All children love the elements, whether it is digging or planting in the earth, running in the sun, splashing in the rain or watching how things move with the strength of the wind. With this love of natures elements in mind, Playgarden www.playgardens.co.uk have launched a range called Elements for Play, that schools, nurseries and pre-schools can incorporate into their outdoor learning and play.
The first products to be launched from the Elements for Play range will focus upon water and the number of limitless play opportunities it offers children! From stepping into a puddle or simply pouring water into different sized containers buckets and containers, children are naturally drawn to water. Children can move water from one place to another to see how it reacts and how it makes objects.
Water play is a great way for children to interact and cooperate with others, they can use their imaginations to create fun, exciting games that can be reinvented time and again. It helps children develop fine motor skills whilst helping them understand weights and measure simply by moving water around.
Bamboo Channels are one of the most popular water products in the Elements for Play range and can be used for both indoor and outdoor water play. They come in a pack of 4, 1m in length, and being lightweight, offer great opportunities for water and sand transportation. The 4 parts to the Bamboo Channel encourages children to think creatively, testing their coordination and engineering skills to build a larger channel.
In addition to Bamboo Channels, Playgarden is offering a range of essential water play items including watering cans, water bowls, water sprays and water pipes.
Commenting, Paul Collings, MD at Playgarden says, -Here at Playgarden we are working hard to highlight the value of outdoor play for young children. We want to see more and more early years settings and schools incorporate the natural elements into outdoor play, hence why we have created the Elements for Play range. Water is something that children never grow tired of and they are fascinated by how they can manipulate it and how it works in a natural setting. Jumping in a puddle to create the biggest splash is a delight to children and we want to harness this fascination and love of water to offer a range of water based play resources that will enhance this.
Playgarden Design and Resources Ltd has been launched by Paul Collings, Managing Director, who is also the face behind Playgarden’s successful sister company, Timberplay. Playgarden is an online service – www.playgardens.co.uk offering outdoor play solutions. The company will purposefully target nurseries, pre-schools and primary schools with solutions designed specifically to address their play needs.
To find out more call 0114 282 1285 or visit www.playgardens.co.uk
Rodney Pearce, one of the UK’s most senior and highly respected Fire Risk Assessors, who recently passed away, has been awarded a posthumous certificate of competence from Warrington Certification Limited (WCL).
Receiving the award on behalf of Rodney were Fireco’s MD Neil Purssey and Tom Welland, with Fireco Fire Risk Assessor Cyril Moseley who was also awarded the WCL Competent Fire Risk Assessor Certification.
Simon Ince, manager of personnel schemes for WCL, presenting the awards said, ‘Congratulations to Cyril on being one of the first Fire Risk Assessors in the UK to successfully attain Competent Fire Risk Assessors Certification. I wanted to come here myself to present this certificate as Fireco have assisted us in pioneering this scheme and I also know they are extremely passionate about appropriate certification for Fire Risk Assessors.’ Speaking of Rodney he added: ‘Presenting his award to Fireco is a fitting tribute to a very capable man, who will be missed by all those in the industry who knew him.’
WCL, in partnership with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), operates an independent third party ‘competent persons’ scheme in accordance with ISO/IEC 17024:2003. This UKAS accredited scheme, called FRACS (Fire Risk Assessors Certification Scheme), has been designed to allow fire risk assessors to prove, through third party certification, their competence to complete ‘suitable and sufficient’ fire risk assessments as required by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO).
Engineers at the University of Bath have opened a new state-of-the-art laboratory that allows them to measure very large objects, such as aeroplane wings, to within a fraction of a millimetre.
The facility, named the Laboratory for Integrated Metrology Applications (LIMA), is based in the University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and has strong links with the Department’s Innovative Design & Manufacturing Research Centre.
Metrology is the science of measurement, and the researchers at LIMA are working with a number of industry partners to develop new techniques for measuring large objects such as aeroplane wings and engine parts to accuracies that were not feasible before.
Another key objective of LIMA is to develop measurement-assisted automation that will revolutionise the way robots and machines are functioning.
LIMA’s partners include the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), metrology company Renishaw and other metrology vendors, five other universities and a wide range of advanced engineering and aerospace companies including, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Vestas.
The laboratory was officially opened on 25 November by Mr Peter Mason, CEO of the National Measurement Office, in the presence of the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Glynis Breakwell.
Peter Mason said: “It’s great to see this sort of initiative that brings together government, the national measurement institutes, industry and academia, all focusing on a very clear requirement to apply measurement to the widest possible purpose.
-It has been a real pleasure for me to see these excellent facilities at first hand.”
The University also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Physical Laboratory that will strengthen their future collaboration in advanced metrology research and development, and accredited services to industry.
Dr Graham Topley, Head of the Measurement Solutions Division at the National Physical Laboratory, said: -This event represents an important milestone in the development of our relationship with the University of Bath, as well as our collaborative business venture from LIMA.
-It also confirms very significant support and interest from our academic, governmental and industrial stakeholders.
At the same event, the University also exchanged corporate gifts with Renishaw to mark the opening of the Renishaw Metrology Laboratory, within LIMA.
Professor Geoff McFarland, Group Engineering Director of Renishaw, said: -LIMA is the first lab of its kind. Integrated metrology is very important because it is bringing together research and practical application.
Professor Paul Maropoulos, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Chairman of LIMA, said: -We are delighted at Bath to be working with all the partners of LIMA to develop new metrology-enabled technologies and methods that will have applications in many industry sectors from aerospace, to wind turbines, power generation and healthcare.
-Today, we celebrate the formal opening of LIMA and the creation of strategic links with the National Physical Laboratory and Renishaw. We now starting work to develop research projects, accredited measurement services and training material that will address the industrial needs and generate economic impact.
Housing Minister John Healey visited New Broughton in Salford today recently as it is the first North West scheme supported by the Homes and Communities Agency’s (HCA) Kickstart funding programme to be fully signed off, with all legal agreements and contracts now exchanged.
New Broughton was officially approved for £8m of funding in October as part of the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme which targeted stalled sites, to support construction of high quality mixed-tenure housing developments. Since the confirmation, the HCA, Salford City Council and developer Countryside Properties have been working towards the final stages of the deal.
Deborah McLaughlin, North West Regional Director of the HCA, said: -The HCA recognises the potential of New Broughton coupled with the local demand for affordable, quality homes. All parties have rallied together to get builders back on site ensuring that a real difference is made to local communities.
Les Brown, Countryside Properties’ Regional Project Director said: -It is fantastic news that we have now cleared the final hurdle to draw down the additional funding. We have been particularly eager to complete the complex and lengthy legalities as quickly as possible with the HCA and our other partners – Contour Homes, Great Places and Salford City Council – so that we can get onto site and deliver the much needed affordable new homes for the area.
-It has been a challenging past few months for all parties concerned with a plethora of legal agreements to fulfil, however it is extremely satisfying that we are now back on site and new life is being breathed back into New Broughton.
Councillor Peter Connor, Salford City Council’s lead member for housing said: “We’ve worked with our partners and the HCA to beat the effects of the economic downturn and get New Broughton back up to speed.
“The government money is a much needed helping hand for the project which will be used to provide quality affordable homes for local people.
New Broughton in Lower Broughton is one of the country’s largest and most ambitious regeneration schemes, with 3,500 new homes planned, a new primary school, recreation and open space along with new retail and local facilities. Construction has now begun on the next phase of homes.
