NHS Support Federation - News Archive Jan

News Archive Jan - Mar 2008

Guardian (31 March 2008)

Doctor shortage is threat to care, warns BMA
Last year's changes to the system of recruitment of junior doctors to training posts is causing a chronic shortage of hospital doctors and a threat to quality of care, the British Medical Association has warned.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/mar/31/nhs.health

Health Service Journal (27 March 2008)

Panel saves services at Horton Hospital
Horton Hospital's paediatric, gynaecological and obstetric services have been saved from downgrading, with the independent reconfiguration panel advising the health secretary to reject the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals trust's proposals.

See full article at:
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/2008/03/horton.html

Management in Practice (26 March 2008)

Expert voices concerns over 'polyclinics' plan
Professor Martin Roland of the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre has said that more high quality GP practices are needed to meet the government aim of greater patient choice, rather than a small number of large practices suggested by the "polyclinic" model.

Click here for full article

Manchester Evening News (25 March 2008)

£76m of NHS cash stashed away
Health trusts across the north west are on course to amass a surplus of £230m by the end of March, while Greater Manchester hospital has to borrow in order to pay wages.

Click here for full article

Observer (23 March 2008)

Taxpayers will bear brunt of higher PFI costs
PFI costs look set to rise as companies now have to negotiate loans with a range of lenders due to the global credit crunch.

See full article at:
http:/ / www.guardian.co.uk/ business/ 2008/ mar/ 23/ creditcrunch.marketturmoil1

Leicester Mercury (21 March 2008)

More operations cancelled
Operations have been cancelled due to concerns over the quality of treatment by the private Birkdale Clinic. The PCT has suspended its contract while investigations continue into a number of cases.

Click here for full article

Public Finance (21 March 2008)

Doubts cast over patient choice agenda
The extended Patient Choice scheme, giving patients the right to choose any hospital in England for elective operations, is due to be rolled out from 1 April. The BMA and Patients' Association have questioned the reliability of the data available to patients to decide which hospital they wish to attend.

See full article at:
http://www.cipfa.org.uk/publicfinance/news_details.cfm?News_id=32519

Health Service Journal (20 March 2008)

King’s Fund urges caution on polyclinics
The King's Fund has said that the evidence supporting the incorporation of GP practices in polyclinics in London is weak. With some projected costs being questioned, a pilot and thorough evaluation are recommended.

Full article:
There is little evidence to back a wholesale shift to polyclinics in London, the King's Fund has warned. Polyclinics bringing together GP practices with a range of other health services are one of the most controversial aspects of the Healthcare for London proposals to overhaul the capital's healthcare, and are widely opposed by GPs. The King's Fund said the evidence for shifting GPs to polyclinics was weak. Its analysis also suggests polyclinics could be more costly than hospital care and may not cut demand on accident and emergency. It urged caution and said there was a case to pilot and thoroughly evaluate any new approach. It suggested that "less ambitious models" may be more appropriate, such as "hubs" which incorporate some GP practices and serve others. The King's Fund also questioned some figures in the document and whether the plans would really lead to an anticipated £1.3bn savings.

http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/2008/03/nhs_cfh_appoints_eight_clinical_leads.html

Guardian (20 March 2008)

NHS hospitals can advertise to attract patients
Health minister Ben Bradshaw has said NHS hospitals can advertise to attract patients. Competing with private treatment centres, they will be able to compare results and use celebrity endorsements. Hospitals will also be allowed to accept corporate sponsorship.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/mar/20/nhs.health

BBC Online (19 March 2008)

Nurse graduates fail to find jobs
There has been an 80% rise in the number of nurses unable to find work within six months of qualifying. The number of those who find healthcare work in the non-NHS sector has doubled in the last three years.

See full article at:
http:/ / news.bbc.co.uk/ 1/ hi/ health/ 7304537.stm

Financial Times (17 March 2008)

NHS providers win right of appeal
An independent competition panel is to be set up to allow providers to appeal over the tendering of services by primary care trusts.Private suppliers of NHS care and the CBI have welcomed the move.

