Health Service Journal
15 September 2011

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£6.9m gap in Wirral University Teaching Hospital savings plans at end of April

FINANCE: At the end of April the foundation had identified just £6.9m of the £13.8m cash-releasing savings it needs in 2011-12, board papers show.
46 mixed sex accommodation breaches in three months at UHSM

PERFORMANCE: The foundation had 46 breaches of rules against mixed sex accommodation in the first three months of 2011-12, commissioners report.
67 mixed sex accommodation breaches in three months at Salford Royal

PERFORMANCE: The foundation had 67 breaches of rules against mixed sex accommodation in the first three months of 2011-12, commissioners report.
Anonymous tip off raises questions on CQC evidence to Mid Staffs

Evidence given to the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry by witnesses from the Care Quality Commission has been called into question after the inquiry team received an anonymous tip off.
Assura health centre completed in Surrey

STRUCTURE: Healthcare property group Assura Group Limited has completed the acquisition of the £3.5m Stanwell Health and Community Centre in Surrey.
Backloaded QIPP savings are key risk for Coventry PCT

FINANCE: NHS Coventry has identified quality, innovation, productivity and prevention as a high risk financial issue, and has set out plans for a backloaded savings plan.
CCGs setting spending priorities urged to 'be brave'

Most primary care trust commissioners believe they have struggled with setting priorities for health spending in their area, according to a new research report.
CCP backs commissioners in care home procurement row

The Cooperation and Competition Panel has ruled against care home associations in two regions after they claimed procurement rules and prices for continuing healthcare were too low.
Chair praises new Tunbridge Wells Hospital

STRUCTURE: Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust chair Anthony Jones has described 2011 as a “tremendous year” for the trust.
Chase Farm to remain open but loses A&E unit

STRUCTURE: The health secretary has rubber stamped plans to downgrade Chase Farm Hospital’s emergency department and take forward a possible merger with North Middlesex University Hospital Trust.
Clare Gerada ups the stakes in her fight to ‘save’ the NHS

The unlikeliest and, perhaps, most powerful alliance affecting the delivery of the NHS reforms is between Royal College of GPs chair Dr Clare Gerada and what some might term the “old guard” of NHS managers who have wielded the greatest influence over the last decade.
Clinic leads to hike in natural births at Norfolk FT

PERFORMANCE: A specialist clinic at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has led to a big increase in the number of women choosing natural childbirth having previously had a caesarean section.
Clinical commissioners need 'bold' approach, report claims

New clinical commissioning groups within the NHS must change the system and “deliver results”, a report by an expert group has claimed.
Commissioners had 'no confidence' in data supplied by Imperial

FINANCE: Minutes from a commissioner meeting said the west London trust had presented them with data “in which [it had] no confidence”.
Commissioning board chair could work just four days a month

The chair of the NHS Commissioning Board will be expected to work as few as four days a month once the board is up and running, the new job specification reveals.
Countess of Chester behind on saving and surplus targets in first month of 2011-12

FINANCE: The foundation’s recorded surplus for the first month of 2011-12 was £19,000 below plan, mainly due to under-performance on its savings plans, board documents state.
Coventry clinics and GP practice premises need improvements

FINANCE: All but one of the clinical buildings owned by NHS Coventry require work beyond routine maintenance.
Coventry PCT acts to tackle underperformance on cervical screening

PERFORMANCE: Coventry primary care trust is reporting a sharp improvement in performance for cervical screening, although it remains below target.
Coventry PCT reveals GP complaints data

PERFORMANCE: GPs in Coventry are most likely to receive complaints about their attitude or communication with patients, the city’s primary care trust has found.
CQC gives Basingstoke trust a clean bill of health

PERFORMANCE: A Care Quality Commission compliance review has found that Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust are meeting all the essential standards of quality and safety.
CQC leadership failed to act with urgency

MPs have criticised the leadership of the Care Quality Commission for failing to stand up to ministers in the face of “unrealistic statutory obligations”.
Dalton's plate is piled high ahead of return to NHS North of England

Ian Dalton – who in title has been NHS North East chief executive since 2007 – has for some time spent much of his effort on national roles, having first been made national director for the response to swine flu more than two years ago.
Derbyshire Healthcare specialist unit gains quality accreditation

