Health Service Journal
Emma Dent
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Making progress in mental health policy and practice - an HSJ supplement
3-Dec-2011
This week’s HSJ supplement in association with Lloyds Pharmacy looks at how a new direction for mental health strategy must take this opportunity to improve outcomes for patients with mental health issues. -
HSJ special supplement: primary care
13-Oct-2011
This week’s HSJ supplement takes a look at primary care, featuring articles on regulation, referral management, community services and sustainability. -
Will commissioning reform aid integration? A special HSJ supplement
28-Sep-2011
A special supplement from HSJ, in association with KPMG, this week looks at whether reforming how healthcare services are commissioned can break down the existing barriers to offering and delivering integrated services. -
Liberating innovation in the NHS: award winning ideas, six months on
27-Jul-2011
Last year’s Liberating Ideas Award winners have been working hard on their innovative projects. Emma Dent catches up on their progress and aspirations. -
Managing the new NHS - an HSJ supplement
30-Jun-2011
This bumper HSJ supplement looks at the myriad of areas where organisations will need a firm handle, to manage the transition to a new, post-reform NHS. -
'Care in the home' scheme helping reduce length of stay and hospital admissions
1-Mar-2011
A third sector voluntary scheme helps service users return home from hospital sooner and resume their daily activities - and it even helps to avoid admissions in the first place, says Emma Dent. -
Voluntary sector speaks up on QIPP
18-Jan-2011
Charities are getting more bullish about saying how they can deliver care and savings in health, says Emma Dent -
The HSJ and Capgemini Liberating Ideas Award Winners - Winning ideas are going places fast
13-Jan-2011
The HSJ and Capgemini Liberating Ideas Award celebrates the best local innovations and set the challenge for national adoption. Read about the winners here -
Emma Dent says farewell
16 April 2009
Well readers, it has been about four years since my then editor asked me to write a column for this page. He talked me into writing it “for six months or so”. And I’m still here. -
Green Party calls for better dentistry services
14-Apr-2009
Access to NHS dentistry is down to “geographical accident”, the Green Party has claimed. -
Severe personality disorders service consultation launched
7-Apr-2009
The South East Coast, East of England, South Central and London regions are set to jointly launch a consultation on how to improve services for people with severe personality disorder. -
Cancer patient needs not being met
2-Apr-2009
Four out of five nurses think the needs of people living with or after having cancer are not being met, according to a survey by charity Macmillan Cancer Support and HSJ sister magazine Nursing Times. -
Emma Dent on the NHS in the media
2 April 2009
Hands up who saw the recent Dispatches programme on nurses? There were some fairly shocking stats about the number of nurses who have seen patients placed in “danger” (we’ll presume through treatment and medication errors rather than, say, being put in the path of man eating tigers) and nurses not having time to take a break or even go to the toilet. -
Failed asylum seekers have no right to free healthcare
31-Mar-2009
Failed asylum seekers are not entitled to free treatment on the NHS, but trusts can decide to treat people if they cannot afford to pay for it, Appeal Court judges have ruled. -
What can turn the tide of the obesity epidemic?
