Election Battle 2010
News on the parties' NHS policiesElection Watchlist
Election 2010: a candidate watchlist for the NHS
The incoming and outgoing MPs that matter to the health service
Election 2010: constituency watchlist for the NHS
Election outcomes in these areas could have significant implications for local NHS services
Gone but not forgotten - the Labour health team
What people are saying about departing health ministers Ann Keen, Gillian Merron, Mike O’Brien and Phil Hope
Election Battle News
Competitive tendering will be ‘as important’ as any qualified provider
Competitive tendering will be as significant as the use of any qualified provider in the reformed NHS, an influential commission is expected to conclude at the end of the month.
Amended private patient income cap 'will have little impact'
A government proposal to cap the amount of private income foundation trusts can earn at 49 per cent will have little practical impact on the health reforms, experts have claimed.
NHS private income cap 'to be lifted'
Health service reforms will pave the way for NHS hospitals to earn up to half of their income from private work, it has been reported.
Lords row over 'secret' file on NHS reform risk
The government has said it is highly unlikely that a tribunal judgment on releasing a confidential risk assessment of its health reforms would be delivered before the legislation’s next stage through parliament.
Embrace NHS competition, Milburn tells Labour
Former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn has warned his successors in the party to back competition in the health service and adopt a more reformist outlook.
Government 'duty of candour' plans criticised
Government proposals to contractually oblige organisations providing NHS services to inform patients of mistakes in their care have been criticised as inadequate.
Labour peers prepare amendments for health bill
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.
Burnham moves back to health in shadow cabinet reshuffle
Andy Burnham has been confirmed as John Healey’s replacement as shadow health secretary.
Lansley's 'shining example' forced to deny rationing claims
A social enterprise held up as a “shining example” by Andrew Lansley has been accused of “rationing” physiotherapy services through its use of the flagship any qualified provider policy.
Lansley: I have fought 'misinformation and misrepresentation' over reforms
The government has battled “misinterpretation, misinformation and misrepresentation” in its efforts to reform the NHS, health secretary Andrew Lansley told the Conservative party conference today.
Unison 'will not campaign' against all reconfigurations
A senior Unison figure has revealed to HSJ that the union is prepared to accept some hospital reconfigurations.
Government sets out limits of Health Bill compromise
The government is prepared to compromise over how the Health Bill sets out the health secretary’s duties to ensure the NHS provides services, HSJ has been told.
Senior Lib Dem peer wants more 'teeth' for HealthWatch
The Liberal Democrat health spokesman in the Lords has called for the Health Bill to be amended to give HealthWatch more “teeth”.
Social care funding set to divide coalition ministers
Senior Liberal Democrats are preparing to clash with the Treasury and their Conservative partners over increased funding for long term care.
Blood donor reforms ‘don’t go far enough’
Blood donation eligibility criteria should be based on individual behaviour, backed by advanced screening, not on sexuality, the Liberal Democrats conference has heard.
Ministers should be allowed to intervene in another Southern Cross, says Burstow
Health minister Paul Burstow has hinted the government may seek to introduce legislative changes allowing it to directly intervene in any future cases similar to the collapse of Southern Cross.
Non-GPs must get exec roles, says top Lib Dem
Clinical commissioning groups should be required to have a nurse and doctor with secondary care experience involved in executive decision making roles rather than on a governing board, Baroness Shirley Williams has said.
Unions could resist reforms through 'non-cooperation'
Unions may consider non-cooperation action against the government’s NHS reforms, a leader has warned at the Liberal Democrat conference.
Reforms will curtail access to information, say campaigners
Public access to information may be “increasingly restricted” because NHS reforms could increase the involvement of independent providers, campaigners have warned.
Lib Dems renew Health Bill concerns ahead of Commons debate
NHS reform will again raise coalition government tensions this week when MPs consider the revised package.
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Public lose trust in Conservatives on health
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Lansley: 'We want to take people with us'
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Consortia should have governing bodies, says Future Forum
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Monitor duty to support integration of care
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Lansley ready to modify reforms
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'Biased' surgeons blamed for unnecessary recall
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Blood service looks set to remain in house
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Study lays bare 'exaggeration' of rise in NHS managers
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Cameron defends NHS reforms
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'Disappointing' DH delays Mid Staffs inquiry
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We will block reforms without concessions - Clegg
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Exclusive: McKinsey called in to advise PM on NHS reforms
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Government's crusade against red tape potentially 'damaging' to equalities - NHSE
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Take fight to Tories, urges Clegg
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Nurses pass vote of no confidence in Lansley
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Lord Howe: 'Unsustainable' NHS needs reforms
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Healey: government must drop part three of bill
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Miliband attacks PM on NHS reform
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Peer warns of upper house opposition to Health Bill
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Government has not done enough to prevent price competition - Confed
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Sally Gainsbury: shifting the goalposts on NHS spending
One of the more intriguing lines in last week’s NHS operating framework is about how primary care trust recurrent allocations for 2012-13 will be reviewed in the light of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s inflation forecast.
The government shouldn't simply leave the past behind
The government is in a tough spot at the moment, but it can be eased if it heeds the lessons of the NHS Plan era, argues House of Lords independent member Nigel Crisp.
The government's failure to justify reform has left the public short of options
Huge strides have been taken to offer NHS patients a choice of different providers, but there is now a real chance of a backwards step under the coalition government, says management consultant Paul Corrigan.
'Without evidence, the rhetorical reforms are irrelevant at best'
As real funding is eroded amid grand health policy rhetoric, there is a desperate need for hard evidence and data to inform the fundamental policy challenges facing this government. Without it, the reforms are all but irrelevant, argues York University professor of health economics Alan Maynard.
