Latest news – Page 1914
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Half of emergency units could be axed, say Conservatives
Almost half of all NHS hospital accident and emergency units could be shut if reforms are implemented, the Conservative party has claimed. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said 92 departments out of 204 could be closed down or downgraded if trusts follow official guidance that A&E units should in future ...
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Nearly all A&E units meet four-hour wait
A&E services are delivering the fastest ever access to treatment, according to the latest Department of Health figures. In the year up to March 2007, 98.2 per cent of the 18.9 million people who attended A&E departments were seen, diagnosed and treated within four hours.Read the full report here
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Decision on directly enhanced services ends uncertainty
NHS Employers and the BMA's GPs committee have agreed that the 2006-07 directly enhanced services for access, and choice and booking will be rolled over into the current financial year. The move ends months of uncertainty where some Primary care Trusts have introduced locally enhanced services as interim measures.
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Millions could be saved on prescribing costs
The NHS could save up to £200m if all doctors made cheaper prescribing decisions, according to a National Audit Office report.Prescribing costs in Primary Care identified that there is scope for most PCTs to increase efficiency without affecting clinical outcomes by using more low-cost drugs. It also found there were ...
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Radical thinking needed in diabetic care, says czar
Diabetes czar Dr Sue Roberts believes those working with and affected by diabetes need to think radically about new approaches to care and NHS services. Her report on the state of diabetes care in England gives an overview including prevalence, costs, commissioning and care planning.To see the report click here
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Review of fertilisation rules launched
A review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 has been launched in response to scientific developments and changing public opinion. The law governs assisted reproduction and embryology.To see a draft of the revised law click here
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Joined-up thinking needed in children's palliative care
Palliative care services for children and young people in England and Wales have developed in an ad hoc way and are poor in some parts of the country, a review for the Department of Health has found. It says there is a lack of understanding of children's palliative care and ...
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Staff organisations suspend membership of Mental Health Alliance
Five organisations have suspended their membership of the Mental Health Alliance so as to form their own coalition to support mental health modernisation. Amicus, the British Association of Occupational Therapists, British Psychological Society, Royal College of Nursing and Unison said they took the move reluctantly but wanted to show support ...
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Trauma and orthopaedics result in most outpatient appointments
Nearly 15 million people attended a first outpatients appointment in 2005-06, of whom 8.7 million were referred by a GP, according to figures released by The Information Centre for health and social care. Fourteen per cent of outpatient activity resulted from trauma and orthopaedics. More than three-quarters of the first ...
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Mental health services adversely affected by targets
Mental health services have been adversely affected by pressure on other parts of the health economy from measures such as the 18-week target and a push to make financial balance, a poll of mental health chief executives has found. The poll was due to be published later today at the ...
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Senior appointments: Mascie-Taylor tipped to land new NHS medical director role
Leeds Teaching Hospitals trust medical director and former acting chief executive Hugo Mascie-Taylor tops the shortlist for the new NHS medical director, HSJ understands.
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'NHS family' accused of stifling entrepreneurialism
Established NHS organisations are stifling entrepreneurialism by engaging in 'obstructive, disruptive and protectionist behaviours', the NHS Alliance has warned.
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DoH scales down 'unfair' junior doctor selection system
The controversial selection system for trainee hospital consultants has been drastically scaled down amid mounting anger from junior doctors.
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Minister confident delayed ISTC report will restore public confidence, despite poor data
The publication of the Healthcare Commission’s report into the quality of care provided by independent sector treatment centres has been delayed until next month.
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Purchasing guidance could follow all NICE decisions
Commissioning guides could be produced for every decision made by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, its chair has said.
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Dental contracts still in dispute
Dental contracts representing 4 million units of dental activity have still not been resolved, more than a year after being signed, year-end figures from the Department of Health show.
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New management teams tackle commissioning
Six management teams have been appointed to manage the North East's 12 primary care trusts after fears that last year's mergers did not go far enough to encourage strong commissioning.
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Referral management schemes must operate as a partnership
Referral management schemes run by primary care trusts must develop in partnership with practice-based commissioners, according to national clinical director for primary care David Colin-Thome.
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Have trusts turned the corner, or just papered over the cracks?
As a raft of swiftly implemented cost-cutting measures hits home, panic over NHS finances has largely subsided. Alison Moore looks at the implications of breaking even
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NHS Alliance chair says GPs 'enthusiastic' about PBC
Claims that GP practices are not capable of practice-based commissioning or are not interested in taking it up should not be believed, NHS Alliance chair Dr Michael Dixon has said. Speaking as a report on PBC was published by the Alliance and health think tank the King's Fund he said ...