Health Service Journal
15 March 2012

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£4m for integrated care in Leicestershire County

FINANCE: NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland, along with the Eastern Leicestershire CCG, is to receive £4m from the Department of Health to redevelop integrated primary, community and mental health services.
A step-by-step guide to making total hip replacement deliver value

Making total hip replacement more financially viable – without reducing care quality - is a tough but totally achievable aim. Simon Sethi and colleagues outline the steps towards success.
A&E waits too long at James Paget

PERFORMANCE: Patients are waiting longer than they should be in the A&E department at the James Paget University Hospitals Foundation Trust.
Accelerating learning: an HSJ training and development supplement

Continuing professional development, e-learning and developing junior managers are the key themes in this HSJ special supplement on training and development.
Acute strain causes hundreds of emergency admission delays

A lack of hospital capacity is being blamed for regular blockages in emergency departments, after data released exclusively to HSJ revealed patients have already spent hundreds of hours stuck outside hospitals in ambulances this year.
Aintree given green light for £20m A&E redevelopment

STRUCTURE: Aintree University Hospitals Foundation Trust today reported it had received planning permission for £20m of new facilities for patients requiring urgent hospital care.
Air ambulance chief moves to Wells

WORKFORCE: The former chief executive of East Anglian Air Ambulance is to run the Wells Community Hospital in north Norfolk.
Amber-red rating for St Helens and Knowsley FT bid

PERFORMANCE: NHS North of England’s latest provider development report rates the trust’s foundation trust bid as amber-red.
Ambulance service adopts TETRA Messenger for first responders

COMMERCIAL: The ambulance trust has become the first service in the country to purchase voice and data firm Airwave’s TETRA Messenger devices for its community first response teams, the firm reported today.
Ambulance trust FT application at risk

STRUCTURE: The East of England Ambulance Service could have to withdraw its application to become a foundation trust if it fails to meet a key performance target for this quarter.
Ambulance trust signs up to green scheme

FINANCE: The East of England Ambulance Service Trust has signed up to an ambitious carbon reduction plan which commits it to reducing emissions by 30 per cent by March 2016.
Analysed: the reconfiguration plan for Greater Manchester's hospitals

Some time this summer NHS Trafford will go to the public with proposals for the future of Trafford Healthcare Trust. The consultation is widely expected to include radical options for the hospital where Nye Bevan marked the 1948 birth of the NHS, including that most politically flammable of changes, the reduction or removal of accident and emergency services.
Better interventions could cut missed appointments by third

The number of patients who fail to turn up for NHS appointments could be cut by 30 per cent with just basic service alterations, according to research.
Big promises but nothing new for pharma in budget

The chancellor has pledged to make the UK “one of the most attractive places in the world to invent new medicines” in his budget speech this afternoon.
Birmingham Women's to get £3.2m to expand capacity

FINANCE: Birmingham Women’s Foundation Trust is set to receive £3.2m to spend on increasing maternity capacity.
Boiler upgrade cash for Sussex Community Trust

FINANCE: Sussex Community NHS Trust is to receive extra government funding for new equipment, including a boiler upgrade, and the relocation of children’s services.
Branch surgery at risk in Norfolk

STRUCTURE: NHS Norfolk and Waveney is talking to different healthcare providers about keeping a surgery in New Costessey, four miles outside Norwich, open.
Bridge built between Aintree and the Walton Centre

STRUCTURE: Aintree University Hospitals and the Walton Centre have announced plans for a £2m bridge between the two foundation trusts, to allow rapid transfer of patients with serious head injuries.
BSUH in line for £1m DH handout

FINANCE: Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust is to receive extra government funding for new equipment.
Cambs FT heading for £2.2m deficit

FINANCE: Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust is heading for a £2.2m deficit this year - despite delivering more than £40m in cost improvements.
CCG leaders: full list

Information is from HSJ research. In some cases clinical commissioning group leaders are changing, and will change over the nextyear, as groups make and change their decisions. This list was compiled in March 2012. HSJ intends to publish updated lists in future. Information updated in summer 2012 is available in an HSJ map tool of the new commissioning system
Cerner implementation causes data problems at Oxford trust

