Health Service Journal
1 December 2011

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Admission 'surge' caused hike in mixed sex breaches at East Sussex

PERFORMANCE: East Sussex Healthcare Trust’s performance on mixed sex breaches collapsed to the second worst in the country in October due to a “surge in severely ill patients requiring admission”.
Ambulance services to move on to tariff

Ambulance services have insisted a move from block contracts to tariff will not increase activity at acute hospitals.
An unflinching framework in the face of relentless pressure

Today’s autumn statement painted a gloomy picture of the economy in 2012. By the time the Chancellor rose, NHS leaders had already begun to come to terms with an operating framework that sent a similarly grim message.
AQP areas announced in Manchester

FINANCE: Greater Manchester PCTs have identified podiatry and diagnostics as priorities for introducing any qualified provider.
Basildon and Thurrock FT in talks to stay within private income cap

COMMERCIAL: Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals is renegotiating a contract with a private provider to ensure the FT does not breach its private patient income cap, as it did last year.
BMA declares full opposition to reforms

Doctors’ leaders have declared all-out opposition to the government’s NHS shake-up amid claims they will give too much influence to the private sector.
BMA: GPs want CCGs big enough to avoid outsourcing of commissioning

The British Medical Association has said clinical commissioning groups should “urgently review and where necessary change their structures” so they are big enough to host their own support staff.
Board meets to set up Anglia Ruskin academic partnership

STRUCTURE: Universities and hospitals in the East of England are planning to come together in a “collaborative” partnership, according to board papers.
Bower 'has full support' of CQC board

Care Quality Commission chief executive Cynthia Bower “absolutely” has the support of the board, the organisation’s chair Dame Jo Williams has told HSJ.
Breastfeeding milestone reached by East Sussex Healthcare

PERFORMANCE: Maternity services at East Sussex Healthcare have been awarded stage two recognition by the United Nation’s Children’s Fund, as part of its Baby Friendly Initiative.
Bucks trust draws up financial recovery plan

FINANCE: Buckinghamshire Healthcare has drawn up a recovery plan after falling behind on its surplus target for the first time this year at the end of August.
CCG management could learn from schools - Lansley

The health secretary has said clinical commissioning groups should learn from boards of governors in schools how to meet statutory responsibilities without spending large sums on running costs.
Chesterfield Royal counts cost of fire

FINANCE: The final cost of the fire that devastated parts of Chesterfield Royal Hospital will come in at £1.77m, according to board papers.
'Choosing the comfortable path is a route towards trouble'

NHS trust boards are more on the ball than they used to be, but there is much more to be done when risk management is preferred to risk prevention, writes Nigel Edwards.
Commissioners require 'significant help' with mental health tariff

Commissioners will struggle to implement an operating framework requirement to pay for mental health services under tariff without “significant help”, according to the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network.
Cornwall Partnership governance risk downgraded

PERFORMANCE: Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust’s Monitor governance rating has been downgraded to amber/red owing to Care Quality Commision concerns about services.
Could a public cycle network cut down inner city obesity?

This year’s Faculty of Public Health award for innovation went to an idea for cycle networks that mirror public transport routes. With obesity already costing the NHS £4.2bn annually, this radical idea could be a valuable long-term investment. Geraint Lewis explains.
CQC holds up Devon Partnership FT timetable

PERFORMANCE: Devon Partnership Trust’s foundation trust application has been delayed due to a responsive review by the Care Quality Commission.
CQC inspector: regulator would not necessarily 'spot a Mid Staffs'

A Care Quality Commission inspector has told the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry the regulator would not necessarily “spot another Mid Staffordshire”, contradicting earlier evidence given to the inquiry by CQC chair Dame Jo Williams.
CQC's strategy is reactive, board member tells inquiry

The Care Quality Commission’s strategy is “reactive” and driven by “reputation management and personal survival”, a board member has told the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry.
Data protection charge for man who contacted patient on Facebook

A 21-year-old man who used patient information to contact a female patient on Facebook has been charged with an alleged breach of data protection.
Delayed discharges force Royal Devon to cut operations

PERFORMANCE: Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust was forced to reduce elective procedures due to the high number of patients waiting for suitable ongoing care outside hospital.
Derbyshire Community's FT bid not supported by Chesterfield Royal