See full article at:
http:/ / www.ft.com/ cms/ s/ 0/ d9a347f0- f3c3- 11dc- b6bc- 0000779fd2ac.html ?nclick_ check=1

Oxford Mail (14 March 2008)

Pledge to battle Virgin NHS plan
Keep Our NHS Public campaigners in Oxford are opposing plans by Virgin Healthcare to open a 'super surgery' in Oxfordshire, with NHS GPs working alongside private healthcare services. The company is hosting an event on 17 March to market their plans to GPs.

Click here to see full article

Guardian (13 March 2008)

Whistleblowers united
Graham Pink, a Stockport NHS worker who was sacked in 1991 for "breaching confidentiality" in a series of letters condemning under staffing in his geriatric ward, is backing Karen Reissmann, the Manchester nurse dismissed for speaking out against the way the NHS is run.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/mar/12/nhs.health

Management in Practice (12 March 2008)

NHS chief reaffirms commitment to private primary care providers
David Nicholson, NHS chief executive, has talked of bringing more private providers into primary care in pursuit of personalisation, choice and, in a nod to Lord Darzi's polyclinics, decentralisation.

Click here to see full article

Healthcare Republic (11 March 2008)

GPs urged to bid for MPs’ seats
Dorset GP Dr Andrew Bailey has called on the BMA to assemble a vanguard of GPs to stand in key Labour marginals at the next election.

Click here to see full article

Guardian (8 March 2008)

NHS should be run by elected, local boards, say Lib Dems
At the Liberal Democrat spring conference the party called for local NHS boards, partly directly elected and partly comprising local councillors. Free care for the elderly was abandoned as too expensive, and patients would have the right to be treated privately if certain time limilts could not be met.

See full article at:
http:/ / www.guardian.co.uk/ politics/ 2008/ mar/ 08/ liberaldemocrats.health

Guardian (7 March 2008)

Angry GPs reluctantly accept plan for weekend and evening surgeries
In a poll of GPs the British Medical Association found that while 92% reluctantly agree to government proposals on extended opening times, 98% thought government tectics unacceptable. The BMA has angrily conceded defeat.

See full article at:
http:/ / www.guardian.co.uk/ society/ 2008/ mar/ 07/ nhs.health

Health Service Journal (6 March 2008)

ISTC contract guarantees will saddle NHS with a £187m bill
Details of contracts with companies over independent sector treatment centres have emerged revealing that the NHS is obliged to buy back buildings and other facilities at the end of the five year contracts if they are not renewed. Independent MP Richard Taylor described it as "a fiercely expensive waste of money."

Full article:
Deals with private contractors have left the NHS facing a hidden £187m bill to buy back some of the controversial independent sector treatment centres. The so-called "residual value guarantees" were included in the contracts for 14 of the 27 ISTC schemes in wave one of the programme, but the Department of Health has only just released the sums involved. The deals oblige the NHS to buy back the buildings used by the schemes at the end of the five-year contracts, to minimise the risk to the private investors. The first contracts are due to expire in two years. The millions of pounds that are guaranteed include payments to four contractors whose schemes have been treating less than 75% of the expected number of patients. The DH has previously declined to confirm the details of the guarantees. But a breakdown of the NHS's contractual obligations under wave one of the ISTC programme has been placed in the House of Commons library. The guarantees to buy back buildings and other expensive facilities such as dialysis units are in addition to revenue guarantees that mean the contractors are paid regardless of the number of patients seen. In 2006 the Commons health select committee issued a critical report saying the centrally procured scheme was of dubious value. But long-standing committee member Richard Taylor told HSJ the committee had not known about the residual value deals. The independent MP said: "None of us even dreamt these guarantees existed, which is a terrible condemnation of us. But there is that awful phrase 'commercial confidentiality', which seems to obscure so much and they slip these things through. It seems a fiercely expensive waste of money." Primary care trusts can only avoid paying out on the guarantees by issuing the provider with a new contract to continue providing services to the NHS beyond the five-year contract period. Some commentators believe that the extra capacity brought by the centres has destabilised NHS providers, especially district general hospitals. Responsibility for paying the residual value differed between contracts - for some this lay with the PCT but in other contracts it was the DH.

