Health Service Journal
Tash Shifrin
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Big variations in PCT disease spending
10-Aug-2006
An analysis of primary care trust spending on different diseases has revealed a number of stark variations, with some PCTs spending up to seven times as much as others in key areas. -
Bart's PFI scheme to be funded by extra activity
21-Jul-2005
PADDINGTON HEALTH CAMPUS FINANCE Trust's £115m bills cannot be met through existing budgets -
Anger at secret deal to privatise management
30-Jun-2005
NHS TREATMENT CENTRES Outsourcing bid was news to trust -
Can the law help Hewitt take MRSA to the cleaners?
30-Jun-2005
INFECTION CONTROL -
People carrier
3-Apr-2003
the hsj interview: Andrew Foster -
On the fiddle
27-Mar-2003
news focus -
Sale of the century
20-Mar-2003
news focus -
'Fiddling' probe claims another scalp
6-Mar-2003
Published: 06/03/2003, Volume II3, No. 5844 Page 6 7 -
Hope opera
13-Feb-2003
news focus -
Private pay may spiral in wake of Agenda deal
6-Feb-2003
Published: 06/02/2003, Volume II3, No. 5841 Page 6 7 -
Slow but sure
6-Feb-2003
news focus -
Foundations' wage boost on the Agenda
30-Jan-2003
Published: 30/01/2003, Volume II3, No. 5840 Page 4 -
RUH Bath was delude, claims probe
30-Jan-2003
Published: 30/01/2003, Volume II3, No. 5840 Page 6 7 -
State of emergency
16-Jan-2003
news focus -
'Scapegoat' prepares to fight
12-Dec-2002
Published: 12/12/2001, Volume II2, No. 5835 Page 6 7 -
Job profiles stall final details of pay system
5-Dec-2002
Published: 05/12/2002, Volume112 No. 5834 Page 4 5 -
Rough ride expected as MPs set sights on
28-Nov-2002
Published: 28/11/2002, Volume II2, No. 5833 Page 6 7 -
Contract cash may be used for award scheme
7-Nov-2002
ENGLAND AND WALES -
Private sector is bound by code
31-Oct-2002
Published: 31/10/2002, Volume II2, No. 5829 Page 6 7 -
Reconfiguration must now be 'with people, not for them'
31-Oct-2002
Published: 31/10/2002, Volume II2, No. 5829 Page 5 -
Fleshing out the details
24-Oct-2002
news focus -
Struggling PCT warns that recovery may be delayed by its 'severe financial situation'
5-Sep-2002
Published: 05/09/2002, Volume II2, No. 5812 Page 4 5 -
Draft code a 'dog's dinner'
1-Aug-2002
Published: 01/08/2002, Volume II2, No. 5816 Page 7 -
Draft code a 'dog's dinner'
1-Aug-2002
Published: 01/08/2002, Volume II2, No. 5816 Page 7 -
Forum and against
25-Jul-2002
news focus -
Milburn: 'Accept pilot model or risk transfer'
11-Jul-2002
Published: 11/07/2002, Volume II2, No.5813 Page 6 -
Good vibrations?