26 March 2009
By mid-century the cost to the NHS of weight related health problems could double to more than £8bn and a quarter of UK children may be obese. Emma Dent asks what is being done about a huge challenge -
Nursing and Midwifery Council publishes new guidance on caring for older people
24-Mar-2009
The Nursing and Midwifery Council has published guidance on delivering compassionate care for older people. -
Blood service restructure should be stopped - Unite
24-Mar-2009
Plans to restructure the blood transfusion service should be halted, health union Unite has said. -
Learning disabilities services suffer from 'glaring inadequacies'
20-Mar-2009
Improvements in the commissioning of learning disabilities services by councils and primary care trusts need to be quicker and more widespread, a report by the Commission for Social Care Inspection, Healthcare Commission and Mental Health Act Commission has found. -
Emma Dent on medics vs managers
19 March 2009
On my twice daily bus journeys I am assailed by my fellow passengers’ trivial or personal mobile phone conversations. Many of these drive me to fantasise violence, if only to get a few minutes of peace. -
CMO calls for network of pain clinics
16-Mar-2009
A national pain service model or pathway of care should be developed to stop chronic pain ruining people’s lives, while the feasibility of a national network of pain clinics should be looked at, chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson has said in his annual report. -
Raising alcohol prices could save NHS £1bn a year
16-Mar-2009
Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson has proposed enforcing a minimum price of 50 pence per unit of alcohol in a bid to reduce the effects of drinking on health and society. -
Emma Dent on the mysteries of maternity care
29-Jan-2009
Standard maternity care is a curious mix, I am discovering. Half is highly medicalised; the other half involves being left to your own devices. -
NHS Confed calls for IT programme overhaul
27-Jan-2009
The national programme for IT should be called in by government, NHS Confederation policy director Nigel Edwards has said. -
DH unveils plans for NHS national leadership council
20-Jan-2009
A national leadership council designed to nurture the next generation of NHS leaders has been launched by the Department of Health.The council will have up to 18 members, including five part-time leads for the priority areas of clinical leadership, top leaders, board development, emerging leaders and inclusion. -
Free prescriptions for cancer patients
20-Jan-2009
People being treated for cancer can now apply for free prescriptions. From 1 April, all prescriptions - not just those related to the cancer treatment - will be available to cancer patients at no charge. -
New chief executive for Walsall PCT
20-Jan-2009
Denise McLellan is to become chief executive of Walsall primary care trust. She is due to join the organisation before April. -
Wales launches weight management scheme for children
20-Jan-2009
A Welsh Assembly-funded programme to help obese children manage their weight will be rolled out across Wales from today, it has been announced. -
Emma Dent on mobiles in hospitals
15-Jan-2009
So the ban on mobile phone use in hospitals is being relaxed. Not that patients had been taking any notice of it in the first place. -
Midwives' workloads increasing under Labour, claim Lib Dems
13-Jan-2009
The number of midwives in England is failing to keep up with the rising birth rate, the Liberal Democrats have claimed. -
NHS North West falling behind on GP extended hours
13-Jan-2009
Figures released by the Department of Health show that 69 per cent of GP practices were offering extended opening hours by the end of December. -
Patient deaths due to errors up 60 per cent - Liberal Democrats
6-Jan-2009
The number of patients who have died in hospital as a result of incidents including medical errors and healthcare acquired infections has risen by 60 per cent since 2005, according to figures publicised by the Liberal Democrats. -
Consultation on expensive NHS phone numbers
16-Dec-2008
A 14-week public consultation has been launched on more expensive phone numbers being used by NHS organisations. -
National uniform launched for NHS Scotland
16-Dec-2008
A national uniform and dress code that will see the end of the white coat is being introduced for all NHS staff in Scotland. -
Retired NHS workers may face pension cuts
16-Dec-2008
Some NHS pensioners may face cuts in their pensions from April after it was discovered some people receiving public sector pensions might have been paid up to twice as much as they should have been.The error occurred when guaranteed minimum pensions were not taken into account when annual pension increases were calculated. -
