Health Service Journal
8 July 2010
View all stories from this issue.
-
Avoidable overnight stays cost NHS £330m a year
There has been a large and avoidable rise in the number of overnight stays, which cost the NHS £330m annually, a report has said. -
Book Review: The Maze – a practical guide to the Mental Health Act 1983 (amended)
Here is a clear guide for mental health staff, says Neil Brimblecombe -
Broadmoor trust makes ‘significant progress’
A mental health trust has made “significant improvements” since a Care Quality Commission report last year which criticised it for delays in investigating incidents. -
Call for organ donation discussions
The NHS Blood and Transplant has called on people to discuss organ donation with friends and family, after a survey revealed that three fifths of people (60%) have never done so. -
Cost of axing hospital redesigns must be counted
The financial consequences of halting proposed service changes should be taken into account, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel has said. -
DH forced to rethink NHS vision
Health secretary Andrew Lansley is battling to publish his “white paper” on NHS reform next week amid government concern there is too little detail on his reform programme. -
DH policies score poorly in national audit scrutiny
A number of Department of Health policies may have been implemented without adequate assessment of their need or likely impact, the government’s spending watchdog has found. -
DH says reform 'proceeding' despite doubts
The Department of Health is insisting health secretary Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms are “proceeding”, following a report they have been rejected by other departments. -
Government tells CQC to drop annual health check reviews
The government has told the Care Quality Commission to scrap its annual review of health service organisations immediately, HSJ has learned. -
GPs refuse to work for out-of-hours services
GPs are refusing to work for badly funded out-of-hours services that put patients at risk by relying on overseas doctors, a conference heard today. -
Health inequalities spearheads wavered on targets
Effective action on reducing health inequalities did not begin until nine years after the election of the Labour government, according to the National Audit Office. -
Healthcare 100: the top healthcare employers
Welcome to the second annual Healthcare 100 supplement, recognising the top employers in healthcare. -
How to achieve value for money priorities
Value for money priorities are achieved by getting a good understanding of local needs, says Stuart Shepherd. -
How to deliver care closer to home
Delivering healthcare at home can benefit thousands of patients with long term conditions as well as commissioners, say Chris Wallis and Jo Phillips -
HSJ Awards 2010: Managing Long Term Conditions
Take a look at last year’s winners to help you put together a winning entry -
HSJ Awards 2010: Mental Health Innovation
Take a look at last year’s winners to help you put together a winning entry -
Imperial recruits PCT chief in integrated care drive
Imperial College Healthcare Trust has hired a primary care trust chief executive to lead its work to become an integrated healthcare organisation. -
It’s public health, Jamie, but not as we know it…
What is Andrew Lansley’s favourite phrase? -
Jenny Rogers on facilitating meetings
I would love to have been a fly on the wall at the arranged marriage discussions between the Tories and Liberal Democrats. Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell discreetly said that senior civil servants were “available” to facilitate the meetings - which turned out to be so remarkably easy and short. -
Just one in six CQC staff think regulator is well managed
Only 16 per cent of the Care Quality Commission’s employees think it is well managed, internal staff survey results leaked to HSJ reveal. -
Lansley announces public health 'vision'
Andrew Lansley has announced a “whole new approach” to public health in which, he says, the government will shape individuals’ behaviour and choice rather than control supply. -
Lansley outlines plans for ‘health outcome’ measures
The government will identify a small number of quality measures that will be used to judge a wide range of NHS activities, from commissioning to hospital care. -
Life expectancy gap widens across England
The gap between the life expectancy of the rich and poor has widened despite efforts to close it, a government watchdog has revealed. -
London hospital hired out for porn film
A “big budget” porn movie was shot in a London hospital that hired out one of its wards to a film company, it has emerged. -
Media Watch: Lansley's plans for wholesale change
As rumour and speculation over cuts continues, the Financial Times reported that health secretary Andrew Lansley’s proposals for wholesale structural change within the NHS had hit a snag when seen by the committee that resolves intra-coalition government disagreements. -
