Health Service Journal
Sarah Calkin

Sarah Calkin is an HSJ and Nursing Times reporter. For HSJ, she focuses on the Department of Health, the new National Commissioning Board, strategic health authorities, ambulance trusts, pharmaceutical and patient safety. For Nursing Times, Sarah focuses on pain management, older persons, wound care, nutrition and accident & emergency.

South West trusts set up "pay cartel"

25-May-2012
Sixteen provider trusts in the south west are seeking to move away from the national Agenda for Change agreement and have formed a consortium to lead regional negotiation on pay, terms and conditions.
FT ambitions will be 'very challenging' for community trusts

24 May 2012
A leading provider of integrated health and social care looks set to abandon its ambitions to become a standalone community foundation trust in a move lawyers say could be repeated elsewhere.
CQC whistleblower faces sack

23-May-2012
The Care Quality Commission board member who gave highly critical evidence about the regulator to the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry is facing the sack, it has emerged.
Providers urged to collaborate to speed clinical trial approvals

23-May-2012
Providers need to work together to speed up the approval process for clinical trials if the NHS is to realise its potential as a research resource, a senior pharmaceutical industry figure has said
Lansley confirms NICE will no longer take funding decisions

17-May-2012
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will no longer directly decide whether the NHS funds a drug under the proposed new pricing system, health secretary Andrew Lansley has confirmed.
Senior NHS figures shun 'poisoned chalice' CQC job

17-May-2012
The head of the General Social Care Council and a Department of Health director general are among those believed to have applied to become chief executive of the Care Quality Commission.
Drug costs 'have to be secret' under new pricing system

16-May-2012
Drug prices agreed under the government’s proposed new pricing system would have to remain secret if drug companies are to buy into it, a senior figure in the pharmaceutical industry has warned.
Mike Rawlins: NICE drug judgements can be improved

15-May-2012
Judgements on which drugs should be paid for by the NHS can be improved, the chair of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has said.
Commissioning board moves to halt NHS director exodus

10-May-2012
The NHS Commissioning Board is attempting to stem the rapid drop in the number of senior clinical advisers by bringing in more expertise from primary care, NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh has told HSJ.
Joint working to prevent falls could save cash

10-May-2012
A more integrated approach to preventing falls could cut incidents by up to 30 per cent, saving money and bed days, a report from the NHS Confederation has found.
Sir John Oldham will not take up a role on NHS Commissioning Board

4-May-2012
The GP lead on the quality, innovation, productivity and prevention programme has announced he will not be seeking a position on the NHS Commissioning Board.
CCG eyes joint commissioning with local council

3-May-2012
STRUCTURE: GPs in part of the South West are exploring opportunities for integrated commissioning with their local council.
Mortality rate indicator reveals seven acute trust outliers

3-May-2012
Seven acute trusts have emerged as consistent outliers against the controversial mortality rate measure, with significantly more patient deaths than expected, analysis of the latest data reveals.
Value-based pricing 'will not improve' cancer drug access

3 May 2012
Government proposals to introduce a value-based pricing system for new drugs will not significantly improve patient access to treatments, experts have warned.
NICE guidance on cost-saving drug not sought by DH

2-May-2012
The Department of Health failed to act on expert advice to commission an appraisal of a drug which could lead to savings of £100m for the NHS, it has emerged.
Private sector avoiding 'shambolic' NHS 111 procurement

2-May-2012
Concerns about the “rushed” and “shambolic” procurement process for the 111 non-emergency phone service are deterring private sector providers, HSJ has learned.
NHS Direct staff uncertain over future as 111 deals pick up pace

25-Apr-2012
NHS Direct staff in the North East still do not know whether they will be transferred to the new NHS 111 service due to go live in 12 months.
Novartis launches legal challenge against PCT cluster

23-Apr-2012
A pharmaceutical company is taking a primary care trust cluster to court over its decision to encourage the use of a cheaper, unlicensed drug in a case that could be worth millions to the NHS.
NHS reports strong performance on 18 weeks targets

20-Apr-2012
The NHS continued its strong performance on waiting times in February, achieving all three 18 week referral-to-treatment measures for the second consecutive month.
Mid Staffs report not expected until October

19-Apr-2012
The Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry report will not be published until October, it has been announced.
Patients safer on trolleys in wards than in A&E

19-Apr-2012
Patients should be moved to trolleys in ward corridors to wait for a bed to become free rather than wait in overcrowded accident and emergency departments, according to the College of Emergency Medicine.
Demand for lifesaving treatment could outstrip supply

19-Apr-2012
Demand for a blood component vital in the treatment of cancer and diseases of the immune system is set to outstrip supply unless thousands more donors can be found, HSJ has been told.
PROMs performance improves slightly

17-Apr-2012
Latest data on patient reported outcome measures has shown some improvement in the proportion of patients who felt their condition had improved following surgery.
Exclusive: OFT to rule on foundation trust merger

16-Apr-2012
The first ever merger between two foundation trusts is to be scrutinised for its impact on competition by the Office of Fair Trading, HSJ has learned.
Patient campaigner bids for top commissioning board role

11-Apr-2012
A patient and public involvement campaigner has applied for a senior NHS Commissioning Board role, partially in protest at tokenistic participation “rituals”.
£1bn national IT deal stalls

10-Apr-2012
A deal designed to save the NHS more than £1bn on its contract with the National Programme for IT’s biggest provider has stalled.
Mid Staffs 'could lose all acute services'

3-Apr-2012
Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust could lose all its acute services unless radical action is taken to address clinical and financial problems, a leading health policy expert has warned its management.
Caseload fear emerges in 'inspection' of CQC

30-Mar-2012
Staff working for the Care Quality Commission are demoralised and fear making a mistake because of impossible workloads, a union survey has found.
UPDATED: Staff keep NHS pensions as Virgin's Surrey deal goes through

30-Mar-2012
Virgin Care has signed a £500m community services contract with NHS Surrey under an arrangement which will see staff employed by a social enterprise.
MPs find CQC is 'not up to the job'

30-Mar-2012
The Care Quality Commission is not up to the job of registering 10,000 GP practices during the next year and should not take on responsibility for regulating IVF services, MPs have warned.
NHS and pharmaceutical partnerships being deterred by 'misconceptions'

29 March 2012
Opportunities for collaboration between the NHS and pharmaceutical companies are being missed due to “misconceptions” about the industry, guidance exclusively disclosed to HSJ has warned.
Analysed: procurement of non-acute services in Bristol and Gloucestershire

27-Mar-2012
HSJ Local Briefing is our new in-depth analysis of the key issues facing the NHS’s major health economies. This week: procurement of non-acute services in Bristol and Gloucestershire.
Big promises but nothing new for pharma in budget

21-Mar-2012
The chancellor has pledged to make the UK “one of the most attractive places in the world to invent new medicines” in his budget speech this afternoon.
PCTs must not focus on ‘fantastic’ pasts

14-Mar-2012
Handover documents produced by primary care trusts have focused too much on past achievements and not enough on concerns for the future, the official overseeing the transition to the new commissioning system has told HSJ.
National NHS surplus rises by £329m

14-Mar-2012
The NHS is on course to finish the year with a surplus of more than £1.5bn - £300m more than originally planned - HSJ can reveal.
Wedding bells turn to alarm bells for South West commissioning support service