http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/2008/03/further_bill_looms_for_istcs.html

Healthcare Republic (6 March 2008)

DoH plans for 'unqualified' GPs to staff Darzi clinics
New polclinics proposed by Lord Darzi could be staffed by two or three GPs who have not been vocationally trained. PCTs have said there have been 'broad hints' from the Department of Health that current regulations could be changed.

Click here for full article

Pulse (4 March 2008)

Hospitals limit GP referrals in chase for waiting time target
In an attempt to meet the government 18 week waiting time target between GP referral and treatment, hospitals are cutting the number of weeks GPs can book advance appointments under the Choose and Book system.

Full article:
Hospitals across the NHS are abusing the Choose and Book system to clamp down on GPs’ choice of referrals, in a desperate attempt to hit the Government’s flagship 18-week target. In the past six months 90% of hospital trusts have cut their Choose and Book polling ranges – the number of weeks GPs using the controversial system can book appointments in advance. The number of appointments listed as unavailable has risen sharply as a result. Among SHAs, the proportion of slots listed as unavailable is believed to range from 6% to 20%, with individual trusts reporting problems with up to a third of appointments. Many of the 28 hospital trusts surveyed insisted reducing polling ranges was ‘essential’ to hitting the Government’s target of a maximum 18-week wait between GP referral and hospital treatment, which has been made the NHS’s top priority under Gordon Brown. Several trusts said their polling range had been halved in the past six months, and for some specialties appointments could not be booked more than three weeks in advance. GPs expressed widespread concern at the findings, and warned frustration with the misuse of Choose and Book could lead many to abandon it when financial incentives end in April.

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=23&storycode=4117541&c=1

Western Daily Press (1 March 2008)

War of words over super-size surgery
The chief executive of Somerset Primary Care Trust has cricised an advert taken out by local GPs calling on patients to oppose government plans for polyclinics. A local GP describes the proposals as "the most significant threat to general practice"

Click here for full article

BBC Online (29 February 2008)

NHS facing locum doctor shortage
A shortage of locum doctors has arisen following the reform of medical training. The Department of Health is asking strategic health authorities about the extent of the problem.

See full article at:
http:/ / news.bbc.co.uk/ 1/ hi/ health/ 7271029.stm

The Star (29 February 2008)

Protest over privately funded Sheffield 'polyclinic'
Campaigners have held a rally to coincide with a Virgin Healthcare meeting with local GPs. Virgin is one of the private companies interested in the Government's plan for privately run medical centres.

Click here for full article

Guardian (28 February 2008)

GP practices earning 58% more for 5% less work, audit office finds
The National Audit Office has found that GP practice earnings have soared while productivity has declined. Earnings for salaried GPs and nurses have barely kept pace with inflation. The new GP contract allowed GPs to opt out of out-of-hours care.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/28/health.nhs

Daily Telegraph (26 February 2008)

Hospitals earn £100m from car park fees
Figures revealed due to a Freedom of Information request showed that hospital earnings from car parking charges rose to £102.3 in England and Wales in 2007. A Scottish investigation into charges is underway.

See full article at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/26/nhosi.xml

Cambridge Evening News (25 February 2008)

Union warns of laundry danger
Cambridge Health Unison has warned against contracting a private firm to take over Addenbrooke's Hospital's laundry service, saying that a lower quality service could result from a focus on profit, and increase the risk of hospital infections.

Click here for full article

BBC Online (22 February 2008)

'No proof' private clinics work
Researchers have found no evidence that independent sector treatment centres give value for money or quality care. Department of Health refused to disclose financial data due to commercial confidentiality. Meanwhile, NHS hospitals have had to deal with the most expensive work.

