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Health Service Journal
6 September 2007

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  • A holistic approach to career advice

    Information, advice and guidance on careers in health is being made easier to explore by a new advice line that is also acessible on the internet, explains Helen Fields

  • Alan Maynard on medical safety

    ‘It may be efficient to let marginal patients die from avoidable infections’

  • Alan Maynard on medical safety

    'It may be efficient to let marginal patients die from avoidable infections'

  • All Our Yesterdays

    September 4, 1941, Public Assistance Journal and Health & Hospital ReviewIn the Queries and Replies column this week: 'How much of the five shillings belonging to a ‘casual’ should be deducted from their unemployment insurance benefit when they are admitted to a casual ward.'Also: 'What are the reasonable charges for the lodging, maintenance, medicine, clothing and care for a rate aided person of unsound mind? As a man has been removed to the county mental hospital in B borough

  • BMA adds weight to IT inquiry calls

    The British Medical Association has become the latest organisation to call for a public inquiry into the national IT programme.

  • Bring community medics in from the cold

    'The culture shock of moving from the intensity of a hospital to community work is profound'

  • Bring community medics in from the cold

    'The culture shock of moving from the intensity of a hospital to community work is profound'

  • Built to care

    With new building assessment methods looming for the NHS, Stuart Shepherd highlights a key shared learning resource

  • Commissioning: a problem shared

    Many reforms must rest on well-supported commissioners. Specialist services and agencies serving clusters of primary care trusts mean help is at hand, reports Daloni Carlisle

  • Communication - reduce your e-mail stress

    Many people could not imagine life without e-mail, but its benefits may be outweighed by the stress it is causing staff. A study has shown that workers need not feel pressured by their overflowing inboxes

  • Corporate Manslaughter Act - do or die

    Consequences of deaths deemed to be caused by an NHS body are changing in major ways and managers should get prepared, says Jill Mason.In July, the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 gained Royal Assent and is due to come into force in April 2008. This is an important piece of legislation that has long been talked about and has now become a reality.

  • David Peat on sharing good practice

    'Our European health colleagues listened intently as I told them how our working together principles operated'

  • Delivering race equality: community development workers

    A developing community mental healthcare role is improving access for diverse groups, says Louis Appleby

  • Emma Dent gets wheels

    'Traffic? If said reader is disturbed by the traffic in Lancaster they had better never come to HSJ towers, where it frequently feels like we are perched on the edge of the M1'

  • Empowering communities: mental healthcare in Oldham

    Local initiatives can help to bring awareness of mental healthcare services to more groups.

  • EU cancer case

    The European Commission has been asked to investigate whether a primary care trust can refuse to pay for drugs that are being funding elsewhere.In a case which, if it succeeds, would set a precedent for local PCT decisions on prescribing, Tory MEP Chris Heaton-Harris is calling on the European Commission to examine whether local decision making breaks European anti-discrimination laws.Mr Heaton-Harris has brought the case on behalf of constituent Russ Jones who pays for cancer d

  • Exclusive: SHAs understaffed and under pressure, say managers' union

    Strategic health authorities will struggle to do their jobs properly because of ‘draconian’ staff cuts, union Managers in Partnership has warned.

  • Experts clash on success rates data

    A Department of Health drive to publish more success rates for NHS services has split members of an expert panel charged with deciding what can be measured. They agree that using outcomes reported by trusts and patients is crucial, but members have different views over how easy it will be to apply throughout the NHS.

  • Frank Burns on championing the champions

    'We need to encourage the champions and enthusiasts who are still out there'

  • Frustration as department drags its feet over choice

    Concerns have been raised over the future of choice as a major Department of Health policy document has yet to see the light of day.

  • Helen Bevan on signature processes

    'Best practice is limited by its very nature. It comes from a common pool of knowledge, which means it can be copied by others, who may be able to catch up and overtake you'

  • HSJ intelligence supplement: pioneer spirit lives on in pilots

    Welcome to the latest issue of Intelligence, the quarterly HSJ supplement dedicated to innovation, information and technology.

  • Hundreds join protest over claims that mental health nurse was suspended for speaking out

    Hundreds of health workers in the North West were due to go on strike for the second time in two weeks over the suspension of a trade union activist.