8 March 2012
The self-proclaimed “grandest wedding venue” in the South West was the venue for the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire primary care trust cluster’s board meeting.
Care record deal could save DH hundreds of millions

7-Mar-2012
The Department of Health has agreed the terms of a deal that could save it hundreds of millions of pounds on the long-delayed installation of care record systems through primary and secondary care.
Exclusive: DH reaches £300m deal with firm over delay-hit IT programme

2-Mar-2012
One of the two remaining contractors in the delay-hit National Programme for IT has agreed to reduce the value of its contract with the Department of Health by around £300m.
PCT staff to be designated 'affected by change'

2-Mar-2012
A primary care trust cluster is to write to all 800 members of staff to inform them they are “affected by change”, HSJ has learned.
UK medicine prices 'cheapest in Europe'

29-Feb-2012
The price of drugs is falling more steeply in the UK than the rest of Europe, it has been claimed.
'Command and control' management style leads to poor care

29-Feb-2012
Poor care will ensue if managers impose a “command and control” culture that robs staff of authority to make decisions, a major report into the care of older people has found.
Exclusive: flagship HealthWatch policy to be 'watered down' by amendments

24-Feb-2012
Government plans to amend the Health Bill to clarify arrangements for HealthWatch have angered campaigners who claim the change will “water down” patient and public involvement in the NHS.
Mid Staffs inquiry to get May/June report

24-Feb-2012
The chairman of the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry is aiming to publish his report in the last week of May or the first week of June, HSJ understands.
US private health firm cuts UK executive team

23-Feb-2012
American private health company UnitedHealth has made 40 per cent of its UK executive team redundant as part of a “change in strategic priorities”, HSJ has learned.
Will a South West community services court case be a pyrrhic victory?

23 February 2012
After the dust settles on Michael Lloyd versus NHS Gloucestershire, will campaigners find they have actually won a pyrrhic victory in their bid to keep the county’s community services in the NHS?
BMA joins calls to slow down NHS 111 roll out

17-Feb-2012
The British Medical Association has called on the government to “relax” the timetable for the roll out of the new non-emergency telephone number amid fears it could “destabilise” existing GP out of hours providers.
Mental health provider under scrutiny in the South West

16 February 2012
NHS Bristol’s decision to re-tender the city’s mental health service comes at a bad time for current provider Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust.
Quality standards hit by arm's length body underspends

15-Feb-2012
Government spending restrictions are delaying key reform programmes and will mean an underspend of £40m across the Department of Health’s 15 arm’s length bodies.
'Prudent' regulator amasses 50 per cent surplus

15-Feb-2012
A £3.4m surplus run up by the body responsible for regulating fertility treatment could pay for up to 850 in vitro fertilisation cycles if returned to providers, it has been claimed.
Surgery uses patient list to market private tests

14-Feb-2012
A GP practice has used its patient list to distribute marketing material for a company offering private screening for heart conditions and stroke risk.
Mergers pay boost for NHS interim managers

9-Feb-2012
Interim managers working in the NHS saw their daily rates grow by 6 per cent last year despite other parts of the public sector seeing falls of up to 13 per cent, a new survey suggests.
NHS managers 'too busy' to address staff health at work

2-Feb-2012
NHS managers do not “buy in” to the health at work drive, the government’s national director for health and work has claimed.
Government urged to slow NHS 111 rollout

1-Feb-2012
GPs and nurses are urging the government to slow the implementation of the new non-emergency NHS telephone number amid fears it could actually increase pressure on services.
CCG performance could be measured against 120 indicators

1-Feb-2012
Clinical commissioning groups could be judged against up to 120 performance measures, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has revealed today.
Inconsistent CQC inspections leave trusts facing action on 'minor issues'

19 January 2012
Inconsistent judgements by Care Quality Commission inspectors worried about “covering their backs” are leaving trusts facing action over issues as minor as a broken microwave, HSJ has been told.
Mid Staffs inquiry impacting Commissioning Board risk model

18-Jan-2012
The NHS Commissioning Board’s approach to managing risk is being heavily influenced by anticipated recommendations of the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry, HSJ has been told.
Biggest health and social care provider given the 'green light'

17-Jan-2012
Plans for the biggest joint provider of health and social care in England have been approved by NHS Midlands and East, HSJ has been told.
Biggest health and social care link-up set to win approval

12-Jan-2012
Plans for the biggest joint health and social care provider in England to date are being considered by the Department of Health, HSJ understands.
Media Watch: government facing breast implants scandal backlash

12 January 2012
The breast implants scandal continued to dominate the news agenda as health secretary Andrew Lansley said it was the “moral duty” of cosmetic surgery companies to offer free care to remove implants made by the French firm PIP.
Suspicion surrounds service reorganisation in the South West

12 January 2012
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust chief executive Lezli Boswell has become a regular at the local county council’s overview and scrutiny committee in recent months in the face of local uproar at a decision to postpone the reopening of a ward.
Criticism as under pressure CQC reveals 14 per cent underspend

11-Jan-2012
The Care Quality Commission is set to underspend its 2011-12 budget by 14 per cent, the troubled regulator has revealed to HSJ.
Unite rejects pensions deal

5-Jan-2012
A union representing more than 100,000 NHS workers has rejected the government’s offer on pensions, opening up the possibility for more industrial action.
Unions consult on pensions deal

4-Jan-2012
Unions are warning their members they will need to be prepared for a sustained period of industrial action if they reject the government’s latest and “final” offer on the NHS pension scheme, HSJ understands.
DH agrees funding for HealthWatch pathfinders

29-Dec-2011
The government has finally agreed to provide £3.5m funding for the development of local HealthWatch organisations. However, concerns remain that the organisation is being “set up to fail” under current plans.
Mid Staffs lawyers make recommendations for future of the CQC

29-Dec-2011
Care Quality Commission chief executive Cynthia Bower showed a “cynicism” that may not have helped the organisation get off to a good start, counsel to the Mid Staffordshire Public Inquiry has suggested in closing submissions.
Pensions deal 'will save taxpayer tens of billions'

20-Dec-2011
NHS pensions will remain a “proper reward” for a lifetime of public service, chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has told parliament.
Remediation of doctors costing the NHS millions

20-Dec-2011
Concerns about doctors’ performance are usually only picked up following a crisis, putting patients at risk and increasing the cost of remediation, according to a new report.
Unions reach pension agreement with ministers

19-Dec-2011
Unions representing NHS employees have agreed to suspend plans for further industrial action pending consideration of the government’s “final” offer on pensions.
CQC could face judicial review over failure to protect whistleblowers

16-Dec-2011
Solicitors representing a group of NHS whistleblowers have refused to rule out launching judicial reviews against the Care Quality Commission, NHS London and two London acute trusts who they claim failed to protect staff who raised concerns.
Met police drive demand for ambulances

16-Dec-2011
Ambulances are being despatched unnecessarily tens of thousands of times a year at the request of police officers in London, a new report has found.
GP contracts barrier to Spanish care model

15-Dec-2011
GP contracts would make it “difficult, if not impossible” to introduce a cost saving Spanish integrated care model in the UK, a new report by the NHS Confederation has concluded.
NHS whistleblowers threaten legal challenge

