Commissioning – Page 209
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NewsMSPs split on waiting time law
MSPs on a Holyrood committee have revealed that it is split on whether new laws should be brought in giving NHS patients a legal waiting time guarantee.
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NewsKent PCT to delay referrals in order to dodge overspend
A primary care trust in Kent has become the latest to announce it is reducing funding for IVF and low priority procedures this year in order to tackle rising acute activity, which risks a £40m overspend.
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NewsTrust plans closure of seven wards
A hospital trust plans to close the equivalent of seven wards to get back into financial balance.
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NewsPatients will move between commissioners, warns GP
Patients will “get on a bus” to find care denied by GP commissioners, a senior doctor has told MPs and peers.
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LeaderGPs stung by maternity services rebuff
Who should commission maternity care? Health secretary Andrew Lansley has decided it should not be part of the “great majority” of services that GPs will eventually be responsible for.
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NewsMental health hit by integration issues
Mental health patients are failing to benefit from personal care budgets because of poor inter-agency working.
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CommentThe NHS needs to re-invent itself to cope with funding cuts
The NHS’s funding increase is actually a 0.5 per cent cut - efficiency savings of 4-5 per cent will have to be found.
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NewsGP consortia accountability questioned
Questions about the financial accountability of GP consortia have been raised in the House of Commons.
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CommentIndependent contractors and the NHS
Are independent contractors really part of the NHS? The answer, traditionally, has been “yes, when convenient; no, when not”.
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NewsPractice based commissioning academy gets rebranded
The NHS Alliance and its private sector partner Humana have rebadged their so called practice based commissioning academy to appeal to fledgling GP consortia.
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NewsGP commissioner groups ‘will be size of PCTs’
One of NHS London’s leading GPs has said most of the capital’s commissioning groups will be the same size as primary care trusts.
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NewsForeign firms will 'swoop on NHS'
Large foreign firms are “licking their lips” at the prospect of commissioning billions of pounds of services on behalf of GPs if controversial NHS reforms go ahead, Labour has claimed.
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NewsNHS Commissioning Board to check foreign doctors' language skills
The new NHS Commissioning Board is to take responsibility for testing the language and clinical skills of foreign doctors from within the EU, the Department of Health has said.
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NewsCommissioning tools launched for neuro conditions and cardiac rehab
Three charities have developed an online support tool for GP consortia to commission neurological services.
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NewsGP consortia pathfinder guidelines published
Specific guidance on establishing GP consortia “pathfinders” has been sent to all strategic authority chief executives.
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NewsCouncils 'lagging' on social care personal budgets plan
Local authorities face a major challenge to implement personal budgets for social care with some already “lagging behind”, an Audit Commission report has warned.
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NewsNo evidence GP consortia will be better than PCTs
Primary care trusts should be allowed to “merge or demerge” into more successful commissioning organisations , rather than being swept away and replaced by smaller GP consortia, a think tank has said.
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CommentBig Society: little guys vs big guns
The third sector is uniting in the hope of building enough clout to win the big society contracts
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News'Health outcome bond' pilot to attempt hospital admissions cut
A private company plans to launch a “health outcome bond” to provide NHS commissioners with private investment capital in an effort to cut emergency hospital admissions.
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NewsOutsourcing quotas to drive mixed health services provider market
The Treasury has announced plans to “explore” setting quotas for outsourcing key health services.