Health Service Journal
18 November 2010
View all stories from this issue.
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‘Immediate’ need for GP data system
The government has given its backing to a delayed national IT system which would collect swathes of information about primary care. -
£750m spent by NHS on locum doctors
NHS hospitals spend more than £750m a year on hiring temporary doctors - and the cost has almost doubled in two years, figures suggest. -
'27,000 posts earmarked for cuts'
The Royal College of Nursing claims nearly 27,000 NHS job have been earmarked to be cut in the UK - including 18,000 in England - which it warns risks endangering patient care. -
Academics criticise the pace of change
Academics have warned MPs the pace of the government’s reforms on commissioning will endanger the NHS, even if they are good policies in principle. -
All NHS reconfigurations look set to progress despite moratorium
The government’s new set of tests for service reconfigurations has yet to lead to a scheme being turned down, an investigation by HSJ has found. -
Andrew Lansley defends NHS reforms
The health secretary has defended the government’s plans reform the NHS and insisted that there will be accountability in the new commissioning structure. -
Andrew Murrison on the military covenant
The British public is discerning. It may doubt the validity of UK involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan but gives the thumbs up to the means of its prosecution. -
BMA calls for GP consortia elections
The future leaders of GP consortia should be elected, with the process overseen by local medical committees acting as “honest brokers”, the British Medical Association has said. -
Boards urged to improve cost-saving measures
Scottish health boards should improve the way they compare costs to help tackle budget constraints, a report has found. -
Book Review: Managing Oneself
The first thing to strike me about this book was its (lack of) size. Managing Oneself is a reprint of an article from the Harvard Business Review, and at 55 small pages it is a distinctly slim volume. -
Children's hospital told to improve cleanliness
Health inspectors have called for a number of improvements to a children’s hospital in Scotland following an unannounced visit. -
CNO to step down in March
Chief nursing officer for England Dame Christine Beasley is to retire in March it has been announced. -
Court rules automatic barring of nurses 'unlawful'
The Royal College of Nursing has won its judicial review against the barring scheme run by the Independent Safeguarding Authority. -
Dementia Advisor Service
East London NHS Foundation Trust -
DH claims retaining top managers is a priority
Retaining talented primary care trust and strategic health authority mangers in the system is a “top priority”, the Department of Health’s new permanent secretary has said. -
DH confirms sale of Dr Foster Intelligence
The Department of Health has announced it is seeking to sell its stake in information analysts Dr Foster Intelligence. -
DH speeds up abolition of PCTs and SHAs
The government has stepped up the pace of its NHS reorganisation by bringing forward the abolition of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities. -
Easton criticises 'appalling and self-interested' NHS culture
National director for improvement and efficiency Jim Easton has claimed staff in the NHS hate learning from each other and put professional pride before the care of patients. -
Elderly miss out on post surgical care
Managers have been urged to improve the treatment of elderly patients after a survey found that only a third of older patients who died in hospital following surgery received good care. -
Former NHS chief attacks private health insurance 'lottery'
Former NHS chief executive Lord Nigel Crisp has attacked a lack of transparency in private health insurance policies, which he claims has created a “private healthcare lottery”. -
Former RSM president condemns NHS reforms as 'anathema'
A leading doctor has warned of the damage that could be done to the standard of cancer treatment in the UK by the government’s plans for the NHS. -
Government to set out social care plans
The government will today set out further details of its thinking on reform of the system of long-term care for the elderly in England. -
GPs could be ordered to give evidence at Mid Staffs inquiry
Reluctant GPs could be compelled to give evidence to the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry if more do not come forward voluntarily. -
GPs get a check-up of their own as a new era dawns
Confidential assessments offered by one primary care trust helped practices to identify strengths and weaknesses in the run-up to the new commissioning arrangements. Tim Riley and colleagues explain how it was done -
Health insurance is a game of poker, against an expert
“NICE is accountable to the public,” Lord Crisp - the former NHS chief executive - advised Parliament last week. “What we don’t need is to import American style private sector rationing where individuals find themselves the victims of decisions made in private by individual insurance companies where nobody is accountable.” -
iPhone app rates NHS services
A free iPhone application that allows patients to keep track of their NHS appointments and rate the services they use has been launched by former health minister Lord Darzi. -
Lancashire PCTs to review funding for 70 procedures
PCTs in Lancashire have become the latest to consider restricting NHS funding of a range of procedures to save money. -
Lansley promises 'robust' working time directive talks
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has promised to take a “robust approach” to future negotiations on the European working time directive. -
Let more people die at home, says end of life care report
Hundreds of thousands of people who would rather reach the end of their lives at home are instead dying in hospital, a study by think tank Demos says. -
'Major concern' over mental health hospital - CQC report