PERFORMANCE: A specialist unit for new mothers with mental health problems run by Derbyshire Healthcare FT has gained official accreditation after meeting stringent quality standards.
DH launches 'engagement exercise' on social care policy

The government has embarked on a major consultation designed to involve patients, providers and professionals in re-designing social care.
DH paid £8m to exit private contract following suspension of services

The Department of Health paid £8m to end early a contract with a private health provider whose services had twice been suspended.
DH reinterprets research showing NHS has competition advantage

An economic study previously interpreted by officials as showing that the “majority” of market distortions worked against the private sector has been reinterpreted by the Department of Health.
DH will 'create pressure' to ensure quality - Easton

The Department of Health will increasingly place trusts under “high pressure” not to make cuts that damage services and to “encourage” the “right” actions.
Ealing Hospital's coding being reviewed after unusual activity rates

FINANCE: The west London hospital trust is £3m over contract with its commissioners, a report to the north-west London cluster reports.
East Kent maternity consultation to begin next month

STRUCTURE: A three month public consultation on the future of maternity services in east Kent is expected to begin in October.
Exclusive: ambulance service investigates link between software failure and patient death

A heart attack victim died during a software failure that saw an ambulance service have to revert back to a paper-and-pen system, HSJ can reveal.
Exclusive: Circle in running to take on management of a second NHS hospital

The private company expected to become the first to manage an NHS hospital is preparing a bid to take over a second NHS site, in partnership with a foundation trust.
Exclusive: fifth acute trust says it is considering private franchise management

A fifth hospital trust has said it will consider private franchise management.
Flory blames HCC for delay in action over Mid Staffs

The deputy chief executive of the NHS has admitted the Department of Health should have acted sooner over failings at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust, but blamed the Healthcare Commission for not warning them of the seriousness.
Foundation trusts consider moving away from national pay deal

Foundation trusts are showing an unprecedented willingness to publicly consider moving away from nationally negotiated staff terms and conditions.
Four in five satisfied with IAPT at Suffolk Mental Health Partnership

PERFORMANCE: Four in every five Suffolk users of psychological therapy provided by Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) were satisfied or very satisfied with their therapist, a survey has found.
Fun run field hospital blown into quarry

A marquee set up to house a field hospital was blown into a quarry by high winds last week.
Getting the health service skill mix right - now, and in the future

Despite job cuts and high unemployment, health employers are currently finding it difficult to fill vacancies. But this is due to the availability of - or lack of - the right skills, something that is only going to become more important to the health service, says Simon Hudson.
Giving dementia the attention and support it needs - and deserves

A recent meeting on dementia suggested that although the condition is widely misunderstood, there’s no reason why progress similar to that made in cancer and HIV care cannot be made for dementia too. Richard Smith, director of the Ovations initiative to combat chronic disease, looks at what needs to be done.
Government drug treatment strategy questioned by new watchdog

A newly formed alliance of drug rehabilitation providers has accused primary care trusts of “strangling at birth” plans to tackle addiction and reduce crime.
Harrogate concern about CIP performance

FINANCE: Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has highlighted concern about delivering some “high risk” cost improvement plans, but is still predicting stable financial performance.
Harrogate FT to copy more letters to patients

STRUCTURE: Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust is planning to make letters about patients more available to them.
Health and Wellbeing Boards 'should drive integration'

Health and wellbeing boards should include the integration of commissioning in their “key success criteria”, according to a new guide published by the Good Governance Institute.
Hospital hit by Hepatitis B infection

Health chiefs are urging patients to be screened for Hepatitis B after discovering a case of infection in a hospital ward.
Hospital PFI deals attacked after car park charges increase

Private finance initiative contracts signed by the last Labour-led administration to build hospital car parks have been attacked following a decision by one hospital to increase charges by 62 per cent.
How a change in practice can reduce hospital admissions for older dementia patients

Changing practice to reduce hospital admissions for older people with dementia can be achieved by strong liaison and information sharing. Consultant old age psychiatrist Afifa Qazi explains.
How a landmark treatment programme is reducing alcohol related admissions

