HSJ Live 12.09.2014: HSJ Awards 2014 shortlist revealed

4.44pm More needs to be done to ensure people who suffer from asbestos-related cancer are seen by specialist doctors, a new report has suggested.

The audit of mesothelioma cases highlighted variations in care across England and Wales.

Mesothelioma, a cancer involving the outer membrane of the lung, is a relatively rare cancer which is mostly found in older men who worked in jobs which may have led them to be exposed to asbestos such as plumbing, electrical-installation, ship-building and railway-engineering.

4.11pm Accident and emergency department performance has deteriorated in recent weeks while planned activity failed to increase in July, according to new data.

The latest figures published by NHS England show the target to see, treat, admit or discharge 95 per cent of patients within four hours was not hit in the week ending 7 September.

3.32pm Health consultancy the Good Governance Institute has announced that David Cockayne is joining the company as managing director.

Previously Mr Cockayne has held roles including director of strategy for NHS North Yorkshire and York, director of business development for Humana Europe, and private secretary to two NHS chief executives. 

3.19pm The Commons health committee has launching its latest inquiry into expenditure issues in the health and care system. Committee chair Sarah Wollaston MP said:

“Following years of minimal growth in health budgets and cuts to those in social care, services are under great strain at a time of unprecedented and escalating demand. This year, the health committee intends to widen its annual public expenditure inquiry, not only to set out the extent of the financial challenge but also to respond to wider public questions about the NHS and social care. Has the NHS been sold off and if so by and to whom? Has it remained true to the underlying and legally binding principle that the NHS is free at the point of use, based on need and not ability to pay?

“We will be looking at the evidence around the history and extent of private, voluntary sector and social enterprise involvement in the NHS and social care alongside the evidence for their quality and patient experience. We will examine the wider effects of competition, including the potential impact of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. We will try to set out the history and extent of management and PFI costs to the NHS as well as the income from treating private patients.

“We aim to examine how the financial cake is divided across the NHS and social care as well as how the drivers within the system affect the delivery of care. We will also examine the future funding options for health and social care including international comparisons and the consequences of continuing the current financial squeeze on services for the people who depend on them.”

2.26pm Nominations are now being taken for the inauguralCompassion in Practice Awards and NHS Employers is seeking examples of excellence in compassionate working. Until the deadline of 5pm 25 September staff and organisations within the NHS or delivering NHS funded services can nominate themselves, their team, department or organisation.

Nominations can be entered here.

2.21pm The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and the Department of Health have today announced the second quarter payment of £76m by industry to underwrite the growth of the medicines bill under the 2014 pharmaceutical price regulation scheme.

Under the new five year voluntary PPRS, the pharmaceutical industry has agreed to help keep NHS expenditure on branded medicines in the scheme flat for two years and within agreed controlled growth levels for a further three years. The industry will underwrite any further expenditure by the NHS with agreed exclusions.

2.15pm Royal College of Psychiatrists’ president Sir Simon Wessely has called for a commitment from all parties to take action to ensure that themillions of people who do, and will experience mental health problems are given timely, appropriate care.

Professor Wessely said: “While we welcome the fact that all three political parties are talking about mental health, and that it has never had a bigger profile, what we now need to see is good words translated into good deeds.”

His call came as the Royal College of Psychiatrists launched a manifesto that wants the next government to ensure mental and physical health are given equal value.

1.42pm The shortlist has been announced for the 2014 HSJ Awards.

The shortlisted organisations and individuals were chosen from a record number of entries. Organisations will now make presentations to judging panels made up of 78 influential figures from the healthcare sector.

There were 1,305 entries by 513 organisations, 204 of which have made the shortlist.

Find out who has been shortlisted here.

1.03pm The needs of dying people and their families are being “ignored” by many local health bodies, two charities have warned.

Just over four in 10 health and wellbeing boards in England have prioritised the needs of people nearing the end of their lives, according to Help the Hospices and the National Council for Palliative Care.

The bodies reviewed strategy documents of the 152 health and wellbeing boards in England to assess whether they considered the needs of people approaching the end of life.

They found that 24 per cent did not make any reference at all to people approaching the end of life or their care needs in their strategies.

1.01pm A West Midlands provider has become the first mental health trust to receive a published rating from the Care Quality Commission under its new inspection regime.

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust was rated “good” by the regulator.

12.00pm Commissioners have raised concerns that an imminently expected merger between Ealing Hospitals Trust and North West London Hospitals Trust will not produce an organisation financially strong enough to attain foundation status.

The three local clinical commissioning groups, Ealing, Brent and Harrow, also asked for assurance that they would not be asked to financially support the merged trust if its bottom line did not improve. The trusts are due to merge in October.

11.26am The Guardian reports that a hospital nurse found hanged after being duped in a prank call by two Australian radio DJs pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles described her distress in two emails sent to colleagues shortly before her death, an inquest heard yesterday.

Jacintha Saldanha, 46, a night sister at the King Edward VII hospital London, where the Duchess of Cambridge was admitted for acute morning sickness, believed she should take the blame for transferring the hoax call to a colleague treating the duchess.

11.24am The Daily Telegraph reports that the NHS in Scotland will face spending cuts if the country votes for independence in next week’s referendum, leading economists have suggested.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned in a report that a Yes vote would make it “harder rather than easier to protect the NHS”.

10.23am Browsing through this morning’s papers, competing claims over the NHS in the Scottish independence referendum feature heavily.

Gordon Brown has suggested he may return to frontline politics in the Scotland over the issue of the NHS, The Times reports.

The former prime minister’s has repeatedly refuted claims that Scotland’s health service would be at risk of privatisation and fragmentation if continued to remain in the UK, ahead of a referendum on independence next week.

10.05am Danny Mortimer has been appointed as the new chief executive of NHS Employers, succeeding Dean Royles who left earlier this month.

He joins NHS Employers from his current role as director of workforce and strategy at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, where he has worked since 2007.

He will take up the post of NHS Employers chief executive later this year.

NHS Confederation chief executive Rob Webster said: “Danny was an outstanding candidate, even among the excellent field we were fortunate to appoint from. His many years’ frontline experience in health service human resources is matched by his proficiency in tackling the key priority workforce issues currently facing the service. As an existing member of the NHS Employers Policy Board, Danny is uniquely placed to bring fresh ideas and energy, while maintaining continuity and momentum. It’s an exciting time for the health service and NHS Employers is a key element in ensuring its success going forward.”

Mr Mortimer said: “I’ve been proud and privileged to be part of the board at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. It is a superb organisation, in a superb community, and I have been fortunate to work with terrific colleagues inside and outside the trust.

“I’ve always been impressed by the talent and commitment of the NHS Employers team, so I am truly delighted to join them as chief executive, and look forward to continuing to deliver on the ambitious agenda that is essential to progress for the health service, the people it employs, and those it serves.”

9.58am This week’s issue of HSJ magazine is now available to read on our tablet app.

In this week’s issue a huge, previously unreported waiting list is revealed at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust.

You can find out more about what else is in the issue here.

7.00am Good morning. Yesterday the latest waiting list data was published. Rob Findlay finds that instead of a drive to clear patient backlogs, waiting times got worse.