Health Service Journal
Clare Lomas
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Patient safety agency cut involvement cash
29 July 2010
The National Patient Safety Agency more than halved its spending on patient and public involvement over the last four years. -
Quality vascular surgery ‘requires centralisation’
22 July 2010
Vascular surgery should be centralised before strategic health authorities and primary care trusts are abolished, the president of the Vascular Society has argued. Cliff Shearman’s comments follow the publication of an audit calling for greater centralisation to improve quality. -
Controversial urgent care unit will not revert to full A&E status
22 July 2010
Burnley urgent care centre will not return to full accident and emergency status but will be upgraded to treat more emergency patients. -
Centralising stroke services improves care, says NHS London
20-Jul-2010
The centralisation of stroke services across London has more than tripled the number of patients receiving life-saving clot busting treatment in just five months, according to latest figures from NHS London. -
NHS South Central defends decision to fluoridate water supplies
15 July 2010
NHS South Central has defended its decision to fluoridate the local water supply after opponents seized on the government’s invitation to nominate laws they would like to see axed. -
Consultants criticise white paper's lack of acute focus
14-Jul-2010
Senior hospital clinicians have criticised the white paper for overlooking the role of the acute sector in the commissioning of services for patients. -
White paper timeline
14-Jul-2010
When the changes outlined in the white paper will happen -
NICE publishes first quality standards
30-Jun-2010
Trusts should screen all stroke patients for cognitive impairment within six weeks of diagnosis, according to the first set of quality standards to be published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. -
PCTs to 'road test' direct payments to patients
28-Jun-2010
Primary care trusts in London and Liverpool will be among the first to “road test” direct payments for personal health budgets, care services minister Paul Burstow announced today. -
Trusts warned over instrument checks
10 June 2010
Trusts not performing quality assurance checks on surgical instruments before use could risk litigation and endanger patients’ lives, HSJ has been told. -
Choice more important to patients than doctors
3 June 2010
GPs resistant to offering choice of hospital treatment are underestimating its importance to patients and undermining its ability to improve quality of care. -
C diff deaths at Salford Royal
2-Jun-2010
An investigation is under way at one of the country’s top performing trusts following an outbreak of C difficile. -
‘Patient safety must survive quango cull’
2-Jun-2010
Health Foundation chief executive Stephen Thornton has urged health secretary Andrew Lansley to put patient safety “centre stage” and to “cull [NHS] quangos with care”. -
NHS management consultancy bill defended
20 May 2010
A trust facing the loss of up to 600 staff has defended its decision to spend £3.4m on management consultants in three years. -
Dame Sally Davies appointed as interim CMO
10-May-2010
Professor Dame Sally Davies has been appointed as interim chief medical officer for England, HSJ understands. -
Burnley A&E campaigner loses seat
7-May-2010
Labour MP Gordon Prentice has lost his Pendle seat to the Conservatives. -
Targeted treatments could reduce long term NHS costs
28-Apr-2010
The NHS could make significant cost savings if it made better use of diagnostic tests and patient information to tailor treatment to individual patient groups, according to a report by international researchers. -
Clusters show potential to halve number of PCTs
22 April 2010
New commissioning “clusters” could foretell a reduction in the number of primary care trust of up to 50 per cent, HSJ has been told. -
Volcanic ash cloud affects cancer drug supplies
22 April 2010
The fallout from the volcanic eruption in Iceland has left cancer patients in the UK without life-extending drug treatment and vital stem cells for bone marrow transplants. -
West Midlands fares worst on patient dignity target
15 April 2010
NHS West Midlands has mounted a robust defence of trusts in the region which failed to meet the target on delivering same sex accommodation. -
NHS North West urged to be ‘proactive’ about performance improvement
1-Apr-2010
NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson has told NHS North West to adopt a more “proactive approach” to improving performance across the region. -
NPSA urges monthly patient safety reporting from trusts
31-Mar-2010
The National Patient Safety Agency has advised trusts to report patient safety incidents more regularly to avoid coming under scrutiny from the Care Quality Commission. -
West Midlands to cluster PCTs to reduce management costs
25 March 2010
NHS West Midlands is to “cluster” its primary care trusts to reduce management costs and strengthen joint working on quality and productivity. -
Darzi warns against cutting clinical staff
25 March 2010
Cutting clinical staff to save money in the recession would be “catastrophic” for the NHS, surgeon and former health minister Lord Darzi has warned. -
DH lead warns against ‘results only’ pathology
18 March 2010
A “results only” pathology service could lead to a “dumbing down” of the workforce and inappropriate diagnostic testing, the national clinical director for pathology has warned. -
Questions over national cold weather plan
18 March 2010
Calls for the creation of a national “cold weather plan” have sparked concerns over who should deliver it among health and social care, and primary and acute care. -
CMO's report: national plan needed to cut winter death toll
