Media Archive 2007

“STAYWELL”

Commissioning  LTC Self Care Education  for Patients.
Aiming to Reduce GP Workload and Hospital Admissions

Special offer to NAPC Members

Intouch with Health has 10 years experience of helping NHS Trusts to communicate with patients and the general public. Their latest managed service, “Staywell”, is focused on improving patient self care and has already been implemented by a number of primary care organisations around the UK.

Staywell is BOTH a system to support health professionals in educating patients about better self-care, AND a means for willing patients to educate themselves. The aim is to empower patients, improve quality of life, reduce complications and avoid admissions.

Staywell comprises:-
• A survey for patients to complete which helps identify their knowledge gaps
• Relevant information and advice, national and local, to plug specific gaps
• Reports showing the health team which patients have the greatest education needs, and precisely what each of those patients needs to learn.

Including those already launched and those nearing completion, the Staywell range covers:-
COPD
Asthma
Diabetes
Angina
Hypertension
Heart Failure
Heart Attack and Stroke Prevention
Heart Attack (after you’ve had one)
Stroke (after you’ve had one)
Atrial Fibrillation
Anticoagulation
Medication Compliance
Health of the Elderly

A PCT or PBC consortium licensing a single Staywell would normally pay the equivalent of £300 per practice per annum (ex VAT), with discounts for taking more than one.
NAPC members and affiliates will be offered an extra 10% discount off these rates.

One emergency admission avoided per practice per year will more than pay for Staywell.

For more information, including early evidence of the effect of patient self-care education on admissions reduction, please contact:-

Paul Blackburn, CEO, Intouch with Health Ltd. Telephone: 01285 657516 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

National Association of Primary Care (NAPC)
Press Release December 2007

Healthcare Commission s State of Healthcare Report
NAPC welcomes the Healthcare Commission s State of Healthcare Report, which provides a very comprehensive assessment of the NHS and private sector provision for the NHS for 2006/7.

Dr James Kingsland, Chairman of NAPC, commented: The report is possibly one of the most penetrative and incisive in the history of the NHS and is welcomed by the Association.

However, it is disappointing to note , he continued, that the performance of primary care trusts (PCTs) has declined during this period, partly, I believe, as a result of the major reorganisation experienced at that time . Another contributory factor accounting in part
for the poor performance of PCTs was the financial state of the NHS. I shall be interested to see if there has been a significant improvement in performance during 2007/8, which will be a real marker of PCT achievements.

Primary care is a complex sector , Dr Kingsland went on, and there are few leaders out in the field, who have a genuine understanding and appreciation of the potential of primary care . These leaders need to be cultivated, some coming from General Practice, and others from outside the NHS. It is possible , he said, with imagination and in partnership with local players, to deliver equally high standards of healthcare to local populations, in underdoctored areas. Opportunities are being wasted , Dr Kingsland stated, because PCTs do not develop constructive relationships with the best of their existing practices, which could provide solutions to local problems. Practice Based Commissioning provides a vehicle to bring about major improvements in services, which is currently not being used to its potential .

Dr Kingsland commented: The vast majority of General Practice delivers world class primary health care services, and opportunities are being missed to harness their enthusiasm and skills to turn poorly performing local authority wards around.

National Association of Primary Care
Press Release
22 November 2007

‘The National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) very much welcomes the Audit Commission Report ‘Putting Commissioning Into Practice’ and supports many of its findings, which reflect’, its Chairman, Dr James Kingsland, said ‘the experiences of the majority of our members’.

Dr Kingsland continued: ‘Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) is seen by the government as a key policy vehicle for achieving service improvements and greater efficiency in the use of resources, particularly as the annual growth rate of NHS funding slows down. It is important that the Audit Commission’s recommendations are addressed and implemented if we are ever to see the impact that PBC can achieve in terms of modern service redesign and delivering value for money’.  ‘NAPC’, Dr Kingsland continued, ‘is lobbying on behalf of its membership for the introduction of real budgets, though this will take some time to be achieved.  In the meantime, we strongly support the implementation of the recommendations contained in this very important report, which recognises that hearts and minds conversion are needed in many PCTs’.

Press Release Ends