The government-appointed Working Group charged with setting rules for how ‘game birds’ will in future be produced for shooting has caused widespread dismay this week by publishing a Code of Practice that fails to outlaw the notorious battery cage for breeding birds.
Even the UK’s leading pro-shoot lobby group – the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) – has long condemned the cages and called for them to be banned. Made of wire mesh, and holding around eight female pheasants and one male, the contraptions expose the birds to the elements all year round. Partridges are confined in breeding pairs in metal boxes that are correspondingly smaller and just as bleak as the pheasant units.
The cages were first exposed nationally by Animal Aid when its undercover footage was broadcast on BBC’s Countryfile programme in November 2004. Animal Aid’s evidence convinced BASC that the cages were publicly indefensible and the lobby group has maintained its opposition to them ever since.
This week’s draft Code of Practice on the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes is the product of more than two-and-a-half years of fitful deliberations by the industry-dominated Gamebird Working Group, which was established under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act. Animal Aid submitted detailed filmed, written and verbal evidence to the Group. This week’s draft Code of Practice ducks the issue of a cage ban. Instead, it offers three options for public consultation to keep the cage system as it stands, to allow ‘enriched’ cages, or to ban the cages outright.
Animal Aid has covertly filmed examples of ‘enriched’ cages. They generally have a plastic ‘curtain’ set towards the back for a small measure of privacy, and a piece of dowel resting on bricks for perching. In reality, these ‘improvements’ make little difference to the bleak prisons or to the distress of the caged birds.
The Working Group looked at a broad range of issues relating to game bird production, including diet, veterinary care, transportation and housing. Another especially contentious area is the industry’s routine use of various restraint and vision-limiting devices on birds as they pass from cages to sheds and finally to the large pens, in which they are held prior to release for shooting. The aggression between birds that the devices are intended to limit is caused by the crowded, unnatural and oppressive conditions in which the birds are reared. The devices are typically attached to beaks or over eyes, and include so-called bits, spectacles, masks and clips. Some bits are attached with a pin that pierces the nasal septum. Other birds have the ends of their beaks amputated. Apart from calling for a ban on the nasal septum-piercing bits, the draft Code fails to set out clear restrictions. Typically, it urges that the devices should not be ‘generally’ or ‘routinely’ used.
Says Animal Aid Director, Andrew Tyler:
‘Animal Aid has been exposing the suffering that is integral to game bird production for more than a decade. We first brought battery cages to public attention five years ago and have led the growing campaign – which now includes important elements of the shooting industry itself – to outlaw their use. The failure by the DEFRA-appointed Working Group to produce a draft Code of Practice that clearly prohibits cages is not only gravely distressing to animal protection groups but will also disappoint key pro-shoot bodies such as BASC, which knows that there is no rational, ethical argument that can be made for the cages- not least because the purpose of the birds being produced is to serve as feathered targets for wealthy shooters.’
Animal Aid reiterates its call for a ban on the production of birds for ‘sport’ shooting. Such a ban was introduced in Holland in 2002. As a matter of urgency, we seek a prohibition on the use of battery cages and of devices that restrain and restrict the vision of birds during their breeding and growing cycle.
More information:
Contact Andrew Tyler or Kit Davidson on 01732 364546. Out of hours 07918 083774.
City law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised new social landlord Plymouth Community Homes on the largest ever housing stock transfer in the South West of England, in which all of Plymouth City Council’s 15,000 homes have been transferred to Plymouth Community Homes.
According to Trowers & Hamlins the investment programme that will follow the transfer will be one of the largest capital investment projects the City of Plymouth has ever seen. £1 billion of investment will be made in the city’s social housing over the next 30 years, facilitated by over £150m of grant funding from the Homes and Communities Agency and over £100m of private finance provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Rob Beiley, project partner at Trowers & Hamlins, comments: -The transfer will mean that over the next five years the residents of the city will benefit from £168 million of investment in their homes, demonstrating the continued importance of housing transfers in the regeneration of social housing in England and Wales.
-This was a challenging project for the firm. Quite apart from its size, this project involved the transfer of over 500 staff and arrangements for the wholescale demolition and rebuilding of two of the city’s estates. This presented a number of complex contractual and regulatory issues to address as well as an innovative funding structure to put in place.
Trowers & Hamlins have acted for Plymouth Community Homes on the project since the City Council started tenant consultation in 2007. The project involved specialist solicitors from the firm’s Public Sector, Banking and Pensions teams, its Procurement team as well as Real Estate lawyers from both its London and Exeter offices.
Anthony Collins Solicitors acted for Plymouth City Council and Addleshaw Goddard acted for Royal Bank of Scotland plc.
Injuries and their consequences produce a heavy burden on society in terms of short and long term disability, mortality, economic loss and health care costs. Whilst injuries account for only about three per cent of total deaths in Wales, the distribution of the age of death in those dying is very different from most other causes of death with a high proportion of deaths occurring in the young. After the age of one, injury is the first or second leading cause of death in most European countries, including Wales.
There is increasing concern being expressed to address the prevention of death and disability in Wales, for example the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Jewell, is supporting the concept of ‘preventing the preventable’. Injuries are caused by predicable interactions between individuals and the environment in which they live and work. The term ‘accident’ is no longer used as it tends to suggest that injuries are random events and not amenable to prevention, when in reality they usually follow a predictable pattern of exposure and are largely preventable. Increasingly references are made to unintentional injuries or events, such as crashes or collisions, rather than terms such as ‘accidental injury’.
SafeHome is a web-based home safety and hazard assessment tool designed to reduce injuries in the home, particularly amongst children and older people. SafeHome has been developed by injury prevention researchers at Swansea and Cardiff Universities with input from a number of charities and organisations. Available on www.Safehome.org.uk, SafeHome enables the individual to complete a short online questionnaire. There are two forms available because some things are dangerous for young children that are not dangerous for adults and older children. A personal report is then generated which identifies hazards and safety features in their home and gives guidance on how to make their home safer. It will also compare hazards in your home with other houses.
SafeHome can be used by anyone, of any age, who has access to a personal computer. Alternatively, it can be accessed through the internet provision available at local public libraries. It is web-based and very simple to use. SafeHome can also be used by teachers in the classroom as part of Personal and Social Education sessions related to health and safety or as part of Information Technology lessons.
Working with the Centre for Health Information, Research and Evaluation (CHIRAL) at the School of Medicine, Swansea University, the Conwy and Denbighshire Local Public Health Team of the NPHS helped to pilot this tool across both counties in 2008. They were supported by Conwy and Denbighshire Local Authorities and Local Health Boards( now Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board) As part of this trial, the type of hazards in the home were analysed.
A total of 53 households in Conwy and Denbighshire completed the tool. Particular hazards recorded (which are present in more than 50% of households in both counties) included:
Carbon monoxide monitors not fitted
No fire escape plans
Visitors not knowing about fire escape plans
Window locks not fitted on every upstairs window
Window locks within reach of children
Candles used in the home
Multiple appliances connected to sockets
No fire blankets or extinguishers available
Chemicals and hazardous substances not stored safely
Use of front rings of a cooker in houses with young children
Stairs with one or no handrails
No handrails fitted in baths
No non-slip surfaces or mats in baths
No anti-scald thermostatic mixing valve fitted to baths
No handrails fitted in showers
No handrails are fitted in reach of the toilet
Injuries, particularly injuries in the home, are an important public health issue. SafeHome is a web-based home safety and hazard assessment tool designed to reduce injuries in the home, particularly amongst children and older people. As a result of the pilot described, the tool is being simplified and further improved in collaboration with the charity Children in Wales. Use of the tool has highlighted particular home hazards in the counties of Conwy and Denbighshire, which could be used by partner organisations such as local authorities to plan risk-based provision of services and equipment. The hazards identified are likely to be applicable to other local authority areas across the UK.