27-Jun-2002
Published: 27/06/2002, Volume II2, No. 5811 Page 15 -
Private sector will take outpatient role
27-Jun-2002
Published: 27/06/2002, Volume II2, No. 5811 Page 4 5 -
Treasury 'scuppers' deal to keep all NHS staff in-house
27-Jun-2002
Published: 27/06/2002, Volume II2, No. 5811 Page 9 -
Changing the battle lines
13-Jun-2002
news focus: The government's enthusiasm for opening up the NHS to private sector involvement could pose tricky questions about the UK's obligations under GATS. Tash Shifrin reports -
Distinct roles for overseas providers
7-Jun-2002
Published: 07/06/2002, Volume II2, No. 5808 Page 4 5 -
Hospitals 'warehousing' patients to cope with emergency demand
4-Jun-2002
Published: 30/05/2002, Volume II2, No. 5807 Page 6 7 -
Milburn set to announce first foundation hospitals
23-May-2002
Published: 23/5/2002, Volume II2, No. 5806 Page 4 -
Raided dru ug firm was in price cap row
18-Apr-2002
Published: 18/04/2002, Volume II2, No. 5801 Page 4 5 -
Secretaries escalate strike
11-Apr-2002
Published: 11/4/2002, Volume II2, No. 5800 Page 10 -
Never afraid of a scrum
3-Apr-2002
Commons health committee chair David Hinchliffe may be the voice of Old Labour, but his views on the way forward for the NHS are not what his adversaries might imagine.Tash Shifrin met him -
Kick start for troubled panel
21-Mar-2002
Published: 21/03/2002, Volume II2, No. 5797 Page 6 7 -
Funding shortfall may cost trusts their PALS
14-Mar-2002
Published: 14/03/2002, Volume II2, No. 5796 Page 6 -
Hole systems approach
14-Mar-2002
news focus Much NHS data is not fit for the uses to which it is put, says the Audit Commission. Tash Shifrin reports -
Leaders scorrn 'punitive' cross-charging
7-Mar-2002
Published: 07/03/2002, Volume II2, No. 5795 Page 6 7 -
NHS must 'stand up for itself '
21-Feb-2002
Published: 21/02/2002, Volume II2, No. 5792 Page 4 5 -
Luxury break
7-Feb-2002
British patients treated at one of Greece's loveliest private hospitals may be thrilled with their treatment.But what's the hard-sell about? Tash Shifrin reports fresh from a business-class trip to see for herself -
Mutuals 'are return to pre-1948'
31-Jan-2002
Published: 31/01/2002, Volume II2, No. 5790 Page 6 7 -
Overseas care offers flood in
20-Dec-2001
Published: 20/12/2001, Volume III, No.5786 Page 10 -
Harris on leave since CHI criticism
6-Dec-2001
Published: 06/12/2001, Volume III, No. 5784 Page 4 5 -
Regions and SHAs jockey for position
29-Nov-2001
Last-minute wrangling at the Department of Health over the shape of regional offices this week looked set to hold up a crucial document outlining NHS bodies' new roles and responsibilities under the Shifting the Balance of Power in the NHS reorganisation. -
Hutt changes track on Welsh reorganisation proposals
22-Nov-2001
News -
Reform Bill faces rough ride from MPs
22-Nov-2001
News -
Star team takes over at 'dirty dozen' trust
22-Nov-2001
this week -
Patient rights plans in chaos
15-Nov-2001
NEWS -
On the insight track
8-Nov-2001
BOOKS -
Reform Bill flags up wider CHI role and patient involvement
8-Nov-2001
THIS WEEK -
Silent witness
8-Nov-2001
NEWS FOCUS: Nightly bombing raids have made Afghanistan a perilous place - but the country's inability to feed its people and care for the sick means a cruel fate awaits even those who survive the onslaught.Tash Shifrin reports -
Troubled UKPHA loses chief executive
1-Nov-2001
News -
Social services' fury asMilburn puts worst performers on notice
25-Oct-2001
News -
Bed-blocking in Birmingham puts NHS plan waiting targets at risk
11-Oct-2001
Bed-blocking in Birmingham is at crisis levels with 'the equivalent of a hospital full' of people awaiting discharge, and work towards achieving NHS plan targets badly hit. -
Bed-blocking in Birmingham puts NHS plan waiting targets at risk
11-Oct-2001
Bed-blocking in Birmingham is at crisis levels with 'the equivalent of a hospital full' of people awaiting discharge, and work towards achieving NHS plan targets badly hit. -
At face value
4-Oct-2001
NEWS FOCUS: 'Naming and shaming'or necessary honesty? Tash Shifrin finds delegates to AHHRM's annual conference less than convinced about the new trust ratings system -
PFI scheme hit by £30m cash shortfall
4-Oct-2001
NEWS -
Milburn puts managers 'on probation'
27-Sep-2001
THIS WEEK -
Blears raises 'Voices' in bid to replace CHCs
6-Sep-2001
Controversy over patient and public involvement broke out again this week as junior health minister Hazel Blears launched revised proposals for a new system replacing community health councils. -
