External contributors – Page 207
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CommentMedia Watch: all of NHS life appears in the papers
Most types of health professional featured in the media this week, though some more positively than others.
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Comment'We cannot tolerate incompetence in the search for sustainability'
The turnaround of one factory into an efficient, clean, collaborative and effective faciility should shame healthcare organisations into doing more to make sure sustainability in the NHS becomes less an ideal and more a way of working, writes Sir John Oldham.
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CommentChange plans grind to a halt in the North West
Change takes forever in the NHS. So long, sometimes, that by the time your plan is finally agreed it is out of date, or there are different people in charge and they want to develop a new plan.
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CommentSally Gainsbury: in theory, the reality could be even worse
Let us start, as we hacks are so fond of doing, with the bad news. The Department of Health’s first quarterly report for 2011-12 reveals primary care trusts are planning to take savings worth £3.1bn out of acute care this financial year alone.
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CommentTide turning on transparency in the South
The government’s drive for a more open public sector does not sit easily with its “foundation trust or bust” policy, which gives FTs more say over the information they publish and whether their boards meet in public.
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CommentWhy public health practice must be integrated into commissioning
Whatever form the new NHS commissioning landscape takes, public health practice needs to be an integral part of it. A discussion is needed as to how it fits in to the structure, write Julie Sin, Su Sethi and Alison Rylands.
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Comment'Social enterprise is a real alternative to the big, bland offer'
City Health Care Partnership CIC chief executive Andrew Burnell reports from the social enterprise’s first AGM how it is aiming to utilise its flexibility to deliver quality local services by making its offering bigger, and more sustainable.
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Comment'Healthcare without competition is financially unsustainable'
Despite increased competition raising fears, in some quarters, for the future of the NHS, now is not the time to play it safe - but to harness its power to do great things, says Sir Stephen Bubb.
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CommentMedia Watch: Labour's legacy looms large during conference season
In recent months the government has faced an onslaught in the media over the Health Bill, waiting times and privatisation in theNHS.
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CommentNoel Plumridge: checking up on the Nicholson challenge
Pressed on where the £20bn productivity gain that is now known as the “Nicholson challenge” will actually be found, the top of theDepartment of Health cites a ratio of 40:20:40.
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Comment'Healthcare history can help us transform elderly care today'
Looking back to the healthcare revolutions that helped transform practices in the past identifies the strength of ambition and passion that is needed to rescue modern day elderly care. But most importantly, it shows it is achievable, argues Mark Goldman.
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CommentEast Midlands holds final board meeting ahead of clustering
The papers brought to NHS East Midlands’ September meeting were littered with words like “transition” and “legacy”, reflecting the fact it was the board’s final get-together.
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CommentCircle-style deal for London specialist?
Most regions have a few smaller specialist trusts and London is no exception.
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CommentHow public and private sector partnerships could stimulate efficiency improvements
The slow uptake of technology is restricting much needed improvements in quality and efficiency. Creating partnerships between NHS organisations and private companies could speed things up, reports NHS graduate management trainee Maxine Miles.
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CommentMichael White: lacklustre Labour missing opportunity in Liverpool
Sometimes politicians clash with experts on real-life issues in ways that expose the weaknesses of both groups, especially the political class.
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Comment
What the realities of competition mean for organisations' sustainability
While the theory of competition in healthcare drives up quality, the pragmatics mean commissioners should keep a close eye on whether their services remain sustainable in the long term, warns NHS Tameside and Glossop chief executive Tim Riley.
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CommentIntegrated care needs the clinical-managerial marriage to work
Integrated care is the new Holy Grail but it won’t happen without some bold new relationships, says Mark Britnell.
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Comment'The NHS needs to avoid the wrong kind of integration'
Now that the government accepts that integrated care has a major role to play in the NHS, we must avoid the pitfalls that could prevent it delivering proper benefits to patients, argues King’s Fund chief executive Chris Ham.
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CommentReconfiguration plans grow in confidence in the South East
With reconfiguration no longer a dirty word following the approval of plans for Chase Farm Hospital, other trusts may be more confident in getting service changes through while a Whitehall wind is seemingly behind them.
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CommentSally Gainsbury: as if by magic... How the government conjured up a saving
The great news revealed in the recent NHS 2010-11 accounts is that commissioners spent significantly less on administration that year than was previously assumed.