Author: hte2022

There are several misconceptions surrounding the provision of legal services to the healthcare sector. To help clear up some of the confusion we spoke with Jonathan Hayden from Browne Jacobson LLP, and Jane Strobel from Capsticks Solicitors LLP, two of the suppliers under our Legal Services framework, plus our own internal legal team.

Misconception 1: It’s too expensive to get legal involved at the beginning of a project

On the contrary, customers generally find that when they get legal involved at the beginning they save money and time and avoid problems at a later point. Customers might think it would be cheaper to do the opposite, but Jonathan said: “By gaining a legal perspective in the early stages it can actually add value, helping to avoid more serious problems later by ensuring issues are dealt with appropriately from the outset.”

Jonathan points out that, particularly on commercial projects and procurement, when documents are not properly prepared or checked by a legal team, NHS organisations can find themselves with a “poor bargaining position”. The issue then escalates from prevention through to damage control, costing more and potentially affecting the delivery of critical services. He notes that disputes also consume valuable management time, and by investing upfront you are more likely to have a smooth-running project that requires less input from the busy senior managers.

Misconception 2: Brexit won’t affect healthcare in the UK

Although no one is 100% sure as to what the effect of Brexit will be on healthcare, it is likely that the NHS will be affected in some way. The challenge is working out what action can usefully be taken now – but organisations should speak to their advisers about the possible ramifications and contingency arrangements. It is also anticipated that customers will need legal assistance and advice to help them navigate issues in a post-Brexit legal landscape.

Jane said: “There is more of a possibility of changes with the way legal work is conducted for Trusts who license abroad. For those who fall in this category it is even more important to seek legal advice at the earliest point.”

Misconception number 3: I don’t need to check if I am completely GDPR compliant

The NHS has long since had systems and processes in place (although often quite complex) that help to safeguard and protect patient information. However, with the new GDPR regulations some Trusts have been caught out.

Jane states that with equal onus on the data owner and data provider it is more challenging for customers to provide an audit for all their stored information, provide details for the location of the data, and explain why they have collected the data, and how long they have kept it for, or plan on keeping it.
Some think it is perhaps too expensive to commission a legal audit, but Jane argues that the repercussions of a slight slip or misunderstanding can be extremely costly, making this expense seem relatively small.

HealthTrust Europe’s legal services framework is not only GDPR compliant but are provided by suppliers who have NHS experience and have advised Trusts how to fortify their systems in line with GDPR guidelines. The money and time spent upfront on advice to review GDPR practice can often be money well spent.

Misconception 4: Engaging a law firm will not help me improve the way my digital systems communicate with each other.

There is much focus on creating a more joined up approach throughout the NHS, to improve the level of care patients receive whilst relieving some of the stress they are currently experiencing. Capsticks Solicitors LLP and Browne Jacobson LLP are two of HealthTrust Europe’s specialist legal suppliers who can help customers implement the government’s digitalisation initiative, particularly alongside the effective development and implementation of an integrated care system.

Jane stresses that one way of achieving this is by becoming more informed about the way systems communicate with each other – an initiative NHS England has recently began to encourage through their emphasis on digitalisation.

Misconception 5: I can only use local suppliers within a Legal Services framework

Healthcare organisations once used location to choose suppliers, but this is no longer the case. With the advancement of technology, it has become even easier to get the support you need from a supplier, wherever they are located. Now, most of HealthTrust Europe’s suppliers are located across the world and have multiple offices within the United Kingdom. They work in partnership with their clients to achieve the best possible outcome for the best possible prices, regardless of geography.

Misconception 6: I can’t switch or use multiple law firms

Many NHS organisations source legal support based on historic arrangements and continue to use them based on an, often incorrect, assumption that they are “tied-in” to that supplier. On the contrary, in most cases those organisations (especially where they have not retendered for some time) will not bound into an exclusive arrangement and the framework will allow them to easily change suppliers based on their preferences and requirements. An advantage of using a Legal Services framework is also the ease of choosing multiple suppliers within the framework.

Jonathan suggests customers should review their current arrangements, and the capability of alternative providers within the market, to ensure they continue to receive the most appropriate service.

 

Competition is important

To ensure the very best value for money, public procurement should be open to competition. To encourage competition it is extremely important that the process is transparent and visible.
There are three types of competitions that allow a customer to select the most appropriate supplier. These are direct awards (fixed); mini competitions that are partly fixed; and mini competitions that are fully open.

HealthTrust Europe’s framework process ensures customers engage a firm which are specialists and whose offer is best suited to their needs. If the actual offering is a key factor and a desired supplier doesn’t offer the most competitive offer the customer will instead be paired with the supplier who best meets their criteria.

HealthTrust Europe Legal Services framework provides a compliant route to market that factors in customer’s varying needs by offering multiple options, world class specialist suppliers and savings without compromising on quality.

Browne Jacobson LLP is a national law firm with a leading health and care practice that supports clients across the public and independent sectors. Find out more here 

Capsticks Solicitors LLP is a leading national law firm in the health, housing and social care sectors. Find out more here 

Both of these suppliers along with others within the framework have ranked in key specialist areas in both the Chambers and Partners UK 2019 and Legal 500 2019. Our own internal legal team consists of five specialist solicitors with specialisms in Public Contracting and all are experts of Commercial Law.

HealthTrust Europe is exploring options to host webinars on topical issues within healthcare, including Integrated Care Systems, GDPR and Brexit. If you are interested in participating, please contact us.

Ninety years ago, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic, and since then these medicines have been a cornerstone to modern healthcare to kill bacteria or prevent their growth.

