Health Service Journal
Dave West

London trusts get research centre nod

12-Mar-2009
London’s three academic health super-trusts should work together to recapture the city’s position as a world leader in health research, Sir Ian Kennedy has said.
Edwina Hart steals march on NICE with kidney drug decision

29-Jan-2009
Welsh health minister Edwina Hart has angered some local health boards - and stepped further into NHS decision making - by ordering managers to pay for four unapproved drugs for advanced kidney cancer.
Trusts and commissioners argue over pay for quality

29-Jan-2009
The pay-for-quality arrangements set out by Lord Darzi in the next stage review are sparking disagreement between some trusts and commissioners.
BMA against more competition

29-Jan-2009
The British Medical Association has vowed to campaign against increased competition and privatisation as the NHS feels the effects of the recession.
Foundation trust group aims to be 'the elite'

29-Jan-2009
A group of 30 foundation and acute trusts hope to lead on quality and safety by forming a new membership organisation.
Trusts breached patient data protection rules

29-Jan-2009
Two trusts have been found in breach of the Data Protection Act for losing and failing to secure information about patients.
Hospital trusts face fines over mixed-sex wards

28-Jan-2009
Hospitals treating patients in mixed-sex wards will be fined from April next year, health secretary Alan Johnson announced today.A proportion of trusts' payments will be deducted if mixed wards are used other than where there is 'overriding clinical justification'.
Personalisation patchy says social care inspector

28-Jan-2009
Most social care users are receiving a 'one size fits all' service, according to the Commission for Social Care Inspection's final annual report.
NHS staff sickness remains a problem in Wales

28-Jan-2009
The auditor general for Wales has recommended the Assembly government scraps its blanket target for reducing sickness absence rates in NHS trusts.
Personalisation patchy says social care inspector

28-Jan-2009
Most social care users are receiving a 'one size fits all' service, according to the Commission for Social Care Inspection's final annual report.
Scotland extends 18 week wait target

28-Jan-2009
Scotland's 18 week referral-to-treatment target has been extended to around 100,000 patients annually who were not previously covered.
Leak reveals Alan Johnson's PFI concerns

26-Jan-2009
Health secretary Alan Johnson's concerns about the NHS in the recession have been leaked in an email from the chair of NHS South East Coast.
Chief medical officer launches public health awards

26-Jan-2009
Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson has established an annual awards event for those working in public health.
Two NHS trusts rapped for patient data loss

23-Jan-2009
Two trusts have been found in breach of the Data Protection Act for losing and failing to secure information about patients.
Barts and the London reviews computer virus damage

22-Jan-2009
A London hospital trust is to urgently review its IT support after a computer virus led to it declaring an 'internal major incident'.
PCTs fail to back up maternity care drive

22-Jan-2009
Flagship government commitments to improve safety and choice of maternity services may be compromised in large parts of England.
Service redesign key to survival of local hospitals

22-Jan-2009
A radical redesign of services could be essential for small local hospitals' survival.
North Yorkshire and York PCT appoints new chief executive

21-Jan-2009
A primary care trust rated double weak by the Healthcare Commission has appointed a new chief executive.
Scottish NHS sets out plan for children's specialist services

21-Jan-2009
Children's and young people's specialist health services in Scotland are to receive £32m additional investment, health secretary Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
NHS Employers offers tips on ethnicity and disability monitoring

21-Jan-2009
NHS Employers has published a briefing to help organisations monitor the equality and diversity of their workforce.
Andrew Lansley keeps health role in Tory reshuffle

19-Jan-2009
Andrew Lansley is to remain shadow health secretary following a reshuffle of the Conservative shadow cabinet team.
£82m spending plans for Scottish NHS

19-Jan-2009
The Scottish government has confirmed plans for £82m of NHS capital spending.
Patient choice push for long-term conditions

19-Jan-2009
Commissioners should be promoting patient choice for people with long-term conditions, the Department of Health has advised.
Probe into learning disabilities deaths

