Health Service Journal
12 January 2012

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Birmingham and Solihull cluster's control total reduced by £4m

FINANCE: NHS West Midlands has agreed to reduce the Birmingham and Solihull primary care trust cluster’s control total from £6m to £2m.
Doncaster and Bassetlaw FT appoints new medical director

WORKFORCE: Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals Foundation Trust has appointed Sewa Singh as its new medical director.
A&E admissions metric set to cost Barnet and Chase Farm £1m

PERFORMANCE: The north central London hospital trust is breaching the commissioner-set targets for converting A&E attendances into admissions.
A&E performance "fragile" at Heatherwood FT

PERFORMANCE: Heatherwood and Wexham Park Foundation Trust achieved its four-hour accident and emergency target in November, but performance in the department remains “fragile”.
Acute trusts merge to form Hampshire Hospitals

STRUCTURE: Basingstoke and North Hampshire Foundation Trust has taken over Winchester and Eastleigh Trust to become Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust.
Amber/red rating for governance at Dudley

PERFORMANCE: Dudley Group of Hospitals Foundation Trust has been amber/red rated by Monitor for governance due to higher than planned levels of Clostridium difficile and outstanding CQC compliance actions.
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospital staff 'concern' at midwives leaving after training

WORKFORCE: Staff at the east London hospital trust complained to managers that midwives recruited in Ireland and Italy had left shortly after being brought “up to standard”.
Barnet and Chase Farm appointment reminder service starts at end of January

PERFORMANCE: The north central Londona acute trust will begin the free reminder service at the end of this month.
Barnet and Chase Farm's year-to-date deficit better than predicted

FINANCE: The north London acute trust recorded a deficit at month eight of £1.1m against a plan of £2.6m
Basildon FT looks at 5 per cent cost cut

FINANCE: A tough year is in prospect at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals Foundation Trust, which is planning for reductions in divisional costs of 5 per cent.
Basildon unlikely to hit 98 per cent A&E target

PERFORMANCE: A&E performance against the four hour target stands at 97.8 per cent in the year to date and is unlikely to reach 98 per cent by the end of the year, Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals Foundation Trust’s board has been told.
Bath and North East Somerset under-using ISTC contract

FINANCE: NHS Bath and North East Somerset is under using its contract with independent provider UK Specialist Hospitals by £243,000.
Berkshire cluster fails to agree asset transfer plan with trust

STRUCTRE: The Berkshire primary care trust cluster’s plans to transfer community service properties to Berkshire Healthcare are “inconsistent with Department of Health guidance” and the issue will take months to resolve, HSJ has learned.
Berkshire Healthcare restructures community service management

STRUCTURE: Berkshire Healthcare has established a new management structure for its community services.
Biggest health and social care link-up set to win approval

Plans for the biggest joint health and social care provider in England to date are being considered by the Department of Health, HSJ understands.
Blackburn with Darwen reported on course for £1.4m surplus

FINANCE: At the end of October the commissioner was forecasting its planned £1.4m surplus for 2011-12, and showing a £933,000 surplus for the year to date.
Blears: Salford Royal to cut 400 posts over three years

UPDATED 12/01/12WORKFORCE: Salford Royal Foundation Trust has cut 200 nursing posts this year, and will cut the same number again over the coming two years, Salford and Eccles MP Hazel Blears told parliament yesterday.
BMA to survey members on pensions deal

Around 130,000 doctors and medical students are to be surveyed about the government’s final offer on pensions, raising the prospect of their first industrial action ballot for over 30 years.
Buckinghamshire fails on 18 week target

PERFORMANCE: Buckinghamshire commissioners are struggling to meet the 18 week referral to treatment target.
Burton predicts £5.4m deficit

FINANCE: Burton Hospitals Foundation Trust is predicting a £5.4m deficit for the end of 2011-12.
Cameron announces 'Nursing Forum' review of care standards

Prime minister David Cameron has announced a “Nursing Forum” inquiry to address concerns about care standards and patient safety.
Cameron demands improvements to frontline nursing 'red tape'

The prime minister has announced a series of moves to improve care standards and free nurses of “non-essential paperwork and excessive bureaucracy”.
Cameron is tending self-inflicted wounds

One thing is clear from the government response to the NHS Future Forum. Contrary to press reports, no “order” has been given to deliver “integration of health and social care”.
Cameron to stand firm on spending cuts

The prime minister has said he would not bow to pressure to scale back austerity measures even if the UK economy does not soon show signs of recovery.
Can CCGs learn to integrate mental health services from a Californian healthcare model?

