News – Page 1212

  • News

    Over a million sign BMA polyclinic petition

    2008-06-12T11:04:00Z

    More than 1.1 million people have signed a British Medical Association petition calling on the government to halt the development of polyclinics.

  • News

    Emma Dent on Scottish drinking habits

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    I read the following recent story with interest: 'Recalculated figures from the 2003 Scottish Health Survey show 40 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women are binge drinking at least double the recommended daily intake on their heaviest drinking day.'

  • News

    Report proposes a single Welsh mental health body

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    Mental health services across Wales should be overseen by a single body to plan and deliver mental health provision, including hospital and community-based services and social services, says a report for ministers.

  • News

    GP incentives are not needed, 'inverse care' doctor tells MPs

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    The GP who developed the 'inverse care law' - which says those most in need of healthcare are least likely to receive it - has told MPs he objects to giving family doctors financial incentives to do their job.

  • News

    DH warns Treasury of chaos after accountancy rule changes

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    Department of Health officials warned the Treasury that accountancy rule changes affecting the private finance initiative would ‘throw the NHS system into chaos’.

  • News

    Unison and RCN pay vote allays strikes threat

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    Fears of widespread strikes among NHS staff were allayed after the two biggest health service unions voted to accept a three-year pay deal.

  • News

    Failed, fired but not yet fixed: the new realities

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    Shape up or we'll find someone else to do your job - that's the new, tough message from the Department of Health. But how attractive will the 'someone else' role prove to be, asks Charlotte Santry

  • News

    Acquisitions need to be more attractive says takeover chief

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    The chief executive of England's only foundation trust to take over a failing hospital has urged the government to make acquisitions more attractive.In an exclusive article for HSJ, Heart of England foundation trust chief executive Mark Goldman warns ministers not to rely on 'heroism'. His comments follow plans to replace ...

  • News

    Trust financial forecasts prove wide of mark

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    Scores of NHS organisations reported end-of-year financial surpluses that were at least 25 per cent wide of their initial forecasts.

  • News

    Senior doctors back plans for 360-degree patient appraisals

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    Senior doctors' leaders are backing plans to allow patients to rate consultants' personalities as part of '360-degree appraisals'.

  • News

    Nick Clegg pledges GP rewards in poorer areas

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has said he wants to 'slant the playing field in favour of GPs working in the most deprived areas'.

  • News

    UK health services differ widely

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    An analysis of differences between the UK's four health services has revealed wide variations in costs and waiting times.

  • News

    Labour's NHS vision let down by reforms

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    New Labour's reforms have failed to deliver its vision to transform the health service, a major report has concluded.The joint Audit Commission and Healthcare Commission report finds the overhaul of the health service under the 2000 NHS Plan has, in many areas, fallen well short of expectations.

  • News

    Workforce contracts under fire

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    NHS workforce contracts represent a 'missed opportunity' for change, today's joint report from the Healthcare Commission and Audit Commission concludes.

  • News

    Adult care threat

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    Congratulations on your leader responding to Sally Gainsbury's report on councils' potential loss of £7bn social care funds to the Department for Work and Pensions.

  • News

    Assessment for venous thromboembolism

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    Regarding the HSJ investigation into levels of risk assessment for venous thromboembolism being undertaken for hospital inpatients, the all-party parliamentary thrombosis group was disheartened to hear that more than half of hospital trusts are failing to follow best practice guidelines that all patients receive this risk assessment on admission.

  • News

    Prostate cancer protest

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    We wholeheartedly welcome Adrian Masters' assertion that quality has to bind the Darzi recipe for reform through better and effective commissioning, but we are disappointed the director of strategy at Monitor should make misguided comments on survival rates of prostate cancer in the UK as compared with those in the ...

  • News

    Board diversity

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    I read with great interest the article by Nicola Bullen about diversity on NHS boards. Even after 60 years of the NHS, it is still run by middle-aged, middle-class white people, albeit with a few more women. So what is the reason behind this lack of progress, despite the recent ...

  • News

    Better on pain management

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    In HSJ's Chronic Pain Management supplement, Shropshire GP Louise Warburton said the wait to see a pain management team in her area was six months.

  • News

    Safety records

    2008-06-12T09:00:00Z

    Regarding 'Those in Peril', I am pleased you report that 'enabling patients to check the accuracy of their own medical records... increases patient safety'.