News archive Oct - Dec 08
29/12/08 Hospitals struggle to find enough junior doctors to fill rotas
27/12/08 Patient safety at risk as NHS repairs ignored
22/12/08 Assura wins first GP-led health centre
22/12/08 Sturgeon criticised over ban on private GP services
22/12/08 Doctors' fury at government plans to release private patient data for research
21/12/08 A&E admissions rise by 12pc as winter health crisis deepens
16/12/08 PCT’s "break rules" over Darzi centres
18/12/08 Bradshaw vows to quash resistance to Darzi centres
17/12/08 Darzi: "huge opportunity" for private firms as hospitals lose two-thirds of outpatient care
15/12/08 NHS surplus will remain in NHS, chief executive says
16/12/08 Doctors' phone line use reviewed
12/12/08 Health records scheme at 'pivotal' point
11/12/08 Threat of legal action if GPs fail to follow NICE
09/12/08 Fears over NHS urgent care centres
09/12/08 London to lose NHS resources to areas with more older patients
07/12/08 Hit squads tackle high-risk hospitals
05/12/08 Patients storm PCT board meeting to stop polyclinic
05/12/08 BMA shelves UK-wide 'anti GP-bashing' campaign
03/12/08 Queen's speech: government to make Darzi review law
02/12/08 Patients going "private" on NHS
01/12/08 40,000 die every year after hospital blunders, MPs are told
28/11/08 England’s first GP health centre opens
28/11/08 Polyclinics will "drain money from hospitals"
27/11/08 NHS property swap - from PCT to PPP
25/11/08 Fears that more dentists will quit NHS as thousands billed over missed targets
22/11/08 Labour urges inquiry into health board cuts
20/11/08 PCTs may face bill for top-up refunds
20/11/08 Doctors will be offered cash incentives to prescribe new medicines
18/11/08 GP-led firms are the APMS winners
16/11/08 Patients who pay for cancer care still face NHS costs
16/11/08 Crunch hits hospitals
14/11/08 Controversial UCLH polyclinic plan scrapped
13/11/08 £400m spending limit forced on NHS
13/11/08 Private bidders find GP contracts too risky
12/11/08 One in six trusts will fail to hit polyclinic deadline
11/11/08 NHS Tayside rejects plans for elected health boards
07/11/08 "Unfair" GP funding must change
05/11/08 NHS managers support top-up payments, HSJ poll reveals
04/11/08 PCTs planning huge expansion in referral schemes
04/11/08 Reinvest foundation trust surpluses on nursing, demands RCN
03/11/08 Tens of thousands of cancer sufferers could get new drugs in new government deals
31/10/08 Plans for larger private role in NHS
28/10/08 GPs urged to boycott rewards for referral cuts
30/10/08 Patients put at risk through lack of hygiene
28/10/08 NHS to allow private payment for cancer drugs
27/10/08 Patients set to sue NHS after paying for own cancer drugs
24/10/08 Forget private firms, let us run polyclinic pleads hospital boss
23/10/08 Hold-up: Treasury eyes NHS surplus
22/10/08 Ilkeston doctors slam new health centre plans
21/10/08 Real pain of cuts to be felt after election
20/10/08 Heart attack victims will be forced to travel miles for treatment
17/10/08 Walk-in capacity set to more than double under Darzi plans
17/10/08 5,000 patients support polyclinic fight
16/10/08 Alliance rallying cry for social enterprise
14/10/08 Hospitals 'allowing top up care'
13/10/08 Drug companies told to do a discount for expensive drugs on the NHS
10/10/08 GP's expansion plans blocked to protect private firm
09/10/08 Foundation trusts get £300m in a year-end spending rush
07/10/08 New-style GP entrepreneurs mop up Darzi Centre contracts
07/10/08 Drug groups urged to cut NHS prices
06/10/08 NHS cutbacks see thousands more patients admitted as emergency cases
02/10/08 Revised guidance for top-up drugs
01/10/08 Darzi centres risk being staffed by inexperienced GPs just out of training RCGP warns
British Medical Journal (29 December 2008)
Hospitals struggle to find enough junior doctors to fill rotas
A shortage of junior doctors is leading to difficulties in filling doctors' rotas. Fewer foreign doctors coming to the UK and fewer doctors in short term posts who can fill gaps in the system are cited as possible causes.
