National News

The Netherlands

“Striving For a Healthy Crisis”

The Dutch week of public health took place from the 6th to the 12th of April, coinciding with World Health Day. The motto for this year was "Striving for a Healthy Crisis". An initiative of the Dutch Public Health Federation (NPHF), the aim: to generate broad media attention, putting public health on the agenda. The government has said that to survive the crisis we must invest in sustainability and strengthen the knowledge economy. Through the public health week the NPHF want to emphasise that public health is a part of this, stressing that health=wealth.

Healthy eating and living must not be compromised because of hard economic times. Alcohol abuse, neglect and depression are often common consequences during periods of economic downturn and this week was organised to prevent this happening. Events and activities were therefore organised to raise public awareness and motivate the public to invest in their own health.

UK

NHS Pilot Scheme to Bring Health and Social Care Together

Health Minister Ben Bradshaw and CareServices Minister Phil Hope announcedthat 16 pilot sites will participate in a trialto see how health and social careservices can join together to increasethe quality of care.

The 4million pounds scheme has been designed to explore how services can be designed to improve patients’ experiences, breaking the boundaries between healthcare and social care. The initiative is about catering for local health needs such as dementia, care for the elderly, substance misuse, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and end of life care through partnerships, new systems and care pathways spanning primary, community, secondary and social care.

NHS Celebrate Shortest Waits Since Records Began

Recent data shows that in England, the NHS has met its target of treating patients within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral by their GP. The average wait for treatment for admitted patients is now just 8.6 weeks.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson described this success as a “tremendous achievement for staff” and stressed their commitment and that of the entire health service. Meeting this target has changed the lives of many patients and also benefited clinicians as the quality of care has also improved.

Ireland

“Whistleblowers” in the Health Service to be Protected

The Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney has announced that health staff who report concerns about other members of staff regarding patient safety will now be legally protected. This legal protection is provided under the Protective Disclosures provisions of the Health Act 2007. It is a bid to encourage a culture of openness and accountability in the health service, removing the social stigma of reporting a fellow colleague. It is hoped that this new law will help to prevent medical errors and improve the quality of care.

Germany

Golden Helix Award 2009

The motto of this year’s Golden Helix award is “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.” (John Ruskin). The annual German-Austrian competition to discover innovative and quality improving projects to benefit the hospital sector is held in association with the German Association of Hospital Directors. Applications for this year’s competition are still open to all European German speaking countries. The submission deadline is July 1st 2009.

For more information, please visit: www.vkd-online.de

Luxembourg

Evaluation Survey of Dependent People Living in Healthcare Institutions

The Centre for Health Studies in Luxembourg has been asked by the Ministry of Social Security to carry out an evaluation survey about the satisfaction of dependent people living in healthcare and long stay institutions in Luxembourg.

A convention was signed between the Ministry and CRP-Santé. The evaluation study will be performed in close collaboration with the insurance unit for the Evaluation and Orientation of Dependence. It will be carried out during the year 2009, in care institutions and integrated centres for the elderly.

France

Crisis Communication

The Association of Regional and University Hospital Directors in France (CHRU) has launched a new guide to hospital crisis communication. The guide is aimed at healthcare professionals (management, doctors, technicians and even students). It has been developed by the French Hospital Federation and MACSF and is distributed free of charge.

The guide contains practical information and guidelines for internal communication, public relations and relations with the press. It has been developed due to the increased attention from the press hospitals are receiving. Hospitals must be prepared for this new media attention, remain transparent and ensure that they do not lose the public’s trust. The guide provides information on how to do this.