Celebrity menus prove difficult to swallow
16-Aug-2001
Hospital caterers fear that trusts may not not be able to fund the extra costs of implementing the NHS menu, with dishes created by celebrity chefs costing significantly more than traditional meals. -
Mod Squad and more
12-Jul-2001
conference focus : -
Return of the saint
6-Jul-2001
NEWS FOCUS: Health minister Gisela Stuart, who first went to Parliament on St Gisela's day four years ago, is hoping she can hold on to her seat for a second term.Tash Shifrin met her on the campaign trail -
Sighs of relief as waiting times replace numbers as target priority
6-Jul-2001
THIS WEEK -
Mood of confrontation clouds plans for private sector role
5-Jul-2001
NEWS -
Fair to middling
28-Jun-2001
NEWS FOCUS: There is nothing wrong with public-private partnerships in principle, but there is a lot wrong with them in practice. So says the IPPR commission's 'subtle'final report. So where to now, wonders Tash Shifrin -
Signs of the times
28-Jun-2001
NEWS FOCUS: Managers could be caught between NHS staff angered at increased private input into the NHS and the government. Tash Shifrin reports from Unison's conference in Brighton. -
Social care 'needs an NHS-style cash boost'
14-Jun-2001
NEWS -
Sighs of relief as waiting times replace numbers as target priority
7-Jun-2001
Health service managers may be able to celebrate this week as Labour's long-discredited waiting-list target looks set to bite the dust. -
Polls apart
31-May-2001
Heckling was banned at the RCN's annual congress, whatever the provocation. Tash Shifrin heard the politicians vie for the profession's votes -
HAs accelerate pace of mergers as shockwaves hit staff morale
24-May-2001
NEWS -
Managers give their votes collapse s to Labour despite morale
3-May-2001
this week -
New Labour, old gripes
3-May-2001
election focus -
New leadership head to target stereotypes
26-Apr-2001
The new head of the Leadership Centre for Health aims to 'break down the stereotypes' of different professional groups to link leadership development with improved patient care. -
A sense of perspective
12-Apr-2001
He learned his trade marketing Smarties. Now Andrew Foster is turning his attention to winning over a new generation - to a health service career. Tash Shifrin profiles the NHS's new human resources director -
It is the final countdown
5-Apr-2001
Did the annual embarrassment of casualty watch encourage ministers to abolish CHCs? We may never know, but Tash Shifrin assesses their last snapshot survey of A&E waiting times -
Milburn puts his name to proposal for 'an end to outpatient' services
5-Apr-2001
The NHS Confederation is pushing for a radical restructuring of the way health services are delivered in a move that would see an 'end to outpatients'. -
It never rains but it pours
29-Mar-2001
Parliament is awash with legislation - recently passed or in the pipeline - that has enormous implications for the health service. Tash Shifrin reports from an HSJ conference that tried to keep delegates afloat -
Inhale and hearty
22-Mar-2001
Exercise, chilly lessons, bodybuilding, meals of suet and porridge - a new book recalls the heyday of the open-air school for sick children. Our woman with the frozen ink: Tash Shifrin -
House calls
8-Mar-2001
Come the election, health campaigners will be aiming to take their causes to the top - by standing for seats at Westminster. -
CHC concessions signify first deviation from NHS plan
15-Feb-2001
The government has been forced to make substantial concessions over patient involvement and representation in the first significant departure from the NHS plan. -
HAs left in dark as DoH neglects merger criteria
15-Feb-2001
Health authorities struggling to adapt as primary care trusts take over their functions are working in the dark, in the absence of Department of Health guidance on criteria for mergers. -
Borderline case
8-Feb-2001
The long-awaited Welsh answer to England's NHS plan calls for a complete reorganisation - beginning with the abolition of health authorities. Tash Shifrin reports -
Wales to scrap HAs as Assembly gears up for control over health
8-Feb-2001
Health authorities are to be swept away in Wales in a controversial measure that overshadowed the launch of the Welsh NHS plan last week and saw Unison predicting 400 job losses within two years. -
After the gold rush
1-Feb-2001
The deal is sealed; the new hospital will be built with private money. Robert Naylor, now in the hotseat, tells Tash Shifrin what's next at UCLH -
New powers are a 'symptom of paranoia', says exNHS deputy
