UKCHIP News Archive
Here you can find items that have appeared in our Latest News section from time to time.
CHRE Consultation Workshops on Voluntary Registers
As reported before Christmas, UKCHIP has been working with the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) which, within the Health and Social Care Bill 2010 – 2011, is required to set standards for organisations that hold voluntary registers of practitioners who do not, by law, have to be on a statutory register, including health informatics professionals.
An accreditation scheme is planned to be launched later in 2012 and the draft standards are about to be published for public consultation.
CHRE are holding a series of events in the four home countries to get the views of registrants, employers, commissioners and patients on their proposals.
The first meeting will be held on 23rd January at the GMC, 9th Floor Bedford House, 16–22 Bedford Street, Belfast BT2 7FD.
The second event will be held on 9th February at 10.00 a.m. to 1.30 pm at The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, 232 – 242 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, G2 5RJ.
To register for these free events, please call 020 7389 8050 or email reception@chre.org.uk.
Note that bookings are on a first come, first served basis. PLACES ARE LIMITED, SO PLEASE BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT.
11 Jan 2012
Important Changes to UKCHIP Registration Systems
On 1st January 2011, UKCHIP introduced a new online self-assessment and registration system. All registration applications after that date were handled by the new system and existing registrants were also encouraged to use the system to renew their registration when it became due. However, the old system was retained for those registrants who found it easier or wished to renew on that system whilst old data was transferred.
All existing registrants were notified that the old system would cease to accept renewals from 30th November 2011, although they would still be able to view their data until 30th November 2012 when the old system will be switched off and the content archived. For all new applications and renewals please follow this link to the registration page.
If you have any questions or experience any difficulties with registration, please email UKCHIP Admin on admin@ukchip.net or telephone 0844 870 7902.
1 Dec 2011
Campaign for Chief Clinical CIOs Continues
The eHealth Insider campaign calling for every NHS provider organisation to consider appointing a chief clinical information officer. continues to gain support. The campaign began with an open letter to health secretary Andrew Lansley, urging him to back the campaign which he has now done.
The CCIO role will create a dedicated, senior clinical champion for IT projects and the use of information to improve the quality of patient care. UKCHIP has already stated its support for this campaign; for more details and to sign the petition click here.
25 Nov 2011
Accreditation of Voluntary Registers
UKCHIP continues to work with the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) to set standards for organisations that hold voluntary registers for practitioners who do not, by law, have to be on a statutory register.
The draft standards are about to be published for public consultation and the accreditation scheme for such organisations is planned to be launched from July 2012. UKCHIP expects to receive accreditation under the scheme.
You can find more details and leave comments about the proposals here
25 Nov 2011
Launch of P3M Resource Centre
NHS Connecting for Health have launched the Portfolio, Programme and Project Management (P3M) Resource Centre, a national one stop shop for NHS staff to access a range of products to help them do their jobs to the highest standard: see www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/p3m
The Resource Centre enables support staff and organisations to assess and develop their P3M capability and capacity. It brings together a set of materials, tools and guidance covering both organisational and workforce capability and capacity that can help organisations to deliver transformational change.
Example tools include:
- Senior Responsible Owner support materials
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Maturity models and assessment tools
- Competency self assessment tool
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P3M learning and development catalogue
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Case studies and examples of good practice
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Templates and exemplars of P3M documents
If you have any questions, email Gill Rooke, P3M Skills Development Manager - gillian.rooke@nhs.net
Royal College of Physicians Core Headings Survey
The RCP would like views on their current record standards project to confirm 'Core Clinical Headings' and their descriptions.
THE AIM OF THE PROJECT
We have been developing structured standardised headings for patient records and communications for in-patients and outpatients. As part of this work we need to identify which of these record headings should appear in all major electronic health record transactions. For example admission, handover, discharge etc.
THE AIM OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE
The questionnaire records the views of practising clinicians on what the core headings should be. We should give our views as professionals otherwise technicians will make the decisions for us.
THE DETAILED CORE CLINICAL HEADINGS
Please open the file, which lists the proposed headings, found via this link: http://tinyurl.com/Proposed-Core-Headings No password is required.
Please WAIT A FEW SECONDS for the document to load. Having this list to hand will make completion of the questionnaire much easier and understandable. If you have any difficulties with this please contact us at informatics@rcplondon.ac.uk
TO COMPLETE THE QUESTIONNAIRE
Please go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Core_Headings
The previously completed work on record standards can be seen at www.rcplondon.ac.uk/resources/clinical-resources/standards-medical-record-keeping/structure-and-content-medical-notes/de
28 Sep 2011
Enabling Business Continuity during Transition Guidance
A website has been developed by the DH Informatics Directorate Knowledge Management team providing guidance to organisations on enabling business continuity during transition through retaining and sharing knowledge, experience and insight. The work has been pilotted by Yorkshire & Humber SHA as part of their knowledge legacy work.