Telegraph (27 December 2008)
Patient safety at risk as NHS repairs ignored
Figures obtained by the Conservatives show 120 of England's 210 hospital trusts have a backlog of urgent repairs. The high maintenance backlog at hospitals in Maidsone and Tunbridge Wells was held partly responsible for the deaths of over 90 patients from the Clostridium Difficile infection in 2007.
Pulse (22 December 2008)
Assura wins first GP-led health centre
NHS Coventry has chosen private provider Assura Group, in partnership with nine local GP practices, to run its new GP-led health centre. NHS Coventry also announced that it has selected Kent based Malling Group to run its two new GP surgeries.
Herald (22 December 2008)
Sturgeon criticised over ban on private GP services
CBI Scotland has criticised Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon's plans to ban private provision of GP practices. While the majority of GPs do an excellent job, the CBI says, commercial involvement would expand capacity and enhance innovation.
Mail (22 December 2008)
Doctors' fury at government plans to release private patient data for research
The BMA has hit out at plans in the proposed NHS constitution to allow medical researchers and drug companies access to the national database of patient records. This could lead to companies directly marketing to patients with particular illnesses.
Telegraph (21 December 2008)
A&E admissions rise by 12pc as winter health crisis deepens
Recent cold weather and a sharp rise in the winter vomiting bug notovirus have contributed to a 12% rise in A&E attendances compared to the same period last year. While the RCN has said the situation is at risk of becoming "unbearable" NHS chief executive David Nicholson has said the NHS is "well prepared".
Pulse (16 December 2008)
PCT’s "break rules" over Darzi centres
A NHS Support Federation survey has found that just 22% of PCTs have have been explicit in public consultations about the possibility of new health centres being run by commercial providers. The need to consult is legally defined and the campaign group is calling for the Department of Health to investigate lapses.
Pulse (18 December 2008)
Bradshaw vows to quash resistance to Darzi centres
Health minister Ben Bradshaw has said that new GP-led health centres will meet government criteria for opening hours and services despite earlier resistance to their imposition from some PCTs. Most centres are expected to open by April 2009.
Public Private Finance (17 December 2008)
Darzi: "huge opportunity" for private firms as hospitals lose two-thirds of outpatient care
Lord Darzi has said that almost two thirds of NHS outpatient work could be moved from acute hospitals into the community and provides "huge opportunities" for private companies to provide primary care services.
British Medical Journal (15 December 2008)
NHS surplus will remain in NHS, chief executive says
NHS chief executive David Nicholson has told MPs the £2.1bn surplus for the NHS in England, four times the size of last year's surplus, will stay with NHS organisations, who are discussing spending plans with the Department of Health.
BBC Online (16 December 2008)
Doctors' phone line use reviewed
Minsters have launched a consultation about the use by GP surgeries of 084 phone numbers which enable callers to queue rather than get an engaged tone but which usually cost more than local calls. Campaigners argue the use contravenes the principle that the NHS should be free at the point of need.
See full article at:
http:/ / news.bbc.co.uk/ 1/ hi/ health/ 7783963.stm
Financial Times (12 December 2008)
Health records scheme at 'pivotal' point
The NHS IT programme to create elctronic health records is four years behind plan and will need a rethink if progress is not made soon, David Nicholson, the NHS chief executive has told MPs.
Pulse (11 December 2008)
Threat of legal action if GPs fail to follow NICE
Baroness Young, chair of the new health and social care regulator, the Care Quality Commission, has said GPs will face legal action if they do not follow NICE guidelines. NICE guidance becomes legally enforceable in 2009/10.
Press Association (9 December 2008)
Fears over NHS urgent care centres
The College of Emergency Medicine has said NHS Urgent Care Centres are "ill thought out". The centres were intended to reduce pressure on A&E departments but create confusion in patients the College says. Consultants in emergency medicine should be doubled by 2012 it says.
Guardian (9 December 2008)
London to lose NHS resources to areas with more older patients
The NHS currently overfunds areas wth a lot of deprivation at the expense of those with large populations of older people. The new allocation of funds announced by Health Secretary Alan Johnson will redistribute resources, probably by reducing growth in London's health budget rather than through cuts.
Observer (7 December 2008)
Hit squads tackle high-risk hospitals
In a drive to make NHS hospitals take patient safety more seriously, the Healthcare Commission regulator will send teams of inspectors into hospitals identified by whistle blowers and complainants as being high risk. Unit closures or new management could follow.
Healthcare Republic (5 December 2008)
Patients storm PCT board meeting to stop polyclinic
A PCT board meeting in Haringey was abandoned after protests from campaigners trying to deliver a presentation stating their concerns over plans to convert an existing practice into a GP led health centre.
