Health Service Journal
26 November 2009
View all stories from this issue.
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A&E services under threat in £20m dispute
Two services that could ease winter pressures on accident and emergency at an acute trust in the West Midlands are under threat from a funding row. -
Acute sarcasm
HSJ reported in late September that Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust’s foundation application was being blocked by health minister Mike O’Brien. -
Alastair Henderson leaves NHS Employers
NHS Employers deputy director Alastair Henderson has been appointed Academy of Medical Royal Colleges chief executive. -
Andy Burnham welcomes staff sickness report
Health secretary Andy Burnham has welcomed recommendations designed to improve the health and wellbeing of NHS staff. -
Assisted suicide: life and death in the balance
Policy on the position of anyone who assists in a suicide is slowly changing, but health and care professionals must not run ahead of the law, says Corinne Slingo -
Book Review: Branding Yourself
It is best to let people know who you are from the start, says Hannah Lowry -
Brave new title for QIPP
The task of running the NHS with likely funding cuts appears to have gained yet another catchy title. -
Charities warn Andy Burnham of preferred provider fears
Health secretary Andy Burnham has been warned he is risking the future stability of the voluntary sector by abandoning the “any willing provider” model. -
Children's mental health provision criticised
Children in Wales are being let down by inadequate mental health services, with some young patients treated on adult wards, a multi-agency report has claimed. -
Community Services Bidder Information Event
Great Yarmouth and Waveney -
Confused patients appeal for simplified NHS regulation
Health profession regulators should standardise how they work, or even merge, to improve safety, patient groups have said. -
Conservative win could kill local NHS shake-up plans
The Conservatives have pledged to scrap current government proposals for reconfiguration in major services if they are voted into power. What could this mean for the many local changes already being deliberated? Alison Moore reports -
DH accepts full staff health and wellbeing recommendations
Every NHS organisation must draw up a plan to improve the health and wellbeing of its staff, following the acceptance of the Boorman review’s recommendations in full by the government. -
DH and unions thrash out deal on transfer of NHS staff pensions
The Department of Health and unions are close to a deal on allowing NHS employees who transfer to the private sector to keep their NHS pension, HSJ has been told. -
Dial something beginning with 9 for emergency
End Game has identified a potential gap in the Department of Health’s awareness campaigns. -
Diversity ambassador appointed
NHS Nottinghamshire County assistant director of strategy Kate Davies has been made a national ambassador for increasing diversity in public appointments. -
Doctor licensing requirement comes into force
Doctors in the UK must be licensed as well as registered with the General Medical Council following changes introduced this week. -
Doggy bag
End Game’s colleagues were invited to take part in a “unique” fundraising auction while attending the Family Planning Association’s annual dinner and dance. -
Ex-NHS boss backs Tory reforms
A Conservative policy to free the health service from Department of Health control is being backed by former NHS boss Lord Crisp. -
Future NHS chief execs 'put off' by TV dramas
Young people may be discouraged from pursuing careers in the NHS by watching TV hospital dramas full of staff acting unprofessionally, the new chief executive of Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has said. -
Government to accept NHS staff sickness plan
The government is set to accept a range of recommendations to drive down staff sickness and absence in the NHS. -
GP spending role debated
Practice based commissioning should be replaced by consortia with “real” budgets but comprising clinicians from both primary and secondary care, according to a think tank report. -
Health service involvement 'could help curb domestic abuse'
Closer links between independent domestic violence advisers and health services could prevent further abuse against women facing severe domestic violence, a report has found. -
Hospital cleaning firm managers arrested in blackmail probe
Police have raided the office of an NHS hospital cleaning company in south west London, arresting three senior managers on suspicion of blackmailing foreign members of staff. -
Hospital group goes into administration following fraud trial
The private hospital group at the centre of a collapsed fraud trial earlier this year has gone into administration. -
How to spot the NHS leaders of the future
With budget pressures escalating, organisations need to identify those worth developing as tomorrow’s leaders. Mike Hay explains the best way to do this -
Ian Dalton's swine flu update - next steps in the vaccination programme
In his weekly update for HSJ and Nursing Times, national director for NHS flu resilience Ian Dalton discusses the latest developments in UK swine flu preparations -
Infection control measures 'ineffective'
A hospital’s measures to prevent the spread of infections such as C difficile have been branded “ineffective” by inspectors. -
Information for improvement - tools and measures for finance and workforce management
