PCTs bend pay rules to fill senior jobs
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.
World class commissioning scores to top charts
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.
SHAs pressurising PCTs into vertical integration
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.
Social care integration drive
Joint commissioning of social care by primary care trusts and local authorities is likely to be made mandatory.
DH action needed to fill gaps in NHS data
Filling huge gaps in primary care data is vital if commissioning is to become more effective, public health experts have warned.
Rape victims 'need more NHS support'
Every victim of rape should be offered a choice of a male or female doctor on the NHS, a landmark review has recommended.
Research points to huge out of hours spending variations
The Patients Association has criticised primary care trusts over significant variations in out of hours spending.
Chief exec swaps Norfolk for Channel Islands
The chief executive of NHS Norfolk has announced she is to step down in order to take up a post in the Channel Islands.
NHS managers demand power to fire GPs
Managers are calling for the power to “fire” GPs and to get rid of small practices to make the huge spending cuts needed in coming years.
NHS Manchester tables complex community restructuring plan
Community services in Manchester look set to be split up and integrated among a wide range of providers under a complex set of proposals.
UKIP would scrap PCTs and make managers ‘happier’
The UK Independence Party would save £2bn-£3bn by scrapping primary care trusts and strategic health authorities and having services run as franchises, its deputy leader has told HSJ.
Out of hours GP contracts need greater transparency
A network of small out of hours providers has criticised primary care trusts for “trading off” contracts to other providers without retendering.
NHS is yet to capture the wealth of the net
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
Andrew Lansley points to joint powers in public health
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
Tories need clear vision and a stronger message on health
The Conservatives have pronounced themselves the party of reform but are too wedded to the status quo. Andrew Haldenby argues they need to spend more energy advocating change
Noel Plumridge on the rules of payment by results
A rules-based system. That was the aspiration in 2004 when payment by results was introduced to England’s NHS.
Mark Britnell on the future of Agenda for Change
Agenda for Change does not need to be scrapped and renegotiated - just applied properly
Alan Maynard: could the Tories give PCTs bite?
The ‘toothless bulldogs’ of the NHS might hope for more control over purchasing under the Conservatives
NICE completes the commissioning cycle
Embedding clinical guidance into the full commissioning cycle offers support at all levels, from planning to procurement to public involvement, says Jennifer Taylor
Discharge notes: how to save time and reduce errors
The problem of delays in GPs receiving patients’ discharge details is being resolved across Cheshire through a shared electronic communications system
Transforming community services for people with long term conditions
Community healthcare is widening the focus from just a patient’s condition to their whole life, says Stuart Shepherd
How to use NICE guidance to improve commissioning
Helpful guidance now explains how to make the best use of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations. In the first in a three part series Jennifer Taylor looks at how it is helping to improve commissioning
Transforming community services: handover heralds a flexible future
Transferring community services to a foundation trust allows one PCT to focus on choice, say Jamie Foster and Jane Gateley
Public health: Birmingham gets fit with a purpose
An HSJ Award winning scheme is out to discover how much fitter a whole city can become. Stuart Shepherd reports
