No / This paper presents a knowledge review on the career progression of Equality and Diversity professionals within the British National Health Service. Adopting a multidimensional methodological approach, the review involved examining literature of published and unpublished literature including scientific journals, statistics, and national and international reports to highlight research gaps, consultation with experts, and documentary analysis of job advertisements. Thematic analysis was utilized to examine and report patterns within data generated from the multiple data collection methods. The review identified the concept of career undergoing a fundamental shift in strategy and consequent overhaul of traditional organizational structures in all sectors. New boundaryless organizations have presented the possibility of boundaryless careers, resulting in the renegotiation of the psychological contract between employee and employer. The knowledge review has identified that more needs to be addressed, from both employee and employer perspectives, to ensure that conditions are in place for such competences to flourish.

Yes / To estimate the prevalence of wounds managed by the UK's National Health Service (NHS) in 2012/2013 and the annual levels of healthcare resource use attributable to their management and corresponding costs. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort analysis of the records of patients in The Health Improvement Network (THIN) Database. Records of 1000 adult patients who had a wound in 2012/2013 (cases) were randomly selected and matched with 1000 patients with no history of a wound (controls). Patients' characteristics, wound-related health outcomes and all healthcare resource use were quantified and the total NHS cost of patient management was estimated at 2013/2014 prices. RESULTS: Patients' mean age was 69.0 years and 45% were male. 76% of patients presented with a new wound in the study year and 61% of wounds healed during the study year. Nutritional deficiency (OR 0.53; p<0.001) and diabetes (OR 0.65; p<0.001) were independent risk factors for non-healing. There were an estimated 2.2 million wounds managed by the NHS in 2012/2013. Annual levels of resource use attributable to managing these wounds and associated comorbidities included 18.6 million practice nurse visits, 10.9 million community nurse visits, 7.7 million GP visits and 3.4 million hospital outpatient visits. The annual NHS cost of managing these wounds and associated comorbidities was pound5.3 billion. This was reduced to between pound5.1 and pound4.5 billion after adjusting for comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: Real world evidence highlights wound management is predominantly a nurse-led discipline. Approximately 30% of wounds lacked a differential diagnosis, indicative of practical difficulties experienced by non-specialist clinicians. Wounds impose a substantial health economic burden on the UK's NHS, comparable to that of managing obesity ( pound5.0 billion). Clinical and economic benefits could accrue from improved systems of care and an increased awareness of the impact that wounds impose on patients and the NHS.

Yes / This article considers how cuts in Government funding will affect continuing professional development and mentorship training for NHS staff

Yes / In October 2014, Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, committed the service to plugging £22 billion of the expected £30 billion gap in its finances by 2020 through productivity gains of 2–3% a year by 2020. Since that announcement, the Government promised to provide £8 billion by 2020. This may notionally have been received, but it has not alleviated the severity of these financial constraints (Barnes and Dunhill, 2015). With austerity measures biting even deeper into the budgets of NHS organisations, all staff are under pressure to make cost efficiencies and at the same time improve operational standards and patient outcomes. In this pressured change environment, there are hospitals and departments that have embraced the demand for change, creating innovative skills mix platforms from which to deliver services. But there are also those who have remained entrenched in operational protocols. In both scenarios, the overarching driver for service re-design has been operational efficiency guided by government targets.

