Details of the events and other opportunities for learning and support in relation to the NHSLA risk management standards and assessments during 2010/11 have been released.  Bookings are now being taken for workshops for maternity services to be held in Spring 2010 and an ambulance workshop on 22 April 2010.

New and revised template policy documents to support the 2010/11 NHSLA risk management standards and assessment process for all types of healthcare organisations are now available.  The templates are designed to assist organisations in writing their own documents to manage risk but there is no requirement to use any of them.  New template documents to support the CNST maternity standards will be released in March.

The Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) has determined each local education provider’s level of compliance with its requirements for trainee support which will be used to inform the assessment of criterion 2.4. Supervision of medical staff in training of the NHSLA acute standards in 2010/11.  A note summarising how PMETB evidence will be used to inform the levels assigned and the process for organisations to request a review of their level, together with a table detailing the criteria and evidence used to assign each level are available.  Organisations will be advised of the level assigned to them early in 2010/11.

The NHSLA has issued a Press Statement announcing its intention to deal ‘fairly and speedily’ with claims arising from events considered by the Independent Inquiry into care provided by Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

The Authority is delighted that 13 of our employees have progressed to the selection stage of the Hubbub’s accelerated leadership development programme.  The Hubbub is an innovative talent management collaboration between seven Department of Health sponsored organisations, the NHS Litigation Authority, the NHS Business Services Authority, NHS Blood & Transplant, the Health Protection Agency, the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority, the General Social Care Council and the public health service of NHS South West.  The next stage for candidates will be an assessment and development centre, devised in consultation between the seven partner organisations and Adapt, our specialist contractors and based on the NHS Leadership Qualities Framework.

The NHSLA and The Information Standard have released a joint statement about their agreement to work together.  With immediate effect, all organisations providing NHS care who become certified members of The Information Standard will be deemed to satisfy the assessment requirements for producing patient information in criterion 4.2. Patient Information, at all three levels of the NHSLA Risk Management Standards.  The scope of certification must apply to all patient information produced by an organisation.  

A timeline of the key internal events which have marked the development of the NHSLA risk management standards and assessments and the external events which have influenced them from the establishment of the NHSLA in 1995 through to the present day is now available.

The NHSLA and NICE have issued a joint statement explaining how compliance with NICE guidance can help organisations manage risk and optimise resources.  Compliance with NICE guidance is the focus of criterion 5.8 of the NHSLA risk management standards and some new questions and answers to assist organisations in achieving the requirements have been added to the list of Frequently Asked Questions about the standards and assessment process.

This report describes DNV's delivery of risk management services to the NHSLA during 2008/09.  It provides background information about DNV and its partnership with the NHSLA, looks at the systems used to monitor performance, and outlines the work undertaken in relation to the key services of standards, assessments and education.

NHSLA launches its Document Transfer System - click here to find out more.

The Safer Births network, a major new initiative to help maternity units in England create systems that ensure they consistently deliver the safest possible care during labour to mothers and their babies, was launched on Thursday, 10 September 2009. Maternity professionals from 12 units will build on their existing local initiatives aimed at providing safe services to mothers and babies by developing systematic approaches to ensuring safety.  They will be part of a network of units that will employ practices proven to improve safety, and then share their learning with other maternity services throughout England.

If you would like to find out more and register for updates about the Safer Births initiative, go to www.kingsfund.org.uk/saferbirths.  Safer Births is run by The King’s Fund in partnership with the Royal College of Midwives, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries, the NHS Litigation Authority and the National Patient Safety Agency.