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Health Service Journal
1999-07-29

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  • 2000 throws up PR nightmares

    Tales of millennium revellers 'vomiting to death' make 'bad PR', a year 2000 communications workshop heard last week.

  • Ambulance dispute taken to Assembly

    Former chief ambulance officer John Beecher, who won more than £200,000 in an out of court settlement from Welsh Ambulance Services trust last week, is planning to raise issues about his case with the Welsh Assembly.

  • Balancing act

    Campaigners are launching a CD-ROM and website to help the media provide more balanced coverage of mental health issues. Laura Donnelly reports

  • Branching out

    Children from Warley Road Primary School test out a 'living shelter' made of willow at Manor Health Park, Halifax, with Judy Stewart, senior health promotion specialist at Calderdale Healthcare trust.

  • Care-free and single?

    An impressive start by Wales' single ambulance trust has been marred by disputes with staff and complaints about rural cover, writes Lyn Whitfield

  • Cash injection for Welsh NHS includes £5m in capital funding

    Extra cash has been found for the NHS in Wales, including a small amount for capital investment.

  • Crying out for synergy

    LIVE FROM LEEDS

  • Days like this

    GPcontracts row. . . Warning over inner cities. . . Community care cash worry. . . Action on infant mortality. . . Channel Tunnel investigation. . .

  • Deficit grows after finance chief quits

    A London trust that saw the abrupt departure of its finance director at the end of May has admitted that it is facing much 'worse than anticipated' financial problems.

  • Dobson dithers as RCN acts on long-term care

    The government is unlikely to issue its response to the Royal Commission on Long-Term Care before the autumn - and may only issue an 'early response' then, health secretary Frank Dobson said last week.

  • Dobson praises PFI for early hand-overs

    Health secretary Frank Dobson returned to his defence of the private finance initiative last week by telling MPs that publicly funded hospitals were still being delivered late while PFI projects were being handed over early.

  • Events

    Controls assurance

  • Four into one merger plan for Manchester stirs opposition

    Proposals to create a city-wide mental health trust in Manchester have sparked opposition.

  • GADFLY

    An everyday tale of trust folk, appearing fortnightly Smoothie from region had assured Greycoat that CHC chair Carla Citrus could be easily deflected. . .

  • Give me patients

    Management trainee Tom Smith thought the NHS was his chance to make a difference. His experience proved a rude awakening

  • Going the distance

    Scotland's 'advanced' new approach to allocating funds will take the remoteness of communities into account for the first time, writes Barbara Millar

  • Guiding lights

    evidence-based practice

  • Heart surgery audit hit by lack of resources as units drop out

    Ten cardiac units which failed to take part in 'the first comprehensive audit of heart surgery' have blamed lack of resources and facilities for their absence from the data.

  • Hinchliffe does the biz for private healthcare

    POLITICS

  • Hole world in her hands

    Rebecca Mullen from charity Fight for Sight shows off one of 750,000 'pinhole postcards' being distributed free to discourage people from looking directly at the sun during next month's eclipse. The cards are available at Vision Express and in 200 cinemas. Fight for Sight is concerned that people could damage their eyesight if they look directly at the eclipse on 11 August.

  • I wish I had left the NHS years ago

    Letters

  • In Brief: Almost one in three pregnant women smokes

    Almost one in three pregnant women smokes, and the number has shown no sign of falling for eight years, according to research for the Health Education Authority to coincide with the government's 'No Tar! Mum' campaign, launched on Tuesday. The HEA says it is vital for health professionals to raise the issue of smoking since 'when the issue is not raised, many women interpret it as meaning that it's OK to carry on smoking'.

  • In Brief: Compulsory registration scheme

    westminster diary

  • In Brief: Equity in Primary Care working group

    westminster diary

  • In Brief: Guidelines on euros

    NHS organisations are not obliged to deal in euros and should only do so if this represents value for money, according to guidance issued by the NHS Executive. It also says that dealing in euros can be done through the normal banking system, and separate euro accounts will not usually be required.

  • In Brief: Hugh Ross statement

    Hugh Ross, chief executive of United Bristol Healthcare trust, was referring to the NHS, rather than the trust specifically, when he said issues relating to consent for postmortems and tissue retention had 'perhaps' been handled 'in a somewhat cavalier fashion' in the past (news, page 5, 15 July).

  • In Brief: Pfizer will not sue

    Drug company Pfizer has announced that it will not sue the government for compensation in the wake of the High Court judgement that health secretary Frank Dobson acted unlawfully in his initial guidance banning the prescription of anti-impotence drug Viagra on the NHS.

  • In Brief: Proposed reduction in the number of NHS cleft lip and palate units

    westminster diary

  • In Brief: The AIDS Act should be updated

    westminster diary

  • In Brief: The Commons health select committee to launch inquiry

    The Commons health select committee is to launch an inquiry into 'what action the tobacco industry has taken, and is taking, in response to the scientific knowledge of the harmful effects of smoking and the addictive nature of nicotine'. The inquiry will also look at 'the role of the government in providing consumer protection'. Evidence sessions will start in November.

  • In case of spin, go back to the source

    Letters

  • In person

    Philomena Corrigan and Anthony Palmer are sharing the post of chief nurse at Calderdale Healthcare trust, which manages community services in Halifax and the surrounding area. They previously job-shared the post of deputy chief nurse director at Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Montague Hospital trust. Ms Corrigan will lead on mental health and Mr Palmer on community services.