See full article at:
http:/ / news.bbc.co.uk/ 1/ hi/ health/ 7257541.stm

Camden New Journal (21 February 2008)

Woman’s legal challenge against American surgery takeover
Camden patient Barbara Saunders has demanded a review of the decision by the primary care trust to give private US firm United Health the contract to take over three GP surgeries.

See full article at:
http://www.thecnj.co.uk/camden/2008/022108/news022108_01.html

Telegraph (21 February 2008)

'Free NHS from government interference'
The British Medical Association has called for an NHS constitution, being considered by Gordon Brown to mark the 60th anniversary of the NHS, to institute a board of governors to run the health service and leave the government to devote itself to public health.

See full article at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/21/nhs121.xml

Scotsman (20 February 2008)

NHS staff flock to bargain Bupa deals
Private insurer Bupa is giving NHS staff preferential discounts and has led to 5% of doctors and 2% of nurses in Britain joining the Bupacare private scheme. The move has been criticised for suggesting that staff have no confidence in the service.

See full article at:
http://news.scotsman.com/uk/NHS-staff-flock-to-bargain.3786139.jp

Financial Times (19 February 2008)

Spending on non-NHS care soars
Office of National Statistics figures show that health service expenditure on care from the private and voluntary sectors and local authorities has grown by nearly 20% a year between 2002 and 2006, and now accounts for 7% of NHS expenditure.

See full article at:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/91995024-de76-11dc-9de3-0000779fd2ac.html

Observer (17 February 2008)

Scandal of patients left for hours outside A&E
'Patient stacking', the practice of keeping patients in ambulances outside hospital A&E departments rather than admitting them, is a result of the target of treatment within 4 hours of admission, doctors and unions have said. Ambulances have been unable to respond to 999 calls as a result.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/17/health.nhs1

Public Finance (15 February 2008)

Payment by results 'failing to deliver'
The Audit Commission has reported that Payment By Results, the Department of Health finance system, has failed to deliver the promised productivity and efficiency benefits. Prices paid to providers for procedures should be lowered, and trusts rewarded for higher quality of care, the report says.

See full article at:
http://www.cipfa.org.uk/publicfinance/news_details.cfm?News_id=32230

Health Service Journal (14 February 2008)

NHS reforms have hardly begun, claims think tank
Right wing think tank Reform claims in a new report that there is a gap in healthcare performance compared with other countries. It calls for Lord Darzi's NHS review to guarantee patient choice and a range of providers.

Full article:
The government's reform of the NHS remains "embryonic" and in some cases is in "full retreat", the think tank Reform has claimed. In a report, the right-leaning think tank says the NHS must become more productive to address what it describes as a "cradle to grave gap" in performance compared with health systems in other countries. NHS Reform: national mantra, not local reality sets out two scenarios for the future of the health service. A negative scenario - described as "managing NHS decline" outlines a service that delivers "substandard quality and access" for 11-12% of GDP. The positive scenario "NHS opportunity" delivers excellent quality of services at a cost of 9-10% of GDP. The report also calls on the government to outline an economic constitution that requires the NHS to increase value for money. It says junior health minister Lord Darzi's forthcoming NHS review should guarantee patient choice and a diversity of providers.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/2008/02/reform_report.html

BBC Online (13 February 2008)

NHS private clinics 'underused'
Only four of the 25 independent sector treatment centres created in the first wave are doing as much work as they should, while they are still paid amounts initially agreed. The guaranteed contracts did not apply to the second wave, and the government has since said there will be no third wave.

See full article at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7240957.stm

Liverpool Daily Post (12 February 2008)

Richard Branson sets his sights on running Liverpool GP surgery
Liverpool has been chosen as one of 26 potential sites for Virgin Healthcare's first health centres to open this year. The new centres will house both NHS GPs and for profit services such as dentistry and screening.

