Health Service Journal
2 August 2012

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Peterborough and Cambridgeshire PCT cluster gets new chair

WORKFORCE: John Barratt is to take over as chair of the Peterborough and Cambridgeshire PCT cluster after Maureen Donnelly accepted a post as lay chair designate of a CCG.
Tees Valley mulls 'shared public health service'

STRUCTURE: Teesside is considering creating a shared public health service for the Tees Valley.
Alder Hey Children's Trust responds to court case decision

Alder Hey Children’s Foundation Trust has told HSJ it recognises consultant surgeon Edwin Jesudason as a whistleblower.
Analysed: A&E performance in Bristol

This HSJ Local Briefing looks at how to reverse a decline in performance at Bristol’s A&E departments.
Analysed: Financial crisis at Peterborough and Stamford

This briefing looks at how to address the anticipated financial deficit of Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals Foundation Trust.
Ashford and St Peter’s pens new ‘healthy’ catering contract

COMMERCIAL: Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has launched new “Essential Goodness” menus and food, in partnership with catering contractor OCS.
Avon and Wiltshire reaches out to service users

PERFORMANCE: Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust is holding a series of patient and public engagement events, following the publication of a highly critical report of the trust’s governance.
Beds may seek partner for FT bid

STRUCTURE: The chief executive of Bedford Hospital Trust has said the organisation has to keep open all options on the road to foundation trust status – including working with a partner.
Blood stocks boosted for Olympics

Blood stocks have been boosted by 30 per cent in preparation for the Olympics, NHS Blood and Transplant has said.
Boards approve case for £2.1bn merger

The boards of three foundation trusts in London have agreed a strategic outline case for a merger that would create the largest trust in England.
Breaches of antibiotic policy leave trust struggling to combat C diff

PERFORMANCE: Failures in antibiotic prescribing have left Pennine Acute Trust struggling to hit targets for reducing C difficile infections, trust board papers show.
Bristol acutes to merge

STRUCTURE: University Hospitals Bristol Foundation Trust and North Bristol Trust have agreed to work towards a merger, potentially creating an organisation with an annual turnover of almost £1 billion.
Bristol cluster finance director leaves post

WORKFORCE: The finance director of the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire primary care trust cluster has left.
Building work starts for new £1.4m Leicester cancer unit

STRUCTURE: Building work on a new £1.4m state-of-the-art children and young people’s cancer unit at the Leicester Royal Infirmary has begun.
C diff outbreak at West Suffolk

PERFORMANCE: Four cases of c difficile infection on a stroke ward in West Suffolk Hospital is being investigated as an outbreak, NHS Suffolk board was told.
C Difficile problem at Hinchingbrooke

PERFORMANCE: Hinchingbrooke Healthcare Trust had five cases of clostridium difficile in the first three months of this financial year against a full year target of six, the PCT cluster board heard.
Call for £1.3bn CCG funding handover

Senior NHS figures are calling for £1.3bn of funding to be handed to clinical commissioning groups, amid signs the NHS Commissioning Board is wavering over whether to topslice the sum from local budgets.
Cambridge Hospitals missing 18 week target

PERFORMANCE: Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust is not meeting the 18 week referral-to-treatment standard and progress on doing so has fallen behind plan, the PCT cluster board heard. The trust is likely to miss agreed recovery targets for some specialities.
Cambridge University Hospitals fails two key standards

PERFORMANCE: Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust is failing two key standards - the four hour wait in A&E and the 18 week referral-to-treatment standard.
Cambridge University Hospitals makes loss

FINANCE: Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust made a loss of £1.8m in the first two months of the financial year.
Cambridgeshire and Luton face health visitor shortfall

WORKFORCE: The total number of health visitors in Cambridgeshire and Luton needs to double by 2015 to meet the government’s pledge to provide 4200 extra health visitors nationally.
Cambridgeshire redesigns sexual health services

SERVICES: NHS Cambridgeshire is developing and redesigning its sexual health and contraceptive services to improve patient choice and reduce health inequalities.
Caution urged on referrals to private centre