By:
Dr Rob Atenstaedt, Consultant in Public Health Medicine and Local Public Health Director for Conwy & Denbighshire, National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS)
Professor Ronan Lyons, Professor of Public Health and Co-Director of UKCRC DECIPHer (Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement) Centre
Samantha Turner Research Assistant, Centre for Health Information, Research and Evaluation (CHIRAL), Swansea University
GREATER Manchester Police Authority (GMPA) has scooped a national award for an innovative community engagement project with young people.
The Authority fought off competition from police authorities in Avon and Somerset, West Midlands and West Yorkshire to secure the accolade from the Association of Police Authorities (APA).
GMPA Chairman Cllr Paul Murphy said: -The Authority was short-listed in all three award categories.
-That’s a fantastic achievement in itself. To go on and be picked as a final winner in one of them is the icing on the cake.
It’s the second year the APA has staged its Recognising Excellence Awards and for the second year running, GMPA was the only police authority to be short-listed in all three categories.
The three categories are Innovation, Collaboration and Community Engagement and police authorities from across the country are invited to put themselves forward for an award.
GMPA’s knife crime project called What’s the Point? impressed judges the most in the engagement area and representatives from the Authority picked up the award at a ceremony in Nottingham yesterday (November 26).
What’s the Point? featured a series of seminars delivered in schools, colleges, young offenders’ institutes and prisons.
Their aim was to raise awareness of the national strategy to tackle knife crime at the same time as gathering views on the scale of the knife crime problem.
The sessions also highlighted the consequences for people carrying knives and addressed the issues that may be faced by people who go on to use or carry knives.
All of the information captured during the sessions is being used as part of an educational DVD resource to be launched in 2010.
Wakefield Council has signed a pioneering agreement to boost mutual trade opportunities and open new doors for a wide range of local businesses. On Monday 2nd November Wakefield Council Leader Peter Box formalised the district’s economic relationship with Romania by signing a memorandum of agreement with Antonie Solomon, the Mayor of Craiova. The milestone development between Wakefield Council and Craiova City Council, which is located in South West Romania, involves a pledge to develop economic links through promoting import and export opportunities, joint ventures and technology transfer.
More than 4,000 UK companies are already reaping the benefits of working in Romania, and investment opportunities are available for enterprises spanning water, oil and gas and waste treatment to construction, infrastructure and agriculture. A wealth of service industries such as financial services and training and education can also take advantage of the dynamic initiative.
Councillor Peter Box, Leader of Wakefield Council, said:
This economic agreement is another important step towards establishing trade links between Wakefield and the city of Craiova. We welcome our Romanian colleagues and look forward to helping businesses in both countries to develop mutually beneficial relationships so that our communities will prosper together.
The agreement forms part of an official visit to Wakefield by Antonie Solomon, the Mayor of Craiova and Robin Barnett, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Romania. The high-profile figures were guest speakers at a packed International Trade Seminar on Tuesday 3rd November at the Waterton Park Hotel, at which dozens of local companies heard how to tap into Romania’s expanding and accessible markets.
Robin Barnett, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Romania, said:
This agreement will forge closer links between Craiova and Wakefield. It will enable business partnerships to prosper for the benefit of the people of both cities. Romania is full of opportunities for British companies and has recently seen Ford invest in a £675M manufacturing plant in Craiova.
Antonie Solomon, the Mayor of Craiova, added:
This is a major step in our partnership with Wakefield and will bring strong results for the future. Romania needs Wakefield and Wakefield needs Romania and it is important to seize opportunities now because, in a few years time other investors will have taken advantage
first chief executive Mohan de Silva, who spearheaded the first trade mission to Romania in 2007, which led to a Cooperation Agreement with the regional development agency in Oltenia, concluded:
Craiova is the main economic centre of South Romania and the wealth of opportunities for Wakefield companies to forge partnerships and secure contracts is tremendous.
Hospitals in the UK produce an estimated 206 million reports each year, with general practitioners adding another 184 million. Currently, transcription of medical dictation consumes half a billion pounds of the NHS budget each year. Add to that the increasing healthcare requirements of an aging society and it becomes obvious that healthcare providers must act, in order to ensure high quality care while keeping costs down.
This is where speech recognition fits neatly into the UK health policy framework from both efficiency and data protection perspectives. Speech-activated solutions help reduce the costs associated with managing ever-increasing volumes of documentation.
Speech recognition software in the NHS
Using speech recognition software increases workflow efficiency and considerably reduces document turnaround times. This in turn makes it easier for Trusts to meet the requirements of the government’s various health policy initiatives. One such policy is the 18-week referral to treatment pathway, which sets a maximum time of 18 weeks from the point of initial referral, up to the start of any treatment necessary, in consultant-led care settings. Indeed, the average wait for treatment on the NHS has come down to 8.6 weeks in recent years. Heart patient waiting times, for example, have decreased from 14 to 7 weeks, between March 2007 and January 2009. But there are still many institutions that struggle to meet the targets and need to take measures to improve efficiency.
Meeting targets is not only a question of increasing the availability of medical practitioners. The ability to streamline communications, on a larger scale to maximise overall efficiency becomes a crucial factor. Vital additions to the armament necessary to tackle the future of NHS efficiency are speech recognition, transcription and distribution based workflow solutions. Their highly efficient processes can reduce document turnaround times to less than a day if needed, or even just a few minutes, which goes a long way in helping NHS Trusts to achieve the 18 week goal and other targets, relating to the care of cancer patients or the distribution of discharge summaries. The latter is particularly ambitious: from April 2009, discharge summaries have to be delivered within 48 hours to the referring physician. In March 2010, this requirement will decrease to 24 hours.
Future NHS targets will not only require highly streamlined processes, but also a consistent use of digital communication networks by medical institutions and Trusts. Indeed, digitalisation of the UK healthcare system is the second NHS policy initiative that can be achieved through the introduction of speech recognition. Within its National Program for IT, the NHS aims to establish regional Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solutions enabling hospitals and GPs to easily share patient data. The aim is to improve the quality and speed of patient care. Speech-activated systems offer a highly efficient way to store reports or letters that have been signed off by the physician directly in the EMR, thus making them readily available for access by cooperating institutions or referring GPs.
Reaping the benefits
Speech-enabled healthcare organisations, such as the Royal Free Hospital in London confirm the massive efficiency gains brought by speech-activated solutions: According to Simone Towie, Head of Radiology at the Royal Free Hospital, London speech recognition allows the department to ensure delivery of reports to referrers, in some instances within minutes of the completion of an exam.
Melanie Hiorns, consultant radiologist and chair of radiology at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, saw a significant improvement in quality, a reduction in turnaround time and an increase in patient safety as a consequence of implementing speech recognition. In plain film radiography, before speech recognition, 40 percent of the reports were available within 24 hours. The addition of speech recognition raised this number to 65 percent almost instantly. While the transition to speech recognition can be tough at the beginning, the rewards are enormous.