Pulse (5 December 2008)
BMA shelves UK-wide 'anti GP-bashing' campaign
The BMA campaign against Government reforms of general practice has been shelved pending the results of tenders for GP-led health centres. The first phase of the campaign was supported by 1.3m patients, but GPs have been winning bids for centres despite vast private sector interest.
Health Service Journal (3 December 2008)
Queen's speech: government to make Darzi review law
The Government will legislate to create a duty to take account of the new NHS constitution due to be published alongside the NHS bill. Individual budgets enabling patients to commission their own health services and a requirement for annual quality accounts from providers will also be in the bill.
BBC News (2 December 2008)
Patients going "private" on NHS
The number of patients opting for a private hospital for non-emergency care has risen ten-fold to 3,500 per month in the last year. The money diverted to private providers from the NHS could compromise future NHS care a senior BMA member says.
See full article at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7742363.stm
Telegraph (1 December 2008)
40,000 die every year after hospital blunders, MPs are told
The Health Select Committee has been told that up to 40,000 deaths a year result from cases of patient "harm" caused by the NHS. A definitive study to assess the size of the problem and priorities for action has been called for.
Telegraph (28 November 2008)
England’s first GP health centre opens
The first of the 152 new 'super surgeries' is to open in Bradford, with extra services such as dentistry housed on the same premises with GPs. Critics fear existing GP surgeries will close leaving patients with longer journeys to their nearest doctor, especially in rural areas.
Evening Standard (28 November 2008)
Polyclinics will "drain money from hospitals"
Current reforms will see polyclinics and specialist centres diverting patients and therefore money from traditional hospitals, a report from Healthcare for London says. Planned surgery and rehabilitation services should be used to fill the revenue gap.
Health Service Journal (27 November 2008)
NHS property swap - from PCT to PPP
In an initiative to increase efficiency billions of pounds of PCT property are to be transferred to public-private partnerships. The move is hoped to remove competing interests within PCTs and to end a monopoly over buildings and facilities.
Times (25 November 2008)
Fears that more dentists will quit NHS as thousands billed over missed targets
Targets for NHS treatment, agreed under the dentists' contract, have been missed by half of dental practices. A clawback of £120m will be necessary. Nine hundred thousand fewer patients were seen in 2006-7 than under the old system.
See full article at:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5226098.ece
Scotsman (22 November 2008)
Labour urges inquiry into health board cuts
Scottish Labour is calling for an investigation by Audit Scotland to ensure cuts to frontline services are not being made to achieve the SNP government's 2% efficiency savings. SNP has said that health boards are being allowed to reinvest the 2% savings in frontline services.
Health Service Journal (20 November 2008)
PCTs may face bill for top-up refunds
A PCT has refunded £23,000 to two patients who were charged for NHS treatment because they paid privately for drugs not then available on the NHS. Other cases are in progress, and the PCT Network points out that there is no real framework for reimbursement or clear guidance on retrospective claims.
Financial Times (20 November 2008)
Doctors will be offered cash incentives to prescribe new medicines
Under a package agreed by the Government and the pharmaceutical industry doctors will be given incentives for prescribing newer, more expensive drugs in return for reduced prices the NHS pays for drugs. The scheme aims to increase the uptake of new medicines.
Pulse (18 November 2008)
GP-led firms are the APMS winners
Studies by the University of Birmingham have found that 89% of APMS contracts are being won by new style GP-led companies rather than well known private companies. However, the locations of the contracts they win can be hundreds of miles from their own business.
Observer (16 November 2008)
Patients who pay for cancer care still face NHS costs
The Government's acceptance of all 14 of Professor Mike Richards' recommendations on the treatment of patients who pay for drugs unavailable on the NHS means that costs for NHS care will still be levied where that care was caused by the non-NHS treatment.
Sunday Mirror (16 November 2008)
Crunch hits hospitals
Only £400m of the £1.7bn NHS surplus can be spent by NHS trusts, leading to fears that job losses and ward closures will follow.
Camden New Journal (14 November 2008)
Controversial UCLH polyclinic plan scrapped
Plans for a polyclinic at University College London Hospital have been scrapped by Camden PCT with four existing GP surgeries now avoiding relocation. The polyclinic proposals had been criticised for reduced accessibility and private sector involvement.