19-Jan-2009
An independent confidential inquiry is to look at premature deaths of people with learning disabilities in NHS care, the government has announced.Health secretary Alan Johnson also said a public health observatory would be established to provide national and local-level data to support commissioning for people with learning disabilities.
Corrigan quits NHS London amid shake-up

15-Jan-2009
NHS London director Paul Corrigan is leaving the organisation as it prepares to hive off some of its major functions to a newly created body.
CV fraud: readers react to the story on hsj.co.uk

15-Jan-2009
"It is time that all chief executives, directors and associate directors should obtain a full accreditation and registration with a recognised professional body similar to the General Medical Council, General Dental Council etc before applying to any post at that level in the NHS. This is the only way to ensure these people are competent to do the job and the public can trust them.""I worked with Lee Whitehead for a short time in ...
CV lands lying manager in jail sparking wider fears on checks

15-Jan-2009
Two NHS managers have been sentenced in the space of a week for lying to get jobs - with one former primary care trust director jailed for three months.The cases have prompted concerns that trusts may regularly be failing to check credentials, raising the possibility of undiscovered fraud across the health service.They have also revived calls for the introduction of a formal accreditation system for managers.Former ...
Divisions emerge as super trust race enters final lap

15-Jan-2009
Research might versus community credentials has emerged as a dividing line among organisations pitching to be labelled academic health science centres.
How to ensure safer screening

15-Jan-2009
QualificationsFor non-health professionals, qualifications that are requirements for a position must be checked. Applicants may not have the original documentation and employers need to use discretion and take proportionate action. If a qualification is essential for the position, employers must request certificates and take copies; check details match the application; and confirm with awarding body.References
Lee Whitehead's career history

15-Jan-2009
2003-05 Thames Valley strategic health authority head of performance improvement.April 2005 - January 2007 Vale of Aylesbury primary care trust director of commissioning and modernisation.January 2007 Joins Stoke on Trent PCT as director of commissioning and modernisation.August 2007 Resigns ahead of scheduled disciplinary hearing, which later ...
Patient confidentiality: no reprieve for doctor fired over data rules

13-Jan-2009
The information commissioner has criticised the Department of Health for withholding information about the introduction of the MMR vaccine.
Patient death sparks review of independent treatment centre

12-Jan-2009
The Healthcare Commission has announced a review of services at an independent treatment centre in Yorkshire following the inquest into the death of a patient in 2007.
Unemployment will put pressure on health services, RCN warns

12-Jan-2009
The Royal College of Nursing has called on the government to work to prevent health services being 'swamped' because of rising unemployment.
Scotland unveils new patient safety reporting system

12-Jan-2009
Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon has introduced a new system of reporting healthcare-associated infections for hospitals.
More Department of Health staff earning top salaries

12-Jan-2009
The number of Department of Health staff earning more than £100,000 a year has risen from eight to 50 since 1997.Annual figures show the number earning more than £100,000 peaked in 2005 at 71. During 2007 and 2008 the figure was 50.
Consultant who broke data rules loses appeal

9-Jan-2009
A hospital trust has rejected the appeal of a consultant who was sacked for gross misconduct after transferring patient records to a community diabetes clinic.
PCT director jailed for CV lies

6-Jan-2009
A former primary care trust director has been jailed for lying on his CV.Lee Joseph Whitehead, 44, of White End Park, Bucks, was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for lying to employers including Stoke on Trent PCT.
Acute care reconfiguration plans come under review

6-Jan-2009
Proposals for a major reconfiguration of acute care in south east London will be reviewed by the independent reconfiguration panel, it has been confirmed.
PCT manager caught swearing online

5-Jan-2009
A primary care trust is to issue guidance to staff about the use of social media after an assistant director was caught describing her job as 'bullshitting' on a social networking website.
Royal College of Nursing consults on organ donation

5-Jan-2009
The Royal College of Nursing today began consulting members on the future of organ donation.
Homerton University Hospitals warned over hygiene breaches

