Health Service Journal
David Williams

David Williams is a reporter for Health Service Journal and Nursing Times. David is HSJ's commissioning reporter. For Nursing Times, David's area covers Haematology, Immunology, Respiratory, and Cardiology.

Trusts eye capital gains from surplus NHS land sales

17-May-2012
NHS organisations plan to place surplus land equivalent to 350 Trafalgar Squares on the market for housing development in the next few years, latest figures from the Department of Health reveal.
CCGs choose in-house commissioning support ahead of outsourced services

16-May-2012
Clinical commissioning groups are opting to host support functions in-house rather than outsource to “unproven” commissioning support services.
Three commissioning support services fail key test

14-May-2012
Three out of 26 commissioning support service plans have been scrapped and a further nine have been identified as needing “rigorous management”, the NHS Commissioning Board has announced this morning.
Exclusive: Plans for national communications service scrapped

11-May-2012
Plans to set up a national communications service for clinical commissioning groups have been abandoned, HSJ has learnt.
Local commissioning board offices will be fewer than planned

9-May-2012
The NHS Commissioning Board has announced it is rethinking the structure of its local offices to avoid “crowding out” clinical commissioning groups.
Commissioning board announces regional directors

8-May-2012
The NHS Commissioning Board has this afternoon announced that four primary care trust and strategic health authority bosses have been appointed as regional directors.
Health economies rush to pilot year-of-care tariff

8-May-2012
More than 90 sets of providers and commissioners have shown interest in becoming one of the six trial sites for year-of-care tariff trials, HSJ has learned.
Exclusive: NHS Commissioning Board to redesign local structure

3-May-2012
The NHS Commissioning Board is planning to redesigning its structure of local offices, and is considering having fewer branches than the 50 which had previously been expected.
Jim Easton: current squeeze 'just a rehearsal'

2-May-2012
The current financial squeeze on health services is only a “rehearsal” for a long-term push to make the NHS financially sustainable, efficiency chief Jim Easton said today.
DH reveals swift year-of-care tariff plans

2-May-2012
The Department of Health has revealed details of its plans to “quickly but carefully” introduce year-of-care tariffs in a bid to cut hospital admissions and encourage community based treatment.
Commissioning Board guidance to resolve CCG boundary disputes

2-May-2012
Guidance from the NHS Commissioning Board has set out new principles for “firming up” clinical commissioning group boundaries, and an elaborate formula for resolving disputed areas.
Analysed: the viability of acute services in the Thames Valley area

1-May-2012
HSJ Local Briefing is our new in-depth analysis of the key issues facing the NHS’s major health economies. This week: the long term viability of acute services in the Thames Valley area.
Jim Easton: Board to move quickly on year of care tariffs

26-Apr-2012
The NHS Commissioning Board is moving “quickly but carefully” to adopt year of care tariffs, which are considered essential if the service is to meet its £20bn efficiency challenge.
Lansley: CCG allocations should be based on age, not poverty

26-Apr-2012
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has suggested clinical commissioning group funding should take into account the age of a population rather than indices of deprivation, arguing age is the “principal determinant of health need” in an area.
CCG data service support to come from local suppliers

26-Apr-2012
A leaked NHS Commissioning Board document suggests the majority of data “intelligence” services supplied to clinical commissioning groups will have to be provided by local commissioning support units, rather than on a national scale.
Commissioning board 'could control half of some trusts' income'

24-Apr-2012
The NHS Commissioning Board expects to control half of the income for some trusts through its funding of specialised services.
Out of hours performance data goes online

19 April 2012
A fourfold variation in demand for GP out of hours services has emerged in the first detailed data to allow for comparisons between areas.
Information strategy release delayed again

3-Apr-2012
The release of the Department of Health’s information strategy, which was already a year late, has been put back again.
Exclusive: NHS Commissioning Board to appoint all CSS leaders

28-Mar-2012
The NHS Commissioning Board has announced exclusively to HSJ that it will appoint all commissioning support service leaders this spring.
CSSs to collaborate on national support functions

28-Mar-2012
Commissioning support services are likely to be closely involved in the four national scale commissioning support functions, HSJ has learned.
Exclusive: government confirms strict new terms for FT property transfers

22-Mar-2012
“Onerous” terms are being imposed on foundation trusts looking to take ownership of the community service estate, according to the latest proposals.
Exclusive: property company expected to cover costs by raising rents

22-Mar-2012
The new NHS property company is set to take over a core portfolio worth at least £1.7bn, HSJ can disclose.
Physicians vote to reject the Health Bill

16-Mar-2012
Physicians have overwhelmingly voted to condemn the Health Bill in its current form, but are split on whether it should be improved or scrapped.
Acute strain causes hundreds of emergency admission delays

13-Mar-2012
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.
Tribunal calls for Health Bill risk register to be published

9-Mar-2012
The Department of Health’s case for withholding the Health Bill risk register has been rejected, it has been announced this morning.
Health Bill could bring in US-style system, report warns

9-Mar-2012
The Health Bill could usher in a US-style healthcare financing model, and the erosion of entitlements to free care, a paper published by the British Medical Journal warns today.
Exclusive: commissioning board says CSSs 'on the cusp of failing'

