All Government/DH policy articles – Page 158
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CommentIs this the end of the road for PCTs?
The winding down of PCTs must be handled with kid gloves if disruption to services - and loss of talent - is to be avoided
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CommentA nervous kind of NHS reorganisation
It’s only a reorganisation, right? Anyone who’s worked in the NHS for a few years has been through reorganisations before.
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NewsNational Childbirth Trust wants maternity providers to go it alone
Maternity networks should be provider organisations and employ their own staff, according to a charity working with the government on the proposals.
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NewsCommissioners must 'balance evidence and views' on reconfiguration
The health secretary’s four tests for major service change should be “embedded” into future planning.
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NewsReconfiguration moratorium lifted in three months
Most reconfigurations covered by the government’s moratorium could be ready to go ahead in three months time.
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NewsBroader healthcare role for councils unveiled
The Department of Health has unveiled its vision for councils’ role in making local health services democratically accountable by influencing commissioning.
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LeaderThere is no time to waste as GPs grasp the scale of the challenge
If primary care trust managers, GPs or indeed anyone else thought the consultation document on commissioning accompanying the white paper would answer most of their questions about the new policy, they have now been disabused.
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NewsUncertainty still dogs PCTs during transfer of power
Major uncertainties about the rapid transfer of commissioning from primary care trusts to fledgling GP consortia could lead to chaos, managers have warned.
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CommentMark Goldman on fatal mistakes in the NHS
We relive dramatic moments in the media on action replay. Something terrible happens; a missed penalty, a putt hanging on the edge of the hole or a tyre bursting on the final lap.
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CommentThe new healthcare revolution
Does the white paper outline a great leap forward or a just a step backwards?
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CommentMedia Watch: lazy and unproductive?
Many NHS staff won’t be getting a pay rise and fear for their jobs, but they are lazy and unproductive too, newspaper reports suggest.
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NewsNHS to continue funding homoeopathy
There are no plans to stop funding homeopathy on the NHS despite a critical report from MPs earlier this year, the government has said.
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NewsFreedom of Information access rules tightened
Organisations failing to respond to freedom of information requests may soon be forced to explain their inaction to Parliament.
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Health gap between rich and poor widest ever
The gap between the health of the rich and the poor is greater now than at any time since records began, research shows.
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NewsModel for managing consortia financial risk remains unclear
How GP consortia manage the financial risks associated with commissioning will be left to “evolve over time”, the government has said.
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NewsConsortia to 'challenge' GP practices on quality and productivity
The NHS commissioning board will be able to delegate its role of ensuring GP practices improve on quality of care and financial management to consortia themselves, the Department of Health has said.
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NewsDH asks if size limits should be set for GP consortia
The Department of Health will not be “unduly prescriptive” about the size of GP consortia, but has asked whether there should be a minimum or maximum population size set for the new bodies.
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CommentMark Britnell: PCTs can carve out a new role
Judging from the anxious reaction to the white paper this is not a time for the faint-hearted. It is time for bold leadership. For those who relish disruptive innovation, this is the time to seize the opportunities presented by discontinuity.
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NewsPCTs should ‘reinvent’ themselves, says Britnell
Primary care trusts should seek to reinvent themselves as social enterprises providing commissioning support to GP consortia, according to the architect of the world class commissioning programme.
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NewsConcerns over standard of specialist care
There are concerns over how specialised service commissioning will be controlled at regional level after strategic health authorities and primary care trusts are abolished.