A local medical committee has taken the unprecedented step of warning local GPs to consider whether an independent treatment centre is the right choice for their patients.
Children's ward 'fully staffed again'

A children’s ward that did not admit patients for three weeks because of a staff shortage has returned to full service.
Cluster finds extra funding to tackle year-plus IVF waiters

PERFORMANCE: Minutes of NHS South West London’s performance committee said money would be made available to reduce the number of IVF patients waiting longer than a year at one of the hospitals serving the cluster.
Combating mortality rates

A casenote review of how one trust chose to explore the root of its high mortality rate.
Commissioners could be incentivised not to give services additional protection

Commissioners may be given a “financial incentive” not to designate large numbers of NHS services for extra regulatory protection, future sector regulator Monitor has suggested.
Commissioners delay cuts to practices’ income

Commissioners in south-west London are delaying significant cuts to the income of some overfunded GP practices in Wandsworth and Croydon to avoid “destabilising” them.
Consultant quits over diagnostic 'failures'

A whistleblower has resigned from his job as a consultant at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust, complaining about a “complete failure of corporate leadership” at the trust.
Consultation launched on Trafford A&E downgrade

STRUCTURE: NHS Trafford has begun public consultation on proposals to replace the accident and emergency unit at Trafford General Hospital with an urgent care centre.
CQC chair must consider her position

The decision by Care Quality Commission chair Jo Williams to ask Andrew Lansley to remove non-executive director and “whistleblower” Kay Sheldon from the CQC board raised eyebrows in Whitehall and Westminster.
CQC warns reform could hamper safeguarding

Advances in safeguarding patients that came out of the Shipman inquiry must not be lost amid NHS reforms, says a report on the management of controlled drugs.
CQC whistleblower to stay on the board

The Care Quality Commission non-executive director who gave highly critical evidence to the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust Public Inquiry will stay on the regulator’s board, despite attempts by its chair to remove her.
Data difficulties hit SHIP QIPP plans

FINANCE: Efficiency savings in the Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth primary care trust cluster are reported as being on plan, despite local data problems.
Directors leave Mid Yorks as its troubles escalate

WORKFORCE: The nursing director and medical director are leaving Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, it has announced, as it continues to face high-profile service problems.
Dorset County savings plans dependent on staff turnover

WORKFORCE: Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust is dependent upon staff leaving to achieve its savings plan, board papers reveal.
Dorset Healthcare chief exec goes 'back to the floor'

WORKFORCE: The chief executive of Dorset Healthcare Foundation Trust has been going “back to the floor” and shadowing staff on the front line.
Dorset Heathcare anticipates Monitor downgrade

PERFORMANCE: Dorset Heathcare Foundation Trust are anticipating Monitor will downgrade their governance risk rating to amber/green.
East and North Herts recording early £1m surplus

FINANCE: East and North Hertfordshire Trust had a surplus of over £1m in May, slightly ahead of target, and a financial risk rating of three which it hopes to maintain for the rest of the financial year.
East and North Herts turns to NHS Professionals for temp staff

WORKFORCE: NHS Professionals is expected to take over the provision of temporary staff at East and North Hertfordshire Trust at the end of the month.
East Lancs Hospitals makes 'excellent progress' on FT application

STRUCTURE: East Lancashire Hospitals Trust made “excellent progress” in the last month on its application for foundation trust status, according to an update report to the trust board.
East of England ambulance service defends service reorganisation

WORKFORCE: An ambulance trust has defended a controversial review of the organisation of staffing and services across its region.
England 'could learn integration lessons from Wales'

The NHS in England could learn lessons from Wales when it comes to getting different parts of the health service to work together, the chief executive of NHS Wales has said.
Fish for the best variety of CCG

CCGs will be more like a colourful array of tropical fish than a dull salmon farm.
Four SW trusts sign up to research on admissions

RESEARCH: Four acute trusts in the South West are taking part in a study that aims to identify how decision making and clinical experience can reduce unnecessary admissions.
Hampshire providers struggle on emergency target