An alcohol treatment programme in Derby is helping to reduce admissions related to drink, which could prove highly useful across the NHS after the annual number of alcohol related admissions passed 1 million for the first time last May.
How community based diagnostic services can improve patient care and cost-efficiency

Technological advances mean diagnostic services can move into community settings, say Lisa Hollins and colleagues.
How to utilise online feedback to improve services and increase patient involvement

One of the goals of the NHS Future Forum was to put accountability and patient involvement at the forefront of how hospitals and trusts operate. Patient Opinion founder Paul Hodgkin looks at how online technology can quickly and effectively make this a reality.
HSJ Efficiency Awards heralds the efficient organisations keeping quality high

The inaugural Health Service Journal Efficiency Awards last night identified and rewarded the outstanding healthcare organisations who have successfully demonstrated tangible efficiency improvements and cost savings this year - while maintaining the highest standard of patient care.
Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) Service

NHS Lewisham
Keeping patient information safe when responding to FOI requests

With health organisations legally obliged to provide data to persons requesting information under the Freedom of Information act, one case has helped set out how trusts can deal with these requests on the most sensitive of issues. Eleanor Tunnicliffe and Jessica Major explain.
Kent and Medway Partnership ‘mostly comparable’ with other trusts

PERFORMANCE: Results from the 2011 community mental health survey show services provided by Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust “are mostly comparable with the rest of the country”.
Keogh: Clinicians to blame for problems at Mid Staffs

Problems at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust were a “failure of clinical leadership and professionalism”, the medical director of the NHS has told the public inquiry.
Kettering General the main driver of Northants acute overspend

FINANCE: NHS Northamptonshire had already overspent on its acute budget by more than £1m only three months into the financial year.
Legal costs could see CCGs allowances 'wiped out'

Clinical commissioning groups are being warned they could be “wiped out” by legal challenges made by providers or resulting from service reconfigurations, treatment decisions and contract awards.
Leicester PCT cluster appoints NEDs

WORKFORCE: Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PCT cluster has announced the non-executive directors who will sit on its new integrated board.
Lewisham Healthcare Trust £1m behind CIPs target

FINANCE: The south London acute trust had a shortfall of £1,048k against its full-year target of £16.1m at the end of August.
Lib Dem rebels to contest cleared reform legislation at conference

Rebel Liberal Democrat MPs plan to challenge a decision to deny them a vote on the government’s NHS reforms at the party’s forthcoming annual conference.
Media Watch: trusts condemned over money spent on recruiting foreign staff

Hospital managers came under fire this week after the Sunday Telegraph revealed some trusts had spent thousands of pounds on trips to recruit foreign doctors and nurses while allegedly laying off their own staff.
Michael White: in reality, even a centralised model devolves power

Much fuss was made of Nadine Dorries’ bid to tighten abortion counselling procedures as the Health and Social Care Bill finally left the Commons.
Mid Staffs chair to stand down

The chair of Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has announced he will retire in January after three years in the post.
Monitor 'red risks' Morecambe Bay trust over maternity concerns

PERFORMANCE: A health trust whose maternity unit is at the centre of a police investigation has been issued a warning by Monitor, days after being rapped by the CQC for failing essential safety standards.
Morecambe maternity services rapped by regulator

PERFORMANCE: Divisions between senior medical staff contributed to maternity services at University Hospitals Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust failing to meet essential safety standards, the Care Quality Commission has warned.
Mostly ‘good’ PEAT result for East Sussex Healthcare

PERFORMANCE: East Sussex Healthcare received positive ratings for food, hospital environment and privacy and dignity in the annual Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) results.
NEDs sought by Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber FT

WORKFORCE: Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber FT is seeking two new non executive directors to join its board.
New ‘flagship’ care home to open in Sittingbourne

STRUCTURE: Nellsar Homes has constructed a “state-of-the-art” care home in Sittingbourne, which will be its flagship, and is looking to employ around 100 local people.
New chair for Cumbria Partnership

WORKFORCE: Mike Taylor, the current chair of NHS Cumbria, has been appointed the new chair of Cumbria Partnership Foundation Trust.
New health training facility opened in Birmingham

WORKFORCE: Birmingham City University has launched a state-of-the-art teaching wing that brings all health-related courses together on one site.
New prison service launched by Surrey and Borders Partnership

