Health Service Journal
6 August 2009
View all stories from this issue.
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Pete Mason on open and closed doors
Managers with an “open door policy” should walk directly up to their doors and bang their heads against them. -
‘Unprecedented’ review by PCT finds progress after Mid Staffs scandal
South Staffordshire primary care trust has published what it calls an “unprecedented” review of care at Mid Staffordshire foundation trust, after installing its own staff to check on standards. -
Alan Maryon-Davis on NHS carbon cutting
Chill winds in the funding forecast are no excuse to let go of the NHS’s energy saving and waste reduction targets - they just add to the urgency to act now -
Ambulance services: urgent attention for non-emergency care
Complex forces at work in urgent care mean too many costly ambulance trips are being taken by non-emergency patients. Dave West analyses the figures and looks at the explanations -
Andy Burnham seeks swine flu critical care assurance
Health secretary Andy Burnham has asked the NHS for assurance it can increase critical care capacity to cope with a potential surge in swine flu. -
Bill Moyes blames MPs over FT de-authorisation row
Bill Moyes, outgoing head of the foundation trust regulator Monitor, has blamed MPs’ ignorance for the recent fall-out between foundations and the Department of Health. -
Book Review: Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
Learn here about the biology of feeling under pressure, says David Lewis -
Call to extend clinical outcome data on choose and book
The Department of Health’s GP czar David Colin-Thomé has called for clinical outcome data to be included in the NHS’s electronic booking system choose and book. -
Calls for Expressions of Interest for the provision of Consultant-led Community Based Services
NHS Havering -
Chlamydia cinema
After NHS Hull controversially bought a yacht as part of a youth development scheme, it appears other primary care trusts have come up with equally innovative approaches to improving public health. Or, as the Daily Mail put it, they have taken the opportunity “to blow taxpayers’ money in more imaginative ways than normal”. -
Climate change confusion
Civil servants are notorious sticklers for detail, but one glaring blooper somehow made it past Whitehall quality control. -
DH data shows no link between NHS spending and patient outcomes
There is no clear relationship between primary care trust spending on killer diseases and outcomes for patients, the latest data from the Department of Health suggests. -
DH defends East Midlands review
The Department of Health has defended its inquiry into alleged bullying and harassment at NHS East Midlands after it emerged that the consultant hired to conduct the review lists the strategic health authority among his clients. -
DH defends GP earnings
The Department of Health defended the GP wage structure after it was revealed that some GPs are earning more than £300,000 a year. -
DH scraps deadline for PCT provider arm strategies
The Department of Health has scrapped its centrally set deadline for primary care trusts to create provider arm strategies. It comes amid fears of PCTs obsessed by organisational structure making poor decisions. -
England swine flu cases may have 'reached a plateau'
The occurrence of swine flu cases in England may be levelling out, the government has claimed. -
Expressions of interest Out of Hours Urgent Care Services
NHS Camden -
Financial fallout for London trusts from medical school redundancies
Four London hospital trusts could be hit with a bigger bill for academic staff due to a massive savings drive at Imperial College faculty of medicine. -
First NICE quality standards will include stroke
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is to create its first quality standards on stroke, dementia, neonatal care and venous thromboembolism. -
Hospices get better funding deal
Non-NHS hospices and end of life care in Wales are to get a better funding deal from the Welsh Assembly. -
HSJ Offer - Free cinema tickets to see Imagine That
Registered users can get up to four free cinema tickets to see the new film Imagine That. Sign in now to claim your free tickets. Hurry, tickets are limited -
INVITATION TO TENDER COMMUNITY BASED PROGRAMME FOR OVERWEIGHT CHILDREN
NHS Knowsley -
Is PFI funding built to last?
