·         OECD economic reforms ·         indigenous services ·         government iCT ·         cloud computing ·         disaster recovery ·         youth services ·         medical research funding ·         whistleblowing ·         UK health changes ·         consumer engagement ·         hospital readmissions ·         rural hospitals ·         ambulance reforms

·         direct care workers ·         paediatric services ·         medium secure services ·         medical technology ·         healthcare waste management ·         health inequalities ·         noncommunicable diseases ·         diabetes ·         food marketing ·         indigenous oral health ·         indigenous drug use ·         water quality ·         reablement

·         out of home care ·         children's homes ·         youth engagement ·         emotional abuse ·         youth and economic downturn ·         disabilty & childcare ·         homeless children ·         gentrification ·         housing inequality ·         housing afffordability ·         assisted housing ·         housing & young people ·         youth homelessness ·         rooming houses

	Economic Policy Reforms 2011 : Going for Growth   For each OECD country five reform priorities are identified...includes housing policies and A New Look at OECD Health Care Systems: Typology, Efficiency and Policies...Trends in health care outcomes and spending OECD (Apr 2011) Report on Government Services 2011: Indigenous Compendium •early childhood, education and training •justice •emergency management •health •community services •housing and homelessness. Productivity Commission (Apr 2011) Draft strategic vision for the Australian government's use of ICT outlines a long term plan for the government’s use of information and communication technology to support increased public sector productivity. Department of Finance and Deregulation Cloud Computing Security Considerations Cloud computing offers potential benefits including cost savings and improved business outcomes for Australian government agencies. However, there are a variety of information security risks that need to be carefully considered. see also Cloud Computing reigns on shared services parade many shared services initiatives are at best a qualified success and at worst outright failures...As enterprise-grade cloud computing matures in Australia it will become the standard against which in-house shared services are judged by users, treasurers and CFOs, and may well become a preferred alternative Aus Defence (Apr 2011) Natural Disasters: What is the Role for Social Safety Nets? Good understanding of the demographics and social composition of the affected population is crucial for targeting. A lack of understanding of the affected population - the proportion of elderly, disabled, women, children and orphans and the existing network of formal and informal safety nets - can lead to inappropriate design decisions. also: When Should the Public Sector Take Over in a Meltdown? What are the criteria that should govern public intervention in a meltdown faced by a private organization?(Harvard Business School) World bank (Feb 2011) Services for Young People: Value for Money Self-Assessment Pack  can help review services for young people in your area to better understand how well they deliver value for money and achieve the desired outcomes modules include governance, workforce, value for money UK Audit (Apr 2011) Exploring the Interdependency between Public and Charitable Medical Research future reductions in the level of government financial support for medical research are likely to cause disproportionate damage to the ability of charities to raise funds.  Public spending on medical research stimulates additional private donations to charities; a cut would have the opposite effect by signalling a decline in the perceived importance of funding for charities and for medical research. UK OHE (Apr 2011) Speaking up for vulnerable adults - whistleblowing in the care sector calling for proactive promotion of best practice in whistleblowing arrangements and the support available for whistleblowers. This includes training and guidance for managers on how to handle concerns, employers providing feedback when responding to concerns, a greater awareness of rights, zero tolerance of whistleblower victimisation, and clearer guidance about how and when to approach relevant authorities. UK Public Concern at Work (Apr 2011) National Health Service Landscape Review The proposals are intended to transform the NHS in England into a highly devolved, market-based model in which local commissioners and providers of health services are freed from central control, with an increased say for local authorities, patients and the public... draws out a number of risks associated with the transition to the new model that need to be managed... UK Public Accounts Committee (Apr 2011) Transforming Canadian Health Care through Consumer Engagement: The Key to Quality and System Innovation Engaging Baby Boomers in the re-design of health services that support efficient management of their own chronic conditions must become a system-level priority...Keeping seniors independent and enjoying quality of life at home is the first step to stemming the tide of the impending health sustainability crisis.. Can Ivey (Feb 2011) Reducing Hospital Readmissions--Lessons from Top-Performing Hospitals performance improvement strategies from 4 US hospitals US Commonwealth Fund (Apr 2011) The Opportunities and Challenges for Rural Hospitals in an Era of Health Reform Rural hospitals’ low-patient volumes make it difficult for these organizations to manage the high fixed costs associated with operating a hospital. US AHA (Apr 2011) St John Ambulance Inquiry: - report on Implementation of Recommendations WA Health (Apr 2011)