STRUCTURE: The board of Chesterfield Royal Hospital Foundation Trust has expressed a wide range of concerns over Derbyshire Community Health Service Trust’s foundation trust bid.
DH denies tariff adjustment rule revives price competition

The Department of Health has been forced to deny that a measure in the NHS Operating Framework 2012-13 could introduce price competition on elective procedures.
DH exerts pressure to merge on smaller CCGs

Smaller clinical commissioning groups are coming under increasing pressure to merge after the Department of Health announced a tight administrative allowance and a requirement for them to match local authority boundaries “as far as possible”.
DH tightens the screws with uncompromising NHS operational plan for 2012

NHS providers face increased strain next year, with the price for their services cut by at least another 1.5 per cent and commissioners obliged to strictly enforce financial penalties and to clear their own debts.
DH to set out CCG behaviour guidance

The government is to set out how a clinical commissioning group can buy from its own practices, and set out expectations for their governance, in an imminent paper.
Does the NHS really believe information technology can improve healthcare?

I doubt that anybody within airlines, financial services, or manufacturing goes to meetings to debate whether information technology can improve what they do. It already has, and continues to. Why, then, have we in healthcare grown very sceptical about information technology, asks Richard Smith.
Dr Foster: weekend A&E admissions '10pc more likely to die'

NHS hospital patients admitted for emergency treatment at weekends are almost 10 per cent more likely to die than those admitted during the week, according to the Dr Foster Hospital Guide 2011.
East Suffolk and Ipswich CCG merge to become single body

STRUCTURE: Two of Suffolk’s three clinical commissioning groups have merged, it has been announced, while the remaining two CCGs will share some senior posts.
East Sussex chief exec calls for ‘open mind’ on future service provision

STRUCTURE: East Sussex Healthcare Trust chief executive Darren Grayson has highlighted the need to reconfigure services across his trust’s two main hospitals.
East Sussex Healthcare top orthopaedics performer in region

PERFORMANCE: East Sussex Healthcare is performing well regionally on treating orthopaedic and cardiovascular conditions, but needs to improve on respiratory care.
Eleven homicides investigated at AWP

PERFORMANCE: Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust is subject to 11 investigations into homicides by NHS South West, more than any other mental health trust in the region.
Epsom and St Helier sets lower deficit target after receiving bailout

FINANCE: The London-Surrey borders acute trust is now aiming for a year-end deficit of £14.3m, after its commissioners stepped in with £5m.
Escalating staff tensions feared as Osborne squeezes pay

George Osborne’s clampdown on pay on the eve of today’s (Wednesday 30 November) national public sector strike comes as managers are fearful of worsening staff tensions.
Exclusive: All patients to have access to GP record by 2015

All patients in England will have online access to their GP record by 2015 after ministers slipped out a major shakeup of information policy in this week’s Growth Review.
Exclusive: CCGs subject to extra safeguards when commissioning from GPs

Clinical commissioning groups will not need to have a doctor as their most senior officer, and will be able to commission services from local GPs subject to extra safeguards to minimise the danger of a conflict of interests.
Exclusive: publishing FT redundancy plans could harm competitiveness, warns Monitor

Foundation trust regulator Monitor is withholding information on foundations’ forecast headcounts for coming years on grounds that news of “significant” redundancy plans could harm their competitiveness.
Exclusive: weekend hospital arrivals up to 16pc more likely to die - DH

Patients admitted to NHS hospitals at the weekend are up to 16 per cent more likely to die than those admitted during the week, according to research for the Department of Health.
Exclusive: Government to link GP and hospital data

The relationship between the quality of GP and hospital care is set to be revealed for the first time by the publication of data which will detail the complete patient pathway.
Flory plans CCG finance chief 'accreditation' process

It will be “very, very difficult” to find chief financial officers for all of the 200-plus clinical commissioning groups that will take over NHS commissioning from 2013, David Flory has warned.
Francis: Mid Staffs report will aid NHS managers

The chair of the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry has outlined the areas he will focus on in his final report into the failings that allowed poor care to go unnoticed for so long at the trust.
Greater Manchester lacks capacity to cope with disease outbreak

