Health Service Journal
14 June 2012
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£19m pledged for NHS workers to run mutuals
An extra £19 million has been announced to fund doctors, nurses and other health workers who want to take over the running of NHS services in England. -
£20m income and savings target for Kettering
FINANCE: Kettering General Hospital aims to deliver savings and extra income to the value of £20m by the end of this year. -
A&E performance improves at Glos Hospitals
PERFORMANCE: Performance against the four hour accident and emergency standard has improved “significantly” at Gloucestershire Hospitals Foundation Trust following an intervention by Monitor. -
Ambulance trust raises concern about NHS 111
PERFORMANCE: East of England Ambulance Service Trust has raised concerns about the roll out of the 111 service. -
Analysed: dealing with the legacy of Mid Staffs
HSJ Local Briefing is our new in-depth analysis of key issues facing some of the major NHS health economies. This week we examine the problems facing Staffordshire as it deals with the legacy of Mid Staffs, reconfiguration and financial drought. -
Applying leadership to organisational change
Effective leadership programmes work to a model of organisational change; Charles Marshall explains how to make this a reality. -
Birmingham FT workers strike over pay cuts
Workers at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust went on strike yesterday in a row over cuts to a pay premium designed to improve recruitment and retention. -
BMA chair candidates revealed ahead of member vote
Three doctors will go head to head in an election to become the head of the British Medical Association. -
Bristol Community Health performs well during first year
PERFORMANCE: Bristol Community Health Services achieved six of seven CQUINs for 2011-12 with partial achievement on CQUIN 4, which related to reductions in acute admission and length of stay for patients with long term conditions and ambulatory care sensitive conditions. -
'Budget for health' to set out future ambitions
Andrew Lansley hopes to establish an annual “budget for health” which will become the parliamentary set piece debate on the service. -
Can light-touch Lansley really avoid the toughest decisions?
“I don’t subscribe to the macho management view that the bigger the reconfiguration and the more you shut things down, the better the result will be”, Andrew Lansley told HSJ in the course of his wide-ranging interview this week. -
Case note review of over 200 deaths in hospital
PERFORMANCE: A case note review of more than 200 patient deaths at Northampton General Hospital has identified 16 patients who could have survived if care had been better. -
Cash problems scupper Wye Valley FT bid
FINANCE: Wye Valley Trust has paused its application for foundation trust status amid growing financial problems it has emerged. -
Cluster bosses meet Southampton FT over demand and infection rates
PERFORMANCE: University Hospital Southampton Foundation Trust is in talks with its primary care trust cluster over ongoing difficulties in managing demand and the knock on effects for care quality. -
Cluster fears NHS 111 could create significant cost pressure
FINANCE: The introduction of the new non-emergency NHS 111 phone number in Gloucestershire and Swindon could lead to a recurring cost pressure on commissioners of £744,000 by the fifth year of the contract. -
Concern about Avon and Wiltshire spreads
A second commissioner is considering retendering its services provided by a struggling mental health trust, in a move that could further destabilise the organisation. -
Concern over A&E demand in Portsmouth and Southampton
PERFORMANCE: Emergency department waiting times have been identified as a “key performance concern” by the Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth primary care trust cluster. -
Conflict of interest concerns in new Monitor role - report
There are “a number” of potential conflicts between Monitor’s new responsibilities to enable integrated healthcare and to prevent anti-competitive behaviour, a new report prepared for the regulator concedes. -
Councils claim lack of DH engagement on public health budgets
The Local Government Association fears councils have been excluded from government talks about funding for their new public health responsibilities and will not be allocated enough money to fulfil the role. -
Councils using social care cash to plug funding gaps
A new report claims that almost half of councils are plugging gaps in access to existing social care services by using additional social care funding from the NHS, rather than spending it on providing additional services or improving quality. -
'Crisis' in child health could arrive in 12 months
The NHS could be a year away from a “crisis” in the care given to children, the new president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has told HSJ. -
DH tells would-be FT application delay 'cannot happen again'
