Health Service Journal
14 January 2010
View all stories from this issue.
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Abolishing NHS targets will reduce need for managers, David Cameron says
Abolishing the target culture in the NHS will reduce the need for “managers and bureaucrats”, Conservative Party leader David Cameron has said. -
Ambulance service in non-emergency appeal
Ambulance service chiefs in Wales are urging the public only to make 999 calls for genuine life-threatening emergencies as winter pressures intensify. -
Ambulance Service Network director leaves to fight Hewitt seat
Ambulance Service Network director Liz Kendall has resigned after being selected to fight the parliamentary seat held by Patricia Hewitt for the Labour Party. -
Andy Burnham insists home care bill is affordable
Health secretary Andy Burnham has defended the Personal Care at Home Bill amid fears it will divert money from other NHS priorities and lead to fresh conflict between primary care trusts and councils. -
Andy Burnham rages at Tory ‘about-turn’ on funding
Health secretary Andy Burnham has written a furious letter to Conservative Party leader David Cameron accusing him of an “abrupt about-turn” on NHS funding. -
Andy Burnham warns of limits to localism in social care
Andy Burnham has warned there are limits to localism in social care provision, insisting users regard fairness as more important than devolution. -
Assessment centres: do your staff measure up?
A London foundation trust used assessment centres to ensure its frontline managers were on-message and up to the job. This is how they did it -
Barts chair steps down
Keith Palmer has stepped down as chair of Barts and the London Trust, where he had served since June 2007. -
BME network announces launch conference
The NHS’s national black and minority ethnic network is to mark its launch with a conference later this year. -
Book Review: Three Moves Ahead
Learn business tactics from the chess board, recommends Rupert Wainwright -
Boost bonuses for NHS managers says think tank
Top NHS managers should receive annual bonuses of up to £30,000 to encourage good performance, a think tank close to the Conservatives has said. -
Brian James: how to save NHS services in a recession
If politicians want to protect frontline services, they should ask those working there what they should do -
Bullied hospital manager awarded £150,000 compensation
A bullied NHS manager who suffered a nervous breakdown is to receive £150,000 in compensation. -
Call to fine drunk NHS patients
A right wing think tank has called for drunk NHS patients to be fined and prescriptions for common pain killers to be scrapped. -
Clinical portal to 'revolutionise NHS IT'
Health professionals will be able to retrieve information about patients quickly and securely through a new computer system, the Welsh Assembly has said. -
Combat Stress charity in mental health trust tie-up
Staff from the Combat Stress charity are to work in NHS mental health trusts in a bid to improve treatment offered to traumatised soldiers, the government is expected to announce. -
Cost of hospital thefts revealed
Items worth more than £900,000 have been lost or stolen from Scotland’s hospitals in the last two years, it has been disclosed. -
CQC calls in high ranking fixer for ‘chaotic’ trust registration process
NHS East of England chief executive Sir Neil McKay has been brought in to “challenge” the Care Quality Commission as it prepares to register every trust by 1 April. -
CQC SOS: high stakes mean it is essential registration succeeds
The Care Quality Commission is in difficulty. -
DELIVERY OF THE CANCER AWARENESS MEASURE TOOL WITHIN THE NORTH LONDON CANCER NETWORK (NLCN): SURVEY DESIGN, DELIVERY, ANALYSIS AND REPORT
North London Cancer Network -
DH drawn into row over GP practice expansion
The Department of Health has been dragged into a row between NHS Kingston and one of its GP practices. -
DH funds £20m pilot scheme for thalidomide survivors
The Department of Health is to fund a £20m pilot scheme to help meet the long term health needs of thalidomide survivors, health minister Mike O’Brien announced today. -
Dignity in care funding announced
A “bright ideas grant” to help support innovative projects that promote dignity in care has been launched by the Department of Health. -
Expert Patient Programme: self-managing with a mouse
An online course is offering Expert Patient Programme support to people living with long term conditions -
Five firms and one FT shortlisted to take over NHS hospital
One foundation trust and five independent providers have been shortlisted as potential bidders for a franchise to run an NHS hospital in the East of England. -
FSA launches criminal probe into ex-iSoft bosses
The Financial Services Authority has started criminal proceedings against four former directors of iSoft, an IT firm involved in the NHS IT programme. -
Funding opportunities for quality improvement and evaluation projects
The Matching Michigan project is run by the National Reporting and Learning Service. ICUs participating in this project are eligible to apply for these funding opportunities for quality improvement and evaluation projects. -
Gas supply restriction looms for 100 NHS trusts
Approximately 100 NHS organisations could see their gas supply disrupted if soaring consumption leads to restrictions on gas use. -
Happy birthday, Mr Burnham
How would you rather celebrate your 40th birthday? A party? A day out with the family? Or a grilling from the health select committee? -
Health improvement collaboration: top tips
Health and care professionals from the eight biggest cities outside London are collaborating to share expertise in tackling inequalities, reports Stuart Shepherd -
Ian Dalton's swine flu update - review of progress so far
In his weekly update for HSJ and Nursing Times, national director for NHS flu resilience Ian Dalton discusses the latest developments in UK swine flu preparations -
Improvement tsar warns SHAs to ‘refresh’ Darzi visions urgently
The health service will be set timetables and held to account for implementing “must do” quality and efficiency improvements to try to save £20bn, the Department of Health has announced. -
Integrated Healthy Lifestyles Service
NHS Suffolk -
Internet fund 'to boost telehealth'
The quality of healthcare provided to elderly people and patients living in remote areas will be vastly improved by a £1bn investment in super-fast broadband, the government has said. -
Jump in NHS 24 calls over festive break
Scottish NHS call centres were flooded with calls over the Christmas and new year period, with tens of thousands of anxious people ringing NHS 24 and the Scottish Flu Response Centre for advice. -
Love work?
