Health Service Journal
Victoria Vaughan
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GP tendering could herald new era of competition for practices
9-Aug-2007
A scheme allowing primary care trusts greater sway over GP services could be the 'tip of the iceberg' in exposing family doctors to competition. -
'Blame culture' is driving staff errors underground
2-Aug-2007
Managers must eliminate the blame culture in the NHS to prevent under-reporting of safety breaches, the chief executive of the National Patient Safety Agency has warned. -
DoH demands better access for patients
2-Aug-2007
Primary care trusts will have to demonstrate 'tangible improvements' in patients' access to GP services by the end of the year. -
New 'corporate killer' law may see managers in court
2-Aug-2007
A new law on corporate manslaughter could see managers in court. -
Contract dispute could drive wedge between GPs and PCTs
26-Jul-2007
Moves to change the terms of GP contracts in Suffolk could spark 'ructions' between primary care trusts and GPs across the country. -
Johnson wants competition to prop up poor GP access
26-Jul-2007
Health secretary Alan Johnson has told primary care trusts to use independent sector providers to fill gaps in services. He has also told PCTs to produce local action plans to improve poor access to GP services. -
NPSA prepares awareness campaign
26-Jul-2007
Patient safety groups are working on a national campaign to 'inspire' NHS staff to change their behaviour. -
Ministers have no time for bold moves, warns Dickson
19-Jul-2007
The health service has been told not to expect any 'courageous' moves from the new government before the general election. -
PCT set for community cash boost
19-Jul-2007
Liverpool primary care trust is to take forward plans to bring substantially more care into the community. -
Sir Ara sets out London vision for cradle-to-grave healthcare
12-Jul-2007
Junior health minister Professor Sir Ara Darzi has set out a radical vision of future healthcare provision in London that would see the end of hospitals in their current form. -
Dementia care lags behind
5-Jul-2007
Treatment for people with dementia is little better than for cancer patients in the 1950s, the National Audit Office has warned. -
Exclusive interview: David vs the Goliaths of bossy government
28-Jun-2007
He wants the NHS freed from political control, he would not have voted for the smoking ban and he thinks Patricia Hewitt is the worst health secretary ever. Conservative leader David Cameron opens up to HSJ -
NHS Confederation rolling news: PBC up and running, says Ricketts
21-Jun-2007
Practice-based commissioning is running and working well, according to the Department of Health's head of demand side reform. -
NHS Confederation rolling news: zero tolerance MRSA call
21-Jun-2007
The MRSA target can be met, says the Department of Health, but the need for a zero tolerance culture is still imperative. -
PCTs ignoring orders on patient group involvement
21-Jun-2007
Primary care trusts do not expect patient groups to influence commissioning as demanded by the Department of Health, a survey has found. -
Think for yourselves, Nicholson tells managers
21-Jun-2007
Local managers should look to the Department of Health less for guidance and 'get on' with their job, NHS chief executive David Nicholson will tell the NHS Confederation's annual conference today. -
LINks scrutiny system to bar patient networks from access to key services
14-Jun-2007
Local involvement networks, set to replace public and patient involvement forums, will be denied access to mental health facilities, children's care homes and non-communal areas of residential care homes. -
NHS organisations advised to prepare for 'corporate killer' stigma
14-Jun-2007
NHS boards have been warned to prepare themselves for the implications of the Corporate Manslaughter Bill, which is currently working its way through Parliament. -
Ofcare: assessment framework to rank trusts' performance
7-Jun-2007
The Department of Health is developing a new vision for delivering better care and value in health and social care. -
Providers brace for new regulation fee regime
7-Jun-2007
NHS organisations and providers are set to be hit with regulation fees for the first time, HSJ has learned. -
Trusts to be held to local promises, says NHS chief
7-Jun-2007
Primary care and acute trusts are to be held to account for the promises they make to their local populations, according to NHS chief executive David Nicholson. -
Guy's denies pathology plans go against guidance
31-May-2007
Guy's and St Thomas' foundation trust has denied claims by the union Unite that it is attempting to privatise its pathology services against Department of Health guidance. -
Joint working is key to cash fight, says social care boss
31-May-2007
Health and social care must work more closely together to provide a health service fit for the future, according to the president of the newly formed Association of Directors of Adult Social Services. -
Monitor takes tougher line to prepare for wave of FT plans
31-May-2007
Applying for foundation trust status is to become tougher as regulator Monitor responds to an expected rise in acquisitions and mergers and deters 'overly ambitious applications'. -
Resignation over MTAS row 'could weaken' BMA
24-May-2007
The resignation of British Medical Association chair James Johnson could weaken the power of the doctors' union, according to the NHS Confederation. -
BMA sets out plan to close purchaser-provider divide
10-May-2007
The British Medical Association has proposed the creation of an organisation to bridge the gap between purchaser and provider and move towards single-system working. -
Final fitness for purpose results name at-risk PCTs
10-May-2007
Cumbria and Western Cheshire primary care trusts are at the greatest risk of being unable to meet baseline performance goals in the next six to 12 months, according to the third and final wave of primary care fitness for purpose results. -
Imperial leads merger on hunt for joined-up research
10-May-2007
The first academic health science centre in the country is aiming for the 'holy grail' of intimately connecting research with frontline healthcare, as Victoria Vaughan explains -
Community foundations set for pilots, but names under wraps