6-Mar-2012
“Too many” of the support services vital to the success of the new NHS clinical commissioning system are “on the cusp of failing”, according to leaked NHS Commissioning Board papers.
Exclusive: DH reaches £300m deal with firm over delay-hit IT programme

2-Mar-2012
One of the two remaining contractors in the delay-hit National Programme for IT has agreed to reduce the value of its contract with the Department of Health by around £300m.
Ernst and Young brought in to support CSS

2-Mar-2012
The Department of Health has drafted in consultancy Ernst and Young to develop a support programme for commissioning support leaders.
Exclusive: London bosses 'extremely concerned' over A&E

2-Mar-2012
The head of NHS London has written to all the capital’s primary care trust cluster chiefs after becoming “extremely concerned” over accident and emergency performance, HSJ has learned.
Commissioning board could take ownership of LIFT assets

1-Mar-2012
The NHS Commissioning Board is expected to take ownership of the public stakes in many buildings built under a public-private partnership scheme, HSJ has learnt.
Staffing issues warn of 'catastrophic' potential for South Central trust

1 March 2012
University Hospital Southampton Foundation Trust is reporting rising tensions over staffing levels, in spite of attempts to manage demand.
Charities pursue involvement for CCG commissioning support

29-Feb-2012
National charities are expecting to become major suppliers of commissioning support in the restructured NHS, HSJ has learnt.
NHS estate savings could reach £2bn, report claims

23-Feb-2012
The amount of underused space in the NHS estate has dropped by more than a third over the past three years, according to a report by a leading property consultancy.
Commissioning board a 'folly', says Diabetes UK chief

21-Feb-2012
The structure of the NHS Commissioning Board is an “act of total folly”, a leading charity chief has told HSJ.
Exclusive: Lansley assures CCGs over competition

20-Feb-2012
The health secretary has written to clinical commissioning groups to assure them that that they will be in control over crucial issues such as competition, integration, and buying support services.
CCGs must pay for NHS office space from running cost allowance

17-Feb-2012
Clinical commissioning groups have been instructed to base themselves in existing NHS buildings – most of which are to be taken over by the Department of Health’s new property company – and pay for them out of their running cost allowance.
Coastal configuration for vascular services runs aground

16-Feb-2012
The proposed centralisation of complex vascular surgery in Hampshire has been mothballed after trusts failed to agree on the plans.
Commissioning support services to get private sector guidance

15-Feb-2012
The Department of Health has invited private sector consultancies to brief NHS commissioning support services at a series of regular national “learning network” events, HSJ has learned.
Lansley remains defiant as pressure grows over competition

15-Feb-2012
An embattled Andrew Lansley makes a staunch defence of the importance of greater competition in the NHS this week, as Liberal Democrat peers pressed to further reduce its importance in the Health Bill.
Exclusive: community trusts dispute asset transfers with PCTs and DH

8-Feb-2012
Plans to transfer NHS properties to community service providers have stalled amid an ongoing dispute between trusts and the Department of Health, and claims of irrational behaviour by commissioners.
Lords set to debate integration and health secretary's duty

8-Feb-2012
The Health Bill returns to the House of Lords today, with a raft of new amendments lined up including one proposing a “duty of co-operation” for providers of NHS services.
Lord Owen: Lords have failed to alter the Health Bill

7-Feb-2012
The House of Lords has failed to make significant changes to the Health Bill, the influential crossbencher Lord Owen has said, calling on the prime minister to scrap the legislation before it becomes law.
CCG performance could be measured against 120 indicators

1-Feb-2012
Clinical commissioning groups could be judged against up to 120 performance measures, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has revealed today.
Health bodies caution against Cabinet Office open data push

1-Feb-2012
A government consultation on more open use of data has found strong support for increased transparency in public services. But health organisations have urged caution due to the potential for leaks of sensitive information.
LIFT companies seek NHS Property Services links

1-Feb-2012
Companies set up under a public-private partnership scheme are positioning themselves to become key partners to NHS Property Services, the firm formed to manage health service assets.
Letters on PCT and SHA staff transfers sent today

31-Jan-2012
Primary care trust and strategic health authority staff across England are today being sent letters explaining where their function is to be transferred to in the restructured NHS.
PCT staff letters to omit passage on clarity

27-Jan-2012
Official letters to be sent to primary care trust staff about the future of their jobs this month have undergone a change in wording, with passages discussing an ongoing lack of clarity removed from the text.
Commissioning board 'likely' to enforce standard patient records

25-Jan-2012
The NHS Commissioning Board is “likely” to mandate new a set of standards for clinical and social care records in a push to increase efficiency, HSJ has been told.
Health secretary formally announces NHS property company

25-Jan-2012
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has formally announced details of the government-owned firm that will take over ownership and management of much of the NHS estate.
CCG budget allocations delayed until February

23-Jan-2012
The release of the first set of “shadow budgets” for clinical commissioning groups has been put back to February, HSJ has learnt.
Exclusive: DH letters to staff admit 'no clarity' on jobs

20-Jan-2012
The Department of Health has given NHS managers a choice of two letters to send staff this month on the future of their roles – one of which is to be used in cases where there is still “no clarity” on what will happen to their jobs.
Forty-one commissioning support services are proposed

