Health Service Journal
8 October 2009
View all stories from this issue.
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Ian Dalton's swine flu update - preparing to deliver the vaccination programme
In his weekly update for HSJ and Nursing Times, national director for NHS flu resilience Ian Dalton discusses what is being done to prepare for the upcoming swine flu vaccination programme -
‘Clunky’ GP contracts raise questions on quality
There are huge variations in what different PCTs pay for the same services, yet there is no detectable correlation between cost and quality or patient satisfaction. Sally Gainsbury looks at why commissioning has not yet addressed these stark contrasts -
Ambulance trust wins £10m boost
West Midlands Ambulance Service Trust has been given a £10m funding boost this year after an external review found more resources were needed to meet growing demand. -
And it started with a kiss...
The Sun may have turned blue, or perhaps bluer, urging readers to vote Conservative. But another traditional Tory newspaper appears to have gone over to the other side - at least that’s how it appeared at the Labour Party conference last week. And all it took was one kiss. -
Andrew Lansley and NHS managers must face hard truths about cuts
The policies which shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley outlined to this week’s Conservative conference are not the answer to the exam question he will be set - save £20bn. -
Andrew Lansley on a Conservative recipe for NHS reform
Competition, choice and clinician power: the shadow health secretary lists the ingredients that he would use to make NHS outcomes the best in the world -
Andrew Lansley pledges to slash NHS bureaucracy
Conservative health spokesman Andrew Lansley has promised that a Tory government would cut spending on NHS admin by a third. -
Andy Burnham makes hospital car parking pledge
Health secretary Andy Burnham has pledged to phase out hospital car parking charges for inpatients and their relatives and friends over the next three years. -
Book Review: The Tiger That Isn’t - seeing through a world of numbers
Uncover how sensational statistics are used to scare us, says Michael Wilding -
Boost for Scottish telehealth
More patients in Scotland could soon have the chance to conference with their GPs via a webcam after the announcement of new plans to integrate NHS 24 with the Scottish Centre for Telehealth. -
Bradshaw's new brief
Former health minister Ben Bradshaw must be really attached to his new brief as culture secretary. -
C difficile lessons: getting to the bottom of complex health problems
Are there lessons from the C difficile experience with wider health policy implications, ask Annalijn Conklin, Sharif Ismail and Tom Ling -
Civil servant pay freeze announced
A pay freeze for 750,000 public sector high earners, including senior NHS managers, GPs, council chiefs and judges, has been announced by chancellor Alistair Darling. -
CQC calls for review of out of hours GP services
A Care Quality Commission report has urged healthcare managers to review the quality of their out of hours services over fears that some private GP companies do not meet basic standards. -
CQC clocks up first class expenses
The Care Quality Commission’s executive team has spent nearly £6,000 on first class rail travel and taxis in the first three months of its existence. -
CQC warns against Conservative cuts
Conservative plans to slash NHS “bureaucracy” and “quangos” could leave the Care Quality Commission unable to visit the services it is supposed to be inspecting, the regulator’s chief executive has said. -
Decentralise to cut NHS costs - chief Treasury secretary
Labour’s chief secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne has called for a “radical decentralisation of power” to cut NHS costs. -
Delivering better care with fewer resources
Streamlining services and funding is important but above all managing staff engagement is now vital to protect jobs and quality of care, says Chris Roebuck -
Doncaster hospital trust begins search for medical director
A Yorkshire hospital has started its search for a new medical director after announcing the current director will retire in 2010. -
Elderly care is set to be election battleground
The government and the Conservatives have offered the electorate competing schemes to care for elderly people. -
Expressions of Interest Required for the Provision of a Medication Adherence Research Project for Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust
Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust -
Expressions of Interest to Tender for the Provision of Healthcare Services at the new Featherstone 2 Prison
South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) -
FORTHCOMING TENDERING OPPORTUNITY FOR A COMMUNITY EATING DISORDER SERVICE FOR NHS NORFOLK
NHS Norfolk -
FT chief: ‘can-do’ bid won our merger
A foundation chief executive has highlighted demonstrating a “can-do” attitude as a major factor in his successful bid to take over another trust. -
Guidance on sickness certification in response to the swine flu pandemic
This document clarifies that the existing arrangements for provision of medical certificates or self-certification have not changed in light of the swine flu pandemic. -
Health secretary spotting
End Game indulged itself in a childish game at last week’s Labour conference in Brighton, namely I Spy former health secretaries. -
How to champion patient dignity
Privacy and dignity champions from across your workforce can enhance the patient experience, explains Alison Moore -
Information for improvement: joint working
This supplement has been sponsored by The NHS Information Centre to highlight the work under way to integrate health and social care information. -
Keep track of NHS training needs
Any system for managing learning and development must be able to change over time, says Arif Ahmed -
Ken Jarrold on fixing NHS care and compassion
