When the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines were introduced in 1999, they were intended to provide ‘evidence-based guidance’ for health practitioners. Since April 2013 the guidelines have extended to social care practitioners. NICE’s website credits the guidelines for improving the outcomes for people using the NHS and other public health and social care services. However, with a recent poll by Pulse Today showing that 76% of 515 English and Welsh GPs, believe NICE guidelines are only at least ‘somewhat relevant’ to their practice; the guidelines’ relevance and importance appears to be being questioned. The same survey revealed that more than 70% of GPs in England and Wales were departing from NICE guidance at least once a month, with one in ten ignoring it daily.

Where an NHS body responsible for a hospital patient believes it is not safe to discharge that patient without arrangements being made for meeting their care and support needs, notice of this must be given to the local authority in whose area the patient is ordinarily resident. But did you know the same applies to prisoners in hospital?

A large proportion of the prison population suffers from mental vulnerabilities including learning difficulties and social disadvantage. Taking steps to address these issues can contribute to reducing levels of reoffending. The Integrated Healthcare in Custody and wider Liaison and Diversion Service in Greater Manchester aims to do just this by diverting vulnerable people away from the criminal justice system towards services better able to tackle the root causes of their behaviour. 

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is the last resort for unresolved complaints in the health sector. If the PHSO believes that an organisation has got something wrong, they can make recommendations for it to put them right. This can include explanations, apologies or recommendations for the service to learn and improve. However, many PHSO investigations will be based on information provided by the complainant alone which may not include all of the facts. For complex investigations, the PHSO may also instruct independent experts to assist them in their investigations. So, what happens if the PHSO gets it wrong? Can they be challenged?

M -v- A Hospital [2017] EWCOP 19: This judgment considered whether a court application is necessary when there is agreement between the patient’s family and clinicians that clinically assisted nutrition and hydration is no longer in the patient’s best interests and should be withdrawn. The judge concluded that it was not.

‘Giving birth is the most common reason for admission to hospital in England. Thanks to the dedication and skill of NHS maternity teams, the vast majority of the roughly 700,000 babies born each year are delivered safely, with high levels of satisfaction from parents. However, there is still too much avoidable harm and death.’

Last week in the House of Lords the Government was pressed to confirm whether the introduction of medical examiners was still to go ahead as planned. The Government responded with a commitment for the system to be introduced no later than April 2019.

NHS England has opened the consultation on changes to a host of primary care regulations to facilitate the better integration of primary care medical services into accountable care models of service delivery. The proposed changes are designed to remove some of the barriers to contracting for primary care through a fully integrated provider. The consultation ends on 3 November 2017 - view the details.

International law firm Hill Dickinson has welcomed legal director Esther Venning to its expanding health practice. Esther will be based in the firm’s Leeds office, which opened earlier this month to service the team’s growing client base.

A report entitled ‘Five years of cerebral palsy claims’ has been published by NHS Resolution. Its focus is on two important areas for improving practice:

This article originally featured in Sea Trial newsletter