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / A coordenaÃÃo dos cuidados pela atenÃÃo primÃria à saÃde (APS) ocupa uma posiÃÃo de destaque na agenda das polÃticas de saÃde de vÃrios paÃses. à uma alternativa possÃvel para o problema da segmentaÃÃo em sistemas de saÃde, que gera iniquidade e ineficiÃncia, desarticulaÃÃo da rede assistencial e prejuÃzo no acesso aos nÃveis de atenÃÃo mais complexos. O objetivo geral do estudo foi comparar a induÃÃo centralizada da coordenaÃÃo dos cuidados pela APS em dois sistemas de saÃde universais. Estudo de abordagem quanti-qualitativa, à classificado como exploratÃrio-descritivo, valendo-se de dados documentais e orÃamentÃrios e da realizaÃÃo de nove entrevistas semiestruturadas com sujeitos-chave correspondentes ao National Health Service (NHS), do Reino Unido, e ao Sistema Ãnico de SaÃde (SUS), do Brasil. Foi utilizada anÃlise de conteÃdo temÃtica, estatÃstica descritiva e anÃlise comparativa. A pesquisa obedeceu à ResoluÃÃo 196/96 do Conselho Nacional de SaÃde e obteve parecer favorÃvel (nÃmero 198.092). A pesquisa identificou que o fortalecimento da APS à a base inicial para viabilizar a coordenaÃÃo dos cuidados no Brasil. O MinistÃrio da SaÃde do Brasil vem desenvolvendo polÃticas nacionais que impactam indiretamente na coordenaÃÃo dos cuidados - PolÃtica Nacional de AtenÃÃo BÃsica, NÃcleos de Apoio à SaÃde da FamÃlia e Programa Nacional de Melhoria do Acesso e da Qualidade da AtenÃÃo BÃsica. A polÃtica de Redes de AtenÃÃo à SaÃde revelou-se fator limitante ao papel coordenador da APS. As Tecnologias de InformaÃÃo e ComunicaÃÃo surgiram com menos Ãnfase no Ãmbito federal. O incremento estrutural no TelessaÃde Brasil Redes e os Cadernos de AtenÃÃo BÃsica sobressaÃram por sua capacidade de induzir mudanÃas organizacionais nos serviÃos. O NHS estruturou a coordenaÃÃo dos cuidados pela APS a partir do contrato dos general practitioners e busca empoderÃ-los para gerir 60% do orÃamento do sistema. A pesquisa concluiu que o modelo de Estado federativo brasileiro dificulta a coordenaÃÃo dos cuidados pela APS, em comparaÃÃo ao Estado unitÃrio inglÃs. A municipalizaÃÃo e descentralizaÃÃo tornaram complexo o processo de coordenaÃÃo dos cuidados, cabendo ao MinistÃrio da SaÃde o papel de induzir, de forma vertical, e aos municÃpios, operar o sistema em cada ponto de atenÃÃo de forma horizontal, situaÃÃo que nÃo ficou bem alinhada e configurou um modelo oblÃquo, gerando uma contradiÃÃo no desenho federativo brasileiro e dificultando a coordenaÃÃo dos cuidados. / The coordination of care for the primary health care (PHC) occupies a prominent position on the agenda of the health policies of various countries. It is a possible alternative to the problem of segmentation of health systems, which generates inequity and inefficiency, disarticulation of the care network and impaired access to more complex levels of care. The general objective of this study was to compare the centralized induction of coordination of care by PHC in two universal health systems. This study has a quantitative and qualitative approach and it is classified as exploratory and descriptive, by using documental and budgetary data and performing nine semistructured interviews with key subjects corresponding to National Health Service (NHS), from the United Kingdom, and the Unified Health System (SUS) in Brazil. The thematic content analysis, descriptive statistics and e comparative analysis were used. The research followed the Resolution 196/96 of the National Health Council and obtained its assent under number 198 092. The research identified that the strengthening of PHC is the initial basis to facilitate the coordination of care in Brazil. The Ministry of Health of Brazil has been developing national policies which impact indirectly on coordination of care - National Policy for Primary Care, Centers of Support for Family Health and the National Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care. The Politics of Health Care Networks proved to be limiting factor for coordinating role of the PHC. The Information and Communication Technologies have emerged with less emphasis on the federal level. The structural increase in BrazilÂs Telehealth Networks and Protocols Notebooks of Primary Care, stood by their ability to induce changes in the organizational processes of the services. The NHS structured care coordination by PHC from the contract of general practitioners and seeks to empower them to manage 60% of the budget system. The research concluded that the brazilian federal State model complicates the coordination of care by PHC, compared to the english unitary State. The municipalization and decentralization made the process of coordination of care more complex, leaving to the Ministry of Health the role of inducing vertically and, to the municipalities, operate the system at each point of care in a horizontal manner, a situation which was not well aligned and configured an oblique model, generating a contradiction in the brazilian federal design and bringing difficulties to the coordination of care.