PERFORMANCE: Oxford University Hospitals Trust is reporting problems with data quality following the installation of the Cerner Millennium patient record system.
Chair appointed for BANES and Wiltshire cluster

WORKFORCE: NHS Wiltshire chair Tony Barron has been appointed to lead the Wiltshire and Bath and North East Somerset primary care trust cluster.
Children's A&E opens at Basildon

STRUCTURE: A purpose-built children’s A&E department has opened at Basildon University Hospital.
Clare Gerada: just don't call me 'ballbreaker'

What does it mean to be a female leader? Clare Gerada argues the old distinctions are less relevant as people simply focus on the job at hand.
Colds and flu drive up Sussex Partnership sickness absence

WORKFORCE: Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust had a sickness absence rate for December 2011 of 4.26 per cent, up from 4.14 per cent in November.
Collaboration can help meet the challenges facing urgent care

As the focus for urgent care moves towards prevention, self care, and better treatment of long-term conditions, Drs David Hambleton and Mark Lambert explain how their new collaborative and localised approach is starting to make an impact.
Consultants pass vote of no confidence in Andrew Lansley

Consultants yesterday defied British Medical Association chair Hamish Meldrum to pass a motion of no confidence in the health secretary.
COPD community clinics launched in Beds

STRUCTURE: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in Bedfordshire are being offer support closer to home in a bid to reduce emergency admissions.
Could an NHS trust be allowed to go bankrupt?

The key question to ask about insolvency is the political ownership of hospital closures, says Noel Plumridge.
Council backs loan of up to £100m for Northumbria Healthcare

FINANCE: Northumberland county council has agreed in principle to lend the foundation trust up to £100m in order to buy out its private finance initiative contracts.
Council cash blamed for delayed transfers of care at Coventry and Warwickshire

PERFORMANCE: University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire is reporting a rise in delayed transfers of care, with part of the problem blamed on council funding
CUH unveils new chair

WORKFORCE: Jane Ramsey is to be the new chair of Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust, succeeding Dr Mary Archer.
Detailed bids submitted for Royal Liverpool PFI rebuild

COMMERCIAL: Two bidders - Carillion and Horizon - have submitted detailed proposals for the private finance initiative rebuild of Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
DH funding for eye equipment at Western Sussex Healthcare

FINANCE: Western Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is to receive extra government funding for new equipment.
DH hands Surrey and Sussex Healthcare £6m

FINANCE: Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is to receive a significant chunk of extra government funding for new equipment.
DH obesity drive failing to capture industry support

A government initiative to tackle obesity and improve public health is “overly reliant” on voluntary agreements with the food industry, a report has warned.
DNA rates as high as 15% in some parts of mental health trust's service

PERFORMANCE: South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust estimates it can save “at least £4m” if it reduces Did Not Attend rates by 5 per cent through text messaging.
East Anglian LD units to trial staff uniform

WORKFORCE: Staff at two small units run by Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust are to wear a uniform of blue polo shirts for a trail period.
East London hospital trust sets new record for ambulance handover delays

PERFORMANCE: Barking, Havering, Redbridge University Hospitals Trust saw 120 “black breaches” - cases where patients are left waiting an hour or more in an ambulance because they are unable to admit them - in just one week.
East London trust defies commissioners and plans for 9,000 births

PERFORMANCE: Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust is anticipating 9,000 births across its two sites in 2012-13, board papers said.
East Sussex gets £1.2m handout for CT scanners

FINANCE: East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is to receive extra government funding for new equipment.
East Sussex PCTs ties charity grants to outcomes

COMMERCIAL: The East Sussex primary care trust cluster and local authority is to offer up to £8m worth of commissions to voluntary and community organisations.
EoE ambulance performance hit by hospital delays

PERFORMANCE: Delays at hospital are causing East of England Ambulance Service Trust to miss performance targets.
EoE ambulance trust behind on CIP plan

