Latest news – Page 1826

  • News

    New public involvement forums raise chorus of doubts

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    Local involvement networks are due to go live in April but not all will be ready. Critics point to a rushed transition and a glaring lack of detail about how they will work. By Daloni Carlisle

  • News

    Web sees fall in calls to NHS Direct

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    NHS Direct has experienced a significant and consistent drop in calls to its national 0845 number since 2006, HSJ can reveal.

  • News

    DH under fire over clinical trials

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has accused the Department of Health of inconsistency after it argued both for and against compelling drug companies to provide more information about clinical trials in a single day.

  • News

    PCTs may be subject to people power

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    Primary care trusts and other healthcare providers could face increased pressure to respond to local people's concerns under a new 'community empowerment' white paper.

  • News

    Treasury puts off plan to move PFI schemes on balance sheet

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    The Treasury has given the NHS a year's stay of execution over changes to accountancy rules with major implications for private finance initiative schemes. The move to international financial reporting standards was due to be implemented across the public sector from this April.

  • News

    New patient safety head pleads for display of passion

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    The newly appointed director of the national Patient Safety Campaign has said it is crucial that the drive is embraced by managers.

  • News

    Patients demand 'creativity' in dental commissioning

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    Primary care trusts successful at commissioning dental services should be able to take over from those that are failing, says the Patients Association.

  • News

    Lib Dems plan PCT tax-raising power

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    The Liberal Democrats would turn primary care trusts into elected bodies that would eventually enjoy tax-raising powers, the party decided at its spring conference in Liverpool.

  • News

    FESC is thrown open without Treasury probe

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    The Department of Health has extended its commissioning support programme without carrying out an expected value-for-money assessment of the scheme, HSJ has learned.Health secretary Alan Johnson announced last week that the framework for procuring external support for commissioners, FESC, is now open to all primary care trusts to buy in ...

  • News

    IT programme saved £208m

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    The national programme for IT saved the NHS £208m in 2006-07, a report on the benefits of the programme is expected to say.

  • News

    Noel Plumridge on Darling's discipline

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    Yesterday's Budget announcement held few surprises for the NHS. As expected. Nowadays, the important public finance figures are published in the autumn, and it would have been disappointing indeed if chancellor Alistair Darling had revisited the NHS assumptions in last October's spending review.

  • News

    PCTs pressured to lose provider arm

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    Strategic health authorities are forcing primary care trusts to divest themselves of their provider functions, PCT chiefs have claimed.

  • News

    Central control 'hits reform'

    2008-03-13T09:00:00Z

    Market-based reform in the NHS is being crushed by central direction. The answer is to put money in the hands of patients and to empower clinicians, says a new report.

  • News

    NHS celebrates no smoking day

    2008-03-12T11:43:00Z

    NHS trusts across the country are staging events and offering advice and support to help people quit smoking on national No Smoking Day today.

  • News

    Warning over cuts to healthcare education budgets

    2008-03-12T11:39:00Z

    Cuts in healthcare education budgets in the NHS will have a 'devastating effect' on the UK's ability to train the next generation of health professionals, health educators have warned.

  • News

    New training website for Northern Ireland doctors and dentists

    2008-03-12T11:14:00Z

    Healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland can update their skills online following the launch of a training website.

  • News

    Government in court over GP pensions

    2008-03-12T11:11:00Z

    The government's decision to cap GPs' pensions was due to be scrutinised in the High Court today.

  • News

    NHS is 'sick man of Europe', claims report

    2008-03-12T11:09:00Z

    The NHS is 'the sick man of Europe' and should learn from other countries, according to a new report published by think tank Civitas.It claims NHS performance has 'flailed badly over the past 10 years' and highlights the Dutch healthcare system as a model to follow.

  • News

    Health bodies lack disaster plans, report reveals

    2008-03-11T11:22:00Z

    A report published by the Chartered Management Institute and Cabinet Office has found that organisations across the health sector are failing to put adequate plans in place in case of disasters such as extreme weather.The survey found that only 39 per cent of health sector organisations have a business continuity ...

  • News

    NHS surplus should be spent on GP services, says Alliance

    2008-03-11T11:17:00Z

    The NHS Alliance is calling on the NHS to use this year's surplus to ensure extended GP opening hours offer real benefits to patients.