19-Jan-2012
The 50 primary care trust clusters could set up as many as 41 commissioning support services nationwide, an HSJ investigation has revealed.
Exclusive: national company to take over PCT estate

17-Jan-2012
A new national property company is to be set up by the government to manage the primary care trust estate, HSJ understands.
NHS stuck in 'information dark ages', says Future Forum

10-Jan-2012
The NHS needs a culture change to drag itself out of the “information dark ages” and avoid reputational damage, the NHS Future Forum has said.
Exclusive: DH leak reveals uncertainty over 11,000 PCT jobs

5-Jan-2012
A leaked Department of Health document shows for the first time where commissioning staff could move to in the restructured NHS – however it also reveals confusion over the fate of thousands of jobs.
First funds announced for GP Extraction Service

21-Dec-2011
The NHS Information Centre has announced it will receive around £40m of funding to enable clinical data to be extracted from GP practices.
Clinical commissioning group boards should have tenure and size limits

15-Dec-2011
A model constitution for clinical commissioning groups has recommended board members serve no longer than four years at a time, and boards should be limited to 12 people.
Media Watch: 'postcode lottery' bingo follows Atlas of Variation launch

15 December 2011
The formal publication of the second NHS Atlas of Variation led inevitably to a chorus of “postcode lottery” headlines this week.
Leading integrated care provider requests financial help

14-Dec-2011
One of the NHS’s leading integrated care providers has sought financial help from its strategic health authority cluster after reporting a “precarious” cashflow position.
PCTs to receive flat 2.8pc increase next year

14-Dec-2011
Primary care trusts will receive the same allocation in 2012-13 as this year, plus an across the board 2.8 per cent increase, the Department of Health has announced.
Reform plans risk fragmenting child health services, NHS Confederation says

8-Dec-2011
The government’s NHS reforms risk fragmenting care for the most vulnerable children, a study published today says.
Ministers seek talks with GP bodies over quality premium

5-Dec-2011
Ministers are to enter fresh talks with GP representatives over the controversial “quality premium” payments for clinical commissioning groups.
Exclusive: CCGs subject to extra safeguards when commissioning from GPs

1-Dec-2011
Clinical commissioning groups will not need to have a doctor as their most senior officer, and will be able to commission services from local GPs subject to extra safeguards to minimise the danger of a conflict of interests.
London CCGs begin mergers as clusters warn on size

1-Dec-2011
Two pairs of clinical commissioning groups in London are in the process of merging, while other small CCGs are being warned they will not be authorised in their current form.
DH exerts pressure to merge on smaller CCGs

1-Dec-2011
Smaller clinical commissioning groups are coming under increasing pressure to merge after the Department of Health announced a tight administrative allowance and a requirement for them to match local authority boundaries “as far as possible”.
Length of stay threatens savings in the South

1 December 2011
Southern Health, the mental health and community services provider for Hampshire, is reporting fairly robust financial figures – but its struggle to cut lengths of stay in the acute sector will be a challenge to the wider health economy.
Exclusive: All patients to have access to GP record by 2015

29-Nov-2011
All patients in England will have online access to their GP record by 2015 after ministers slipped out a major shakeup of information policy in this week’s Growth Review.
HSJ interview: Nicholson and Flory prepare the ground for CCGs

29-Nov-2011
The NHS chief executive has called for an end to criticism of managers, hours after the health secretary said resources had been “wasted” on them and criticised their top-down “control”.
'Punitive' sanctions for bodies not using the NHS number

24-Nov-2011
NHS organisations not using the NHS patient number consistently by the end of March 2013 will face “punitive contract sanctions”.
CCG management allowance set at £25 per head

24-Nov-2011
Clinical commissioning groups are expected to be given £25 per head of population to spend on management from 2013-14, it has been announced today.
Ministers focus on older people's care ahead of Operating Framework launch

24-Nov-2011
Ministers are stressing the importance of supporting care for older people as they prepare to release the NHS Operating Framework today.
CCGs 'feasible' if covering 100,000 or more

22-Nov-2011
Clinical commissioning groups will need a population of at least 100,000 to be able to carry out all their statutory functions, a report commissioned by the Department of Health has found.
Commissioners and providers seek move to long-term contracts

22-Nov-2011
Both commissioners and providers are calling for a “fundamental shift” towards long-term contracts of more than five years to allow for better strategic planning, the Future Forum has heard.
CCGs may be 'ill-equipped' to meet information governance standards

21-Nov-2011
Clinical commissioning groups will be subjected to an increasing range of information governance requirements, but may be may be “ill-equipped” to meet the more rigorous standards, official guidance has said.
New Future Forum guidance calls for tariff 'flexibilities'

17-Nov-2011
The NHS Future Forum has today published an interim set of recommendations intended to influence the NHS Operating Framework for 2012-13, which is due to be published next week.
Troubled foundation failed 'basic management' as debts grew

17-Nov-2011
One of England’s most financially challenged foundation trusts had no “basic performance management systems” in place as it ran up a £8.3m deficit in six months, HSJ has been told.
Mental health tariffs 'not fit for purpose' - NHS Confederation

17 November 2011
Mental health trusts and commissioners have not made enough progress in devising a tariff for their services despite enthusiasm from staff, the NHS Confederation has found.
Torbay trust launches first integrated health and social care IT system