1-Feb-2001
A former deputy chief executive of the NHS has condemned sweeping new powers for the health secretary to remove and replace top health service managers as 'wholly unacceptable'. -
CHCs' successor bodies 'set to cost five times as much to run'
25-Jan-2001
The successor bodies to community health councils - to be abolished in the Health and Social Care Bill - will cost nearly five times as much to run, figures seen by HSJ reveal. -
New inquiry to probe 'Labour PCT cronies'
25-Jan-2001
The commissioner for public appointments is to investigate primary care trust board appointments, following renewed allegations that Labour is filling boards with its cronies. -
CHCs struggling to cope in countdown to abolition
18-Jan-2001
Patients may be left in the lurch as complaints services begin to fall apart ahead of the planned formal abolition of community health councils in 2002. -
Divergent care funding leaves England lagging
18-Jan-2001
MPs have challenged health secretary Alan Milburn over the government's refusal to fund free personal care for nursing home residents in England, leaving them worse off than their counterparts in Scotland. -
'Patient advocate'plans aimed at taking sting from CHCs' abolition
11-Jan-2001
The government has conceded ground on the need for independent advocates to support patients' complaints against the NHS, following the decision to abolish community health councils. -
CHI reviews will grade trusts on governance
14-Dec-2000
The Commission for Health Improvement has denied that it is under pressure to adapt its reviews to the 'traffic-light' performance monitoring system. -
Housing services 'may be run by care trusts'
14-Dec-2000
Housing services could be run by the NHS under new powers to be allocated to care trusts, it emerged last week. -
NICE 'must listen to patients' on schizophrenia guidelines
7-Dec-2000
Campaigners have challenged the National Institute for Clinical Excellence not to ignore the views of people with mental health problems in its forthcoming schizophrenia treatment guidelines and assessment of antipsychotic drugs. -
Trust board rejects PFI merger proposal
7-Dec-2000
A controversial private finance initiative scheme has hit renewed trouble, with the board of one of the trusts involved rejecting a crucial merger plan. -
A problem shared
30-Nov-2000
It's pooled budgets with a difference in one part of east London, as the NHS helps social services withstand swingeing cuts in service provision. Tash Shifrin reports -
Crowd puller
23-Nov-2000
It is not just social services that is strengthening its partnership with the NHS - there's education, housing, even 'cultural services'. Tash Shifrin follows the joined-up dots -
NHS money eases Hackney cash woe
23-Nov-2000
The NHS has bailed out crisisstricken Hackney council in East London, where a total spending freeze left elderly people 'stuck' in hospital without social services care packages. -
NHS policy on elderly to break new ground
16-Nov-2000
The new NHS national director of older people's services began work this week, chairing the first meeting of the government's taskforce on older people. -
Water jump
16-Nov-2000
Ann Lloyd used to be a hydrologist, but the new director of the NHS in Wales has long had the health service flowing through her veins. Tash Shifrin reports -
NHS Executive pulls the plug on private schemes worth £58m
9-Nov-2000
A trust is pressing for NHS capital funding after changes in a private consortium's financial figures forced the NHS Executive to axe four private finance initiative schemes last week. -
Equal pay case to boost salaries for women managers in NHS
2-Nov-2000
A ground-breaking equal pay case has forced the Department of Health to review the way salaries are determined for top women managers. -
Historic concordat sparks new fears of workforce crisis in NHS
2-Nov-2000
The government has launched its concordat between the NHS and private healthcare sector, putting it on a formal footing for the first time and raising fears it will worsen the staffing crisis in the NHS. -
Private wings, ruffled feathers
2-Nov-2000
Will the private sector gallantly rescue the NHS from winter turmoil and long waiting lists - or will it simply poach trained NHS staff and sell their services back to the taxpayer at a profit? Tash Shifrin reports -
Politicians can't swim against the silver tide
26-Oct-2000
Soon elderly people will have so many votes that politicians will have to listen to them, the annual social services conference has been told. Tash Shifrin reports -