PERFORMANCE: A West Midlands teaching hospital has seen its application date for applying for foundation trust status delayed in the face of falling revnues ansd “numerous performance issues”. -
Doctors' strike could see thousands of operations cancelled
Contingency plans are being devised for next week’s British Medical Association strike which could see tens of thousands of hospital operations cancelled. -
Durham and Darlington FT invests £800k for ward leadership
WORKFORCE: County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is investing £800,000 to enable ward sisters and community nurse team leaders to spend more time managing, leading and supervising staff and patient care, it has announced. -
Durham CCG publishes five year 'Clear and Credible Plan'
FINANCE: Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield (DDES) Clinical Commissioning Group has published what it describes as its “Clear and Credible Plan” for health services in the next five years. -
East Midlands Ambulance Service relaunches FT consultation
STRUCTURE: The East Midlands Ambulance Service is consulting on its plans to become a foundation trust. -
EoE ambulance trust needs to up game on rural response times
PERFORMANCE: East of England Ambulance Service Trust meets all the essential standards a Care Quality Commission inspection has found - but needs to work on improving response times in more rural areas. -
Exclusive: chief executive of the biggest-deficit trust stands down
The chief executive of the trust with the biggest deficit in the NHS has resigned, HSJ has learned, while another troubled trust is losing five of its eight directors. -
Exclusive: commissioning board to direct CSS recruitment
The NHS Commissioning Board is to coordinate the recruitment process for commissioning support services and appoint chief finance officers for each organisation, HSJ has discovered. -
Exclusive: Monitor to launch major review of barriers to NHS competition
Future “sector regulator” for healthcare Monitor will tomorrow issue a call for evidence for a major review of all barriers to a “level playing field” for competing providers of NHS-funded healthcare, HSJ has learned. -
Exclusive: new CQC chief executive revealed
Department of Health director general of social care David Behan has been appointed chief executive of the Care Quality Commission, HSJ can reveal. -
Facing up to failure: an HSJ roundtable debate
What will, and should, happen to struggling trusts in the next few yeard? Will politicians step in to tackle failure? Should poor providers go under? This passionate HSJ debate looks at one of the toughest questions facing the NHS. -
Flying high: how organisations can aim for top performance
An ambitious study has set out to discover what makes high performing organisations fly above the rest. Naomi Chambers and colleagues reveal their findings. -
FT applications given higher risk rating
The efforts of three London trusts to achieve foundation status have been given a higher risk rating HSJ has learned. -
Futureproofing the leadership of the NHS
When considering the concept of “futureproofing” the NHS, a number of challenges spring to mind including developing sustainable services, financial models and buildings. -
Government wrong to focus on 'breakthrough' drug research, warns pharma chief
Fears have been expressed for the future of medical drug research in the UK by the head of the association representing Britain’s pharmaceutical industry. -
GP records website 'My Health' revealed
A new website called My Health, likely to be run by an independent contractor, looks set to be used to give the public access to GP records. -
GPs 'absurd' to walk away from CCGs over pensions
Andrew Lansley has claimed it would be “absurd” for GPs to walk away from clinical commissioning groups because they were angry over the government’s refusal to improve its pension offer. -
Hampshire commissioners fail to cut prescribing costs
FINANCE: Hampshire commissioners failed to reduce their spending on medicines during 2011-12, latest primary care trust data shows. -
Hampshire trust tenders for new cancer centre
COMMERCIAL: Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust is calling for bids to design a new cancer treatment centre in Basingstoke. -
Harrogate FT chief executive tenure extended
WORKFORCE: The contract of the chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has been further extended. -
Herts acute services overspent last year
FINANCE: Spending on acute services in Hertfordshire was overspent by £20.9m in 2011-12, board papers reveal. -
Herts PCT to hold own contract with London provider
FINANCE: NHS Hertfordshire is to hold its own contract with a London trust after concerns that plans to decommission services were not moving forward. -
Hospital trust chief executive appointed as Monitor director
Heather Lawrence, boss of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Foundation Trust, has been appointed as a non-executive director at Monitor. -
How the government can promote the value of social enterprise
