Health Service Journal
17 February 2011

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‘Cluster’ leadership role for NHS Brighton and Hove chief exec

WORKFORCE: Amanda Fadero, current chief executive of NHS Brighton and Hove, has been appointed as designate chief executive for the primary care trust “cluster” that will cover Sussex.
A&E waiting times get even worse at Royal Bolton FT

PERFORMANCE: The foundation’s already failing performance against the key waiting time indicator for accident and emergency treatment deteriorated further in December.
A&E waiting times worst since 2004

Accident and emergency waiting times in England are at their worst since September 2004, according to data from the Department of Health.
Achieving better outcomes with learning disabilities services

Learning disabilities services that draw hard on funding can be better commissioned for improved quality at a lower cost. Rob Greig, chief executive of National Development Team for Inclusion, explains the approach.
Agency staff driving nursing cost overspend at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership

WORKFORCE: Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust is reporting an overspend on nursing staff due to agency staff costs.
Alcohol admissions 'to hit 1.5m by 2015'

Alcohol-related hospital admissions could rise more than a third by 2015, a report says.
Anti-trespass laws to be used to shift bed blocking patients

Hospitals in north Merseyside are planning to use the anti-trespass powers used to ban “hoodies” from shopping centres to shift patients who are blocking beds.
Barnet and Chase Farm 'concerned' over cardiovascular reconfiguration

STRUCTURE: The trust responded to a consultation on plans for cardviovascular reconfiguration in London, saying it had “little confidence in the ability of a centralised project to produce a responsive service”.
Bill Moyes: competition can drive NHS innovation

The former executive chairman of Monitor Bill Moyes writes exclusively in HSJ today (17 February) about the opportunities facing the NHS following the government’s plans to reform the service.
Bill Moyes: the reform agenda presents a massive opportunity

The government’s reform agenda for the NHS isn’t the beginning of the end of a primarily tax funded healthcare system. The reforms are probably the best way to preserve that for another generation or more. So, instead of focusing on the risks, let’s give more attention to the opportunities.
Blackpool Teaching FT overperforms by £3.8m on NHS Blackpool contract

FINANCE: By the end of December the foundation had over-performed against its contract with primary care trust NHS Blackpool by £3,794,458.
Bradford FT reports 'very high' emergency demand impacting PCT

FINANCE: Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust has reported that demand for emergency care is “very high”, putting pressure on commissioners’ budgets.
'Brave' Brighton and Hove GPs to commission mental health first

STRUCTURE: The primary care trust has said local GPs have mooted the idea they would like to take over the commissioning of mental health services.
Buckinghamshire Healthcare rejects PCT call to extend waiting times

PERFORMANCE: Buckinghamshire Healthcare has rejected the local PCTs request to extend waiting times for non-urgent patients.
Call for 'drunk' patients to pay for treatment

Patients who have had too much alcohol should pay for the treatment they receive at accident and emergency units, a patients’ association said today.
Calls to review hospital death guidance

Medical directors in Scotland have been advised to review cases when elderly people die while waiting to be discharged from hospital.
Cally Bann

Who’d have thought Lansley would bring the system together as one?
Cancer tsar offers risk sharing deal for Manchester cancer network

PERFORMANCE: Greater Manchester’s hospitals could share responsibility for meeting cancer hospital the Christie’s 62 day waiting target, under a deal proposed by the government’s cancer tsar.
Cash shortages delay George Eliot's outpatient scheme

STRUCTURE: George Eliot Hospital Trust has had to delay a planned outpatient redevelopment due to financial constraints.
'Challenged' acute trusts abandon independent FT status plans

More than half of the Department of Health’s seven financially “challenged” trusts appear to have abandoned plans to become foundation trusts.
Chief exec chosen to lead PCT ‘cluster’ including NHS East Sussex Downs and Weald

WORKFORCE: Current chief executive of NHS Brighton and Hove Amanda Fadero has been appointed as designate chief executive for the primary care trust “cluster” that will cover Sussex.
Chief exec chosen to lead PCT ‘cluster’ including NHS Hastings and Rother

WORKFORCE: Current chief executive of NHS Brighton and Hove Amanda Fadero has been appointed as designate chief executive for the primary care trust “cluster” that will cover Sussex.
Chief exec chosen to lead PCT ‘cluster’ including NHS West Sussex