Click here for full article

Guardian (11 February 2008)

GPs agree to longer opening hours after 12-month row
After a year long dispute the British Medical Association's GPs committee has accepted the government's offer of £12,000 for an extra three hours work a week. The government's alternative would have allowed commissioning of GP services from other providers. The BMA's reluctant acceptance of the deal criticises it as unsafe for GPs.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/09/health.health

Yorkshire Post (11 February 2008)

Campaigners invite minister to see hospital threatened by cutbacks
Save Bridlington Hospital Campaign Action Group has invited the Health Secretary to the hospital to convince him of the value of retaining threatened services. Thirty six beds will be lost and the group argues that lives will be at risk if the planned reconfiguration goes ahead.

Click here for full article

Daily Telegraph (8 February 2008)

Patients leave hospital malnourished
Assessment of patients' nutrutional health upon hospital admission is not being properly monitored, doctors writing in the BMJ have found. The Department of Health has said that much of the research supporting the argument is "hopelessly out of date".

See full article at:
http:/ / www.telegraph.co.uk/ news/ main.jhtml ?xml=/ news/ 2008/ 02/ 08/ nhosifood108.xml

Bristol Evening Post (7 February 2008)

Competition is not a cure
A research paper from Bristol University has found that the NHS internal market from 1991 to 1999 saw a decrease in efficiency levels while quality of care was not measured by the health market.

Click here for full article

Times (7 February 2008)

4,000 NHS computer cards 'missing'
Connecting for Health, the agency responsible for the £12.4bn upgrade of IT systems in the NHS, has said that over 4,000 smartcards are unaccounted for. The cards provide access to confidential medical records.

Click here for full article

Health Service Journal (7 February 2008)

Unison launches judicial review against Monitor
Unison has launched a judicial review aginst the fondation trust regulator Monitor, whose guidance to trusts allows them to avoid the statutory cap on private patient income by setting up "arm's length organisations" to provide treatment.

Full article:
Unison has launched judicial review proceedings against foundation trust regulator Monitor in a bid to stop trusts using arm's-length organisations to expand private patient work. The union is challenging the legality of Monitor's financial guidance to foundation trusts, which lets them avoid a cap on private patient income by setting up a separate company to provide treatment. Unison says this is a misinterpretation of the Health and Social Care Act 2003. Monitor reviewed its interpretation at its board meeting after Unison threatened legal action if Monitor did not amend its guidance. As HSJ went to press Monitor confirmed its board had reached a decision - but it was not ready to reveal it. Foundation trusts were taking this reticence as a sign that Monitor has decided to stick with its interpretation and risk a judicial review. For some trusts the ability to extend their private income beyond the cap is seen as vital. Internal emails between Monitor's executive chair Bill Moyes and senior staff released under the Freedom of Information Act show that Monitor has been long aware of the issues.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/2008/02/unison_launches_judicial_review_against_monitor.html

Guardian (5 February 2008)

Hospital gets censure for serious breach of hygiene code
The Healthcare Commission has censured an NHS hospital opened less than five years ago under the private finance initiative. Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington, Kent is managed by Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust and contracts its cleaning to a member of the PFI consortium.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/05/health.nhs

Bucks Free Press (1 February 2008)

Doctors to urge NHS users to go private
Patients in Buckinghamshire are being encouraged by the primary care trust to use private medical insurance rather than the NHS in an effort to reduce costs.

Go to article

Health Service Journal (31 January 2008)

DH knew commercial director was under investigation
The Department of Health has at last responded to a Freedom of Information Act request by HSJ concerning its knowledge of investigations into Chan Wheeler about backdated share options. Wheeler has been appointed commercial director at the DOH.