5-Jan-2009
The Healthcare Commission has issued an improvement notice to Homerton University Hospitals foundation trust after discovering significant breaches of the hygiene code.
NHS buildings face £4.04bn maintenance backlog

5-Jan-2009
NHS buildings have a £4.04bn maintenance backlog, according to figures released by ministers.
East of England chief honoured in New Year's list

5-Jan-2009
NHS East of England chief executive Neil McKay has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list.
Merger on the cards for troubled foundation trust

19-Dec-2008
The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases foundation trust has decided it may need to merge with another organisation to be financially stable.
Media Watch: NHS Blackpool

18-Dec-2008
Anyone still planning their Christmas celebrations may wish to take heed of the recent experience of NHS Blackpool.
Monitor pushes training for foundation trust board chiefs

18-Dec-2008
Chief executives and chairs joining foundation trusts from non-authorised trusts will be expected to attend a Monitor 'induction programme', the regulator is proposing.
Welsh NHS seeks expert advice for redesign

18-Dec-2008
An expert group has been convened to advise the Welsh Assembly government on health policy.
Foundation trust transition reaches halfway mark

17-Dec-2008
The transition of acute and mental health trusts to foundation status passed the halfway mark this week.
London hospital redesign row heats up

16-Dec-2008
A London reconfiguration dispute has escalated after a borough council was granted a judicial review of the plan.
Monitor tightens private patient income rules

15-Dec-2008
Monitor has ruled that income from foundation trusts’ joint ventures and associate ventures will count towards their private patient income cap.However, the regulator has also recommended that the government changes the legislation on the cap on the proportion of income foundations can earn from private patients.
DH urges work on NHS informatics

11-Dec-2008
NHS commissioners have been told to step up work on informatics as part of a renewed drive to boost information use in service redesign.
London PCTs pin hopes on debt plan to avert mergers

11-Dec-2008
London's primary care trusts are hoping a high profile bailout of the capital's historic debt will demonstrate they can work together - and avert the threat of mergers.
Media Watch: public health budgets

11-Dec-2008
Those seeking to defend public health budgets amid financial turmoil were unlikely to take heart from the press this week.
NHS Direct ups its in-house response after referrals criticism

11-Dec-2008
NHS Direct is planning to set itself a higher target for the proportion of calls it deals with 'in-house'.
Welsh Assembly announces health transition directors

11-Dec-2008
The managers who will oversee the creation of new health organisations in Wales have been announced by the Assembly government.
Norovirus outbreaks hit beds and waiting times

10-Dec-2008
A growing number of hospitals were last week facing pressure on waiting time targets as they dealt with norovirus outbreaks.
DH names Patricia Hamilton as medical education head

8-Dec-2008
The Department of Health has named the new director of medical education for England.Patricia Hamilton, currently president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, will take up the position in the New Year.
Two thirds of dementia sufferers not known to GPs

8-Dec-2008
More than 60 per cent of dementia sufferers are not known to their GPs, according to research by the Liberal Democrats.The party’s health spokesman Norman Lamb said the figures showed the need for improved access to primary care.
PCTs urged to master social marketing

8-Dec-2008
Primary care trusts must invest more in expertise in social marketing and profiling, a King’s Fund report recommends.Commissioning and Behaviour Change: kicking bad habits is based on a year-long programme of research by the think tank into how people can be convinced to live more healthily.
National quality board named as NHS prepares for international comparison

4-Dec-2008
The NHS will be compared with its international peers in annual reports by the soon to be created national quality board.
Eight minute emergency response target holds back service improvement

4-Dec-2008
Unprecedented efforts to meet tough response time targets may be diverting ambulance services from referring and treating more patients out of hospital.
London hospitals told to prepare for loss of income

4-Dec-2008
Local hospitals in London are being told to prepare for a reduction in their income of 15-25 per cent.
PCTs accused of financial and legal mismanagement

4-Dec-2008
An independent report has accused Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith and Fulham primary care trusts of elements of financial and legal mismanagement between 2004 and 2008.
Queen's speech: government to make Darzi review law