Backing for building projects is proving hard to come by, with high borrowing rates and comatose bond markets.Steve Wright considers how to fund your estate upgrade -
Jon Restell on achieving race equality in the NHS
A few weeks ago, I watched a documentary about the Motown tour of the UK in 1965. -
Kieran Brett to be Andy Burnham's adviser
A former adviser to Tony Blair is expected to begin as health secretary Andy Burnham’s policy special adviser within the next two weeks, HSJ can reveal. Kieran Brett, who has recently been working as a consultant to the NHS, was Mr Blair’s special adviser on home affairs. -
Lib Dems abandon NHS spending plans
A pledge to provide free personal care for the elderly has been scrapped by the Liberal Democrats. -
Lookey-likey: swine flu and the Girl Guides
The swine flu logo used by junior doctors’ pressure group Remedy UK would not be out of place on the front cover of a Stephen King novel. -
Mark Goldman on doctor speak vs management talk
Clear communication is essential for managers and clinicians alike, and both have a lot to learn about getting their message across -
Matching best PCT performers could cut NHS costs by 20pc
The NHS could make savings of up to 20 per cent if all primary care trusts spent as efficiently as the best, analysis by HSJ reveals. -
Media Watch: GP access and swine flu panic
Proof that the Department of Health’s drive to improve GP access was working arrived from an unlikely source this week. -
Michael White on swine flu and summer holidays
August has arrived so I delved into my health archive looking for a holiday subject. Straight away I stumbled on the House of Lords science and technology committee, chaired by the redoubtable Stewart Sutherland. -
NHS calls on retired staff to help win swine flu fight
The NHS is calling on thousands of retired doctors, nurses and other staff to work if the swine flu pandemic gets worse. -
NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT invites Expressions of Interest (“EOI”) from all suitably qualifi ed and experienced healthcare providers (including general practitioners, social...
NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT -
NHS Sheffield is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced providers (including NHS, independent, social enterprise and third sector providers) to deliver the...
NHS Sheffield -
NHS to become a landlord for private treatment centres
The buildings and facilities of up to 16 independent sector treatment centres will need to be bought by the NHS over the next two years at a capital cost estimated at £200m, the Department of Health has confirmed. -
NHS workforce: is your senior manager a psychopath?
Are you a psychopath? Warning signs include being manipulative, bullying your staff, spreading rumours about colleagues, believing rules are for others, feeling the end justifies the means and being turned on by risk. -
North Essex Partnership names new chief executive
North Essex Partnership foundation trust, the major provider of NHS mental health services in north Essex, has named Andrew Geldard as its new chief executive. He replaces Dr Richard Coleman. -
Organ transplant ban for foreign private patients
New rules could see foreign patients prevented from having organ transplants in the UK as private patients. -
Panicky response to Mid Staffs scandal could erode FT freedoms
The government is threatening the independence of foundation trusts. -
PCT commissioners' fertility conference video archive
Is wishing to start a family a medical need or lifestyle choice? This is just one of the questions facing commissioners. -
PCTs urged to chase mental health value
Patchy spending on adult mental health services around the country has prompted calls for commissioners to tackle inequalities and ensure they are getting value for money. -
Public consultation on complementary therapies opens
Regulation of herbal medicine, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine will be considered by a public consultation that has been launched by the Department of Health. -
Quality and outcomes framework: GP incentives harm care quality
The quality of care provided by GPs has decreased for some conditions where they do not receive performance related pay, a study has found. -
Regulators announce clinical trials pilot
A pilot scheme to create uniform standards for clinical trials between Europe and the US has been announced by regulatory bodies in the two regions. -
Snakes on the make: do you work with a psychopath?
Is your organisation harbouring a psychopath? These people can be found among those impressive but ruthless types who cut a swathe to the jobs at the top. Jenny Rogers explains how to spot them -
Tories 'planning NHS cutbacks'
Patient choice may be restricted under plans mooted by Conservative leader David Cameron to squeeze the NHS budget if his party wins the next general election. -
Transforming Community Services in South West Essex now calls for Expressions of Interest in the PCT’s plan to transfer its Community Services division for a period of two years.
South West Essex -
Ways to buy in to the lung cancer strategy
To maintain momentum in fighting lung cancer, commissioners must be thinking about awareness services and multidisciplinary teams, reports Jennifer Taylor -
Your Humble Servant attends an NHS disciplinary appeal hearing
‘Between them they will have conspired to identify an incompetent who needs to be dispatched, and then utterly fail to put together a case, identify relevant evidence, or present it in a way that can land a caress, let alone a punch, on the miscreant’s credibility’
