Health Service Journal
12 November 2009
View all stories from this issue.
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Ian Dalton's swine flu update - instructions for PCTs and GPs
In his weekly update for HSJ and Nursing Times, national director for NHS flu resilience Ian Dalton discusses the latest developments in UK swine flu preparations -
‘Shortcut’ mental health commissioning would cause disaster
Cutting mental health services through “shortcut commissioning” will have a disastrous effect on people’s health as well as the economy, academics have warned. -
01 David Nicholson
The financial chill enveloping the NHS has only served to reinforce David Nicholson’s position as the most powerful person in healthcare. -
02 Lord Darzi of Denham
Ara Darzi stood down as a health minister in July but his influence is still central to the NHS and his push for quality is being carried forward. -
03 David Flory
If Lord Darzi’s legacy on quality puts him at the number two slot, it is money and control over it which has propelled David Flory’s ascent to number three from 16th place last year. -
04 Sir Bruce Keogh
If, in five or 10 years’ time, a patient is able to get detailed information about the numbers of operations every surgical team carries out, their outcome and how that compares with other specialists, before deciding whether they want a surgeon to cut into them Sir Bruce Keogh will be the man to thank. -
05 Andy Burnham
Health secretary Andy Burnham came into the post as swine flu swept towards pandemic status; a tough start to what is inevitably going to be a tough job. -
06 Bill Moyes
Bill Moyes has climbed three places despite the government’s recent strikes at the foundation trust reforms, the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust scandal and having only two months left in post. -
07 Sir Liam Donaldson
The chief medical officer has become the public face of swine flu and is largely responsible for the NHS and government’s response to it, including the purchase of tens of millions of doses of vaccine and Tamiflu. -
08 Baroness Young of Old Scone
Barbara Young strode into her role as Care Quality Commission chair last year promising to “talk softly and carry a big stick”. -
09 Sir Michael Rawlins
It has been another eventful year for Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, who was reappointed as chair of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in March after a special exemption allowed him to extend his tenure. -
10 Andrew Lansley
The electorate now believes the NHS is safe in Tory hands. That is down to Andrew Lansley. -
11 Mike Farrar
Mike Farrar is the top strategic health authority chief executive in the HSJ50 this year - a recognition of the pioneering quality work his region continues to push forward. -
12 David Behan
As the Department of Health’s first ever director general of social care, local government and care partnerships, David Behan has successfully made the transition from sabre rattling regulator to sector wide leader. -
13 Steve Smith
Leading England’s largest trust and being at the centre of medical innovation secures Professor Steve Smith’s place as HSJ50’s highest placed acute chief executive. -
14 Cynthia Bower
Cynthia Bower has had a challenging year. As chief executive overseeing the merger of three former health and social care regulators into the Care Quality Commission, she brought together different organisational cultures while getting to grips with an entirely new regulatory approach and dealing with the inevitable redundancies, lease issues and IT disasters. -
15 Andrew Dillon
The calm and focused approach of Andrew Dillon has proved invaluable in weathering the storms faced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. -
16 Mike Richards
As questions of finance continue to dominate this year, the cancer tsar has fallen out of the top five. However, Professor Richards has his hands full with implementing the cancer reform strategy, currently focusing on pilot schemes for early diagnosis and awareness, and an enhanced recovery programme. -
17 Mark Britnell
Mark Britnell is the highest ranked horticulturist in this year’s HSJ50: he was on gardening leave when the list was drawn up, before starting a new job as European head of healthcare at KPMG. -
18 Ruth Carnall
Ruth Carnall once described herself as “an awful accountant and a good manager” but she has needed both skills to run NHS London for the past three years - probably the hardest job in the NHS. -
19 Steve Bundred
Steve Bundred has broken into the top 20 in his second year in the HSJ50. Considering he has been chief executive of the Audit Commission since 2003, this represents a distinct step change in his influence on the shape of healthcare. -
20 Oliver Letwin
If the Conservative Party has undertaken a huge rebranding to become “the party of the NHS” then the chair of both its policy review and research department Oliver Letwin deserves as much credit as Andrew Lansley. -