Michael White: libertarians and public health
We know he has had a tough week, but do go easy on Andrew Lansley. -
MPs given access to NHS comments and complaints
A new services is giving MPs easy access to patients’ comments and complaints about the NHS in their constituency. -
Neonatal units 'under-staffed'
A committee of Welsh politicians has discovered that many neonatal units for ill and premature babies are crowded and under-staffed. -
NHS leaders are key to innovation
NHS managers are pivotal to adopting the latest breakthroughs, explain John Hutton and Colin Callow -
NHS leadership in troubled times
Steve Onyett describes five principles for leadership in troubled times, but warns that initiatives are meaningless if they don’t bring about improvement -
NHS spending rises 'endanger vulnerable patients'
Commitments to increase spending on the NHS year-on-year are “dangerous” and will leave vulnerable patients without the support they need, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has claimed. -
NHS trusts may be left out of pocket by migrant visa proposals
The NHS would be placed in the “very strange” position of having to pay for its foreign workers’ private health insurance, under government immigration plans. -
Paul Corrigan on how the third sector will save the NHS
The NHS, like all other healthcare systems in developed countries, will soon run out of money. -
PCTs warned of pharma funded education risks
Primary care trusts have been warned not to rely on pharmaceutical companies to provide education for practice nurses. -
Public sector pensions must be reformed
Public sector pensions cost twice as much to provide as previously thought and must be reformed if they are to be sustainable, a report has indicated. -
Scotland saves £3m in on demand nursing costs
The cost of employing bank and agency nursing staff in the Scottish NHS has fallen by more than £3m, official statistics show. -
Scrapping GP access targets worries QIPP
Scrapping GP access targets could undermine efforts to reduce unnecessary accident and emergency attendances, research given to the Department of Health suggests. -
Should the irresponsible have a right to NHS care?
It is time to ask whether people who do not look after themselves should pay or wait longer for treatment -
South Essex FT named top healthcare employer
South Essex Partnership University Foundation Trust is the top NHS healthcare employer, this year’s Healthcare 100 reveals. -
Studies back NHS competition and choice
Competition among NHS hospitals in England reduces death rates and decreases patients’ overall length of stay at no extra cost, researchers have found. -
Swine flu response cost £1.2bn
The swine flu pandemic cost Britain more than £1.2bn despite being much less severe than feared, a government-commissioned review has found. -
Swine flu review highlights messy GP negotiations
Government swine flu vaccination negotiations with the British Medical Association “did not reflect well” on either side, an independent review has found. -
The government’s plan for the NHS: the health white paper analysed
Watch HSJ’s free online webcast to get to grips with the government’s plans for the NHS. Available on demand -
Trust to pay compensation to brain damaged man
A taxi driver who suffered brain damage after receiving medical treatment for a stab wound to his neck is set to receive a compensation package from The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust. -
Trusts admit emergency patients at last minute
The number of patients dealt with in the last 20 minutes of the four hour accident and emergency target window has increased to more than 40 per cent, a group of emergency care doctors have found. -
Trusts 'slash and burn' frontline jobs
NHS trusts have been accused by the Royal College of Nursing of failing to consult with staff as they seek cuts in frontline jobs. -
UCLH says acute care centralisation is better
London’s controversial centralisation programme is delivering lifesaving benefits to patients, according to one of England’s largest foundation trusts. -
UNISON announces HCAs conference
UNISON has announced it will be holding its healthcare assistants conference in September. It will look at how HCAs should be regulated in the future. -
West London Mental Health Trust CQC rating
On 20 May under the headline “Trust’s CQC rating hit by transgender issue”, HSJ published an article about the Care Quality Commission’s rating of West London Mental Health Trust having been affected by gaps in the data provided to the CQC as part of minimum dataset requirements. -
Zero tolerance needed for ambulance staff assaults
Zero tolerance is needed to crack down on people who assault ambulance staff, according to a leading union.
