MIAA is a member of the Internal Audit Network (TIAN) which comprises the seven NHS internal audit consortiums and in-house teams operating in England. These organisations collaborate across a number of areas to leverage their collective knowledge and expertise and drive efficiency and effectiveness. The monthly insight report highlights key publications and is intended as a useful update and reference tool. This report is produced by TIAN and shared by MIAA. 

Department of Health & Social Care - Oliver McGowan Code of Practice

The introduction of a new statutory requirement for training on learning disability and autism aims to ensure that staff working at all levels across the health and social care sectors receive high quality and appropriate training on learning disability and autism. This guidance from DHSC sets out standards for all CQC-registered health and social care providers.

The code of practice (the code) supports implementation of the legislation by setting out the standards that training needs to meet, in terms of both content and delivery. The code also explains how a registered provider should use the code - and what would happen if they fail to comply with it.
For information and adoption by all CQC-registered providers

Patient Safety Commissioner -2024/25 Annual Report

This report summarises the work of the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) during the financial year 2024 to 2025. It is aimed at all those with an interest in patient safety. Highlights for the year included:

• Following a public consultation the PSC developed and published the first Patient Safety Principles. These incorporate the requirement for a Safety Management System for the healthcare sector.
• The PSC was tasked with developing the policy for Martha’s Rule, a new initiative to provide families with the means of seeking a rapid review if they had concerns about deterioration in a patient.
  For information

NHS England - Urgent and emergency care plan 2025/26

This plan sets out how urgent and emergency care can be improved, with a focus on getting patients out of corridors, keeping more ambulances on the road, and enabling those ready to leave hospital to do so as soon as possible.
For information and action as necessary

NHS England - Board oversight and staffing of NHS clinical trials

This letter, sent to all primary and secondary care providers by NHSE’s National Director for Clinical Transformation, explains that boards should have visibility of their research delivery and income, and highlights that research should not be impacted by recruitment freezes being applied to research and development posts.
For information and action as necessary

NHS England - Agenda for Change non-pay deal recommendations 

In a letter to all trusts and ICBs about NHS job evaluation, NHSE has asked board members to work closely to understand their current job evaluation position, areas for improvement and associated risks.
For information and action as necessary

NHS England - Using data to maximise the impact of volunteering in the NHS

A first official dashboard of data in this area highlights 71,828 people volunteered in NHS trusts last year, donating over 6.4 million hours of their time. The figures however show huge differences in the number of volunteer hours being utilized by NHS bodies – with lots reporting under 1000 hours, while many others make use of over 10,000 hours! NHSE’s Director for People and Communities calls on leaders of trusts and ICBs to look at their local data, compare with other trusts and identify where volunteers could make a bigger impact to both patients and colleagues.
For information and action as necessary

NHSE – NHS Oversight and Assessment regime

The NHS Oversight Framework 2025/26 sets out how NHSE will assess NHS trusts, FTs, and ICBs, ensuring public accountability for performance.  The assessment will be the starting point for how NHSE works with organisations throughout the year, and will help determine how they support them to improve.  ICBs will not be segmented in 2025/26, recognising this will be a year of significant change as they transform in line with the Model ICB Blueprint, but they will publish their performance across a range of oversight metrics.

Note: The NHS Confederation has published a briefing summarizing and analysing the new oversight framework, available here.

NHSE have also issued updated guidance on the process for annual assessments of ICBs for 2024/25 which sets out the key lines of enquiry they will use to underpin assessments.  The process has been expanded from 2023/24 to include an assessment of ICB capability with extended key lines of enquiry for leadership and governance.  NHSE will publish a summary of all ICB annual assessments later in the year.
For information and consideration by all NHS bodies

NHS England - Quality impact assessment framework

This toolkit sets out good practice principles and guidance for undertaking quality impact assessments as part of the decision-making process for commissioning or planning, approving and implementing changes to new health and care services.
For information and consideration by all NHS providers

NHS England – Updates to the Premises Assurance Model (PAM) 

The NHS operates over 1,500 directly managed hospitals as well as other treatment facilities, and occupies 25m square metres. This massive estate and its related services are integral to the delivery of high quality care. It is essential the NHS provides a safe, high quality and efficient estate.  As part of this, assurance is needed that appropriate actions and investment are taking place.

The NHS PAM is designed to support every patient’s NHS Constitution right: “to be cared for in a clean, safe, secure and suitable environment.” The 2025 NHS PAM provides this assurance for the NHS, and is a refreshed and updated version of the previous model. It provides a national template for provider boards with respect to regulatory and statutory requirements. This updated version reflects recent changes in policy, strategy, regulations and technology.
For information and implementation by all NHS providers

NHS Property Services - NHS estate optimisation guide

This guide has been published in response to a recent space optimisation survey. It aims to help NHS leaders and estate managers make the most of the places and spaces that support patient care.