Emerging clinical commissioning groups could learn a lot from the way mental health services are being incorporated into an overall model of healthcare by independent practice associations in California, say Beacon Health Strategies colleagues Dr Emma Stanton and Brian Wheelan.
Cluster goes back to the drawing board on AQP

COMMERCIAL: A south west primary care trust cluster has been told it will have to select an additional service to open up to any qualified provider after one of its first choices did not comply with national guidance.
Commissioners forecast around £2.7m overspend on Lancs Teaching Hospitals

FINANCE: Four of the five Lancashire primary care trusts were forecasting year end overspends in excess of £400,000 with the foundation at the end of September, their cluster’s latest finance report shows.
'Common principles' for commissioning support offer emerging in Birmingham and Solihull

FINANCE: “Common principles” on the commissioning services likely to “shape the offer” to clinical commissioning groups in the NHS Birmingham and Solihull cluster are emerging, papers say.
Court date set for NHS Gloucestershire judicial review

STRUCTURE: Lawyers for NHS Gloucestershire will be in the high court next month to defend the primary care trust in a judicial review of the transfer of its provider arm.
Criticism as under pressure CQC reveals 14 per cent underspend

The Care Quality Commission is set to underspend its 2011-12 budget by 14 per cent, the troubled regulator has revealed to HSJ.
'Deal with productivity variation, or risk the long term future of the NHS'

Only by swiftly adressing the issue of clinical practice variation and developing better evidence based practice can we stop the quality of NHS care eroding, writes Professor Alan Maynard.
DH advertises for future leader of Public Health England

The Department of Health has begun advertising for a chief executive designate for its new executive agency Public Health England.
DH considers year-of-care tariff for patients with long term conditions

The Department of Health is considering a year-of-care tariff for telehealth technology which varies according to the number and severity of a patient’s long-term conditions.
DH wins right to appeal Royal Brompton judicial review decision

STRUCTURE: The joint council of primary care trusts, set up by the Department of Health to review paediatric surgery, has won the right to appeal a judge’s decision that its consultation last year was unlawful.
East Lancs Hospitals sees rise in activity from Rochdale A&E closure

FINANCE: The closure of the accident and emergency department at the nearby Rochdale Infirmary has driven up emergency activity at East Lancashire, triggering financial penalties for the trust, its commissioners have reported.
Exclusive: DH leak reveals uncertainty over 11,000 PCT jobs

A leaked Department of Health document shows for the first time where commissioning staff could move to in the restructured NHS – however it also reveals confusion over the fate of thousands of jobs.
Exclusive: only half of CCGs will be ready - GP commissioning champion

Only half of clinical commissioning groups will be given full permission to take on budgets by April 2013 – creating a two-tier NHS – one of the most senior leaders of the movement has predicted.
Exclusive: trusts given days to apply for £300m capital fund

The Department of Health has confirmed the existence of a surprise £300m fund for capital projects that some trusts had seven working days to apply for - and others have still not been told about.
Former Central Manchester FT manager awarded £1m in race discrimination tribunal

WORKFORCE: An employment tribunal has awarded a former manager at Central Manchester University Hospitals Foundation Trust nearly £1m damages for racial discrimination and unfair dismissal.
FT director dismissed after disciplinary investigation

An IT director at a foundation trust has been dismissed after a disciplinary investigation.
Future Forum: all commissioners should consider NHS and social care shared budgets

Commissioners should be able to override current payment rules and share budgets with local authorities in order to accelerate service integration, according to the NHS Future Forum.
Gloucestershire performs poorly on stroke

PERFORMANCE: Just 52.4 per cent of stroke patients treated in the area covered by NHS Gloucestershire spend 90 per cent of their time on a dedicated stroke unit against a target of 80 per cent.
Governors plan inquiry into chief executive dispute

WORKFORCE: The governors of Royal Berkshire Hospital Foundation Trust are planning an inquiry into the conduct of its board following a decision to effectively suspend the organisation’s chief executive.
Greater Manchester cluster proposes responsibility for networks’ funding

