All Policy articles – Page 256
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Comment
Is it reasonable to audit GPs' hours?
Far from 'standing between patients and a better service' over longer GP opening hours, the British Medical Association has said most GPs would offer appointments in extended hours, writes Richard Vautrey
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News
minimum gp core hours
The Department of Health has no plans to set a minimum number of consulting hours GP practices should provide during their contracted core hours. As the government plans to set a minimum threshold for hours practices must be available for appointments outside the hours of 8am to 6.30pm Monday to ...
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News
NHS changes 'are yet to deliver'
Payment by results has yet to deliver significant improvements, according to a report published today by the Audit Commission.Under PbR, productivity has not risen greatly although the report conceded that the policy had not borne out fears it would damage patient care by cutting costs.
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News
All or nothing: patients are told no to private top-ups
Patients who choose to buy drugs that the NHS will not fund are being told they will have to pay for all their treatment - not just that part. Should trusts relent and offer mix-and-match packages of care, or would that mean a two-tier service? Alison Moore reports
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News
Auditor finds PbR has 'questionable' impact on efficiency
Payment by results has had a 'questionable' impact on driving up efficiency in the NHS, the Audit Commission has concluded.
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News
Care 'top-up' ban may face day in court
A leading solicitor has warned that the government's ban on NHS patients 'topping up' their care will end up before the courts.
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Comment
The BMA is standing between patients and a better service
Not content with grossly misrepresenting the government's position on opening hours, the British Medical Association has now resorted to sabotage to block modernisation of our primary care services.
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News
Monitor blocks Unison court move on private patient income
Monitor has attempted to block Unison's judicial review by launching a three-month consultation into its interpretation of the foundation trust private patient income cap.
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News
Mayor flags up his blueprint for the future of London's health
Preventable inequalities in health are unacceptable in a leading world city and have huge economic and social consequences, according to London mayor Ken Livingstone.
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News
Primary care leaders call GP resistance 'unhelpful'
Primary care leaders have joined the argument over extended hours after GPs warned they may refuse to take part in local audits on opening times.
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Comment
Sophie Christie on the Lucentis drug controversy
The latest media celebration of how terrible the NHS is gathers pace. The press has been reporting that people are going blind because they are being refused a drug (as opposed to going blind because they have a degenerative disease). Yet the fourth estate seems to be missing a far ...
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News
PCTs 'would gain power by a constitution'
An NHS constitution would address the 'woefully inadequate' relationship between commissioners and patients, shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has claimed.
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News
Training cuts could stifle talking therapy
A government pledge to make 'talking therapies' more available is being jeopardised by higher education funding cuts, training providers have claimed.
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News
Welsh epilepsy plan first of its kind
Pressure is mounting to address failures in epilepsy care across the UK after the launch of a groundbreaking plan in Wales.
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Comment
Media Watch: GP opening hours
Doctors were in the spotlight this week, after the British Medical Association advised GPs to accept a new contract that means practices will open for longer.
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News
Violence increases but training in restraint techniques is still on hold
Urgent proposals for dealing with violent patients are still awaiting government funding 10 years after the death that sparked them.HSJ has discovered that a national training scheme for staff in acute mental health wards has been on hold for years, despite fresh evidence of increasing violent behaviour.
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HSJ Knowledge
Tolerance of NHS mistakes needs major overhaul
In other industries mistakes are considered unacceptable, yet in the NHS minor errors cause thousands of extra days in hospital
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News
GPs in impossible position - BMA
GPs have accepted an option from the Department of Health that will see practices open for a further 30 minutes a week for each 1,000 registered patients.But they feel they have been put in an impossible position, the BMA has said. All GPs will be balloted on the move later ...
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News
NHS reform is stalled, think tank claims
The government is in denial about the stalled progress of NHS reforms on the ground, think tank Reform has claimed.
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News
Green light ISTCs, government urged
The Confederation of British Industry has challenged the government to green light more independent sector treatment centres.