Health Service Journal
14 October 2010
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‘Nearly £2bn could be saved’ in NHS property sell-offs
The NHS owns empty or under-used buildings and land that could be sold for £1.45bn, saving a further £521m in revenue costs each year, according to a new study seen exclusively by HSJ. -
A social plan to ease NHS savings pain
The Canadian approach in the 1990s to making society-wide budget reductions has some highly relevant lessons for an NHS facing spending constraints now, says Phil Kenmore -
Book Review: Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Give people creative environments and they will blossom, says Kimara Sharpe -
Breast cancer screening not meeting digital switchover target
Over a third of breast cancer screening programmes are yet to meet a commitment to upgrade to digital mammography screening by this year. -
Budget cuts 'will damage staff health'
Physiotherapists have warned that the impending public spending cuts could force people to carry on working even if they are ill, ultimately making their health even worse. -
Caesarean rates 'vary widely' in UK
A new study has suggested that the differences in opinion between doctors across England is the cause of varying rates of Caesarean sections carried out in the country. -
Call for public to improve their own health
People must do more to look after their health and stop preventable conditions draining NHS resources, the Welsh chief medical officer has said. -
Centrally held patient records 'could save lives'
Centrally-held electronic records of core patient information could save lives and should be available in emergency situations, a Department of Health review has found. -
Charities demand a bigger role in public health
The third sector must play a greater role in public health, the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations has argued. -
Claire Rayner dies with warning on NHS reform
The patients’ rights campaigner Claire Rayner, who died on Monday, told her relatives she wanted her last words to be: “Tell David Cameron that if he screws up my beloved NHS I’ll come back and bloody haunt him.” -
Climate change is 'cholera of our time', says public health expert
The transfer of commissioning from primary care trusts to GPs should be used to help drive environmentally friendly policies, according to the head of the NHS sustainable development unit. -
Competition could change the face of healthcare
Competition could change the health landscape in the same way it did with gas, electricity and telecoms -
Cuts, car parks and care records
The media gave a good few pages over to the NHS this week, taking in cuts, car parks and care records, but no obvious mention of the other C word: commissioning. -
DH turns a blind eye to working time rules
The Department of Health has moved to “limit” the impact of the European working time directive on the NHS, HSJ has learnt. -
Drug treatment referrals criticised
The head of a drug rehabilitation facility has claimed it is being prevented from treating Scottish patients, and raised concerns about Scottish government drug policy. -
Eating disorders in children rise by 11%
The number of children admitted to hospital due to eating disorders has risen by 11% in the past year, according to the NHS. -
Essex PCT plans to shed over 220 staff in £5.7m savings bid
NHS South West Essex has set out plans to make 224 staff redundant in order to save £5.7m over the next financial year. -
Follow the leaders – or waste billions of pounds every year
Variability is the curse of any large organisation. The most successful corporations spend considerable time and cost in identifying and resolving variations in performance. -
Foundation Trust Network chair statement in defense of Sue Slipman
I am responding to the confederation press statement issued yesterday and to clarify the FTN position. -
Foundation Trust Network considers Confed split as director suspended
The Foundation Trust Network has drawn up plans to leave the NHS Confederation, prompting opposition within the organisation, HSJ has learned. -
FTN chair defends suspended Slipman
The Foundation Trust Network chair has issued a fierce defence of the network’s suspended director Sue Slipman. -
Future RCGP leader issues warning on 'market expansion'
The government’s planned expansion of the “any willing provider” is the biggest issue concerning GPs, according to the chair elect of the Royal College of General Practitioners. -
Government outlines greater protection for NHS whistleblowers
Health service employers will have to pledge to support whistleblowers, under proposed amendments to the NHS constitution in the wake to the Mid Staffs scandal. -
GPs sceptical reforms will benefit patients
Most GPs are sceptical that the government’s planned overhaul of the NHS will actually benefit patients, a poll suggested. -
Hospital parking charges attacked
Parking costs at NHS hospitals have risen by as much as 150% since the summer, according to the Sunday Mirror. -
How the white paper will affect NHS estates
The commissioning white paper leaves the future of the £36bn PCT and SHA estate wide open, as Eve Gregory and Catherine Ochiltree explain -
King's Fund warns about 'scale and pace' of reforms