WORKFORCE: Current chief executive of NHS Brighton and Hove Amanda Fadero has been appointed as designate chief executive for the primary care trust “cluster” that will cover Sussex.
Clarity needed on Monitor accountability, MPs told

Monitor’s accountability as the proposed NHS economic regulator is unclear and its requirements to involve the public appear to be “minimal”, the NHS Confederation has warned.
Colchester FT underachieving on CQUINs

FINANCE: Underchievement on CQUIN goals by Colchester Hospital Foundation Trust has cost it nearly £0.5m so far this year.
Competition can work, but only with the right tactics

“Competition in health care should be tactical not ideological”. This was the main message from the “Competition versus integration in the NHS” debate organised by the Cambridge Health Network and the King’s Fund
Competition should never be first choice, but it could be best

Whether you believe competition to provide care for NHS patients is per se a good or bad thing is largely a matter of political bias. The evidence on either side is almost transparent.
Confed future in doubt following FT network split

The Foundation Trust Network’s decision to become an independent body has sparked fears over the future of the NHS Confederation.
CQC drops in on Weston Area Health Trust

PERFORMANCE: The Care Quality Commission has carried out an unannounced visit at Weston Area Health Trust.
Darlington PCT developing commissioning delegation plans

FINANCE: Darlington primary care trust is quickly developing plans to delegate payment-by-results based budgets to a commissioning consortium.
Deficit-stricken NHS Harrow cuts chlamydia screening funding as rates plummet

PERFORMANCE: The north west London primary care trust recorded a screening rate of 8.42 per cent in its most recent performance report.
Delayed transfers of care rates four-times higher than targets, NHS Barking & Dagenham reports

PERFORMANCE: The east London primary care trust has seen DTOCs of between 3.5 and five per cent, against its target of one per cent.
DH looks to private sector to save money on blood service

The Department of Health is considering outsourcing key elements of the NHS blood service to the private sector.
Dozens of hospitals at risk from PCT efficiencies

More than 50 trusts face being unable to cover the costs of entire inpatient departments, economic modelling by the Department of Health suggests.
'Draconian' director scared staff at Mid Staffs

Union reps at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust have told of a culture where staff were too scared to speak out because of a “draconian” director of nursing.
Early A&E redesigns have implications for today's commissioners

The ambitions of a group of GPs to radically redesign A&E back in 2007 can teach the new wave of commissioners valuable lessons, write Martin McShane, director of strategic planning and health outcomes at NHS Lincolnshire, and Jerry Clough, director of Atlyric Limited.
Early death 'more likely in the North'

People living in the north of England are 20 per cent more likely to die prematurely than those in the South, research suggests.
Eastern and Coastal Kent providers to increase access to 4x4 vehicles

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY: NHS providers in eastern and coastal Kent have signalled they are to increase their 4x4 vehicle capacity after finding themselves reliant on other organisations during the pre-Christmas period of bad weather.
Eight consortia identified in Norfolk

STRUCTURE: Norfolk PCT has identified eight emerging GP-led commissioning groups.
Essex PCTs to tackle child safety together

STRUCTURE: Essex’s primary care trusts are expected to come together to form a county-wide clinical network for safeguarding children.
FT governors calls for CQC quality assessment

The Foundation Trust Governors Association has called for the Care Quality Commission to assess the quality of governors.
Government bid to avoid herbal medicines rule

The government is to sidestep an EU directive designed to protect consumers from unlicensed herbal and Chinese medicines.
Health authority's fluoride plan was lawful

A health authority’s plans for the fluoridation of Southampton’s tap water were not unlawful, the High Court has ruled.
Health Bill framework leaves NHS property up for grabs

Close examination of last month’s Health and Social Care Bill reveals interesting potential for the transference of NHS property - something the increasingly costly estate is much in need of, argue Graham Lea and Nathan East.
Heatherwood and Wexham FT blames PCT for over activity

FINANCE: Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals FT has attributed its over activity on Berkshire East PCT’s failure to manage demand and expressed concern at an “unacceptable” delay in payment.
HSJ Offer - Challenging Behaviours book