Health Service Journal (13 November 2008)
£400m spending limit forced on NHS
Only £400m of the £1.7bn NHS surplus is to be allowed to be spent by NHS organisations. Managers are predicting cuts of up to 3% in non-clinical staff and delays in plans for new services amongst the effects of the restrictions.
Financial Times (13 November 2008)
Private bidders find GP contracts too risky
Health service researchers at Birmingham University have found that just 10% of England's GP practices are being run by purely private sector suppliers. The emerging pattern is of GP consortia working jointly with private interests. Some private providers say they are being told to assume too much risk by PCTs.
Pulse (12 November 2008)
One in six trusts will fail to hit polyclinic deadline
Unrealistic timescales and a lack of planning and consultation are being blamed for 20 trusts expected to fail to meet the 1 April 2009 deadline for the opening of Lord Darzi's GP-led health centres. Many trusts have had difficulty finding premises for the new centres.
Aberdeen Press and Journal (11 November 2008)
NHS Tayside rejects plans for elected health boards
The flagship SNP policy of elected health boards has been rejected by NHS Tayside who claim it will lead to the politicisation of the NHS locally and "fundamentally affect the operation of boards". The cricism comes after that of two other health boards.
Public Finance (7 November 2008)
"Unfair" GP funding must change
The Scottish Parliament's health committee has said there is a flat distribution of GPs across Scotland but three times the level of health problems amongst populations of deprived areas compared to the more affluent. A 'robust stance' should be taken in negotiations with the BMA over the GP contract, MSPs said.
Health Service Journal (5 November 2008)
NHS managers support top-up payments, HSJ poll reveals
On the day the government announced it would allow patients to retain NHS treatment even when paying for drugs not provided by the NHS, a snap poll showed just over half of NHS managers surveyed supported the change, although a similar proportion (54%) thought it would make the NHS "less equal".
Pulse (4 November 2008)
PCTs planning huge expansion in referral schemes
Referral management schemes are to expand in PCTS, leading GPs to fear that referrals will be rejected. A majority of PCTs have at least one such scheme and a third are planning more. A scheme in Havering PCT rejects 25% of referrals.
Nursing Times (4 November 2008)
Reinvest foundation trust surpluses on nursing, demands RCN
Foundation trusts have made a surplus of £395m in 2007-2008, which the RCN has said should be reinvested in areas hit by the deficit crisis in the previous financial year. The chair of Monitor, the foundation trust regulator, has urged trusts to make efficiency savings.
Telegraph (3 November 2008)
Tens of thousands of cancer sufferers could get new drugs in new government deals
Deals are being negotiated with drug companies to reduce initial costs, which could then increase once they have proven their efficacy. The "risk sharing" scheme should be announced along with the review of "top-up" funding.
See full article at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/article3363300.ece
Financial Times (31 October 2008)
Plans for larger private role in NHS
The role of primary care trusts as commissioner rather than provider of care is set to open a £10bn market to the private sector. In January a new co-operation and competition panel comes into operation, for providers to appeal tendering decisions by PCTs.
Pulse (28 October 2008)
GPs urged to boycott rewards for referral cuts
The General Practioners' Committee of the BMA has spoken out against PCT incentives to reduce referrals, with fears for patient safety. The primary care tsar has written to SHAs to stress GPs' overriding duty to individual patients.
Guardian (30 October 2008)
Patients put at risk through lack of hygiene
A treatment centre in Sussex run by private provider Care UK was found by the Healthcare Commission to have inadequate hygiene procedures, putting patients at risk.
Financial Times (28 October 2008)
NHS to allow private payment for cancer drugs
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is to increase the threshold for determining whether a drug is cost effective. The current inquiry into "top-up payments" is expected to allow patients to pay and still receive NHS care. The threshold increase should reduce the numbers of patients wanting to pay for treatments which the NHS doesn't currently provide.
Evening Standard (27 October 2008)
Patients set to sue NHS after paying for own cancer drugs
Three London trusts are being sued for compensation by patients who have paid for cancer drugs which the NHS initially refused to provide. One trust was forced to refund a patient for a drug.
Camden News Journal (24 October 2008)
Forget private firms, let us run polyclinic pleads hospital boss
Sir Robert Naylor, chief executive of University College London Hospital, has said the polyclinic planned by Camden Primary Care Trust should not be run by the private sector. The trust has said it will not consult the public on whether the polyclinic is to be run by a private company.
Health Service Journal (23 October 2008)
Hold-up: Treasury eyes NHS surplus
It is thought inevitable that the Treasury will claw back the £1.7bn NHS surplus, possibly by giving no inflationary increase to the payment-by-results tariff. New capital expenditure may also need to come from the surplus.