Jo Butterfield, Head of Service Improvement at Y&H said, "we know we have achieved a great deal, our people have accumulated knowledge, insight and the organisational memory that has built up over the years. We want the future NHS to continue to benefit from our experiences, to build upon our successes and on our learning. These pages describe a really useful, straightforward and workable approach to capturing our knowledge in a sharable format".
This online resource can be accessed at http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/systemsandservices/icd/knowledge/transition, providing access to tools and techniques, guidance, examples from the NHS and directions for further support.
28 Sep 2011
IT @ NETWORKING AWARDS 2012
This is the final call for abstract submissions for the IT @ NETWORKING AWARDS 2012, a fully interactive congress-competition. It will be held in Brussels from 18 - 19 January 2012.
To enter into this international competition please prepare a 300 word description of your project not later than by September 30th. We recommend that the abstract answers the six questions of the PRESENTATION/VOTING CRITERIA.
If you run a fully operable healthcare IT and/or medical technology solution then do not miss your chance. This unique event allows you to present your work to an expert audience and get the recognition you deserve.
For more information go to www.ITandNETWORKING.org or directly submit your abstract at www.conftool.com/itawards2012.
22 Sep 2011
UKCHIP Council Election Result 2011
When voting closed in the UKCHIP Council election 2011 at midnight on 16th September the seven candidates gaining the highest number of votes were as follows:
- Mr Ian White
- Mr Mik Horswell
- Mr Tony Eardley
- Prof Venkata Pemmasani
- Ms Diahann Daniel
- Prof Ian Wells
- Mrs Gulnar Irani
These seven candidates have confirmed they are willing to take up their seats on Council and become members of the UKCHIP company for a period of three years from the next Annual General Meeting on 27th October.
21 Sep 2011
National Director proposed for "patient engagement, insight and informatics"
According to a draft plan leaked to the Health Service Journal last week, one national director will be given responsibility for "patient engagement, insight and informatics" on the NHS Commissioning Board for England in plans set out by NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson. It adds: “This portfolio will also cover both the provision of information and the use of informatics in service improvement.”
The document was written following the publication of the report of the Future Forum that the government set up to 'listen' to its concerns during a 'pause' in the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill and the Department of Health’s response.
The new Board may run in shadow form between October 2011 and October 2012 while staff are recruited to fill all posts. The Board will take on some statutory accountabilities in October 2012 and its full statutory responsibilities in April 2013.
5 July 2011
New Accreditation for Health Informatics Qualification
The Avoca Higher Diploma in Health Informatics developed by Avoca Systems is the first qualification to allow health informatics professionals to gain a qualification formally recognised as being equivalent to degree level studies through workplace experience. It is also the first training programme wholly developed and offered by a private company to receive accreditation from the the University of Wolverhampton.
Accreditation will provide clear pathways for individuals to continue their learning and progress onto higher education provision, and it is the intention that students taking the diploma will be able to choose related modules from Wolverhampton’s provision to progress, for example, to a full Foundation degree qualification.
16 June 2011
New NIGB Chair Appointed
The Appointments Commission has announced that Dame Fiona Caldicott has been appointed as Chair of the National Information Governance Board from 1st June 2011.
The NIGB will continue to provide advice and guidance to the Information Governance community in health and social care and the general public during the period of transition of the NIGB to the Care Quality Commission in April 2013.
Commenting on her appointment Dame Fiona said 'I am delighted to have the opportunity to assist in continuing the work of the NIGB, and maintaining the appropriate use of data in people's care and support, as well as in clinical research for the benefit of the public.'
Dame Fiona Caldicott, DBE, FRCPsych, FRCP, FRCGP, FMedSci, is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist and previously was Principal of Somerville College, Oxford. She was formerly a Pro Vice-Chancellor, Personnel and Equal Opportunities, of the University of Oxford. She is currently Chair of the John Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust and is a past President of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She was also President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists 1993–96. Dame Fiona chaired the original working group on the confidentiality of non-clinical patient data in 1996 which led to the publication of the Caldicott Report in 1997.
15 June 2011
Vacancy for UKCHIP Registrar
UKCHIP is seeking a new Registrar to manage the registration function. At the moment we are looking for someone who can take on the role on a voluntary basis and so the responsibilities and activities are negotiable but likely to include:
- Managing the new registration system, assisted by the administrator
- Supporting the administrator and assessors in processing registration applications, re-grading requests or appeals
- Managing any complaints or disciplinary matters, working with the Secretary
- Preparing policies and procedures related to registration, working with the Secretary
- Participating in monthly Board meetings/teleconferences and supporting the development of UKCHIP
- Attending quarterly Council meetings and reporting on registration activity
We are also looking for people who may be able to support some of the administrative processes around the registration and the running of UKCHIP.