STRUCTURE: A dedicated healthcare service to support prisoners who have a learning disability has been launched across Surrey’s four prisons.
New stroke rehab unit opens in West Kent

STRUCTURE: A £400,000 stroke unit has opened at a community hospital in West Kent.
NHS Alliance and NAPC unite to 'champion' clinical commissioning groups

Two health organisations have joined forces to champion clinical commissioning and the groups tasked with carrying it out.
NHS Confederation to warn MPs over weak QIPP performance

Financial and service failures will become frequent over the next year unless trusts improve their efficiency plans, the NHS Confederation has warned.
NHS Norfolk set to launch tender for OOH service

COMMERCIAL: NHS Norfolk has announced it will put its out of hours GP service out to tender later this year.
NHS North East Essex invites bids for charity grants

FINANCE: The primary care trust is inviting voluntary organisations to bid for grants.
NNUH calls on public to help protect future of local liver surgery

STRUCTURE: The public have been invited to attend a talk about the future of liver surgery at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on 14 September.
Noel Plumridge: will the government help write trusts' shopping lists?

Two recent public accounts committee reports suggest the NHS may still have a thing or two to learn about shopping.
Nursing 'lost its way', says CNO

Nursing “lost its way” on values during the recruitment drive at the start of the new millennium, chief nursing officer Dame Christine Beasley has told the Mid Staffordshire public inquiry.
NW London commissioners to review trust's higher than expected acuity

FINANCE: The north west London cluster is looking to review activity at Chelsea and Westminster Foundation Trust, which is £2m over plan to-date.
NW to consider rules on 'financial impact' of reconfigurations involving PFI

STRUCTURE: The strategic health authority has confirmed it is working on a set of rules for handling the “financial impact” of reconfigurations involving private finance initiative buildings.
Older people’s unit opens in Devon after £1.5m refurbishment

STRUCTURE: Devon Partnership NHS Trust has announced the opening of the Beech Unit in Torbay following a £1.5m refurbishment.
Open to suggestions: can the National Programme for IT be saved by open source software?

Although a single electronic care record is still a ‘worthwhile’ aim, according to the Commons public accounts committee, the DH’s admission that it cannot be delivered poses a real problem for IT practice within the NHS. Nuffield Trust senior fellow Dr Geraint Lewis looks at one option for the beleaguered IT project.
Overseas nurses a 'risk' to healthcare - Lord Winston

Nurses with a poor command of English pose potential risks to healthcare levels, fertility expert Lord Robert Winston has warned.
PCTs warned to watch spending on Milton Keynes FT

PERFORMANCE: Northampton and Milton Keynes primary care trust cluster has been warned they should “align” to monitor performance at Milton Keynes Foundation Trust.
Peers take aim at Health Social Care Bill

Peers have fired an early warning shot across the government’s bows over controversial health care reforms.
Portsmouth Hospitals reviews breakeven forecast

FINANCE: Portsmouth Hospitals Trust has been forced review its “break even” forecast for the end of the year after breaching the cap on its contract with NHS Hampshire.
Practice 'federations' frustrated by reform - Gerada

Moves to create groups of GP practices which can share and expand services have been frustrated by the commissioning reforms, Clare Gerada said.
QEH issues apology to patient moved nine times

PERFORMANCE: Managers at Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn FT have apologised to a patient who was moved between nine different wards while being treated for a heart attack.
Reablement service launched in Cumbria

PERFORMANCE: Cumbria County Council’s adult social care department has launched a “reablement” scheme aimed at helping those who need assistance following disability, illness, injury or loss of their personal support network.
Referral falls could cause financial difficulty for hospitals - BMA

Hospitals could suffer “financial problems” as a result of GPs referring fewer patients, the British Medical Association warns today, after new figures showed the number of referrals has fallen by 4.7 per cent since the beginning of April.
Research reveals disparity in UK bowel cancer survival rates

Stark differences in bowel cancer mortality rates across the UK show that people in certain areas are three times more likely to die from the disease, research suggested today.
Revised DH figures predict 8,000 fewer redundancies from NHS reforms