STRUCTURE: The NHS Greater Manchester ‘cluster’ of primary care trusts has proposed that it take over responsibility funds held to support the Making it Better reconfiguration of the city’s maternity services.
Greater Manchester signs £1.8m home oxygen contract

COMMERCIAL: The Greater Manchester cluster of primary care trusts has signed a contract worth an estimated £1.8m for the provision of home oxygen services to all 10 PCTs in the area.
Hospital mergers have little benefit, study suggests

Waiting times have risen and financial performance has declined at NHS hospitals following mergers, a study has found.
How a transformation programme helps improve community services' efficiency

A strategic transformation programme has helped a community provider reform and redesign its services and improve efficiency as a central part of its bid for foundation trust status. Jo Manley and Mark Eaton outline the programme.
How doctor-patient phone calls can cut unnecessary emergency care attendances

When GPs phone back patients who want to book an appointment, many often accept they do not need to visit the surgery or to go to A&E after all. Harry Longman explains the benefits this level of doctor access offers.
How to create a long-term strategy for better workforce planning

The Department of Health’s strategic vision for the NHS presents several workforce planning challenges for the service to tackle. Dulani Mendis suggests strategy tips for creating a culture of long-term improvement.
HSJ's latest CCGs map

Find out more about HSJ’s map of emerging CCGs around England.
Imperial advertises chief executive's job

WORKFORCE: The west London hospital trust, one of the largest in the UK, is advertising for a permanent chief executive and applications must be submitted by January 27.
Interest in North Bristol tender "encouraging"

COMMERCIAL: North Bristol Trust has received eight pre qualification questionnaires in response to its tender for a partner to build and health and social care centre and provide nursing services.
Jeremy Taylor: the Future Forum's work is about changing culture

It’s not about the money; it’s not about the technology; it’s not about the data. It’s about the culture. That could be a summary of the NHS Future Forum’s work on information last autumn, writes information worksteam co-chair Jeremy Taylor.
Lansley outlines further 'steps' to address breast implants concerns

Health secretary Andrew Lansley has set out a “series of steps” in response to continued concerns over the safety risks posed by French Poly Implant Prostheses (PiP) breast implants.
Leadership and staff engagement 'critical' to hospital savings challenge - study

Effective leadership and staff engagement will be “critical” if hospitals are to achieve the lion’s share of the £20bn NHS savings goal by 2015, a new Nuffield Trust study has found.
Legal aid cuts threaten added cost to NHS

The government’s planned cuts to legal aid in clinical negligence cases could cost the NHS almost three times more than is saved by the Ministry of Justice, a report has claimed.
Leicester, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire form £10m sports and exercise centre

STRUCTURE: Three trusts have linked up with universities to form a £10m centre for sport and exercise medicine.
Lewisham Healthcare Trust releases reserves to cover CIP gap

FINANCE: The south London integrated care trust has delivered £7.7m of its £8.4m cost improvement programme, its latest finance report said.
Lewisham Healthcare Trust to take over eight PCT properties

STRUCTURE: The south London trust will take over eight properties from the south east London cluster of primary care trusts under the Transforming Communtiy Services framework.
Liberating Ideas: the award-winning projects that could truly liberate the NHS

Which of the Liberating Ideas Award 2011 winners’ projects has the greatest potential to be adopted by the rest of the NHS? Alison Moore watched the final judging session.
London queries whether CCG staff loans lead to 'unfair advantage'

WORKFORCE: NHS London has taken legal advice on whether members of primary care trust staff who are “loaned” to clinical commissioning groups have an unfair advantage when the CCG posts are advertised.
Media coverage sees complaints double at troubled trust

PERFORMANCE: The east London trust has seen an average of 83 complaints a month since last January, compared to an average of 44 the previous month.
Media Watch: government facing breast implants scandal backlash

The breast implants scandal continued to dominate the news agenda as health secretary Andrew Lansley said it was the “moral duty” of cosmetic surgery companies to offer free care to remove implants made by the French firm PIP.
Mersey Care books £5.4m cost reductions to end of November

FINANCE: At the end of November 2011 the mental health trust had recorded cost improvement programme savings of £5.4m, against a target of £8m for the full year, 2011-12.
Michael White: a deal must be cut to restore certainty to the NHS

