15 October 2015

Who is it for?

• NHS foundation trust and NHS trust strategy leads
• NHS foundation trust and NHS trust staff with an interest in developing strategy

Why attend?

This is a practical workshop for anyone looking to refresh or recreate your organisation’s strategy and engage your trust, board and wider stakeholders in the process.

We will draw on our strategy development toolkit and real life examples to give you the knowledge, tools and resources to lead the strategic planning process and to develop a robust plan for your organisation.

The day is a chance for you to:

• develop an understanding of the seven-stage strategy process to take back and apply with colleagues in your trust
• gather tools, templates and resources which will assist you in engaging colleagues across your trust in the strategy development process
• network and share good practice among peers
• find out how to access an ongoing sector-wide strategic planning support community

The events will be held regionally starting at 10am and finishing by 4pm. A full agenda and venue details will be confirmed after registration.

Find your nearest workshop and book your place.

For further information please contact us: [email protected].

4. External updates

4.1 Be Clear on Cancer campaign

The next Be Clear on Cancer national campaign has been announced and will run during March and April 2016.

The reminder campaign for ‘Blood in Pee’ as a symptom of bladder and kidney cancers is being re-launched after the success of previous campaigns which have promoted awareness.

Over the next few months you will hear more about the campaign and will be provided with briefing sheets and resources. Please follow further announcements on the Cancer Research UK website and start putting plans in place to promote this where necessary.

For more information, or if you have any queries, email [email protected].

4.2 Directors of nursing: new nutritional care tool

The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN) has developed a web-based, nutritional care tool, designed to help reduce the number of individuals suffering with malnutrition in hospitals and residential homes.

The tool will help you to:

• measure the quality of nutritional care that you provide
• identify areas of best practice
• highlight where variation exists (for example between wards)

BAPEN is planning 4 weeks of data collection to measure seasonal differences and changes over time.

Find out more including which areas you should collect data on and the different ways you can implement the use of this tool within your organisation.

5. Get in touch

5.1 Our latest job opportunities

For more information or to apply, please visit our recruitment website joinmonitor.com.

5.2 Queries or feedback

If you have any queries about the information in this bulletin, please contact your relationship manager at Monitor.

5.3 News alerts

You can subscribe to Monitor’s news update service and receive relevant information direct to your inbox.

5.4 Publications

All of our publications are available to download from our publications section.