2019 is set to be another transformative and difficult year for the NHS. With record funding announced this Summer and Health Secretary Matt Hancock implementing a stricter digital culture on hospitals, it will be interesting to see how the service moves on from its 70th anniversary celebrations. It will take a few months before we can appropriately assess whether care this winter has learnt from the shortcomings of last year and whether the £20 billion funding is enough to settle the ship.
Before we make any predictions and begin to guess government action, lets look back on the most popular features from Health Business magazine this year, with a range of topics, from catering to the Internet of Things, favoured from our readership.
As always, thank you for visiting the Health Business website this year, and we look forward to bringing you more news, views and articles next year.
1- Improving the patient waiting experience
Embracing a design-led approach can really improve outcomes for staff and patients in hospitals across the country. In March, the Design Council reported on the work undertaken at the Whittington Hospital pharmacy to improve the patient experience
2 - HB Top 10: Catering for a healthier hospital
A successful feature of last year, the catering Top 10 list proved popular with our online readership. At the end of 2017, NHS England announced that sugary drinks will be banned from sale across NHS hospitals in England from July 2018. In our first Top 10 list of 2018, HB examined the NHS trusts and health organisations that are excelling in healthy catering
3 - Transforming healthcare through cloud technology
In January 2018, NHS Digital announced that it was taking a ‘cloud-first’ approach to technology in the NHS and published official guidance on cloud computing for health and social care. Following that announcement, Tas Hind, director of Healthcare of Essentia Trading Ltd, looked at the role of cloud computing in helping to revolutionise the use of technology in healthcare
4 - Volunteers at the heart of the NHS
Royal Voluntary Service has supported the NHS since its inception. Today, the charity mobilises 20,000 volunteers to support people in need, in hospital and in the community. Sam Ward, director of Commissioned Services at the charity, which itself turned 80 this year, explained a few months ago how its volunteers are still at the heart of the NHS today
5 - CQUIN 1B – The future of hospital catering
NHS England’s CQUIN 1B guidance is designed to help caterers promote the health and well-being of NHS staff, visitors and patients. But, with various iterations of the guidelines being announced over the last few years, it’s perhaps not surprising that many find them daunting and confusing, says David King
6 - NHS 70 interview: Norman Lamb, MP
As part of July’s NHS 70 anniversary celebrations, Health Business published a number of interviews with those working within and for our health service, including Janet Davies, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing and Niall Dickson, chief executive of NHS Confederation. However, the conversation we held with Norman Lamb, former care minister and Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, proved very popular with Norman discussing social care plans and mental health parity
7 - Releasing clinician’s time to patient care
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust is one of the trusts leading the way for the NHS in adopting smarter and more effective systems and practices, intended to improve operational efficiency and patient safety. In January, the trust discussed how being a Scan4Safety site is helping it release clinical time to patient care
8 - Leveraging IoT to improve the patient experience
Within the healthcare sector, the Internet of Things is emerging as a major area for growth and investment, allowing organisations to drive efficiencies while also improving patient experience. Paul Timms discussed some of the potential benefits of using IoT as a basis to transform efficiency and improve the patient experience
9 - Keeping money flowing through the system
As NHS trusts across the country continue to record large financial deficits, the process of recovering debt they are owed takes on added importance. And, as Stephen Sutcliffe, director of Finance and Accounting at NHS Shared Business Services explained to Health Business, the money owed across the NHS is measured in the eye-watering billions of pounds
10 - Catering for a healthy environment
The Soil Association’s Food for Life programme has been working with communities and a range of settings to help make good food the easy choice for everyone – making healthy, tasty and sustainable meals the norm for all to enjoy, reconnecting people with where their food comes from, teaching them how it’s grown and cooked, and championing the importance of well‑sourced ingredients. Here, Adrian Roper discussed how to help NHS trusts create a better food experience and support a health-promoting environment for patients, staff and visitors through shared learning