Government tables modern slavery amendment to Health and Care Bill just before it receives royal assent The government tabled an amendment to the Health and Care Bill to stop the NHS buying or using goods or services that are “tainted by slavery and human trafficking” shortly before the bill received royal assent and became law. The amendment aligns with what a news release describes as “the UK’s mission” to eradicate modern slavery. Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid said that as the biggest public sector organisation in the country “the NHS is well-placed to spearhead this work.” The passage of the bill means a number of NHS changes can finally take place and integrated care systems can start work on a statutory footing.

Health news: NHS compensation scheme under fire; High Court rules on Covid discharges to care homes; NHS Confed and IPPR work on inequality and growth at ‘place’ level The NHS compensation scheme is “not fit for purpose” and requires a radical overhaul, according to the Commons’ health and social care committee. Sky News reported the scheme is “slow, adversarial, stressful, and often bitter” and that it rarely leads to lessons being learned – even though it costs the NHS £2 billion a year and rising. The High Court has ruled that elements of the policy of discharging untested patients from hospitals to care homes at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic were unlawful. The BBC reported that the court felt those behind the policy had failed to take account of the risk of non-symptomatic transmission.   The NHS Confederation and the Institute for Public Policy Research have announced a project to explore how ‘place’ can be used to address high levels of inequality and low levels of growth. The IPPR has just reported that people in the UK are living shorter lives, with more years in poor health, and fewer in work, than people in other European countries, and that this represents an £8 billion drag on the UK economy. The Confed project will feed into the Health and Prosperity Commission that the IPPR has set up to find ways to address these issues.

Health IT news: Coventry and Warwickshire launches AF virtual ward; Birmingham Community Healthcare develops patient portal; Wales launches Microsoft 365 Centre of Excellence; NHS England supports smart watches to monitor Parkinson’s disease University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust has become the latest NHS organisation to create a virtual ward. Digitalhealth.net reports that the trust is going to work with Doccla on a virtual ward to support patients who need pre- and post-op care before and after undergoing ablation for atrial fibrillation. Up to 100 patients with AF will be supported. Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is going to deploy a patient portal. Digitalhealth.net reports the trust is working with Wellola on the project, which will enable patients to view elements of their medical record, manage appointments, complete online forms, and receive information.   The NHS in Wales has launched a Microsoft 365 Centre of Excellence. Digitalhealth.net reports that the centre will help NHS organisations to use Microsoft projects to solve operational and clinical challenges and to introduce new products to users. NHS England is supporting the roll-out of smart watches for people with Parkinson’s disease. The Health Tech Newspaper reports that the Parkinson’s KinetiGraph, developed with the NHS and universities in Plymouth, will be used to help healthcare teams to assess a patient’s condition and movements, so they can recommend medication and treatment adjustments.