Health Service Journal
9 September 2010
View all stories from this issue.
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60 management jobs axed
The latest round of cuts in the NHS will see almost 60 health managers and administrators in Durham lose their jobs, it has been reported. -
Alcohol consumption plummets
Alcohol consumption in the UK has seen its biggest decline in 60 years, according to new industry figures. -
Audit Commission seeks independent role
The Audit Commission has appointed a managing director to lead its transition to an independent audit practice. -
Blair watch
The most disappointing aspect of Tony Blair’s autobiography A Journey is not the lack of punctuation or fresh sex scandal, but that it pretty much confirms most of what you already knew. -
Book Review: From Crew to Captain
This hardened entrepreneur offers valuable lessons, writes Colin Carnall -
Call to extend radiotherapy care
Thousands of cancer patients are missing out on access to radiotherapy and few people know it can help cure the disease, a charity has claimed. -
Chris J Hawkey: A new opening for transparency
Clinicians must put away self-interest if they are to earn the new powers set out in the white paper -
DH consults on prescribing powers in community services
The Department of Health is consulting on whether physiotherapists and podiatrists should be given prescribing powers. -
DH denied access to £1.5bn unspent cash
The Treasury has not yet returned the £1.5bn NHS underspend from 2008-09, according to accounts released by the Department of Health. -
DH to have veto over DPH appointments
The new “public health service” will “not be a separate legal entity from the DH” and its directors will be jointly appointed by the Department of Heath and local authorities, a DH briefing document seen by HSJ states. -
Emergency admissions bypassing GP referrals
The government may be over-estimating the ability of GPs to control emergency admissions. -
Government announces major NHS IT shakeup
The government has announced significant changes to the National Programme for IT, which it says will give more choice and flexibility to NHS organisations. -
Government urged to scrap pensions 'fair deal'
Charity leaders have urged the government to scrap pension rules for outsourced workers they say will bar people from getting the best deal from public services. -
How to achieve more informed healthcare
You’ll learn how to achieve more informed healthcare at this HSJ webcast -
How to leave your job
If you are due to leave your job, whether for a new role or retirement, voluntary or compulsory redundancy, it’s essential to deal well with the practical, professional and personal issues around your departure. -
How to master public speaking
NHS leaders have a lot of talking to do now and public speaking on any scale is easier when you energise your voice and your convictions, says Richard Tyler -
IT job opportunities slump in public sector
Just 4% of new computer-related jobs currently being created were in the public sector following a series of spending cuts by the government, according to a new study. -
It’s not just commissioning – who will fill the PCT vacuum?
Margaret Angier had news for the readers of the Sheffield Telegraph. The chair of a local mental health group, Ms Angier wrote to the paper about the government’s health reforms. -
Junior doctors 'spend too long on admin'
Junior doctors spend more time on admin than they do on formal medical training, research suggested today. -
Mental health preferred providers: stick to your guns on pricing
East Midlands primary care trusts scrutinised the costs of mental healthcare packages and made huge savings with a list of preferred providers, as Jennifer Taylor explains -
Michael White on Blair's diary
Don’t be put off by some of the savage reviews of Tony Blair’s memoirs. As books of this kind go, and I have read a few, it is unusually frank in all sorts of ways, not least about his growing alcohol dependency - a very New Labour concern. -
Millions 'can't get through on GP phone lines'
Millions of people struggle to reach a GP because they are met with an engaged tone when they call their local surgery, according to a survey. -
Minimum alcohol price 'will save £700m'
A minimum price for alcohol of 45p a unit would save Scotland more than £700m in 10 years, health secretary Nicola Sturgeon has said. -
Most voters 'back tax rises and spending cuts'
A majority of voters (60%) believe that the government is right to raise taxes and cut spending to bring down Britain’s state deficit, according to a survey. -
MPs question Pickles on shock Audit Commission abolition
Communities secretary Eric Pickles has claimed his surprise announcement of the abolition of the Audit Commission, during the Parliamentary recess, was necessary. -
NHS Derbyshire appoints director
NHS Derbyshire County has appointed a new director of commissioning and informatics. -
NHS estates: LABV your neighbour
Local asset-backed vehicles are the new generation of public-private finance, say Rob Harrison and Stephen Hughes -
No accord on mortality measures
A nationally agreed hospital-wide mortality indicator will not to be in place before the publication of this year’s Dr Foster Hospital Guide, it has been confirmed. -
Noel Plumridge on axes and accountability
A useful little word the French have borrowed from English in recent times is un tilt. Derived from pinball, a primitive pre-Super Mario form of entertainment now virtually extinct, it denotes in French a sudden, unforeseen and complete disruption of previous plans. Game over. -
PCTs make a good shot at prioritisation
With GP consortia on course to take over commissioning, a report seen by HSJ shows PCTs have been preparing the ground well by getting to grips with the fundamentals of local priority setting. Dave West explains -
Porn in IVF units criticised
Trusts have been criticised for supplying pornography in IVF facilities. -
Primary finance body divides into three arms
The Department of Health owned company that arranges private finance deals for the primary care sector is to be divided into regional arms. -
Scottish spending priorities set out
Scotland’s finance secretary John Swinney has set out the priorities for the Scottish budget ahead of looming cuts. -
Suffolk health board names interim boss
NHS Suffolk has announced the appointment of an interim chief executive. -
Superbug risk from hospital sinks
The Department of Health has issued an alert warning that hospital wash basins have been identified as a source of gram negative bacteria. -
Trusts 'not following carbon reduction scheme'
New research has found that most trusts do not yet comply with impending legislation aimed at reducing carbon emissions. -
Using social marketing to boost men's health awareness
The ‘Movember’ campaign is fun-packed fundraising - and it is boosting men’s health awareness, says Jennifer Taylor -
Warning over scale of task of replacing PCTs
The true scale of the task which will be picked up by GPs, local authorities, the national commissioning board and other agencies following the abolition of primary care trusts is being significantly underestimated. -
Weight loss surgery could save NHS £56m a year
Primary care trusts are ignoring national guidance on who should be eligible for obesity surgery, a report by the Office of Health Economics says. -
Welsh NHS faces savings challenge
Managers in the Welsh NHS have said making £380 million of savings by April next year is the biggest challenge they have faced in two decades. -
White paper leads to shake up in top posts at SHAs
UPDATED: Department of Health announces managers who will lead the transition implementing the white paper. -
Who rules health?
Who do you think will exercise the greatest influence over the NHS and health service policy during 2011? This week HSJ, with the support of Ernst & Young and Harvey Nash, launches the HSJ 100 which is designed to answer that question.