15-Mar-2010
A national cold weather plan should be developed to help reduce England’s annual winter death toll, chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson has said in his final annual report. -
CQC completes non-executive board line up
12-Mar-2010
The Care Quality Commission has appointed John Harwood as its sixth non-executive board member. -
Andrew Lansley backs Burnley crusade
11 March 2010
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has backed calls for accident and emergency status to be restored to the emergency service at Burnley General Hospital in Lancashire. -
DH launches £8m campaign to improve early diagnosis of cancer
8-Mar-2010
Primary care trusts can bid for a share of an £8m government fund to help improve the early diagnosis of cancer, the Department of Health announced today. -
NHS West Midlands faces review of its services
4 March 2010
NHS services across the West Midlands are to be reviewed by a panel of senior doctors following last week’s damning report into Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust. -
David Nicholson calls for 'more urgency' in stroke care
2-Mar-2010
NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson has said trusts must put “more urgency” into meeting the requirements of the national stroke strategy. -
Basildon 'guilty' over patient death
26-Feb-2010
Officials at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals Foundation Trust in Essex have today pleaded guilty to health and safety failings that led to the death of a patient with learning disabilities. -
COPD strategy launch
25 February 2010
The Department of Health has launched a consultation on a national strategy to help tackle chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. -
Nurse specialists 'save money'
25 February 2010
The NHS could save millions by giving all patients with long term conditions access to a specialist nurse, according to the RCN. -
NPSA halts search for chief executive
18 February 2010
The National Patient Safety Agency has put off its search for a new chief executive amid a Department of Health clampdown on senior appointments at arm’s length bodies. -
Dorset Hospital makes U-turn on redundancies
18 February 2010
Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust has made a U-turn on its decision to axe 28 managerial posts by next month - a move which would have cost £3m in redundancy packages. -
New chief exec for Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust
18 February 2010
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust has appointed Rachel Newson as chief executive. -
Investment in prevention 'crucial' during recession
11 February 2010
The NHS must spend more on ill health prevention despite the public spending squeeze, according to a major report on health inequalities published today. -
NHS boards must focus on 'near misses' to make savings
11 February 2010
Trust boards that focus on reducing “near misses”, rather than just individual serious adverse events, could make massive savings, according to an independent advisory group. -
Heart of Birmingham PCT appoints new interim chief exec
5-Feb-2010
Heart of Birmingham teaching primary care trust has appointed Kevin McGee as its interim chief executive. -
Trusts told to monitor use of safer surgery checklist
4 February 2010
Many acute trusts could be failing to monitor the use of a mandatory patient safety tool, HSJ understands. -
PCTs urged to invest in prevention
4 February 2010
Primary care trusts could save more than £6.7m in five years by investing less than half that in measures to prevent ill health, according to an independent report commissioned by the government. -
Stroke action falls short of CQC standards
3-Feb-2010
Many stroke patients are still not spending enough of their hospital stay on a specialist stroke unit or having a brain scan within 24 hours, a National Audit Office report has revealed. -
Trust failings allowed nurse to kill, says report
27-Jan-2010
A series of failings at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust in West Yorkshire allowed former nurse Colin Norris to kill four elderly patients, an independent inquiry has found. -
SHA fears Londoners will see care squeezed in 2012
27-Jan-2010
NHS London has warned that healthcare in the capital could be “compromised” if the Department of Health does not provide its share of the £40m estimated costs resulting from the 2012 Olympic Games. -
NHS East of England urged to work better with PCTs
21 January 2010
NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson has advised East of England strategic health authority to make “demonstrable improvements” in its relationships with primary care trusts. -
Cancer care plans could cut costs
20-Jan-2010
Primary care trusts could make significant cost savings by adopting a more personalised approach to the follow-up care of cancer patients, national clinical director for cancer Professor Sir Mike Richards has said. -
DH appoints liver disease tsar to lead national strategy
18-Jan-2010
The Department of Health has appointed Dr Martin Lombard as the first national clinical director for liver disease. -
DH funds £20m pilot scheme for thalidomide survivors
15-Jan-2010
The Department of Health is to fund a £20m pilot scheme to help meet the long term health needs of thalidomide survivors, health minister Mike O’Brien announced today. -
Tories would apply tariff to end of life care
14 January 2010
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has pledged to extend the NHS tariff to include end of life care if the Conservatives win the next election. -
New chief executive for Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust
12-Jan-2010