Full article:
The Department of Health was aware its commercial director was being investigated over the alleged backdating of share options at the time of his appointment. And it emerged he is being given over £100,000 per year tax free by the government to pay for luxury London accommodation. In a severely delayed response to a Freedom of Information Act request by HSJ, the DH said that the American R Channing Wheeler had notified them that he and board members of the UnitedHealth Group were being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the alleged granting of backdated share options. Asked what disclosure Mr Wheeler had made to the DH about lawsuits pending when he applied for the position of commercial director, the department said: "Before his appointment, Mr Wheeler did notify the department that he, along with all members of the board of directors and other section 16 officers of UnitedHealth Group, was named in the shareholders derivative suit, regarding the potential backdating of stock options." However, the DH rejected a request for evidence of any discussions between then prime minister Tony Blair, politicians, and DH officials and advisers about Mr Wheeler's appointment, saying that it was not in the public interest. Mr Wheeler had donated thousands of dollars to the Republican Party. In the past four years he is understood to have given $11,600 (£5,800) to help fund its presidential and congressional election campaigns. Russell Reynolds Associates, the US-based recruitment company employed by the DH to hire Mr Wheeler, also has extensive links with the Republican Party. One of the board of directors is Jonathan C Bush - a relative of US president George W Bush.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/2008/01/channing_wheeler.html

Guardian (29 January 2008)

Doctors’ leader issues warning over NHS reform plans
Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA's general practitioners' committee, says patients will suffer if the government proceeds with plans to force surgeries to open extended hours. The BMA is considering legal action.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jan/29/gp.reforms

Evening Standard (29 January 2008)

US firm takes control of three GP surgeries
America's largest health care company, UnitedHealth, has won the contract to take over three London GP surgeries. The decision by Camden PCT was met with claims from local GPs of an unfair selection process and "cut price deals" which will negatively effect patients.

Go to article

Financial Times (28 January 2008)

Patients are urged to embrace choice for better care
Chan Wheeler, commercial director at the Department of Health and a former director of US healthcare group UnitedHealth, is currently overseeing the introduction of full patient choice between public and private hospitals for routine operations. He has said that he has "never been the subject or target of any investigation" by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US.

See full article at:
http:/ / www.ft.com/ cms/ s/ 0/ 39cf9718- cd41- 11dc- 9b2b- 000077b07658.html

Oxford Mail (27 January 2008)

GPs raise doubts over Branson health plan
Richard Branson's Virgin Healthcare is continuing with plans to open a super health centre in Oxford in the face of opposition from doctors and campaigners. GPs will be invited to join the new centre alongside for-profit medical services. Unison accuses Virgin of "marketing its additional services to potentially vulnerable patients".

Go to article

Dundee Courier (25 January 2008)

Health firm costing £500,000 a month
The first regional treatment centre in Scotland (i.e. independent of the NHS) owned by private firm Netcare is being paid over £500,000 a month to treat patients at an NHS hospital. Premises have been refurbished at public expense but health bosses refuse to give full details of the contract.

See full article at:
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2008/01/25/newsstory10847553t0.asp

Guardian (25 January 2008)

Mothers-to-be get guide to the best and the worst NHS care
A new report from the Healthcare Commission identifies maternity units according to their standard of care. The categories are "best performing" (26%), "better performing" (32%), "fair performers" (22%) and "least well performing" (21%).

See full article at:
http:/ / www.guardian.co.uk/ society/ 2008/ jan/ 25/ health.nhs

Guardian (24 January 2008)

Doctors could quit NHS in protest at longer hours, says BMA
The British Medical Association is preparing to ballot GPs on how to oppose government plans to impose extended surgery opening hours. A leaked BMA briefing document suggests the possibility of a mass exodus of GPs from the NHS.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jan/24/nhs.publicservices

BBC Online (22 January 2008)

Clegg sets out elderly care plan
The new Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, has proposed directly elected health boards, with policies including direct payments, individual budgets and private treatment to be paid for by the NHS if treatment is not provided within a specified time limit.

See full article at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7200708.stm

Aberdeen Press and Journal (21 January 2008)

'Cut hospital parking charges'
An independent review has concluded that hospital car parking should be free, with an interim cap on charges to be implemented immediately. Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has accepted the recommendations.

Go to article

Public Finance (18 January 2008)

PFI firms are overcharging for changes
PFI contractors are often over charging for changes to contracts, a National Audit Office report says, with more than £180m spent in 2006 on amending PFI contracts.