HCA International, central London’s premier healthcare facility, has reduced average report creation times from 24 hours to two minutes and 40 seconds. Kaye Bonython, Imaging Informatics Programme Manager found it even more surprising, as they had to deal with concerns. People had negative past experience with speech recognition and they thought it would result in too much time added to their reporting schedule. But the initial negative thoughts simply vanished once they saw that the technology had progressed to a state where it could really improve the timing.
Conclusion
Speech-activated clinical documentation solutions can help medical institutions to meet waiting time and document processing goals. Speech recognition technology is also highly suitable for use in a digital healthcare environment, since the distribution of final documents into various electronic medical record solutions can be easily automated. This can lead to significant cost savings and improved patient care, due to the reduced risk of errors associated with streamlined and standardised digital processes.
At the heart of the Government’s plans for public sector reform is the need to reduce costs, and improve the accountability and quality of the services it delivers. In April, Chancellor Alastair Darling announced plans to make £9 billion in efficiency cuts each year by 2013, in addition to the £5 billion announced in the pre-Budget report in November 2008.
Many public sector organisations have responded already by making redundancies. Around 7,000 jobs have been lost in local authorities, for example. Managers have a huge challenge ahead- they need to maintain the skills, talent and performance of their workforce, and at the same time, increase efficiency and productivity in the face of toughfinancial constraints.
We all know that efficiency is a measure of resources expended relative to the outputs produced by them, and improved efficiency requires a reduction in the running costs of services over time. But to achieve efficiencies, public sector organisations must have greater administrative flexibility.
Given the complexity of measuring efficiency and quality, many approaches assess work processes or institutional arrangements that are reasonably thought to contribute to efficiency and service quality. While various tools have been developed to measure specific services,
organisations now need to set criteria that capture key elements of
performance in relation to:
Financial management
Human resources management
Information technology management
Capital management
Managing for results
Key indicators are essential in the following four areas: record management, internal audit, performance appraisal, and project evaluation. And within those four areas, three intermediate dimensions of performance are needed: “results focus,” accountability and employee
morale.
Managers in the public sector have their work cut out establishing these new measures of performance and evaluation processes, while ensuring they are focused on results. Other potential challenges overburdened managers may face include the need to redistribute job roles, delegate additional responsibilities, achieve more with fewer resources and, in
many cases, make difficult decisions about redundancies.
One simple, effective and often overlooked approach to saving money and improving employee performance is to address gaps in employees’ knowledge and skills. However, the main difficulty for many managers in tackling underperformance is that they lack up-to-date and accurate information concerning the skills, competence and confidence of their employees. Without this, it is difficult for them to understand how to best utilise their staff, reassign roles or address knowledge gaps.
One solution is to introduce customised knowledge development programmes based on individual employee assessments. Such assessments will provide mangers with vital insight into the skills, competence on the job and confidence of their staff. Assessments should be carried out regularly, as most employees move through various jobs and ranks during their
career. Without regular testing, managers cannot be certain employees understand their changing roles or if they require further coaching, mentoring or training.
Such assessments highlight the strengths, weaknesses and knowledge gaps of individuals immediately, and the results provide managers with the information they need to identify the most appropriate intervention to address any knowledge gaps.
With this information, individually tailored employee training and development programmes can be introduced to address an employee’s specific needs. This approach tailors learning and development spending and reduces the need for -one size fits all- programmes which can be
expensive and ineffective.
An organisation’s top performers can also be identified. These are the ‘go-to’ people in the department who are a consistent and reliable resource for other employees. Identifying these individuals will help managers improve efficiency and productivity in several ways. When faced
with difficult expense reduction decisions, assessment programmes help to determine objectively the capability of all employees. They also identify which employees have the potential to deliver training to their peers or are able to coach and mentor others. When faced with the need to cut services, managers will know which individuals have the potential
to be re-deployed elsewhere.
If all government departments were to identify and address employee skills and knowledge gaps, overall efficiency would improve significantly. Last year, a report from the industry analyst firm IDC, entitled -Counting the Cost of Employee Misunderstanding, showed that
one in four employees do not understand certain aspects of their job role and that major knowledge gaps remain unaddressed in many organisations. A misunderstanding can range from misinterpreting a policy, process or job function, to a combination of all three. These
kinds of misunderstandings are inevitable, but they can also be incredibly costly – the report estimates that UK and U.S. businesses lose £18.7 bn a year as a result of employee misunderstandings and also suffer damaged relationships with key customers and clients.
With mounting pressure to reduce costs, now is the time for public sector organisations to tackle employee underperformance, and for managers to take the lead on it. Assessments can be the first step in objectively identifying the interventions needed to help improve efficiency and morale at many levels within government.
Cognisco is a global provider of intelligent knowledge development and assessment solutions. The company works in over 150 countries in 70 different languages with its international headquarters in the UK.
Stuart Littleford speaks with Jeremy Galpin, Sales Director of De Poel Consulting
Prior to joining de Poel, Jeremy spent nine years working for one of the UK’s largest recruitment groups. Having worked initially in operations, Jeremy then progressed to a corporate business development role where he was responsible for delivering group recruitment solutions to some of the UK’s largest logistics and manufacturing companies.
Matthew Sanders, CEO for de Poel Consulting, the number one procurer of temporary agency labour in the UK, believes so.
The Government tendering processes excluding small businesses (SMEs) from public sector contracts is not a new phenomenon. For years, this volatile albeit significant group has been prohibited from sharing in the estimated £175Bn of tax payers’ money spent on both goods and services every year.
What makes this issue topical is the current economic climate, which is resulting in a mass of public sector cuts and pressure to reduce public sector spend.
Yet, SMEs are ideally placed to supply to public organisations in these tough times. They can offer more value for money and considerably lower operating costs, better quality service with a direct and personal approach, as well as quick and innovative reactions to industry changes.
With the potential to reduce back-office costs by as much as 30%, SMEs are a perfect and timely solution to the public sector’s primary concern to cut costs. In our case, perhaps in others too, the savings result from increased control over spending, with the side-effect of improved quality.
The problem is not that SMEs are openly discouraged or barred from participating in the bidding process. The difficulties are actually routed in the process itself and the way it operates, preventing small or new companies from being shortlisted. In many cases it is the sheer complexity of the procedure and jargon used, the continuous bureaucracy, unachievable deadlines and endless amount of time, paperwork and costs involved which small businesses just cannot keep up with. The need for insurances and other documents, particularly the ISO 9000, a quality-standards certificate only ever required by the public sector, also contributes to the hassle for small companies, rendering their problems disproportionately high compared with larger firms.
For us, the biggest obstacle lies within the pre-qualification stage of the application, which follows the initial expression of interest. Small firms are invited to answer a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ), upon which they receive a score to determine whether they will be sent an Invitation to Tender (ITT). In a report on SME access to public procurement by the All-Party Parliamentary Small Business Group (APPSBG) in April this year, PQQs are said to be: -especially onerous, discouraging SMEs from registering.
As a company, we (de Poel) tend to score highly on every answer we give, except the section which asks for references from existing public sector clients. The system doesn’t account for the work we do with both small and large, third and private sector organisations in a variety of industry-sectors, with 100% positive client testimonials and a track record of providing savings between 6 and 12%. Nor does it consider the fact we do not charge our clients unless we find direct cost savings on their contingent workforce spend, or that our fees are only taken as a per¬centage of these savings. Not having a public sector client already means we score zero or even minus points for this question, and can never progress.
