Commissioning | ARMA

Realising the Value

What is a good outcome?

We’re two years into delivery of the Five Year Forward View, the document heralded as a blueprint for bridging the gaps in finance, quality and prevention. Chapter Two of that seminal document sets out a vision for a ‘new relationship with people and communities’…

But what does that actually mean?

The Realising the Value programme has spent 18 months seeking to turn those words into a more deliverable reality. It is an important body of work delivered by Nesta, the Health Foundation, National Voices, Regional Voices, NAVCA, Volunteering Matters and others.…

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Transforming care for people with MSK conditions

by Dr Jill Firth, BHPR President, Consultant Nurse in Rheumatology and Director for Service Improvement at the Pennine Musculoskeletal Partnership Ltd in Oldham.

Over the past 20 years of working as a special ist nurse, I have witnessed first-hand the changing face of care for people with Musculoskeletal conditions (MSK) – particularly Rheumatoid Arthritis – leading to better outcomes for patients.

This can, in part, be attributed to advances in treatment strategies, including biologic therapies, but is also a consequence of better access to care provided by a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) comprising consultant rheumatologists, specialist nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and podiatrists as a core nucleus.…

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Guest Blog: Solving the puzzle of Musculoskeletal Service transformation

by Professor Peter Kay, National Clinical Director for Musculoskeletal Services for NHS England.

I was asked to write a blog to raise the profile of my MSK work supported by the Long-Term Conditions Team and, through the cryptic labyrinth of various schemes and initiatives, share with you my thoughts on how we can support sustainable, cost-effective transformation whilst still championing the more person-centred approach.

Easy task right?

Increasingly we are faced with the challenge of implementing population-level interventions in a bid to tackle unwarranted variation within our local areas.…

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Preventing musculoskeletal disorders has wider impacts for public health

From the Public Health Matters blog, Public Health England
Kevin Fenton, 11 January 2016 — Health and Wellbeing

Life expectancy in England has risen by more than five years in the past two decades, yet for many people, a longer life will involve more years spent in ill-health.

Earlier this year, The Global Burden of Disease project – an international study ranking the diseases and risk factors that cause death and disability – highlighted the toll that musculoskeletal conditions are taking on people’s health.…

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HSJ Investigation: ‘Unwarranted and unfair’ disparity in elective surgery revealed

Wide variations in elective surgery rates among the most affluent and deprived areas in England raise serious questions about the use of NHS resources, a leading public health expert has warned.

1 October, 2015 | By Lawrence Dunhill, Health Service Journal.

HSJ investigation finds huge disparities in rates for elective surgery in affluent and deprived populations
Experts warn the variance raises serious questions about use of NHS resources
Disparity in elective surgery commissioning

HSJ’s investigation, which examined the rates for elective surgery funded by the clinical commissioning groups covering the 10 most affluent and 10 most deprived populations in the country, has revealed huge disparities.…

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Guest Blog: The Need for Competency-Based Commissioning

by Matthew Bennett, President, British Chiropractic Association

As we all know back pain is the single biggest cause of disability in the UK according to the Global Burden of Disease Report. Despite this huge cost both in human and financial terms, care can often appear to be disjointed. In 2009 NICE published guidelines on the Management of persistent non-specific low back pain but many regions in the UK still struggle to implement the guidance and with many different providers being involved in the management of back pain an integrated approach is elusive.

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