15-Nov-2011
COMMERCIAL: England’s first integrated health and social care patient record system has been procured in a £3.8m deal that managers hope will make it easier to join up services.
Labour Lords win concession on Health Bill

15-Nov-2011
Opposition peers have defeated the government for the first time in the Health Bill’s passage, carrying an amendment which could lead to tax breaks for charities supplying NHS services.
Clusters ordered to begin stocktake of 75,000 service contracts

11-Nov-2011
Primary care trust clusters will have to complete a detailed stocktake of their 75,000 service contracts by the end of March 2012, in preparation for transferring them to successor commissioning bodies the following year.
DH signals new delays to commissioning support procurement

9-Nov-2011
Most clinical commissioning groups will be unable to bring in major new support services to replace ex-primary care trust staff until early 2014, new Department of Health guidance indicates.
Major reconfiguration plans emerging across England

4-Nov-2011
Details on a wave of reconfigurations are emerging as regions follow London’s example by concentrating services into a smaller number of specialist units.
Media Watch: NHS commissioning board makes a quiet start

3 November 2011
The establishment of the NHS Commissioning Board could prove to be one of the more momentous events in the service’s history, but the occasion went all but unmarked by the national papers.
Heatherwood and Wexham feeling the strain in the South

3 November 2011
Storm clouds continue to gather around Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals Foundation Trust.
Lansley: I will ensure access to NHS services

2-Nov-2011
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has said it will “remain incumbent” on him and his successors to provide a comprehensive health service via the NHS Commissioning Board and clinical commissioning groups.
Nicholson says CCGs should get choice of support provider

1-Nov-2011
The shadow NHS Commissioning Board chief executive Sir David Nicholson has backed calls for clinical commissioning groups to be allowed greater choice of commissioning support provider.
Lords propose greater transparency in new Health Bill changes

20-Oct-2011
Proposed amendments to the Health Bill would effectively subject private and third sector bodies to the Freedom of Information Act by giving commissioners more power to require information from them.
DH commissioning support vision revealed

19-Oct-2011
The Department of Health’s vision for the development of commissioning support, which reveals the services likely to be delivered on a national scale, has been leaked to HSJ.
Exclusive: DH publishes detailed plans for commissioning support

17-Oct-2011
The Department of Health has identified four commissioning support functions which could be run most effectively at a national level.
Heatherwood blamed for 'failing' local system

13-Oct-2011
PERFORMANCE: The health system in Berkshire East has been judged to be “failing”, due in large part to performance at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Foundation Trust.
Lords pass Health Bill at second reading

12-Oct-2011
The House of Lords has voted through the government’s Health and Social Care Bill at its second reading, defeating motions to place sections under greater scrutiny or stop it in its tracks altogether.
House of Lords set for Health Bill vote

12-Oct-2011
The House of Lords will vote today on the government’s Health and Social Care bill, following a two-day debate involving 100 peers.
Earl Howe urges Lords to pass bill quickly

11-Oct-2011
Ministers wrote to all peers this morning appealing for their support on the Health Bill after talks between Conservative and crossbench peers broke down.
Lord Owen motion on health bill stripped back after talks with ministers

11-Oct-2011
A motion to enable greater scrutiny of key sections of the Health and Social Care Bill has been changed at the last minute following discussions between ministers and crossbench peers.
Labour peers prepare amendments for health bill

11-Oct-2011
Labour peers are taking aim at the Health Bill’s planned new accountability regime, emphasising the need for a stronger patient voice and for the relationships between statutory bodies to be clarified.
Health Bill analysis: Lords likely to win policy shifts

10-Oct-2011
Key areas of policy will come under scrutiny as the Health Bill faces its critics in the House of Lords. HSJ analyses likely changes.
CCGs call for more choice over commissioning support

6-Oct-2011
Clinical commissioners have called on ministers to allow them to access a greater variety of commissioning support, as soon as possible.
Tide turning on transparency in the South

6 October 2011
The government’s drive for a more open public sector does not sit easily with its “foundation trust or bust” policy, which gives FTs more say over the information they publish and whether their boards meet in public.
Third of CCGs reluctant to become statutory bodies, PM warned

30-Sep-2011
The prime minister and health secretary have been warned that a third of clinical commissioning groups would rather not become statutory bodies because of the burden of bureaucracy involved.
DH considers a country-wide push on reconfiguration

29-Sep-2011
The Department of Health is considering a national drive to make the case for large scale service reconfiguration to deflect criticism from commissioners opting for local service redesign.
Exclusive: data security regulation 'should not increase'

29-Sep-2011
The Health Bill is likely to be amended to clarify responsibility for data security, the chair of the national information governance board has told HSJ.
Commissioning support costs for CCGs emerging with variations

28-Sep-2011
Indications have emerged of planned expenditure on commissioning support. London primary care trusts are predicting costs of £16 per head of population – £5 more than their counterparts in Coventry and Warwickshire, HSJ has learned.
Exclusive: DH QIPP team takes over information strategy

22-Sep-2011
The long-awaited NHS information strategy has been taken out the Department of Health’s informatics directorate, and is instead being led by the team responsible for the quality, innovation, productivity and prevention programme.
Providing integrated care won't be easier for CCGs, study suggests

