How are we doing?
How are we doing?
How are we doing?
Transparency
In line with the government's agenda for greater transparency, we are pleased to make the following information available. More data will be added over time.
Vital Signs
VITAL SIGNS 2009/10
The Department of Health (DoH) has issued to all PCTs confirmation of their performance against the Vital Signs for 2009/10.
It is pleasing to say that Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT have performed well, on the vast majority of the Vital Signs, when compared with the NHS North West and England averages.
Operating Framework
Operating Framework:
Information Governance
Information Governance is about the way the NHS handles information about patients / clients and employees; in particular personal and sensitive information.
- It allows NHS organisations and individuals to ensure that personal information is dealt with legally, securely, efficiently and effectively in order to deliver the best possible care.
- It provides a framework to bring together all of the legal requirements, Department of Health standards and best practice that apply to the handling of personal information.
Governance are:
• Information Governance Management
• Confidentiality and Data Protection Assurance
• Information Security Assurance
• Clinical Information Assurance
• SUS – Secondary User Assurance
• Corporate Information Assurance
How We Are Monitored:
The Information Governance Toolkit (IGT) is a self-assessment audit tool provided by the Department of Health - Connecting for Health. All of the initiatives within the toolkit are mapped to a Department of Health information-handling model called HORUS. This identifies the PCT’s performance in relation to the following actions which may be taken with patient / personal information.
• Held securely and confidentially
• Obtained fairly and lawfully
• Recorded accurately and reliably
• Used effectively and ethically
• Shared appropriately and lawfully
To view our performance against the IGT requirements, you can access the results from previous years submissions, on the NHS Connecting for Health website.
Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT has developed a number of policies relating to Information Governance, these include; Freedom of Information, Records Management, Information Security, Data Protection, and Confidentiality Code of Practice. These can be requested via the Policies and Procedures section of our website, found under the About Us section.
For more information about Information Governance in the NHS, please view the NHS Connecting For Health Website.
Data Protection Act 1998:
Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT is a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. To view our annual notification of processing of personal data, please visit the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Senior Information Risk Owner – SIRO
Each NHS organisation is required to establish the role of a Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO). This role has to be an Executive Director, Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Senior Manager member of the PCT Board. The SIRO may also be the Chief Information Officer (CIO) if the latter is on the Board.
The SIRO is expected to understand how the strategic business goals of the PCT may be impacted by information risks.
The SIRO acts as an advocate for information risk on the Board and in internal discussions, and provides written advice to the Accountable Officer on the content of their annual Statement of Internal Control (SIC) in regard to information risk.
The SIRO for our PCT is Fiona Field – Director of Governance and Strategic Planning.
Caldicott Guardian
A Caldicott Guardian is a senior person responsible for protecting the confidentiality of patient and service-user information and enabling appropriate information-sharing. The Guardian plays a key role in ensuring that the NHS, Councils with Social Sevices responsibilities and partner organisations satisfy the highest practicable standards for handling patient identifiable information.
The Caldicott Guardian for our PCT is Heather Pope – Head of Dental Services.
For more information on the role and requirements of Caldicott Guardians in the NHS, please visit the Department of Health Website.
Care Quality Commission
Care Quality Commission -
Legislation is bringing in a new system that applies to all regulated health and adult social care services. Registration is at the centre of the new system.
From April 2010, all health and adult social care providers who provide regulated activities will be required by law to be registered with the Care Quality Commission. To do so, providers must show they are meeting new essential standards of quality and safety across all of the regulated activities they provide.
The new system will make sure that people can expect services to meet essential standards of quality and safety that respect their dignity and protect their rights. The new system is focused on outcomes, rather than systems and processes, and places the views and experience of people who use services at the centre.
Subject to legislation, new registration comes into force on 1 April 2010 for NHS trusts (including primary care trusts as providers).
On 29th January 2010 the PCT applied for registration to the Care Quality Commission to provide healthcare to the local population. The PCT will receive confirmation of registration during March 2010.
Annual Health Check
Annual Health Check 2009/10
Our Annual Health Check looks at how we are performing across our World Class Commissioning competencies, National Priorities , Existing Commitments and Use of Resources.
Use of Resources is an Audit Commission assessment of how well organisations are managing and using their resources to delivery value for money and better and sustainable outcomes for local people.
From 1 April 2009 the ‘Care Quality Commission’ (CQC) replaced the Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission to provide an integrated approach to regulation across these bodies’ current areas of responsibility.
For 2009/10 The Provider arm of Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT – Cheshire East Community Health (CECH) – were asked to provide a mid year declaration to the CQC on all core standards.
Equality and Diversity
Central and Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust are keen to ensure Equality and Diversity are embedded in the culture of the organisation, while striving to achieve universal health for all and improving the social and economic well being of the Communities the Trust serves.
Safeguarding
Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT is assured that:
- We meet statutory requirements in relation to Criminal Records Bureau checks
- Our child protection policies and systems are up to date and robust, including a process for following up children who miss outpatient appointments and a system for flagging children for whom there are safeguarding concerns
- All eligible staff have undertaken and are up to date with safeguarding training at level 1 and a review of other training arrangements has been completed
- Designated and/or named safeguarding professionals are clear about their role and have sufficient time and support to undertake it; and
Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT is assured that we have robust and appropriate performance monitoring systems in place with all providers in relation to safeguarding children. The Primary Care Trust has reviewed completed Standards of Better Health Declarations for all NHS providers from whom we commission services and is assured that GP practices have robust systems and practices in place to ensure the fulfillment of the child safeguarding role.
To view our declaration, please visit:
Healthcare Standards Declaration 2009/2010 - Provider
We have reviewed all our training and produced an action plan to ensure we comply.
The Care Quality Commission requires all Primary Care Trusts to review their training to ensure that it meets the standards set out in "Safeguarding Children: A Review of Arrangements in the NHS for England."
We have reviewed our training and have, as a result, produced an Action Plan to ensure all staff are appropriately, trained including general practitioners.
We have also asked all our providers organisations to assure us of the same through the meetings at which we discuss their individual Quality Schedules.
Here is a link to the Care Quality Commission's report, Safeguarding Children: A Review of Arrangements in the NHS for England.
Use of Resources
The Audit Commission published in November 2009 its guidance on the overall approach and key lines of enquiry (KLoEs) for the Use of Resources 2009-10 assessment. This doucment outlines the key feature of the judgements for the purposes of the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) and how the KLoEs form the basis for the auditor's value for money conclusion under the Code of Audit Practice 2005. There will be three scored themes with an overall scored judgement for Value for Money.
World Class Commissioning
The focus of the World Class Commissioning (WCC) assurance process is still about:
Developing the PCT towards world class performance, the achievement of better health outcomes and the reduction of health inequalities;
Holding organisation to account for performance improvements in commissioning capabilities and outcome improvements;
Rewarding success;
Providing a common basis for agreeing further development and enabling reliable comparison of performance across all PCTs.
The second year of the assurance process has been refined to help Primary Care Trusts focus on the key priorities that are needed to deliver improved health outcomes for their local population.
Wider Context
High Quality Care for All set out an ambition to put quality at the heart of everything the NHS does. The task now is how to deliver this through a period of significant financial challenge.
World Class Commissioning is designed to give PCTs the skills to be at the forefront of delivering improvements to all parts of their local population, using the principles of quality, innovation, productivity and prevention (QIPP). It is a means of embedding the skills, capabilities and competencies at a local level that will be required to respond to future challenges.