14-Dec-2011
Solicitors for new campaign group Patients First have threatened two London trusts with legal action claiming they may have acted unlawfully in discharging their duties towards whistleblowers.
Trusts could receive 'unfair' penalties without pressure ulcer guidance

13-Dec-2011
NHS trusts could be unfairly penalised over the prevalence of pressure ulcers unless nationally agreed guidance on recording and measuring the condition is introduced, tissue viability nurses have warned.
South West shouts about its success as handover looms

8 December 2011
No one could accuse NHS South West’s 133-page handover document, published last week, of being anything less than exhaustive.
PCTs take easy option on AQP

7-Dec-2011
Primary care trusts have been accused of being “unimaginative” in the services they have chosen to open up to competition through the any qualified provider policy.
Imperial to take on national patient safety role

2-Dec-2011
A leading London acute trust is to take on responsibility for collecting information on patient safety incidents at NHS trusts when the National Patient Safety Agency is wound up next year.
DH banned CQC from recruiting inspectors

1-Dec-2011
The Department of Health must share responsibility for the failings of the Care Quality Commission, a report by the National Audit Office has found.
Francis: Mid Staffs report will aid NHS managers

1-Dec-2011
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.
NHS 111 pilots delayed by legal challenge

1-Dec-2011
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.
Bower 'has full support' of CQC board

1 December 2011
Care Quality Commission chief executive Cynthia Bower “absolutely” has the support of the board, the organisation’s chair Dame Jo Williams has told HSJ.
Ambulance services to move on to tariff

29-Nov-2011
Ambulance services have insisted a move from block contracts to tariff will not increase activity at acute hospitals.
CQC's strategy is reactive, board member tells inquiry

28-Nov-2011
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.
CQC inspector: regulator would not necessarily 'spot a Mid Staffs'

28-Nov-2011
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 non-exec to blow the whistle at Mid Staffs inquiry

25-Nov-2011
Two new Care Quality Commission whistleblowers - including one board member - have been called to give evidence to the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust Public Inquiry.
Four hour target sole national A&E measure for 2012-13

24-Nov-2011
The accident and emergency clinical indicators will continue to be monitored at local rather than national level during 2012-13, leaving the old four hour standard as the sole national measure of A&E performance.
Uniting HealthWatch with CQC a 'mistake', says advisory group

24-Nov-2011
The decision to make HealthWatch England part of the Care Quality Commission is a “mistake”, according to a group advising on the proposals.
Media Watch: nursing numbers adding up to a 'crisis'

24 November 2011
The Royal College of Nursing’s claim that 56,000 NHS posts have been lost or marked “at risk” during the past year featured in most of the Sunday papers.
SHA and PCT blame reorganisation for failure to spot Mid Staffs

23-Nov-2011
The reorganisation of the NHS in 2006 was a key reason why problems at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust were not spotted sooner, closing submissions to the public inquiry claimed.
CQC chief executive Cynthia Bower: I'm not self-serving

18-Nov-2011
The chief executive of the Care Quality Commission has said she underestimated the “turmoil” that would be involved in setting up the regulator. She admitted she should have decided to “wave a flag” calling for outside help rather than carrying on trying to do an “impossible job”.
Patchy progress on reducing acute activty in the South West

17 November 2011
Progress towards achieving the holy grail of acute activity reduction is patchy across the South West, with varying effects on trust finances.
Redesigned A&E departments to reduce violence

16-Nov-2011
Accident and emergency departments could be redesigned to significantly reduce violence and aggression towards staff for as little as £60,000, a Department of Health commissioned study suggests.
DH Care Quality Commission review begins

15-Nov-2011
The Care Quality Commission is being reviewed by the Department of Health in the first of a series of evaluations examing the performance and capability of arms length bodies.
A&E waits at winter levels

15-Nov-2011
The proportion of patients waiting over four hours to be admitted from accident and emergency was already approaching winter levels by the second quarter of this year, Department of Health figures reveal.
Mid Staffs A&E to close at night

11-Nov-2011
The accident and emergency department at Stafford Hospital is to close overnight due to inadequate permanent medical cover.
Minister: eight-minute ambulance target could be eased

9-Nov-2011
The Department of Health is considering adding up to a minute to the ambulance response time target for life-threatening calls in an attempt to use resources more efficiently.
Patients in rural areas 'lost out' under targets

8-Nov-2011
The outcomes focus of the new ambulance clinical indicators will help improve services for patients in rural areas, according to a new report by the Ambulance Service Network.
NHS facing 'tsunami' of patient anger

7-Nov-2011
A “tsunami of anger” is heading towards the NHS unless organisations start to engage more fully with the public, the chairman of the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry has warned.
Whistleblowers challenge government over protection

2-Nov-2011
A group of NHS whistleblowers plans to challenge the government over the level of protection provided to staff who raise concerns.
Hospital death rate focus will disappear - Keogh

2-Nov-2011
Interest in hospital mortality indicators will “wane” within three years as clinicians produce dozens of service-specific quality measures, the NHS medical director has predicted.
Trusts blame high SHMIs on poor coding

28-Oct-2011
More than half of the trusts that performed poorly against the new summary hospital-level mortality indicator have blamed their figures on coding issues, with palliative care a particular area of concern.
Fourteen trusts rated worst by first official hospital death rate

27-Oct-2011
Fourteen hospital trusts have been identified as the poorest performers in the first official hospital-wide mortality ratings.
Mid Staffs inquiry hears calls for regulation of managers

27-Oct-2011
The code of conduct for NHS managers does not feel “real” and should be replaced with a stronger system of regulation, the Mid Staffordshire public inquiry has heard.
Second PCT cluster chief resigns

27-Oct-2011
The chief executive of a south west primary trust cluster has resigned fewer than six months after taking up the post, citing personal reasons.
European integrated care models weighed up by struggling hospital

26-Oct-2011
A struggling district general hospital in South West England is considering adopting Europe’s most innovative models of integrated care to ensure future sustainability, HSJ can reveal.
TCS social enterprise transfer faces legal challenge

25-Oct-2011
A judge has ordered a primary care trust to halt the planned transfer of its provider arm to a social enterprise, pending the outcome of a High Court hearing.
NHS 111 could struggle to meet demand

20-Oct-2011
Attempts to “stitch together” different models of provision for the new NHS 111 non-emergency phone number could lead to a fragmented service that will struggle to cope with peaks in demand, the Ambulance Service Network has warned.
Chief exec leaves underperforming ambulance trust

20 October 2011
An ambulance trust chief executive who retired suddenly around the time the organisation was fined £5m for poor performance received a lump sum worth twice his annual salary, HSJ can reveal.
South West community enterprises go operational in October

20 October 2011
While many acute trusts in the South West were contending with an unseasonal heatwave that saw daytrippers flocking to the region’s beaches and emergency departments, the community sector was busy sizing up the raft of new social enterprises which became formally operational on 1 October.
Lansley's candidate for Commissioning Board chair narrowly wins MPs' backing

19-Oct-2011
The health secretary’s preferred candidate to become NHS Commissioning Board chair has only won endorsement from the House of Commons health committee on the casting vote of its chair.
NHS missing an 'opportunity' over complaints