22-Sep-2011
Clinical commissioning groups will find it no easier than primary care trusts to provide integrated care unless they are able to overcome perverse incentives, a report has found.
Cabinet Office review condemns NPfIT

22-Sep-2011
Ministers have today pledged to hasten the demise of the National Programme for IT after a Cabinet Office review found that it could not deliver on its original aims.
DH social enterprise scheme draws just three bids

21-Sep-2011
There have been just three expressions of interest to set up social enterprises under the Department of Health’s “right to provide” scheme, none of which have been approved.
Drop in admission rates hailed as possible CCG success

19-Sep-2011
A drop in hospital admission rates has been hailed by NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson as evidence that clinical commissioning is beginning to deliver improvements in care.
BMA steps up opposition to Health Bill's quality premium and data plans

16-Sep-2011
The British Medical Association’s GP Committee has reiterated its opposition to two reforms set out in the Health and Social Care Bill, including the quality premium which it has denounced as “ethically dubious” and “utterly immoral”.
Lansley told CCGs are frustrated over commissioning support

15-Sep-2011
Clinical commissioners have told health secretary Andrew Lansley that they are frustrated with the support they are being offered, and called on him to ensure they can operate freely.
NHS Confederation to warn MPs over weak QIPP performance

13-Sep-2011
Financial and service failures will become frequent over the next year unless trusts improve their efficiency plans, the NHS Confederation has warned.
Ministers set out FT failure regime

1-Sep-2011
Foundation status could no longer be withdrawn from trusts in the event of financial failure under new amendments to the Health Bill.
Monitor's transitional role could be extended beyond 2016

1 September 2011
Monitor’s existing regulatory powers over foundation trusts could be extended beyond March 2016, under plans set out by ministers today.
Further Health Bill amendments to include new 'failure' rules

31-Aug-2011
Ministers will table a new set of amendments to the Health Bill next week, including setting out the failure regime for care providers.
DH plans to scrap a quarter of all central data requests

30-Aug-2011
The Department of Health is proposing to stop asking for at least a quarter of the data sets it currently requests from NHS bodies – but has admitted that the cull will make room for new data demands.
Future Forum adds integrating care as priority

24-Aug-2011
Integration within and across the health and social care sectors has been named a new priority area for the NHS Future Forum, whose second phase of work was launched by the prime minister last week.
Listening exercise workstreams continue to identify concerns

24-Aug-2011
Four clear areas for recommendations will take forward the NHS Future Forum’s remit to inform the government’s reforms.
GPs hit by care records server failure

19-Aug-2011
Nearly 800 GP practices in England were unable to work yesterday after losing access to their patient care records systems, following a series of server failures.
Cluster chief resigns

18-Aug-2011
The chief executive of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire primary care trust cluster has resigned, HSJ has learned.
Information strategy responses show fears over equality

18-Aug-2011
Responses to the consultation on the Department of Health’s information strategy show widespread concern that an increasing use of technology could lead to greater inequalities in access to healthcare.
Royal Cornwall's appeal in whistleblowing case dismissed by tribunal

18-Aug-2011
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust faces a bill for £1.3m after losing an appeal against its former chief executive John Watkinson.
Social enterprises condemn 'slap in the face' over PCT properties

17-Aug-2011
Social enterprises have been left out of plans to allow NHS providers to take over community service properties, in a move condemned as a “slap in the face” for the government’s Big Society agenda.
GPs gain opt-out over new primary care data service

5-Aug-2011
Plans for a new primary care information system have been approved by the Department of Health, but HSJ has learned that GPs have secured the right to opt out of the scheme.
NHS trusts to take over community service assets

5-Aug-2011
Acute and mental health trusts are to be given the chance to acquire billions of pounds worth of property assets used to provide community services, with final decisions due by the end of the year.
DH seeks better value from IT contracts

4-Aug-2011
The Department of Health will not pull the plug on its contract with electronic care record supplier CSC, although trusts will gain more freedom over which IT systems they buy, HSJ has been told.
Exclusive: GP data system to go live in September 2012

4-Aug-2011
A national system to gather primary care clinical data is set for a September 2012 go-live date, HSJ has learned.
Nicholson under fire over National Programme for IT

3-Aug-2011
MPs have criticised NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson over his handling of the National Programme for IT, saying he had been ineffective in his role as “senior responsible owner” for the project.
NHS charity governance under ministerial review

2-Aug-2011
Ministers have revealed that they are reviewing the governance arrangements of NHS charities, giving voluntary sector leaders hope that the bodies will be able to sidestep plans to “nationalise” their accounts.
Acutes target community assets worth almost £3bn

28-Jul-2011
Acute trusts – many of them financially troubled – are set to inherit community service assets worth £2.7bn, creating the possibility property will be offloaded to hit short term savings targets, HSJ can reveal.
Foundations reap income from transferred services

28-Jul-2011
Foundation trusts have taken on community services with an annual income value estimated at £2.4bn for 2011-12, Monitor figures released to HSJ reveal.
Reform transition cost now £1.49bn, according to DH figure

22-Jul-2011
A new figure from the Department of Health estimates the cost of its reform “transition programme” at £1.49bn.
Information revolution now set for 'winter' release