Perhaps the reason the tendering process is so difficult for SMEs is a reluctance to work with small companies or new suppliers, as well as concerns about giving contracts to private organisations over public. However, working with smaller suppliers is no more risky than working with public sector bodies.
The APPSBG report followed the Glover Report in identifying the problems for SMEs accessing public procurement and making several recommendations for change. This is a great start – successfully addressing the need for simplicity, fairness and increased transparency in the tendering process, and calling for targets to be set in terms of the numbers of contracts awarded to SMEs. It also recommends standardising PQQs and increasing opportunities for SMEs to -show off their selling points and -state any specific area of expertise they have – which could be a significant development.
But for us, the report still doesn’t go far enough. Of the 16 proposals specified, not one looks with any detail at the single but critical problem of not having a public sector client already. Ideally, we would urge the sector to start valuing references from private and third sector organisations and begin appreciating the -catch 22- situation here. Without a public client in the first place, no company can ever be expected to get a reference from one.
Then there are concerns about whether the APPSBG recommendations will ever come into practice, with huge amounts of pressure on the public sector already and the prospect of further budget cuts. Perhaps the recommendations could be supported by a wider campaign informing public organisations that alternatives to their current supply process could ease their problems? Companies like de Poel remain hopeful.
But just in case, we have decided to prove our ability to save money for the public sector, by offering to forgo our savings fee, passing on 100% savings to our first public partner.
As public sector organisations creating an ever-expanding volume of data and face increasing regulatory requirements, the need for stringent records management policies has never been greater. Frank Hopping, Managing Director of Crown Records Management (UK & Ireland) examines what’s at stake and explores how to develop effective procedures.
Records managers have played an essential role within the public sector for decades. Efficient record keeping not only allows an organisation to operate on a day-to-day basis; it is also key to meeting various statutory and fiscal requirements, as well as preserving information needed to ensure effective decision-making and policy formulation.
In recent years, however, the introduction of a raft of legislation covering this field has led to a renewed recognition of the importance of records management. The introduction of the Freedom of Information Act in 2000 created a new onus on public sector bodies to retain information and make it accessible to the general public, while the Date Protection Act set strict security requirements and retention limitations for all forms of personal data, from staff employment records to the address details of housing tenants.
Over the last decade the growth in electronic data has also turned the concept of records management on its head. Organisations throughout the public sector now face new threats, from hacking to computer hardware theft, and good records management is no longer the responsibility of records managers alone. Indeed, it is now vital that everyone within an organisation, from the CEO to frontline staff, is aware of the need to protect data and understands individual responsibilities in this respect.
A number of high-profile cases have demonstrated what can happen if public sector workers disregard the importance of stringent data management and security procedures. During recent months the media has been peppered with tales of lost USB sticks, stolen laptops containing unencrypted information and even boxes of patient files being left in hospital corridors, leading to operational headaches, damaged reputations, public mistrust and even financial penalties.
This is particularly true within NHS trusts as they move from traditional hard-copy patient files towards e-records. Electronic information has specific security requirements and trusts must ensure that they adapt their records management policies accordingly, taking into account documents such as email messages which may not fall within the traditional remit of records managers.
So what practical steps can public sector organisations take?
Firstly, senior managers should establish stringent procedures for creating, sharing, handling and storing information and ensure that all employees are aware of their obligations and the potential consequences of data losses. These procedures should cover all types of information, from electronic files to hard copy records, and should encompass clear policies on the use of devices such as USB memory sticks, as well as the transportation of data off-site. In addition, all sensitive electronic data should be encrypted and should only be transported via secure methods.
Secondly, all staff should follow a consistent filing and naming system to ensure that documents can be accurately identified and tracked. All records should then be monitored throughout their lifecycle and should be accompanied by a retention schedule to ensure that they are neither destroyed before time or retained for too long both of which can break regulations. Once a record has reached the end of its lifespan, a certificate of destruction should be created and kept on file to support compliance requirements and provide a clear audit trail.
In addition, it is important that records are stored in a secure environment, particularly if they are deemed sensitive or hold special importance. Depending on the nature of the information each record contains, measures could include fire-proofing, electronic access restrictions, CCTV and anonymous barcode systems.
Storing crucial records off site with a credible supplier affords further protection, and can offer the added benefit of substantial space and cost savings. This may become an increasingly important factor as public sector organisations face up to the potential of spending cuts, freeing up additional resource for frontline services.
Public sector organisations should also back-up documents to ensure they are not lost or damaged a factor which is particularly crucial with regard to fulfilling the obligations of the Freedom of Information Act. To save space and cost, it is often worth creating electronic rather than hard-copy back-ups by scanning documents, but it is vital that long-term data is not stored on devices such as USB sticks or CD-ROMs, which may be damaged or rendered technologically obsolete.
To conclude, the field of records management is rapidly evolving as organisations create increasing amounts of data and legislation is tightened. The important role of records management must therefore stay front of mind for all employees, rather than being viewed as the responsibility of one person or department. Only by fostering such a culture can public sector bodies ensure they comply with the law and avoid the operational, reputational and financial consequences of lost data.
Frank Hopping is Managing Director of Crown Records Management, which offers hard-copy and electronic records management storage, as well as records management audits and secure destruction.
With the spectre of 2011 looming ever closer, local authorities with National Challenge schools are increasingly turning to the National Challenge Trust (NCT) school model as a way of strengthening leadership and raising achievement. But as Mark Blois and Vicki Hair of law firm Browne Jacobson explain, the transition to NCT status could be anything but smooth.
Launched in 2008, the National Challenge is a Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) initiative focusing on secondary schools where less than 30% of pupils achieve 5 GCSEs including maths and English at A to C grades. Initially 638 schools were told that if their results did not reach the threshold by 2011, they would be closed and reopened as either Academies or Trust schools. By September 2009 the DCSF announced that the number of schools in the National Challenge had fallen to under 270 but with the hurdle of the August 2010 results to clear, it is evident that some schools may fall back under scrutiny again.
NCT schools are based on the very popular Trust school model with few important changes. The school is supported by a charitable trust, involves a high-performing educational institution known as the Lead Education Partner (LEP) and are linked via a governing body largely appointed by the trust itself. Importantly, the relationship between the school and local authority is substantially unchanged.
Routes and models
There are three routes to convert a school into a NCT:-
1. Closure and reopening – process driven by the LA, the school closes and reopens as a Trust School
2. Interim Executive Board (IEB process driven by an IEB which replaces the governing body of the school
3. “Modified IEB – process driven by the existing governing body or IEBOne of three models must then be selected:-
1. Shared trust – the LEP is a school and both it and the National Challenge school will become Trust schools and share a trust.
2. LEP school as member only – the National Challenge school becomes a Trust school of which the LEP is a Trust Partner but the LEP school itself does not change status because it is unable or unwilling to do so.
3. Single school, single trust – the LEP is not a school and, as with model 2 above, the trust supports the National Challenge school only.