See full articles at:
http://www.cipfa.org.uk/publicfinance/news_details.cfm%20?News_id=32053

and http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,2241990,00.html

UK Trade and Investment (15 January 2008)

NHS 'open to private businesses'
The government has welcomed the private sector into the NHS with Mark Britnell, director of commissioning at the Department of Health, saying that there is over £1bn for which private business can bid.

See full article at: http://www.ukinvest.gov.uk/OurWorld/4023231/en-GB.html

Financial Times (15 January 2008)

Health ministry faces 'scapegoat' claim
An employment tribunal has found that Prof Denise Lievesley, a top statistician at the Department of Health, was made a "scapegoat" for public-private joint venture Dr Foster Intelligence which has been strongly criticised by MPs. Talks about its creation were alteady well advanced when she became the Information Centre chief executive.

See full article at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ee18797c-c30c-11dc-b617-0000779fd2ac.html

Herald (14 January 2008)

Experts critical of boards' push for A&E cuts
Two reports from an expert panel chaired by Dr Andrew Walker have said that they are unconvinced of the need to cut A&E departments. The scrutiny and presentation of data by NHS boards was questioned.

See full article at:
http://www.theherald.co.uk/search/display.var.1962430.0.experts_critical_of_ boards_push_for_ae_cuts.php

Financial Times (11 January 2008)

Branson launches healthcare business
Richard Branson's Virgin Group is launching a network of branded clinics and is inviting family doctors to join the venture. While GPs would keep their existing contracts, Virgin would manage staff and rental costs and offer a range of additional services to patients.

See full article at:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f7633874-bfe6-11dc-8052-0000779fd2ac.html

Guardian (10 January 2008)

Drug rationing essential for health service, MPs say
A health select committee report will call for a rapid appraisal system by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) for cheaper drugs, and a full appraisal for the more expensive. A poll of NHS managers by Health Service Journal has found that 79% did not expect healthcare to remain free at the point of need.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jan/10/nhs.health

Daily Telegraph (9 January 2008)

Lib Dems’ Nick Clegg plans radical departure
The Liberal Democrats are considering promoting the rights of patients to opt out of the NHS and to use private sector healthcare with the NHS footing the bill. An increase in the use of private treatment centres has also been mooted by David Laws, the Lib Dems' new head of public service reform.

See full article at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=0TTYRFMUBRHIVQFIQMFSFGGAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2007/12/23/nclegg123.xml

Pulse (9 January 2008)

Johnson admits new GP practices will be privately run
The private sector will be the dominant player in the plan to provide 250 new GP surgeries and health centres in "under-doctored" areas, Health Secretary Alan Johnson has confirmed. GPs remain concerned about the bidding process which seems to favour big business above local practices.

Full article:
Health Secretary Alan Johnson has gone on record to confirm that the private sector will dominate the rollout of GP surgeries. He admitted that a large number of the Government’s 100 new GP practices and 150 GP-led health centres, which are being set up to improve access in so-called under-doctored areas, would come under private ownership, directly employing GPs rather than simply providing the premises. The move will open the door for the likes of Virgin, Asda and Tesco to run primary care as well as providing premises, and will heighten GPs fears about the fairness of the bidding processes for the APMS-led practices. Discussing the new centres, the health secretary said: “Lots of them will be run by the private sector. We will bring in GPs employed by private organizations”. The comment follow the recent controversy in Tower Hamlets, where private firm Atos was awarded a new APMS contract ahead of top-performing local GPs, including the Government’s own lead adviser on access, Dr Sam Everington. Dr Richard Vautrey, GPC vice-chair said the bidding process for APMS services was a “David and Goliath” scenario that was “very much slanted against local practices”. He said: “The Government has no interest in local practices being able to provide these services, this is simply about looking for big business to provide services in a completely different way to the traditional general practice that patients know and love.”

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=23&storycode=4116701

Guardian (7 January 2008)

Brown: NHS renewal is biggest priority
Gordon Brown has said a new national health screening programme with diagnostic procedures available in GP surgeries would provide an NHS offering prevention, as a personal rather than just a universal service. The "NHS offer",to be enshrined in a new NHS constituion, is dismissed as gimmickry by opposition politicians.