21-Jul-2011
The release of the Department of Health’s much-delayed strategy on an “information revolution” has been put back again, and is now not expected until the end of the year.
Media Watch: a good week to bury health news

21 July 2011
Health policy has been a little further than usual from the front pages this week, with the national dailies bingeing on the phone-hacking scandal.
New talks to begin on NHS pension contributions

19-Jul-2011
Health service unions are to enter into discussions with Department of Health officials on increasing public sector pension contributions, ministers have announced today.
'Refrain' from most Microsoft purchases, requests government

18-Jul-2011
The Cabinet Office has “requested” that NHS chief information officers obtain central clearance before buying Microsoft products until a national procurement contract is signed with the company.
AQP 'bastardised', says Care UK boss

8-Jul-2011
A director of one of England’s leading private sector health care providers has expressed doubts over the government’s “any qualified provider” policy, describing it as “bastardised”.
CMO recommends directors for research in NHS trusts

7-Jul-2011
The chief medical officer has recommended that NHS organisations appoint a board-level director responsible for research, and highlighted the financial incentives for taking part in clinical trials.
NHS London outlines GP scorecard scheme

6-Jul-2011
NHS London’s medical director has given details of a GP scorecard scheme which is expected to become a template for a national government drive to increase the transparency of general practice.
Exclusive: government to publish GP performance scorecards in transparency push

6-Jul-2011
Ministers are tomorrow due to announce a new wave of transparency requirements for the NHS, including the release of GP performance scorecards and clinical audit data.
Treasury review of NHS charities sparks 'nationalisation' fear

1-Jul-2011
Treasury plans to place charitable assets worth £500m on the public balance sheet for the first time will have the effect of “nationalising” NHS charities, critics of the move have warned.
Media Watch: health reform fatigue sets

30 June 2011
After the headlines generated by the NHS Future Forum report and the government’s response to it, the 181 amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill, published on 23 June, received more muted coverage.
Support for children's heart unit intensifies in the South

30 June 2011
Nothing mobilises a community quite like a hospital reconfiguration. Especially, it turns out, when the service threatened with possible closure is a children’s heart unit.
‘Specialist’ doctors on CCG boards could be GPs

29-Jun-2011
The “hospital doctors” due to sit on the boards of clinical commissioning groups will not have to be currently working in acute care and may even be serving GPs, HSJ has learned.
Health secretary gains powers over NHS Commissioning Board in amended bill

29-Jun-2011
The health secretary is to be given the power to intervene in “particular cases” of “significant failure” by the NHS Commissioning Board, under the newly amended Health Bill.
Government plans more Health Bill amendments

27-Jun-2011
Ministers are preparing a second round of amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill, HSJ has learned.
DH in row with NAO over value for money of social enterprises

24-Jun-2011
A report claiming that social enterprises run by staff might not deliver better services or produce financial savings, has sparked a row between the Department of Health and the National Audit Office.
DH's information chief Christine Connelly resigns

22-Jun-2011
The Department of Health’s chief information officer Christine Connelly has resigned, it was announced today.
Information strategy delayed until autumn, DH confirms

20-Jun-2011
The government’s long-awaited “information revolution” strategy for health has been delayed again, and will not now be released until the autumn, the Department of Health has confirmed.
Nicholson to remain NHS chief executive until 2013 as reform timetable relaxes

20-Jun-2011
Sir David Nicholson will remain NHS chief executive for the whole of 2012-13, as well as leading the NHS commissioning board in its initial stages, the Department of Health has revealed.
Negligence payouts soared to £1bn in 2010-11

17-Jun-2011
Clinical negligence claims have cost the NHS £2.6bn over the past three years, with payout costs almost doubling in the past year, latest figures have shown.
Steve Field warns of clinicians' concerns over health reforms

16-Jun-2011
The chair of the NHS Future Forum has warned that clinicians fear the government’s changes to the Health Bill will slow down the pace of reform in some parts of the health service.
Fears raised over two-tier commissioning system

15-Jun-2011
The Department of Health must set target dates for handing budgets to local commissioning groups or an unworkable two-tier system will emerge, senior figures have told HSJ.
Major power to be focused at centre

15-Jun-2011
Major powers and oversight will now sit with the health secretary, the NHS Commissioning Board and its local arms, under changes to the Health Bill set out by the government this week.
Coalition reform agreement sees deadlines extended and relaxed

14-Jun-2011
The government has ducked a self-imposed deadline for creating an all-foundation trust provider sector, and scrapped its proposals for safeguarding specific services.
In full: government responds to NHS Future Forum

14-Jun-2011
The government has responded to the NHS Future Forum, confirming agreed changes to its overhaul of the service.
Exclusive: ministers set to overrule Future Forum

13-Jun-2011
A new coalition agreement on NHS reform will put the Competition and Co-operation Panel on a statutory footing, leaving Monitor with a duty to “protect and promote patients’ interests”, HSJ understands.
Exclusive: re-written Health Bill will put competition panel on statutory footing

13-Jun-2011
The coalition agreement on re-writing the Health Bill will put the Competition and Co-operation Panel on a statutory footing, leaving Monitor with a duty to “protect and promote patients’ interests”, HSJ has been told.
Exclusive: hackers accessed NHS passwords in security breach