Remedy for overspending crisis may pile extra pressure on NHS
26-Oct-2000
Action to tackle a financial crisis in social services could put further pressure on the NHS, which is already facing major bed blocking problems in the South East of England. -
Case the joint
19-Oct-2000
Some may still feel uneasy about it, but it's now so fashionable no-one can ignore it. Tash Shifrin explores the under-reported world of joint working -
Managers meet the management
12-Oct-2000
The IHM, which represents NHS managers, lives in the shadow of the NHS Confederation. The media could never tell the difference: should they join forces? Tash Shifrin reports -
Milburn announces new deal for staff
12-Oct-2000
Health secretary Alan Milburn has launched the human resources framework that will make the way NHS employers treat staff a core performance measure for the first time. -
'Tidy up' blamed for IHM's missing 1,500
28-Sep-2000
The Institute of Healthcare Management has admitted to having just 8,500 members - up to 1,500 fewer than was claimed when it was formed in October last year. -
Nursing unions to call for major pay increase
31-Aug-2000
Unions are to call for a 'substantial'pay rise for nurses and midwives in evidence to their pay review body next month, amid warnings that the workforce is 'still in decline'. -
Specialists call for extra cash to remedy geriatric care's 'failings'
31-Aug-2000
Geriatric care specialists called yesterday for NHS funding for care homes to be doubled to tackle 'haphazard' services. -
Mixed blessing
24-Aug-2000
What do you get if you cross health and social services? A 'care trust', apparently, and they look set to be the Next Big Thing. Tash Shifrin reports -
Private sector may have to pay when patients transfer to NHS
24-Aug-2000
Government and private healthcare negotiators are locked in talks about whether the private sector should pick up the tab when its patients are transferred to NHS intensive care. -
Week-long strike call as Unison members escalate PFI dispute
24-Aug-2000
Unison members have voted for a week-long strike in a further escalation of their dispute over a private finance initiative deal in Dudley. -
A punishing schedule
17-Aug-2000
The education service has suffered a regime of inspection and scrutiny; now it's the turn of the health service. Tash Shifrin reports -
Unions protest at ' low ' pay for supernurses
17-Aug-2000
Nursing unions have written to health secretary Alan Milburn in protest at the low pay being offered to 'supernurses'. -
Acute pressure begins to build as Hutt issues winter advice
10-Aug-2000
Welsh trusts were running at full capacity last week as guidance aimed at relieving acute pressures next winter was issued by health secretary Jane Hutt. -
Appeal Court ruling creates new anomaly in care charging
10-Aug-2000
An Appeal Court ruling has created a further anomaly in care charging policies, while raising concerns that the cost will force cuts in mental health services. -
'Hit squad' head cool on red-light move
10-Aug-2000
The head of the national patient access team has moved to distance herself from the government's decision to 'name and shame' seven trusts over their waiting-list performance. -
Can't pay, won't pay
3-Aug-2000
THE NHS PLAN The government has said no to free personal care in nursing homes. But the pressure is now on Tony Blair to change his mind, says Tash Shifrin -
Patients are doing it for themselves
3-Aug-2000
The NHS plan says bye bye CHCs, hello patient advocates - but one community group is ahead of the pack.Tash Shifrin reports -
Crash course
27-Jul-2000
NHS trainee managers were hanging on to their hats last week when they piloted their way through HSJ's one-day simulation event. Tash Shifrin reports on the ups and downs of the day -
'Crude' league tables 'fail to provide answers' say critics
20-Jul-2000
A revised set of NHS 'league tables' was published this week amid warnings that they beg more questions than they answer. -
Manager numbers increase despite 'red tape' pledge
20-Jul-2000
The government's NHS reforms have brought a substantial increase in the number of health service managers, despite pledges to cut 'red tape'. -
Glasgow rangers
6-Jul-2000
The Gorbals has got a bit of a reputation - infamous, notorious, hard. Just the sort of place for a coach party of senior NHS managers, in fact. -
Generics price cap is up by 500%
29-Jun-2000
The government has increased proposed maximum prices for generic drugs by up to 500 per cent after the UK's biggest manufacturer threatened to stop production. -