PERFORMANCE: Providers in the Hampshire area have struggled to meet the four hour accident and emergency waiting times target in quarter one of 2012-13.
Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees CCG establishes five clinical workstreams

STRUCTURE: NHS Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees CCG is enshrining five clinical workstream groups in its constitution.
Health Education England unveils senior management team

Five directors making up the senior management team at Health Education England have been named today.
HealthWatch seeks 'assurance' over Harmoni out-of-hours service

PERFORMANCE: Minutes of the meeting of the Kingston Commissioning Committee said it had been told some record checks were being done by an administrator rather than a medic.
Heart of England begins hearing loss research project

RESEARCH: Heart of England Foundation Trust has launched a pilot project with charity Action on Hearing Loss in a bid to improve nursing practice for older patients with hearing difficulties.
Herts trust reviews neonatal never event

PERFORMANCE: A case of MRSA in a neonate has sparked an internal ‘never event’ review at East and North Hertfordshire Trust.
High Court stops Alder Hey taking action against 'whistleblower'

A High Court injunction has been issued to prevent Alder Hey Children’s Foundation Trust from staging a meeting which could have led to the dismissal of a paediatric surgeon who had raised concerns about safety.
Hospitals face 'voting booths' in A&E to measure patient experience

Hospitals may have to install voting booths in inpatient wards and A&E to measure patient experience, HSJ can reveal.
Hourly checks help Salford Royal tackle falls and ulcers

PERFORMANCE: One patient was harmed in a fall at Salford Royal hospital and seven suffered pressure ulcers in June, shows the FT’s latest transparency report.
Hunts CCGs block Hinchingbrooke A&E redesign funds

FINANCE: A plan to redesign the ‘front of house’ approach to A&E at Hinchingbrooke Hospital has failed to win support from local GPs.
Imperial orders further audit of 'retained swabs' after surgery

PERFORMANCE: Imperial College Healthcare Trust has ordered a further audit of the number of swabs left inside patients after surgery, minutes reveal.
Improved digital mammography for Suffolk

PERFORMANCE: Women in the Mildenhall area are to benefit from an improved mobile breast screening unit fitted with new digital imaging technology.
In control of their condition

Health and wellbeing clinics are making patients feel more informed and in control.
Into the patient pathway

Assessment and care planning for a healthy life after cancer is urgent.
Investment in Essex memory services

FINANCE: NHS North Essex is investing over £250,000 to improve memory services in Mid Essex and keep waiting lists down.
Ipswich's data on 18-weeks target to be faces assessment

PERFORMANCE: An independent assessment of data quality at Ipswich Hospital is to be carried out after concerns were raised about some patients not being recorded as on an 18 week pathway.
Leicestershire CCG launches new website

STRUCTURE: A new website has been launched by the West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group for the public to access information about the new organisation.
Local area team budgets dwarf CCG funds

Several of the NHS Commissioning Board’s local arms will have enormous budgets - dwarfing those of most clinical commissioning groups - HSJ estimates show.
Lynne Wigens appointed at Ipswich

WORKFORCE: Lynne Wigens has been appointed director of nursing and quality at Ipswich Hospital Trust.
Make time for talking

Talking AS is a web-based tool that lets patients maximise limited time.
Mandarins' procedures to be reviewed

Whitehall civil servants may take lessons from their New Zealand counterparts in a shake-up of how government works.
Media Watch: NHS in the Olympics

On Monday, papers were still discussing the Olympic opening ceremony.
Mental health shake-up mooted for Kent

STRUCTURE: Commissioners in Kent have set out plans to reconfigure services for mental health patients experiencing a “crisis”, after a review identified weaknesses with the current layout.
Michael White: Oh, Danny Boyle...