18-Oct-2011
Poor communication leads to thousands of complaints being referred to the health service ombudsman unnecessarily, a review of complaints handling in the NHS has concluded.
NHS Commissioning Board chair announced

14-Oct-2011
A barrister and academic who has advised government on genetically modified food has been named as the health secretary’s preferred candidate for chair of the NHS Commissioning Board.
Exclusive: SHA cluster chief executives appointed without competition

13-Oct-2011
Just one candidate was interviewed for the post of chief executive in each of the three new strategic health authority clusters, HSJ can reveal.
Government 'duty of candour' plans criticised

13-Oct-2011
Government proposals to contractually oblige organisations providing NHS services to inform patients of mistakes in their care have been criticised as inadequate.
Mid Staffs warned on A&E staffing levels

10-Oct-2011
The Care Quality Commission has issued Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust with a formal warning to improve staffing levels in accident and emergency or risk service closures.
Duty of Candour to be enforced through contracts

10-Oct-2011
All organisations providing services to the NHS will be contractually obliged to inform patients and relatives if a mistake has been made under proposals set out by the government.
CQC Mid Staffs evidence 'wishful thinking'

4-Oct-2011
Evidence given to the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry by Care Quality Commission board members was “aspirational” and did not reflect what was happening in practice, the inquiry has heard.
Mid Staffs to close 165 beds on road to recovery

4-Oct-2011
Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust is to close nearly 40 per cent of its beds as part of a recovery plan designed to tackle its growing deficit.
Former Mid Staffs chief admits to considering suicide

4-Oct-2011
The former chief executive of Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has revealed he considered taking his own life in the wake of the fallout from the Healthcare Commission’s investigation into the trust.
Ambulance services strive to avoid A&E

30-Sep-2011
Two of England’s ambulance services have reduced the proportion of patients they convey to accident and emergency departments by more than 7 per cent since April, new figures from the Department of Health show.
Medicine no longer an "old boys club"

29-Sep-2011
An increase in the number of doctors referred to the General Medical Council by their medical colleagues shows the profession is moving away from being “an old boys’ club”, new research has suggested.
Nicholson says only 'small number' of PFI hospitals need extra funds

28-Sep-2011
NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson appeared to contradict Andrew Lansley today when he told the Mid Staffs inquiry most PFI hospitals were “not in financial difficulty”.
CQC's annual report overstated inspection figures

28-Sep-2011
The Care Quality Commission’s annual report claimed the regulator had carried out more than twice as many inspections as had actually taken place, the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry has heard.
Nicholson: State should have power to renationalise FTs

27-Sep-2011
The NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson has told the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry he would like to see the government have power to bring failing foundation trusts back under state control.
Former CMO dealt out photos of dead children on minister's desk like a "pack of cards"

23-Sep-2011
It is too easy for the higher echelons of the NHS to forget about the impacts of their policies on real people while staff on the front line can become “inured to suffering”, the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry has heard.
DH still learning "whether we got it right" with CQC

23-Sep-2011
The permanent secretary to the Department of Health has admitted the regulatory system failed patients and relatives at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust.
Socially enterprising South West faces union resistance

22 September 2011
Minutes from a recent NHS South West board meeting published last week reveal the extent of union disquiet at plans to transfer around half of the region’s community services to social enterprises.
Emergency services commissioning needs clarity, committee warns

21-Sep-2011
MPs have called for clarity about who will be responsible for commissioning ambulance services amid concerns that urgent and emergency services could become fragmented.
Anonymous tip off raises questions on CQC evidence to Mid Staffs

21-Sep-2011
Evidence given to the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry by witnesses from the Care Quality Commission has been called into question after the inquiry team received an anonymous tip off.
Keogh: Clinicians to blame for problems at Mid Staffs

21-Sep-2011
Problems at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust were a “failure of clinical leadership and professionalism”, the medical director of the NHS has told the public inquiry.
Flory blames HCC for delay in action over Mid Staffs

16-Sep-2011
The deputy chief executive of the NHS has admitted the Department of Health should have acted sooner over failings at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust, but blamed the Healthcare Commission for not warning them of the seriousness.
Nursing 'lost its way', says CNO

15-Sep-2011
Nursing “lost its way” on values during the recruitment drive at the start of the new millennium, chief nursing officer Dame Christine Beasley has told the Mid Staffordshire public inquiry.
Unions to ballot members on appetite for industrial action

14-Sep-2011
Nurses and other healthcare workers are among more than one million public sector workers who are going to be asked to vote on taking industrial action in a bid to protect their pensions.
Senior civil servant denies using 'clever tactics' to push through FTs

14-Sep-2011
A civil servant responsible for the foundation trust pipeline has denied he was under political pressure from Number 10 to push through unsuitable trusts but admitted he was trying to get trusts to Monitor “as soon as possible”.
Mid Staffs chair to stand down

14-Sep-2011
The chair of Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has announced he will retire in January after three years in the post.
CQC leadership failed to act with urgency

14-Sep-2011
MPs have criticised the leadership of the Care Quality Commission for failing to stand up to ministers in the face of “unrealistic statutory obligations”.
Commissioning board chair could work just four days a month

12-Sep-2011
The chair of the NHS Commissioning Board will be expected to work as few as four days a month once the board is up and running, the new job specification reveals.
Bradshaw denies government pressured DH to approve FT applications

8-Sep-2011
Former health minister Ben Bradshaw has denied Number 10 was putting pressure on the Department of Health to grant foundation trust status to unsustainable trusts at the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry.
Private income avenues being explored in the South West

8 September 2011
Five foundation trusts in the overcrowded provider landscape of east Dorset and west Somerset are all looking to drum up some more private business.
Pharma sector calls on trusts to share data with industry

8 September 2011
The pharmaceutical industry is urging the NHS to be more open to research projects which could illuminate the wider societal benefits of treatment.
Patient outcomes could be threatened by HR cuts

8 September 2011
Patient outcomes will suffer if NHS human resources work is allowed to deteriorate during the current period of reform and cost-cutting, a government commissioned report has warned.
Burnham defends decision on Mid Staffs' FT application

7-Sep-2011
Former health secretary Andy Burnham has defended his decision to back Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust’s Monitor application, blaming the system for failing to pick up problems at the trust sooner.
Burnham 'followed civil service advice' on Mid Staffs FT approval

6-Sep-2011
Andy Burnham backed Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust’s bid for foundation trust status after looking at just four lines of civil service advice, the public inquiry has heard.
Latest coverage: live updates from the Mid Staffs inquiry

6-Sep-2011
NEW: NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson has revealed his thinking on issues including the independence of foundation trusts, regulation and the reforms during his second day of evidence to the Mid Staffordshire Public Inquiry.
New ambulance indicators suggest variation in stroke care

6-Sep-2011
New figures measuring ambulance trust performance against a set of key clinical practices has exposed huge variation in care for stroke.
Mandarins and former ministers face the Mid Staffs inquiry

5-Sep-2011
The public inquiry into the regulatory failures surrounding Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has resumed this morning for its final five weeks of hearing, with Sir David Nicholson just one of the senior Department of Health witnesses scheduled to give evidence this month.
Health unions unite to warn government over pensions

1-Sep-2011
Unions representing workers across the health service have warned they could stage coordinated industrial action if agreement cannot be reached on the future of the NHS pension scheme.
Nearly 90 per cent of trusts failing new A&E indicators