9-Jun-2011
An international group of “pirate-ninja” hackers announced today that it breached NHS online security after gaining access to administration passwords.
Trusts warned of increased legal costs as negligence claims rocket

9-Jun-2011
FINANCE: The cost of litigation to the health service could rise to “unsustainable” levels due to ‘no win, no fee’ lawyers and agencies “farming” complaints against NHS organisations, HSJ has been told.
PM pledge means no change on 18 week target

7-Jun-2011
The Department of Health has confirmed that there will be no reintroduction of national performance management for the 18 week referral to treatment target, after prime minister David Cameron pledged to retain the limit.
GP commissioning 'poses new data risks'

6-Jun-2011
The ability of GP commissioning consortia to manage information has been called into question by a Department of Health regulator.
Organisational reform poses 'catastrophic' information risk

2-Jun-2011
Managers could “stumble into illegality” by breaching the Data Protection Act as a result of the rapid structural reforms to the NHS, HSJ has learned.
More performance data to be released under new transparency guidelines

2 June 2011
Ministers are set to order the health service to publicly release previously restricted clinical data sets as part of a renewed cross-government transparency push, HSJ has learned.
DH set to extend delay plagued IT contract

27-May-2011
NHS trusts in the North, Midlands and East of England may have to wait until 2016-17 for a new electronic care record system, a year later than planned.
Exclusive: Clegg aide signals major delay to bill

26-May-2011
Nick Clegg’s right hand man has told HSJ the Health Bill may not re-enter the Commons until the autumn to ensure some of its most controversial provisions can be “thoroughly and comprehensively” redrafted.
South Central trusts face paybill cuts to meet CIP targets

26 May 2011
If trusts are to meet their cost improvement plan targets for 2011-12, they have to make significant savings through cutting the paybill.
Information strategy could be delayed by listening exercise - Connelly

26 May 2011
The Department of Health’s information chief has told HSJ that her long awaited information strategy could yet be amended if the NHS Future Forum recommends a softer line on transparency to secure the support of clinicians.
Lung cancer audit shows huge variations between trusts

23-May-2011
An audit of lung cancer care has found wide regional variation in the number of patients receiving treatment.
Data transparency letter to Treasury reveals fraud fears

19-May-2011
Public organisations are at an increased risk of fraud because of the government’s requirement for them to publish detailed spending data online, HSJ has learned.
NPfIT 'should be scrapped' after NAO verdict

18-May-2011
Ministers are facing calls to scrap both the National Programme for IT and the agency responsible for managing it, after a damning report concluded that the scheme will not deliver its primary aim or represent value for money.
Slipman to leave independent FT Network after a year

12-May-2011
The Foundation Trust Network has announced it will become formally independent of the NHS Confederation on 1 June and will be led by director Sue Slipman until April next year.
£1.9bn cut to pay budgets revealed in trust CIPs

12-May-2011
NHS providers are planning to cut pay budgets by £1.9bn this year, a study released exclusively to HSJ has revealed.
PCT clusters may survive as reform pressure builds

11-May-2011
A continued existence beyond 2013 for primary care trust clusters looked increasingly likely this week, as the health secretary’s NHS reforms came under huge political pressure.
Most trusts to miss moving target on information governance

6-May-2011
PERFORMANCE: Around two thirds of NHS trusts will miss a Department of Health target monitoring their safeguarding of personal and patient information, HSJ has been told.
Provider contracts still in dispute

4-May-2011
COMMERCIAL: A third of contracts between providers and commissioners in the North West are still incomplete, HSJ has discovered.
Field emphasises focus on secondary legislation for NHS reform tweaks

21-Apr-2011
The recommendations of the NHS Future Forum are likely to focus on secondary legislation and on the assurance process for consortia, rather than push for major changes to the Health and Social Care Bill, its chair has indicated to HSJ.
Community service transfer delays revealed by Department of Health

20-Apr-2011
A total of 29 community service transfers involving 35 primary care trusts have been delayed beyond the Department of Health’s 1 April deadline, the DH has admitted.
Trusts failing on data security

15-Apr-2011
More than half of NHS trusts have missed a government target for making their patient data more secure, HSJ has learned.
Milton backs increments freeze deal amid congress heckles

14 April 2011
Health minister Anne Milton drew heckles at the Royal College of Nursing congress after insisting a national pay increments freeze rejected by the union would remain on the table at local level.
Private providers to share training costs - Lansley

14 April 2011
The health secretary has said the private sector should be subject to the “same obligations” regarding education and training as NHS providers.
Government information strategy draft scrapped

13-Apr-2011
The government’s information strategy has been delayed by around three months after a draft document was drawn up and subsequently scrapped, HSJ understands.
Nurses pass vote of no confidence in Lansley

13-Apr-2011
The Royal College of Nursing has overwhelmingly passed a no confidence motion in health secretary Andrew Lansley and the management of the coalition government’s NHS reform programme.
SHA abolition delayed by three months

7-Apr-2011
The abolition of strategic health authorities is to be delayed by three months until July 2012, the Department of Health is expected to announce today.
Media Watch: all ears as Lansley promises to 'listen'

7 April 2011
It was telling that health secretary Andrew Lansley had to defend his NHS reforms himself on the letters page of The Times last week. The national papers have scented blood.
DH information chief stresses need for 'plurality' of systems

