Acute Care – Page 388
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News
Eight minute emergency response target holds back service improvement
Unprecedented efforts to meet tough response time targets may be diverting ambulance services from referring and treating more patients out of hospital.
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News
Alan Johnson orders Baby P death probe
Health secretary Alan Johnson has ordered two reports into the way NHS organisations protect vulnerable children in the wake of Baby P's death in Haringey.
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News
David Flory: payment by results tariff will be right, not rushed
The Department of Health will postpone plans to introduce a new payment by results tariff next year if it cannot prevent it from financially destabilising specialist hospitals.
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News
London hospitals told to prepare for loss of income
Local hospitals in London are being told to prepare for a reduction in their income of 15-25 per cent.
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News
Almost half of all patients offered choice of hospital
The July patient choice survey carried out by the Department of Health showed 46 per cent of patients recalled being offered a choice of hospital for their first outpatient appointment. This was up from 45 per cent in May.
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News
Insurance discounts linked to patient safety gains, research shows
Linking acute trusts' litigation insurance premiums to infection standards has delivered improvements in patient safety, research suggests.
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News
Cancer reform progress report stresses early diagnosis
Earlier diagnosis should be a priority for further improvement in cancer services, the Department of Health's cancer czar Mike Richards has concluded.In his first report on progress against the government's five-year cancer reform strategy, the national cancer director identifies as priorities tackling diagnostics delays and improving the quality and safety ...
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HSJ Knowledge
NHS in recession: when good times turn bad
New hospitals on hold, health workers striking and severe underfunding were all effects of previous recessions. Andy Cowper ask what the latest crisis may mean for the NHS
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Comment
David Amos on developing the NHS workforce
Into media coverage dominated by world events has crept something intriguing about bees. Scientists at Queensland University have used nectar-drenched markers in a tunnel to show that the insects can count up to four.
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Comment
Lesley Wright on lean thinking and respecting NHS staff
Managers and clinical staff interested in lean healthcare often stall at the same point: 'We want to adopt lean thinking but want to call it something else. 'Lean' is hard to sell to our staff.'
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News
GP referrals up by 300,000, statistics show
The number of GP referrals has shot up by nearly 300,000 compared with the same period last year, official statistics released today reveal.GP referrals made in the quarter ending 30 September have risen by 12.6 per cent, while other referrals have increased by 9.2 per cent.
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News
Great Ormond Street Hospital appoints new chairman
Great Ormond Street Hospital's new chair is to be former minister Baroness Blackstone.
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News
Advancing quality in the North West
The system being implemented in the North West was developed by US firm Premier, owned by 200 of the country’s not-for-profit hospitals.
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News
Best foundation trust chief executives not getting best pay
The salaries of foundation trust chief executives bear little relation to the performance of their organisations, a pay analysis has revealed.
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News
Patients warn of clinical metrics bias
Efforts to win doctors' support for measuring quality should not be at the expense of involving patients, the Department of Health has been warned.
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News
NHS braced for worst of Alistair Darling's £5bn spending cuts
The NHS must prepare for a substantial cut in planned funding from the year after next.Chancellor Alistair Darling's pre-Budget report set out plans to cut £5bn from government spending plans for 2010-11 - and the NHS is the largest of 12 areas that could be hit.
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HSJ KnowledgeWhat is causing GP referrals to rise?
The 15 per cent growth in GP referrals to hospital in quarter one 2008-09 is putting pressure on both providers and commissioners (see first graph).
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Comment
Mark Hackett on healthcare and customer confidence
Some years ago our commissioners grasped the reality of market dynamics and sought to break traditional monopolies in healthcare provision. Cue the local opening of one of the country's largest independent sector treatment centres.
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News
Quality accounts: pressure on to pick a winning combination
In 18 months, trusts will have to produce their first quality accounts, based on a selection from hundreds of indicators. Dave West asks how trusts should choose their criteria, and how to act on what they find
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News
Panel warns of European working time directive's risks
Growing concerns about NHS staffing could lead to service change plans neglecting accessibility and safety, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel has warned.