Comment archive – Page 347
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LeaderReform changes may threaten what little progress is being made
What is the real impact of GP consortium commissioning on NHS services? Not the claim and counter-claim of the political battle, which is largely focused on imagined utopias or dystopias of the medium term, but the change being experienced by patients and staff?
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CommentWhat the Health Bill means for continuing quality improvement
If you missed the live online webchat with Andrew Lansley last week, director of the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for north west London professor Derek Bell offers an insight into the health secretary’s thoughts on what the Health Bill means for research and quality improvement ...
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CommentSouth East Coast trusts chasing foundation status
Like many trusts around the country, those in the South East Coast are busy considering ways of getting themselves to the holy grail of foundation status.
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CommentMedia Watch: waiting for the pause to fast forward
Every paper told a different story at the start of this week, despite speculation growing ahead of the arrival of the Future Forum’s recommended amendments to the Health Bill.
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CommentNorth Yorkshire and York faces ongoing financial difficulties
North Yorkshire and York is one of the most financially troubled primary care trusts in the country.
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CommentNoel Plumridge: parallel process in danger of doubling costs
First, in April, came the “pause” in the passage of the Health Bill. Then the “listening exercise” and the appointment of the NHS Future Forum. And, along the way, the Liberal Democrats’ humiliation in the May elections.
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CommentMichael White: how to survive in the blame game
I heard a senior NHS manager on the radio mid-week sounding like Sharon (“I don’t do blame”) Shoesmith, Haringey’s ousted children’s services chief, as he defended his hospital against a damning report from the Care Quality Commission.
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CommentAn NHS ice age may have only just begun
Despite positive financial projections for the NHS after the current spending review period ends, the harsh reality is that the funding cold spell could continue beyond 2015 if the economy does not recover as hoped, suggests King’s Fund chief economist John Appleby.
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Comment'Proper funding of the NHS is the critical long term issue'
Let’s be honest, speculation is fun. Nobody can prove you right or wrong at the time, people forget what you said, and you can hedge your bets on what the future will hold. It is also more interesting to look at the gloomy version – what fun is there to ...
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LeaderThe NHS must plan for a decade of austerity
After decades of underinvestment, the NHS required the turbocharging provided by the 2002 Budget. The resulting flow of funds did much good. However, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight many would argue the money could have been spent more efficiently – although there would be considerable dispute about what should ...
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Comment@HSJeditor’s guide to the Health Policy Twitterati
Twitter is full of people mouthing off pointlessly about health reform or simply linking to their latest blog. But there are also a good number of tweeters with something interesting to say and who take an active part in debate. Here’s my pick. I’d be grateful for other suggestions.
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Comment'Creating a culture of learning must never be overlooked'
It is all too easy with the daily demands on our time, coupled with the financial challenges we all face, to allow our own learning and development to take a back seat.
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CommentMedia Watch: Health Bill pause doesn't halt continuing coverage
As the coalition’s “pause” rumbles on so do the stories surrounding the fate of the Health and Social Care Bill.
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CommentSouth Central trusts face paybill cuts to meet CIP targets
If trusts are to meet their cost improvement plan targets for 2011-12, they have to make significant savings through cutting the paybill.
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CommentScreening programmes under threat in London
Chlamydia screening is not a big outlay for commissioners but they are measured on it, along with other screening programmes.
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CommentSally Gainsbury: flogging off the freehold
While Aunt Sally and her straw man continue to bicker about just how much extra competition Mr Lansley is or isn’t introducing into the NHS, a genuine real life policy question demands answering.
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LeaderThe CQC is feeling the pressure as rising uncertainty takes its toll
There has been so much focus on the future role of Monitor that almost no attention has been paid to how the NHS’s other regulator, the Care Quality Commission, is coping with the challenges of reform and tighter budgets.
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Comment'Better quality data will help to reduce variations in care'
The latest report of the National Lung Cancer Audit has the potential to significantly reduce variations in care, writes Mick Peake
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CommentMichael White: bill opposition proving more than just yellow-bellied
Perhaps I underestimated Liberal Democrat determination to amend the bill (only one bill in this column) or push it under a bus.
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Comment'I'm more excited than ever about the healthcare marketplace'
Competition on everything including price is not only the most practical solution to the growing pressures facing the NHS, it is also virtually inevitable, according to the chief executive of the UK’s largest private healthcare provider.