More GP practices offering extended hours
9-Dec-2008
The number of GP practices offering extended hours has reached 5,380 or 65 per cent of 8,263 practices. This is an increase from 58.9 per cent in October. -
Commission on future of public services launched
9-Dec-2008
Former Audit Commission chief executive and NHS deputy chief executive Sir Andrew Foster is to chair a commission on the future of public services. The Commission on 2020 Public Services said it is to define the principles of a post-Beveridge framework for public services in an era of “hard fiscal choices”. -
More emergency consultants needed, says college
9-Dec-2008
The number of emergency medicine consultant posts needs to increase from 740 to 1,500 by 2012, according to the College of Emergency Medicine. -
Alan Johnson orders shop cigarette displays to be removed
9-Dec-2008
Tobacco displays will be removed from shops and access to vending machines restricted as part of moves to stop children and young people from smoking.After holding a consultation on tobacco control, the Department of Health said cigarette displays promote smoking to young people, prompt impulse purchases of cigarettes and undermine efforts to quit. -
Emma Dent on using the NHS
4-Dec-2008
Pharmacies in my neck of the woods often have large posters that proclaim: 'In (insert name of somewhat notorious London borough) NHS patients can usually choose where to have their treatment' in their windows. -
Almost half of all patients offered choice of hospital
2-Dec-2008
The July patient choice survey carried out by the Department of Health showed 46 per cent of patients recalled being offered a choice of hospital for their first outpatient appointment. This was up from 45 per cent in May. -
Deprivation doubles risk of developing cervical cancer, report claims
2-Dec-2008
Women living in deprived areas are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer than those in affluent areas, according to a report published by the National Cancer Intelligence Network. -
Coalition launched to help vulnerable adults
2-Dec-2008
Criminal justice charity Clinks, drugs charity DrugScope, homelessness agencies umbrella body Homeless Link and mental health charity Mind have formed a coalition to support socially excluded and vulnerable adults. -
HSJ Awards celebrate best in healthcare
2-Dec-2008
HSJ has celebrated the best in healthcare at its annual awards ceremony, held last night at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The hundreds of entries received showed the determination of staff to promote excellence. -
Help announced to get people fit for work
25-Nov-2008
Sick notes could be replaced by 'fit notes' and fit for work schemes launched for people who have been off work due to sickness, under proposals announced by health secretary Alan Johnson and work and pensions secretary James Purnell. -
Over a quarter of people in UK with HIV unaware of it, says HPA
25-Nov-2008
Twenty-eight per cent of people living with HIV in the UK are unaware they are infected, the Health Protection Agency has said. -
Trafford Healthcare appoints new chief executive
25-Nov-2008
Trafford Healthcare trust has appointed Ron Calvert as chief executive. -
Is cancer campaigning skewing health priorities?
24-Nov-2008
It is a disease that grips both public and media attention and has become a dominant force in health policy as a result. But is vociferous campaigning over cancer care skewing priorities, asks Emma Dent -
Emma Dent on the need for a national hygiene drive
20-Nov-2008
Obviously I'm in favour of tight infection controls in hospitals, but don't you feel for the mitts of the staff having to wash them dozens of times a day? They must get red raw. -
Mental health trusts win contracts to treat defence personnel
18-Nov-2008
Seven NHS mental health trusts have been awarded contracts to provide inpatient mental health services to serving defence personnel. -
More to do on Scottish cancer waiting targets, says minister
18-Nov-2008
Most Scottish NHS boards are meeting or exceeding the target of 95 per cent of patients with cancer going from referral to treatment within 62 days, but more needs to be done to ensure all boards are meeting the target, Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon has said. -
NHS Evidence advisory committee established
18-Nov-2008
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has announced it is setting up an independent advisory committee for NHS Evidence. -
Teenage girl wins right to die after PCT drops court case
11-Nov-2008
Herefordshire primary care trust has dropped High Court legal proceedings to place a 13-year-old patient who refuses to have a heart transplant under a child protection order. -
