All articles by David Peat
-
CommentDavid Peat on embracing NHS change
Attitudes to the idea of change have always fascinated me. And I suppose I’m revisiting the concept since I’m on the verge of changing my own role in the NHS by moving on to take up a new post at strategic health authority level.
-
CommentDavid Peat on PCT provider arms
The proposed division of primary care trusts’ provider and commissioner arms reminds me of the old legal concept of “one roof with separate rooms”.
-
Comment
David Peat on quality life years
It might seem odd at first glance to think we are doing 'old Joe' a favour by getting him fit and happy enough to pop down to his local for a pint or two with his pals.
-
Comment
David Peat on lean times for the NHS
Without sounding overly biblical, but with the credit crunch in mind, is the NHS facing lean times after years of fat expenditure?
-
Comment
David Peat on the NHS learning curve
You know how you sometimes tend to look at long-past events through rose-tinted glasses, perhaps foolishly allowing yourself to think everything was somehow better 'back in the good old days'?
-
Comment
David Peat on hitting targets
You know how it feels when you hit the target but miss the point?Well, a recent journey to address a health conference in Europe was, to my mind, the perfect example of this.
-
HSJ Knowledge
David Peat on 60 years with the NHS
Call it a fortuitous coincidence if you will, but the NHS and I share the same birthday. Not to the day, but near enough.
-
Comment
David Peat on promoting healthy lifestyles
We all know we should eat less, exercise more, stop smoking and drink less alcohol. But we all ask: where is the fun in that?
-
Comment
David Peat on facing up to health inequalities
I suppose it is human nature to try to focus on the feel-good sides of life and shield ourselves from difficult or unpalatable realities.
-
Comment
David Peat on community spirit
It occurred to me the other day that just as TV soap devotees have Coronation Street, in East Lancashire we have Howard Street. But instead of the Rovers Return being the centre of everything that moves, we have Howard Street's community health centre.
-
Comment
David Peat on getting world class commissioning right
Call them benchmarks, standards or targets, it is no bad thing to have aspirations and the will to achieve. It is also good to be put on the spot sometimes, to help streamline the process and refine best practice.
-
Comment
David Peat on turning health policy into action
One of the eternal dilemmas for a chief executive is to translate the words of policy documents into meaningful action on the front line
-
HSJ Knowledge
Health inequalities: the great divide
Adding a million years to the lives of East Lancashire's population requires a big push by local partnerships, says David Peat
-
Comment
David Peat on ending the enslavement of health inequalities
Overcoming health inequalities that have built up over generations will take vision and determination
-
Comment
David Peat on sharing good practice
'Our European health colleagues listened intently as I told them how our working together principles operated'
-
Comment
David Peat on letting go
'As soon as the SS Rest and Relaxation draws near another port, you can see groups of slightly anxious-looking passengers veering to the landward side of the vessel and proclaiming: 'Houston, we have a signal!''
-
Comment
David Peat on fitness for purpose
'Fitness for purpose has given us intelligence, new understandings and insights into the changing role of being a fully fledged commissioner in the new NHS. It has.helped us respond to the new realities and changes that have taken place in our relationships in and outside the NHS'
-
Comment
David Peat on Life on Mars (NHS-style)
'Much has been achieved in medicine and health, yet we have major issues surrounding obesity, alcohol abuse, sexual behaviour and drugs. We can't moralise, but some of the difficulties of 1970s society have morphed into new and sometimes exaggerated forms'
-
Comment
David Peat on choice
I suppose it's a generation thing. Choice, that is. And come to think of it, consumer power in general.
-
Comment
David Peat on lost baggage and fielding complaints
'I always try to acknowledge a complaint myself when it arrives on our doorstep, and I always sign off our response. It helps me keep in touch with patients' perceptions - their sense of grievance, injustice or perplexity.'