See full article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2236652,00.html

Manchester Evening News (4 January 2008)

Patients at risk in shake-up
GPs in Manchester have been handing out leaflets which say the family doctor service is under threat. The government is accused of harming patient services by encouraging private companies to provide GP services.

See full article at:
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/health/s/1030623_patients_at_risk_in_shakeup

Financial Times (4 January 2008)

Bupa buys US specialist care group
Bupa has bought US healthcare company Health Dialog in a move which makes it an important player in the US healthcare market. Health Dialog is on the Department of Health's list of approved suppliers who can be contracted by PCTs. Bupa has been restructuring its businesses worldwide.

See full article at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/17766a24-ba69-11dc-abcb-0000779fd2ac.html

Guardian (3 January 2008)

Cameron calls for funding cuts at superbug hospitals
Tory leader David Cameron has said a hospital's income should be docked if a patient becomes infected with MRSA while under its care. Meanwhile, Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation (the NHS managers' organisation), has said there will now be four different health services operating as a result of devolution.

See full article at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jan/03/health.conservatives

E-Health Insider (3 January 2008)

Four-fifths of doctors say electronic record insecure
In a Times survey 80% of GP respondents expressed concern about the security of patient records from a central database.

See full article at:
http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/3350/four-fifths_of_doctors_say_electronic_record_insecure

Navigation

News Archive Jan - Mar 2008

Guardian (31 March 2008)

Health Service Journal (27 March 2008)

Management in Practice (26 March 2008)

Manchester Evening News (25 March 2008)

Observer (23 March 2008)

Leicester Mercury (21 March 2008)

Public Finance (21 March 2008)

Health Service Journal (20 March 2008)

Guardian (20 March 2008)

BBC Online (19 March 2008)

Financial Times (17 March 2008)

Oxford Mail (14 March 2008)

Guardian (13 March 2008)

Management in Practice (12 March 2008)

Healthcare Republic (11 March 2008)

Guardian (8 March 2008)

Guardian (7 March 2008)

Health Service Journal (6 March 2008)

Healthcare Republic (6 March 2008)

Pulse (4 March 2008)

Western Daily Press (1 March 2008)

BBC Online (29 February 2008)

The Star (29 February 2008)

Guardian (28 February 2008)

Daily Telegraph (26 February 2008)

Cambridge Evening News (25 February 2008)

BBC Online (22 February 2008)

Camden New Journal (21 February 2008)

Telegraph (21 February 2008)

Scotsman (20 February 2008)

Financial Times (19 February 2008)

Observer (17 February 2008)

Public Finance (15 February 2008)

Health Service Journal (14 February 2008)

BBC Online (13 February 2008)

Liverpool Daily Post (12 February 2008)

Guardian (11 February 2008)

Yorkshire Post (11 February 2008)

Daily Telegraph (8 February 2008)

Bristol Evening Post (7 February 2008)

Times (7 February 2008)

Health Service Journal (7 February 2008)

Guardian (5 February 2008)

Bucks Free Press (1 February 2008)

Health Service Journal (31 January 2008)

Guardian (29 January 2008)

Evening Standard (29 January 2008)

Financial Times (28 January 2008)

Oxford Mail (27 January 2008)

Dundee Courier (25 January 2008)

Guardian (25 January 2008)

Guardian (24 January 2008)

BBC Online (22 January 2008)

Aberdeen Press and Journal (21 January 2008)

Public Finance (18 January 2008)

UK Trade and Investment (15 January 2008)

Financial Times (15 January 2008)

Herald (14 January 2008)

Financial Times (11 January 2008)

Guardian (10 January 2008)

Daily Telegraph (9 January 2008)

Pulse (9 January 2008)

Guardian (7 January 2008)

Manchester Evening News (4 January 2008)

Financial Times (4 January 2008)

Guardian (3 January 2008)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jan/03/health.conservatives

E-Health Insider (3 January 2008)

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