	Understanding Direct Care Workers: A Snapshot of Two of America’s Most Important Jobs Certified Nursing Assistants and Home Health Aides...a low wage job, turnover is a serious problem, training to become a direct care worker US HHS (Mar 2011) Facing the Future: A Review of Paediatric Services outlines how under-investment and an increase in demand for children’s hospital services have created huge pressure across paediatric care, resulting in many NHS services operating with dangerously low levels of staff and trainee doctors left to manage wards due to a shortage in senior level consultants posts. UK RCPCH (Apr 2011) Environmental Design Guide: adult medium secure services to inform commissioners and providers of medium-secure services who are considering new developments and extension or refurbishment of existing facilities UK Health (Apr 2011) Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme process and methods guides UK NICE (Apr 2011) Safe management of healthcare waste The key changes include: an update to statutory requirements; a focus on the waste hierarchy through procurement practices; a drive to address the carbon impact related to waste... UK Health (Mar 2011) Impact of Quality and Outcomes Framework on health inequalities The Quality and Outcomes Framework (a pay-for-performance scheme ) has incentivised general practices to have a more organised approach to chronic disease management, and provides a strong incentive to engage in secondary prevention. However, it has not given general practices incentives to undertake primary prevention and public health activities. UK Kings Fund (Apr 2011) The Global Status Report on Noncommunicable Diseases 2010 is the first report on the worldwide epidemic of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, along with their risk factors and determinants. WHO (Apr 2011) Assessment of Services to Reduce Diabetes-related Mortality Implementation of a systematic approach will have a population level impact in the short term in reducing inequalities in health, mortality and morbidity and improving life expectancy. also A generic workbook to facilitate local partners' investigation and development of a strategic approach to any topic which reduces inequalities in mortality UK Health (Apr 2011) Food for Thought: Interagency Working Group Proposal on Food Marketing to Children In an effort to combat childhood obesity – the most serious health crisis facing today’s youth – a working group of four federal agencies today released for public comment a set of proposed voluntary principles that can be used by industry as a guide for marketing food to children. US HHS (Apr 2011) Review of Indigenous oral health draws on the most up-to-date information available but, due to limitations in current information, it has been necessary to draw on older information and/or information from specific communities in some instances Aus Healthinfonet (Apr 2011) Injecting drug use and associated harms among Aboriginal Australians highlights the need for greater investment in the prevention, treatment and harm reduction sector so that those most disadvantaged in our community are not further disadvantaged by an ineffective system. ANCD (Apr 2011) Small-scale water supplies in the pan-European region. Background. Challenges. Improvements WHO Europe (Apr 2011) Reablement: a cost-effective route to better outcomes •Reablement is generally designed to help people learn or relearn the skills necessary for daily living which may have been lost through deterioration in health and/or increased support needs. ..Requirements for training, closer supervision of care workers and longer, more responsive and flexible visits all contribute to the greater costs of reablement compared with conventional home care. However, the higher price of reablement is likely to be offset by longer-term savings from reduced social care-related needs. UK SCIE (Apr 2011)
	Pathways of Care: longitudinal study of children and young people in out-of-home care will follow children and young people aged 0–17 years entering out-of-home care (OOHC) on Children’s Court orders for the first time.research papers NSW Community (Apr 2011) Conducting inspections of children’s homes guidance is designed to assist inspectors UK Ofsted (Apr 2011) Engaging with children and young people Without effective engagement with children and young people we cannot access their perspectives, understand their concerns, provide adequately for their needs or convey our regard for them. Qld SCU (Mar 2011) Recognising abuse: a programme of studies An overview of three themes that address the recognition of neglect and emotional abuse. UK Education (Apr 2011) Young people in an economic downturn (free registration required) although Australia experienced a relatively mild downturn, young people bore almost the entire weight of the full-time job decline (including apprenticeships), and a disproportionate share of the increase in unemployment. Those unable to find a job or who have been made redundant are at risk of remaining unemployed for a significant time, with potential longer-term scarring effects. LSAY (Apr 2011) Qualitative research into families' experiences and behaviours in the Childcare Affordability Pilots (CAP09): Disabled Children's Pilot In recognition that some parents of disabled children may face higher childcare costs, in 2009 the UK government introduced the Childcare Affordability Pilot for disabled children; a way of offering working parents with disabled children extra financial support with childcare costs through the tax credits system.  also; The importance of cost as a driver of family decisions about work and childcare - a data analysis report UK Education (Apr 2011) new website: Homeless children: Supporting homeless children in Scotland with their learning Scotland Shelter (Apr 2011) Gentrification and displacement: the household impacts of neighbourhood change Interviews with those displaced highlight significant financial and psychological difficulties in maintaining a foothold in rental accommodation. AHURI (Apr 2011) Housing, inequality and the role of population mobility income inequality has become mapped onto the city, creating neighbourhoods of extreme advantage and disadvantage. AHURI (Apr 2011) Increasing affordable housing through the Victorian Community Housing Sector report by Deloitte Access Econpmics Vic CHFV (Mar 2011) Reduction of Worst Case Housing Needs by Assisted Housing  seeks to answer the question, when units of assisted housing are added to a market, is there a commensurate reduction in the number of households with Worst Case Needs (WCN), defined as unassisted renter households with very low-income (VLI) who pay more than 50 percent of income on housing or live in severely inadequate conditions or both? US HUD (Apr 2011) Improving housing outcomes for young people: practical ideas Young people are increasingly squeezed out of the housing market and face a more drawn-out process of moving towards independent living. UK Joseph Rowntree (Apr 2011) Family Matters: Homeless Youth & Eva’s Initiative’s Family Reconnect Program how reconnecting with family may help some young people avoid long term homelessness. Can Homelesshub (Apr 2011) Good Practices in Rooming Houses Rooming houses are a very important option (sometimes the only option) for people who would be otherwise homeless, and this research suggests that there are many ways in which the rooming house sector could and should be improved, stabilized, expanded and,indeed, recognized as a viable housing option. Can Homelesshub (mar 2011)

