• New figures: Big rise in NHS operations carried out privately
  • Service fragmentation to blame for rising hospital admissions
  • Commons debate on regional pay

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HSJ live logo

3.58pm: NHS Cumbria chair Hugh Reeve has posted a comment on our story about the variation in GP income. His comments include the discovery that “on the whole our areas with the highest levels of deprivation and poorest health indices have the lowest levels of primary care investment, while the ‘healthiest’ areas have the highest levels of investment”.

“As a CCG looking to address health inequalities the fact the levels of investment in primary care are tied up in a national contract, which is very inflexible, means we have to look at innovative ways of getting additional resources into primary care in depreived areas and then risk accusations of self interest.”

12.51pm HSJ has now published a piece on the Information Centre’s data about private hospital treatments

11.10am: Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham MP has tweeted Labour will be calling a vote in the House of Commons next week on defending national pay in the NHS and over-ruling the South West Cartel. He has launched a Twitter hashtag urging people to ask their MP to #vote4nationalpay.

10.13am: Policy Exchange has published a report covering the benefits of integrated care, and barriers to achieving it: All Together Now: Competitive integration in the NHS

9.58am: The NHS Information Centre has published analysis of hospital episode statistics for 2011-12. They show the number of hospital procedures paid for by the NHS but carried out by the private sector increased by nearly 11 per cent to 2011-12, the Information Centre said. This private activity accounted for 4.3 per cent of all NHS elective admissions with a procedure; compared to 4 per cent in 2010-11.

9.46am: We have also published an HSJ Briefing about the future of general practice and policy on general practice.A summary version is also available for free.

9.35am: HSJ has revealed the huge variation in the income of GP practices. Analysis shows total income varying from around £65-£320 per head of needs-adjusted population. An analysis of the link to quality measures including use of emergency hospital beds for patients with long term conditions; and experience of accessing practices; showed no clear improvement for practices which earn more.

9.22am: There has been further commentary and coverage of HSJ’s revelation of the sum returned to Treasury by the Department of Health.