Department of Health launches 'lifestyle revolution'
11-Nov-2008
Thousands of national and local organisations have joined forces to launch a Department of Health-led 'lifestyle revolution' to eat well, get more exercise and live longer. -
Give asylum seekers access to NHS care, BMA urges
11-Nov-2008
Restricting asylum seekers' access to primary care results in costly treatment having to be accessed later, MPs have been told. -
Scottish hospitals to face surprise hygiene inspections
11-Nov-2008
All hospitals in Scotland face unannounced inspections to check they are clean and preventing the spread of infection.Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon announced the measure as part of a consultation on infection control. -
Emma Dent on smoking
6-Nov-2008
Readers may be unsurprised to learn that I have a number of pet hates. -
Emma Dent on the credit crunch
23-Oct-2008
When I was young my local council lost the equivalent of about £40m in today's money when the bank BCCI collapsed. -
Emma Dent on an early coughs and colds season
9-Oct-2008
Is it me or has the sniffles season started early this year? Autumn has barely begun but already my unfortunate colleagues have been laid low by a variety of bad colds, respiratory infections and various as yet unidentified viruses. -
Getting to the bottom of NHS diabetes care
29-Sep-2008
Diabetes is on the rise and is estimated to be responsible for more than one in 10 deaths in England - so why are more GPs not detecting and monitoring it, asks Emma Dent -
Emma Dent on finding yet another GP
25-Sep-2008
Having undergone the physical and mental strain of moving I have my reward - not only living in my very own flat but a GP practice with more than one doctor, operating out of a purpose-built surgery. -
HIV services: caring for older patients
22-Sep-2008
As people with HIV/AIDS live longer, services must adapt to meet the needs of more patients and the first generation of HIV-positive pensioners. Emma Dent reports -
Emma Dent is humbled by medical ingenuity
18-Sep-2008
It may have come to your attention that I have something of a cynical nature. And unfortunately writing about health policy has done little to stem that. But when someone acts in a truly humane way to help those worse off than them, even I can stop being world-weary long enough to be left speechless. -
Emma Dent on the need for moving help
4-Sep-2008
In these pressed financial times, with estate agents twiddling their thumbs for lack of activity and thinking of sending their kids up chimneys to help pay the bills, I have struck on a way they can boost business. -
Emma Dent on extended opening hours
21-Aug-2008
Have you seen the latest monthly figures from the DH on the number of GPs offering extended opening hours? The numbers are increasing, although 22 PCTs and care trusts - 14.5 per cent - still had no practices in their areas offering extended hours. -
Emma Dent on summer in the city
7-Aug-2008
There are good things about summer in the city when half the populace have cleared off somewhere with less concrete. -
Emma Dent on the smoking ban
24-Jul-2008
One year on from the introduction of the English smoking ban, it is striking how much difference it has made to the nation's social habits. -
Emma Dent on celebrating the 60th
10-Jul-2008
At an NHS Confederation conference do a fellow guest commented that I can be a bit grumpy in this column. -
NHS60: Job adverts over the years
30-Jun-2008
Emma Dent on six decades of job adverts in HSJ - and how they have been a barometer of policy -
Emma Dent on Confed dilemmas
26-Jun-2008
Good Lord readers, it's that time again. How quickly it comes round. Of what am I talking? The NHS Confederation annual conference, of course. -
Embrace commissioning, Britnell urges Confed delegates
19-Jun-2008
Lord Darzi's next stage review will include exciting opportunities for commissioning staff, including freedoms based on those for foundation trusts, Department of Health director general of commissioning and system management Mark Britnell has told the NHS Confederation conference. -
Increase patient choice to control demand, Confed hears
19-Jun-2008
NHS Choices could be used to help manage demand for treatment, Department of Health director of system management and new enterprise Bob Ricketts has told the NHS Confederation annual conference. -
Emma Dent on Scottish drinking habits
12-Jun-2008
I read the following recent story with interest: 'Recalculated figures from the 2003 Scottish Health Survey show 40 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women are binge drinking at least double the recommended daily intake on their heaviest drinking day.' -
NHS60: Icing on the cake
30-May-2008