It’s surely good news that health ministers are to encourage medical staff to ask patients about their lifestyle choices, as ProfessorSteve Field’s NHS Future Forum has been suggesting - though in my experience they have been doing it for ages.
Ministers must slow down to avoid another Mid Staffs

What did the newly minted coalition government describe in May 2010 as “a champion for patients”? The answer, of course, was primary care trusts.
Most senior leaders failing to create 'strong work climates'

Three quarters of the most senior NHS leaders are “not creating strong work climates”, according to an analysis seen by HSJ.
Murder suspect nurse released on bail

A 46-year-old male nurse suspected of murdering three hospital patients at Stepping Hill Hospital has been released on police bail.
New chief medical officer at Rotherham FT

WORKFORCE: A new medical director has started work at The Rotherham Foundation Trust.
NHS Blackpool chief executive seconded to acute provider

WORKFORCE: The primary care trust’s chief executive, Wendy Swift, has been seconded to Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust as their managing director of community services.
NHS Blackpool spending £2.6m lower than planned at October end

FINANCE: At the end of October the commissioner was showing a surplus of £3.4m for the year to date, £2.6m above its planned underspend to that point, according to NHS Lancashire PCT cluster’s latest finance report.
NHS Bolton secures £150,000 to help clear dental waiting lists

FINANCE: The primary care trust has secured £150,000 to help clear 2,000 patients from the waiting list for NHS dentistry, according to its latest performance report.
NHS chief executives should be 'held to account' for improving staff health

Senior managers should be held to account for improving the health and wellbeing of their workforce, the NHS Future Forum has recommended.
NHS stuck in 'information dark ages', says Future Forum

The NHS needs a culture change to drag itself out of the “information dark ages” and avoid reputational damage, the NHS Future Forum has said.
Noel Plumridge: has the sparkle gone from social enterprise?

Social enterprises are starting to find that the odds are not in their favour in a cut-throat market, which could make for a bleak picture in a decade’s time, says Noel Plumridge.
North West savings progress still leaves room for trusts to improve

Christmas may seem like a distant memory, but it’s worth recalling that the North of England went home for the break with a big gold star on its Department of Health report card.
Nottingham named regional trauma centre

STRUCTURE: Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has been designated the region’s lead trauma centre
Nursing regulator chief executive resigns

The chief executive of the Nursing and Midwifery Council Dickon Weir-Hughes has resigned from his post with immediate effect.
One in 10 people 'end 111 calls early'

A tenth of people who call the 111 semi-emergency number operated by the NHS hang up before they get through to anybody, new research suggests.
Oxford trust overspends on PCT contract

FINANCE: Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust over-performed by £10.9m – or 7.5 per cent – against its contract with Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust in the first six months of 2011-12.
Oxygen cylinder explosion to be investigated by HSE

PERFORMANCE: Patients had to be evacuated from the intensive care unit at Royal United Hospital Bath after an oxygen cylinder exploded.
Patient reported outcome measures methodology queried by 'negative outlier'

A specialist orthopaedic hospital is reviewing the methodology used for patient reported outcome measures after it was identified as a possible “negative outlier” by the Department of Health.
PCT expects further poor waiting times figures from Royal Bolton

PERFORMANCE: NHS Bolton is forecasting that when the foundation publishes its waiting times for admitted patients treated in October they will push the commissioner’s figures below the threshold standard.
Plans put forward for Middlesbrough neuro centre

STRUCTURE: Middlesbrough Council is considering proposals for a new neurological support and rehabilitation centre in the city.
Pressure building on Peterborough finances

FINANCE: NHS Peterborough faces significant risks as it battles to break even this financial year, a board meeting heard.
RCN chief: NHS facing 'toughest year'

The Royal College of Nursing’s chief executive and general secretary has warned the NHS faces its “toughest year”, with specialist nurses losing their jobs and vulnerable patients “in the firing line”.
Ridgeway to be taken over by non-neighbouring FT

PERFORMANCE: The struggling Ridgeway Partnership in Oxfordshire is set to become part of a larger foundation trust spanning two separate geographical areas, with all the bidders shortlisted to take it over based outside the county.
Sally Gainsbury: private sector sweats on essential sensibility