FINANCE: Cost improvement plans at East of England Ambulance Services Trust were more than £2m behind schedule at the end of month 10.
Epsom and St Helier ahead of deficit plan but behind on savings

FINANCE: Epsom and St Helier Hospitals Trust, the London/Surrey borders acute, has a year-to-date deficit of £15.25m, against a target of £16.1m, according to latest board papers.
Epsom and St Helier breach C section rate

PERFORMANCE: Epsom and St Helier Hospitals Trust saw a Caesarian section rate of 30.2 per cent for November, which is above its target of 24 per cent.
Exclusive: CCG leaders to be assessed on 'aptitude and attitude'

Prospective clinical commissioning group leaders are to be assessed for “aptitude and attitude” in the next two months.
Exclusive: commissioning support development falls to PCT staff

Primary care trust directors and junior staff are leading the development of commissioning support services in many areas.
Exclusive: many experienced commissioners predicted to leave

A significant number of the most senior primary care trust leaders will not join the NHS Commissioning Board, HSJ has been told.
Exclusive: over 60 per cent of CCGs choose PCT manager as their leader

Most clinical commissioning groups are set to make a manager their accountable officer, and are choosing primary care trust staff to fill key leadership roles in their organisation.
Experienced GPs and managers can give CCGs the best start

Does HSJ’s exclusive analysis of the leadership of clinical commissioning groups signal a lack of engagement in the reforms by GPs in general or a pragmatic response to the scale of the challenges ahead?
Extra million boosts NHS dentistry in Surrey

FINANCE: NHS Surrey has announced it is investing an extra £1m in the county’s high street dentists in order to boost NHS capacity.
Five per cent of Coventry and Warwickshire A and E patients wait over ten hours

PERFORMANCE: Five per cent of accident and emergency patients who were admitted to University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire Trust have waited for more than 10 hours before being admitted for treatment.
Foundation trust considers 12-hour nursing shifts to save £500,000

WORKFORCE: The Royal Berkshire Hospital Foundation Trust has considered bringing in 12-hour nursing shifts to save money.
'Fundamental capacity issue' at trust with worst A&E performance

PERFORMANCE: Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust recorded the worst performance in London for A&E based on the latest figures and minutes of the January meeting.
Harnessing leadership to drive a culture of innovation

Innovating health services successfully will require staff at all levels of healthcare organisations to create a culture in which innovation can thrive, say Lynne Maher and Mark Mugglestone.
Health reforms clear latest Lords hurdle

The government’s controversial NHS reforms cleared another major hurdle in the House of Lords on Tuesday night.
Heatherwood FT expects to cut deficit

FINANCE: Heatherwood and Wexham Park Foundation Trust is beating its deficit forecast, and is now predicting a shortfall of £13.7m.
Heatherwood struggles on 18 week target

PERFORMANCE: Heatherwood and Wexham Park Foundation Trust is struggling on its 18 week referral to treatment target, but is predicting significant improvement on long waiters.
Herts acute trust still predicting surplus

FINANCE: East and North Herts Trust is still predicting a £3.5m surplus this year.
Herts trust considers increasing use of bank staff

WORKFORCE: East and North Herts Trust is looking at changing the make up of its workforce to reduce the number of redundancies it may have to make when service changes are completed in 2014.
Hillingdon Council removes social workers from Hilingdon Hospital

WORKFORCE: Hillingdon Hospitals Foundation Trust saw social workers withdrawn from its main hospital site by the local authority, minutes of the January board meeting revealed.
Hinchingbrooke 'welcomes' new chief exec

WORKFORCE: Jim O’ Connell is to take over as the new chief executive at Hinchingbrooke Health Care Trust, now run by private company Circle.
How trusts are getting smarter about business intelligence

In our first monthly examination of the state of key healthcare support services, Daloni Carlisle finds many trusts are upgrading their business intelligence systems.
How will CCGs assure the quality of care they commission?