Social enterprises must be dealt a fair hand, says Ross Griffiths. -
How to successfully lead from within a partnership
Leading from within a partnership may sound like a paradox but with care it can be done. Adam Turner looks at how to go about it -
Hunt goes on for new ambulance service director
WORKFORCE: East of England Ambulance Service Trust failed to appoint a new director of service development after interviews in March. -
Identifying the opportunities for CCGs to make savings and efficiencies
Clinical commissioning groups must unite their GP practices if bureaucracy is to be cut and targets met. Valerie Martin-Long has four ideas to make this happen. -
Income up for Southampton trust as demand exceeds plan
FINANCE: University Hospital Southampton Foundation Trust was paid £21.5m more than expected in 2011-12 as demand for services exceeded plan. -
In-house consultancy saves NHS £7.1m in fees
The NHS’s in-house consultancy says it saved the service an estimated £7.1m in consultancy fees in 2011-12. -
Isle of Wight trust launched
STRUCTURE: The Isle of Wight NHS Trust legally came into being on 1 April, bringing the purchaser-provider split to the island for the first time. -
James Paget missed 18 week target in March
PERFORMANCE: The 18 week referral-to-treatment target was missed at the James Paget Hospital in March, with performance only around 85 per cent, the Norfolk and Waveney PCT cluster heard. -
Kent and Medway to take part in forensic research project
RESEARCH: Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust is to partner with Canterbury Christchurch University on a pilot study into forensic mental health care provision. -
Keogh calls on clinicians to help with blood demand
NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh has called on clinicians to prescribe blood transfusions only when necessary in a bid to prevent demand outstripping supply. -
Lansley expects 'nearly all' CCGs to be authorised by deadline
Andrew Lansley has declared that he expects to see close to 100 per cent of clinical commissioning groups fully authorised by next April. -
Lansley speech moved to avoid strike clash
Health secretary Andrew Lansley’s speech at the NHS Confederation conference has been moved forward to avoid a clash with the doctors’ strike. -
Lansley: management cuts to slow after 2012
Aggressive cost saving will mean new NHS organisations will not have to make further deep cuts in management and administration spending from next year, Andrew Lansley has revealed to HSJ. -
Large rise in shifts filled by agency staff
The use of agency nurses by acute and community service providers has soared by 50 per cent in a year, evidence suggests. -
Legal right to choice would give providers 'confidence', says Cabinet Office
A top civil servant has argued that government moves to make choice in health services a statutory right would give more confidence to innovative provider organisations. -
Measures to tackle patient age discrimination imposed
Age discrimination against NHS patients is to be made illegal, ministers have confirmed. -
Media Watch: getting cross about cuts to social care
Social care is rarely in the headlines for good reasons and this week was no exception. -
Michael White: Behan will be under scrutiny in CQC hot seat
Spare a kindly thought for David Behan CBE, whose departure from the Department of Health’s top Whitehall team to take over as chief executive of the Care Quality Commission was announced with only a modest fanfare at the weekend. -
Mid Staffs could merge with neighbour
Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust could merge with University Hospital of North Staffordshire Trust, HSJ understands. -
Mid Staffs nurses disciplined for continuing cannula incidents
PERFORMANCE: Nurses at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust have been disciplined with one suspended after the trust revealed another patient had been discharged with a cannula left in their arm. -
Mid Staffs recommendations unlikely to clash with policy
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has told HSJ that he is “confident” most of the recommendations of the inquiry into care failings at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust will be “delivered within the legislative framework we’ve got”. -
Minor concerns found at Linden Centre
PERFORMANCE: The Care Quality Commission has raised minor concerns over the Linden Centre in Chelmsford, run by the North Essex Partnership Foundation Trust. -
Minor injures unit to close in Suffolk
STRUCTURE: A nurse-led minor injuries service which treated 23,500 people a year is to close because it led to “increased demands and costs”. -
More blood donations needed ahead of Olympics
A drop in people giving blood over the Jubilee weekend led to national blood stocks falling by 7 per cent, NHS Blood and Transplant has warned. -
'More Legionnaires' deaths possible'