I’m not sure which was the more unexpected feature of the Olympic opening ceremony - the Queen “parachuting in” with James Bond or a slice of priceless, prime-time global TV devoted to praise of our NHS and the young patients of Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Middlesbrough holds first health and wellbeing board meeting

STRUCTURE: The first meeting of the health and wellbeing board meeting for Middlesbrough was held in June.
Monitor drops controversial credit rating plan

Future healthcare sector regulator Monitor has scrapped many of the controversial restrictions it had proposed placing on providers of essential NHS services, including debt caps, external credit ratings, and curbs on dividend payments.
More Legionnaires' cases confirmed

Two more cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been confirmed in a Stoke-on-Trent outbreak and one patient is in a critical condition.
More OOH appointments at Colchester hospital

PERFORMANCE: More weekend and evening appointments are to be held at Colchester General Hospital for patients who need diagnostic tests.
Most powerful hospital trusts ask for more funding

England’s 10 most prestigious teaching and research hospital trusts have asked the Department of Health and the Treasury for a 10 per cent top-up to their tariff payments, HSJ can reveal.
MPs back FTs over open government level playing field

The government must ensure public sector bodies like NHS trusts are not hampered by Freedom of Information (FoI) rules and can compete on a “level playing field” with private providers, say MPs.
Neil Churchill: living within our means locally

It’s predicted the NHS will have to learn to live on half its long-term growth rate
New Cambridgeshire and Peterborough FT chair named

WORKFORCE: A new chair is taking over at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust.
New chief exec for Yarmouth CIC

WORKFORCE: Tracy Cannell has been appointed permanent chief executive of East Coast Community Healthcare, which provides community services in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area.
New HealthWatch England chair announced

Anna Bradley, chair of the General Optical Council, is to chair HealthWatch England, it was confirmed today.
New home palliative care service for west Norfolk

STRUCTURE: A new hospice at home service has been commissioned in west Norfolk and should be operational from September.
New service to enhance patient physical health and wellbeing

STRUCTURE: South Essex Partnership University Foundation Trust has launched a new activity co-ordinator service.
New specialist nurse service for Norfolk and Suffolk

WORKFORCE: Bliss, the special care baby charity, has announced a new nursing post to support the families of premature and sick babies in the East of England.
New vice chair for James Paget FT

WORKFORCE: Peter Franzen is to become the vice chair at James Paget University Hospitals Foundation Trust.
NHS Cambridgeshire warns on QIPP delivery

FINANCE: Failing to deliver on QIPP projects could lead to an overspend of £13m in the acute sector for NHS Cambridgeshire, the cluster board has warned.
NHS Leeds loses holiday payment test tribunal

Appeal judges have spelled out the law on when a worker is entitled to payment in lieu of annual leave not taken because of long-term absence from their job through sickness.
NHS regulator drops 'Chinese walls' plan

Foundation trust regulator Monitor has scrapped its plan to build “Chinese walls” within its organisation to separate its existing role from its future responsibility to regulate the entire NHS healthcare sector.
Nicholson opens 'advanced' Wirral GP practice

STRUCTURE: NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson has formally opened the new premises of a Wirral GP partnership, at which national commissioning leader James Kingsland is a senior partner.
Nineteen consultants strike at Dorset County

WORKFORCE: Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust was forced to cancel 14 planned operations and 86 out patient appointments as a result of the strike by members of the Bristish Medical Association in June.
Noel Plumridge: the business of mental health

Delays to the planned mental health tariff will not surprise anyone in the field.
Non-acute services see rise in transfer delays

The level of delayed transfers of care attributed to non-acute NHS services has been rising consistently over the past two years, HSJ analysis has revealed.
North East Hants and Farnham CCG appoints more board members

WORKFORCE: NHS North East Hampshire and Farnham clinical commissioning group has announced two key board-level appointments.
Olympic beds donated to Tunisia

More than 300 hospital beds which featured in the Olympic Games opening ceremony are to be donated to hospitals in Tunisia.
Patient dies in legionnaires' outbreak

One of the patients affected by a legionnaires’ disease outbreak has died in hospital, the Health Protection Agency has said.
Pennine Acute reports ‘excellent progress’ despite ‘never event’