NHS Wales HR strategy set to embrace common core training
22-Jun-2000
The NHS in Wales is to push ahead with 'common core training' for health professionals - an idea still being debated by England's modernisation action teams. -
'X'marks the split
22-Jun-2000
Unison is rethinking its relationship with the Labour Party and there are signs it may be moving towards a more oppositional stance. Tash Shifrin reports -
Furious juniors threaten ballot on action against 'cruddy' sub-consultant scheme
15-Jun-2000
Junior doctors have threatened industrial action against a proposed new sub-consultant specialist grade. -
Move over
15-Jun-2000
It used to be a Bad Thing, but now it's a Good Thing. What has put an NHS 'takeover' of social services back on the agenda? Tash Shifrin investigates -
A sense of detachment
8-Jun-2000
The dispersal of asylum seekers around the country is revealing disturbing gaps in continuity of care. Tash Shifrin reports -
Ledward case shows up disciplinary failings
8-Jun-2000
The chief executive of the trust at the centre of the Rodney Ledward scandal has called for disciplinary processes against consultants to be 'streamlined'. -
Drugs producer threatens to halt production after DoH price cap
1-Jun-2000
The UK's biggest manufacturer of generic drugs has threatened to stop production in the wake of the government's move to cap prices. -
Injection of urgency
1-Jun-2000
Are today's 13 to 14-year-olds to enter adulthood unimmunised against tuberculosis because manufacture of the BCG vaccine relies on the whim of the free market? Tash Shifrin reports -
Bevan can wait
25-May-2000
The father of the NHS, Nye Bevan, was against hospitals relying on private charity - so what would he have thought of an attempt in the 21st century to build a children's hospital by public subscription? Tash Shifrin examines the scheme -
DoH awaits cost of Euro court's landmark ruling over pensions
25-May-2000
The government has been struggling this week to assess the cost to the NHS of a landmark European Court ruling on pension rights. -
We have turned corner on deficits, says Wales director
25-May-2000
The director of the NHS in Wales has told HSJ he has 'very mixed feelings' about leaving the health service. -
Extremely simulating
18-May-2000
HSJ 's Management Challenge gave contestants a vivid insight into the demands of their jobs - and one vowed to be nice to the city council for the rest of her life.Tash Shifrin was there -
Silos of the lambs
4-May-2000
Fresh-faced managers of the future faced a barrage of similes, buzzwords and farming metaphors when they gathered at an NHS training conference on partnership. Tash Shifrin harvested the crop of wisdom on offer -
Flagship merger in doubt after HA queries growth cash 'mismatch'
20-Apr-2000
A financial 'mismatch' could derail a health authority merger seen as a 'blueprint for changes elsewhere'. -
Welsh review group examines allocation
6-Apr-2000
The Welsh Assembly has brought forward a review of the funding allocation system for the NHS in Wales, and appointed an independent review group chair. -
Your good health
6-Apr-2000
The mood was unanimously upbeat at a UK Public Health Association forum as the organisation turned a year old. Tash Shifrin soaked up the good vibrations -
Anger at surgeon shortage after five-day refusal of donor kidneys
30-Mar-2000
Kidney experts have accused the government of making 'no tangible response' to a serious shortage of transplant surgeons that contributed to a five-day suspension of operations at University Hospital of Wales last week. -
Audit report hits out at equipment supplies' 'recipe for inefficiency'
30-Mar-2000
The organisation of equipment services for elderly and disabled people is 'a recipe for inequality and inefficiency', the Audit Commission has found. -
Offensive weapons
14-Oct-1999
The killing machines of modern warfare pose a host of ethical and political questions as well as medical ones, as Tash Shifrin observed at a BMA conference -
Home truths
7-Oct-1999
Away from the Conservative conference at Blackpool, the town's homeless people are being offered help at a community trust roadshow. Tash Shifrin reports -
NICE put on defensive as ruling on Relenza ends in row over 'leaks'
7-Oct-1999
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has defended its handling of the fast-track appraisal of Relenza, despite concern about the way news that the anti-flu drug had been turned down for NHS prescription this winter emerged.
