External contributors – Page 208
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CommentMichael White: don't get mad, get on with it
By the time I reached Birmingham for the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference, the threatened drama about the fate of Andrew Lansley’s much-amended Health and Social Care Bill was all over bar the inevitable shouting.
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CommentMedia Watch: notes on a sandal
No single, major health story seemed to grab the attention of the national media at the start of this week – the papers instead mostly opted to write about nurses’ shoes and a missing filing cabinet.
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CommentSocially enterprising South West faces union resistance
Minutes from a recent NHS South West board meeting published last week reveal the extent of union disquiet at plans to transfer around half of the region’s community services to social enterprises.
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CommentMaking clinicians effective leaders: guidance from success in the US
Physician leadership has a long history in the US, and its success could have implications for the NHS to learn from when putting power into the hands of clinicians.
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CommentCan US models of care delivery inform how CCGs should work?
Thomas Cawston’s latest blog from the Fundació Josep Laporte European Health Policy Innovation Seminar in Harvard, MA, looks at two initiatives hoping to transform how healthcare is delivered in the US - which could have key lessons for CCGs in the NHS.
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Comment'We need to hear the whistles loud and clear'
Some simple steps would ensure that whistleblowers’ claims do not get ‘lost’ in the system and allow transparency to strengthen the mistrusted whistleblowing process, suggests Dr Phil Hammond.
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CommentMaking improvements in medical error: lessons from the aviation industry
Despite the constant advances in medical science, all health systems have struggled to ensure medical safety. On average 10 per cent of admissions involve medical injury. How can this ratio be dramtically cut down?
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CommentWhat can we learn from the US on healthcare cost sharing?
Thomas Cawston, senior researcher at the independent think tank Reform, is attending the Fundació Josep Laporte European Health Policy Innovation Seminar in Harvard, MA, United States and blogging from the event exclusively for HSJ.
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CommentTransparency is central to the new NHS, and foundation trusts should not be exempt
There are few things that most foundation trust governors vehemently agree on but holding open board meetings is one of them. Sharon Carr-Brown explains why.
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CommentNoel Plumridge: will the government help write trusts' shopping lists?
Two recent public accounts committee reports suggest the NHS may still have a thing or two to learn about shopping.
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CommentMedia Watch: trusts condemned over money spent on recruiting foreign staff
Hospital managers came under fire this week after the Sunday Telegraph revealed some trusts had spent thousands of pounds on trips to recruit foreign doctors and nurses while allegedly laying off their own staff.
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CommentMichael White: in reality, even a centralised model devolves power
Much fuss was made of Nadine Dorries’ bid to tighten abortion counselling procedures as the Health and Social Care Bill finally left the Commons.
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CommentWill Lansley be red-faced after rubber-stamped reconfiguration in London?
By the time you read this there may have been news on a most contentious reconfiguration in the capital – namely whether the health secretary has found a way to rubber-stamp the downgrading of Chase Farm without losing face (which he has, just about - ed.).
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CommentDalton's plate is piled high ahead of return to NHS North of England
Ian Dalton – who in title has been NHS North East chief executive since 2007 – has for some time spent much of his effort on national roles, having first been made national director for the response to swine flu more than two years ago.
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CommentGiving dementia the attention and support it needs - and deserves
A recent meeting on dementia suggested that although the condition is widely misunderstood, there’s no reason why progress similar to that made in cancer and HIV care cannot be made for dementia too. Richard Smith, director of the Ovations initiative to combat chronic disease, looks at what needs to be ...
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Comment'We need to build the proper foundations for clinically led commissioning'
Clinicians will only be able to bring real added value to the commissioning process if CCGs have the appropriate infrastructure to both support clinical leadership and provide the expertise to harness its potential, argues Ben Gowland.
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CommentDebate: is general practice pulling its weight in the efficiency challenge?
On 30 June, HSJ columnist Noel Plumridge suggested primary care should carry its share of the £20bn Nicholson challenge, alluding to the Nuffield Trust’s March recommendation that primary care “should become a key focus of the quality, innovation, productivity and prevention agenda”. Noel’s article led to this correspondence with Pat ...
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Comment'If the reforms go wrong, the potential risk to public health huge'
Andrew Lansley’s new vision for public health must overcome tough tests if it is to grow into a healthy being, says Alan Maryon-Davis.
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CommentMichael White: what's wrong with giving overseas providers a crack at managing NHS hospitals?
I was still on my late summer holiday during much of the renewed skirmishing which heralded the return of Parliament and the latest battles over the Health Bill.
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CommentSouth Central trusts reveal underlying cash problems
A collective report from the pleasingly named SHIP primary care trust cluster – Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth – gives a snapshot of the South Coast’s state of affairs.