  • In the grip of 2000 fantasies

    comment

  • King-pin wizards

    The chief executive's traditional functions don't apply in PCGs. Now they need different skills, says Richard Banyard.

  • Long-term confusion as New Labour backs away from an age-old problem

    Letters

  • Ministers' war with private sector yields its first scalp

    comment

  • Monitor

    An element of mystery infiltrates the Save Bart's Apostrophe campaign as it enters its fourth week. Monitor duly put the case for the restoration of our beloved apostrophe to Barts (sic) and the London trust only to have spokesman Rory Taylor come back with the claim: 'St Bartholomews never had an apostrophe.'

  • NAO blasts 'unacceptable' payouts by Scottish trusts

    Spending watchdogs have criticised two Scottish trusts for making 'unacceptable' pay-offs to former executives.

  • New-girl Spelman joins the fast stream

    westminster diary Profile

  • No throw-away remark: lamination lasts longer

    Letters

  • Pally at the Ally

    Teenies' delight Richard Blackwood put some rare glamour into health management at a HImP launch. Kaye McIntosh looked on in disbelief

  • PCG tips

    Nurses and therapists have plenty of suggestions about what is needed to make their contribution to PCGs work, but also concerns about how the new bodies will work in practice. Jan Davis and Pat Lambert report

  • Poor response from government on income inequality - why not start by tackling the fat-cats?

    Letters

  • Security review for all three special hospitals

    The government has announced a review of security at all three special hospitals as part of its response to the Fallon inquiry into Ashworth Special Hospital's personality disorder unit.

  • Short Cuts: Academic appointed to lead sexual health strategy

    Public health minister Tessa Jowell has announced that Michael Adler, professor of genitourinary medicine/sexually transmitted diseases at Royal Free and University College Medical School, will lead the development of a sexual health strategy for England. The strategy, announced in March, will aim to improve access to services, spread good practice, develop training and 'add value to public health campaigns by adopting a broader sexual health focus and encouraging a more mature attitude to se

  • Short Cuts: Half of Britain's wealth held by richest 10 per cent

    Inequalities in wealth in Britain are 'extreme', with 10 per cent of the population owning half of all wealth, according to a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It shows that young, single people and lone parents have little wealth, but half of all households in Britain have savings, pensions and house wealth of at least £53,000. Wealth peaks among couples aged 60 to 69, who had average wealth of £113,000. The study argues that limited knowledge of savings schemes and pensi

  • Short Cuts: HEA launches safer-sex website for holiday youth

    A web page offering safer-sex advice for young people going on holiday has been launched by the Health Education Authority with help from Sun agony aunt Deidre Sanders, who answered questions online. The project follows a survey of 400 people aged 18 to 32, 16 per cent of whom reported having a new sexual partner while abroad. Only half used a condom every time they had sex, although women were more likely to insist on their use than men. Only 12 per cent of those questioned felt that HIV was

  • Short Cuts: Hutton agrees East Yorks community trust merger

    Junior health minister John Hutton has approved the merger of two community and mental health trusts in East Yorkshire. East Yorkshire Community trust and Hull and Holderness Community trust will combine on 1 October to form Hull and East Riding Community Health trust. The decision follows an earlier move to combine the two acute trusts in the area. Savings of £500,000 are expected. Mr Hutton said: 'The end of the internal market means we do not need as many trusts competing with each ot

  • Short Cuts: UKCC prepares ethnicity survey across register

    The UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting is preparing to issue forms to all 637,000 people on its register, asking them about their ethnic origin in an attempt to compile a comprehensive picture of the ethnic breakdown of its professions across the UK. The exercise has been endorsed by the Commission for Racial Equality. UKCC council member George Castledine said it would help health services ensure that workforce planning, recruitment and training strategies were non

  • Short Cuts: Welsh coast leukaemia probe finds no link evidence

    Welsh health and social services minister Jane Hutt has announced that an independent examination of claims of a higher than normal incidence of leukaemia among children living on the north Wales coast has found 'no evidence' of a link. The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment examined claims by Dr Chris Bushby and pressure group Green Audit of a link between radiation from Sellafield and cancer. Ms Hutt, backed by Welsh medical officer Dr Ruth Hall, said she hoped Gre

  • Shutting up shop

    The government's mission to head off private walk-in clinics with its own NHS version is being accomplished most efficiently, writes Mark Crail

  • Take it from the top on career development

    Chairs and chief executives should be 'role models and champions of life-long learning', according to government guidance on continuing professional development in the NHS.

  • The sky's the limit

    The AA's campaign for a national network of air ambulances could mean the service has to raise more cash than ever before, writes Mark Gould

  • 'There's such a push for creativity, it's almost frightening'

    Janet Snell canvassed opinion on how chief executives see their new roles progressing

  • Toe the union line

    Letters

  • Troubled mental health trust to lose three of its top executives

    A mental health trust which came under fire for poor conditions and a 'lack of financial control' is to lose half its executive directors.

  • UK-wide pay to stay

    Letters

  • Using our expertise

    Letters

  • Walk the talk

    Public health and women's minister Tessa Jowell at the launch of the government's 'girls talk' project to 'find out from teenagers what issues they feel are crucial to their lives'.

  • WEB WATCH

    Who would have thought the most useful person on the web would turn out to be a butler?

  • Wise steps up defence of sacked trust chief

    westminster diary

  • Yorkshire Terrier barks up right tree on CHCs

    Letters

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