NHS partners with Virgin to bag £440m contract
An alliance comprising private firm Virgin and local NHS providers has bagged a £440m contract for community services currently run by a social enterprise.
MP says hospital merger has ‘disadvantaged’ town
Colchester hospital has been chosen over Ipswich to host a new £44m elective orthopaedic centre, prompting East Suffolk politicians to allege their local provider has deteriorated since the two hospitals merged and urging a re-think.
Commissioners pull the plug on £240m contract
A commissioner and county council have pulled the plug on a £240m community services contract, meaning hundreds of staff face being transferred to another organisation mid-pandemic.
Distance not always factor in ambulance response times
There is significant variation in ambulance response times to patients with serious conditions such as suspected strokes or heart attacks, which is not fully explained by how rural an area is, an HSJ analysis has revealed.
Large trust’s financial slide puts £26m funding in jeopardy
One of East Anglia’s largest acute providers could miss out on £26m of funding after its finances deteriorated in the first quarter of 2019-20, the trust’s finance bosses have warned.
Major trust proposes ‘referral only’ emergency care service for walk-in patients
Walk-in patients will be unable to access emergency care at a major hospital trust without a referral from a colocated urgent treatment centre, its chief executive has told HSJ.
Revealed: The new CCG ratings
Sixty-three clinical commissioning groups have seen their overall performance ratings change over the past year, according to NHS England’s latest assessment framework.
Exclusive: NHS money at risk as firm winds up subsidiary and changes name
NHS hospitals, GP practices and commissioners could lose £4m after a firm providing NHS dermatology services was put into liquidation, according to documents obtained by HSJ.
Using networks to improve neurology services
Access to neurology advice from a national network of specialists helped reduce unnecessary referrals to East Suffolk and North Essex FT and potentially reduce waiting times. Claire Read reports
Private supplier drops NHS contract with just five days’ notice
A troubled private company has terminated a contract to provide dermatology services two months early and at very short notice, HSJ has learned.
Chair of challenged STP to stand down
The independent chair of the Mid and South Essex Sustainability and Transformation Partnership will stand down later this year.
Three trust mega-merger delayed by a year
The planned merger of three Essex hospital trusts has been pushed back a year, board papers published this month have revealed.
Early cancer diagnosis rates drop in several areas
The proportion of cancers being diagnosed at an early stage has dropped in several areas across England, according to recently released data.
Quarter of CCGs fall below psychosis spend benchmark
Nearly a quarter of clinical commissioning groups are spending less than the estimated sum needed to provide proper care to seriously ill mental health patients, according to a new analysis by HSJ.
Revealed: One in 10 CCGs flout key NHS spending pledge
One in 10 clinical commissioning groups have cut their mental health spending according to new figures from NHS England, more than double the previous year.
Hospital hit A&E target by 'making staff bothered', says CEO
Making staff “bothered” about the four hour metric and recognising it was a “quality standard not a performance target” was the main driver behind a struggling hospital’s accident and emergency performance recovery, a senior trust chief has told HSJ.
Success regime records huge delayed discharges cut
Mid and South Essex sustainability and transformation partnership, a success regime area which covers one of England’s most pressured health economies, cut its delayed discharges by two thirds in a year, its chair has revealed.
Concerns raised over stroke reconfiguration transfer plans
Senior clinicians and local campaigners have raised safety concerns over plans for a major reconfiguration of stroke services in Essex.
Three CCGs plan to consolidate across county boundary
Three clinical commissioning groups in Essex and Suffolk have set out plans to form a “single strategic commissioning body” across county boundaries as part of local plans to establish an integrated care system
Controversial ‘CareBnB’ firm returns to launch new trial
The company developing a controversial “Airbnb for social care” model allowing homeowners to rent spare rooms to recuperating hospital patients is bidding to launch a new trial in Cambridge.