PERFORMANCE: Infection control teams in Greater Manchester PCTs would struggle to cope with disease outbreaks over the winter months, the area’s cluster board heard.
Hakin: pace of CCG development next year will 'be dramatic'

The Department of Health commissioning lead has warned that there will be a rapid step change in pace to establish clinical commissioning groups, equivalent to a “very big train coming down the track”.
Hampshire beats chlamydia screening target

PERFORMANCE: NHS Hampshire performance is exceeding its screening target for chlamydia, while NHS Portsmouth and NHS Southampton are showing slight underperformance.
Heatherwood trust plans special finance committee

FINANCE: Heatherwood and Wexham Park NHS Foundation Trust has considered setting up a special finance committee to provide more detailed scrutiny of its financial performance, cost improvement programmes and contracting arrangements.
Hospitals plan strike contingency

NHS trusts across the country have written to patients informing them not to visit as thousands of operations and appointments are cancelled due to industrial action over pensions.
How integrated care can improve outcomes for mental health patients

A mental health crisis scheme in Tower Hamlets is an example of how a positive partnership between a former PCT, a health trust and a housing provider can result in improved health outcomes for people with mental health needs. Chris Hampson explains.
How to reduce future risk by recycling past value

Remembering what we know is both good risk management and helps maximise benefits from past investments, especially in this period of transformation, writes Andy Ward.
HSJ interview: Nicholson and Flory prepare the ground for CCGs

The NHS chief executive has called for an end to criticism of managers, hours after the health secretary said resources had been “wasted” on them and criticised their top-down “control”.
HSJ supplement - special finance report

This HSJ special finance report looks at the financial future for trusts eyeing foundation status, new legislation designed to stop bribery that could catch some organisations out, and why it can be difficult to find a finance director.
HSJ supplement - special technology report

This HSJ special technology report looks at the benefit of handheld devices in the health service, and the problems facing telehealth as a solution to unplanned admissions.
Imperial considering asking SHA for even more working capital

FINANCE: The £920m-turnover trust, which is already predicting a £35.2m deficit this year, is considering asking NHS London for extra support in the New Year.
Imperial hits A&E target

PERFORMANCE: The west London acute exceeded the 95 per cent four-hour accident and emergency target, hitting 98.2 per cent.
IT launch delayed at Oxford trust

PERFORMANCE: The implementation of the Cerner Millennium electronic patient record system at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust has been delayed.
Just two Greater Manchester PCTs fall behind financial plans

FINANCE: PCTs across Greater Manchester are making reasonable progress towards their year-end financial targets with just two areas - NHS Bolton and NHS Oldham - behind plan.
King's Fund and Future Forum challenge GP contract 'barrier'

The King’s Fund is throwing its weight behind proposals to define and expand the services required from NHS GP contractors.
Lansley defends pensions offer but says still space for negotiation

The health secretary has said he hoped for a resolution to the pensions dispute which this week triggered the biggest public sector walkout in generations “by the end of this year”.
Leading teaching hospital may have to outsource long-waiters

PERFORMANCE: One of London’s biggest teaching hospitals has called in the Department of Health’s intensive support team after experiencing significant problems hitting the 18-week wait for elective procedures target.
Learning legal lessons from the transforming community services scheme

Transforming community services was characterised by a transitional approach that is relatively new in the context of NHS organisations. However, it certainly won’t be the last as the health reforms continue, writes Hempsons associate Faisal Dhalla.
Length of stay threatens savings in the South

Southern Health, the mental health and community services provider for Hampshire, is reporting fairly robust financial figures – but its struggle to cut lengths of stay in the acute sector will be a challenge to the wider health economy.
London Ambulance Service calls in police support during strike

Police helped ambulances attending emergencies last night after thousands of NHS workers went on strike over public sector pensions.
London CCGs begin mergers as clusters warn on size

Two pairs of clinical commissioning groups in London are in the process of merging, while other small CCGs are being warned they will not be authorised in their current form.
London practices readying for first GP outcomes scorecard

Next week sees the unveiling of the capital’s GP performance scorecard, after much to-ing and fro-ing over the data between NHS London and the GPs.
London trusts club together to pursue Welsh claims