Clinical commissioning groups have an opportunity to reverse a declining trend, and take responsibility for the improvement of care quality, says Paul Zollinger-Read.
HSJ…more for healthcare leaders

One thing unites HSJ readers, whether they have a clinical or non-clinical background, work in the NHS or provide services from the private sector: they are all leaders.
Improvements in ‘harm free’ older patient care

A significant improvement has been recorded in the proportion of older patients receiving “harm free” care following a major patient safety trial, HSJ can disclose.
James Paget struggling on stroke targets

PERFORMANCE: Stroke standards are still proving hard to meet at James Paget University Hospitals Foundation Trust, the governors’ council heard.
James Paget to tender audit contract

COMMERCIAL: James Paget University Hospitals Foundation Trust is putting its external audit contract out to tender later this month.
Lib Dem vote against support for bill puts more pressure on peers

Liberal Democrat peers are under pressure to make more changes to the Health Bill after a manoeuvre by the party’s leadership in support of the bill backfired at its spring conference on Sunday.
London cluster delays panel decision on service reconfiguration

STRUCTURE: The south west London PCT cluster is delaying until May the panel meeting at which a 60-strong group will examine the quality aspects of a proposed service reconfiguration for the area.
'Mandating staffing levels is not the answer to reducing poor care'

Minimum staffing levels are an example of inflexible regulation which distracts staff from time which they should be devoting to patient care, says Harry Cayton.
Media Watch: former trust boss Heatly neatly defends position

The South Island of New Zealand is probably about as far away from Cumbria as it is possible to get and still find sheep. But for ex-North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust boss Carole Heatly, it probably feels just like home.
Medic invoice blamed for agency spend rise at Sussex FT

WORKFORCE: Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust noted an increase in its agency pay bill for January, which it said was partly caused by a doctor’s invoice being “higher than estimated”.
Michael White: bill-bashing Lib Dems may take their own hits in the polls

During last weekend’s NHS-traumatised Lib Dem conference in Gateshead I thought I heard Baroness Shirley Williams say she would never countenance the health service (we’re talking England here) being treated “like gas, water or electricity”, in other words as a privately run, publicly regulated utility.
Minister praises VTE work at Colchester

PERFORMANCE: Colchester General Hospital has been praised by health minister Simon Burns for its work on preventing avoidable blood clots.
Monitor reports sharp deterioration in foundations' A&E performance

Monitor has reported sharp increases in the numbers of foundation trusts breaching accident and emergency targets or attracting the worst risk ratings for governance.
Monitor wanted James Paget interim chief in place sooner

WORKFORCE: Monitor wanted an interim chief executive in place earlier than proposed at James Paget University Hospitals Foundation Trust, it has been revealed.
More than 100 new staff hired at Heatherwood FT

WORKFORCE: The total number of staff employed at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Foundation Trust is going up, despite the turnover rate for the organisation’s administrative and clerical workforce topping 33 per cent in January.
Most powerful NHS trust chief executive quits

One of the NHS’s most prominent chief executives is leaving to take up a job in Australia.
'Move on', Nick Clegg to urge Lib Dems

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg will today appeal for frustrated Liberal Democrat activists to “move on” from damaging rows over the NHS and tuition fees.
National NHS surplus rises by £329m

The NHS is on course to finish the year with a surplus of more than £1.5bn - £300m more than originally planned - HSJ can reveal.
Nearly £3m of new equipment cash for Dartford and Gravesham

FINANCE: Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust is to receive extra government funding for new equipment.
New adolescent cancer unit opens at Addenbrookes

STRUCTURE: A new teenage cancer unit has opened at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
New Cromer hospital opens for business

STRUCTURE: A new hospital on the Norfolk coast has opened its doors to the first patients.
New England chief nursing officer named

The NHS Commissioning Board has appointed Jane Cummings as its chief nursing officer. Ms Cummings is currently the nursing director for NHS North of England, and previously for NHS North West.
New Plymouth social enterprise below average on staff engagement

WORKFORCE: Plymouth Community Health scored below average on four key indicators of staff engagement in the 2011 NHS staff survey.
New research focus at James Paget