1 September 2011
Almost 90 per cent of trusts are failing the accident and emergency indicator on unplanned reattendances, while all acute providers failed to keep their single longest wait below six hours.
NHS unions meeting to discuss joint walk out

25-Aug-2011
Unions representing health service workers at all levels are meeting this afternoon to discuss potential industrial action over changes to the NHS pension scheme.
Lansley is taking us back to medical domination - Lord Crisp

24-Aug-2011
Health secretary Andrew Lansley is taking the NHS back to a “medical model” dominated by doctors rather than moving to empower patients and communities, according to former NHS chief executive Lord Nigel Crisp.
Disagreement over new 'death rate' measure continues

23-Aug-2011
The NHS Information Centre has been forced to amend the new summary hospital mortality indicator following complaints from the members of the steering group set up agree a consensus on measuring mortality rates, HSJ has learned.
Less than a third of patients asked about diet

23-Aug-2011
Less than a third of patients have been asked about their diet and weight during a stay in hospital and less than a quarter have been given a choice of what they would like to eat, according to new research.
FTs must still report against relaxed A&E indicators

18-Aug-2011
Monitor is to warn foundation trusts that not reporting performance against five new accident and emergency indicators is not an option, despite growing concerns over data quality and the burden of gathering data.
Huge variation in reoperation rates for bowel cancer

17-Aug-2011
Researchers are calling for the reoperation rate to be used as a quality indicator after a study found some hospitals were up to five times more likely to reoperate after colorectal surgery than others.
DH reissues withdrawn HealthWatch consultation

16-Aug-2011
The Department of Health has reissued a consultation on funding for local HealthWatch, two weeks after it was forced to withdraw it.
SHA cluster chief executives announced

12-Aug-2011
The chief executives of the strategic health authority clusters have been appointed.
Dr Foster promises 'more collaboration' with trusts

11-Aug-2011
Dr Foster has backtracked on plans to publish new indictors on cancer and obstetrics with this year’s Hospital Guide and promised it will listen to trusts more in future.
DH report finds medicines waste 'not a systemic problem'

10-Aug-2011
Medicines waste in primary and community care should not be regarded as “a serious systemic problem”, a new report published by the Department of Health has concluded.
Manchester and Birmingham hardest hit in fourth night of rioting

10-Aug-2011
Rioters threw bricks at two ambulance response cars in the West Midlands and attacked an ambulance in Manchester during the fourth night of violent disorder in England’s cities.
NHS Direct to get central role in NHS 111

9-Aug-2011
A partnership of NHS Direct, ambulance trusts and out of hours providers has been named as a default provider for the new non-emergency NHS 111 number, charged with making sure the service achieves universal coverage by the April 2013 deadline.
GPs could be influenced by pharma, King's Fund warns

9-Aug-2011
GP prescribing could become commercially biased if clinical commissioning groups buy in support from drug companies, a report commissioned by the King’s Fund has warned.
Ambulance crews attacked during London riots

9-Aug-2011
Rioting youths threw missiles at ambulance crews as they tried to help people injured in the violent disorder that spread across London last night.
New money-saving medicines scheme a step closer

4-Aug-2011
Patients with long term conditions will be offered a additional consultation with their pharmacist under a £100m plan to improve the effective use of medicines.
Flagship involvement policy faces funding threat

4-Aug-2011
The success of the government’s flagship policy on patient and public involvement is at risk from “insulting” funding plans, it is being claimed.
South West trust chiefs in merry-go-round shake up

4-Aug-2011
The impending departure of Weston Area Health Trust’s chief executive to Kettering General Hospital Foundation Trust next month has sparked a round of musical chairs in the South West.
Media Watch: deliberate delays report provokes fury in the press

4 August 2011
The furore over the Cooperation and Competition Panel’s report suggesting primary care trusts were making patients wait longer in the hope they would die or go private was going strong when the weekend papers went to press.
SHA cluster chairs announced and chief executives emerging

29-Jul-2011
The chairs of the four strategic health authority clusters have been announced and the Department of Health is close to confirming their chief executives.
Government will act as guarantor on PFI

28-Jul-2011
The government will continue to act as a guarantor for private finance initiative schemes, the health secretary has announced.
DH to create two temporary arm's length bodies

27-Jul-2011
The government plans to set up two temporary special health authorities in the autumn to “support a smooth and safe transition” to the new NHS landscape.
Savings plans' impact on quality worries managers

27-Jul-2011
More than half of senior NHS managers fear savings plans will have a negative impact on quality, an HSJ survey has found.
NHS Direct launches 90-day consultation

25-Jul-2011
NHS Direct has launched a 90-day consultation with frontline staff on increasing out of hours working.
New DH structure revealed

22-Jul-2011
The Department of Health is to be slimmed down from 14 directorates in a restructure that will see the scrapping of its workforce and research and development directorates, and seven others, HSJ can reveal.
Prescription costs soar over last decade

21 July 2011
The number of prescriptions dispensed to patients in the community has increased by almost 70 per cent during the last decade, data published by the NHS Information Centre reveals.
Board meetings take few decisions, report finds

20-Jul-2011
Less than 2 per cent of agenda items presented to trust board meetings require decisions, a study of more than 1,000 NHS board papers has found.
Value based pricing not 'feasible' by 2014

19-Jul-2011
Concerns have been raised that the new “value based pricing” regime for medicines may not be ready in time to replace the existing system.
SHA clustering arrangements announced

14-Jul-2011
Clustering arrangements for strategic health authorities will see the country divided into the South, the Midlands, London and the North, it has been announced.
Field: clinical senates a 'hand grenade' to GP consultant relations

7-Jul-2011
Clinical senates were designed to act as a “hand grenade” to remove barriers preventing GPs and hospital doctors talking, not “another level of bureaucracy”, Professor Steve Field has said.
Clinical concerns in the South West rumble on

7 July 2011
The aftershocks of last year’s independent inquiry into Bristol’s histopathology services are still being felt across the city through a series of reviews.
Battle to keep FT board meetings private is 'lost'

6-Jul-2011
The battle to hold board meetings in private has been lost, the head of the Foundation Trust Network has told delegates at the NHS Confederation conference.
Confed chief cautions over the dangers of centralisation

6-Jul-2011
The chief executive of the NHS Confederation has warned of the dangers of excessive centralisation and bureaucracy as a result of the health service reforms.
Young: I'll never work for government again after CQC woe

4-Jul-2011
The former chair of the Care Quality Commission vowed never to work for government again after her experience at the regulator, the Mid Staffordshire Public Inquiry has heard.
Mid Staffs inquiry costs hit £8m

30-Jun-2011
More than £8m of public money has been spent on the first year of the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry, HSJ can reveal.
NHS Direct bid for FT status under threat from 111

30 June 2011
Short-term contracts for the new NHS 111 urgent care number could pose a problem for NHS Direct’s bid for foundation trust status, HSJ has been told.
Four hour A&E performance standard retained

29-Jun-2011
Trusts will keep being performance managed against the four hour accident and emergency standard in a bid to maintain “grip” on waiting times. The move comes after the government signalled a relaxing of the timescale for the transition to a new monitoring system.
Health Committee calls for overhaul of complaints system