FINANCE: Moorfields Eye Hospital, the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Kingston and Barts are pursuing the Welsh Health Boards for unpaid bills, a board paper reveals.
Making progress in mental health policy and practice - an HSJ supplement

This week’s HSJ supplement in association with Lloyds Pharmacy looks at how a new direction for mental health strategy must take this opportunity to improve outcomes for patients with mental health issues.
Manchester acute trusts fall behind on performance

PERFORMANCE: Acute trusts across Greater Manchester are failing on performance targets and in some areas things have got worse recently, the PCT cluster board heard.
Manchester PCTs poised to award home oxygen contract

FINANCE: PCTs across the North West are being recommended to approve a contract for Air Liquide (Homecare) Ltd to provide home oxygen services across the region.
Media Watch: the most wonderful time of the year

It is that time of year again, when the national media celebrate the annual publication of the Dr Foster Hospital Guide 2011.
Michael White: freedom to choose doesn't stop bad decisions

Reading recently about the difficult transition from Oliver Cromwell’s 11-year republic to the restored Stuart monarchy of Charles II in 1660, I came across some wise words by the great aristo-scientist, Robert Boyle.
More funding pledged to help oncology centre across the Mersey

STRUCTURE: Commissioners in Merseyside have pledged £6.5m a year towards a proposed relocation to central Liverpool of the Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology Foundation Trust’s main facility.
New chair named at Southend FT

STRUCTURE: Southend University Hospital FT has appointed a new chair, following the retirement of a long-serving director.
New chief executive for Chesterfield Royal

WORKFORCE: Gavin Boyle is to take up the top post at the East Midlands trust in March.
New inflation measure boosts 'real terms' increase in NHS funds

Technical changes to the way the Office for National Statistics calculates inflation have pushed up the “real terms” funding increase the NHS will receive over the life of this parliament, the King’s Fund’s chief economist said today.
NHS 111 pilots delayed by legal challenge

Two NHS 111 pilots have been delayed after commissioners decided they had not followed their own procurement procedures and could be at risk of legal challenge.
NHS Cumbria looks for extra measures to offset projected £4m acute overspend

FINANCE: The primary care trust has pulled together plans for £3m worth of “further measures” to offset a projected overspend on its 2011-12 acute provider contracts.
NHS given another year to reduce use of 'killer' drugs

The NHS has been given an extra 16 months to hit a target to prescribe fewer antipsychotic drugs which are said by health minister Paul Burstow to “kill” dementia patients.
NHS Manchester plans cuts to voluntary sector

FINANCE: The primary care trust has proposed to cut its funding to at least 19 community and voluntary sector (CVS) organisations next year.
NHS South West exceeds planned surplus

FINANCE: NHS South West delivered a surplus for NHS organisations in the region £10m higher than planned.
NHS wages and national conditions may be under new threat

NHS employees can expect a prolonged wage squeeze and a possible end to national NHS terms and conditions, the government has signalled.
Nicholson: electoral cycle means we have to do service changes in next 18 months

Sir David Nicholson has said the “electoral cycle” means NHS managers were “much more likely to get through” service changes in the next 18 months than later in the parliament.
Nicholson: 'End criticism of managers'

The NHS chief executive has called for an end of criticism of health service managers, hours after the health secretary said too much money had been “wasted” on them.
Operating framework piles pressure on hospital sector

The NHS’s financial plans for 2012-13 will further concentrate pressure on acute providers and could force a wave of hasty mergers, experts have warned.
Outer NE london cluster gets new chief executive

WORKFORCE: Alwen Williams has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Outer North East London primary care trust cluster.
Patients' right to alternative provider should be 'publicised'

Commissioners must “publicise” a patient’s right to an alternative provider if a trust is at risk of missing the 18-week referral-to-treatment time target.
Pay awards to be held at 1pc for two years

NHS employees can expect a prolonged wage squeeze and a possible end to national NHS terms and conditions, the government has signalled.
PCT visit highlighted care and records issues at Peterborough and Stamford FT

PERFORMANCE: Care quality and medical records issues at Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals FT were highlighted in an unannounced visit from the PCT, public board minutes reveal.
PCTs to be monitored to protect against public health cuts