The government must reconsider the “speed and scale” of its white paper reforms, the King’s Fund has warned. -
Lansley confirms summary care record roll-out will proceed
The national roll-out of patient summary care records will continue, health secretary Andrew Lansley has said. -
Lansley plays down 'scale and pace' concerns over GP commissioning
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has attempted to play down the scale and pace of the white paper changes, following widespread concerns expressed in response to the consultation. -
Lansley warned on 'disenfranchised' salaried GPs
One of the country’s leading GPs has advised the health secretary to ensure younger doctors are incentivised to get involved in commissioning, or risk losing them to the private sector. -
NHS advised on nutrition for older people
New guidelines have been published aimed at driving up the quality of meals served to old people. -
NHS estate services costs vary widely
The EC Harris study found significant variations between the best and worst performing trusts on estate costs. -
NHS improves financial grip
The NHS has significantly improved its financial management since the deficit period of 2005-06, the Audit Commission has said. -
NHS joins Black History month celebration
The NHS has launched a new website dedicated to putting the spotlight on black health heroes as part of the UK-wide Black History month. -
Patient care record plan is scaled back
Patient summary care records will not include more information than necessary to ensure safe treatment in emergencies and unplanned care, it has been announced. -
Poor quality work still gets bonus
High-earning NHS consultants in England get paid bonuses even if the quality of their work gets worse, according to a BBC report. -
Private tests 'need monitoring'
Regulators should have a bigger role in monitoring private companies offering body scans, genetic testing and medicines online, a report has said. -
'Real terms' funding increases likely to mean 1.9%, DH reveals
The Department of Health is expecting its budget to increase by as little as 1.9% next financial year, acting permanent secretary Richard Douglas has confirmed. -
Reform timetable ambitious but achievable - Lansley
The timetable for implementing reforms of the NHS is “ambitious” but not unachievable, the health secretary has said. -
Regional variations in NHS productivity revealed
Dramatic variations in NHS productivity have been revealed by a report commissioned by the Department of Health and obtained exclusively by HSJ. -
Registered manager missing from 1,000 care homes
Almost 1,000 care homes across England have no registered manager, a watchdog said today. -
Removing policy barriers to integrated healthcare
Closer integration of care may be taking on an ever-higher profile, but it is often thwarted by government policy, write Chris Ham and Judith Smith -
Rise in mental health detentions
The number of people being given compulsory treatment under the Mental Health Act rose by 3.5 per cent last year, data has revealed. -
Shadow health secretary wastes no time in attacking NHS cuts
Newly appointed Labour shadow health secretary John Healey has targeted trust’s plans to cut accident and emergency, and maternity services in his first attack on the government. -
SHAs contrast sharply on community proposals
The Transforming Community Services programme is taking primary care in different directions at opposite ends of the country, research by HSJ shows. -
Shortage of surgical training posts criticised
Hundreds of people aspiring to become surgeons are being left behind due to the lack of training posts available at the NHS, according to a new investigation. -
Software error blamed for false obesity letters
Hundreds of children may have been wrongly told they are overweight because of a “software error”, the NHS Information Centre has said. -
Take the lead in preventing ill health
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Britain was known as “the sick man of Europe”. Then it related to industrial strife and poor economic performance. Now we are in danger of regaining that mantle, but this time in public health terms. -
Talk therapy offer ‘patchy’
One in five patients wait over a year for talking therapy despite the nationwide scheme to promote it. -
The power of checklists in the NHS
With the level of change the NHS faces, it is crucial to keep everyone focused and on target. -
The role of clinical commissioning in public health
A multidisciplinary team will be essential as GPs take on a central role in commissioning, says Lynn Young -
Transition plan 'risky' says Confed
The proposed transition to a reformed health service will lead to “very real” risks, the NHS Confederation has said. -
Two ambulance trusts get all-clear from Lansley
Two ambulance service trusts are the first to be put forward by the health secretary for approval to become foundation trusts. -
'Unfair' final salary pensions set to go
Final salary NHS pensions look set to be abolished after an interim national review found they unfairly benefit “high flyers”. -
What was he thinking?
What’s that? Our former health boss, cheerful Alan Johnson, as shadow chancellor and Andy Burnham switched to the education brief, where he has been quick to condemn coalition plans to raise student tuition charges? What was Ed Miliband thinking?