3-Dec-2008
The government will legislate to take forward the proposals in health minister Lord Darzi's next stage review, it was confirmed in the Queen's speech today.The NHS bill will create a duty to take account of the rights and responsibilities set out in the NHS constitution, which will be published alongside the legislation.
Government gets tough on maternity services

3-Dec-2008
The Department of Health is to spell out to primary care trusts their duty to improve maternity services.
King's Fund report points to patchy patient experience

3-Dec-2008
Patients' experience of NHS care is more patchy and variable than suggested by national surveys, research by the King's Fund has found.A new report by the think tank says most patients have a mixed experience while they are using services.
NHS dentists face £100m in penalties for underperformance

1-Dec-2008
NHS dentists are being charged more than £100m in penalties for underperformance against contracts in 2007-08, a report claims.
NHS Scotland outlines plans to cope with winter demand

1-Dec-2008
NHS Scotland chief executive Kevin Woods has outlined plans to cope with extra demand during the winter.
Insurance discounts linked to patient safety gains, research shows

1-Dec-2008
Linking acute trusts' litigation insurance premiums to infection standards has delivered improvements in patient safety, research suggests.
Cancer reform progress report stresses early diagnosis

1-Dec-2008
Earlier diagnosis should be a priority for further improvement in cancer services, the Department of Health's cancer czar Mike Richards has concluded.In his first report on progress against the government's five-year cancer reform strategy, the national cancer director identifies as priorities tackling diagnostics delays and improving the quality and safety of chemotherapy.
Advancing quality in the North West

27-Nov-2008
The system being implemented in the North West was developed by US firm Premier, owned by 200 of the country’s not-for-profit hospitals.
Panel warns of European working time directive's risks

27-Nov-2008
Growing concerns about NHS staffing could lead to service change plans neglecting accessibility and safety, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel has warned.
Patients warn of clinical metrics bias

27-Nov-2008
Efforts to win doctors' support for measuring quality should not be at the expense of involving patients, the Department of Health has been warned.
Quality accounts: pressure on to pick a winning combination

27-Nov-2008
In 18 months, trusts will have to produce their first quality accounts, based on a selection from hundreds of indicators. Dave West asks how trusts should choose their criteria, and how to act on what they find
Young people need better mental health services, says charity

24-Nov-2008
Three in four young people with mental health problems are not receiving the treatment they need, according to a report by New Philanthropy Capital.
Nursing and Midwifery Council 'making progress'

24-Nov-2008
The Nursing and Midwifery Council is making 'real progress on all issues' since a highly critical regulatory review of its work, its stakeholders have said.
DH reports mixed results on patient experience

24-Nov-2008
The Department of Health has made mixed progress against a commitment to improve patient experience between 2005 and 2008.
Most hospitals breaching hygiene code - Healthcare Commission

24-Nov-2008
Only one in 10 hospitals is fully compliant with the government's hygiene code, a Healthcare Commission review suggests.Of 51 trusts visited unannounced by the regulator, only five met all the requirements.
Foundation trust websites leave patients in the dark

20-Nov-2008
Foundation trusts' communications skills have been called into question after it was revealed that four in 10 trust websites lacked basic information on service quality.
Local NHS managers will get free choice of quality measures

20-Nov-2008
The Department of Health has published an ambitious framework for improving the quality of NHS care but its architect Lord Darzi has warned it is likely to get off to a slow start.
London hospitals jostle to run specialist stroke units

20-Nov-2008
London's hospital trusts are clamouring to be named specialist stroke centres as the capital embarks on centralising major acute services.
DH sets out framework for improving quality of care

18-Nov-2008
The Department of Health has set out how NHS organisations should move towards measuring and improving quality of care.Chief executive David Nicholson and medical director Sir Bruce Keogh have written to managers with a framework describing the role different organisations will play.
Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence appoints new chair