Potential problems and possible solutions
The appeal for schools considering adopting NCT status is obvious. The DCSF is providing additional funding of up to £750,000 (extended to £1m in some areas) for every NCT status school. Secondly, the NCT model is seen as a more attractive and PR friendly alternative to Academies or hard federations, as the Trust Partners are not seen to be directly involved in the running of the school. However, a number of challenges and obstacles need to be successfully negotiated before the benefits can be fully realised:
Which route – the route used will determine who will undertake the necessary statutory consultation process and make the final decisions whether to go ahead. Choosing the right model and route based on the opinions of the governing body and community and the needs of the school will make the transition smoother.
Conflicts of interest – there is always a potential conflict of interest for the trustees between their duties to the trust and to the Trust Partner that appointed them. Where the Local Authority is Trust Partner, this potential conflict might be problematic for the LA trustee if the LA intends to use its commissioning powers. Whilst conflicts of interest cannot always be avoided, future problems can be avoided if all are aware of the conflicts policy and adhere to it. The Local Authority’s commissioning role should not be a barrier to it becoming a Trust Partner and its involvement in the trust is normally highly desirable.
Governance structure – the LEP may feel that, in order make the changes they want, they want to be able to appoint more trustees and therefore control the board of trustees and the trust itself. Normally a governance structure can be found which balances the needs of all the Trust Partners and the school.
Local Authority involvement – care needs to be taken to ensure that, if the Local Authority is to be a Trust Partner, it does not have sufficient control over the trust so that it becomes a controlled company as defined by Part V of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Careful planning of the Trust structure and a review of the risks to the Local Authority should ensure that the trust does not become a controlled company.
Whilst establishing a National Challenge Trust school is not without its challenges, the model remains an attractive choice for local authorities keen to raise achievement and strengthen leadership before the 2011 deadline.
The UK Government’s modernisation agenda for the fire service (as outlined in the 2003 white paper “Our Fire and Rescue Service” which itself results from the 2002 Bain report) calls for a greater emphasis on fire prevention activities not least since the white paper recognised that 50 per cent of fire related deaths reportedly take place before the fire service is even called.
No one disputes the need for fire prevention activities in a modern fire service, but there has been debate around how these duties are managed and the impact this has on fire fighter’ workloads, fire fighter safety and essential emergency response.
The Fire Brigades Union, Health and Safety Executive, and Audit Commission may all have distinct positions on the issues surrounding fire safety, yet seemingly common to all are the views that inadequate fire-prevention workload management, inadequate training and inadequate access to accurate risk assessment data has a direct effect on the safety of the public at home and at work and on fire fighters in the line of duty.
Fire and rescue services typically have three teams that carry out fire safety and prevention activities: community safety teams tasked with fire prevention in the home, technical fire safety teams tasked with monitoring how commercial and public organisations comply with fire regulations and the emergency operations teams who are tasked with ensuring the safety of operational fire fighters in the line of duty.
Each of these fire safety teams generate valuable risk-related data that can have a direct impact on the effectiveness of the prevention and/or management of fire incidents.
Data Management
To operate at maximum efficiency in preventing avoidable deaths and damage to livelihoods and property, fire services need timely access to accurate risk-related data, no matter which team generated the intelligence. Yet in many cases the back office systems that support the storage, management and analysis of life-critical information are inadequate and out-dated.
Unconnected and often paper-based admin systems simply cannot live up to the demands of the modern fire service nor do justice to the sophisticated risk data that the safety teams generate and work with.
Further, the additional work created by the stand-alone systems not only adds to the burden of administrative duties, impacting on the time that fire prevention teams could be out using their skills and experience to make a difference, but often it cannot effectively capture and support the need for case escalation and the historical intelligence and analysis essential to enforcement work.
No one software system can provide a panacea for the issues around fire service data management. Yet many of the issues touched on above can be addressed, simply, cost effectively and efficiently, without the need for risky large scale IT implementations with their accompanying challenges of time, resource and budget.
As a result, fire services are increasingly using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software which can be customised for their specific needs, to support and underpin their data management systems and procedures.
Top six benefits for fire services of risk-related data-sharing
Integrating CRM software with a fire service can provide a number of significant benefits in terms of data management and service delivery, including:
Better data: cleaner, more accurate
Consistent data forms across community, technical and operations teams mean data is captured, analysed and reported against easily, creating valuable insights and speeding up the IMRP returns process.
Manage workloads better
Better scheduling and management of risk assessments cuts down on unnecessary admin, freeing up officers to focus on their core areas of fire and safety expertise.
Enforcement
Effective case management ensures that audit histories for properties are easily accessed, deferred audits are tracked, enforcement issues are managed and, where necessary, cases can be escalated.
Sharing life-critical data
Information taken from community, technical and operational assessments can be combined with data from incidents to continually inform and improve local knowledge and training activities. Further, data shared between teams can be used to pre-brief auditing teams, and supplement audit reports.
Availability of risk-related information
All life-critical information, irrespective of source, can be made available in a timely fashion to better inform fire fighters in the line of duty. Combined live risk-data from all sources can be accessed on the mobile data terminals in fire appliances improving fire fighters’ dynamic assessment of risk when attending an incident.
Risk assessment
The dynamic risk assessment improvements afforded by delivering live life-critical data to officers in the field is clear. In addition, an ever more accurate and sophisticated understanding of the complex interplay of physical, geographical, behavioural and socio-economic influences can be developed by combining intelligence from the three safety programmes with incident data. This continually improving assessment of risk leads to increasingly effective prevention strategies and tactics.
Top economist Roger Bootle warns UK house price to fall another 35% in 2010. In an interview with Nigel Pivaro for the Government & Public Sector Journal Roger Bootle warns that house prices are set to fall dramatically next year and we are still a long way from seeing the end of the recession. Nigel asks him some interesting questions after reading Rogers new book ‘The Trouble With Markets’.
What they say;
“Compelling prescriptions from an economist unusually able to speak with authority – because unlike most of his peers, Bootle spotted that the boom was unsustainable.”
Robert Peston, BBC Business Editor and author of Who Runs Britain?
In his last book, Money For Nothing, Roger Bootle predicted with great accuracy the property crash and subsequent financial crisis. In The Trouble With Markets, he offers us a way out of the almighty mess that excessive debt created. It should be made compulsory reading for all policy-makers.
Jeff Randall, Sky News business presenter and Daily Telegraph’s editor-at-large
See the television interview with Roger bootle and Nigel Pivaro for GPSJ NEWS and listen to the podcast interview on GPSJ Radio.
Jim Watson, the managing director of Shred Easy, one of the UK’s largest confidential data shredding companies, discusses advances in shredding technology and the benefits of recycling confidential data.
According to Home Office figures, identity fraud is costing the UK £1.7billion a year – that’s £35 a head for the entire population. It’s hardly surprising when roughly 60 million people in the UK use sheets of paper to exchange information.
It is estimated that 95% of business information is still stored on paper and that 115 billion sheets of paper are used annually in the office . Destroying and recycling confidential data in the office has now become more important than ever. The recent spate of security breaches by MPs, regional councils and other organisations has highlighted this.
So, how are we to make an impact on identity fraud and the production of vast amounts of paper? By using less paper and recycling more. Recycled paper doesn’t retain confidential data.
Currently, UK recycling is estimated to save more than 18 million tonnes of C02 a year the equivalent of taking five million cars off the road. The recycling of card and paper products in recent years has moved on leaps and bounds but there is so much more to do.
