Three new non-executive directors join NHS England from 1 July, plus the rest of the day’s news and comment
5.07pm The announcement of NHS England’s new non-executive directors has been greeted with scepticism by some.
Roger Kline, director of Patients First, tweets - “Was it really impossible for NHS England to find a patient expert who was BME and/or a women for the Board. How good wd that have been?”
4.55pm NHS England has appointed three new non-executive directors.
Prof Sir John Burn, Noel Gordon and David Roberts will join the organisation from 1 July 2014, for a period of four years. They join the existing group of six non-executive directors.
Sir Malcolm said: “I am delighted that it has been possible to make three such high-calibre appointments. Our new non-executive directors bring additional strengths to the Board, enhancing our scientific and clinical capacity and also our commitment to innovation in transforming NHS services through commissioning to the benefit of patients.”
Prof Sir John Burn is a senior clinical geneticist and academic, based in Newcastle. He holds the NHS Endowed Chair in Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University, and conceived and helped to bring to fruition the Millennium Landmark Centre for Life in Newcastle. He is an academic, clinician, and clinical entrepreneur.
Noel Gordon’s background is in consultancy, most recently with Accenture, where he was global managing director of the Banking Industry practice. He has experience of big data, analytics and digital technologies.
David Roberts has recently been appointed as the next chairman of Nationwide Building Society, after four years as deputy chairman of Lloyds Banking Group plc. He has had banking experience in leadership, governance, financial management, operations, technology and culture change, and of leading large-scale change in heavily regulated environments, including digitisation across the banking industry.
4.40pm There is scepticism from some readers over the procurement champion announcement:
“Lord Carter’s achievements in his business career and on the Olympic committee are immense. Whilst his review of pathology was comprehensive and cogent, little happened as a result - why will this be different. One high profile champion can’t fix endemic problems of staff who don’t really care about how tax payer money is spent.”
“Another waste of money - why don’t we say no trust may have a non-pay spend more that x% of turn-over and leave them to it?”
Commenting on ABPI’s consultation response, Paul Catchpole, value and access director at the ABPI, said: “Whilst the proposals set out in the consultation document provide a starting point, we are still far from the finish line. VBA is an opportunity for NICE to support the stated goals of improved adoption and diffusion of innovative medicines in the NHS, and ensure that NHS patients are amongst the first in the world to benefit from advances in medicine. If we are going to achieve more for patients, then a more radical reform of NICE methods and processes will be needed than is currently proposed in this consultation. We would like to see NICE approve more new innovative medicines in the context of the PPRS agreement to maximise benefits for patients and commissioners. A new mandate from government may be needed to achieve this. We do not want to see a situation where fewer new innovative medicines are being approved for NHS patients.”
3.40pm In wake of the recent Court of Appeal ruling on do not resuscitate orders the Medical Protection Society has received a number of enquiries from members seeking clarification on the implications.
Dr Pallavi Bradshaw, medicolegal adviser at the Medical Protection Society said: “The legal and professional obligations on doctors remain unchanged except in emphasis. It has always been good practice to discuss issues of resuscitation with patients. Ideally, discussions should happen proactively at the time of admission and healthcare professionals should not fear having such conversations.
“In emergency or unforeseen situations doctors can still rely on the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act in considering the best interests of incapacitated patients, and where possible this should include discussions with the family.
“The ruling confirms the principle of patient autonomy and the need for open and frank discussions about end of life issues. It does, however, make it clear that there is a presumption of patient involvement and that there would need to be convincing reasons not to do so, even where the clinical view is that CPR would be futile.”
Ms O’Callaghan is currently chief executive of Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust and previously held the same role at Bedford Hospital Trust.
Originally from New Zealand, Ms O’Callaghan has also held the chief executive role at one of the country’s regional health bodies, the Canterbury District Health Board.
She will be taking up her new role in August, according to a trust spokeswoman.
2.41pm The Royal College of GPs, British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin and British International Doctors Association have announced that they will be working “in close collaboration” to address supporting international medical graduates and Black and Minority Ethnic doctors in relation to training and passing the MRCGP.
This move follows the Judicial Review hearing at the High Court in April in which the Clinical Skills Assessment was found not to discriminate against BME and international candidates on account of their race.
The three organisations have pledged to work together to determine what support could be offered to identify struggling trainees at an early stage and improve their training experiences in order to better prepare them for the MRCGP and for safe independent practice. The RCGP shared some of their specific plans to support trainees and trainers such as developing e-learning resources for Clinical Skills Assessment preparation (based on sociolinguistic research) and reviewing ways to enhance CSA feedback to candidates.
