Health Service Journal
8 November 2007
View all stories from this issue.
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Age equality in older people's mental health services
The Care Services Improvement Partnership has produced guidance to clarify issues surrounding equal access to services for older people with mental health needs -
All Our Yesterdays
November 6, 1936, Public Assistance Journal and Health & Hospital ReviewThe work of the joint vagrancy authorities; 'decisions on medical examinations and removal of aged from the road' was discussed in the Journal this week.The financial officer reported that the costs of maintaining causal wards as falling in accordance to a lower number of bodies, including children, being admitted to them. Meanwhile, the Berks, Bucks and Oxon joint vagrancy committee wr -
Chief executive pay-offs raise doubts about local control
Don't be taken in by ministerial hot air on their belief in local decision-making. The latest move after the Clostridium difficile deaths at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust demonstrates that soundbites, press releases and the irresistible urge to be seen to be doing something still take precedence over sensible government. -
Continuing healthcare: resolving disputes betweeen trusts and local authorities
Primary care trusts and local authorities may sometimes disagree over continuing care decisions and it is vital to have dispute procedures in place, says David Lock -
CSIP launches toolkit to foster respect
Nurses on acute wards for older people with dementia, delirium or depression will be interested in the new Care Services Improvement Partnership toolkit on respect -
Delayed discharge of elderly blamed on funding gap
Bed-blocking is being driven up because hospitals are discharging patients earlier and social services do not have the resources to cope, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services has claimed. -
Discharge plannning - a positive outlook
Improved discharge from mental healthcare will be aided by the Care Services Improvement Partnership's new toolkit, which is available online -
District general hospitals face heavy specialist service losses
District general hospitals face handing their specialist services to regional centres of excellence because they will no longer be paid the services' full cost, HSJ has learned. -
DoH workers slate leaders
More than two-thirds of civil servants at the Department of Health say the organisation is not well-managed, a staff survey reveals. -
Early Christmas bonus for Birmingham staff overpaid £200k
Christmas has come early for more than 300 primary care trust workers. They have been told they need not repay an average of £600 paid to them by mistake over the past three-and-a-half years. -
Great progress has been made in GP access
Your recent editorial 'GP access dispute reveals holes in Darzi's rushed report' did not reflect the significant improvements that have been made in access to GPs, writes health minister Ben Bradshaw -
Health inequalities mean babies are still not born equal
This week's Data Briefing looks at early neonatal deaths and stillbirths in Birmingham. END is the death of an infant within seven days of birth. -
Health inequalities: the great divide
Adding a million years to the lives of East Lancashire's population requires a big push by local partnerships, says David Peat -
Health informatics management traineeship
An NHS Wales programme is setting a standard in health informatics management training, explain Jackie Barker and colleagues -
Health visitor investment will reach too few, says union
The government is investing an additional £30m on an untested health visiting scheme that will reach too few needy families, according to trade unionists. -
In this week's HSJ
NewsDistrict general hospitals face handing their specialist services to regional centres of excellence because they will no longer be paid the services' full cost, HSJ has learned.Hospitals working hard to address historic deficits have been given a reprieve by the Audit Commission: they will no longer automatically score 'inadequate' in the resources element of the health check.Future pay-offs to senior managers who leave under a cloud may have -
Infection control: back to the boardroom
Informing the board and protecting patients were the key strands of one trust's infection control drive, writes Alison Norman -
International development: NHS sponsor trains new doctors for Iraq
The international trade and promotion arm of the Department of Health is helping to educate a new generation of Iraqi doctors to support the rebuilding of the country's shattered health service, its annual report reveals. -
Jenny Rogers on getting feedback from friends
A leader without a critical friend to tell them where they are going wrong is exposed, often without knowing it -
Knowledege and skills framework - reap the rewards
The knowledge and skills framework of Agenda for Change offers great opportunities for both employers and staff, yet it is not being used to full effect in the NHS. But what can it offer, why is not being used consistently, and what can we do about it? Alastair Henderson explains -
Lisa Rodrigues on staying connected
Keeping in contact with one another is important, whether it is through social networking sites or old-fashioned conversations -
Maggie Rae on how to foster organisational development
When I moved from Scotland to England some colloquialisms did not travel well while some enjoyed a more universal understanding. One phrase that did travel well is 'walking the talk', the importance of actually doing what you said you would do - the mark of good management and leadership -
Managed learning network
A year of regional networking events held by the Care Services Improvement Partnership in the north of England has facilitated managed learning -
Measles increase prompts PCT vaccination letter