In the UK there has been growing concern about the relationship between levels of alcohol consumption and offending behaviour. The Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) was introduced to the UK in 2007 and was piloted in a District in the north of England in July 2007. The ATR is a coercive form of treatment delivered jointly by the probation service and the National Health Service (NHS) and was funded by the NHS. The ATR centres on supporting offenders to cease their offending behaviour and reduce or end their alcohol misuse. Two female alcohol treatment workers have been appointed to specifically deliver the ATR. Therefore this study aimed to investigate the delivery of the ATR, and more specifically, aimed to explore what impact the ATR might have in relation to positive behaviour change and rehabilitation for offenders with alcohol problems. In order to meet the expectations of producing 'outcome' data for the NHS funders, and indepth theoretical data worthy of an academic PhD, this research took a pragmatic methodological approach which enabled different social realities of the ATR to be explored. To this end, a mixed methods design was employed involving quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The data for this research was generated in three phases with Phase One aiming to explore quantitatively the characteristics, impacts and outcomes of those sentenced to the ATR. This phase revealed that the ATR is being delivered to predominantly young, male, alcohol dependent, violent, persistent offenders. This analysis further revealed that the ATR was effective in bringing about positive treatment outcomes and in reducing reoffending. In order to explore further how this positive change was occurring, Phase Two consisted of qualitative participant observations of the treatment interaction involving the female alcohol treatment workers and the male offenders. By drawing on positioning theory, the analysis considered the complexity of the gendered interactions that occurred during these encounters. It was found that the two female alcohol treatment workers resisted positions of 'feminine carer' offered up by these young men in order to occupy positions of control. Indeed this analysis provided great insight into the constant flow of negotiations and manoeuvring of positions that occurred between the alcohol treatment worker and the offender, argued to be vitally important in working towards positive behaviour change. During Phase Three ten offenders were interviewed in order to explore through a dialogical lens (Bakhtin, 1982) how they constructed and experienced treatment on the ATR. In exploring the offenders' stories dialogically, the analysis highlighted how the ATR was enabling, in that it offered a 'space' for these offenders to engage and internalise a dialogue that draws on the authoritative voice of therapy. Therefore it was revealed that through dialogue with the 'other', offenders were able to re-author a more 'moral' and 'worthy' self. Moreover, the ATR has been found to be successful in enabling the offenders' hegemonic masculine identities to be both challenged and protected as a result of the multilayered interactions that occurred during these treatment encounters. This research therefore concludes that coercive treatment, rather than being a concern, should be embraced as a way of enabling change for offenders with alcohol problems. Furthermore, this research has highlighted the value of the relational aspect of treatment in bringing about positive behaviour changes. Finally this research has shown that community sentences offer a more constructive way of engaging with offenders than those who receive a custodial sentence.

Previous research has examined patients’ level of satisfaction with the care, in an attempt to develop health care services that match patients’ expectations and needs. Nevertheless, there is still considerable debate among researchers over conceptual and methodological issues. This research programme investigated factors that contribute to patient satisfaction with health care in two fairly different European health care systems (the UK’s NHS and Greece’s ESY). A further aim was to develop a scale to assess patient satisfaction and health care evaluations within these two cultural contexts. In order to achieve those aims, a sequential exploratory strategy incorporating, qualitative and quantitative designs was used to explore patient health care evaluations, patient satisfaction, expectations, health care experiences, interpersonal qualities of the doctor-patient relationship and health care contextual factors at both micro and macro level. Three studies were conducted: Studies 1a and 1b examined levels of patient satisfaction with health care delivery in Greece and the UK respectively. More similarities than differences were found between the two samples, but aspects of health system evaluation differed. The data obtained from this study informed the development of the Patient Expectation and Satisfaction Scale (PESS). The psychometric properties of the preliminary version of the scale were subsequently tested in non clinical populations in Greece and the UK (Studies 2a and 2b). The pilot testing of the PESS was based on a proposed theoretical framework suggesting that patients’ expectations depend on the nature of past experiences and current expectations. The variable that influences some of the differences between the two countries is health culture in terms of contextual health care differences. Although findings revealed similarities between the two cultures, differences were found relating to dissatisfaction, health care evaluations, expectations and the quality of the doctor-patient relationship. A revised version of the PESS, based on these findings, was administered to hospital outpatient populations in both countries (Study 3). The Patient Satisfaction and Expectation Model that emerged from this analysis incorporated three levels of patient satisfaction: at the micro level, the macro level and the interpersonal level. The importance of patients’ understanding of professional competence and its salience as a predictor of the effectiveness of the doctor-patient relationship was highlighted. The quality of the doctor-patient relationship emerged as an important determinant of patient satisfaction and adherence. The overall findings of this research programme suggest that patient satisfaction is multidimensional; despite contextual differences between the two health care systems, a universal concept exists that includes health care expectations, health care experiences, interpersonal qualities and aspects relating to operational and organisational structures at both micro and macro level.