PERFORMANCE: Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust has reported that it is on course to meet 38 of the 43 performance indicators in its 2012-13 business plan, but has failed in its objective to have zero “never events” in the year.
Poor social care providers should be named says Midlands council

A Midlands county council has proposed naming and shaming providers of poor care in a shake-up of adult social services.
Private providers in NHS 'likely' to escape toughest regulatory controls

Only a “very small” number of NHS services provided by private firms face the toughest regulatory controls, sector leaders have insisted following the publication of new Monitor guidance.
Questions over Monitor’s role will be raised

With the heat dissipating after the battle over the Health Act, the light is finally starting to fall on the mechanics of the reformed NHS.
Readers' letters - 2 August 2012

Local tariffs can cut risk for providers and commissioners
Ron Calvert to run healthcare provider in Australia

WORKFORCE: Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals Foundation Trust chief executive Ron Calvert is leaving to run a healthcare organisation in Australia, he has announced.
Royal Bolton closes walk-in centre

STRUCTURE: Royal Bolton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has closed a nurse-led walk-in centre in Bolton town centre as part of a reorganisation of urgent care.
Salford Royal completes £200m revamp

STRUCTURE: Salford Royal FT has completed a £200 million, five-year redevelopment project with finishing touches including new car parks, covered walkways and outdoor areas.
Serco moves closer to taking over Suffolk community services

Serco is a step nearer running community services in Suffolk after signing a contract with the PCT.
Seven in hospital in new Legionnaire's outbreak

Seven people are being treated in hospital for Legionnaires’ disease after an outbreak in Stoke.
Sharp fall in hospital infections

The number of people catching a killer bug during their stay in Welsh hospitals has dropped by more than a third in a year, a new report has revealed.
SHIP cluster overlooks bank holiday impact on activity levels

PERFORMANCE: Activity levels in the Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth primary care trust cluster area continue to be up on last year and higher than planned.
SHIP cluster U-turns on Lucentis policy after price is slashed

A primary care trust cluster under the threat of legal action for recommending the use of an unlicensed drug has revoked the policy after the pharmaceutical company cut the price of the medicine.
SHIP underspending on staff

WORKFORCE: The Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth primary care trust cluster is currently spending £500,000 less than planned on workforce.
Signficant reduction in infection at Liverpool and Broadgreen

PERFORMANCE: Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust has made “excellent progress” in reducing MRSA and other infections, according to the trust’s Quality Account for 2011-12.
Some 'abolished' PCT and SHA staff to stay on after April 2013

Some primary care trust and strategic health authority staff may be kept on for up to a year after April 2013 to help “close down” the abolished organisations, it has emerged.
Somerset Partnership in joint working discussions

STRUCTURE: The chair and chief executive of Somerset Partnership Foundation Trust have met with their counterparts at Yeovil District Hospital Foundation Trust to discuss potential for joint working.
Somerset Partnership reports high levels of emergency readmissions

PERFORMANCE: More than 12 per cent of psychiatric patients at Somerset Partnership Foundation Trust were readmitted as a psychiatric emergency within 28 days of discharge during June 2012.
South Manchester University hospital £69K below plan

FINANCE: University Hospital of South Manchester FT reported a surplus of £80,000 at the end of June against a planned surplus of about £150,000, the trust’s latest finance report shows.
South Tees buys 'responsive' website

COMMERCIAL: South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has launched a website, described by the firm which designed it as the first “responsive” site of any NHS trust.
Southern Health appoints COO

WORKFORCE: Southern Health Foundation Trust has appointed Dr Helen McCormack as chief medical officer.
Stepping Hill has 'excellent' patient environment

PERFORMANCE: Stepping Hill Hospital has scored the highest possible rating for its patient environment in an independent inspection.
Stockport FT in surplus despite underlying debts of £1.5m

FINANCE: Stockport FT had a surplus of £251,000 at the end of June, £29,000 ahead of its planned surplus, but reported an underlying deficit of nearly £1.5m.
Stockport FT records 'underlying' deficit of £1.5m