The NHS is entering a new phase in which resources will be tighter than ever, demands will continue to rise and quality must still be driven up along with productivity. -
Jenny Rogers on managing your manager
While millions of words are routinely given to the topic of managing subordinates, relatively few are ever devoted to how to manage upwards. -
London hospital managers cleared of bullying
A report into the handling of concerns by doctors involved in the Baby P case will clear hospital managers of bullying and harassment, HSJ understands. -
Map of Medicine - plot the best pathway to care
A software based tool gives clinicians a picture of the ideal route patients need to take for many important conditions. Lynne Greenwood explains how it works -
Marriage counselling to be offered as part of talking therapies scheme
Marriage counselling will be offered as part of the government’s talking therapies programme, health secretary Andy Burnham is to announce this week. -
Media Watch: couples therapy
One story got blanket coverage in the papers this week, largely down to it having what is known in the trade as a good news “hook”. -
Michael White: the Queen's Speech
For a seven minute royal speech which was criticised for not once mentioning what David Cameron called “the three letters that should be in any Queen’s Speech” - NHS - it was quite a boisterous occasion for health and social services. So let us start on a positive party political note. -
Mike O’Brien paints ‘shame’ profiles
Health minister Mike O’Brien has described the types of NHS managers who will be named and shamed for introducing “slash and burn” cuts. -
Next year's tariff delayed until mid-February
The Department of Health has warned the payment by results tariff for 2010-11 will be delayed due to the late publication of the pre-budget report this year. -
NHS boards are still not getting the message
The latest Dr Foster Intelligence analysis of trusts’ mortality rates contains both good and baffling news. -
NHS constitution: report says staff need more enthusiasm
The NHS constitution suffers from a “vision gap” and is having less impact than strategic health authorities think, according to research commissioned by the Department of Health. -
Nick Bosanquet: history offers the NHS survival skills
As rising costs and a tidal wave of public expectations push the NHS towards a new funding crisis, managers would do well to study the lessons history offers -
North London acute trusts considering merger
Two hospital trusts in north London are considering a merger. -
Out of hours contact can prevent unnecessary admissions
People with long term conditions who can contact a clinician fast may avoid going into hospital, reports Alison Moore -
Patient safety reporting still fails to reach boards in 1 in 10 acute trusts
One in 10 hospital trusts have confessed to not regularly reporting patient safety and outcomes at board level, more than a year after Lord Darzi’s next stage review said care quality should be “at the heart of the NHS”. -
Pragmatism versus populism will prove a tough test for the Tories
Adjudicating on service reconfigurations will prove a tough test for an incoming Tory government. -
Queen's Speech outlines personal care plans
Plans to offer free personal care to the 280,000 people with the “highest needs” were outlined as part of the Queen’s Speech today. -
Scottish health boards urged to work more closely with councils
Sir John Arbuthnott has recommended closer working between Scottish councils and health boards as part of his review of shared services across the Clyde Valley. -
Scrabble champion
As if working in the health service were not sufficiently challenging, End Game has learnt that one NHS back room worker has bigger fish to fry. -
Simon Stevens on incentives for doctors vs incentives for patients
Stop the presses for some shock news. British GPs are happy. At least relatively speaking. -
South Essex provider shortlist cut to three
South Essex Partnership University Foundation Trust has withdrawn from a contest to take over the management of the provider arm of NHS South West Essex. -
Steve Bundred to leave Audit Commission
Audit Commission chief executive Steve Bundred has given notice of his intention to stand down during the first half of 2010. -
Swine flu could lead to shortage of children's intensive care beds
The number of children suffering from swine flu and other respiratory infections this winter might cause a shortage of NHS intensive care beds. -
Tories pledge rapid emergency budget
The Conservatives would hold an “emergency budget” within 50 days of winning a general election, David Cameron has said. -
Trust in court over patient safety
A hospital trust faces prosecution over health and safety breaches linked to the death of a mother who had just given birth. -
Trust may halt weekend surgery to cut costs
A Scottish hospital may close its surgical ward on Saturdays and Sundays to cut costs, although NHS managers stressed its emergency surgery service would continue. -
Under-fives to receive swine flu jab
The NHS is to begin vaccinating healthy children under the age of five against swine flu, it has been confirmed. -
Wide variations in A&E treatment speed
There are significant regional variations in the speed at which patients are dealt with by their local accident and emergency department, according to a report from the NHS Information Centre. -
Your Humble Servant: election gamble
‘There is no easy or predictable way of knowing how to please Labour and live to tell the tale’
