Congratulations to all the organisations that made the shortlist for the 2015 HSJ Value in Healthcare Awards.

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5.50pm Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s deficit spiralled to £43.2m deficit in 2014-15, the largest recorded of any CCG, and the body has been issued directions from NHS England.

The CCG revealed its financial position at its board meeting this afternoon. It warned in March that its end of year deficit may be “up to £40m”.

It had predicted a £4.9m surplus at the start of started 2014-15, but by November its forecast deteriorated to a £24m deficit. In the following months realised it would be “far larger and more complex than originally believed”.

 In a statement, the CCG admitted it “did not properly recognise or take account of all costs incurred” in 2013-14, had been running an underlying deficit and it had been “consistently spending in excess of planned budgets”.

It has restated its accounts to record a £12.7m deficit for 2013-14 and a £30.5m deficit for 2014/15, resulting in a £43.2m cumulative deficit.

NHS England has stipulated that CCG appoints a permanent accountable officer, subject its approval. Former accountable officer Paul Hassan resigned in March, saying the body needs a “full-time accountable officer who can give the difficulties we face their full and undivided attention”.

NHS England also instructed that it should approve any other permanent appointment to the CCG’s senior management team.

The CCG must also produce an improvement plan, subject to NHS England approval, which includes a financial recovery plan for how the CCG will operate within its annual budget for the next three years, including a scheme for repayment of its outstanding debt, and a governance plan.

Accountable officer Nick Robinson said: “Detailed analysis of our accounts has revealed fundamental weaknesses in the way we operate as healthcare commissioners, which we must put right if we are to commission sustainable health services for local people.

“This is about becoming a more efficient and effective organisation; it is not about cutting services in Bedfordshire.

He added: “Change won’t happen overnight but by the autumn we must be working in a very different way.”

He also pointed out that the CCG received a “major boost” in its funding for 2015-16, giving it an extra us an extra £30m “to fund increasing demand”.

4.39pm A reminder that the shortlist for the HSJ Value in Healthcare Awards has been announced. See the list here.

3.38pm There has been a ‘boom’ in large scale GP provider organisations being set up in recent months, reports HSJ’s David Williams. The increase has been attributed partly to national policy changes, including CCGs taking on responsibility for primary care contracts, by CCG and GP leaders.

3.26pm Camilla Cavendish will step aside from her role as a member of CQC’s Board, after accepting the new role. David Behan, chief executive of the CQC said: “I am delighted that Camilla Cavendish is to take up the post of head of the policy unit at 10 Downing Street. We are sorry to be losing her from the board. She has brought a sharp intellectual challenge to the work of CQC. She has made a significant contribution to CQC’s development and new direction. She will be missed and we wish her well in her new role.”

2.41pm Camilla Cavendish, the health commentator and Care Quality Commission board director has been appointed head of the Downing Street policy unit.

The Times reports this afternoon that Ms Cavendish, associate editor and columnist for The Sunday Times, will replace the MP Jo Johnson as the head of the unit.

As well as being a non executive director at the CQC, Ms Cavendish led an independent review into the training and support of healthcare assistants.

She follows former CQC chair David Prior, who departed from the watchdog last week to take a peerage and become a health minister in the new Conservative government.

2.19pm Bosses at Bolton NHS FT are delighted with two nominations in the HSJ Value Awards.

2.10pm Congratulations to all the organisations that have been shortlisted for an HSJ Value Award. See the full list here.

1.47pm Philippa Whitford, MP for Central Ayrshire, has been confirmed as health spokesperson for the SNP, says NHS official Patrick Leahy.

12.54pm Jeremy Hunt has praised the benefits of peer review to improve NHS standards, saying it is a better method than top-down targets, writes HSJ correspondent Sophie Barnes. The health secretary says the NHS needs to “empower the process of peer review” to improve standards.

12.45pm The CQC has released the results of the 2014 national inpatient survey. The regulator said many patients have complained about the admissions process, a lack of information and support, and their discharge from hospital. Most reported an overall “positive experience”, however.

11.39am East Cheshire NHS Trust could save £1.5 million by using an outsourced HR service, the organisation has said. The trust has expanded its four year deal with UK company Arvato, which started in April 2013, to include new services.

11.26am A pensioner died in A&E when doctor on call ‘would not respond’, reports the Daily Mail. Today’s paper carries a report on the inquest of 76-year-old James May, who died at James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk. The hearing continues.

11.20am The Daily Mail reports how one mum’s tip for receiving free Calpol on the NHS has gone viral, after being shared by thousands of people on Facebook.The post, which refers to the NHS Minor Ailments Scheme, has already been shared more than 100,000 times. 

11.15am More from the LMC conference…

11.06am NHS England has expanded the scope of its ‘vanguard’ project to trial new care models, reports HSJ’s senior correspondent David Williams. The central authority has invited expressions of interest from providers seeking to trial “new models of acute care collaboration”.

10.51am Mr Nagpaul has also called for change to the CQC, saying it should abandon ratings.

10.31am HSJ reporter Judith Welikala is at the Local Medical Committees conference today, where the chair of the BMA’s GP committee has warned that general practice is facing the consequences of years of government neglect.

10.28am Lives are at risk because cancer patients are not being treated quickly while hospitals struggle to cope with demand, experts in the disease are warning, The Guardian reports. The latest NHS England data on cancer treatment performance show that hospitals have failed to treat the required number of “urgent” cancer cases within the mandated 62 days and have not done so for the last 15 months.

10.25am The Guardian reports that taking the painkiller paracetamol in pregnancy for a week or more could potentially affect a developing male foetus, according to research. Researchers at Edinburgh University investigating reproductive defects in baby boys such as undescended testes say there may be a link between low levels of testosterone and paracetamol, the paper reports.

10.11am Wirral University Teaching Hospitals is planning to invest £1m in nurse recruitment in the next year, reports HSJ’s Shaun Lintern.

10.07am The Daily Telegraph focusses on the “great scandal of childhood obesity” this morning, with quotes from Jeremy Hunt’s speech at the King’s Fund leadership summit yesterday. Mr Hunt promised a national strategy to address Britain’s spiralling weight problem.

7.00am Good morning and welcome to HSJ Live. Today we’re revealing the shortlist for the 2015 HSJ Value Awards. Follow @hsjvalueawards and the hashtag #HSJValue from 12pm for the announcement. The full shortlist will then be published on hsj.co.uk at 1pm.

You can find out more and buy tickets for the event here.