HSJ Editor Richard Vize

PCTs bend pay rules to fill senior jobs

PCTs bend pay rules to fill senior jobs Subscription Required

18 March 2010 | By Charlotte Santry, Sally Gainsbury

Primary care trusts are being forced to bend official pay rules to fill board level posts at a time when recruitment problems are predicted to deepen.

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Cynthia Bower

CQC plans ‘live’ ratings system Subscription Required

18 March 2010 | By Dave West

The Care Quality Commission will publish six traffic light ratings for each health provider later this year, chief executive Cynthia Bower has revealed.

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Judgement reserved in Rose Gibb appeal case Subscription Required

18-Mar-2010 | By Alison Moore

The final outcome of the Rose Gibb case may not be known until after the election, after judgement was reserved today in her Appeal Court hearing.

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Gary Belfield

World class commissioning scores to top charts Subscription Required

18 March 2010 | By Steve Ford

The Department of Health is expecting the best primary care trusts to receive the highest score available under world class commissioning this year for the first time.

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NHS Alliance chief officer Mike Sobanja

SHAs pressurising PCTs into vertical integration Subscription Required

18 March 2010 | By Sally Gainsbury, Steve Ford

Primary care trusts in at least four regions are under pressure from their strategic health authorities to vertically integrate their provider arms with acute or mental health trusts, HSJ has learned.

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NHS IT milestone ‘on track’ to meet target date

NHS IT milestone ‘on track’ to meet target date Subscription Required

18 March 2010 | By Dave West

A milestone in the national programme for IT is “on track” to be met, one of the software suppliers announced this week.

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DH ignores own advice on digital engagement

DH ignores own advice on digital engagement Subscription Required

18 March 2010 | By Dave West

The Department of Health was advised to merge NHS Choices, NHS Direct and HealthSpace into a single agency a year ago by research it commissioned itself then did not publish.

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Sir Liam Donaldson

Questions over national cold weather plan Subscription Required

18 March 2010 | By Clare Lomas

Calls for the creation of a national “cold weather plan” have sparked concerns over who should deliver it among health and social care, and primary and acute care.

DH lead warns against ‘results only’ pathology

DH lead warns against ‘results only’ pathology Subscription Required

18 March 2010 | By Clare Lomas

A “results only” pathology service could lead to a “dumbing down” of the workforce and inappropriate diagnostic testing, the national clinical director for pathology has warned.

Phil Hope

Social care integration drive Subscription Required

18 March 2010

Joint commissioning of social care by primary care trusts and local authorities is likely to be made mandatory.

Race inequality on the rise

Race inequality on the rise Subscription Required

18 March 2010

Black and minority ethnic people are experiencing declining health and poorer NHS and social care provision, according to a report from charity the Afiya Trust.

Norfolk records major drop in bed blocking Subscription Required

18-Mar-2010 | By Graham Clews

There were up to 75 per cent fewer patients waiting for discharge on any one day across Norfolk this winter, following the introduction of a “capacity plan” to reduce bed blocking across the county.

Health trusts are spending money intended for dementia on other things

Dementia funding being diverted Subscription Required

18-Mar-2010

Health trusts are spending money intended for dementia on other things, an MPs’ report has said.

Royal Courts of Justice

Trust questioned closely in court over Rose Gibb pay out Subscription Required

17-Mar-2010 | By Alison Moore

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust’s decision not to pay its former chief executive an agreed pay-off came under intense scrutiny today.

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DH advocacy of integration ‘not credible’

DH advocacy of integration ‘not credible’ Subscription Required

17-Mar-2010 | By Steve Ford

The Department of Health is rarely a “credible advocate” for the integration of health and social care services because its policies are often contradictory, say senior NHS managers with dual local authority roles.

Patient groups back closure of hospitals

Patient groups back closure of hospitals Subscription Required

17-Mar-2010 | By Dave West

Dozens of patient organisations are backing plans to close hospital services in coming years, but fear they will be let down by bad public engagement.

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Rose Gibb

Rose Gibb returns to court to battle for pay-off Subscription Required

17-Mar-2010 | By Alison Moore

Rose Gibb returns to the courts today in her battle to get a £175,000 pay off - two and a half years after she left her job as chief executive at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust.

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Less than half of NHS staff think managers work well with others

Less than half of NHS staff think managers work well with others Subscription Required

17-Mar-2010 | By Graham Clews

Just under half of NHS staff think that healthcare professionals and management work well together, figures from the 2009 NHS staff survey reveal.

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Kim Hodgson

Sussex chief to step down without notice Subscription Required

17-Mar-2010 | By Alison Moore

The chief executive of a Sussex acute trust is to leave at the end of the month without working out her notice.

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Hospital bed

Close hospital beds to save money, says report Subscription Required

17-Mar-2010

Some regions of the country should close more than a quarter of their hospital beds to save on running costs and improve care for individual patients, a think tank has said.

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Bill Moyes

Bill Moyes teams with Paul Corrigan in policy talks Subscription Required

17-Mar-2010 | Updated: 17-Mar-2010 | By Sally Gainsbury

Two heavyweights of Labour’s health policy have teamed up with a think tank close to the Conservatives to argue for a curtailing of the Department of Health’s power and remit.

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Sir Liam Donaldson

DH action needed to fill gaps in NHS data Subscription Required

16-Mar-2010 | By Steve Ford

Filling huge gaps in primary care data is vital if commissioning is to become more effective, public health experts have warned.

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NHS is yet to capture the wealth of the net

NHS is yet to capture the wealth of the net Subscription Required

By Dave West

Texting appointment reminders is a good start but the health service lags far behind leading industries in exploiting the rich potential of the digital revolution, reports Dave West

President Obama

US healthcare: a proposal that speaks to the heart of America Subscription Required

By Douglas Noble

Despite recent setbacks, Barack Obama still holds out audacious hope for US healthcare. But as opposition continues to undermine his position, the president has a monumental battle on his hands to get meaningful reform, says Douglas Noble

Marmot might be fair, but will it be feasible?

Marmot might be fair, but will it be feasible? Subscription Required

By Steve Ford

The Marmot report, probably the most important document on health inequalities for 30 years, was published last month. But can its recommendations become reality? Steve Ford reports

NHS managers may be heroes of the moment

NHS managers may be heroes of the moment Subscription Required

By Charlotte Santry

Despite their endless depiction by the media and politicians as a scourge on the health service, research is showing that where numbers of NHS managers are strong, efficiency is often found working alongside quality. Charlotte Santry reports

NHS car parking: driven to distraction

NHS car parking: driven to distraction Subscription Required

By Joe Farrington-Douglas

Hospital car parking has become an impassioned talking point. While it may seem a side issue to the real work of healthcare, the heated arguments over charging won’t subside until policies are seen as fair and fixed, writes Joe Farrington-Douglas

Andrew Lansley points to joint powers in public health

Andrew Lansley points to joint powers in public health Subscription Required

By Rebecca Evans

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley wants a Conservative government to keep a firm hand on public health. In a joint interview with HSJ and sister title Local Government Chronicle, he tells Rebecca Evans how local collaboration will be vital

NHS quality accounts: quality is becoming an accountable business

NHS quality accounts: quality is becoming an accountable business Subscription Required

By Dave West

This year will see the first tranche of reports intended to show how trusts are engaging with quality across all their services. Dave West looks at how this could represent a step change in health organisations’ accountability

Bill Moyes

Bill Moyes takes pride in rocking the foundations Subscription Required

By Sally Gainsbury

Monitor executive chair Bill Moyes leaves the foundation trust regulator this week with no regrets about his stormy journey, as he tells Sally Gainsbury in his final interview

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