22 May 2009
Accident and emergency departments in England have met their target of treating 98% of patients within four hours over the past year. Department of Health figures released on May 15 showed there were a record 19.6 million visits to A&E over the same period. It was also the department’s best performance in winter, with 97.7% of patients receiving diagnosis and treatment within four hours of arrival. Health minister Ben Bradshaw welcomed the news, saying that ‘this winter was the most challenging for years’. The DoH said the figures were an indication that winter preparations were improving patient care. The annual spend on A&E services has more than doubled, from £750m in 1997/98 to £1,732m in 2007/08.
The Cabinet Office has appointed an Innovators Council aimed at speeding up public services reform by fast-tracking ideas from frontline staff and taxpayers. Announcing the initiative on May 18, Cabinet Office Minister Liam Byrne said the panel’s role would be to help him develop and implement new ideas to reform public services. Byrne said: ‘Frontline staff doing the job day in and day out will often see clearest what needs to change. I want those ideas put to the top tables in Whitehall without delay.’ The council is drawn from figures in the public, private and voluntary sectors and will meet for the first time on June 24. A Cabinet Office spokesman said ideas approved by the council would be tested and, if workable, could become pilot schemes within ten weeks. Ideas can be submitted to the council via www.publicexperience.com.
The proportion of infant school classes in England with more than 30 pupils has risen to 1.7%, according to government figures. The new figure compares with 1.5% in January last year. The number of five to seven-year-olds taught in classes officially defined as ‘unlawfully large’ more than doubled in the two years to January 2009, to more than 10,000. Schools minister Jim Knight said: ‘Almost all infant classes are below 30. The less than 1% that are unlawfully large must take immediate steps to comply with the law.’ But Liberal Democrat children, schools and families spokesman David Laws said: ‘The situation risks being even worse next year given the shortage of school places in many parts of the country, particularly in London.’
The government has signed deals with vaccine manufacturers for up to 90 million doses of flu vaccine as the swine flu epidemic continues to spread. Health Secretary Alan Johnson said on May 15: ‘The localised cases of swine flu found in the UK have so far been mild, and our strategy of containing the spread with antivirals appears to have been effective in reducing symptoms and preventing further spread of infection. These additional arrangements provide the opportunity by December this year to have enough pre-pandemic vaccine to protect at least half of the population from swine flu.’
The Wales Audit Office has been awarded the 2009 Cliff Nicholson prize by CIPFA. The award went to the WAO fleet management project team for its innovative approach to reviewing arrangements across the Welsh public sector. It identified over £500,000 of efficiency savings as well as a range of environmental benefits. The award was presented by CIPFA president Caroline Mawhood at the 2009 CIFPA Annual Audit Conference. Kevin Thomas, engagement partner at the Wales Audit Office, received the award and said: ‘Everyone made a vital contribution to the project’s success, with over 60 financial audit and performance auditors involved in the study along with staff from corporate services.’