Carbon emissions
Awareness of the importance of embracing ecologically responsible corporate policies is growing. In the developed world, the G20 governments are pressing ahead with sweeping legislation covering carbon emissions. Enlightened sections of industry have responded to this challenge by looking at the many different ways paper waste can be reduced. Unless compelled to do so by law, relatively few organisations will expend resources on recycling for purely ethical or altruistic reasons. They need to base decisions on hard-nosed commercial reality.
Shred Easy collected, destroyed and recycled more than 20,000 tonnes of confidential material last year. The process helps the environment, conserves resources, saves energy and reduces landfill. Almost 98% of the destroyed material is recycled. Recyclers work with customers to make sure the paper they dispose of contains minimal contamination such as plastic wallets, glossy magazines, lever arch files. The less contamination, the more paper gets recycled. Once shredded, it is baled, recycled and re-used as raw material for household and office paper products.
Legalities
Businesses are also advised to avoid the possibility of expensive litigation by complying with confidentiality and data protection laws. For example, various ICO fines have been imposed on big name companies guilty of not securing customer data appropriately. Earlier this year, HSBC was fined by the FSA when customer data was lost twice.
It is vital to demonstrate a real sense of responsibility to an organisation’s increasingly eco-aware publics. Spokespeople need to be able to reassure markets, shareholders, customers, the authorities and the world at large that they are doing everything they can to reduce the effects of over-consumption and pollution.
Growing demand for mobile shredding
Despite the recession the shredding industry is growing rapidly. Professional shredding of confidential waste means documents, folders and files are completely destroyed with no chance of being used in any way again. Shred Easy is an ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 UKAS registered company. As part of these standards a business sets a number of targets and objectives, one of which is the monthly recycling rate percentage. This drives a company to achieve higher recycling rates every month.
Shredding on the move
One way businesses, especially those based in city centres, are tackling the destruction of their confidential data is to employ ‘mobile shredders’. These trucks arrive at a company and shred confidential material on the premises and take the shredded material away to be recycled. This is key for two reasons. Firstly, the security of documents is improved if paperwork is shredded before the eyes of a customer and secondly, it’s more cost effective as there are fewer chains in the shredding and transportation process.
The new generation of mobile shredding trucks are designed to minimise carbon emissions by being smaller, lighter and quieter and can visit businesses around a city with minimum disruption. Typically, they will cause less inconvenience than the collection of other types of waste.
Shred Easy has developed an Urban Shredder, an advanced mobile shredding unit, which has an ultra-low Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of only 7.5 tonnes. It operates with a more compact engine than its predecessors and its reduced weight means that it uses less oil and unleaded fuel when being driven or during the shredding process. It is more cost effective and has less impact on the environment.
At just six metres in length, the Urban Shredder is the shortest mobile shredding vehicle on the market. Its maneuverability, coupled with a greater range of driver options, enables it to provide higher levels of service. It means drivers can zip in and out of towns and cities more easily. Furthermore, while the truck size has been reduced, the shred speed remains unaffected.
SCR technology
The Urban Shredder’s exhaust gases are processed by Selective Catalytic Reduction technology (SCR). This reduces particulate emissions by decreasing the nitric oxide levels through the post-treatment of exhaust gases. The greatest advantage of SCR technology is that is uses five percent less fuel which makes it cheap to run and less harmful to the environment. This technology meets the Euro 5 emission standards that come into force in 2009.
SCR technology uses only one chemical reactant named AdBlue, a water solution of urea, which reacts with the nitric oxides once it has been sprayed into the exhaust gases and transforms them into harmless substances. The consumption of AdBlue usually makes up three – five percent of all fuel consumed by the vehicle. The SCR makes the PM filter redundant since the production of harmful particulates is minimal. It also improves the performance of the vehicle and extends the life of motor-propulsion units.
In addition the low levels of particulates produced through combustion reduces the contamination of the lubricating fluid oil and allows extended maintenance intervals which further enhances the Urban Shredder’s productivity.
Cradle to grave solution
If an organisation can boost its green credentials at the same time as reducing risks then all the better. The ‘cradle to grave, then back to cradle’ process used by shredding companies is one that’s completely green because all shredded paper is then recycled and used again. The process helps the environment, conserves resources, saves energy and reduces landfill.
Case study
Gary Dawson, of Kuehne + Nagel the global supply chain company, has been using a mobile shredding company for a number of years because the service is cost effective and good for the environment:
“We’re in the supply chain business so it’s important that all our own processes are as lean and green as possible.
“Now, our on-site shredding company comes to us every four weeks. Our files, folders and old CDs can be destroyed right in front of our eyes. This is reassuring because we know that our data is being disposed of securely. The process is convenient, saves time and saves money as we don’t have to employ a driver to transport our waste to a depot. Plus we’re doing our bit for the environment by reducing our carbon footprint.
“We treat our confidential data very seriously indeed and we have our own internal policies to deal with it. Every member of staff knows how to identify, securely store and check the destruction of our confidential waste.”
The rapid growth of Web 2.0 services is forcing more and more public sector organisations to rethink their internal and external communication strategies, both on and offline. John Glover, director for INOVEM, explains the powerful role technology can play in including key stakeholders in consultations and collaborative decision making
As Web 2.0 emerged, it was unfortunately mistaken by some as just the latest buzzword technology – something that could be entertaining at a social level but should never be taken seriously at an organisational level. Happily, forward-thinking public sectors bodies and a few private sector businesses very quickly dismantled this viewpoint. They learned that with good-will and buy-in from stakeholders, they could build really effective productivity tools, services and communities that would allow like-minded groups of people merely separated by geography or circumstance, to involve, consult and collaborate with each other on an equal footing.
When public sector organisations first became bold enough to embrace Web 2.0, they did so primarily because they wanted to bring their stakeholders closer together. Sure, they also wanted to have a bit of fun getting to grips with technology and being creative with interactivity, but they mainly wanted to show stakeholders and employees that they genuinely valued their opinions and input.
In practice, Web 2.0 services must be deployed for all the right reasons, and not simply because a technology champion within a given organisation has heard or read that it’s ‘a good idea’. It’s vital for these organisations to truly understand what they want to do with emerging technology, and how and why they want to do it. These solutions must be used to include stakeholders, not to create ‘clubs’ or communities that exclude by default.
Any discussions with peers and colleagues will quickly reveal that broadcast only communications are no longer acceptable. Simple put, the best collaborative systems empower people to work together better. That’s why it’s worth deploying technology that you can really call your own. Systems that are tailored specifically to fit business needs rather than providing a hollow generic environment for you to find your way around. Impose your way of thinking on to the Web 2.0 environment you choose. Ensure it is flexible enough to accommodate the needs of you and your stakeholders. Achieve the blend of focus and informality that works for you, and don’t be steered by rigid, branded tools and bundled services.
Of course organisations would be blinkered to entirely ignore the worth of popular social media tools such as Twitter or Facebook as part of their marketing activities, but it is essential that the care and effort taken to include stakeholders through Web 2.0 is associated directly with their own brand. All organisations must realise that we are operating in a world in which what we say or do on our internal or external facing web sites reflects directly on our brands and how we are perceived by customers, investors, partners, employees and members of the public. Participants must be fully aware form the start who is engaging with them. They should have no trouble understanding why they are participating, and that they can trust other participants with access to their views and interests. The organisation itself should be identifiable as ‘the hero’ in this context, not a ubiquitous social media platform, because it is the organisation and its own champions who are going those extra lengths to listen and involve stakeholders.