Three managers who share their 60th birthday with the NHS talk to Emma Dent about their long careers in the service -
Emma Dent on GPs and drinking habits
29-May-2008
So I registered with a new GP. Once I had finally found one it was a pleasantly pain-free experience. -
Emma Dent on finding a GP
15-May-2008
So 12 primary care trusts are getting additional cash to fund a new GP practice per patch. And my PCT is not among them. (Although a neighbouring London PCT is. Is GP access alone enough of a reason to move to the 'burbs? Hmm.) -
Emma Dent looks for a GP again
17-Apr-2008
Well, we have managed yet another move with bodies and minds largely intact, bar the odd bruise or 10. -
Emma Dent on staying away from cigarettes
3-Apr-2008
The other day, smoking cessation workers from the local primary care trust were stationed outside HSJ Towers and the nearby Tube station. -
Emma Dent calls for green spaces without the public urinating
20-Mar-2008
One of the things I like best about London is that despite being big, dirty, crowded and at times downright chaotic, its allocation of green spaces is among the most generous for any capital city in the world. -
Emma Dent on having a drink
6-Mar-2008
As I believe I have written here before, I have thought for some time that I would make a lousy alcoholic because I get terrible hangovers. Just thinking about my top five worst-ever mornings-after of all time makes me feel queasy. -
Emma Dent on the common cold
21-Feb-2008
I have a new hobby: blowing my nose. Not the most riveting of pastimes but my hope is that framing said activity in this way will make it seem less like a chore and more of a fun way to pass the time. -
Emma Dent on NHS pride
7-Feb-2008
One of the ironic things about writing about healthcare for a living is that if you are well yourself, you rarely get to see ill health in the raw. -
Born in Bradford project takes on infant mortality
28-Jan-2008
Bradford's infant mortality rate is twice the British average. An ambitious project is tracking the lives of 10,000 babies in the archetypal deprived, multi-ethnic city in the hope of understanding why. Emma Dent reports. Pictures by Rii Schroer -
Emma Dent: getting on the hospital ladder?
24-Jan-2008
HSJ's announcements service recently carried the news that insurer Combined Insurance believes that a significant number of people would pay more for a home that is close to good hospitals. -
Managers who went from Richmond House to the NHS
21-Jan-2008
Life at the top of the health service is enough to make even the toughest go-getter think of quitting, which is what our interviewees did - only to jump back in at a more grass-roots level. HSJ finds out about now and then -
Emma Dent on the year ahead
10-Jan-2008
A happy new year to you all, readers, and I trust 2008 finds you in good health and not in the grip of the grim-sounding norovirus that ruined the festive season for several of my acquaintances. -
HSJ talks to managers who were there in 1948
7-Jan-2008
Emma Dent talks to three administrators who were there when the NHS launched on 5 July 1948, transforming their careers to make them forerunners of modern management -
Emma Dent on the Manchester doughnut
13-Dec-2007
Aha, a response to my last column about the state of Manchester. Architect, researcher and consultant Wayne Ruga, who has been working with Salford primary care trust on developing a 'human-centred culture', writes to congratulate ... -
Emma Dent on Manchester's tale of two cities
29-Nov-2007
There sometimes comes a point in life when you find yourself agreeing with people you never thought you would. I felt this way when I read former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith's report about Manchester. -
PCTs urged to put local patients before politicians
29-Nov-2007
Primary care providers must not 'blow' their chance to strengthen local decision making, says the Department of Health's director general for commissioning and system management. -
Practice-based commissioning: poor data may scupper efforts
29-Nov-2007
The future of practice-based commissioning is in jeopardy unless the quality of data available to commissioners improves, the government's financial watchdog has warned. -
Emma Dent on hospital phobia
15-Nov-2007
HSJ Towers has recently been swelled with the arrival of many other magazines published by our parent company - previously we were scattered in offices across London. -
Mental health: the safety scandal
5-Nov-2007
Sexual safety is one of the biggest issues in inpatient care, with concerns not being heeded because of complacency, burnt-out staff and prejudice. Emma Dent reports -
Emma Dent on getting recognition
1-Nov-2007