Occasionally something really important is published. Something that makes you think. Something so powerful you wish the board of every health organisation would place it on the agenda for their next meeting, and every chief executive would say to the executive team: “Today we are not going to strive for world class commissioning competencies or prepare for foundation trust status. -
Market Development Day for Healthy Lifestyle Tender
NHS Suffolk -
Media Watch: party conference season
Unsurprisingly with the party conference season in full swing, there is plenty of NHS politics in the papers this week. -
Medical negligence proposals would force managers to confess
NHS managers could be made to confess and apologise if patients are harmed due to medical negligence. -
Medication errors 'affect 70pc of care home residents'
Overworked care home staff, poor teamwork and lack of training mean seven in 10 elderly residents are subject to medication errors. -
Mental health chiefs to confront CQC on survey
Mental health trust chief executives are to meet the Care Quality Commission to discuss its handling of results from the national inpatients survey. -
Michael White on the Conservative conference
Even before I set out for the Conservative conference, a neighbour asked me how David Cameron plans to fund residential end of life care for a flat-rate insurance contribution of £8,000. -
Mid Staffs releases report on former chief executive
Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has released a report into the conduct and performance of its previous chief executive Martin Yeates. -
NHS admin must be slashed by £1.5bn
NHS organisations are preparing to have to shave a third off their running costs if the Conservatives take power next year. -
NHS Direct launches online mental health checker
An online mental heath checker has been launched by NHS Direct in response to rising numbers of people seeking help for depression and anxiety as a result of the recession. -
NHS East Lancashire Stop Smoking Service
NHS East Lancashire -
NHS East of England faces DH assurance test
NHS East of England has been told it needs to adopt a more “bottom-up approach” to supporting primary care trusts in the region. -
Organ donor numbers rise by a million
The number of people prepared to donate organs increased by a million last year, according to the NHS’s organ donation task force implementation programme. -
Pandemic influenza: additional measures to meet workforce supply
This document has been prepared to complement existing guidance provided by the Department of Health and NHS Employers in relation to pandemic influenza planning. It answers the frequently asked questions and, wherever possible, directs readers to more substantive guidance already in existence. -
Patient safety incidents up 12 per cent
The number of patients who have been involved in safety incidents while undergoing NHS treatment has risen by 12 per cent in six months. -
Poles dancing ahead on fraud
Poland edged it over England on the health front this week. But how? I hear you ask. -
Public sector pay freeze threat from all sides
Both the government and the opposition have indicated that a large part of the savings needed to recover the UK’s public spending deficit will need to come from pay restraint. -
Recession means PCTs must make 'hard choices' on spending
Primary care trusts will have to make some tough decisions on how to prioritise spending during the recession, according to NHS Confederation Primary Care Trust Network director David Stout. -
Rotation of doctors in training during pandemic influenza
As part of ongoing organisational preparedness, Ian Dalton, National Director of NHS Flu Resilience and Pat Hamilton, Director of Medical Education (England) have written outlining arrangements for the rotations of doctors in training in the event of serious pandemic flu. -
Scale of smoking spend revealed
A new report has revealed that Wales spent an estimated £386m on health problems caused by smoking in 2007-08. -
Scottish prescription costs soar to £1.07bn
Prescriptions are now costing the NHS in Scotland £1.07bn a year, latest figures show. -
SHAs commit to original Darzi review strategies
Strategic health authorities have no plans to scale back their delivery of NHS next stage review strategies, despite the toughening financial climate, HSJ can reveal. -
SHAs must assess delivery of maternity choice
A survey next year will assess the NHS’s delivery of choice in maternity care. -
Sophia Christie on getting the best from GPs
Successive governments have attempted to engage primary care in commissioning in recognition of the sector’s vital role in demand management. -
Swine flu: former nurses urged to re-register
A possible shortage of nurses and midwives caused by another swine flu outbreak has prompted the Scottish government to offer to pay former nurses £100 to re-register. -
Training blamed for hospital deaths
Death rates in hospitals are more to do with poorly trained medical staff than complications from major surgery, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. -
Trust criticised over dirty ambulances
An ambulance service has been issued with a warning after the Care Quality Commission found it was failing to protect its patients from infections. -
Two thirds of PCTs still to agree provider model
Two thirds of primary care trust provider arms have not yet had their future form agreed by their board and strategic health authority, a survey suggests. -
Using the InterQual tool
How Rotherham Health and Social Care Economy Partnership is using the InterQual tool to improve the health of local people. Sponsored by McKesson. -
When doctors network change can happen fast
Easy online access to shared information and peer discussion is proving a prime mover in engaging clinicians with quality assessment and transforming services -
Your Humble Servant: McKinsey, McJected
‘Imagine if you are in your umpteenth meeting in a hospital or PCT or SHA somewhere, with a McKinseyite costing your directorate’s annual savings plan being taught the McKinsey way of saving the world. You are going to be feeling a little dubious about it all’