The guide is split into four chapters: setting up for success; assessing space demand and property supply factors; understanding estates through utilisation monitoring; and assessing the data and reviewing options. (Please note that free registration is required to download the guide.)
For information

NHS Confederation - Collaborating to provide care at home for terminally ill patients

A collaborative programme between Marie Curie and Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is keeping patients with terminal illnesses out of the hospital and providing care in the comfort of their own homes.
For information

NHS Confederation - Artificial intelligence use in NHS communications: insights, risks and recommendations for safe and effective adoption

This report finds that AI is beginning to reshape how NHS communications teams work and improve practice, but that access to tools and skills is uneven and clearer governance is needed to ensure safe and effective adoption.
For information

NHS Confederation - A new operating model for health and care

This report describes how bodies operating at the health and care system’s five geographical scales – national, regional, systems, place and neighbourhood – could work together to achieve a more integrated and devolved health care model that delivers the government's three shifts. It argues that this must always start with communities, empowering them to be active agents in their own health and wellbeing and to be partners in the design of public services. For information

NHS Confederation - Unlocking the potential of primary care provider collaboratives

Primary care provider collaboratives are fundamental to the successful delivery of a neighbourhood health service. Their role will be pivotal in shifting care from hospitals to community, reducing health inequalities, and ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality care.

The NHS Confederation's Primary Care Network has been exploring what is needed to unlock collaboratives' potential. This infographic captures five key aspects of what is needed to help realise the potential of primary care provider collaboratives.
For information

NHS Employers - Implementing innovative flexible working to combat escalating demand on services

This case study outlines how Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust used an innovative flexible working model to combat escalating demand for imaging diagnostic services.
For information and consideration

NHS Employers – Guidance on Job Evaluation

Action is needed on job evaluation outcomes for nursing and midwifery staff, and this guidance, produced by the NHS Staff Council, is for local partnerships to support the publication of updated profiles for nursing and midwifery and improvement of local job evaluation practices.

NHSE has also issued guidance for panels on the updated job matching profiles for nursing and midwifery.  This guidance has been written for local job evaluation leads and panellists to support their understanding and use of the updated profiles for nursing and midwifery. It explains the updated format for profiles, and provides further advice to ensure matching panels are able to use the profiles effectively and consistently.
For information and implementation

Frontier Economics - Defining the size of the health innovation prize

This report, commissioned by the Health Innovation Network, aims to quantify the economic cost of ill health and the value health innovation can bring by addressing ill health. It details the potential for innovation in health care to help address the economic impacts of ill health, by helping people return to work sooner, supporting in-job productivity, and preventing long-term health conditions.
For information

Re:State - Hospital of the future: hospital as a service, not a building

This report outlines a model that fundamentally changes the configuration of the modern hospital. The paper proposes a model that combines a radical increase in virtual care with renewed approaches at system-wide integration. It argues that instead of inefficiently relocating hospital staff and infrastructure to communities, hospital-level care should be delivered as a service through entirely new care pathways, shifted financial incentives, and remote digital tools.
For information

Local Government Association - High Impact Change Model: using data and intelligence for whole system decision support

This change model from the LGA is designed to support local health and social care system leaders to work together to embed and improve data-driven decision-making at all levels, resulting in the delivery of better neighbourhood health outcomes.
For information

Information Commissioner’s Office - New and updated guidance on Encryption and Breach Reporting

The ICO has issued updated guidance on two important areas:

• Encryption guidance will help organisations understand the ICO’s expectations and highlight how encryption can be used in practice. 
• Breach reporting guidance now emphasises the ICO’s expectation for organisation's to 'report early - update later' and includes content on how best to work with the ICO following a breach. 

For information

HFMA – Earlier Reporting

NHS England is encouraging a move to earlier reporting. This HFMA briefing looks at the benefits and potential challenges.
For information

HFMA - Return on investment: A guide for NHS finance teams

Return on investment (ROI) is a measure that helps decision-makers judge an investment’s value, by comparing its costs to its returns. It is a term that is widely used, but its meaning varies depending on the context. In the private sector, ROI is usually a purely financial measure that focuses on profit as the key return. In the public sector, ROI is more likely to factor in wider social value. This guide gives practical advice on how finance staff can help to measure ROI. It has been written with health inequalities and preventative programmes in mind, but can be applied more widely, to any investments made by the NHS.

Sitting alongside this detailed guide, the HFMA has also published a short summary sheet to support decision-makers in appraising the quality of the ROI assessments they see.
For information

HFMA - Financial reporting watching brief 2024/25 and beyond

This paper is intended to update finance professionals working in the NHS on developments in financial reporting that may affect them.
For information of those involved in NHS financial reporting

HFMA Case study - Ensuring language is not a barrier to maternity care

The HFMA is delivering a programme of work to increase awareness amongst NHS finance staff about digital healthcare technologies, and support the use of digital technology to transform services and drive value and efficiency. As part of the programme, the HFMA is publishing a series of briefings and case studies which identify examples of good practice and highlight the challenges that services face. 

Healthcare translation applications can be used to streamline communication, including times when in-person interpreters are not available. This ensures faster, safe information sharing for those without the ability to converse in the English language.

The case study includes the benefits of using such an app, suggesting clinical, financial, technical and workforce questions to assist the preparation of business cases.
For information

Disclaimer: This briefing paper is intended to highlight recent developments and issues within the NHS that may be of interest to non-executive directors, lay members and NHS managers. It is not exhaustive and TIAN cannot be held responsible for any omission.