Primary care trusts will be monitored to ensure they are maintaining “appropriate” investment in local public health services during the transition to council control.
Peterborough and Stamford needed 'advance payments' for cash position

FINANCE: Peterborough and Stamford FT has secured “advance payments” from PCTs to continue operating despite a cash shortage, according to board documents.
Pharma suppliers put export ahead of NHS - Burns

Drugs for NHS patients are being delayed because suppliers make more money by selling medication to eurozone countries, the government has said.
Police charge 10 in Winterbourne case

Police have charged 10 people in connection with the abuse of residents with learning disabilities at the Winterbourne View care home near Bristol.
Price competition fears over provider penalties

New rules requiring NHS commissioners to penalise healthcare providers that “cherry pick” easier cases will be difficult to enforce and will encourage price competition, experts have warned.
Private health market faces referral to the Competition Commission

The Office for Fair Trading has “provisionally” decided to refer the private healthcare market to the Competition Commission, after finding a “number of features” that could distort or restrict competition.
Private sector could take £2bn slice of community services

The private sector could secure a fifth of the annual £8.5bn market for NHS community services by 2016, analysts have predicted.
Rise in child TB across Greater Manchester

PERFORMANCE: A rise in child TB cases has led to a renewed emphasis on the disease by Greater Manchester PCTs.
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.
Shortage of medical staff leads to ICU delays at Chesterfield

WORKFORCE: Lack of medical staffing at night and over weekends is leading to delays in treating patients in the FT’s intensive care unit and birth centre.
Solent trust slipping against surplus target

FINANCE: Solent NHS Trust is struggling to meet its surplus target despite higher than expected levels of income, as it is overspending on pay.
Southend FT falls £2m behind on savings plan

FINANCE: Southend University Hospital Foundation Trust has fallen £2m behind on its savings plans in the first six months of the 2011-12 financial year, according to board papers.
Southend FT looks at lease deals to preserve cash buffer

COMMERCIAL: Southend University Hospital FT is considering radical financial plans to tackle a cash shortage, including selling off £23m of assets to be leased back.
St Helier to be assessed as trauma unit in February

STRUCTURE: The future of St Helier Hospital’s trauma unit is to be assessed in February of next year, according to board papers.
Strike cancels thousands of operations

Thousands of operations and appointments across the NHS are being cancelled and rescheduled as a result of Wednesday’s strike, the government has confirmed.
'The Francis report will be the most important NHS event in 2012'

Spare a thought for Robert Francis. The weight on his shoulders must be immense. Part of his task has been to listen carefully hour upon hour to angry people, whose loved ones were failed by people and a public service meant to care and show compassion.
Trust hits back at 'scandalous' Mid Staffs comparison

PERFORMANCE: James Paget University Hospital FT has hit back at GPs and local politicians for making a “scandalous comparison” with Mid Staffordshire Hospital.
Trust me, I'm a leader: creating a climate for higher performance

Managers will need to build a culture of mutual ownership and trust, rather than leading from the front, to affect the breadth of change to combat the cold economic front sweeping across the NHS, say John Drew and Helen Bevan.
Trust to start VTE league table of consultants

PERFORMANCE: Epsom and St Helier Hospitals Trust has written to each of its consultants that did not achieve the national VTE risk assessment target as it works to drag its total towards the target.
UHB to become 'magnet' for pharma money and clinical research after hook-up with uni

COMMERCIAL: University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust and the University of Birmingham has today announced a joint working agreement to be known as Birmingham Health Partners (BHP).
Views from the picket line

James Clayton, a reporter on the HSJ and Nursing Times news desk, spent yesterday talking to nurses and other health workers on the picket lines in London.
Warning over status of nurses involved in NHS commissioning

Nurses involved in emerging clinical commissioning groups are being given little time and support and are being paid less than GP peers, according to an authoritative report published today.
West Suffolk Hospitals upgrades to digital breast scanners

COMMERCIAL: West Suffolk Hospital Trust is spending £1.2m upgrading its breast cancer scaning equipment with the latest digital technology.

Alastair McLellan

Health Service Journal1 December 2011

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Health Service Journal
1 December 2011