Further deaths from an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease cannot be ruled out, doctors warned, as people from further afield fell ill. -
Mother attending Mid Staffs told healthy baby had died
PERFORMANCE: An investigation has been launched into how doctors at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust told a pregnant woman she had lost her baby - and tried to remove it - only to discover it was healthy. -
New ECG service in Norfolk
STRUCTURE: Patients in West Norfolk are to benefit from a new 24 hour electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring service. -
New targets for EoE ambulance trust
PERFORMANCE: Commissioners are asking the East of England Ambulance Service Trust to hit new targets next year. -
NHS 111 roll out delayed
The government has extended the deadline for the roll out of NHS 111 by up to six months following pressure from unions and clinical commissioning groups. -
NHS Gloucestershire likely to seek NHS trust status
STRUCTURE: NHS Gloucestershire’s preferred option for its provider arm is an NHS trust, documents obtained by campaigners under the Freedom of Information Act reveal. -
Norfolk cluster faces tough QIPP challenge
FINANCE: The Norfolk and Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT cluster will need to make nearly £40m QIPP savings to deliver a £2m surplus in 2012-13, the board was told. -
Numbers of women being screened falls in Nottingham
PERFORMANCE: The number of women being screened for cervical cancer has fallen in Nottingham with 186,000 at risk sparking an appeal by hospital bosses. -
NW ambulance service blames 'protracted' contract negotiations for performance dip
PERFORMANCE: Protracted negotiations with commissioners were the overriding cause of the North West Ambulance Service’s failure to hit its key response times target for the initial months of 2011-12, its draft annual report states. -
Patient safety concerns closes mental health unit
STRUCTURE: All admissions to a mental health unit in Grantham have been stopped on patient safety grounds by Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust. -
Patients to rate doctors' surgeries
A new points scoring system will allow patients to rate doctors’ surgeries. -
PCT cluster joins lung cancer campaign
PERFORMANCE: NHS Surrey is pushing a national campaign highlighting that a persistent cough can be a symptom of lung cancer. -
Portsmouth trust reports surplus after £13.6m extra cash
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust finished 2011-12 with a £148,000 surplus, but only after a securing an extra £13.6m from commissioners. -
Portsmouth trust struggles on emergency
PERFORMANCE: Accident and emergency performance is deteriorating at Portsmouth Hospitals Trust, due to “mismatches” in staffing levels and difficulties implementing discharge and patient flow policies. -
'Public interest' whistleblowing law change criticised
NHS whistleblowers could be discouraged from speaking out by a proposed change in the law, HSJ has been told. -
PWC wins £3.4m contract to help authorise CCGs
Accountancy firm PwC has won a £3.4m contract to help with the assessment and authorisation of prospective clinical commissioning groups. -
Rabies apology from Dartford and Gravesham
PERFORMANCE: Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust apologised at the end of last month after turning away a patient who died from rabies. -
Readers' letters - 14 June 2012
CCGs are the Da Vincis of commissioning; and why public health should open up to the media -
'Reform could lead a transition to a non-hierarchical NHS'
The Health and Social Care Act is now on the statute book and we are at the start of implementation of the reforms. -
Report condemns trust's use of information and technology
PERFORMANCE: An external report has found that the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Foundation Trust has “no coherent vision” for information management and technology and is failing to use it to drive efficiencies. -
Retail outlets to bring in a profit for Bristol trust
COMMERCIAL: University Hospitals Bristol Foundation Trust has been granted planning permission for a “welcome centre” at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. -
Sally Gainsbury: CCG budgets face existential crisis
You’ve got to hand it to those auditors – they know how to spoil a good party. -
Sandwell meets infection targets
PERFORMANCE: Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital Trust has met its annual target for both MRSA and C difficile infections. -
Satisfaction in NHS plummets due to concern over government reforms
Public satisfaction with the NHS saw its largest-ever drop last year as ministers highlighted weaknesses in the service to justify the Health and Social Care Act, and senior clinicians spoke out against the reforms. -
Scotland's Legionnaires' cases increase again
Cases of a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease have risen again, the Scottish government has confirmed. -
Seven day service for Lincolnshire stroke patients