  • Improvements still needed in mental health

    Many mental health patients are not getting the support they need, a Healthcare Commission report has revealed.The government watchdog's annual community mental health service users survey shows that, while most patients are happy with standards of care, persistent gaps remain.

  • In this week's HSJ

    NewsStrategic health authorities will struggle to do their jobs properly because of 'draconian' staff cuts, union Managers in Partnership has warned.A Department of Health drive to publish more success rates for NHS services has split members of an expert panel charged with deciding what can be measured. They agree that using outcomes reported by trusts and patients is crucial, but members have different views over how easy it will be to apply throughout the NHS

  • Intelligence news in brief

    News on secure records transfer, electronic prescriptions and VOIP phone calls

  • London unveils first polyclinic

    London's first polyclinic is set to be built by University College London Hospital and Camden primary care trust.

  • Look out for the pitfalls

    Despite recent concerns about possible terrorist activities among NHS staff, there is guidance that will assist with confident recruitment from abroad, says David Lock

  • Looky likey

    A reader writes: 'Here atHarrogateand District foundation trust we have been pondering the similarities between TV ad icon the MilkyBar Kid and our chief executive John Lawlor of Payment by Results tariff Lawlor Report fame. As my appraisal is due shortly and our annual increment has yet to be resolved, please keep my identity secret.'It is safe with us reader, thanks for this marvellous looky likey.

  • Lyn Whitfield on information creep

    'Sooner or later the NHS will be caught up in a major scandal involving records'

  • Malcolm Lowe-Lauri on aspiring to good service

    'Complex systems and difficult interfaces - isn't that supposed to be us?'

  • Media Watch: immigrants in the news

    'Immigrants with cancer 'could swamp the NHS',' read The Daily Mail's headline. It quoted Lancet Oncology editor David Collingridge, who said so many East European migrants have arrived in Britain in recent years that the NHS may struggle to cope with the subsequent rise in cancer patients.

  • Mental Health Barometer August 2007

    Mental health chief executives are feeling less confident this month. Almost all scores are down.

  • Michael White on sheepish politics

    'Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb found himself uncomfortable with the party's hostility to NHS choice'

  • Mixed results for public health

    The Department of Health's performance chief has fired a warning shot over public health targets following 'mixed' quarterly results in sexual health and stop-smoking services.

  • Morgan slates 'naive' rights

    The Disability Rights Commission has been attacked as 'incredibly naive' for urging the removal of mental and physical health standards for nurses.

  • NHS strikes new deal with Microsoft

    The NHS has deepened its involvement with Microsoft by renewing the enterprise agreement signed with the company in 2004 and agreeing new e-mail software.

  • nib 1

    A new chief executive has been appointed to NHS South Central. Jim Easton joins the strategic health authority from York hospitals foundation trust and replaces Mark Britnell who moved to the Department of Health in July.Mr Easton said: 'There is a real ambition across the NHS and its partners in the South Central area to continue to improve care for patients and health communities'.

  • nib 2

    Waiting times have continued to improve, new Department of Health figures show.Those waiting 20 weeks or more stood at 10,500 a decrease of 1,900 from June while the number of patients waiting less than eight weeks increased to 93.4 per cent from 84.8 per cent in July 2006.

  • nib 3

    The Independent Reconfiguration Panel has recommended that Gloucestershire Partnership foundation trust, Gloucestershire primary care trust and Gloucestershire County Council work closely to strengthen older people 's community mental health services and community mental health teams.Chair of the IRP, Dr Peter Barrett said: 'The issue of the location of inpatient services cannot be considered in isolation. The local NHS needs to carefully consider how best to provide a fu

  • nib 4

    A report published this week by the Department of Health shows that the number of children achieving their five a day intake of fruit and vegetables has increased by 13 per cent in two years. Figures show that the number of children achieving 5 a day has increased from 27 per cent in March 2004 to 44 per cent in November 2006.

  • nib 5

    The UK’s first academic health science centre has been given the green light by health secretary Alan Johnson.Hammersmith Hospitals trust and St Mary’s Hospital trust will merge on 1 October and integrate with Imperial College London. Lord Tugendhat has been appointed the first chairman of Imperial College Healthcare trust by the Appointments Commission.