However, the persistent overuse and misuse of antibiotics in human and animal health has encouraged the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which occurs when microbes, such as bacteria, become resistant to the drugs used to treat them (source: NHS).

Globally events are taking place this month (November) to raise awareness of how to use antibiotics in a responsible way that will help keep them effective for future generations. The World Health Organization’s World Antibiotic Awareness Week is taking place between 12th – 18th November, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is holding European Antibiotic Awareness Day on 18th November. Meanwhile, Public Health England is asking people to become Antibiotic Guardians. The campaign asks individuals and organisations to take a simple pledge about how they will make better use of antibiotics and help prevent these vital medicines becoming obsolete.

Public Health England asks adults to register online that:

• For infections that our bodies are good at fighting off on their own, like coughs, colds, sore throats, and flu, I pledge to try treating the symptoms for five days rather than going to the GP.
• For infections that our bodies are good at fighting off on their own, like coughs colds sore throats and flu, I pledge to talk to my pharmacist about how to treat the symptoms first rather than going to the GP.
• It is vital we prevent antibiotics from getting into the environment. I pledge to always take any unused antibiotics to my pharmacy for safe disposal.
• If the NHS offers me a flu vaccination, I pledge to accept.
• If I’m prescribed antibiotics, I will take them exactly as prescribed and never share them with others.

Despite the risks of antibiotic resistance, research shows that 38% of people still expect an antibiotic from a doctor’s surgery, NHS walk-in centre or ‘GP out-of-hours’ service when they visited with a cough, flu or a throat, ear, sinus or chest infection in 2017 (source: PHE). To help prevent the spread of flu, HealthTrust Europe has already rolled out a company-wide flu vaccination scheme, offering employees free vaccines. As well as helping to keep staff healthy, the vaccination programme will prevent the spread of the illness to friends and family, and help decrease the burden of winter illnesses on the NHS.

And this summer our parent company in the States, Health Trust, made a $50,000 grant to leading healthcare company, LifePoint Health®, in recognition of its antimicrobial stewardship program and its commitment to appropriate antimicrobial usage. LifePoint will be using the grant to advance its capabilities in Days of Therapy reporting (the number of days a medicine was for which any amount of administered to a patient), and antimicrobial use and resistance reporting across facilities in 22 states.

If you would like to join HealthTrust Europe in supporting the Antibiotic Guardian campaign you can find further details on the Public Health England website.

People who are at risk of developing complications from flu (including the over 65s, pregnant women, and people with chronic illnesses) sometimes need antiviral medications to recover. As flu symptoms can be like those caused by a bacterial infection, high risk patients who have flu symptoms may need a lab test to confirm the diagnosis before antivirals are prescribed. Although lab tests are very reliable, they can take several days for results.

Due to the delay doctors may prescribe antibiotics just in case the test comes back negative. As stated above overuse of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance, and they are not effective at treating the flu virus.

HealthTrust Europe has point-of-care solutions that support the quick, correct prescribing of medication. The devices can provide test results in fewer than 13 minutes, right at the point of care, such as a GP surgery. For further details about the framework for Point of Care Testing which includes handheld, bench-top, connected and non-connected devices, you can download our pathology framework briefs.

This month marks National Pathology Week (5-11th November 2018) the annual celebration which highlights the important contribution pathology makes to healthcare.

Each year millions of pathology tests are carried out, many of which use solutions offered by HealthTrust Europe.

 

To mark National Pathology Week, here are five facts about pathology you may not know:

1. Do you know….? There are 18 different specialities in pathology including toxicology, cytogenetics, and clinical embryology. So, despite TV portrayals it’s not all about dead bodies, in fact forensic pathologists make up less than 1% of pathologists which is fewer than 100 people in the country. (Source: Royal College of Pathologists)

2. Do you know…? Seventy per cent of all diagnoses in hospital are supported by a pathologist. Pathology services are essential to the delivery of many of the national priorities and targets for the NHS. It is estimated that 70-80 per cent of all health care decisions affecting diagnosis or treatment involve a pathology investigation. Individuals’ treatment decisions, and the monitoring of their response to treatment, is often dependent on a range of pathology-based tests and investigations. (Source: Royal College of Pathologists)

3. Do You Know…? One billion tests are run in the UK each year in pathology labs at a cost of £2.2bn. One hundred and five hospitals in England provide pathology services and the largest provider is Barts NHS Trust which undertakes 26m tests a year. (Source: NHSI)

4. Do You Know…? There can be as many as nine steps in a blood test. HealthTrust Europe’s bespoke healthcare solutions cover the entire journey made by a test specimen which includes:
– a GP’s request for a sample to be taken;
– a phlebotomist taking a sample;
– transport from, for example, a GP’s surgery to a lab;
– specimen receipts to book in a sample;
– analysis of a sample;
– results produced;
– management of the sample’s journey and details via the Lab Information System (LIMS);
– validation by a clinical scientist; and finally
– results transmitted back to a GP.

5. Do You Know…? Pathology isn’t just lab based. It also includes Point of Care Testing (POCT) which refers to any medical test performed by a member of a healthcare team or a patient outside a hospital laboratory, for example, a glucose meter used in a GP surgery, a pregnancy test used in an Accident and Emergency department or a cholesterol test performed in a local pharmacy. HealthTrust Europe has a framework for POCT which offers handheld devices, bench-top devices, connected and non-connected devices, as well as consumables and other point of care or near-patient testing products.

 

HealthTrust Europe offers tailored solutions to relieve the pressure on healthcare providers and reduce diagnosis turnaround. To find out more you can download our framework briefs here.