Three copies of Challenging Behaviours are to be given away in HSJ’s reader offer.
Joint surgery redesign could save trusts £664m

NHS Trusts can save £664m from the total they spend on joint surgery over the next 10 years, according to an exclusive analysis made available on hsj.co.uk.
Kingston Hospital's integrated business plan would see nearly 500 posts deleted

WORKFORCE: A presentation sent to a local primary care trust envisaged cutting 486 posts by 2015/16 through “producitvity plans”.
Knowsley opts for two consortia after merger

STRUCTURE: Two commissioning consortia are developing in Knowsley, following the merger of three local practice-based commissioning groups.
Lambeth eyes one consortium with three localities

STRUCTURE: A single commissioning consortium containing three locality groups is emerging in Lambeth.
Lansley U-turn on price competition

The government has performed a significant U-turn on allowing price competition between NHS trusts and independent providers.
Lansley: Competition will protect commissioners from 'abusive relationships'

Andrew Lansley has defended the competition agenda set out in the Health Bill during the committee stage its passage through Parliament.
Leicester GPs opt for three consortia

STRUCTURE: GPs from NHS Leicester City and NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland have agreed three emerging commissioning consortia.
Leicestershire GPs opt for three consortia

STRUCTURE: GPs from Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT and Leicester City PCT have agreed three emerging commissioning consortia.
Local government steps in to resolve PCT leadership

STRUCTURE: Local authority chief executives have been drafted in to help fill a leadership vacuum in the North West.
Manchester PCT looks to delegate £696m commissioning

STRUCTURE: Manchester primary care trust is planning to delegate £696m spending - around 70 per cent of its budget - to its emerging commissioning consortia from April.
Media Watch: drunks and royals give NHS staff little cause to raise a glass

One health story got the attention of all of the nationals this week - an Alcohol Concern report on the pressure placed on the NHS by drinking.
Michael White: away from NHS reforms, healthcare problems - and solutions - still sound familiar

Let’s try even harder to cheer ourselves up this week by averting our gaze from NHS reforms and looking at a near neighbour with more pressing healthcare dilemmas. Not to mention deeper budget gloom. No prizes for guessing I was in Dublin recently.
Mid Essex PCT 'slips' on QIPP plan

FINANCE: Mid Essex PCT’s progress on its QIPP (Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention) plan has slipped, meaning it could miss its year-end target by £2.7m.
Minister 'cannot justify 999 times'

Welsh Assembly health minister Edwina Hart has said she “cannot justify” some of the problems with ambulance waiting times.
New chief executive for integrated care organisation

A new chief executive has been announced for a London integrated care organisation.
NHS Blackpool savings plan slips another £1m behind in one month

FINANCE: The primary care trust fell another £1,060,831 behind on its savings plan between November and December.
NHS boards to find £300m in savings

NHS boards in Scotland will have to find savings worth £300m to reinvest in frontline services, health secretary Nicola Sturgeon has said.
NHS Bolton holding elections for two consortia

STRUCTURE: NHS Bolton is holding elections to the leadership of two emerging commissioning consortia.
NHS Bolton sees poor waiting times performance deteriorate among its providers

PERFORMANCE: The performance of hospitals in Bolton against key waiting times indicators continued to deteriorate in December, the primary care trust reported.
NHS Brighton and Hove yet to secure year-end surplus

FINANCE: The primary care trust was continuing to forecast a year-end surplus in December but acknowledges this not yet “secure”.
NHS County Durham developing consortia delegation plans

FINANCE: The primary care trust is quickly developing plans to delegate payment-by-results based budgets to commissioning consortia.
NHS Direct offers services to GPs

NHS Direct could start booking GP appointments after starting talks with Surrey based consortium EsyDoc.
NHS Eastern and Coastal reports popularity of 100 hours pharmacies

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY: The primary care trust has published a pharmaceutical needs assessment in which it signals its intention to increase the number of “100 hour pharmacy contracts” it commissions.
NHS Kingston's successor consortium pulls rank on the PCT cluster

STRUCTURE: A GP consortium in Kingston has written to the chief executive for their cluster demanding to be “dealt with fairly” and revealing they intend to use consultancy KPMG for their 2011/12 development plan.
NHS Newcastle sees two consortia emerging