  • nib 6

    Graphic pictures illustrating the effects smoking can have on health will be printed on all cigarette packets from next year, health secretary Alan Johnson has announced.The 15 images to be used were chosen following a consultation in 2006, market research and a public vote. The move makes the UK the first country in the EU to introduce visual warnings on all tobacco products.

  • Nursing core values

    A motivational session on leadership has launched a series of masterclasses for the nursing community

  • Ofcare may not cover public health

    Healthcare Commission chief executive Anna Walker has voiced concerns that the NHS's new super-regulator may be given too narrow a remit.Ms Walker insisted Ofcare, set to swallow up the Healthcare Commission in April 2009, must have the power to regulate and assess NHS organisations on health and health inequalities as well as healthcare.

  • patient website

    An independent patient feedback website, has won funding to extend its service to mental health users.Patient Opinion, the social enterprise behind the website www.patientopinion.org.uk, has secured funding to develop its service to cover mental health services in England.Founder of the site Dr Paul Hodgkin said the funding will be used to tackle particular issues associated with mental health services.The new service is being

  • Paul Jennings on using your intranet

    'This kind of system is organic and evolves. It develops a culture of its own'

  • Paul Robinson on double standards

    'Both the independent sector and the NHS collect data - but different items for different purposes, making direct comparisons virtually impossible'

  • Phil Kenmore on Agenda for Change

    With a lack of focus on underlying behaviours, Agenda for Change cannot deliver long-term results, says Phil Kenmore

  • Prison mental healthcare: developing cultural competence

    Link workers are enhancing mental healthcare for black and ethic minority prisoners.One such person, community development worker Irfan Mohammed, acts as a link worker for prisoners in Dorset.

  • Reaching more carers at home

    The Family Welfare Association has recruited home visitors with knowledge of a wider range of community languages to help mental health service users and their carers in the London borough of Tower Hamlets as part of its Carers Connect project.

  • Redesigning the workforce

    A unit based at Southampton University is re-examining healthcare roles as changes take place in the world of work. Debra Humphris explains

  • Review of Modernising Medical Careers was handled properly

    The Department of Health has been transparent throughout Professor Neil Douglas's review of Modernising Medical Careers and the Medical Training Application Service, says health minister Ben Bradshaw

  • Scotland under the searchlight as executive begins its reforms

    With 100 days in power under its belt, the Scottish National Party has enjoyed some crowd-pleasing NHS moves and a positive report from the Scottish Executive, but is it a significant policy shift or political opportunism? Jennifer Trueland reports

  • Service users expose care gap

    A survey of mental health patients by the Healthcare Commission has reported gaps in the quality of services and advice.

  • SHA shrinkage drives questions on the future of a regional role

    'The greatest concern is that SHA shrinkage is outstripping the growth in capacity and expertise among PCTs'

  • SHA shrinkage drives questions on the future of a regional role

    'The greatest concern is that SHA shrinkage is outstripping the growth in capacity and expertise among PCTs'

  • Shak Gohir on new media

    A deep-vein thrombosis diagnosis project is part of the new generation of high-quality medical information, say Shak Gohir and Eve Knight

  • Specialist doctors 'left in lurch'

    A damming report has criticised primary care trust management of specialist doctors working in the community.Specialists employed directly by PCTs feel professionally isolated and that their needs are 'ignored', the NHS Alliance has warned.

  • Stephen Ramsden on avoidable deaths

    What is your hospital standardised mortality rate and what have you done to improve it?In the first in an online series on the relationship between good management and safety, Stephen Ramsden discusses strategies for lowering hospital mortality rates

  • Sustainable Communities Awards open

    The 2008 Sustainable Communities Awards hosted by HSJ and sister title Local Government Chronicle in association with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Communities and Local Government Chronicle are launched today.

  • Telehealth takes off

    Telehealth's time may finally have come, with three demonstrator sites spending £12m on the technology to help patients manage their conditions, writes Daloni Carlisle

  • The waiting game: technology and the 18-week target

    Most agree the 18-week target is a worthy one, but how can it be measured? Lyn Whitfield asks whether current technology can keep up with the good intentions

  • Time to step up to patient-centred care

    Mental health clients using services in the community can become commissioners in their own right, says Ailsa Claire

  • Tories' public services group calls for beefed up CMO role

    The Conservatives' public services policy group has made fresh calls to strengthen the role of the chief medical officer.

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