21 Sir Robert Naylor
A rise up the rankings for the chief executive of UCLH Foundation Trust, who has become one of the strongest defenders of FT freedom this year. -
22 Niall Dickson
Few expected the former BBC social affairs correspondent to take over as chief executive of the King’s Fund in 2004 - and even fewer anticipated his move to run the General Medical Council from next January. -
23 Sophia Christie
Chief executive of NHS Birmingham East and North - and HSJ columnist - Sophia Christie’s clear thinking on the challenges facing the NHS has won her many followers and drives debate on PCT and commissioning freedoms. -
24 Laurence Buckman
Dr Laurence Buckman, leader of the British Medical Association’s GPs, balances keeping GPs as trusted healthcare professionals with delivering for his members, who want pay to reflect increased work and responsibility. -
25 Peter Carter
Former psychiatric nurse Peter Carter has repositioned the Royal College of Nursing as a thoughtful and moderate influence on health policy. -
26 Bob Ricketts
The Department of Health’s director of system management and new enterprise slides a few steps down the rankings this year - reflecting the current uncertainty about the direction of some DH policies. -
27 Jeremy Heywood
Jeremy Heywood is unlikely to be a household name for many NHS staff: but as permanent secretary to prime minister Gordon Brown, he sits at the heart of government. -
28 Steve Field
The chair of the Royal College of GPs is generally not a high profile role: but Professor Steve Field has barely left the television studio this year as his calm perspective is called on in numerous debates about swine flu and other health scares. -
29 Nick Timmins
As veteran public policy editor of the Financial Times, whose knowledge of the NHS ensures a steady stream of well researched, insightful articles which are required reading for managers, ministers and Treasury mandarins, Nick Timmins poses questions at press conferences that can leave grown ministers quaking and looking to advisers for detail. -
30 Dame Sally Davies
As director general of research and development at the Department of Health, Professor Dame Sally Davies commands a budget of around £1bn. -
31 Sir Ian Carruthers
Sir Ian Carruthers is celebrating 40 years of working in the NHS this year, and shows no signs of changing career. -
32 Nigel Edwards
The ebullient director of policy and communications for the NHS Confederation is loved by journalists for his pithy opinions but he also commands influence by being honest about the NHS’s failings and he is no apologist for managers - he wrote recently that the quality of middle management is variable. -
33 Mark Goldman
Dr Mark Goldman embodies the engaged clinician: he is chief executive of Heart of England Foundation Trust and leads on clinical leadership for the NHS leadership council. -
34 Elisabeth Buggins
A former NHS manager who is now the highly regarded chair of NHS West Midlands and leads on board development for the NHS national leadership council, Elisabeth Buggins recently led a review of organ transplants to foreign private patients and is a former chair of the government’s organ donation task force. -
35 Hamish Meldrum
British Medical Association chair Dr Hamish Meldrum has struggled with the perennial problem of how to position the BMA as both the guardian of the patient’s interest and the opposer of many government reforms. -
36 Richard Barker
Director general of the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries, Richard Barker has been at the heart of many wrangles over drug costs and availability. -
37 David Fillingham
David Fillingham led the Modernisation Agency for three years - but then moved into the chief executive’s role at Royal Bolton Hospital Foundation Trust and put theory into practice, introducing into hospital management the “Lean” quality tool developed by Toyota and popular in other industries. -
38 Stuart Bell
As chief executive of the high performing South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust, Stuart Bell is respected across the mental health field and has been a supporter of the benefits of FT status. -
39 Helen Bevan
Helen Bevan is a leading advocate of a more structured approach to NHS management, offering insights into what it can adapt from other sectors. -
40 Lord Carter of Coles
Lord Carter of Coles is chair of the cooperation and competition panel which has been operating for less than a year but already looks to have a major influence on the development of NHS funded healthcare. -
41 Sian Thomas
Sian Thomas was appointed director of NHS Employers earlier this year, after 12 months of sharing the role with Alastair Henderson, and has launched the organisation into developing extra services for its members. -
42 Dame Carol Black
Professor Dame Carol is the first national director for health and work. She conducted a major review of the health of Britain’s working age population, which emphasised the role of the NHS in maintaining working people’s health and getting the unwell back to work. -
