Community Services

Woman in wheelchair next to her car

Government benefits clampdown 'increasing disability abuse' Subscription Required

7-Feb-2012 | By The Press Association

Charities have warned that disabled people are increasingly being subjected to abuse as a result of the government’s focus on alleged fraud and over-claiming to justify benfits cuts.

Care home

Ideas to improve quality and safety in care homes sought

1-Feb-2012 | By

Nurses are being asked for ideas on how to improve patient care and working conditions in care homes, as part of a new programme of work by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement.

Snow covered cars on a suburban street

DH warns over severe weather Subscription Required

31-Jan-2012 | By The Press Association

The Department of Health has warned people to keep an eye on local weather reports as forecasters warn that scattered snow showers and freezing temperatures are on their way to the UK.

Older patient in wheelchair with social care worker

Warning as social care funding falls £0.5bn Subscription Required

30-Jan-2012 | By The Press Association

Spending on older people’s social care in England has fallen by half a billion pounds, according to a new report.

Biggest health and social care provider given the 'green light' Subscription Required

17-Jan-2012 | By

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.

Doctor and patient discussing telehealth technology

DH considers year-of-care tariff for patients with long term conditions Subscription Required

12-Jan-2012 | By

The Department of Health is considering a year-of-care tariff for telehealth technology which varies according to the number and severity of a patient’s long-term conditions.

NHS Confederation chief executive Mike Farrar

NHS Confederation home care call backed Subscription Required

4-Jan-2012 | By The Press Association

The NHS Confederation’s call to prioritise treating people in their home rather than hospital has been backed by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.

Nurse helping patient into bed at home

Government unveils extra £150m for home care Subscription Required

3-Jan-2012 | By The Press Association

The government has announced an extra £150m for patients to receive care at home rather than in hospital.

Young girl drinking alcohol from the bottle

Sexual health services should offer alcohol advice Subscription Required

30-Dec-2011 | By

GP commissioners and councils should in future ensure sexual health services include interventions targeted at cutting alcohol consumption among young people, according to a report published today.

Mike Farrar

NHS Confederation calls for end to hospital-or-bust NHS Subscription Required

29-Dec-2011 | By The Press Association

At least one in four NHS patients would be better off being treated at home under new community-based services, the head of the NHS Confederation has said.

An empty leather purse

Leading integrated care provider requests financial help Subscription Required

14-Dec-2011 | By

One of the NHS’s leading integrated care providers has sought financial help from its strategic health authority cluster after reporting a “precarious” cashflow position.

Patient being admitted to hospital

Cost of rising emergency dementia admissions revealed Subscription Required

13-Dec-2011 | By

There has been a 12 per cent growth over five years in the number of people with dementia admitted to hospital as an emergency, according to a report exclusively shared with HSJ.

Elderly people walking about

Southern Cross care homes transfer ends Subscription Required

6-Dec-2011 | By The Press Association

The care homes formerly run by Southern Cross have all been transferred to new operators, the government has announced.

Ursula Gallagher

Warning over status of nurses involved in NHS commissioning

30-Nov-2011 | By

Nurses involved in emerging clinical commissioning groups are being given little time and support and are being paid less than GP peers, according to an authoritative report published today.

Hand pinching money from piles of coins

Private sector could take £2bn slice of community services Subscription Required

30-Nov-2011 | By

The private sector could secure a fifth of the annual £8.5bn market for NHS community services by 2016, analysts have predicted.

Nurse arrives at a patient's home

Trust spending on carers to be scrutinised Subscription Required

24-Nov-2011 | By The Press Association

NHS trusts will be forced by the government to say how they spend cash intended for carers after research suggests it does not always reach the frontline.

A large stack of pound coins

Rise in PCTs reporting above-average costs Subscription Required

22-Nov-2011 | By

The past financial year saw a sharp rise in the proportion of primary care trusts reporting above-average costs for providing NHS services, new Department of Health figures show.

Footballs on a grass pitch

Government public health plans 'ineffective', says study Subscription Required

18-Nov-2011 | By The Press Association

Many of the government’s plans for tackling public health lack robust evidence and in some cases have been shown not to work, new research suggests

Two large stomachs facing each other

Obesity experts were axed after policy disagreements Subscription Required

17-Nov-2011 | By The Press Association

The advisory group on obesity was disbanded by the government after clashes over the direction of policy, it has emerged.

Head = desk at office

Clusters ordered to begin stocktake of 75,000 service contracts Subscription Required

11-Nov-2011 | By

Primary care trust clusters will have to complete a detailed stocktake of their 75,000 service contracts by the end of March 2012, in preparation for transferring them to successor commissioning bodies the following year.

GBP sterling and a calculator

How to prioritise disinvestment in support services Subscription Required

By , ,

A tool to help assess disinvestment in support services can help organisations validate their difficult decisions in this area, as Marion Bain, Hester Ward and Simon Belfer explain.

hinchingbrooke hospital

Could Hinchingbrooke set a benchmark for health organisation ownership? Subscription Required

By

Circle’s takeover of Hinchingbrooke hospital has opened a debate on hospital ownership and management, which could, Kevin Jacquiss says, inspire the government to look at new ideas to secure a sustainable future for health service organisations.

Hospital Reconfiguration graphic

'Reconfiguration may do more harm than good' Subscription Required

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History warns us that reconfiguration is not the panacea it’s cracked up to be, says Andy McKeon.

2012 HSJ Leadership logo

Why it's vital to improve patient access to information Subscription Required

By

In an age of instant access to news and data, on the go and 24 hours a day, patient access to healthcare information and decisions remains unreliable and poorly connected. An independent council in Northern Ireland is trying to change this, as Maeve Hully explains.

Man with headache in bed

Five integral steps to support commissioning headache services Subscription Required

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A framework to support commissioning headache services that champions intermittent care headache clinics led by a GP with a special interest in headache offers important benefits to both patients and commissioners, says Dr David Kernick.

HSJ emerging CCGs map

'Local healthcare cannot be delivered by giant commissioning bodies' Subscription Required

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The key to healthcare delivery models lies within natural communities – not in bloated commissioning organisations, says Charles Alessi.