All Health Service Journal articles in 17 March 2008

View all stories from this issue.

  • News

    Oldham PCT wins top award

    2008-03-20T14:41:00Z

    Oldham primary care trust was crowned local improvement finance trust area of the year at last night's inaugural LIFT awards.

  • News

    Biomedical research centre of excellence for Manchester

    2008-03-20T14:37:00Z

    A biomedical research centre to be opened in Manchester will help to prevent, diagnose and treat ill-health and ensure patients benefit from scientific breakthroughs as quickly as possible, the Department of Health has announced.

  • News

    Chief operating officer for NHS Direct

    2008-03-20T14:32:00Z

    Paula Higson has been appointed chief operating officer of NHS Direct.

  • News

    Two in five trusts turn away women in labour, figures show

    2008-03-20T14:28:00Z

    Women in labour were turned away by 42 per cent of trusts last year, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show.The figures, obtained by the Conservatives, show that one in 10 trusts closed their doors to women giving birth more than 10 times in the last year. Larger ...

  • News

    GP pay doubles in 20 years

    2008-03-20T14:18:00Z

    Average GP earnings topped £110,000 in 2005-06, twice the level of two decades earlier, according to figures published by the Information Centre for health and social care.

  • News

    Halt public sector pay squeeze, says Unison

    2008-03-19T12:28:00Z

    Staff such as nurses, paramedics and social workers should not have to put up with below-inflation pay rises, public sector union Unison has said.

  • News

    Consultation on independent sector regulation

    2008-03-19T12:25:00Z

    Health minister Ben Bradshaw has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the way private and voluntary healthcare is regulated.

  • News

    New guidance on patient choice

    2008-03-19T12:24:00Z

    The Department of Health has published new guidance and information on the rollout of the 'free choice' policy, which will allow most patients to choose the hospital where they are treated.

  • News

    Postgraduate medical institute opens

    2008-03-19T12:20:00Z

    A new postgraduate medical institute supported by 11 NHS trusts in the East of England has been officially launched by higher education minister Bill Rammell.

  • News

    Call to protect legal status of health visiting

    2008-03-19T12:17:00Z

    Union leaders have urged health secretary Alan Johnson to halt plans that could lead to the legal abolition of the health visiting profession.Proposed changes to the Nursing and Midwifery Act could see less-qualified staff carrying out 'health visiting' duties, according to union Unite, which encompasses the Community Practitioners' and Health ...

  • News

    Work is good for mental health, says expert

    2008-03-18T10:51:00Z

    Supported employment offers people with mental health problems a chance to get work, achieve recovery and lead fulfilling lives, according to a leading US expert.

  • News

    £8m boost for Scottish telecare

    2008-03-18T10:47:00Z

    Scottish public health minister Shona Robison has pledged an additional £8m to expand telecare programmes that allow people leaving hospital to live more independently and safely at home.

  • News

    Public health doctors condemn private sector contract

    2008-03-18T10:44:00Z

    Senior public health figures have condemned the Scottish government's decision to engage PricewaterhouseCoopers to run its patient experience programme.

  • News

    Report slams Department of Health statistics

    2008-03-18T10:40:00Z

    The Department of Health's statistical releases have come under stinging criticism following a new report from the Statistics Commission, the official watchdog that will be disbanded at the end of this month.In an analysis of government releases, the quarterly NHS inpatient and outpatient waiting times statistics failed against all six ...

  • News

    Healthcare Commission to investigate high mortality rates

    2008-03-18T10:36:00Z

    The Healthcare Commission is to investigate mortality rates at Mid Staffordshire foundation trust.

  • News

    Ill health costs £100bn

    2008-03-17T12:01:10Z

    People should be kept healthy at work and be helped to return to work if they get ill, according to a review of work-related health services.The review, led by national director for health and work Dame Carol Black, found that ill health costs £100bn a year and that the human ...

  • News

    Doctors to get extra training in alcohol-related health problems

    2008-03-17T11:02:10Z

    To help tackle the health effects of alcohol misuse 60,000 new doctors are to be trained to identify and treat people who are drinking too much, public health minister Dawn Primarolo has announced.

  • News

    Over 6,600 more staff in NHS

    2008-03-17T11:00:12Z

    There are 6,625 more frontline staff working in the NHS than a year ago, according to figures published by the NHS Information Centre. The figures include 2,033 more doctors, 1,262 more nurses, 624 midwives and 252 fewer managers.

  • News

    Scottish government steps up fight against hospital infections

    2008-03-17T10:55:40Z

    Prudent prescribing of antibiotics and a surveillance programme to monitor and provide data on organisms that are resistant to antibiotics is part of a hospital infections action plan released by the Scottish government.

  • News

    Prison drug services falling short

    2008-03-17T10:54:06Z

    Prison drugs services often fall short of even minimum standards, a report by the UK Drug Policy Commission has said. The report says community treatments are likely to more appropriate than imprisonment in many cases but not enough is known about which interventions for drug dependent offenders actually work. ...