If you are interested in finding out more about these roles, please contact Di Bullman, UKCHIP Registrar on 0113 3974384 or email registrar@ukchip.net
8 June 2011
Dr Jean Roberts receives HIMSS Europe award for eHealth Leadership
We are very pleased to announce that at the World of Health IT conference in Budapest last week, HIMSS Europe presented its annual Leadership award to UKCHIP Council member and board director Dr Jean Roberts, “for her many years of service to eHealth in Europe and her extensive, multi-faceted experience in academic research and her ability to design and implement strategic health initiatives and manage complex programmes and projects in informatics and e-health business areas”.
Dr Petra Wilson, HIMSS Europe Government Council Member, who introduced the HIMSS Europe Award for eHealth Leadership, commented that with this award the Council wants to acknowledge Dr. Robert’s “many achievements, among which three in particular should be pointed out: firstly, her work in driving professionalization in health informatics; secondly, her leadership in helping to grow the next generation of eHealth professionals; and thirdly her considerable research work on operational deployment of healthcare informatics into everyday healthcare services provision”.
17 May 2011
NHS Information Centre recommends registration with UKCHIP
We are very encouraged that Brian Derry, Executive Director of Information Services at the NHS Information Centre and who represents BCS Health on UKCHIP Council, has stated that all relevant job descriptions for posts at the NHS Information Centre have the stipulation that UKCHIP registration is desirable. This is a really positive step, for which we thank Brian, and hope that other organisations will follow Brian’s lead.
8 April 2011
UKCHIP Chair Presents at Westminster Health Forum
On 12th April, UKCHIP Council member and Board Chair, Tony Eardley, shared a platform at the Westminster Health Forum Keynote Seminar with a range of speakers which included NHS CIO Christine Connelly. The event, entitled Health Records, NHS IT and Patient Choice, was chaired in two sessions, the first by Professor David Cope, Director, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technologyand the second by Helen Northall, Chief Executive, Primary Care Commissioning Community Interest Company.
A brief summary of Tony's presentation can be read here. Details of the Westminister Health Forum can be found here.
13 April 2011
UKCHIP at HC2011
UKCHIP were present on Stand 6 in the Careers and Professionalism Zone at the HC2011 Conference and Exhibition which took place at the ICC in Birmingham from 5-7 April.
It was encouraging to meet so many visitors and to make valuable new contacts within the NHS and supplier community. If all those promising to do a self-assessment and register follow up we will have a fantastic increase in registrant numbers (contact us if you need assistance).
We were very grateful to have friends from Avoca Systems Ltd helping to man the stand and explain why they have integrated registration as part of staff development for everyone in the company. If anyone else would like to discuss the benefits, please contact us.
8 April 2011
Command Paper on the Regulation of Health Professionals, Healthcare and Social Care Workers
The Coalition Government has published a Command Paper that sets out proposals for how the system for regulating healthcare workers across the UK and social workers in England should be reformed to sustain and develop the high professional standards of those practitioners and to continue to assure the safety of those using services and the rest of the public.
Currently, thirty different health professions are regulated in law on a UK-wide basis by nine regulatory bodies. However, a significant number of professionals who provides critical services remain unregulated and the Government now proposes to enable a system of assured voluntary registration to be developed for professionals and occupational groups which are currently not subject to statutory professional regulation.
At present, there are a range of voluntary registers, but no system which allows the public, employers or professionals to gauge whether they operate effectively and to high, or common, standards. The Government intends to establish the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) as the national accrediting body for health professionals UK-wide who are currently not regulated by statute. The CHRE will set standards against which the governance, procedures, registration criteria and performance of voluntary registers can be judged to establish whether they are sufficient to provide assurance to the public and employers about the training, skills and conduct of their registrants.
These proposals are of particular in relevance to UKCHIP, which has been operating a voluntary registration scheme for Health Informatics Professionals since 2004 and which already meets many of these criteria. We have been in discussion with CHRE since the middle of 2010 about the proposals set out in the paper and expect to work with them to help develop the assurance scheme for voluntary registers during the next 12 months
UKCHIP welcomes these proposals which will provide added legitimacy for the role we play in making Health Informatics a valued and recognised profession.
You can view and download the Command Paper here.
1 March 2011
Responses to the Information Revolution Consultation
The UKCHIP response to the Information Revolution consultation can now be found in the Document Library section of the website along with other similar documents.
UKCHIP continues to work closely with BCS Health and BCS Assist to promote professionalism and support health informatics professionals in their personal development. The BCS Assist response to the Information Revolution consultation can be found here. The main BCS Health response can be found here.
14 January 2011