Back when the white paper was first published, we had our first flurry of excitement that the new Monitor would get to tinker under the bonnet of private sector providers – all in the interests of fair regulation and ensuring continuity of services.
Scabies outbreak halts admissions for 48 hours

PERFORMANCE: Two wards at a hospital in Sussex had to be closed to new admissions for 48 hours last year after an outbreak of scabies.
Sheffield Children's FT consulting on hospital wing designs

STRUCTURE: Sheffield Children’s Foundation Trust is consulting on designs for a new hospital wing.
Sheffield pioneers community and mental health user experience plan

PERFORMANCE: Sheffield Health and Social Care Foundation Trust is planning to establish a service user experience monitoring unit, under which ex-service users will interview current service users.
Sherwood Forest and Nottingham trusts to open joint dialysis unit

STRUCTURE:Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust and Nottingham University Hospitals Trust have announced they are officially opening theira new renal dialysis satellite unit at King’s Mill Hospital on 12 January 2012.
Sight loss patients 'need more help'

Staff at clinics in Wales for patients suffering from sensory loss could do more to help visitors, a group of experts claims.
Six staff disciplined over care standards at James Paget

PERFORMANCE: Six members of staff have been disciplined over incidents relating “to poor practice regarding care” of older patients at James Paget University Hospitals Foundation Trust.
Southampton PCT misses all acute activity targets

PERFORMANCE: NHS Southampton is above target on all its acute activity measures after entering into an agreement with its main provider to reduce waiting times.
Southport and Ormskirk cuts 2011-12 forecast to break-even

FINANCE: The trust has revised its forecast for 2011-12 down from a £1.7m surplus to break-even, its latest finance report shows.
St Helen’s and Knowsley cuts income forecast

FINANCE: The Trust income forecast for 2011-12 worsened by a net £300k in October to £1.6m below plan for the year, according to its latest finance report.
Stroke concern at Cambs PCT cluster

PERFORMANCE: Performance on stroke targets is causing concern at NHS Peterborough and NHS Cambridgeshire.
Suspicion surrounds service reorganisation in the South West

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust chief executive Lezli Boswell has become a regular at the local county council’s overview and scrutiny committee in recent months in the face of local uproar at a decision to postpone the reopening of a ward.
Taunton and Somerset gets good rating from NHSLA

PERFORMANCE: Taunton and Somerset Foundation Trust has achieved the best risk rating possible from the NHS Litigation Authority.
The NHS trusts leading the way on sustainability and efficiency

A recent league table of over 2,000 UK businesses ranked four NHS trusts as the highest performing organisations. NHS Sustainable Development Unit director David Pencheon explains why other trusts must aim to emulate this success.
Three FTs shortlisted to take over Ridgeway Partnership

STRUCTURE: Three foundation trusts have been shortlisted to take over the Ridgeway Partnership.
Training boards must 'resolve' financial conflicts of interest

NHS organisations charged with both allocating and spending the NHS’s £5bn education budget will be “mostly” trusted to manage any “competing interests” themselves.
Trusts rewarded with 'quality premium' under Future Forum plan

Trusts’ budgets will be top-sliced to fund a “quality premium” for organisations providing high quality training for NHS staff, under a proposal in a government-commissioned report.
Two mental health trusts criticised over homicide

PERFORMANCE: Failure to appreciate the complexity of patients’ conditions, low staffing levels and inadequate supervision contributed to two patients being treated by a South West mental health trust going on to kill.
'Warm words' insufficient to drive integration, ministers warned

One of the leading proponents of integrated care has called for the government to go further than its “warm words” made in response to the NHS Future Forum.
Welwyn hospital A&E services to be reduced from this month

STRUCTURE: Accident and emergency services at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Welwyn are to be reduced overnight as East and North Hertfordshire Trust continues with a major reconfiguration.
Why physical health checks for mental health patients are vital to their wellbeing

Improving the provision of physical health checks for people with severe mental illness provides an opportunity to make a major difference to the health and wellbeing of this vulnerable group, write Drs Kallol Sain and Sweta Patil.
Worcestershire Health and Care struggles to recruit medics

WORKFORCE: Worcestershire Health and Care Trust has decided to recruit nurse consultants instead of doctors after struggling to fill medical posts.

Alastair McLellan

Health Service Journal12 January 2012

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Health Service Journal
12 January 2012