28-Jun-2011
A major overhaul of how complaints are handled by the NHS and a culture of greater openness in the health service has been demanded by MPs in a report today.
Public lose trust in Conservatives on health

23-Jun-2011
Labour has almost doubled its poll lead over the Conservatives on health since the general election campaign in the face of concern over rising waiting times and falling standards, according to a survey by Ipsos MORI.
Media Watch: printing the unprintable on hospital closure

23 June 2011
The papers have been jostling to say the previously unsayable this week and break the political taboo that some hospitals must close if the NHS is to remain clinically safe and financially viable.
New Mid Staffs CEO must rehabilitate trust

23 June 2011
WORKFORCE: Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust’s outgoing chief executive has told HSJ he regrets not “getting rid of enough people quickly enough” when he joined the trust almost two years ago.
Palliative coding surge raises death rate worry

23 June 2011
PERFORMANCE: Mid-Staffordshire and two other West Midlands trusts were involved in a “concerted effort” which involved “removing deaths” from their performance record, an expert on death rates has claimed.
NHS 111 halts increase in A&E attendances

20-Jun-2011
Emergency departments involved in the pilot of the 111 phone number for non-emergency care saw four per cent fewer patients in the first five months of the scheme, researchers have found.
Parliament to approve regulations on dissolving failing consortia

20-Jun-2011
New regulations will be introduced on the NHS Commissioning Board’s powers to intervene and even dissolve failing clinical commissioning groups.
Patient and public involvement to be strengthened

20-Jun-2011
At least 10 of the 150 amendments the government plans to make to the Health and Social Care Bill concern enhancing patient and public involvement, according to the Department of Health’s full response to Future Forum’s recommendations.
Major power to be focused at centre

15-Jun-2011
Major powers and oversight will now sit with the health secretary, the NHS Commissioning Board and its local arms, under changes to the Health Bill set out by the government this week.
Government to set up new arm's length body

14-Jun-2011
Plans to set up a new arm’s length body to house Public Health England may not go far enough to ensure its independence and could cost the government lost income, experts have warned.
Cameron backs Lansley's handling of reforms

14-Jun-2011
Prime minister David Cameron has endorsed his health secretary Andrew Lansley as they announced major changes to the Health and Social Care Bill.
Patients 'being coded as palliative to cut death rates', inquiry told

14-Jun-2011
Patients with diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis are being coded under palliative care to reduce death rates, a leading expert has told the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry.
Beefed up health and wellbeing boards extend council powers

14-Jun-2011
Councils have been handed greater influence over healthcare commissioning following the government’s decision to bolster the power of health and wellbeing boards.
NAO find targets led to a 'skewed' approach

10-Jun-2011
Ambulances were dispatched unnecessarily on more than two million occasions in a year because of a “skewed” approach to performance management caused by response time targets.
Centralising blood services could help trusts achieve huge savings

9-Jun-2011
The number of full service transfusion laboratories in England could be cut from 220 to just 30 if a system about to be piloted by NHS Blood and Transplant in partnership with NHS trusts proves successful.
A collaborative spirit between trusts and local government in the South West

9 June 2011
NHS organisations in the South West appear to be embracing the drive for closer working between the health service and local authorities.
Public Health England 'will not be trusted' as part of the DH

9 June 2011
Leading public health experts have called for Public Health England to be independent of the Department of Health in order to maintain public confidence.
Alan Johnson 'put pressure on regulator to keep quiet on Mid Staffs deaths'

3-Jun-2011
Former health secretary Alan Johnson put pressure on the Healthcare Commission not to publish controversial figures suggesting up to 1,200 people had died unnecessarily at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust, the public inquiry was told.
'Biased' surgeons blamed for unnecessary recall

2-Jun-2011
Surgeons who held a biased view of independent treatment centres caused the unnecessary recall of more than 600 patients, a new report claims.
Colleges raising entrance requirements to nursing students

2 June 2011
Almost two thirds of institutions offering nursing degrees are increasing their entry requirements in the face of unprecedented demand for places, an investigation by HSJ’s sister title Nursing Times has revealed.
DH 'mistaken' in backing Mid Staffs FT bid, says Moyes

1-Jun-2011
The Department of Health failed to tell Monitor it had concerns about Mid Staffordshire Trust’s finances when the secretary of state backed the organisation’s bid for foundation status, according to the regulator’s former chair..
Monitor and CQC complementary, regulator's chief insists

31-May-2011
Monitor’s chief operating officer has defended the need for a separate economic regulator of the NHS in his evidence to the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry.
Blood service looks set to remain in house

24-May-2011
The head of the NHS blood service has expressed optimism it will escape part-privatisation amid suggestions the government is worried about the public backlash against private involvement in public services.
CQC boss set to warn DH over GP registration

20-May-2011
The Care Quality Commission could ask the government to reduce its remit if it finds it cannot cope with registering all of the country’s GPs and dentists, the regulator’s chief executive has admitted.
NHS incident reporting system to receive £3.7m injection

19-May-2011
Health minister Simon Burns has promised an extra £3.7m to develop the incident reporting and safety alert service currently run by the soon to be defunct National Patient Safety Agency.
South West aiming to take harder line on 'urgent' care

19 May 2011
No more Mr Nice Guy for patients turning up without bona fide conditions. That is the message coming from Weston Area Health Trust, following the recent opening of their nice shiny new accident and emergency department.
No evidence for money saving potential of community care pathways

19 May 2011
A lack of reliable data on the cost of outpatient and community services is hampering commissioners’ attempts to make efficiency savings by moving care out of the acute sector.
Health Select Committee calls for evidence on meeting the 'Nicholson Challenge'

12-May-2011
The Health Select Committee is to review the progress of the NHS in meeting the “daunting” Nicholson Challenge to make £20bn of efficiency savings by 2014-15.
'Disappointing' DH delays Mid Staffs inquiry

12-May-2011
The public inquiry into Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has been held up by the Department of Health’s failure to disclose relevant documents.
Infection target 'unachievable' under new tests

12-May-2011
Trusts that have failed to meet their C difficile infection targets because of changes in how patient tests are carried out are challenging the “achievability” of even tougher measures.
Specialist trust says Monitor process leaves 'no room for growth'

12-May-2011
STRUCTURE: A specialist trust has abandoned plans to become a foundation trust, blaming Monitor’s assessment process for discriminating against its more commercial model.
NHS Direct fined £1.1m for missing targets

12 May 2011
NHS Direct has been fined £1.1m and issued with a contract performance letter due to its “consistent inability” to meet key performance indicators.
NHS Blood and Transplant in price freeze pledge

11-May-2011
NHS Blood and Transplant has pledged to freeze the price of blood for the next three years.
Gagged CQC employee slams regulator at Mid Staffs inquiry

11-May-2011
The Care Quality Commission tried to “gag” the doctor who led the Healthcare Commission’s investigation into Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust, the public inquiry into deaths at the trust has heard.
'Troubling' DH delay stalls Mid Staffs inquiry

6-May-2011
The public inquiry into Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has been held up by the Department of Health’s failure to disclose relevant documents until last month, despite being asked for them last July.
Exclusive: Ambulance boss to step down