STRUCTURE: Two commissioning consortia are emerging within the Newcastle primary care trust.
NHS Richmond & Twickenham cluster predicting bigger overspend after pessimistic assessment of acute challenges

FINANCE: The south-west London primary care trust’s minutes record the five-PCT sector anticipating having to go into its reserve if the £4m in acute sector challenges saved only £2.7m.
NHS Surrey names 11 consortia

STRUCTURE: Surrey primary care trust has named 11 emerging commissioning consortia in its area.
NHS treatment of elderly failing 'basic human needs' - ombudsman

NHS treatment of older people is “failing to meet even the most basic standards of care” in some areas, a report published today by the health service ombudsman has found.
NHS West Sussex has lower rate of drug dispensing

PERFORMANCE: NHS West Sussex has published a pharmaceutical needs assessment showing it is behind the rest of the country on dispensing levels.
NHS Worcestershire to delegate £593m to consortia

STRUCTURE: Worcestershire primary care trust is planning to delegate £593m to three commissioning consortia from April - about 70 per cent of its budget.
Nicholson: My commissioning board won't be 'shy'

Sir David Nicholson has begun to set out how the NHS Commissioning Board will operate, warning it will not be “shy” to lead, and will involve itself in all aspects of commissioning.
Noel Plumridge: the true cost of training

In a transparent, rules based funding system like payment by results, how can we ensure a steady flow of financial goodies to the deserving rich in the London teaching hospitals?
North Lancs seeks to pass budget to three consortia

STRUCTURE: North Lancashire Teaching PCT is seeking to delegate its total funding allocation to three emerging commissioning consortia from April.
One consortium to cover Luton TPCT

STRUCTURE: A single commissioning consortium is emerging covering practices under Luton Teaching PCT.
PCT 'first' to look at commissioning social enterprise

NHS Western Cheshire staff may launch the first commissioning support social enterprise.
PCT relationship 'breakdown' with Peterborough and Stamford FT

STRUCTURE: Peterborough and Stamford FT has reported a “serious breakdown” in its relationship with NHS Peterborough.
Peterborough PCT arranges debt repayment

FINANCE: NHS Peterborough has arranged with its strategic health authority to pay its debts back over two years.
PFI contracts to be squeezed by Treasury

The Treasury has launched a squeeze on contracts signed under the private finance initiative in the hope of finding savings worth millions of pounds.
Police investigate asthma death outside hospital

An asthmatic student died after collapsing outside an A&E department while her friend was told to “call an ambulance”, it has emerged.
Post discharge death rates revealed

Nearly a fifth of deaths linked to hospital care occur after discharge, according to mortality figures published by the NHS Information Centre.
Providing visually impaired patients with the right access to information

In just one year, Nottingham University Hospitals has transformed its disappointing relationship with visually-impaired patients into one of involvement, access and success. Chief executive of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust Peter Homa explains the lessons learned - and the changes being made as a result.
Provision of Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) Service

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Lewisham
Public-private health services show bright promise in Spain

Bupa’s Spanish subsidiary’s example of public-private health services is arousing interest in the UK, says Daloni Carlisle.
Quality and finance problems evident in the East

There have been problems of late for acute providers in the East, with two of its foundation trusts in trouble with the Care Quality Commission and another being scrutinised by the strategic health authority.
Real healthcare reform needs a new conceptual landscape

Real healthcare reform requires a fundamental change in thinking, because more of the same just won’t do the trick, says Ann Porter, founder and chief executive of social innovation company Soda.
Regional inequalities evident at early ages

Stark inequalities in children’s development and overall life expectancy between local authorities are revealed by new data published by the Marmot Review.
Rejecting Health Bill will weaken doctors' influence, warns BMA chair

The British Medical Association’s council chairman has called for unity among the profession as doctors prepare to vote on their responses to the government’s health reforms
Sandwell and West Birmingham in 'difficult' contract talks

COMMERCIAL: Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust is struggling to reach an agreement on its 2011-12 contract with its lead commissioner.
Scottish health boards allocated £11.4bn

Health boards in Scotland have been allocated their share of £11.4bn announced earlier as part of the Scottish budget.
SHA report finds concerns in out of hours services in Peterborough

