All News articles – Page 1387
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DoH accepts 'double deficit' argument, but no decision yet
The government has said it accepts the case against the 'double deficit' accounting system for acute trusts - but has delayed a decision on whether to scrap it until the end of this financial year.
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RAB is on its last legs, but trusts must look to a future in surplus
Resource accounting and budgeting has no friends left and its days are numbered; we just do not know what that number is yet.
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NHS Scotland in surplus
Audit Scotland has its annual review of the NHS in Scotland. The report focuses on financial performance and says the Scottish health service managed to finish 2005-06 with a £70.6m surplus on its £9bn budget.This was an improvement on a deficit of £32m 12 months earlier. However, the audit body ...
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Lord Warner retires
Prime minister Tony Blair has announced the resignation of health minister Lord Warner, who has decided to retire.Mr Blair complimented Lord Warner on an 'outstanding' contribution to health service reform, while the minister described his three-and-a-half years at the Department of Health as 'busy and enjoyable'.The NHS Confederation said Lord ...
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NHS urged to use more everyday technologies
The Royal Society has urged the NHS not to overlook potential of everyday technologies such as mobile phones and personal digital devices in favour of large-scale IT projects.Its Digital Healthcarereport says the NHS has been slow to adopt such technologies, but will need to ...
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Local Government Bill includes legal duty to co-operate
The Department for Communities and Local Government has unveiled its Local Government Bill and emphasised that it places a legal duty on councils and service providers including primary care trusts to co-operate.The bill as a whole is intended to give local authorities a new role as 'place shapers' or leaders ...
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Bar humbug
Heart of England foundation trust has produced 50,000 beer mats to remind festive pub and party goers of the dangers of sexually transmitted infections.The mats will be displayed on tables in pubs and bars throughout Birmingham city centre, Sutton Coldfield and Solihull for the next four to six weeks.www.sexualhealthbirmingham.co.uk
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More long-waiters in audiology
The Department of Health has released its monthly update on diagnostic waiting times and hospital episodes statistics.The figures for October include a wider range of audiology tests than previously and have uncovered more long-waiters in this area.Read the press release here
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Confidence in medicines is high, says report
Research commissioned by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has found that 88 per cent of adults in Britain are confident about the safety of medicines.In seeking information about the risks and benefits of medicines, 61 per cent have approached their doctor and 41 per cent a local pharmacist.However, ...
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Damning Commons report on NHS deficits
MPs have accused the Department of Health of prioritising cuts in training for NHS staff because they are the easiest to make.In a damning report on NHS deficits, the Commons health select committee said that cuts in the education of health workers was having adverse effects on staff morale and ...
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Consultant physicians change the way they work
Consultant physicians have changed the way they work dramatically over the past five years for the benefit of seriously ill patients.The 2005 census of consultant physicians, carried out by the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians, shows substantial growth in acute medicine as a specialty and fundamental changes in the ...
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Extra training opportunities for doctors announced
More than 18,000 additional specialty training opportunities will be available in England in 2007 to accompany the introduction of the new specialty training structure under the Modernising Medical Careers initiative.The reform of specialist medical training is the next stage of the MMC initiative, designed to improve the quality and safety ...
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NICE publishes guidelines on obesity in adults and children
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has issued its first ever national guidelines addressing both the prevention and treatment of obesity in adults and children.It says diet changes and exercise, supported by behaviour change, should be the first-line treatment for adults who are overweight or obese, followed by ...
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High-impact changes for GUM services released
A guide to 10 High-impact Changes for Genitouninary Medicine 48-hour Accesshas been published. The measures include developing a separate pathway for low-risk patients, reviewing current access arranagments and reorganising clinic opening hours.Read the guide ...
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Guidance launched on HIV positive asylum seekers
The National Aids Trust has published guidance on the dispersal of HIV positive asylum seekers for healthcare and voluntary sector workers. The guidance states that asylum seekers should only be dispersed if they are medically stable, adequate notice about the move has been provided and ...
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Medicines agency reports progress on over-the-counter medicines
Good progress is being made on the better regulation of over-the-counter medicines initiatives, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has found. In its second report on the initiative, the agency found developments include rollout of a self-certification scheme for prescriptions-only medicine and a review ...
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Over 40 maternity units may be closed or downgraded, Conservatives claim
The Conservative Party has claimed it has identified 43 maternity units under threat of being downgraded or closed, of which 21 are midwife-led and 22 consultant-led. Of the 43, 26 of the maternity units are operated by providers which finished the 2005-06 financial year in ...
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Nicholson says £250m surplus should be delivered by 2008
NHS chief executive David Nicholson has said the NHS should achieve a net surplus of £250m by the end of 2007-08. Other priorities, set out in an operating framework for 2007-08, include 85 per cent of patients admitted for hospital treatment and 80 per cent ...
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Helping middle managers
One of the ills plaguing the NHS that seem to be overlooked by senior managers is middle managers that stay in one job, one position, same department for years. This includes ward sisters in acute hospitals, managers in community and primary care and those in primary care trusts.
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Peter Cardy on a new focus on lung cancer
'While there has been striking progress in some cancers, lung cancer research has languished. Perhaps because of the stigma attached to a disease widely seen as self-inflicted through tobacco use, and the accompanying nihilism, it has had low priority.'