News – Page 1979
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Conservatives call for free hospital parking for vulnerable people
Hospital car parking should be free for the most critically ill patients, say the London Assembly Conservatives responding to the latest Department of Health guidelines.Elizabeth Howlett, Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth and deputy chair of the assembly health and public services committee said:'We are calling on the government to ...
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Call for National IT programme revamp
The British Computer Society has called for a major re-evaluation of the National Programme for IT in the NHS.The society's health informatics forum says the programme has achieved some significant successes around infrastructure, but has slowed the deployment of local systems. It also says elements of the NHS Core Records ...
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New assisted reproduction proposals published
The government has also published a white paper setting out its proposals for an overhaul of the law on assisted human reproduction and embryology research and the bodies that regulate this area and the use of human tissues.The paper says a Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos, to be known ...
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Seasonal gloom at the BMA
The British Medical Association has picked up on health secretary Patricia Hewitt's comment that the NHS has had its 'best year ever' by publishing its own review of the Best of Years, the Worst of Years.Overall, it says that while there have been some ...
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Think tank slams NHS reform
The think tank Reform has accused the NHS of failing to develop a coherent vision for change, and warned that unless the government tackles 'centralised, dysfunctional bureaucracy', its funding and policy achievements will go to waste.Author Ian Smith, a private sector manager interviewed for the NHS chief executive's post this ...
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DoH puts safety first
The Department of Health has issued a report on improving support patient safety in the NHS.Safety First - a report for patients, clinicians and healthcare managerssays the National Patient Safety Agency should be 'refocused' on collecting and analysing information through its national reporting and learning system, and that this should ...
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NICE chair calls for implementation push as GPs warn of drug companies' influence
The chair of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has floated the idea that it should spend more on ensuring guidance gets implemented than it does on producing the advice.
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Private provider queries future of comprehensive NHS care
The NHS will be forced to abandon its founding principle of providing a comprehensive service 'free at the point of delivery' by 2015, a leading private sector provider has predicted.
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Select committee: no excuse for training cuts
Slashing the amount spent on NHS staff training to tackle deficits is unacceptable, the Commons health select committee has warned.
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Exclusive: PCT fitness bill hits £6.5m
The primary care trust fitness for purpose programme cost the Department of Health £6.5m, HSJhas learned.
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Operating framework: updated principles put new emphasis on dignity
The Department of Health is consulting on a set of 10 principles to which all NHS organisations and contractors must sign up.
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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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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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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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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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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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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 ...