An NHS hospital is to be kept under “close review” after a series of breaches relating to quality and safety standards, the Care Quality Commission has said. -
Managers warn against cuts
Two thirds of public sector managers say the government’s short-term budget cuts will prevent many public services from tackling long-term issues, according to a survey. -
Media Watch: targets and treatment
The last week and a half proved a good few days for journalists, but a less good few days for NHS managers and their staff. -
Mid Staffs inquiry told of 'culture of fear'
The public inquiry into disastrous failings in care at Stafford Hospital has been urged to examine a culture of fear, secrecy and bullying within the NHS. -
MPs want power to scrutinise DH spending plans in detail
The Department of Health may have to start justifying its detailed spending plans to the Commons health committee, HSJ has learned. -
NHS back office savings worth £1bn
The NHS could save £600m-£1bn through sharing more back office services, according to research conducted for the Department of Health. -
NHS cancer spending queried by National Audit Office
Huge variability in regional cancer spending suggests worrying inefficiency, the National Audit Office has warned. -
NHS chiefs criticised for taking large pay rises
NHS chief executives must not freeze Agenda for Change increments while awarding themselves “indefensible” pay rises, Royal College of Nursing chief executive and general secretary Peter Carter has argued. -
'NHS cuts will come off a far fatter bird'
It won’t have changed your life much, but MPs have been squabbling for weeks now over the future size of the NHS budget under the coalition’s plans for the next five years. “Bigger or smaller?” critics demand to know. Yes or no, does it change anything? -
NHS Surrey stops funding for IVF and tattoo removal
IVF treatment for women under 39, cosmetic procedures and other low priority interventions will no longer be funded in Surrey. -
NHS targets skew surgery management, doctors warn
People needing emergency treatment are losing out because managers prioritise pre-booked patients in order to hit targets, senior doctors have warned. -
NHS workforce: working smart to improve productivity
NHS North West’s eWin portal is helping 80 per cent of local health service organisations to access important workforce and benchmarking data -
Nicholson letter suggests caution on scrapping PCTs
Sir David Nicholson, as chair of the National Quality Board, has written to the health secretary urging caution on several elements of his white paper reforms. -
North Tees staff offered voluntary redundancy
North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust is looking for staff to volunteer for redundancy to help it make £5m in savings. -
Our lives are in the cancer detectives’ hands
Helping GPs to hone their skill at identifying cancer early will go a long way to improving survival rates -
PCT talent to be assigned to consortia
Primary care trust managers will be assigned to emerging GP consortia to add “influence” and limit the loss of talented staff, under national plans being developed by NHS East of England chief Sir Neil McKay. -
Pledge for democratic input on commissioning 'watered down'
Health minster Earl Howe has revealed the government’s proposed health and wellbeing boards will not be compulsory. -
Primary care special report: happy hours
HSJ examines the impact of GP practice opening hours, consortia commissioning for quality and productivity, GP relations with the community care workforce and how primary care is being shaped by the new-look Britain -
Public engagement: power to the people
Turning Point Connected Care is developing citizen advisers, a local role to help people interact successfully with public services, says Richard Kramer -
Quarter of cancers found during emergency care
Nearly a quarter of cancer diagnoses in England are made when patients arrive at hospital in an emergency, a study has found. -
Report points to prison care lapses
Lapses in clinical care may have led to at least four prisoners’ deaths from heart disease in the last four years, a watchdog has said. -
Search NHS Evidence from hsj.co.uk
Hsj.co.uk users can now search the healthcare information website NHS Evidence via a new search bar. -
Secure mental health bed shortage criticised
Prisoners in need of treatment at secure mental health hospitals often have to wait months for a bed, the director of an NHS trust has said. -
SHAs to set senior managers' pay at aspirant CFTs
NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson’s decision to leave aspirant community foundation trust pay decisions with strategic health authorities could be a barrier to appointments, unions have warned. -
Stephen Dorrell: the ‘main game’ is delivering efficiency
The health committee chair argues the white paper should not be the NHS’s top priority. Instead, he tells Sally Gainsbury, the service should take its lead from its chief executive -
Sturgeon stops NHS consultant awards
An awards scheme for NHS consultants will be halted in a move to save up to £2m for frontline services, health secretary Nicola Sturgeon has said. -
Telehealth could save NHS £2bn
The NHS is missing out on annual efficiency savings worth up to £2bn by failing to embrace remote monitoring and care, according to a report shared with HSJ. -
The big four enablers that bring about big change
Large-scale change in healthcare often fails, but the latest challenge in England of improving quality while reducing costs is possible with a four-pillar approach, write Penelope Dash and colleagues -
UK women 'more likely to die of cancer'
Women in the UK are more likely to die of cancer than in the rest of Europe, figures have revealed. -
What Dorrell says matters, and his message to the NHS is clear
House of Commons health committee chair Stephen Dorrell made an electrifying intervention into the NHS reform debate last Thursday. -
What happened to courage?
A client describes the following scenario to me. The 24-year-old son of a close friend has lost his job in the fallout from the sudden collapse of the business in which he was working.