Ilkeston Advertiser (22 October 2008)
Ilkeston doctors slam new health centre plans
A new independent health centre has been called "wasteful" by local GPs who say the money would be better spent on expanding existing services. A GP-bid for the contract has been rejected, with private provider IBH Ltd being selected.
Financial Times (21 October 2008)
Real pain of cuts to be felt after election
NHS chief executive David Nicholson has said the NHS needs to plan over a five year rather than a two year timeframe, implying that the current surplus will need to fund ongoing expenditure, not only new projects.
Mirror (20 October 2008)
Heart attack victims will be forced to travel miles for treatment
Under new NHS plans heart attack patients will be taken to one of 50 specialist centres for an operation, rather than being treated with drugs at a local hospital. The new treatment should save 240 lives a year, though some campaigners question the effect on patients distant from the centres.
Pulse (17 October 2008)
Walk-in capacity set to more than double under Darzi plans
PCTs plan to raise walk-in capacity by two and a half times at planned GP-led health centres. Duplication of care in general practice, an increase in A&E use and negative effects on continuity of care are feared.
Pulse (17 October 2008)
5,000 patients support polyclinic fight
The Beds and Herts Local Medical Committee has the support of nearly 5000 patients in its fight against a polyclinic which it says will lead to the closure of existing surgeries and worse patient care.
Health Service Journal (16 October 2008)
Alliance rallying cry for social enterprise
The NHS Alliance representing primary care trusts has produced a report highlighting the steps necessary in setting up a successful social enterprise, with advantages over commercial providers which must be promoted to both commissioners and patients.
BBC Online (14 October 2008)
Hospitals 'allowing top up care'
The top-up of NHS care with private treatment not available on the NHS is happening at 30 hospitals around the UK. Trusts are interpreting government rules banning the practice by viewing an intial (NHS) consultation and a second (private) one to prescribe the drugs as separate "episodes of care".
See full article at:
http:/ / news.bbc.co.uk/ 1/ hi/ health/ 7668121.stm
Times (13 October 2008)
Drug companies told to do a discount for expensive drugs on the NHS
The government is urging drug companies to reduce prices to speed up assessments of cost effectiveness by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Once drugs have been shown to be effective prices could be raised.
Pulse (10 October 2008)
GP's expansion plans blocked to protect private firm
GPs at an NHS health centre in Kingston, Surrey have accused their PCT of vetoing plans for a new branch surgery because a private provider had been awarded the contract for another another surgery nearby.
Health Service Journal (9 October 2008)
Foundation trusts get £300m in a year-end spending rush
Foundation trust regulator Monitor has said PCTs have given around £300m in prepayments to foundation trusts in order to stay within government constraints on NHS surpluses. Foundation trusts are not governed by the same rules, and will benefit from interest paid on the prepaid amounts.
Pulse (7 October 2008)
New-style GP entrepreneurs mop up Darzi Centre contracts
GPs have emerged as the dominant bidders for Lord Darzi's new health centres or under-doctored area practices but local GPs have warned that continuity of care will be lost if contracts are given to consortiums from outside the area.
Financial Times (7 October 2008)
Drug groups urged to cut NHS prices
The government is urging pharmaceutical companies to lower initial prices of new drugs, which could then attract a higher price once their clinical effectiveness had been proven. The move would allow NICE to judge more drugs as cost-effective.
Telegraph (6 October 2008)
NHS cutbacks see thousands more patients admitted as emergency cases
NHS figures show follow-up appointments falling by 14% while emergency readmissions within two weeks of hospital discharge have risen by 12%. Patients are being put at risk due to policies to prioritise targets, consultants say.
BBC Online (2 October 2008)
Revised guidance for top-up drugs
Revised guidance to clarify the system for "co-payments" where a patient pays for treatment not available on the NHS has been promised by Scottish ministers. Nicola Sturgeon said co-payments should be the exception, not the norm, and drugs proven to be clinically effective should be provided by the NHS.
See full article at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7645546.stm
HealthCare Republic (1 October 2008)
Darzi centres risk being staffed by inexperienced GPs just out of training RCGP warns
The Royal College of General Practitioners says working in a new health centre will not be appropriate work for a newly-qualified GP without supervision. Polyclinics will be unattractive to established GPs, so they will need to be staffed by 'a different type of GP' according to GPC negotiator Dr Chaand Nagpaul.