RCGP Chair Dr Maureen Baker said: “We are very pleased to now be working in partnership with BAPIO, BIDA and other key stakeholders to look at solutions and find the best way of supporting the small number of trainees who fail the CSA component of the MRCGP licensing exam to give them every chance of passing.”
2.21pm The Picker Institute Europe, a health and social care organisation promoting patients’ views, has appointed Professor Edmund Neugebauer as a trustee and director of the company.
Professor Neugebauer has experience in the field of scientific research for medical development.
He was the chair of surgical research and director of the Institute for Research in Operative Medicine among other positions.
Of his appointment Professor Neugebauer said: “Regardless of where you live patients are the heart of a healthcare service - without them there would literally be nobody to serve. Therefore it stands to reason that a health and social care service should be built around and service the needs of patients - not the other way around. Picker Institute Europe understand this need and are gradually creating a blueprint for what a patient-led health service looks like in reality and I am thrilled to be a part of such a trailblazing, influential organisation. I look forward to working together to improve the quality of care available for all patients.”
Professor Neugebauer takes up his post with immediate effect.
2.05pm Monitor has published its annual plan for 2014-15, which sets out its priorities for this year.
North Staffordshire CCG announced earlier this month that it was reviewing whether to continue providing free hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate age related hearing loss.
The CCG said it was seeking feedback on the proposal. Its “prioritisation process”, in which it weighed up evidence of the clinical value of the service, had recommended that it be decommissioned. The service currently costs £1.2m a year.
12.15pm Some of the NHS’s previous senior managers were “appalling role models”, leaving the new NHS England chief executive with an “almighty mess to clear up”, but we can be optimistic about the future, says Kieran Walshe, professor of health policy and management at Manchester Business School.
11.49am The Department of Health has appointed Labour peer Lord Carter as the NHS’s “procurement champion” to help the service save up to £2bn on its budget, HSJ has learned.
The DH expects to hit the ambitious target of between £1.5bn and £2bn by 2015-16 through savings on the NHS non-pay expenditure bill.
Lord Carter - made a life peer in 2004 - has worked with the NHS before, having chaired a review of NHS pathology services, and also serving as president of electronic patient records system provider McKesson’s International Operations Group.
11.31am A recent Supreme Court ruling provides an acid test for defining what constitutes a deprivation of liberty, with far reaching consequences for health and social care, says Rebecca Fitzpatrick, head of the health and social care team at Hill Dickinson LLP.
11.20am In a letter to The Times, the heads of six cancer charities have said that cancer patients should be able to access the drugs their doctors recommend.
The letter states: “Today is the deadline for making comments on proposals by Nice (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) for translating this commitment into reality.
“However, far from improving matters we believe that the current NICE proposals could further reduce access over time.”
NICE has missed an opportunity to “develop an approach that recognises the real experience of patients, who have often unforeseen benefits from new medicines”, the letter continues.
11.16am The Times reports that David Cameron has urged investments to help fund new dementia treatments.
The prime minister said they should be paid by governments if the treatments are successful.
10.45am This week’s magazine is available to read on the tablet app.
To find the latest issue, simply navigate to “This week’s issue” on the app, or tap on the cover image on the homepage.
Sheffield City Council and Sheffield CCG are also developing a single large contract for intermediate care in the city, which is currently dispersed between several services and providers.
The joint plans for next year include pooling £278m; £187m from the CCG and £91m from the council.
9.54am The Daily Mail reports that drinking, smoking, obesity and holidays in the sun are fuelling a sharp rise in cancers.
Liver cancer has shown the biggest increase since 2003, 66 per cent, while skin cancer increased by 61 per cent.Cancers of the mouth rose by 48 per cent, womb cancer by 31 per cent and kidney cancer by 46 per cent.
SWFT Clinical Services, a subsidiary of South Warwickshire Foundation Trust, will take over the clinic in Stratford-upon-Avon next month.
The clinic, previously known as Circle Clinic Stratford, is attached to a local GP practice.
This will retain ownership of the facility, which provides outpatient services including diagnostics and day surgery to private patients.
7.00am Welcome to HSJ Live. Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust has become the second trust to leave the special measures regime. The trust was one of 11 put into special measures last summer following inspections by NHS England medical director Sir Bruce Keogh of trusts with unusually high mortality rates.
The NHS Trust Development Authority removed it from special measures following a recommendation from the Care Quality Commission’s chief inspector of hospitals, Sir Mike Richards.
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