Savings from the NHS reforms will be £700m less than previously thought but 8,000 fewer redundancies will be made, according to details released by the Department of Health.
Rise in patients waiting for treatment

The number of patients forced to wait more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment has risen slightly, according to new figures.
Rotherham Foundation Trust reviewing closed board policy

STRUCTURE: The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust is reviewing its policy of holding board of directors meetings in private.
Royal Surrey County may share back office functions with Frimley Park

STRUCTURE: Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has announced a closer working agreement with Frimley Park NHS Foundation Trust.
SE London cluster reviewing spinal surgery at Lewisham Hospital

PERFORMANCE: Commissioners in south east London are reviewing the future of the spinal surgery services at Lewisham Healthcare Trust
Senior civil servant denies using 'clever tactics' to push through FTs

A civil servant responsible for the foundation trust pipeline has denied he was under political pressure from Number 10 to push through unsuitable trusts but admitted he was trying to get trusts to Monitor “as soon as possible”.
Sheffield Hospitals FT seeks new chair

WORKFORCE: Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is advertising for a new chair.
South Central consults on redesign for stroke, vascular and trauma care

STRUCTURE: A consultation is underway recommending a reconfiguration of stroke, vascular and major trauma care in the South Central region.
South Tees FT extends weight loss service

PERFORMANCE: South Tees Hospitals FT has announced it is extending a specialist service that has helped obese people lose weight when all other options have failed.
South West Yorks nurse to advise NICE

WORKFORCE: A mental health nurse from South West Yorkshire Partnership FT has been chosen to help shape national guidance on the treatment of young people with schizophrenia and psychosis.
Strike fears build as union anger grows over public sector cuts

Rising fears of highly disruptive industrial action by NHS workers this autumn are revealed in documents seen by HSJ.
Sussex Community Trust appoints NED

WORKFORCE: Sue Bucknall has been appointed as a non-executive director of the Sussex Community NHS Trust.
The case for reinvigorating management and leadership training in the NHS

Reinvigorating management and leadership training is going to be vital to sustaining a cost-effective health service, say Caroline Cake and Eleanor Murray.
Trusts 'face £5bn rescue bill' to avoid hospital closures

Up to 40 hospitals will fail by 2013 without radical reform of their working practices, a report said today.
Unions to ballot members on appetite for industrial action

Nurses and other healthcare workers are among more than one million public sector workers who are going to be asked to vote on taking industrial action in a bid to protect their pensions.
United Lincolnshire praises staff response to major fairground accident

WORKFORCE: Staff at Pilgrim Hospital in Lincolnshire have been praised for their “outstanding” response to a fairground accident in which 40 people were injured.
Waiting times at Central Manchester FT ‘more challenging’ than other trusts

PERFORMANCE: Efforts to improve waiting times in Greater Manchester are proving “more challenging” at the foundation than at the city’s other underperforming providers, commissioners have reported.
'We need to build the proper foundations for clinically led commissioning'

Clinicians will only be able to bring real added value to the commissioning process if CCGs have the appropriate infrastructure to both support clinical leadership and provide the expertise to harness its potential, argues Ben Gowland.
'We need to hear the whistles loud and clear'

Some simple steps would ensure that whistleblowers’ claims do not get ‘lost’ in the system and allow transparency to strengthen the mistrusted whistleblowing process, suggests Dr Phil Hammond.
West Hertfordshire nearly £2m behind on recovery plan

FINANCE: A failure to identify key savings has put West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust £1.8m behind on its financial recovery plan, board papers show.
West London PCTs identify £24m risk to their QIPP delivery

FINANCE: Ealing, Hillingdon and Hounslow primary care trusts reported a £24m risk to their QIPP delivery to the cluster this month and are “considering alternative measures”.
Will Lansley be red-faced after rubber-stamped reconfiguration in London?

By the time you read this there may have been news on a most contentious reconfiguration in the capital – namely whether the health secretary has found a way to rubber-stamp the downgrading of Chase Farm without losing face (which he has, just about - ed.).
York Hospitals FT continuing to meet in private

STRUCTURE: York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed its board of directors is continuing to meet in private.

Alastair McLellan

Health Service Journal15 September 2011

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Health Service Journal
15 September 2011