In this update:

·         OECD social statistics ·         consumers ·         disability service delivery ·         duty of care ·         early intervention ·         early education ·         preventable complications ·         health system simulation ·         variations in healthcare ·         geography & health care

·         cancer treatment times ·         quality indicators ·         low clinical value treatments ·         nursing & midwifery ·         planning for disability ·         dementia end of life ·         infant mental health ·         alcohol ·         cannabis ·         childhood obesity

·         abuse & neglect costs ·         ATSI child protection ·         serious case reviews ·         early intervention ·         juvenile justice ·         indigenous juvenile offending ·         social housing stigma ·         home modification ·         housing pact ·         mixed tenure

	Society at a Glance 2011 - OECD Social Indicators After Japan and Switzerland, Australian life expectancy of 81.5 years is the highest in the OECD, more than two years above the OECD average of 79.3 OECD (Apr 2011) Empowering consumers of public services through choice tools the complexity of choosing between public service providers, such as choices about health care or education, can be particularly difficult...providers of choice-tools for public services could learn from private sector choice-tools that adopt a range of strategies to ensure consumer feedback is trusted and adds value, many of which appear highly successful also Better Choices: Better Deals UK Office of Fair Trading (Apr 2011) Service Delivery in CRS Australia assess the effectiveness of CRS Australia’s delivery of Disability Management Services...As disability services providers are required to have an internal feedback system, including for complaints, CRS Australia has processes in place to obtain client feedback and to address client complaints. These include providing information to clients on internal and external complaint mechanisms, having available a range of methods to obtain feedback and adopting a tiered system for recording and responding to complaints. Aus Audit (Apr 2011) UNISON duty of care handbook UNISON is Britain and Europe's biggest public sector union ...At a time of change, patients and service users depend more than ever on the integrity of care professionals. Also Private social work practices Splitting social work off into small companies will fragment services, when they really need to be more joined up. UK UNISON (April 2011) Evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence: What does it all mean? This policy brief outlines the complexities involved in selecting interventions for early childhood services. It advocates for a broader method of assessing outcomes of interventions through incorporating practicebased evidence into our understanding of evidence-based practice. Vic RCH (Apr 2011) Our future on the line Keeping the early childhood education and care reforms on track A State of the Sector report...looking at the progress each state and territory is making towards the national reforms of the early childhood education and care sector. Early Childhood Australia (Apr 2011) Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs brings together leaders of major hospitals, employers, health plans, physicians, nurses, and patient advocates along with State and Federal governments in a shared effort to make hospital care safer, more reliable, and less costly...Help patients heal without complication. By the end of 2013, preventable complications during a transition from one care setting to another would be decreased so that all hospital readmissions would be reduced by 20% compared to 2010. US DHHS (Apr 2011) Commissioning for the future Learning from a simulation of the health system in 2013/14 The simulation aimed to model the reformed National Health Service (NHS) as it would look in 2013. Its purpose was to observe the behaviours and dynamics that could potentially arise in the new system and provide a learning and development opportunity for local general practitioner (GP) consortia. UK Kings Fund (Apr 2011) Variations in health care The good, the bad and the inexplicable The causes of variation are complex and inter-related – they may be affected by, for example, differences in geographical patterns of illness, differences in clinicians’ behaviour, the effects of incentives in the financing of health care. UK King's Fund (Apr 2011) Geographic Variation in Health Care: Changing Policy Directions While research on geographic variation in health care use and spending has pushed the twin issues of uneven care and costs to the fore, it’s ultimately the broader health care system—not geography—that matters most in improving efficiency and quality US HSchange (Apr 2011)