5-May-2011
The chief executive of the troubled East Midlands Ambulance Service is to stand down, HSJ has learned.
NHS should have single regulator, Sir Ian Kennedy tells Mid Staffs inquiry

5-May-2011
Former Healthcare Commission chairman Sir Ian Kennedy has used the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry to call for one “overarching body” bringing together quality and economic regulation.
Seeking sustainability on the South Coast

5 May 2011
News that Portsmouth Hospitals Trust is one of 22 predicted to struggle to gain foundation trust status because of a hefty private finance deal would have come as little surprise to the local health economy.
DH 'tried to cover up hospital failure'

4-May-2011
The Department of Health asked the Healthcare Commission to delay putting a hospital into special measures until after the 2005 general election, the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry has heard.
Ambulance services eye savings by sending fewer ambulances

26-Apr-2011
Ambulance services plan to save the NHS “tens of millions” by sending fewer patients to hospital, now the category B response target has been scrapped.
Trusts struggling to hit accident and emergency indicators

20-Apr-2011
Fewer than half of accident and emergency departments are on course to meet the new “indicator” for measuring the time taken to treat patients, an HSJ analysis suggests.
Merger overseen by Nicholson did not spot Mid Staffs failings, says Bower

18-Apr-2011
Disruption from a merger overseen by NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson contributed to the failure to spot problems at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust, according to Care Quality Commission chief executive Cynthia Bower.
Pennine Care's pull-out is 'nail in the coffin' of NPfIT

18-Apr-2011
Pennine Care’s decision to pull out of the National Programme for IT is another “nail in the coffin” for the troubled project, it has been claimed.
Mid staffs inquiry told "name and shame" approach of Dr Foster unhelpful

14-Apr-2011
Publishing hospital standardised mortality ratios into league tables without establishing how much of the variation between trusts could be blamed on poor care was “irresponsible”, the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry has heard.
Pennine Care pulls out of NPfIT

14-Apr-2011
The mental health trust lined up to lead the way in adopting National Programme for IT software has pulled out of the programme after failing to go live almost two years after its due date.
Patients 'isolated' by hotel style wards

14 April 2011
“Hotel style” hospital environments can leave patients feeling isolated and nurses unable to prioritise care, the public inquiry into care failings at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has heard.
DH pharmacy consultation put on hold

14 April 2011
A consultation on whether pharmacies should be allowed to set up services that primary care trusts do not believe are needed has been shelved.
South West trust clawing back every penny ahead of make or break year

7 April 2011
The “financially challenged” Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust has begun what is being viewed as a make or break year with a rare piece of fiscal good news.
Foundation trusts call for more time ahead of new A&E indicators

7 April 2011
Achieving the new accident and emergency clinical quality indicators will be “near impossible” for most trusts, the Foundation Trust Network has warned.
Mid staffs chief executive "morally wrong"

7 April 2011
Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust’s 2008 request for £1.35m to fund more nurses at a time when it was predicting a £1.6m surplus was “morally wrong”, the public inquiry into failures at the organisation was told.
Urgent care efficiency tool to get nationwide roll out

7 April 2011
All urgent care providers should adopt an audit tool that has helped one area to cut acute emergency spending in half.
Healey: government must drop part three of bill

6-Apr-2011
The whole of part three of the health bill, which deals with the role of Monitor, must be dropped if the bill is to win Labour backing, shadow health secretary John Healey has said.
Mid Staffs understaffing problems 'concealed' from board

31 March 2011
A report highlighting major understaffing at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust was withheld from the board by the chief executive until foundation status was gained, the public inquiry heard this week.
Portsmouth feeling heat over lack of FT application

29-Mar-2011
STRUCTURE: A south coast trust tied to a £256m private finance initiative is being put under pressure to agree a timetable for achieving foundation status, despite being forced to drop an earlier bid.
Confed calls for brakes to be put on personal health budgets

24-Mar-2011
The NHS Confederation is calling on the Department of Health to delay a national roll out of personal health budgets to allow further evaluation to take place.
Exclusive: Commissioners curtail soaring referrals

24 March 2011
Figures revealing outpatient appointments are set to rise by just 1 per cent this year are being hailed as proof that commissioners have finally curtailed spiralling referrals.
Media watch: someone needs to get a grip on reforms

24 March 2011
There was little room for domestic issues amid wall to wall coverage of events in Libya and Japan in the papers this week, but nevertheless the Sunday Telegraph managed to maintain the pressure on health secretary Andrew Lansley.
Cluster forming work sets sail in the South

10 March 2011
Transition to the so called “new world” of commissioning is gathering pace in the South West and South Central regions, as work to form clusters begins in earnest.
Mental health unit delayed after PCT fails to organise registration

10 March 2011
COMMERCIAL: The opening of new mental health facility in Devon has been held up after a primary care trust failed to organise its registration with the Care Quality Commission.
Trusts agree local deals for royal wedding holiday

10 March 2011
At least five trusts have reached agreement with local unions not to pay staff extra for working on the royal wedding Bank Holiday.
First ambulance trusts achieve FT status

1-Mar-2011
South East Coast and South West ambulance services have become the first ambulance trusts to achieve foundation status.
NHS Direct renews plans for FT status in 2013

24 February 2011
NHS Direct has renewed its ambition to become a foundation trust and is pinning its future viability on becoming a “major provider” of the NHS 111 urgent care service.
Trusts merger will create 'powerful and global brand'

17 February 2011
STRUCTURE: Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre plan to use their proposed merger to create a “powerful, globally recognised brand”.
'Draconian' director scared staff at Mid Staffs

17 February 2011
Union reps at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust have told of a culture where staff were too scared to speak out because of a “draconian” director of nursing.
DH looks to private sector to save money on blood service

16-Feb-2011
The Department of Health is considering outsourcing key elements of the NHS blood service to the private sector.
NHS Direct offers services to GPs

11-Feb-2011
NHS Direct could start booking GP appointments after starting talks with Surrey based consortium EsyDoc.
DH to drop workforce section in slim down

10 February 2011
The Department of Health’s workforce directorate could disappear as part of a restructure designed to slim down the department.
Staff reports on Mid Staffs 'disappeared'

10 February 2011
More than 500 staff reports about poor care at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust have disappeared into a “black hole”.
Ambulance workers call off strike at last minute

3-Feb-2011
Staff at Great Western Ambulance Service Trust called off industrial action at the eleventh hour last week after agreeing to more talks with the trust.
Community services transfers will miss TCS deadline

3 February 2011
Almost one in 10 of the planned transfers of community services from primary care trusts will miss the 1 April deadline, the Department of Health has admitted.
Health visitors wary of recruitment plans

3 February 2011
Nursery nurses and healthcare support workers could be recruited to health visiting teams in a bid to increase capacity and improve retention rates in the profession, HSJ’s sister title Nursing Times has learned.
Thousands of jobs to go as leading R&D centre announces closure

2-Feb-2011
The government’s ambition for the UK and the NHS to lead the world in encouraging pharmaceutical innovation was dealt a blow with the announcement that a leading research and development facility is to close.
Ambulance staff threaten full walk out

28-Jan-2011
Staff at Great Western Ambulance Service have postponed industrial action following a legal challenge by the trust but could still stage a full walk out.
Nicholson appointed to NCB to 'provide leadership and continuity'