17-Nov-2008
A former chief executive of the National Council for Carers is to be the next chair of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence.
Maternity services 'account for half of NHS negligence claims'

17-Nov-2008
Maternity services have accounted for nearly half of the value of clinical negligence claims against the NHS since 1995.
Unite plans industrial action over NHS pay deal

17-Nov-2008
Unite is planning a day of action against the three-year NHS pay deal.
Task force rejects presumed consent for organ donation

17-Nov-2008
Presumed consent for organ donation has been rejected by an expert government advisory committee.The UK organ donation task force said the risks of moving to the system outweighed the potential benefits.
Edwina Hart delays reform schedule in Wales

13-Nov-2008
Welsh health minister Edwina Hart has accepted that the wholesale overhaul of the NHS in Wales will not be complete until next October.
Inspectors called in at Birmingham Children's Hospital

13-Nov-2008
The Healthcare Commission is to investigate concerns about care and management at Birmingham Children's Hospital foundation trust.
Job evaluation could open door for market pay rates

13-Nov-2008
The Department of Health has opened the door to more flexibility in very senior managers’ salaries, in response to growing concern that pay rules are being fudged and gamed.
Perfect chief eludes West Midlands SHA

13-Nov-2008
NHS West Midlands has failed to appoint a chief executive despite carrying out interviews.
NHS Direct chief executive to step down

12-Nov-2008
NHS Direct chief executive Matt Tee is leaving the service to take up the most senior communications role in the civil service.
Chemotherapy may be overused

12-Nov-2008
Chemotherapy is being provided to cancer patients near the end of their life in cases where it is inappropriate, research has suggested.
Healthcare Commission to investigate Birmingham Children's Hospital

10-Nov-2008
The Healthcare Commission today said it would investigate serious concerns about care and management at Birmingham Children's Hospital foundation trust.Clinicians at the hospital and at University Hospitals Birmingham foundation trust reported problems including a perception of 'poor and disorganised management processes and lack of confidence in managers at all levels'.
Rise in alcohol-related A&E admissions among children

10-Nov-2008
The number of alcohol-related accident and emergency admissions among children under 16 has increased by 17 per cent in five years, according to newly released figures.
Charities warn on 'over-hyped treatment claims'

10-Nov-2008
A group of charities have issued a warning about 'over-hyped treatment claims that sell false hope' that can be found on the internet.
Statins 'may benefit people with normal cholesterol levels'

10-Nov-2008
A study has added to evidence that people with normal cholesterol levels can benefit from taking statins.
Ambulance trust plans lower target for rural call-outs

6-Nov-2008
An ambulance trust is proposing to reach a smaller proportion of life-threatening emergencies within eight minutes in rural areas than in urban.
Monitor attempts to keep DH 'at bay'

6-Nov-2008
Monitor and the Department of Health could be heading for another tussle over central direction versus local freedoms.
NHS Wales chief to step down to focus on 26-week target

6-Nov-2008
The chief executive of NHS Wales is to stand down and focus on the country's 26-week referral to treatment target, which organisations are struggling to meet.
Paramedics prepare for terrorism threat

6-Nov-2008
Primary care trusts will for the first time have to fund ambulance services to be prepared for terrorist attacks and other major emergencies from next year.
Trusts manipulating pay rules to hang on to talent

6-Nov-2008
Dozens of primary care and ambulance trusts are 'fudging' official rules on directors' pay as they struggle to attract and hold on to good managers.
Luton defends reputation after two babies die

30-Oct-2008
A hospital trust has defended its high profile commitment to patient safety after an outbreak of a drug-resistant E coli strain on its neo-natal intensive care unit.
National NHS pay deal criticised

30-Oct-2008
Nationally negotiated pay means commissioners' hands are tied from using bigger salaries to attract more good doctors, the Commons health select committee was told last week.
NHS data breaches hit 75 in a year

29-Oct-2008
Seventy-five breaches of data security rules by the health service have been reported to the information commissioner's office in the past year, new figures reveal.The NHS and healthcare sector is second only to the whole of the private sector at losing computers, records and data.
Maternity services growth fails to keep up with births