PERFORMANCE: A review of out of hours GP services in the region has found areas for immediate improvement at NHS Peterborough.
Shake-up opposed by Lansley gets green light

A controversial reconfiguration criticised by Andrew Lansley before he became health secretary has finally been given the go ahead.
Sick leave 'more likely' in junior staff

Lower paid NHS staff and junior workers are more likely to go off sick than senior colleagues, according to a new report.
Single Calderdale consortium developing delegation plans

STRUCTURE: A single commissioning consortium covering Calderdale is developing plans with the primary care trust to have powers and resources - in staff and finance - assigned to it.
Single consortium for Northumberland Care Trust

STRUCTURE: GP practices within Northumberland Care Trust are grouping into a single commissioning consortium.
South Birmingham PCT delegating to three consortia

STRUCTURE: South Birmigham primary care trust is in the process of delegating functions to three emerging commissioning consortia.
South Gloucestershire PCT planning with single consortium

STRUCTURE: South Gloucestershire primary care trust is in the early stages of planning a single commissioning consortium for the patch.
South West London and St Georges Mental Health Trust has not engaged with GPs sufficiently on its FT bid, say commissioners

STRUCTURE: The mental health organisation has been told by GPs in south-west London they cannot yet give their support to its foundation trust bid.
St George's Healthcare Trust misses four-hour A&E target

PERFORMANCE: The south London acute achieved 96.99 per cent in September against the target of 98 per cent, a document published by NHS Richmond and Twickenhan reports.
Stoke-on-Trent delegates to city wide consortium

STRUCTURE: Stoke-on-Trent has delegated most of its commissioning powers to a single city-wide consortium.
Sutton and Merton to delegate upwards of £309m

STRUCTURE: Sutton and Merton primary care trust is planning to delegate most commissioning to two consortia - The Sutton Consortium and The Federation - from April.
Swindon PCT commissioning development at early stage

STRUCTURE: Consortium commissioning is at an early stage of development in Swindon, with no “specific structure or constitution for consortia”.
Swine flu vaccine bill cost department £239m

The government spent £239m on the swine flu vaccine, official figures reveal.
The importance of administration, management and bureaucracy in healthcare

Examination of last month’s Health Bill has resulted in a renewed attack on NHS managers and the ‘back-office functions’ administration, management and bureaucracy. However, not only are these functions quite separate, they are all still essential, write John Carrier, Chair of NHS Camden, and professor Ian Kendall from the University of Portsmouth.
Trust falls foul of CQC twice in nine months

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals Foundation Trust has failed to address concerns raised 10 months ago, according to the Care Quality Commission.
Trusts merger will create 'powerful and global brand'

STRUCTURE: Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre plan to use their proposed merger to create a “powerful, globally recognised brand”.
Trusts refusing royal wedding bonus 'mean'

A row over pay arrangements for staff who have to work on this year’s royal wedding is brewing after health workers across the country were told they will not receive any extra money.
Trusts to consider EU-wide training

Trusts are being asked to consider whether European training curriculum for health professionals should replace national programmes, in order to encourage migration.
Trusts underestimating 'hidden' staff bank costs by 40 per cent

Trusts are underestimating the true costs of running in-house staffing banks by as much as 40 per cent, an NHS Professionals report has claimed.
Two commissioning consortia emerging in Wolverhampton

STRUCTURE: Two commissioning consortia are emerging within Wolverhampton City PCT.
Two consortia emerging in NHS North Tyneside

STRUCTURE: Two commissioning consortia are emerging within the North Tyneside primary care trust area.
Two performance notices given to Mid Essex trust

PERFORMANCE: Mid Essex Hospital Services has two performance notices imposed on it by NHS Mid Essex.
Weston Area Health Trust does deal with PCT on overperformance

FINANCE: NHS North Somerset has agreed to pay Weston Health Trust an additional £600,000 for over performance above the value of its contract.
York PCT financial problems probed

A strategic health authority has launched an independent review into the finances of a cash-strapped primary care trust.
Yorks and North East pathfinders reflect national uncertainty

News about the NHS’s new commissioning system is surfacing across the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, reflecting discussions across England.

Alastair McLellan

Health Service Journal17 February 2011

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Health Service Journal
17 February 2011