Managing director of BT Health Sir Jonathan Michael has been appointed as the new chief executive of Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust. -
Tories target deprived areas in public health reform
7 January 2010
Poorer areas with the worst public health outcomes would be given a financial “premium” to reduce health inequalities, the Conservatives’ draft manifesto has pledged. -
Operating theatre 'scheduler' could save trusts more than £5m a year
21-Dec-2009
Appointing a dedicated operating theatre “scheduler” could save acute trusts more than £5m a year, latest information from the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement suggests. -
DH appoints new urgent and emergency care tsar
21-Dec-2009
The Department of Health has appointed Professor Matthew Cooke as the new national clinical director for urgent and emergency care. -
London hospital managers cleared of bullying
26 November 2009
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. -
A&E services under threat in £20m dispute
26 November 2009
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. -
NHS London suspends private care service
19-Nov-2009
Out of hospital services run by the independent company Clinicenta have been suspended by NHS London following concerns over the company’s performance. -
Stroke care gets better since health check
19 November 2009
Latest figures from the Department of Health indicate hospital trusts have improved stroke care since the Care Quality Commission undertook the 2008-09 annual health check. -
NHS London launches innovation fund
17-Nov-2009
NHS London has launched a multi-million pound fund to support and reward innovation in the region. -
Trusts fail to keep up pace on stroke targets
5 November 2009
Fewer than 40 per cent of acute and specialist trusts are achieving the required standards of stroke care. -
NHS South West named one of the best for stroke achievement
5 November 2009
A comprehensive review of stroke services across the South West has helped patients in the region receive some of the best stroke care in England. -
Councils and NHS urged to drive joint funding
29 October 2009
Councils and the NHS should examine how joint funding could help improve health and social care outcomes, according to an Audit Commission report. -
Managers in Partnership backs call for single code of conduct
28-Oct-2009
The union Managers in Partnership has backed a call for a single code of conduct between the Department of Health and regulators. -
NHS boards must not misinterpret 'firm performance management'
28-Oct-2009
NHS boards should be wary of misinterpreting “firm performance management” as bullying or harassment as the economic downturn takes it toll, a former strategic health authority chief executive has said. -
East Midlands SHA to consider changes to trust board
28-Oct-2009
East Midlands strategic health authority has been told to determine within three months whether leadership changes need to be made to the board of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust. -
SHA bullying investigation findings revealed
28-Oct-2009
The Department of Health has completely cleared East Midlands strategic health authority of bullying and harassing United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust. -
CQC calls for better information sharing on patient medications
27-Oct-2009
The Care Quality Commission has urged all hospitals and GP practices to ensure they are sharing “timely, complete” information on changes to patient medication. -
Minority of NHS boards put targets before quality, says DH
22 October 2009
A minority of NHS boards have prioritised targets, finance and governance over other aspects of service quality, the Department of Health has admitted. -
SHAs commit to original Darzi review strategies
8 October 2009
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. -
NHS East of England faces DH assurance test
8 October 2009
NHS East of England has been told it needs to adopt a more “bottom-up approach” to supporting primary care trusts in the region. -
Recession means PCTs must make 'hard choices' on spending
2-Oct-2009
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. -
Half of mental health inpatients feel unsafe
24 September 2009
Many mental health patients in England are being let down on central aspects of hospital care, a survey by the Care Quality Commission has revealed. -
Call to link up mental health and substance misuse services for dual diagnosis
24 September 2009
Forging stronger partnerships between mental health and substance misuse services could improve services and cut costs, the NHS Confederation has claimed. -
NHS South Central chief promises organisational change will be 'last resort'
24 September 2009
Organisational change will be a “last resort” for those in the South Central region placed “under review” by the Department of Health, the strategic health authority’s new chief executive has pledged. -
PCTs need to 'improve their performance' on youth mental health
17 September 2009
Primary care trusts need to “improve their performance” on providing child and adolescent mental health services for children and young people with learning disabilities. -
DH report into bullying and harassment allegations delayed
17 September 2009
An investigation into allegations of bullying and harassment against East Midlands strategic health authority has been extended until the end of the month. -
Generic medications warning from NHS Confederation
3 September 2009
Government plans to have branded versions of drugs routinely swapped for generic equivalents must not be allowed to compromise patient safety, the NHS Confederation has warned. -
NHS chiefs told saving planet will save them money
20 August 2009
NHS managers have been told to “set an example” by tackling climate change - and save their organisations money at the same time.