3-May-2007
Pilot community foundation trusts are being considered by the Department of Health, with the aim of the first one going live by the end of 2008, although the DoH will not confirm who is on the list. -
Health Protection Agency to develop guidance as C difficile rates rise by 8pc
3-May-2007
The Health Protection Agency has been charged by the Department of Health with producing new guidance on Clostridium difficile, as it emerged that cases have risen by 8 per cent. -
Report calls for PCT funding of joint patient support service in local areas
26-Apr-2007
Primary care trusts and social care providers have been urged to fund a joint information service for patients and carers on the services in their area. -
MPs fear abolition of PPI forums will lead to loss of volunteers
26-Apr-2007
The government's proposal to dismantle patient and public involvement forums and set up local involvement networks instead has been heavily criticised by the Commons health select committee. -
S11 change weakens consultation, says Commons hsc
26-Apr-2007
Changes to section 11 consultation rules would further weaken public and patient involvement which is already a 'sham' in places, the Commons health select committee has warned. -
Independent pay reviews ruled out by minister Andy Burnham
26-Apr-2007
Health Minister Andy Burnham has dismissed calls to bring in a review body to rule on the new general medical services contract. -
BMA recommends GPs get PBC guarantees from primary care trusts
19-Apr-2007
Advice to GPs to demand assurances in writing from primary care trusts over possible savings from practice-based commissioning could see doctors and PCT managers reach an impasse. -
Top-level shake-up continues at DoH
19-Apr-2007
The reorganisation of top-level management in the Department of Health is to be continued following the departure of Bill McCarthy, its director of policy and strategy. -
Last-minute cancellations on way down, claims DoH
12-Apr-2007
The number of operations cancelled at the last minute is continuing to drop, according to the winter report from the Department of Health. -
DoH calls in librarians and web to boost patient choice uptake
12-Apr-2007
Local librarians and a £15m website have been unveiled by the government as the twin levers to drive take-up of full choice this year. -
Blow to trust efforts to engage GPs
5-Apr-2007
Primary care trusts will not be able to decide how much to pay GPs who sit on professional executive committees. -
Acutes accused over discharge info
29-Mar-2007
The acute sector is showing 'institutionalised contempt for primary care' by its failure to provide GPs with prompt discharge summaries, the NHS Alliance has claimed. -
Call for joint posts to ease tension
22-Mar-2007
More senior manager joint appointments are needed to help curb growing tensions between health and local government about cost-shunting, a primary care network has said. -
Brown budget 2007: HSJ report
21-Mar-2007
In his 11th budget speech today chancellor Gordon Brown announced the 'biggest cash increase ever' in the NHS. -
Commissioner demands a better deal for children
8-Mar-2007
Children's hospital services are woefully inadequate, a Healthcare Commission review has shown. Children's commissioner Al Aynsley-Green said was the verdict was 'disappointing but not surprising'. -
Government envisions a budget for every patient
8-Mar-2007
Individual budgets as piloted in social care could be used in healthcare, according to the government's Commissioning framework for health and well being. -
PCT network attacks 'unfair' reporting of top-slice effect
8-Mar-2007
Primary care leaders are calling for changes to the way finances are reported after it emerged that the vast majority of current primary care trust debts are the result of top-slicing. -
Changes to GP regulation welcomed by managers
1-Mar-2007
Primary care managers have welcomed the government's white paper on regulation of health professionals. -
'Dishonest and disingenuous'
1-Mar-2007
Inept, poor and dishonest: that was the verdict from trust chief executives asked for their views on ministers' handling of NHS finance. -
King's Fund: cash review will not stop NHS progress
22-Feb-2007
The NHS will be able to cope despite the slash in funding growth expected to be announced in the next comprehensive spending review, according to a King's Fund report. -
NHS set for £13m net surplus despite rising levels of debt
22-Feb-2007
The NHS is predicted to make a £13m surplus this financial year, according to the latest Department of Health forecasts. -
PCT network to 'manage creative tensions'
22-Feb-2007
Tensions between acute and primary care trusts could be soothed by the new NHS Confederation PCT network, its chair has said. -
Brent PCT faces scrutiny after council wrangle
1-Jan-2007
Brent primary care trust is under investigation by NHS London following concerns over its governance and financial management. -
Confed calls for shared goals with councils
1-Jan-2007
The NHS Confederation is calling for tougher policy implementation, increased flexibility and better long-term planning to ensure that NHS bodies and local authorities work together to provide better care. -
Media Watch
1-Jan-2007
'As junior doctors struggle to find work The Sunday Times claimed that the Department of Health survey on GP workload would show that family doctors were earning more and working less' -
Media watch: C difficile in Norfolk
1-Jan-2007
The news on superbugs gets worse following reports that a mutant strain of Clostridium difficile has been linked to the death of 17 patients at a Norfolk hospital. -
Media Watch: nurses protest
1-Jan-2007
Avenging angels hit the headlines and the streets this weekend as they came out in force to protest at, among other things, a below-inflation pay rise. -
Pilots lead way in new era of high-tech 'telecare' at home
1-Jan-2007
Three primary care trusts will be chosen next month to deliver hardware worth thousands of pounds to the homes of patients with long-term conditions, according to Department of Health head of primary care Gary Belfield. -
Trusts told to stop attacking each other
1-Jan-2007
The primary care trust network has urged trusts to move on from blaming each other after PCTs came under attack from their acute peers.