STRUCTURE: James Paget University Hospitals Foundation Trust is looking at strengthening clinical research, the board of governors was told.
NHS annual reporting 'inaccurate or incomplete'

NHS organisations are presenting an “inaccurate or incomplete” picture in their annual reports, with some failing to disclose the key risks they face, according to a review by auditors Grant Thornton.
NHS Trafford puts community services up for tender

COMMERCIAL: The primary care trust has launched a tender process for organisations seeking to take over its community services.
NHSCB patient role ‘too information focused’

Patient and public representatives have raised concern that the NHS Commissioning Board may appoint an informatics specialist rather than a “true patient champion” to a senior director role.
Noel Plumridge: do not underestimate CCG support organisations

The Health Bill remains silent about the 20 or so organisations that are to “support” NHS commissioning in England, but we should underestimate their significance.
North Cumbria takeover bidder estimated it would need £78m over two years

FINANCE: The preferred bidder to take over North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust has estimated it needs the government to pump £78m of financial support into the troubled trust over the next two years.
Oxford trust struggles with delayed transfers of care

PERFORMANCE: Delayed transfers of care are proving hard to reduce at University Hospitals of Oxford Trust, and are “crowding out” other elective activity.
PAHT opens new specialist trauma and orthopaedic centre

STRUCTURE: The trust has opened a new specialist centre for emergency trauma and orthopaedic services at North Manchester General Hospital.
Palliative care centre planned at James Paget

STRUCTURE: A new palliative care information and outreach centre is to be built at the James Paget Hospital.
Patient waits 23 hours to be admitted to trust A&E

PERFORMANCE: A report to Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust’s board showed one patient had waited 23 hours before being admitted in A&E.
PCTs must not focus on ‘fantastic’ pasts

Handover documents produced by primary care trusts have focused too much on past achievements and not enough on concerns for the future, the official overseeing the transition to the new commissioning system has told HSJ.
Pickles backs NHS workers' 'right to wear cross'

Cabinet minister Eric Pickles has supported demands for Christians to be allowed to wear crosses at work as two NHS workers take their case to Strasbourg.
Planned angioplasty moves to Ipswich Hospital

STRUCTURE: Patients needing planned angioplasty will soon be able to have it at Ipswich Hospital, rather than having to travel to a region centre.
Pressure on council budgets leads to overspend at Torbay

FINANCE: Integrated health and social care provider Torbay Care Trust is reporting an overspend in social care due to financial pressure on local authorities.
RCGP seeks health reform talks

Family doctors’ leaders have offered an olive branch to ministers in their bitter battle over the government’s NHS reforms.
Readers' Letters - 15 March 2012

Taking responsibility, translation costs and correct toilet behaviour.
Rebel Lib Dem reforms revolt defeated

The government has seen off a rebel Liberal Democrat bid to halt the controversial health reforms.
Recruitment search starts as trust seeks to install temporary chair

WORKFORCE: Royal Berkshire Hospital Foundation Trust is to begin the process of appointing a new chair after the sudden departure of Colin Maclean.
Royal Wolverhampton's QIPP scheme gets £3m boost

FINANCE: The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals Trust is to receive £3m of central money to spend on a heat and power plant to support Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention targets.
Serco named as preferred bidder for East Kent deal

COMMERCIAL: Serco Group has been selected as preferred bidder for a contract to provide integrated facilities management services to East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust.
SHA report: Southport and Ormskirk missed "covenant tests" for FT bid

PERFORMANCE: The trust’s bid for foundation status has been marked amber-red in the latest NHS North of England provider development report.
Shrewsbury and Telford's reconfiguration receives £35m of DH cash

FINANCE: Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust is being given £35m from the Department of Health to spend on a planned reconfiguration of services.
SNP claim independence will safeguard NHS

Scotland’s National Health Service can only be “fully guaranteed” by independence, deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.
South London and Maudsley reports reduced surplus

FINANCE: The South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust is reporting a reduced net surplus and EBITDA so far this year.
Southampton cardiologist becomes DH heart tsar