7 April 2011
The Department of Health’s information chief has indicated that the NHS information strategy will stress the need to join up separate IT systems.
Any qualified provider will 'open up' IT market - Lansley

6-Apr-2011
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has pledged to open up the NHS IT market to a wider range of suppliers, and said that he wants to put private providers under the same data reporting obligations as public organisations.
One month's delay to NHS reforms

5-Apr-2011
The Health Bill’s progress through Parliament is to be delayed by a month, HSJ understands, to give health secretary Andrew Lansley time to listen to concerns about the possible impact on the NHS.
Reforms forcing managers to choose between job and prison, Information Commissioner warns

1-Apr-2011
Data security in the NHS is being put at risk because managers are focusing on financial issues and structural reforms, the Information Commissioner has warned.
Don't jump to conclusions on health bill changes, government source warns

1-Apr-2011
A senior government figure has told HSJ that Monitor’s duty to promote competition and the accountability of GP consortia are being scrutinised in discussions over bill amendments.
GPs 'don't get' what third sector has to offer

31 March 2011
Royal College of GPs chief executive Neil Hunt has admitted most family doctors do not understand the services charities can offer and will need to gain a firmer grasp of the third sector if they are to become effective commissioners.
NHS missing out on high-cost equipment savings

31 March 2011
The NHS is missing the chance to save money on expensive equipment by failing to collaborate on purchasing and maintenance, a National Audit Office investigation has found.
£18m assisted living technologies project announced

31 March 2011
Ministers have announced an £18m project to test new “assisted living” technologies in five sites across the UK.
Monitor capacity holds up community service transfers

24 March 2011
Monitor has admitted that its own capacity issues are largely to blame for the delayed transfer of community service providers.
Non-EU visitors to be charged for care

24 March 2011
Ministers are considering charging non-European Union nationals for primary care, the Department of Health has announced.
Patients more satisfied with hospitals than GP services

24 March 2011
An analysis of patient feedback has found significantly lower rates of satisfaction for GP practices than for hospitals. It also found that NHS patients preferred being treated at private hospitals.
Heart surgeons call for strong revalidation regime

24 March 2011
A leading heart surgeon has called for the planned doctor revalidation system to be toughened up after a study found many NHS clinicians were reluctant to make use of outcomes data.
Don't simply cut posts to deliver QIPP savings, Easton warns trusts

17 March 2011
The Department of Health will be “increasingly discriminating” between trusts that find genuine efficiencies and those that simply cut posts, national director for improvement Jim Easton has warned.
Health Bill dissent 'destabilising' for NHS - Alliance chief

17 March 2011
Doubt has been cast on the government’s NHS reform drive after Liberal Democrat dissent forced health secretary Andrew Lansley to admit further changes could be made to the plans.
DH 'reneging' on cancer drugs fund pledge

14-Mar-2011
The Department of Health stands accused of reneging on a pledge to provide extra money for cancer drugs after admitting the £200m pot will be mainly funded by clawing back primary care trust budgets.
FTs warn budget cuts could cause organisational failure

10 March 2011
Foundation trusts have warned that tougher than expected budget cuts mean they face “serious financial stress” which could lead to organisational failures and thousands of job losses.
FT quality reports unreliable, Audit Commission finds

10 March 2011
Foundation trust quality accounts are unreliable, with wide variations in the standard of data used, an Audit Commission study has found.
GP reforms will prevent 'Mid Staffs' scandals

10 March 2011
The government’s commissioning reforms will help prevent scandals such as those at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust by ensuring GPs do what “they ought to do”, the health secretary has said.
Most serious incidents rise by more than a fifth

10 March 2011
A rising proportion of reported incidents in NHS organisations involve deaths and permanent injuries, latest figures from the National Patient Safety Agency indicate.
GPs concerned over reforms' impact on hospital finances, poll shows

10 March 2011
GPs overwhelmingly believe the government’s NHS reforms will have a major impact on the viability of their local hospital, a survey has shown.
PCT clusters should have guarantee of existence beyond 2013, says Nuffield Trust

9-Mar-2011
Primary care trust clusters should be given a guarantee that they will continue to exist after 2013 and could become regional outposts of the NHS Commissioning Board, according to experts at the Nuffield Trust.
PCTs fail to assess value of cancer spend

2-Mar-2011
Most primary care trusts are failing to assess whether the cancer treatments they commission offer value for money, according to MPs.
Lincolnshire acute trust threatened with prosecution on care failings

2-Mar-2011
Inspectors have threatened a hospital trust in Lincolnshire with shutting down services or prosecution after identifying a series of problems with the standard of care offered.
Tameside in significant breach of foundation terms

2-Mar-2011
Tameside Hospital Foundation Trust has been found to be in significant breach of its terms of authorisation as a foundation, after consistently overspending and not drawing up plans to return to solvency.
Chief fires back after damning CQC report

1-Mar-2011
A chief executive whose trust received a damning Care Quality Commission inspection report has criticised the regulator for ignoring the “bigger picture”.
CQC threatens mental health FT with enforcement action over failings

28-Feb-2011
Inspectors have called for urgent improvements at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust after finding it to be in breach of five essential standards.

Editor's Comment

Health Service JournalDavid Williams

Health Service Journal
David Williams