28-Oct-2008
Maternity services faced growing pressure on capacity and staff last year despite government commitments to improve safety and choice.Newly released reports from regional midwifery officers show midwife numbers in many areas failed to keep up with the rising birth rate in 2007-08.
Academic health science centre race begins

23-Oct-2008
Trusts hoping to form academic health science centres have been set a January deadline for applications.
Hospital security fears after patient suicide

23-Oct-2008
Northampton General Hospital is reviewing its security procedures after a patient shot himself dead on a ward.
Patient choice at risk from healthcare monopolies

23-Oct-2008
Primary care trusts may need to find new methods of protecting patient choice if integrated care organisations become monopoly healthcare providers.
Annual health check case study: Dorset healthcare foundation trust

16-Oct-2008
Dorset Healthcare foundation trust reached double excellent with an improvement in its resources rating from good in 2006-07.
Annual health check case study: Salford

16-Oct-2008
Salford is the only primary care trust to achieve double excellent scores, having improved its quality rating from good last year.
Financial turbulence threatens NHS reforms

16-Oct-2008
Question over £550m earmarked for next stage reviewConcerns SHAs will be less able to support financially troubled trustsPotential refocusing on capacity over quality and choiceFears national work to define quality measures and legislate on compulsory quality accounts will be neglectedPossible funding problems for social care reforms
Long Term Conditions Alliance faces merger

16-Oct-2008
Members of the Long Term Conditions Alliance were this week set to agree to merge with a new patient representation body.
Media Watch: binge drinking

16-Oct-2008
Unlike so much else in the past seven days, the value of a drink is on the way up. The Department of Health's next attempt to reduce binge drinking will include curbs on free samples and happy hours, according to press reports.
Patients' voices in danger of drowning in paperwork

16-Oct-2008
Patients could be put off taking part in NHS outcome measurement by overwhelmingly long questionnaires, market researchers fear.
Public LINks hit by delays in networking

16-Oct-2008
Public and patient involvement in health and social care has been seriously set back by widespread delay in establishing local involvement networks, a report claims.
Annual health check case study: Rotherham foundation trust

14-Oct-2008
Rotherham foundation trust chief executive Brian James has made significant changes since joining three years ago, and seen ratings of fair for quality and good for resources improve to double excellent, writes Dave West.
Cambridgeshire trust leads way on franchising model

9-Oct-2008
Private companies and foundation trusts will be invited to bid to manage a failing hospital trust.
Edwina Hart takes charge in Wales

9-Oct-2008
Under plans announced last week, Welsh health minister Edwina Hart is to take direct control of the country's NHS. Dave West asks if a politician can be trusted with such a sensitive job
Hospital chief suspended for poor record

9-Oct-2008
The chief executive of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals trust John Watkinson has been suspended.
Bruce Keogh outlines quality comparisons plan

2-Oct-2008
Plans to expose bad care and poor patient safety are to be taken forward with a consultation on the first NHS quality framework.
Former chief and board slated in £87m Bromley debt probe

2-Oct-2008
A highly critical report into how a hospital trust built up more than £87m of debt has uncovered serious failings by its former chief executive and board.
Government sets out health strategy at home and abroad

2-Oct-2008
The Department of Health has launched a government-wide strategy to tackle global health problems.
NHS North West leads the way with bonus scheme

2-Oct-2008
Acute trusts in the North West are to be paid bonuses for performance against a series of clinical quality measures.
Poor PCT networking holding back NHS reforms

2-Oct-2008
Poor networking and planning by primary care trusts is holding back reform of urgent and emergency care, a major Healthcare Commission review has found.
Welsh health minister Edwina Hart moves centre stage

2-Oct-2008
Welsh health minister Edwina Hart has axed the internal market and put herself centre stage in a wholesale reform of the country's NHS.
Hospital trust may split into two organisations

25-Sep-2008
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals trust is considering splitting into two new organisations.
NHS managers told to take ownership of finance

