Latest news – Page 1949

  • News

    Exclusive: Memo says NHS will not meet MRSA target next year - or possibly ever

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    The NHS is not on track to hit the April 2008 MRSA target - and the government's own experts believe the goal of halving the incidence of infection from its 2004 rate may never be achieved.

  • News

    C. difficile 'endemic in health service'

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    The infection Clostridium difficile is now 'endemic throughout the health service, with virtually all trusts reporting cases', a leaked Department of Health memo has warned.

  • News

    DoH considered fines for MRSA failures

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health considered imposing financial penalties on trusts which fail to meet MRSA targets, the leaked memo reveals.

  • News

    Government to 'galvanise action' on MRSA

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health has vowed to 'galvanise action' to ensure the NHS can meet its 2008 MRSA target.

  • News

    Exclusive: Minister calls for in-house cleaners

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    Health minister Andy Burnham is to urge the prime minister to encourage trusts to bring cleaning services back in-house.

  • News

    PM's delivery unit to report on MRSA

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    The prime minister's delivery unit is due to report this month on what more could be done to deliver the 2008 MRSA target.

  • News

    Tories claim government has lost faith in SHAs' control of the workforce

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    The shadow health secretary has accused the government of losing confidence in the ability of strategic health authorities to manage workforce planning.

  • News

    Clinical governance at old PCTs was patchy, finds National Audit Office

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    Almost all the old primary care trusts had put in place clinical governance structures and processes but fewer had actually made sure they were working, a report from the National Audit Office says today.

  • News

    GP contract talks collapse over pay

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    Talks about next year's GP contract have broken down. The British Medical Association said on Tuesday that the offer made by NHS Employers was 'not sufficient' and called on the doctors and dentists review body to recommend an across-the-board uplift for GPs under next year's contract.

  • News

    Non-executives 'hurt and devalued' by appointments process

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    A large number of chairs and non-executive directors have left the NHS feeling 'bruised, hurt and devalued', a report from the NHS Alliance reveals.

  • News

    London PCTs fear provider role is being overlooked

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    Directors of London primary care trusts lack confidence in the future development of and investment in community health services, according to a survey.

  • News

    Proper workforce planning needed, says BMA chair

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    British Medical Association chair James Johnson has called on the government to reinstate proper workforce planning - or risk wasting millions of pounds of public money.Speaking at the BMA's 'State of the NHS' briefing, Mr Johnson said: 'In 2008 the year-on-year significant rise in additional NHS resources will fall back ...

  • News

    War on fraud saves £800m

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health says that an extra £811m has been saved by tackling fraud in the NHS over the last seven years.The NHS Counter Fraud Service performance statistics for 1999-2006 show that fraud committed by patients has fallen by 55 per cent from £171m in 1998 to £76m in ...

  • News

    Safety changes 'neglected by GPs'

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    Reforms to improve the quality and safety of NHS care are not hitting home in GP surgeries, says a report from the National Audit Office.It says many GPs have not implemented 'clinical governance' systems found elsewhere in the health service.While the report found that primary care trusts had made substantial ...

  • News

    Pay and workforce reforms

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    I read with great interest your coverage of the leaked DH report on the pay and workforce strategy for 2007.

  • News

    HSJ exclusive: NHS will not hit MRSA target next year

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    Unison head of health Karen Jennings has criticised the Department of Health for hiding the full extent of the progress being made by the NHS in tackling MRSA, after government documents revealed in HSJ today ( www.hsj.co.uk) show that next year's MRSA target will not ...

  • News

    Two years after deadline, over half of crisis teams not ready

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    Fewer than half of England's crisis resolution teams are fully set up, according to a leaked Department of Health report.

  • News

    News Analysis: Is it new hope for 'No Hope' as cliffhanger reaches final reel?

    2007-01-11T00:00:00Z

    Birmingham's Good Hope Hospital trust might at last put its troubles behind it if its acquisition by a neighbouring foundation trust goes ahead. Helen Mooney chronicles the hurdles that have stood in the way and asks if the move is likely to be replicated

  • News

    Poultry workers to be protected against flu

    2007-01-10T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health is offering flu vaccination this winter to those who work in close contact with poultry.The DoH insisted that the move is a precautionary public health measure and does not mean that workers are at any higher risk of getting flu this winter than usual.It added: 'Nor ...

  • News

    DoH launches comprehensive IT plan

    2007-01-10T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health has launched a comprehensive information management and technology plan. The document provides detailed supplementary guidance for NHS organisations to use when preparing IM&T plans ahead of the deadline of the end of March 2007.The NHS operating framework for 2007-08 identified the need for sustained focus on ...