	Targeting Shorter Waits For Cancer Treatment Everyone needing radiation treatment will have this within four weeks of the first specialist radiation oncology assessment. NZ Health (Apr 2011) Transforming Community Services: Demonstrating and Measuring Achievement: Community Indicators for Quality Improvement introduces 43 indicators for quality improvement for voluntary, local use in a community setting. ...Health and Wellbeing; Children and Families; Acute Care; Rehabilitation; Long Term Conditions; End of Life UK Health (Apr 2011) Reducing expenditure on low clinical value treatments  suggests that the NHS could save up to £500 million a year by carrying out fewer ineffective or inefficient treatments... the types of low value treatments identified included: Those considered to be relatively ineffective, eg a tonsillectomy. Those where more cost-effective alternatives are available, eg not performing a hysterectomy in cases of heavy menstrual bleeding. ...Decommissioning treatments can free up money that could be better spent on other treatments, but decisions can be controversial. UK Audit (Apr 2011) Report of the Prime Minister's Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery in England The Government's response to the recommendations in front line care...Flexible roles and career structures already exist, but these should be developed further so that nurses and midwives understand the wide ranging directions their roles and careers can take. UK Health (Apr 2011) Inquiry into Planning Options and Services for People Ageing with a Disability interim report: Access to options for and services to assist people with a disability and their carers to plan for the future Aus Senate (Apr 2011) Planning for End of Life for People with Dementia discusses issues including palliative care, refusal of treatment, pain control, resuscitation, residential care, advance financial planning and enduring power of attorney Alzheimer's Australia (Apr 2011) Improving outcomes, ensuring quality: a guide for commissioners and providers of perinatal and infant mental health services Perinatal and infant mental health-care spans many areas of care in health and social care: primary and secondary family health-care, all services for children aged 0-5, maternity services, mental health services (both adult and child and adolescent), children’s centres, safeguarding teams, public health and early years education and care, family support and parenting services.more UK NHS (Apr 2011) Annual Alcohol Poll: Community Attitudes and Behaviours An increasing number of people think that Australians have a problem with excess drinking or alcohol abuse (80%), up from 73% in 2010. also: Attitudes to energy drinks AER (Apr 2011) The Effectiveness of Cautioning for Minor Cannabis Offences “Less than one per cent of the adults cautioned for the first time, voluntarily call the drug helpline as a result of their caution. NSW Audit (Apr 2011) Strategic high impact changes: childhood obesity a summary of local views on good practice UK Health (Apr 2011)
	The economic costs of child abuse and neglect For every child aged 0-17 years in the Australian population, real recurrent expenditure (expenditure that does not result in fixed assets) on child protection and out of home care services was approximately $498 per child in 2009-10. This varied across jurisdictions, from $362 in Victoria to over $938 in the Northern Territory. AIFS (Apr 2011) Child protection and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were 7.7 times more likely than other children to be the subject of a confirmed report of abuse or neglect than non-Indigenous children AIFS (Apr 2011) The voice of the child: learning lessons from serious case reviews provides an analysis of 67 serious case reviews that Ofsted evaluated between 1 April and 30 September 2010. The main focus of the report is on the importance of listening to the voice of the child. UK OFSTED (Apr 2011) Early intervention, using the CAF process, and its cost effectiveness during 2010, 21 councils involved in a study of early intervention tools had saved up to £5,000 as a result of using the common assessment framework (CAF). UK NFER (Apr 2011) Juvenile justice in Australia 2008-09 Each year, less than 5% of young people are proceeded against by police, only around 2% have a case finalised in a children’s court, 0.5% are supervised by a juvenile justice agency and 0.2% are detained. In 2008–09, there were around 7,200 young people under juvenile justice supervision on an average day AIHW (Apr 2011) Promising interventions for reducing Indigenous juvenile offending A range of measures (including diversion and juvenile conferencing programs) has recently been implemented to reduce the over-representation of Indigenous juveniles in detention, and minimise the contact of juveniles with the formal criminal justice system. Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse (Apr 2011) The stigmatisation of social housing: findings from a panel investigation considers the impact of stigma for social housing residents and the policies that can be deployed to mitigate its effects AHURI (Apr 2011) NSW Review of HACC Funded Home Modification Services: Feedback Paper and Client Survey - for consultation NSW ADHC (Apr 2011) Making the Case for Housing: A Housing Pact from Northern Ireland’s Housing Professionals the views of a wide cross-section of the housing sector –  encompasses housing associations, private developers, landlords in the private rented sector, the Housing Executive, academics, the community and voluntary sectors and tenants. UK CIH (Apr 2011) Everyone Needs a Home - Report of the Working Groups 2011 There will be more mixed tenure in the future and schemes will be development driven. In order to work at a commercial level, this will often mean offering units for sale ahead of the social rented sector. UK Housing Forum (Apr 2011)