The Daily Mail loves a good rant about greedy GPs and bungling NHS bosses, but could it inadvertently be harming its favourite type of reader - married couples? -
Michael White on the cost of alcohol
Commons health select committee chair Kevin Barron was enjoying a Sunday night glass of Shiraz when I rang to discuss his report on how to tackle Britain’s costly upsurge in alcoholism. -
Mid Staffs looks for courage to confront poor standards
Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust chief executive Antony Sumara is convinced its turnaround - after it was branded ‘appalling’ by inspectors - depends on staff becoming brave enough to confront poor standards openly. Dave West reports -
Monitor concerned over vacant FT executive posts
Monitor has begun publicly reporting the number of foundation trust board posts left vacant or filled only by an interim. -
More hospitals hit by winter weather
Unprecedented levels of snowfall have caused chaos for hospitals across the country. -
MPs call for minimum alcohol pricing
Minimum pricing for alcoholic drinks, mandatory health warnings on labels and a rise in tax on spirits should be introduced to stem a “shocking” rise in alcohol misuse in England, an MPs’ report has said. -
New chief executive for Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust
Managing director of BT Health Sir Jonathan Michael has been appointed as the new chief executive of Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust. -
NHS prescriptions under review
A 12 week consultation has begun that could pave the way for a revision of the way generic and branded medicines are dispensed within the NHS. -
NHS productivity: how to maximise the year ahead
Health and social care services need to fully engage frontline staff, not just leaders, to meet financial constraints while safeguarding quality delivery. Phil Kenmore explains -
NHS Stockport chief executive starts joint role
The chief executive of NHS Stockport has begun a combined role as a senior member of the local council. -
NHS Tower Hamlets chair moves to Barts
Barts and the London Trust has appointed Stephen O’Brien as its new interim chair. -
Patricia Hewitt calls for vote on Gordon Brown's future
Former health secretary Patricia Hewitt has sparked political turmoil by publicly calling for a vote on whether Gordon Brown should remain as Labour Party leader in the run up to this year’s general election. -
PCTs face redesign backlashes as cost cuts loom
Primary care trusts face a tough year attempting to convince the public that service redesigns are in the best interests of patients and cost-saving measures are inevitable. -
Personal health plans for injured soldiers
Improved NHS mental health services for soldiers returning from Afghanistan was one of the plans announced by the government in a bid to provide better care for war veterans. -
Politics ‘distracting’ from NHS quality drive
Political pressure and rapid leadership turnover are hampering the health service’s ability to improve quality of care, two reports have warned. -
Positive spin
While the NHS may be behind on implementing Maternity Matters, at least it is one step ahead when it comes to preparing for bad press. -
Red-rated Bristol foundation trust chief steps down
The chief executive of a foundation trust has stepped down by mutual agreement, just as it was revealed the trust had been given a red rating by Monitor for failing to meet targets. -
Sheila Williams on communication and metaphors
Over the past few weeks, I ran into a brick wall with a project, burned the candle at both ends and then saw the light at the end of the tunnel. -
Sophia Christie on a crumbling model of healthcare
Much health policy is about achieving a balance. A common tension is that between the popularity of “local” and the necessity of “strategic”. -
The CRC energy efficiency scheme affects up to 25,000 organisations. Are you one of them?
In April 2010, the CRC energy efficiency scheme comes into effect. It helps organisations save energy, save money and become leaders in tackling climate change. -
Tories would apply tariff to end of life care
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has pledged to extend the NHS tariff to include end of life care if the Conservatives win the next election. -
Unhappy new year
January is always a gloomy month and the Department of Health seems determined to keep it that way. -
United Lincolnshire in turmoil as disciplinary action starts
United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust is in further turmoil after questions over the treatment of the incumbent chief executive and the resignation of a suspended non-executive director. -
Work needed at Basildon and Thurrock - Andy Burnham
More work needs to be done to improve standards at a scandal-hit NHS foundation trust, health secretary Andy Burnham has told MPs. -
Your Humble Servant: manifest nonsense
‘Imagine - under the Tories, we are going to have new NHS organisations called foundation trusts, a tariff payment process, a choose and book system, a quality and outcomes framework for paying GPs and a formula that channels NHS funds to poorer areas’ -
Zimmer frames in the snow and sinister swine flu
Ten days ago it looked as though we would get nothing but blanket coverage of the snow - in both senses - for days on end.