25-Sep-2008
The pending reorganisation of the Welsh health service should be used to improve financial management, the auditor general for Wales has said.
Virgin grounds proposals to run GP surgeries

25-Sep-2008
Virgin Group has effectively put on hold its ambitious plans to take over and run GP surgeries, casting doubt on the prospects for private involvement in primary care.
Lib Dems unveil plan to slash NHS managers' pay

18-Sep-2008
Senior health managers should be forced to reapply for jobs and take pay cuts as part of a public sector cost-cutting drive, the Liberal Democrats proposed at their annual conference in Bournemouth this week.
Moyes warns: invest in governance

18-Sep-2008
Foundation trusts have been warned they are not investing enough time or money in memberships and boards of governors. The Department of Health may reassert its control if an organisations cannot prove it is locally accountable, said Bill Moyes, executive chairman of regulator Monitor.
London's first polyclinic locations are unveiled

11-Sep-2008
Healthcare for London has revealed the locations of the capital's first five polyclinics.
Bill Moyes keen to see teaching foundations

4-Sep-2008
Monitor executive chair Bill Moyes is urging more teaching hospitals to become foundation trusts in 2009.
Hull trust buys Nuffield hospital to save money

4-Sep-2008
Hulland East Yorkshire Hospitals trust has bought a private Nuffield hospital to avoid contracting out services to the independent sector.
London polyclinics to use 'federated' model

4-Sep-2008
None of London's first wave of controversial polyclinics will deliver all its services from a single new standalone building.
NHS North East publishes workforce plans

4-Sep-2008
The first major regional workforce proposals published since the next stage review appear to confirm the strong role given to strategic health authorities.NHS North East is creating a new regional-level organisation called NHS Education North East.
Hull trust buys private hospital

29-Aug-2008
Hulland East Yorkshire Hospitals trust has bought a private Nuffield hospital to avoid contracting out services to the independent sector.The trust said the new building, which will cost£10m to buy and make immediate improvements to, would save it money.
BMA presses Hart over primary care funding

28-Aug-2008
Welsh health minister Edwina Hart has been urged to ensure primary care is protected as the structure of the NHS in the country is reformed.
Media Watch: teenage time bomb

28-Aug-2008
The NHS is facing a 'teenage time bomb', several newspapers warned this week, based on statistics showing increased admissions of young people to hospital.
Academics doubt link between death and standards

21-Aug-2008
Academic research has cast serious doubt on the link between hospital mortality rates and quality of care, raising questions over Department of Health moves towards routine publication of death rates.
Call for improved acute mental health services

21-Aug-2008
National quality standards should be introduced for mental health services in emergency departments and acute wards, the Academy of Royal Colleges has said.The call follows the publication of a report, led by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which has found dramatic variation in provision between hospitals.
Health gap between rich and poor areas narrows

21-Aug-2008
The quality and outcomes framework has reduced the link between low-income areas and poor primary healthcare, a study suggests.
Media Watch: overweight children

21-Aug-2008
The issue of overweight children, always a popular topic, was widely reported this week.
Monitor previews foundation trust finances

21-Aug-2008
The regional Darzi plans will at last prompt foundation trusts to spend their surpluses, Monitor's executive chair has predicted.
Urgent call target triggers cash crisis

14-Aug-2008
Ambulance trusts are warning of financial problems caused by efforts to meet a target for response times to life-threatening emergency calls.
London trusts join forces in research venture

7-Aug-2008
University College London and four trusts in the capital are founding Europe's largest academic health science partnership.
Monitor steps in as trust losses soar

7-Aug-2008
Monitor has exercised its intervention powers for the second time since its creation with a formal notice to the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases foundation trust.
Nuffield hopes to avoid merger with health science plan

7-Aug-2008
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre trust is seeking to stave off the threat of a merger by forming an academic health science centre with Oxford University.

Editor's Comment

Health Service JournalDave West

Job of the week

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Dave West