Acute Care – Page 305
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CommentBruce Keogh and Ian Dalton on death rates
Comparing death rates for heart surgery is difficult enough even when you look at just a single procedure and use well-honed algorithms. When it involves an institutional aggregate of many procedures and diagnoses, it becomes much more difficult.
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NewsTreasury 'Icy cold wind' may end GP independence, says NHS medical director
Taking on commissioning budgets may force GPs to give up their historic independence and potentially integrate with secondary care, the NHS medical director has suggested.
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NewsAshford achieves foundation status, as Royal Free starts application
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals Trust has been authorised to become a foundation.
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LeaderCircle’s success at Hinchingbrooke is more likely to be cultural than commercial
What will we learn from private provider Circle’s success in becoming the preferred and only bidder for the contract to manage Hinchingbrooke Health Care Trust?
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HSJ KnowledgeExtending choice to end of life care
Identifying dying patients’ preferences can prevent many spending their last days in hospital, says Claire Henry
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NewsMaternity units may close, despite pre election pledges
The controversial closure of three maternity units in Greater Manchester looks set to go ahead – in spite of health secretary Andrew Lansley’s personal intervention in the case in the run up to the general election.
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NewsLatest Dr Foster guide reveals hospital trusts with high death rates
Death rates at 19 hospital trusts in England were alarmingly high last year, according to the latest Dr Foster Hospital Guide.
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NewsMid Staffs chief exec confirms departure next year
The chief executive of Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has confirmed he is to leave the trust when his contract expires next year.
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NewsFTs make pre-emptive defence against Hospital Guide findings
Two large foundation trusts have questioned the methods and findings of the Dr Foster Hospital Guide, ahead of its publication this weekend.
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NewsExclusive: Hinchingbrooke winner critiques NHS procurement
Ali Parsa, managing partner of Circle - the private business that has just secured the contract to run Hinchingbrooke Hospital - believes the NHS must reform the way it buys services.
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CommentAli Parsa: the NHS must learn to put quality ahead of price
Under a new approach to procurement, value for money rather than price will determine who is awarded contracts
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NewsTemperature linked to sharp rises in admissions
Plummeting temperatures increase the number of adults admitted to hospital suffering serious injury, according to the largest study of its kind.
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HSJ KnowledgeImproving quality and productivity in the NHS
Penelope Dash and Ben Richardson offer practical advice for how to use current policy thinking to boost care and cost-effectiveness
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NewsPioneering 'NHS Atlas' reveals huge contrasts in care
The Department of Health has for the first time laid bare the huge regional variations in healthcare across England.
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NewsNHS Atlas of Variation highlights service value
The NHS Atlas of Variation further highlights the pressure on the NHS to restrict access to some services and medicines.
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CommentMark Britnell: quick fixes for making efficiency gains
Some people think more cash is coming for the NHS, but just in case it isn’t, here are some instant gains we can make in the meantime
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NewsUK heart surgery survival best in Europe
Patients undergoing heart surgery in England and Wales have a greater chance of survival than many other European countries, a report has suggested.
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NewsOpen clinical data to public, urges Lansley adviser
Writing in this week’s HSJ, future adviser to the health secretary David Kerr argues that opening up clinical data to the public will drive better outcomes.
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Comment'The challenge is to get better average outcomes and reduce variation'
Post-Blair Labour health “reforms” overemphasised a centrist, target driven culture that tended to distort how care might best be delivered. It marginalised clinical staff, leaving them often to adopt a stance of disgruntled passivity.
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NewsSmaller fines for mixed sex accommodation
Commissioners have been given the freedom to impose smaller penalties on trusts which breach rules on mixed sex accommodation, but told they have “no excuse” not to impose the fines.