The rise in measles cases in England and Wales has prompted a primary care trust to write to parents urging them to have their children vaccinated. -
Media Watch: transplant deaths at Papworth
This week Papworth Hospital in Cambridge found itself at the centre of a media storm. More used to making headlines about pioneering treatment, the hospital was in the spotlight as its heart transplants were halted due to an unexplained rise in death rates. -
Mental health: the safety scandal
Sexual safety is one of the biggest issues in inpatient care, with concerns not being heeded because of complacency, burnt-out staff and prejudice. Emma Dent reports -
Michael White on immigration and the NHS
As old favourites like immigration and NHS pay resurfaced in public debate, a conversation I overheard in a Berkshire pub years ago popped up again this week. -
New NHS Employers healthy workplaces guide
NHS Employers has launched new print and online advice for employers, covering a range of workplace health issues from bullying and discrimination to needlestick injuries, sickness absence and alcohol abuse. -
NHS Employers' vision for doctors
NHS Employers has outlined its vision on the training, responsibilities, working environment, career development and job prospects of doctors of the future. -
NHS primary care director to back anti-privatisation charity
The Department of Health faces serious embarrassment next week when one of its top officials supports the launch of a campaign to oppose some of the government’s NHS privatisation plans. -
Noel Plumridge on finding the right GP
Is it worthwhile to register with a GP when there are other alternatives available? -
Older people's mental health at CSIP
The Care Services Improvement Partnership is working to ensure older people with mental health diagnoses have broad access to all services and are not restricted within mental health specialisms -
Payment by results: top-up scheme clears the way for back-door reconfiguration
The changes to the tariff for specialist services revealed in this week's HSJ risk inflaming public opinion just as Lord Darzi's review is supposed to be restoring confidence in how reconfigurations are managed. -
Private firms fear axe for treatment centre deals
Private health providers were waiting anxiously for the results of an official review of independent sector treatment centres as HSJ went to press -
Queen's Speech quiet on health policy
The lack of health legislation in the Queen's Speech has sparked calls for the government to set out its vision for the NHS. -
Rich nations need thorough healthcare reform, survey finds
People in developed countries feel that their health systems can only improve if they undergo 'fundamental changes', according to a seven-nation survey. -
Social care green paper: meeting the long-term care challenge
The government has still not answered crucial questions over its plans for long-term care of the elderly. With an ageing population, how will it fund a system set to cost a lot more? And will people still have to sell their homes to fund care? Mark Gould reports -
Supporting older people after discharge
A co-ordinated approach between healthcare agencies, housing associations and local authorities can make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable older people after they leave hospital, as Judy Peaker explains. -
Tax the rich to solve health inequality, says professor
The government has been accused of failing to tackle health inequalities fully because it is too 'afraid' of upsetting the electorate. -
Team-building techniques - going beyond the comfort zone
Innovative training techniques are helping healthcare staff from the North West become managers the NHS can be proud of. Nikki Wilcock reports -
Telecare - improving the lives of patients with COPD
Fatima Holt explains how telecare is helping to manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a primary care setting, for more timely and effective care -
Treasury may veto golden handshakes for trust chief executives
Future pay-offs to senior managers who leave under a cloud may have to be approved by the Treasury. It follows the furore over severance pay to former Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust chief executive Rose Gibb. -
Trusts doing well will not be penalised for historic deficits
Hospitals working hard to address historic deficits have been given a reprieve by the Audit Commission: they will no longer automatically score 'inadequate' in the resources element of the health check. -
Two hospital directors sacked in fraud probe
Two directors of a private hospital group at the centre of an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service have been sacked for 'incompetence'. -
Unions issue warning to government over plans to curb wage rise
Proposals to raise NHS wages by just 2 per cent will lead to political strife and sustained 'hard bargaining', according to health economists. -
Walk-outs planned over sacked union representative
A mental health trust is facing strikes and legal action after sacking a senior nurse who spoke out in her role as a union representative. -
Workforce planning: a menu of skills
The failure to plan the staffing needs of the NHS adequately has prompted the creation of a menu of training and resources to boost workers' skills -
World class commissioning: NHS sets out to lead the world
The world class commissioning programme aims to extend and improve lives while giving patients real power. NHS commissioning director general Mark Britnell sets out the government's ambitious vision -
Your Humble Servant on the annual health check ratings
We are all terribly proud of the huge improvement we have achieved in the annual health check under your leadership. The fair and fair rating shows just how far we have come in five years. Surely the next stop is foundation trust status?