43 Nicolaus Henke
As McKinsey’s head of global health systems Nicolaus Henke’s critique of the UK’s system stands on knowledge of what has succeeded and failed around the world. -
44 Robert Chote
Director of the influential Institute of Fiscal Studies, Robert Chote has been forthright in warning about the black hole awaiting public spending. -
45 Stephen Thornton
The Health Foundation chief executive has seen his organisation’s star rise as its concern with quality improvement and patient safety increasingly chimes with government priorities. -
46 Dame Barbara Hakin
Dame Barbara Hakin is one of the few GPs right at the top of the health service as chief executive of NHS East Midlands and leading the NHS Employers negotiating team on the GMS contract. -
47 Ben Page
People listen to what Ipsos MORI has to say: it tells politicians and the health service what real people think and feel about it, and offers influential interpretations. -
48 Karen Jennings
Karen Jennings combines being Unison’s head of health - representing more than 400,000 members - and campaigning as Labour parliamentary candidate for Hornsey and Wood Green in north London. -
49 Sue Slipman
Foundation trusts have one of their biggest advocates and defenders in Foundation Trust Network director Sue Slipman. -
50 Ben Goldacre
An honourable 50th position for the NHS’s own myth buster - The Guardian columnist and author of Bad Science Dr Ben Goldacre. -
Ambitious reconfiguration plan abandoned
One of the most ambitious service reconfiguration programmes in England is likely to end this month, with a board decision expected to keep the status quo. -
Andrew Lansley warns against ‘chilling’ preferred provider policy
A Conservative government would return to an “any willing provider” model, the shadow health secretary has said. -
Andy Burnham defends NHS targets
Setting targets for NHS performance failed to win over the “hearts and minds” of service staff, health secretary Andy Burnham has admitted. -
Andy Burnham responds to infection control criticisms
Health secretary Andy Burnham has admitted the government could work harder in fighting hospital infections after a report accused the Department of Health of failing to monitor the situation adequately. -
BAMM welcomes David Cameron's plans for the NHS
Medical managers have welcomed Conservative leader David Cameron’s claim that a Tory-led NHS would see doctors and nurses become more involved in management. -
Book Review: Outliers – the story of success
Find out the secrets to being someone who stands out, says Julia Tybura -
Cally Bann: Halloween and bonfire night bash
Running a hospital? Meat and drink. Organising the annual staff Halloween meets bonfire night? Don’t even go there. -
Can the NHS do more to catch local ‘failures’?
Neil Goodwin’s report clearing NHS East Midlands of bullying highlights issues of management and regulation. Failure may be about more than poor local leadership, says Nigel Edwards -
Cheshire and Wirral names chief executive
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership Foundation Trust has named Sheena Cumiskey as its new chief executive. -
Chewing the fat
Endgame has been pondering the issue of obesity this week after a press release for a new weightloss franchise dropped into the HSJ inbox. -
Control continuing care costs
Providing continuing care to people who already have been compensated to pay for private care is money PCTs may be pouring down the drain, warns Jill Mason -
David Colin-Thomé on practice based commissioning
I feel I need to contribute further to the debate generated by my recent choice of words - used while attempting to raise the profile of practice based commissioning implementation. -
David Nicholson: ride the wave of NHS innovation
Linking quality and productivity via innovation to produce efficiency gains is the most important long term challenge facing the NHS, and it needs action at all levels -
Demand management fails as trusts soak up PCT cash
Primary care trusts have failed to control demand for hospital services by transferring care into the community, research from the Audit Commission has found. -
DH banking on patients not claiming entitlements
Health secretary Andy Burnham has set out his proposals to give patients waiting time and health check rights. -
EU law 'causing hospital deaths'
Poor clinical practice and an EU directive are causing unnecessary deaths in hospitals across the UK, a patient care report has warned. -
For the development of quality improvement tools to help support clinical audit professionals and clinicians to conduct high quality clinical audits both locally and nationally.
HQIP (Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership) -
Foundation trust bid deferred
Kingston Hospital Trust has deferred its application for foundation trust status until February 2011 after failing to win backing for the bid from its primary care trust. -
Freudian QIPP?