STRUCTURE: Therapy services for stroke patients in Lincolnshire have been extended to work seven days a week. -
Shaun Lintern
Shaun covers the East and West Midlands. shaun.lintern@emap.com -
SHIP needs non-sustainable savings to hit target
FINANCE: The Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth primary care trust cluster relied on one-off savings to hit its cost reduction target for 2011-12, with emergency demand singled out as a cause for concern. -
SHIP PCTs miss C difficile targets
PERFORMANCE: All four primary care trusts in the Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth cluster missed their targets for C difficile infections. -
Six ill health retirements cost NHS £800,000
WORKFORCE: There were six early retirements due to ill health at University Hospital Southampton Foundation Trust in the last six months of 2011-12. -
Social care cuts increasing risk to older people - survey
Older people are being put at risk because of “dangerous” cuts to home-based care which could cost the country billions of pounds, a leading charity has warned. -
South Glos social enterprise reduces admissions
PERFORMANCE: The restructuring of South Gloucestershire Community Health Services during 2011-12 helped to prevent 1,189 hospital admissions, a report to the board of NHS South Gloucestershire said. -
St George's appoints new clinical director
WORKFORCE: The south London acute trust has appointed Heather Jarman to the role of clinical director for major trauma. -
Suffolk health centre closure brought forward
STRUCTURE: A health centre in Haverhill is to close in July - earlier than expected. -
Suffolk OOH services rated 'good'
PERFORMANCE: Out-of-hours services in Suffolk have been judged to be good after being scrutinised by two county councillors - despite concerns that changes to the service would affect patients. -
Suffolk services set to transfer to Serco in Oct
COMMERCIAL: Community services in Suffolk will transfer to Serco in October, with a contract likely to be signed in the next month and a three month mobilisation period. -
Sussex FT joins programme to improve services for gay patients
PERFORMANCE: Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has joined Stonewall’s “Health Champions” programme. -
Sussex neuro centre gains charity accreditation
PERFORMANCE: An independent specialist neuro rehabilitation centre in Sussex has received charity accreditation for its services. -
Sussex Partnership signs new catering deal
COMMERCIAL: Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust has announced the winning tender for a café at one of its main sites in Brighton. -
Swindon vaccine success
PERFORMANCE: NHS Swindon had the third highest uptake of the human papilloma virus vaccine among year 8 pupils in the whole country during 2010-11. -
The benefits of centralised emergency services are less than clear
The pressure to swap small hospitals for centralised services is ill thought through and requires a more imaginative approach, says Nigel Edwards. -
The benefits to CCGs from sharing patient information
Sean Riddell explains why sharing patient information is vital in the new NHS and how clinical commissioning groups can make it happen on the ground. -
Trust launches clinical audit tool
WORKFORCE: Junior doctors working at Burton Hospitals Foundation Trust are undergoing a special clinical audit training programme to improve patient safety and care. -
Trust plan to cut mortality
PERFORMANCE: Walsall Healthcare Trust has developed a plan to cut the trust’s high mortality rate. -
Trusts need to face up to the reality of mergers
With NHS and foundation trusts considering their strategic futures, the option of merging with, or being acquired by, another local NHS organisation is an increasing reality. -
UCLH joint venture aims to reduce PFI costs
One of the NHS’s most prestigious foundation trusts is spearheading a joint venture to drive down PFI costs. -
University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire FT application date slips
A West Midlands teaching hospital has seen its application date for applying for foundation trust status put back. -
West Mercia PCTs meet cash targets
FINANCE: The four PCTs making up the West Mercia Cluster are on track to deliver against their financial targets to break even and hit the control total surplus agreed with NHS Midlands and the East strategic health authority cluster. -
West Middlesex launches inpatient experience improvement scheme after poor results
PERFORMANCE: West Middlesex University Hospital is looking at how it can improve inpatient experience after receiving its results from the Picker Institute. -
Work starts on new Worthing breast unit
STRUCTURE: Building work has begun on Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust’s new breast unit. -
Worthing Hospital hit by flooding
PERFORMANCE: Work is continuing to clear basement areas of Worthing Hospital affected by flooding during heavy rain on Sunday 10 June, Western Sussex Hospitals Trust said in a statement.
