Improving care for people with multiple long-term conditions; Public trust of AI in healthcare; The impact of shared electronic records

Improving care for people with multiple long-term conditions

The King's Fund has published a report exploring how care can be improved for the growing number of people living with multiple long-term conditions. It says current models of care are set up to treat individual conditions and struggle to co-ordinate across conditions and services. However, medical advancements and support from clinicians could provide an opportunity to transform the way people with multiple conditions are cared for. The report shares examples of good practice and calls for clinicians to consider that someone may be presenting with multiple long-term conditions as a default. It also draws on existing research and expert insights to consider ways to improve clinical coordination of care for people with multiple long-term conditions.

Read the full article on The King's Fund website here.

Study: Public trust and acceptance of AI in health care

A study has identified the key factors that shape public trust and acceptance of AI in healthcare. Researchers focused on how AI attributes – autonomy, costs, reliability, and transparency – shape perceptions of support, risk and personalised care. It found public attitudes towards AI are largely shaped by its characteristics rather than specific applications. The authors say this underscores the need for education to foster more nuanced opinions, particularly on AI reliability and human oversight which are key factors influencing public acceptance. Further research, ideally using mixed methods approaches, is needed to better understand how these attitudes form across different population groups, the study concluded.

Read the full study via the JMIR website here.

Survey: The impact of shared electronic care records

The International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) has opened its annual survey to explore the impact of shared electronic care records on experiences of integrated care. This year's survey will focus on the questions: Are shared electronic care records having a positive impact on people’s experience of care co-ordination and continuity where they are in place? How do they change the way care teams are able to work together? Anyone completing the survey will be asked if they wish to participate in a follow-up online focus group which will explore the themes in more detail. 

Find out more about the survey on the IFIC website here.

CQC report into dementia care

A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report into the health and social care support for people with dementia has highlighted delays in diagnosis and a lack of ongoing care and support. The report is based on the experiences of people living with dementia, as well as their families and carers. It is split into the main themes which influence whether an experience is good or poor and highlights what health and care services are doing to improve these experiences. Areas which led to a poor experience included families having to seek out community and charity support groups themselves, rather than receiving or being signposted to ongoing support, and poor communication.

Read the report on the CQC website here.

Partnership to support digital skills for disabled children

AbilityNet is working with 12 UK-based charities to boost digital skills for disabled or seriously ill children and young people and their families. The partnership is part of a national programme – Driving Digital Inclusion. AbilityNet's team will help upskill staff within the 12 charities on subjects including online safety and device accessibility, along with directly supporting families who need a more comprehensive assessment on adaptations to their technology. The Good Things Foundation will manage delivery of digital devices to recipients. 

Find out more about the partnership on the AbilityNet website here.

New resources on women's bowel health

The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) and the Scottish Government have produced a resource pack on bowel health in support of the Women's Health Plan. The resource pack includes a webinar on taking care of your bowel health, a bowel health information and resource sheet and a bowel health graphic. The leaflet pulls together key information and resources from various specialist organisations, including NHS Inform.

Find the bowel health resources on the ALLIANCE website here.

Launch of AI-enabled women’s healthcare service

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has partnered with Aneira Health to develop an AI-enabled women’s healthcare service for staff. The workplace service aims to improve access, experience and health outcomes for female staff. It includes digital support and an app which allows patients to speak to a personal care coordinator, receive test results and manage their health plan. AI is used to analyse test results to speed up diagnosis, provide proactive suggestions and combine with real-time health data to create personalised care pathways.

Read the full story via the Digital Health website here.

Five key issues as NHS plan reaches crunch time

In this blog, National Voices chief executive Jacob Lant, shares his hopes as the Government puts the finishing touches to its 10-Year Plan for the NHS. Jacob says the plan needs to be optimistic but also realistic in what it can achieve. National Voices would like to see the future success of the NHS based on the outcomes it achieves, not just its outputs and number of activities. The charity also wants to see a clear role for the collective voice of patients, including an enhanced role for patient feedback. 

Read the full blog on the National Voices website here.

New neonatal transfer video resource

A new video has been added to the Scottish Perinatal Network's neonatal resource for staff and parents. ScotSTAR Scottish Neonatal Transport Service created the video to support families. It aims to explain what is involved in a neonatal transfer and answer commonly asked questions about a baby’s potential transfer. It is also a helpful source of information for staff who have not experienced neonatal transport. The new video introduces the ScotSTAR teams and their equipment to help people understand how the service works.

Find out more about the new resource on the ScotSTAR website here.