FINANCE: The foundation trust’s “underlying” financial performance for the first three months of 2012-13 was a deficit of £1.5m, although one-off benefits from the previous year allowed it to report a surplus for the quarter, its latest finance report shows.
Stop moving patients to tears

Patients can become upset and treatment jeopardised when continuity is broken.
Suffolk employs £500-a-day consultants for up to five years

WORKFORCE: NHS Suffolk is employing a number of consultants at up to £500 a day who have been working for the organisation up to five years, its board heard.
Suffolks fails to hit ambulance targets

PERFORMANCE: Ambulance handover times at hospitals in Suffolk are failing to meet national targets.
Support confirmed for four types of clinical network

Clinical networks covering four condition-areas will be centrally-funded and hosted by the NHS Commissioning Board, it confirmed today.
Survey finds 91pc of people have not heard of telehealth

A YouGov survey has revealed 91 per cent of UK adults have never heard of telehealth or telecare – despite the Department of Health’s Three Million Lives campaign to promote it.
Sussex trust fights back over reconfig plan criticism

STRUCTURE: A Sussex acute and community trust has fought back following criticism of its reconfiguration plans from its own consultants and two local campaign groups backed by the media.
Sutton GPs oppose downgrade of local hospital

GPs are opposing a proposed downgrade of accident and emergency and maternity services at St Helier Hospital in south London, it has emerged.
The hard data man’s soft spot

The executive medical director of the NHS Information Centre is an information evangelist but says patients’ stories are as relevant as numbers.
The magic number?

The ‘net promoter score’ could drive up quality, but we have to ask the right questions.
Torbay fined over information breach

PERFORMANCE: Torbay Care Trust has been fined £175,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office after the sensitive details of more than 1,000 employees were accidentally published on the trust’s website.
Treasury approves £72m funding for North Cumbria hospital rebuild

FINANCE: The Treasury has approved capital funding of £71.6m to allow the trust to redevelop its West Cumberland Hospital, North Cumbria University Hospitals reported yesterday.
Trust ends 'reporting break' on referral-to-treatment time reporting

PERFORMANCE: Imperial College Healthcare Trust has started reporting its 18-week waiting time figures again, after a six-month break.
Trust enters joint venture to market performance management software

COMMERCIAL: The south east London mental and community health services trust has entered a joint venture to market its medical performance management software.
Trust's response to patient who died in police custody ruled 'inadequate'

PERFORMANCE: The South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services in south London, has been criticised by a jury for its “inadequate” response to a patient who later died in police custody.
Two new lay members for Cannock Chase CCG

WORKFORCE: Two new lay members have joined the governing bodyof the Cannock Chase Clinical Commissioning Group based in Staffordshire.
Wandsworth fraud investigation into 'allegations of overcharging patients'

FINANCE: NHS Wandsworth was investigating nine fraud cases in April, minutes disclose.
West Hants CCG chosen to trial year of care tariff

STRUCTURE: West Hampshire clinical commissioning group has been confirmed as an “early implementer” site to trial a year of care tariff for patients with long term conditions.
West Suffolk invests in cataract treatment

SERVICES: West Suffolk Hospital has invested £125,000 in new equipment which improve cataract surgery.
Why NHS staff are going solo

The conditions are right for frontline staff to consider a move towards independence.
Winterbourne View commissioners under fire

“Out of sight, out of mind” commissioning contributed to the abuse of patients at Winterbourne View Hospital going unchecked for more than four years, a serious case review has found.
Wye Valley chief executive takes early retirement

WORKFORCE: The chief executive of the Wye Valley Trust, Martin Woodford, has taken voluntary early retirment after a period of sick leave, it has been announced.
Yeovil involved in 66 clinical studies

CLINICAL RESEARCH: Yeovil District Hospital Foundation Trust is one of the most active small, acute NHS trusts in the country in terms of reserach, a new league table has revealed.

Alastair McLellan

Health Service Journal2 August 2012

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Health Service Journal
2 August 2012