Comment archive – Page 413
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Andrew Kirby on how information can improve healthcare
In his draft Queen's Speech, prime minister Gordon Brown outlined a further round of performance targets for the NHS.
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Edzard Ernst on alternative medicine
People must not confuse the perceived benefits of so-called alternative medicine with the medical facts. Claims made about such treatments should be more tightly regulated to protect patients from unscrupulous practitioners.
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Maggie Rae on world class shopping
'Tired of shopping yet?' shouted a colleague. A gentle reference to my earnest attempts to improve our delivery of the world class commissioning standards.
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Jenny Rogers on leaders' illusions
Leadership is essentially a smoke and mirrors illusion. In a leader's best moments, we project on to him or her all the qualities we wish we had ourselves or long for in a boss.
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Neil Goodwin on preparing your team for Darzi
Meeting the expectations of Lord Darzi's review will require leadership, vision and team-building skills.
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Sandy Watson on local and national objectives
A new partnership framework has allowed Scotland to set clear objectives and measurement criteria for local authorities, giving the public a clearer idea of what to expect from their health services.
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Leader
BMA campaign trades on fear and ignorance
One has to admire the British Medical Association. Getting people to campaign against health service closures is easy, but it takes a particular talent to get the public to campaign against service openings.
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Noel Plumridge on community tariff appeal
'The biggest black box in the NHS' was how my fellow columnist Simon Stevens last month described the £10bn or more spent by English PCTs on district nursing, therapies and other mainstream community healthcare.
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Your Humble Servant on saying no
Your humble servantTo: Don Wise, chief executiveFrom: Paul Servant, assistant chief executiveRe: Saying no
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Michael White on specialist trauma response
The other day health minister Ben Bradshaw read out to concerned MPs a list of all the places on the body where young people get pierced these days.
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Media Watch: hygiene targets
News from the Healthcare Commission that one in four hospitals is not hitting hygiene targets was about as welcome as a dose of MRSA.
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Updating top-up rules need not be a dagger to the heart of NHS
Just days before its 60th birthday the NHS is being forced to re-evaluate its founding principle - that treatment is based on clinical need not the ability to pay.
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Sally Reynolds on unemployment and health
In Britain nearly one in five people of working age are disabled and almost half of them are currently unemployed.
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Local change challenge
The Leading Local Change document, published in May as part of Lord Darzi's next stage review, sits on the desk in front of me as I write. Its message is clear - healthcare needs are changing and our sector must respond.
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A local perspective on Darzi
As the final report on Lord Darzi's next stage review draws close, Cynthia Bower examines how Skills for Health is already helping to drive change at a local level
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Ken Jarrold on why Darzi needs nurses
Last November, commenting on the first Darzi report, I pointed out that only a crusade for nursing and a focus on team leaders would improve patient experience.
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David Lee on handling a killing
One piece of news mental health trust directors dread above almost any other is that of a homicide by a local service user.
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Lisa Rodrigues on being there for your staff
Bill Clinton used to say the most important attribute of a leader was being there. This gets tested when things go wrong, but also when they are going well.
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This week's All Our Yesterdays
Public Assistance Journal and Health and Hospital Review, June 25 1948"The Minister would like to take this opportunity of expressing his appreciation of the work of joint vagrancy committees in recent years in the promotion of schemes for the reduction of vagrancy throughout the country," states the Ministry of Health ...
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Comment
This week's lookey likey
A lookey likey from a correspondent who wishes to be anonymous suggests Department of Health director general of NHS finance, performance and operations David Flory is a dead ringer for CSI Miami star David Caruso. What do readers think?