Whoops. QIPP tsar Jim Easton opened his blog post on ournhs.nhs.uk last week by explaining: “I’m responsible for looking at the issues surrounding how we achieve quality while almost meeting the financial challenges ahead.” -
FT staff governors lack skills to take on boards
Foundation trust staff governors feel disempowered and lack skills to scrutinise boards, unpublished research commissioned by the NHS Confederation suggests. -
Government sets out new patient rights
Proposals to give patients the legal right to private treatment if the NHS cannot provide care quickly enough, the right to die at home and the right to NHS dentistry are set to be revealed by the government. -
Government unveils private patient income cap proposals
The government is to look at loosening restrictions on the foundation trust private patient income cap. -
GP revalidation scheme calls for patients' views
Leaflets are being distributed by the Royal College of GPs to inform patients about the revalidation system for doctors. -
Health and social care workers and pandemic influenza: information for staff who are pregnant or in other at-risk groups
Some individuals are at increased risk of severe or complicated illness if they suffer from influenza. This guidance gives advice on protecting healthcare employees who are pregnant or in one of the other at risk groups identified for (H1N1) 2009 flu (swine flu). -
Hospital triumphs at green awards
Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust has been commended for its environmental efforts at the Green Business Awards. -
How to encourage innovation in healthcare
Creativity is now compulsory for SHAs but how to go about it is open to suggestion, say Chris Ham and colleagues -
How to handle pressure and stay focused
Who would know about pressure better than an Olympic champion? Former swimmer Adrian Moorhouse guides you on how to master stress before it overwhelms you -
HSJ to collaborate with Doctors.net.uk
HSJ, sister magazine Nursing Times and online doctors’ network Doctors.net.uk have formed an agreement that will see significant online collaboration between the three publications. -
HSJ50 2009 - Major Shifts of Power
This year’s HSJ50, the ranking of the 50 most powerful people in NHS management policy and practice in England, again reveals major shifts in who is wielding power. -
HSJ50 2009 - the judging process
The judging was carried out by a panel of experts from across the health policy and management field. -
HSJ50 2009 in pictures
The list was revealed at a reception at the Foundling Museum in Central London on 11 November 2009. -
Inspiring tunes
Delegates at the NHS Employers conference were chomping at the bit to hear Department of Health workforce director Clare Chapman’s speech. -
Managers’ anger at O'Brien's name and shame threat
Managers have reacted with anger and confusion to a threat by health minister Mike O’Brien to “name and shame” those who slash budgets and services in response to the public sector funding squeeze. -
Media Watch: private patients, statins and scurvy
Although the row over the sacking of government drugs adviser David Nutt continued to dominate the headlines, many health correspondents sought their fixes elsewhere this week. -
Medical graduates 'poorly prepared'
New research has shown medical graduates are poorly prepared for working on hospital wards. -
Michael White: FT freedoms and the election
Barely a couple of days pass without some potentially significant policy shift on the health and social care front from the political parties. -
Microsoft on the lookout for NHS business
Microsoft is “investigating opportunities” for introducing its personal health record platform in the NHS in England. -
National Voices appoints chief executive
Patient group umbrella organisation National Voices has appointed a new chief executive. -
NHS managers are used to abuse but Mike O’Brien’s attack is a new low
The government is attempting to gag NHS managers, to hide from the electorate the true scale of cuts about to hit the health service. -
NHS managers think nursing directors lack ‘clout’
Directors of nursing have lower status in their organisations than they believe, an extensive survey by HSJ and sister title Nursing Times has found. -
North east London hospital shake-up consultation coming soon
A consultation on the reconfiguration of hospital services in north east London is expected to start before the end of the year. -
Out of hours provider loses contract following overdose case
The out-of-hours provider that hired German locum Dr Daniel Ubani - who accidentally killed a patient by administering a lethal overdose - is to have its NHS contract terminated. -
Patient designed services 'could save the NHS £20bn'
Allowing doctors and patients to design healthcare services could save the NHS £20bn by 2014, according to the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. -
Policy streams
Now you may be worried about an endless stream of new initiatives and top-down reorganisations heading your way some time after June next year. -
Pre-Pregnancy Health and Care in England: Exploring Implementing and Public Health Impact
Department of Health -
RCGP refutes practice boundary claims
The Royal College of GPs has reacted to claims by health minister Mike O’Brien that it wants to abolish practice boundaries. -
Refugees 'need better mental healthcare'
The mental health of refugees and asylum seekers is being made worse by UK detention centres and complex asylum and immigration processes, according to the charity Mind. -
Report highlights gender gap in doctors' salaries
The NHS pays thousands of pounds more to male doctors than their female counterparts, a report by the British Medical Association claims. -
Self care: personal health planning
Health and care professionals are partners in the self care of people who have long term conditions and need ongoing support -
Sheila Williams on watching your language
I have been thinking about language. May I invite you to leave the frenzy of the dance floor and come out onto the balcony? -
Sir Ian Kennedy champions ‘fearless’ NHS regulator
Former Healthcare Commission chair Sir Ian Kennedy has accused MPs of “shooting the messenger” in a Commons health committee report on patient safety. -
'Small increase' in swine flu numbers
Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson has said latest figures show a ‘small increase’ in the number of new swine flu infections. -
Stephen Eames on managing the future of the NHS
At a recent trust board seminar to review our performance and development over the past year, we recognised that we were at a watershed moment. We acknowledged the years ahead would be driven by the recession and the multibillion pound recovery programme the government intends to generate from public services. -
Trusts frustrated over ‘worse’ mortality rates
Hospital trusts are “surprised and frustrated” by latest mortality ratios that suggest their performance has worsened. -
Trusts target major carbon cuts
Cutting energy bills by £1.1m a year and reducing annual carbon emissions by 8,100 tonnes is the target for 17 NHS trusts across England. -
UK GPs top financial incentive table
GPs in the UK are more likely to receive extra financial incentives than those from a list of 10 other developed countries, according to a report.