WORKFORCE: A cardiologist at Southampton General Hospital has been appointed heart tsar by the Department of Health.
Staff at BANES social enterprise motivated and engaged

WORKFORCE: Sirona Care and Health, the new social enterprise delivering health and social care in Bath and North East Somerset, scored above avearge on staff engagement in the NHS staff survey.
Sussex Partnership falling behind on savings

FINANCE: Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust was around £2.4m behind its savings target in January, according to latest board papers.
Sussex Partnership FT names preferred provider for IT contract

COMMERCIAL: Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has named a preferred bidder for a contract to provide information technology infrastructure and support.
Sussex Partnership FT opens two more centres

STRUCTURE: Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust opened two new services in February, according to latest board papers.
Sussex Partnership just about in surplus in Jan

FINANCE: Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust recorded an operating deficit of £52,000 in January, taking the year to date position to a surplus of just £7,000.
Tameside and Glossop tenders for 40 intermediate care beds

COMMERCIAL: The primary care trust is inviting bids for a contract worth as much as £10m to provide up to 40 community-based intermediate care beds in the locality.
The new reality for whistleblowing over poor quality care

The GMC’s new guidance documents give clarification on a doctor’s duties and address concerns over acting on issues of patient safety. Lisa Jones explains.
'The NHS needs to be better at adopting innovation'

Innovation is a process that can significantly improve healthcare - at a price the NHS can afford, argues Sir Michael Rawlins.
Time to change: how leaders can help inspire round the clock care

The fundamental basis for nursing practice should be the concept of hourly rounding, rather than just another “thing” for nurses to do, says Marie Hutchings.
Torbay looks to collaborate with acute trust

STRUCTURE: Torbay Care Trust and South Devon Healthcare Foundation Trust have agreed to “strengthen their levels of collaboration”.
Trust considered forcing staff to have flu jabs

A leading foundation trust considered whether the flu jab could be made compulsory for staff.
Trust runs up £5.4m deficit

FINANCE: University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire Trust was running at a £5.4m year to date deficit at the end of January, with its cost improvement plan £7m behind schedule.
Trusts pursue pay curbs for staff sickness

A tribunal decision that forced a trust to stop withholding pay from staff who take too much sick leave has failed to deter other organisations from pursuing similar policies, HSJ has learned.
Two thousand campaigners rally against Health Bill

Over 2,000 NHS staff and campaigners heard union leaders, clinicians and managers denounce the Health Bill at a rally against the government’s planned reforms in Westminster last night.
Unexpected benefit from summary care record in Kent

PERFORMANCE: The NHS Kent and Medway cluster has found summary care records are proving to be a “real benefit” to Gurkha families needing hospital care, some of whom spoke little English.
Virgin and Serco on shortlist for Devon children's services

COMMERCIAL: Virgin Healthcare, Serco and Devon Partnership Trust have been shortlisted as potential providers of integrated children’s services in Devon.
Voluntary redundancies dominate PCT pay-offs

Two thirds of the cost of paying off primary care trust managers to make early financial savings went on allowing them to retire early or volunteer to leave the NHS.
Ward moves at Western Sussex Hospitals

STRUCTURE: The last remaining patients at one of Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust’s hospital sites are being moved this week into new facilities, marking the end of a service redesign programme.
What's beneath the surface of the provider market?

This month’s trust chief executive barometer presents a relatively rosy picture of the NHS provider market.
Why clinical commissioners will be in search of a new approach

It has become clear that a new kind of commissioning will be needed to meet the many challenges ahead, say David Colin-Thomé and Georgina Craig.
Wide variations in children's care across England

NHS care for children varies starkly depending on where families live, a new report suggests.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals failing four hour A&E target

PERFORMANCE: Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust is set to fail the four hour accident and emergency standard in 2011-12.
Yeovil behind on surplus

FINANCE: Yeovil District Hospital Foundation Trust was behind plan on its surplus by £60,000 at the end of November 2011.

Alastair McLellan

Health Service Journal15 March 2012

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Health Service Journal
15 March 2012