27 January 2011
David Nicholson’s appointment as future chief executive of the NHS Commissioning Board bypassed all usual recruitment processes due to “unique challenges” posed by the reforms, HSJ can reveal.
Commissioners could be forced to pay into Monitor fund

20-Jan-2011
Monitor will have the power to compel providers and commissioners to pay into a fund which can be used to provide “financial assistance” if a provider goes into administration.
Extent of health secretary's powers over NHS Commissioning Board 'surprising'

20-Jan-2011
The health secretary will have the power to bypass parliament in shaping the “direction” of the NHS Commissioning Board, analysis by HSJ and law firm Beachcroft has revealed.
Health secretary to get powers over commissioning board

19-Jan-2011
The secretary of state for health is to be given powers to decide which services will be commissioned by the new NHS Commissioning Board.
Innovation Expo to profile QIPP programme

19-Jan-2011
Sir David Nicholson and health minister Earl Howe are spearheading the Department of Health’s support for the 2011 Healthcare Innovation Expo, which takes place in London’s Docklands on 9-10 March.
Nicholson: NHS commissioning board will step in if consortia falter

19-Jan-2011
In the first interview since his appointment as chief executive of the NHS Commissioning Board, Sir David Nicholson has outlined the measures it could take against poorly performing commissioning consortia.
Earl Howe: Contestability is 'not alien to integration'

19-Jan-2011
Health minister Earl Howe has denied there is any conflict between opening up healthcare provision to more competition and encouraging collaboration between providers.
Cancer strategy relies more heavily on charities

19-Jan-2011
Cancer networks are to lose guaranteed funding while the government will rely on investment from charities to achieve its ambition for one to one cancer care.
Healey appoints new adviser from NHS Confed

17-Jan-2011
The NHS Confederation’s senior policy manager has been appointed as a special adviser to shadow health secretary John Healey.
'Direct management' of under-par consortia an option, says Nicholson

13-Jan-2011
NHS chief executive David Nicholson has set out the measures he anticipates using on commissioning consortia that are not competent by the go-live date.
Waiting targets survive as £750m cancer strategy announced

12-Jan-2011
Cancer waiting targets are to be preserved by the coalition government and £750m invested in improving survival rates over the next four years, the Department of Health has announced.
LINks effectiveness questioned

12-Jan-2011
Figures claiming to show a potential fourfold return on investment in Local Involvement Networks have been described as “back on an envelope” calculations, raising questions about how cost effective new Healthwatch arrangements will be.
Wide variation found in outpatient attendance

6 January 2011
Attendance rates for outpatient appointments vary significantly between trusts and regions, analysis by Dr Foster and HSJ reveals.
SHA did not have 'hidden agenda'

4-Jan-2011
South West Strategic Health Authority has been cleared of having any improper influence over the dismissal of a hospital chief executive.
Knighthood for Guys' chief executive

4-Jan-2011
Ron Kerr, chief executive at Guys and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust has been knighted in the New Years Honours list.
Number of A&E consultants must double to cope with new indicators

23-Dec-2010
The new accident and emergency indicators will require some departments to double their A&E consultants while others will struggle to record the data without upgrading their IT, the HSJ has been told.
Value based pricing could cost the NHS more

23-Dec-2010
The planned new value based pricing system for approving drugs to be funded by the NHS could end up costing the NHS more, the Department of Health’s own impact assessment states.
NICE work on public health guidance put on hold

23-Dec-2010
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has been ordered to stop developing guidance on some public health topics and put others on hold.
Rise in intensive care beds occupied by flu patients

22-Dec-2010
The number of flu cases being treated in critical care beds has increased by 66 per cent in the last week, according to figures released by the Department of Health.
Nicholson's appointment to NCB sparked by concern over reforms

21-Dec-2010
The “surprising” appointment of David Nicholson to head up the new NHS commissioning board may have been prompted by growing government concern about the NHS reforms, HSJ has been told.
Government unveils proposals for value based drug pricing

17-Dec-2010
A new pricing system for pharmaceutical drugs used in the NHS has been proposed by the government, which it claims will increase patient access to effective medicines.
Emergency targets scrapped in favour of performance measures

17-Dec-2010
The four-hour accident and emergency target and the 19 minute category B response time for ambulances are to be scrapped, the government announced today.
More powers for health ombudsman and local health forums

15-Dec-2010
The health service ombudsman is to get more powers to share information in a bid to prevent another Mid Staffs while local HealthWatch groups will have a direct link to the Care Quality Commission.
Key details added to radical reform plan

15-Dec-2010
The government has added key details to its plans for wholesale reform of the NHS, while committing to pressing ahead with the changes.
No roles for PCT and SHA staff with new health and wellbeing boards

15-Dec-2010
Former primary care trust and strategic health authority staff should not expect to find jobs with the new health and wellbeing boards, the Department of Health has warned.
Social care cuts may raise hospital spend

9 December 2010
Researchers have laid bare how cuts to adult social care could lead to significant extra demand for acute services.
MId Staffs inquiry told HSE was 'under-resourced'

9 December 2010
The Health and Safety Executive was reluctant to prosecute over a patient’s death at Stafford Hospital because it did not have the resources to cope with more families coming forward, the public inquiry into Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has been told.
Winter deaths fall despite cold weather

2 December 2010
The coldest winter in 14 years did not drive an increase in deaths during the December 2009 to March 2010 period.
Ambulance trusts in talks with NHS Direct over 111 provision

25 November 2010
Ambulance trusts are likely to team up with NHS Direct to compete against private providers for NHS 111 urgent care contracts, with representatives from both telling HSJ they have entered discussions.
Lansley moves to replace Monitor chair

24-Nov-2010
The health secretary will begin recruiting a new chair of Monitor in the next few weeks and make an appointment early next year, HSJ has learned.
Mid Staffs advised to shed some services

24-Nov-2010
A report into the future clinical strategy of Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has recommended it should no longer run a number of services.
Easton criticises 'appalling and self-interested' NHS culture

17-Nov-2010
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.
GPs could be ordered to give evidence at Mid Staffs inquiry

16-Nov-2010
Reluctant GPs could be compelled to give evidence to the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust public inquiry if more do not come forward voluntarily.
£800m savings identified through better COPD care

11 November 2010
NHS commissioners could save more than £800m over the next decade by improving care pathways for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, analysis available exclusively to HSJ subscribers suggests.
Pharma lead issues warning on pricing

11 November 2010
The government’s proposed reform of NHS drug pricing may not save the service money, the head of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has warned.
Pledge for democratic input on commissioning 'watered down'

10-Nov-2010
Health minster Earl Howe has revealed the government’s proposed health and wellbeing boards will not be compulsory.
DH speeds up abolition of PCTs and SHAs

10-Nov-2010
The government has stepped up the pace of its NHS reorganisation by bringing forward the abolition of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities.
Strategic NHS planning 'may follow SHAs into oblivion'

8-Nov-2010
A lack of strategic health planning will follow the demise of strategic health authorities and primary care trusts, senior NHS figures have warned.
Concern over rate of PCT talent drain

2-Nov-2010
MPs and GPs are concerned primary care trusts have already begun losing some of their best managers ahead of their proposed abolition.

Editor's Comment

Health Service JournalSarah Calkin

Health Service Journal
Sarah Calkin