All Health Service Journal articles in December 2006
View all stories from this issue.
-
News
Survey examines value for money
While expenditure on drugs, NHS staff, salaries and training may have risen, the additional £6bn per year being spent on healthcare is unlikely to transform the health service, according to a survey commissioned by the Health Foundation.Lead researcher Peter Smith said: 'We confirmed that although the volume of NHS activity ...
-
News
Counterfeit condom warning
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has issued a warning that counterfeit condoms have been found in Essex, Birmingham and in Felixstowe docks and placed on the UK market.Counterfeit condoms may not be manufactured to the appropriate British or European standards, and cannot be considered to provide adequate protection ...
-
News
DoH to name preferred bidders for diagnostic scans
The Department of Health is set to announce that it has reached preferred bidder stage on two contracts to provide NHS patients with 90 million PET/CT diagnostic scans over the next five years.Alliance Medical is preferred bidder for a contract which will cover the North of England and will provide ...
-
News
Drinks industry a key partner in alcohol problem prevention
A study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that the drinks industry agrees with the government's alcohol strategy for England which identified the industry as a key partner in preventing alcohol problems and reducing levels of harm.The study found that the drinks industry acknowledged problems associated with the misuse ...
-
News
Labour urged to listen to professionals
Shadow health minister Stephen O'Brien has urged the government to listen to IT and healthcare professionals following the review of Connecting for Health by the British Computer Society.He said: 'It is time the Government listened to the IT and healthcare professionals, rather than continuing to force this outmoded, large scale ...
-
News
Survey: new year optimism outweighs financial fears
A survey of 648 managers and leaders, published today by the Chartered Management Institute, shows that the mood of optimism in the sector remains despite fears over increasing business taxation and inflation.Key findings included that most managers in the health sector believe employment levels are unlikely to drop and the ...
-
News
Conservatives call for free hospital parking for vulnerable people
Hospital car parking should be free for the most critically ill patients, say the London Assembly Conservatives responding to the latest Department of Health guidelines.Elizabeth Howlett, Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth and deputy chair of the assembly health and public services committee said:'We are calling on the government to ...
-
News
Care Association delivers end of year report
The English Community Care Association, the leading representative body for independent care homes in England, has produced an end of year report, ECCA: Delivering for You.ECCA chief executive Martin Green said: 'This is a particularly difficult time for the care sector with a bad ...
-
News
Think tank slams NHS reform
The think tank Reform has accused the NHS of failing to develop a coherent vision for change, and warned that unless the government tackles 'centralised, dysfunctional bureaucracy', its funding and policy achievements will go to waste.Author Ian Smith, a private sector manager interviewed for the NHS chief executive's post this ...
-
News
DoH puts safety first
The Department of Health has issued a report on improving support patient safety in the NHS.Safety First - a report for patients, clinicians and healthcare managerssays the National Patient Safety Agency should be 'refocused' on collecting and analysing information through its national reporting and learning system, and that this should ...
-
News
Call for National IT programme revamp
The British Computer Society has called for a major re-evaluation of the National Programme for IT in the NHS.The society's health informatics forum says the programme has achieved some significant successes around infrastructure, but has slowed the deployment of local systems. It also says elements of the NHS Core Records ...
-
News
Seasonal gloom at the BMA
The British Medical Association has picked up on health secretary Patricia Hewitt's comment that the NHS has had its 'best year ever' by publishing its own review of the Best of Years, the Worst of Years.Overall, it says that while there have been some ...
-
News
New assisted reproduction proposals published
The government has also published a white paper setting out its proposals for an overhaul of the law on assisted human reproduction and embryology research and the bodies that regulate this area and the use of human tissues.The paper says a Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos, to be known ...
-
HSJ Knowledge
HSJ supplement: leading on change
Despite many local examples of well-managed change, it would be hard to say that, overall, change management - the subject of this supplement sponsored by Managers in Partnership - has gone smoothly during the last year in England’s health service.
-
News
NHS Scotland in surplus
Audit Scotland has its annual review of the NHS in Scotland. The report focuses on financial performance and says the Scottish health service managed to finish 2005-06 with a £70.6m surplus on its £9bn budget.This was an improvement on a deficit of £32m 12 months earlier. However, the audit body ...
-
News
NHS urged to use more everyday technologies
The Royal Society has urged the NHS not to overlook potential of everyday technologies such as mobile phones and personal digital devices in favour of large-scale IT projects.Its Digital Healthcarereport says the NHS has been slow to adopt such technologies, but will need to ...
-
News
High-impact changes for GUM services released
A guide to 10 High-impact Changes for Genitouninary Medicine 48-hour Accesshas been published. The measures include developing a separate pathway for low-risk patients, reviewing current access arranagments and reorganising clinic opening hours.Read the guide ...
-
News
Guidance launched on HIV positive asylum seekers
The National Aids Trust has published guidance on the dispersal of HIV positive asylum seekers for healthcare and voluntary sector workers. The guidance states that asylum seekers should only be dispersed if they are medically stable, adequate notice about the move has been provided and ...
-
News
Over 40 maternity units may be closed or downgraded, Conservatives claim
The Conservative Party has claimed it has identified 43 maternity units under threat of being downgraded or closed, of which 21 are midwife-led and 22 consultant-led. Of the 43, 26 of the maternity units are operated by providers which finished the 2005-06 financial year in ...