Regardless of the sector your organisation operates in, inclusion is a brand value you should be rightly proud of. It’s a fantastic foundation for all levels of relationships and achievements. There’s further value to be had by businesses and public authorities who are willing and able to seek the views of their customers and other key stakeholders at an early stage, before they design and refine any of these products and services. Focus groups are a great way of revealing amendments or additions to systems that might never have been considered without this extra level of consultation.
But inclusion must begin at home. Create a community rather than imposing one. Invite people into an environment that is welcoming and beneficial. Work yourself to make it work for everyone. And above all, ensure that it is all yours, right from the very start. One word of caution though- there is a danger that if feedback mechanisms are poorly managed or there is no easy way to analyse and respond to contributions, then participants will be become disenchanted and feel unappreciated, which will have a detrimental effect on the brand and the organisation. This is why any serious step into Web 2.0 must be committed and owned by engaged champions within the organisation. Simply ‘dipping toes’ into social media is likely to cause more damage than benefit.
In July 2008 the government published the final report of Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review, High Quality Healthcare for All, which spelt out a long term vision of an NHS that is high quality, personalised and clinically led. With public finances now under pressure, the Department of Health’s clear policy position is that high quality, safe care is cost effective and can deliver efficiency savings. It is therefore vital that the NHS ensures that patients are in the right place to receive the care they need at the time they need it.
The NHS in Rotherham is keen to address this issue of appropriateness of care and resource utilisation. The health and social care community recognised that patients may remain on acute care wards inappropriately for many reasons, including a lack of intermediate care facilities. They wanted to address this systematically in a patient-focused way that would also support commissioning new services to fill any gaps. At the same time, McKesson was looking to adapt its well-used and highly respected InterQual® tool for the NHS.
Rotherham Health and Social Care Partnership
Rotherham is in the lucky position of having a very straight forward health and social care economy. There is one acute provider, Rotherham Foundation Trust, one community services provider, Rotherham Community Health Services, and one PCT that is coterminous with the local authority which also provides social services. There is close co-operation between all four and in 2009 they formed a Health and Social Care Partnership and began the project with McKesson to adapt and test InterQual.
Choosing McKesson
McKesson UK, healthcare IT solutions and services specialist, formally launched InterQual in the UK in October 2008. InterQual is a computerised tool used to assess whether patients are in the appropriate care setting for their individual needs. It is already used in over 5,000 healthcare settings worldwide, where it is used primarily to support decisions about patient care in insurance-based healthcare systems. However, McKesson felt it had wider application and could be adapted in the NHS to support commissioners and providers with effective utilisation management and appropriateness of care validation.
InterQual has at its heart a rich repository of clinical evidence, developed over 30 years. Over one third of the 16,000 citations are derived outside the USA. McKesson’s highly trained clinical development team continually assess the evidence with feedback from an InterQual Clinical Panel of 800 experts. As a result, all InterQual criteria have a level of credibility and integrity that cannot be found anywhere else.
The power of InterQual lies in applying this evidence-base in a systematic way to individual patients. When aggregated, the results of individual assessments and clinicians comments on them provide commissioners and managers with a rich source of evidence about bottlenecks and service gaps. This can be extremely powerful as a source of evidence for service redesign.
Rotherham Partnership had been involved with McKesson since 2004 in a project to redesign unscheduled care. Since then McKesson has maintained a close relationship with the Partnership, culminating in the implementation of an NHS-specific version of InterQual in 2009.
The project
Rotherham Partnership began implementing InterQual in February 2009 initially on three wards covering emergency admissions; trauma and orthopaedics; and healthcare for older people. It was also implemented in the community in a purpose built facility for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In each care environment a case manager – a senior nurse or therapist – was appointed and trained to use InterQual. These Case Managers assessed patients both on admission and throughout their hospital stay and where they identified that patients could be cared for more appropriately elsewhere, they worked to facilitate a supported discharge.
All patients are reviewed against InterQual’s admission criteria and then against the continued stay criteria while they are on a ward using the system. In the first 16 weeks (16 February 09 to 8 June 09), 3631 reviews were undertaken on 892 patients. Of those reviewed against the acute criteria, 558 were admission reviews, 2872 were against the continued stay criteria and 83 reviews were undertaken against discharge screens.
The hospital found that 49% of the admission reviews met the criteria for an acute admission; 45% did not meet the criteria. The remaining reviews were either redirected off the project or referred for a secondary review.
The continued stay reviews show that 15% met the acute criteria and 77% did not meet. Again, the remaining reviews were either redirected off the project due to transfer to other wards or were sent for secondary review.
This data shows that the 77% of continued stay reviews and the 45% of admission reviews which did not meet the criteria resulted in patients occupying an acute bed, for a total of 1574 variance days, when patients could have been cared for at a sub-acute level if that level of care had been available in Rotherham.
InterQual has subsequently been rolled out across respiratory medicine, and plans are in place to use the criteria in a modified way on the Stroke Unit and obstetrics and gynaecology in order to undertake retrospective audits. A further two Case Managers have been appointed at the acute trust in order to roll out to unscheduled care.
In the medium term, the Partnership hopes that InterQual will support the World Class Commissioning agenda by providing data for commissioners, inform Transforming Community Services and provide data about variations on length of stay.
Realising the benefits
It is early days for this project but already the Partnership perceives a range of benefits.
Defining the problem
On one level, the project has helped managers confirm and quantify what they already knew. Rotherham Foundation Trust’s Chief of Quality & Standards/Chief Nurse Jackie Bird says: Our priority is to get care and clinical services right for the people of Rotherham. The problem for the Trust was that we were not getting the flow of patients out of the hospital right. We did not believe that we had the right level of care outside the hospital in the community.
Kath Henderson, Chief Nurse and Managing Director of Rotherham Community Health Services, agrees: My feeling is that we have the care but not the right levels. We have no community hospital, for example. The skills are there but there are not enough of them. We are now getting evidence about the level of underlying need that supports our gut feeling.
Project Lead at the acute trust Carole Lavelle adds: InterQual is clearly defining a group of patients with sub-acute care needs. Our feeling that we need a resource for these patients with the appropriate skill mix is being proved correct.
Increasing clinical engagement and developing new roles
A major success of the project has been engaging clinicians. InterQual is a clinical tool that requires a high level of knowledge and expertise. Gaining clinical engagement including support from consultants has had benefits.
Lavelle says: Clinicians have the same frustrations as managers in terms of moving patients on. Once they were reassured that InterQual did not replace their clinical judgement and that this was more than simple admission/discharge criteria, they were happy.
The creation of new Case Manager roles has allowed the trust to develop some of its most talented band seven nurses and therapists.
Improving patient care
Case Managers report numerous examples where experience told them that a patient needed moving to a less acute environment but InterQual provided the evidence-based assessment to confirm this.
Case Manager Michelle Morgan recalls how she was able to facilitate a care package for a patient who required antibiotic therapy at home. She says: The assumption was that the rapid response team could not provide the service when in fact they could. InterQual was the trigger for making this happen. We are using it to change people’s mindsets.
Conclusion
The project in Rotherham is now demonstrating that InterQual is adaptable for the NHS and can deliver not only significant benefits for patients but also relevant information for commissioners and potentially significant cost efficiencies.
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