In the UK there has been growing concern about the relationship between levels of alcohol consumption and offending behaviour. The Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) was introduced to the UK in 2007 and was piloted in a District in the north of England in July 2007. The ATR is a coercive form of treatment delivered jointly by the probation service and the National Health Service (NHS) and was funded by the NHS. The ATR centres on supporting offenders to cease their offending behaviour and reduce or end their alcohol misuse. Two female alcohol treatment workers have been appointed to specifically deliver the ATR. Therefore this study aimed to investigate the delivery of the ATR, and more specifically, aimed to explore what impact the ATR might have in relation to positive behaviour change and rehabilitation for offenders with alcohol problems. In order to meet the expectations of producing ¿outcome¿ data for the NHS funders, and indepth theoretical data worthy of an academic PhD, this research took a pragmatic methodological approach which enabled different social realities of the ATR to be explored. To this end, a mixed methods design was employed involving quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The data for this research was generated in three phases with Phase One aiming to explore quantitatively the characteristics, impacts and outcomes of those sentenced to the ATR. This phase revealed that the ATR is being delivered to predominantly young, male, alcohol dependent, violent, persistent offenders. This analysis further revealed that the ATR was effective in bringing about positive treatment outcomes and in reducing reoffending. In order to explore further how this positive change was occurring, Phase Two consisted of qualitative participant observations of the treatment interaction involving the female alcohol treatment workers and the male offenders. By drawing on positioning theory, the analysis considered the complexity of the gendered interactions that occurred during these encounters. It was found that the two female alcohol treatment workers resisted positions of ¿feminine carer¿ offered up by these young men in order to occupy positions of control. Indeed this analysis provided great insight into the constant flow of negotiations and manoeuvring of positions that occurred between the alcohol treatment worker and the offender, argued to be vitally important in working towards positive behaviour change. During Phase Three ten offenders were interviewed in order to explore through a dialogical lens (Bakhtin, 1982) how they constructed and experienced treatment on the ATR. In exploring the offenders¿ stories dialogically, the analysis highlighted how the ATR was enabling, in that it offered a ¿space¿ for these offenders to engage and internalise a dialogue that draws on the authoritative voice of therapy. Therefore it was revealed that through dialogue with the ¿other¿, offenders were able to re-author a more ¿moral¿ and ¿worthy¿ self. Moreover, the ATR has been found to be successful in enabling the offenders¿ hegemonic masculine identities to be both challenged and protected as a result of the multilayered interactions that occurred during these treatment encounters. This research therefore concludes that coercive treatment, rather than being a concern, should be embraced as a way of enabling change for offenders with alcohol problems. Furthermore, this research has highlighted the value of the relational aspect of treatment in bringing about positive behaviour changes. Finally this research has shown that community sentences offer a more constructive way of engaging with offenders than those who receive a custodial sentence.

Background: The impact children with complex healthcare needs have on the healthcare system is significant and requires a multidisciplinary response. Congenital anomaly (CA) is a group of conditions requiring complex and variable input from primary and secondary healthcare. This thesis explores the literature on health system preparedness for children with complex healthcare needs and quantitatively describes healthcare use for a population of children with CA, an exemplar for children with complex healthcare needs. Methods: Routine health data from primary care was explored to identify children with CA and linked to secondary care data, outpatient records, and questionnaire data from a multi-ethnic prospective birth cohort over a five-year period. Rates of CA were calculated and healthcare use for children with and without CA was analysed. Results: Out of a birth cohort of 13,857 children, 860 had a CA. Using primary care data for children aged 0 to 5 years, the number of children with CA was found to be 620.6 per 10,000 live births, above the national rate of 226.5 per 10,000 live births. Healthcare use was higher for children with CA than those without CA. Demand for use of hospital services for children with CA was higher (Incident rate ratio (IRR) 4.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.90 to 4.92) than demand for primary care services (IRR, 1.27, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.35). Conclusion: These results suggest that using primary care data as a source of CA case ascertainment reveals more children with CA than previously thought. These results have significant implications for commissioning healthcare services for children with complex healthcare needs.

No / Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine those factors perceived by users to influence the successful on-going use of e-commerce systems in business-to-business (B2B) buying and selling transactions through examination of the views of individuals acting in both purchasing and selling roles within the UK National Health Service (NHS) pharmaceutical supply chain. Design/methodology/approach Literature from the fields of operations and supply chain management (SCM) and information systems (IS) is used to determine candidate factors that might influence the success of the use of e¿commerce. A questionnaire based on these is used for primary data collection in the UK NHS pharmaceutical supply chain. Factor analysis is used to analyse the data. Findings The paper yields five composite factors that are perceived by users to influence successful e-commerce use. "System quality," "information quality," "management and use," "world wide web - assurance and empathy," and "trust" are proposed as potential critical success factors. Of these, all respondents ranked information quality, system quality, and trust as being of most importance, but differences in the rankings between purchasing and selling respondents are evident. Research limitations/implications The empirical study is limited to a single supply network, and although the findings seem intuitively to be of relevance to other sectors and supply contexts, there remains an opportunity to test this through further research. There is also an opportunity to extend the survey research, particularly into the wholesaler organisations that operate in the sector of study. Practical implications The managerial implications that result from this research provide practical guidance to organisations in this sector on how to ensure that e¿commerce systems for B2B buying and selling are used successfully. Originality/value This paper furthers knowledge and understanding in the fields of operations management, IS, and SCM, by suggesting potential determinants of successful e¿commerce use in both buying and selling organisations within supply networks.