National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
Lansley confirms NICE will no longer take funding decisions
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will no longer directly decide whether the NHS funds a drug under the proposed new pricing system, health secretary Andrew Lansley has confirmed.
Drug costs 'have to be secret' under new pricing system
Drug prices agreed under the government’s proposed new pricing system would have to remain secret if drug companies are to buy into it, a senior figure in the pharmaceutical industry has warned.
Mike Rawlins: NICE drug judgements can be improved
Judgements on which drugs should be paid for by the NHS can be improved, the chair of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has said.
Value-based pricing 'will not improve' cancer drug access
Government proposals to introduce a value-based pricing system for new drugs will not significantly improve patient access to treatments, experts have warned.
NICE guidance on cost-saving drug not sought by DH
The Department of Health failed to act on expert advice to commission an appraisal of a drug which could lead to savings of £100m for the NHS, it has emerged.
PM declares 'national crisis' over dementia care
The prime minister has declared that rising rates of dementia are “a national crisis” and launched a major drive to improve the lives of sufferers and their carers.
CCG performance framework missing key quality indicators
Priority areas for care quality improvement are underrepresented – and sometimes completely left out – of the proposed accountability regime for clinical commissioners.
Trusts refusing to release doctors for leadership work
Doctors are struggling to gain permission from trusts to undertake nationally important policy and leadership work, according to senior medical figures.
Quality standards hit by arm's length body underspends
Government spending restrictions are delaying key reform programmes and will mean an underspend of £40m across the Department of Health’s 15 arm’s length bodies.
CCG performance could be measured against 120 indicators
Clinical commissioning groups could be judged against up to 120 performance measures, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has revealed today.
Fine hospitals restricting bowel cancer care, charity says
Hospitals that fail to offer bowel cancer patients a full range of appropriate treatments should be fined, a charity has said.
Lansley vows to enforce drugs access rules
Legislation meant to end the variable access to drugs in NHS hospitals will be enforced, the health secretary has told the Commons.
Trusts could receive 'unfair' penalties without pressure ulcer guidance
NHS trusts could be unfairly penalised over the prevalence of pressure ulcers unless nationally agreed guidance on recording and measuring the condition is introduced, tissue viability nurses have warned.
Nicholson: providers and commissioners will be fined for not meeting NICE guidance
Providers and commissioners will face significant financial penalties if they do not implement National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence rules on drugs and best practice.
Trust spending on carers to be scrutinised
NHS trusts will be forced by the government to say how they spend cash intended for carers after research suggests it does not always reach the frontline.
Guidance 'misconstrued' as commissioners restrict drugs
Primary care trusts are “misconstruing” official drugs guidance in order to restrict access to treatments, a coalition of patient bodies has warned.
MS patient care not improving, report claims
NHS services for multiple sclerosis patients have barely improved at all in the past five years, a report has revealed.
Cameron’s flagship cancer treatments fund ‘could prove insufficient’
The value of David Cameron’s pledge to fund pioneering treatments for cancer – a showpiece of the Conservatives’ general election campaign – has come under fire from oncologists, HSJ has discovered.
GPs could be influenced by pharma, King's Fund warns
GP prescribing could become commercially biased if clinical commissioning groups buy in support from drug companies, a report commissioned by the King’s Fund has warned.
Mental health incentives could be removed
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s recommendation that financial incentives for GPs to support patients with depression should be axed has sparked concern from the mental health sector.
More on NICE
Guidance on producing an any qualified provider implementation pack
The chance to produce an AQP implementation pack offered potent insights into how the service area should develop. Sheena Hennell explains how one PCT cluster went about their project.
Why early discharge in stroke care can be vital for recovery
Home rehabilitation is a vital component of improving stroke care. Mirek Skrypak and colleagues explain how they have put it into practice in north London.
How to utilise a clinical audit to achieve 'equity and excellence' in healthcare
To measure quality performance within the NHS has been and still is a challenging task. New approaches to measuring and reporting need to inform the service’s overall approach if it is to use reporting to properly achieve excellence in healthcare, argues Seraphim Patel.
How pairing clinicians with managers could speed up clinical excellence
‘Buddying’ clinicians with managers could help both groups collectively create an environment where clinical excellence is inevitable. Bob Klaber and colleagues report.
How investing in therapeutic services provides a clinical cost saving in the long term
Can investing in therapy cost less than traditional case management for dissociative identity disorders, asks Cheshire and Wirral Partnership FT clinical psychologist Dr Mike Lloyd.
Tackling public health inequalities: NHS BEN's fight against smoking
With smoking levels above average in Birmingham East and North, NHS BEN’s Fight Back campaign has aimed to remove inequalities and improve health and wellbeing in the area.