Everyone, even health policy journalists, needs little rewards to brighten up the working day. I am always really quite chuffed when a reader rings, e-mails or stops me in the street to tell me they enjoyed one of my features - or even one of these columns. -
Emma Dent goes round the houses
18-Oct-2007
In this column last time I reported on our stressful attempts to buy a house. Well, the stress has stopped. Because we are not buying a house any more. -
Emma Dent gets diagnosed
4-Oct-2007
A kind reader recently commented that this column reads as though I have spent hours on it. At least, I think they were being kind. -
Maternity death rates worsening for poorer mums
4-Oct-2007
Maternity mortality rates have increased, the maternity services czar has revealed. -
Renewed efforts to set up national tariff
21-Sep-2007
Mental health trusts are signing up to new payment by results pilots, although fears remain that a national system will not be implemented. -
Born under a bad sign
20-Sep-2007
Perinatal depression is gaining a higher profile, with a drive to increase awareness and provide wider access to specialist provision. Emma Dent reports -
Emma Dent at the dentist
20-Sep-2007
'Half an hour later I would emerge bleary-eyed, in pain and incapable of eating for days' -
Star quality
17-Sep-2007
A rich variety of activities can help ease boredom for inpatients and lower aggression. Emma Dent reports on how the Star Wards scheme uses pastimes as therapy -
Mental health special feature: the big issues
10-Sep-2007
From vulnerable women on mixed-sex wards to continued over-representation of BME groups, Mental Health Act Commission chief executive Chris Heginbotham has a lot on his plate. Emma Dent reports -
Mental Health Bill briefing
6-Sep-2007
In 1998, then health secretary Frank Dobson announced the government’s intention to create new legislation to close ‘loopholes’ in the 1983 Mental Health Act. The announcement followed the conviction of personality-disordered Michael Stone in 1998 for the brutal murders of Lin and Megan Russell. -
Emma Dent gets wheels
6-Sep-2007
'Traffic? If said reader is disturbed by the traffic in Lancaster they had better never come to HSJ towers, where it frequently feels like we are perched on the edge of the M1' -
Green shoots of recovery
28-Aug-2007
In the last of our series on organisational turnaround, we peer through the breaks in the clouds around two once-troubled trusts -
Emma Dent
23-Aug-2007
Warm autumns that fool plants into thinking it is spring, daffodils flowering in February, bears that refuse to hibernate because it is not cold enough. -
Born under a bad sign
16-Aug-2007
Perinatal depression is gaining a higher profile, with. a drive to increase awareness and provide wider access. to specialist provision. Emma Dent reports -
Emma Dent
9-Aug-2007
I have told readers before that I cannot ride a bike. This is a piece of information that never fails to attract shrieks of disbelief from friends, colleagues and acquaintances far more at home on two wheels than I am. I should add that I can't drive either. I do not, in fact, 'do' wheels unless they belong to a bus, car or taxi that someone else is driving. -
Emma Dent
22-Feb-2007
I have mentioned here before that both my parents worked in a psychiatric hospital during the 1980s. As a consequence they both advised me never to become a nurse. -
Emma Dent
11-Jan-2007
'And how could I get fit? I loathe gyms. I always have' -
Appleby: acute trusts should be ashamed
1-Jan-2007
National mental health director Professor Louis Appleby has said some acute trusts should be 'ashamed of themselves' for relying on mental health trusts to bail them out of financial trouble. -
Emma Dent
1-Jan-2007
There are some people who you cannot imagine using a nickname. I used to date a man whose first name you would no sooner shorten than suggest he ditch wine and earnest films in favour of bitter and rugby league. -
Emma Dent on the dreaded lurgy
1-Jan-2007
I have written before about my non-scientfic diagnosis of this condition, where tired bodies succumb to bugs and germs. I think it might be a sign that I should take a holiday -
Mental health is subsidising other trusts
1-Jan-2007
Mental health trusts are being forced to subsidise other parts of the health economy, a report has warned. -
The safer sex
1-Jan-2007
Medium secure provision for women has been inadequate, but services tailored to their needs are now being provided. Emma Dent reports -
Emma Dent
14-Dec-2006
'Getting drunk in front of your mum is too embarrassing to contemplate' -
Winterton: BME service discrimination 'unethical and unlawful'
12-Oct-2006
Black and minority ethnic mental health service users are being discriminated against in ways that are unethical and unlawful, a health minister has admitted.
