Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw launches national competition

A competition open to the whole of the UK to find the nation’s first ‘City of Culture’ was launched today by Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw. The winning city will become a focus for national attention in 2013 and could host high-profile media events including the Turner Prize, BBC Sports Personality of the Year, The Brits and the Stirling Prize as part of their year in the spotlight.

Building on Liverpool’s success as European Capital of Culture in 2008 the successful city could expect to see economic and social benefits flow in, leaving a lasting legacy. The initiative is being launched following a feasibility study by Phil Redmond.

And not just cities can apply. Bids will also be welcome from closely linked urban areas, or cities with their surrounding areas. The important thing is that there must be a clear central focus to the area.

Bidders will have until 16 October this year to submit an outline application, with a deadline of 11 December for initial bids. Expert assessors will then look at bids received and an independent advisory panel will recommend a short list to be announced early in 2010. Finally, those bids that are short listed have until 28 May to submit their full and final bids. Once these have been assessed and a recommendation made by the independent advisory panel, the final winner will be announced by the Culture Secretary later that year.

Ben Bradshaw said:

“Culture is something that we are incredibly good at in the UK. But excellence and innovation in the arts does not begin and end inside the M25 and I believe we have been too London-centric for too long in our cultural life. So this competition aims to find a city or area outside London that has the wow factor, with exciting and credible plans to make a step change in its cultural life and engage the whole country.

“Liverpool’s success last year brought pride, confidence and real economic regeneration to the area. Their triumphant year shows that the title of City of Culture will be a prize very much worth having, with a huge amount to play for.

“National cultural organisations and funding bodies are backing the plan and I am grateful to them for their support so far. I also thank Phil Redmond for his work to make this exciting concept a reality.”

Phil Redmond added:

“Liverpool benefited tremendously in 2008, from simply having a badge of authority that allowed people to work collaboratively together to enhance and maximize every event throughout the city. It also acted as a focal point for every cultural economic and social agenda – including permission to enjoy themselves. Culture is not an amorphous concept: it is at the heart of everything we do. To bring about any step change you need to bring about cultural shift and that is where cultural practitioners can help by introducing new ideas and new ways of doing things. Something we will all have to do looking to a rapidly changing digital world.”

(DH) Improvements to the regulation of healthcare professionals

Measurements to improve the regulation and governance of healthcare professionals, providing greater reassurances for the public and professionals, were today set out in two reports published today by the Department of Health.

The Tackling Concerns Nationally and Tackling Concerns Locally reports are part of the wider Government reforms on professional regulation to raise professional standards and ensure patient safety. These two reports are the result of external working groups taking forward the implementation of the reforms announced in the White Paper - Trust, Assurance, Safety: the Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century - over the last 18 months.

Tackling Concerns Nationally (TCN) makes recommendations on professional regulation and assuring patient safety at a national level. It sets out recommendations for the establishment of the Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator (OHPA) which will look at cases brought forward assessing fitness to practise for healthcare professionals.

This separate body would be independent from existing professional regulators, the Government and the healthcare profession to ensure absolute fairness and transparency. The board will initially take on cases concerning doctors and will expand to other professions. A consultation has also been launched today which sets out proposals for the principles and governance of this new body.

Tackling Concerns Locally (TCL) sets out recommendations and principles of best practice to strengthen local NHS arrangements for identifying poor performance among healthcare workers and taking effective action. Local implementation will be supported by more detailed operational guidance and by regulations which the Department of Health will introduce later this year, after consultation with interested parties.

Health Minister, Ben Bradshaw said:

"Our overriding priority is to ensure that patients and the public are protected. The recommendations outlined in Tackling Concerns Nationally and Tackling Concerns Locally will put in place the best systems, both locally and nationally, to identify and address concerns about individual professional conduct and competence.

"These reports go a long way to further ensure healthcare standards in the NHS are high, and to reassure both public and professionals that the systems and processes put the safety of patients at their heart, while being fair to staff."

Professor Jenny Simpson OBE, Chief Executive of the British Association of Medical Managers and chair of the overarching Tackling Concerns Locally working group said:

"Every patient, professional and healthcare organisation has the right to expect that robust systems are in place ensuring that colleagues delivering care are up to date and fit to practice.

"I am delighted to see the launch of this important document. It details a range of practical measures, specifically designed to bridge any gaps between structures and processes within local organisations and national -level regulatory mechanisms."

Both Tackling Concerns reports are a critical component of the Government's drive to improve NHS services, as set out in the 2008 Next Stage Review, High Quality Care for All. As part of the professional standards programme, the Department of Health is looking at how to implement the recommendations in Tackling Concerns to help deliver the high quality workforce needed to ensure the safe, respectful and effective care that patients expect.

(DH) Government outlines changes to GP quality incentive scheme

Delivering the best possible care for patients will be at the heart of changes to the GP quality incentive scheme, the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), Health Minister Ben Bradshaw announced today.

Following a 13-week consultation with the NHS and stakeholders, from 1 April 2009 the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) will oversee the annual process of reviewing the clinical indicators included in QOF. The consultation sought views from clinicians, patient organisations, NHS commissioners and the public. Using its experience in providing independent clinical advice, NICE will now review the benefits to patients and the cost effectiveness of the indicators used to assess the quality of care provided by GP practices. NICE will be responsible for developing a more transparent and inclusive process for setting priorities with input from patients and carers, primary care professionals and other stakeholders.

The final choice of QOF indicators will remain a matter for negotiation between the British Medical Association (BMA) and NHS Employers, based on the advice produced by NICE. QOF supports the work of other schemes for improving healthcare such as extended opening hours which means patients now have access to a GP at evenings and weekends.

Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said:

"The UK leads the world in providing incentives to GPs to improve the quality of patient care. We have come a long way in addressing health problems thanks to the current scheme.

"We want to ensure that GP practices continue to deliver more improvements to patient care, and are better supported in keeping patients healthy.

"It is important that the scheme continues to provide the best health outcomes and value for money for patients. Asking NICE to lead this new process for prioritising and reviewing indicators will ensure the system is constantly updated to meet changing health needs."

The QOF rewards GP practices for managing some of the most common chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart failure; improving health; organising practices well; how patients view their experience at the surgery and the quality of extra services offered such as child health and maternity services. A commitment was made in High Quality Care for All, Lord Darzi's review of the NHS, to develop a new, independent and transparent process for prioritising and reviewing QOF to ensure it continues to support GPs in delivering the best possible care for patients.