News Archive Jan - Mar 2010
31/03/10 Mid Staffs asks to be stripped of foundation status
30/03/10 White Paper backs free care service but defers 'death tax' plan
30/03/10 Health of thousands threatened by cancer blunders, NHS report says
27/03/10 NHS presents spending cuts plan to government
26/03/10 Record rise in GP numbers - but managers also multiply
25/03/10 Government's preferred provider rules clear way for further privatisation
23/03/10 A&E targets 'compromising safety'
17/03/10 Preferred provider policy could be 'illegal', former health minister warns
17/03/10 Patient groups back closure of hospitals
15/03/10 GP care home support 'cuts deaths and workload'
13/03/10 England's out-of-hours GP care 'is inadequate'
11/03/10 NHS managers demand power to fire GPs
08/03/10 NHS trusts give 'wrong' hospital performance data to public
05/03/10 DH report shoots down evidence for shift of work from A&E to GPs
04/03/10 Virgin snaps up Assura GP companies to become leading Darzi centre provider
04/03/10 Weak NHS managers could be ‘struck off’
03/03/10 NHS market reforms are not linked with better care
03/03/10 Darzi centre becomes first to agree pay cut
01/03/10 Stafford Hospital scandal families 'to sue NHS managers for corporate manslaughter'
26/02/10 Tories outline hospital efficiency plans
25/02/10 NHS trust's litany of failure, neglect, insensitivity and ineptitude
25/02/10 Hinchingbrooke deal 'just the start', says Britnell
24/02/10 Polysystems go national in huge work shift to GPs
22/02/10 MPs call for end to NHS funding of homeopathy
19/02/10 Government must halt tendering process that will lead to NHS privatisation, say unions
18/02/10 Government calls on NHS to move care into community
16/02/10 GPs told to ignore choice and refer to Care UK services
16/02/10 Royal Surrey sold millions of pounds of NHS drugs in 'unacceptable' export trading
16/02/10 Unions rubbish Conservatives' NHS co-op plans
15/02/10 Elderly care row escalates
12/02/10 Virgin poised to swipe raft of Darzi centres
12/02/10 NHS managers numbers rise at twice rate of doctors, report finds
09/02/10 Labour to focus election fight on the NHS
08/02/10 Children put at risk by Government's early discharge drive
08/02/10 Lib Dems attack £63bn PFI bill
05/02/10 Government to bring in national model contract for out-of-hours care
04/02/10 DH dismisses own advisory panel's claims on procurement and competition as 'anecdote'
03/02/10 Britain ignoring its dementia crisis, Oxford study finds
29/01/10 NHS boss 'ordered report cover up'
28/01/10 Scotland confirms block on private providers
28/01/10 NHS jobs for nurses to be cut by 13,000, official figures show
26/01/10 Failings allowed Leeds nurse Colin Norris to kill
26/01/10 Government pushes for greater public involvement in the NHS
26/01/10 Wrong to let patients use budgets for treatments like homeopathy, says BMA
21/01/10 GP consultation length faces cut by a third as 'financial meltdown' looms
20/01/10 Four nations research reignites row over targets
20/01/10 GMC unveils plan for crackdown on foreign GPs
18/01/10 Lib Dems and Tories turn both barrels on Burnham over private sector block
15/01/10 Lansley accepts cash donation from wife of Care UK chief
14/01/10 Government has failed on its dementia promises, says spending watchdog
14/01/10 Improvement tsar warns SHAs to 'refresh' Darzi visions urgently
13/01/10 Tories open up talks with private firms
12/01/10 Internet fund 'to boost telehealth'
08/01/10 DH orders immediate review of care home prescribing
07/01/10 NHS at centre of Tories’ election campaign
06/01/10 Burnham faces private healthcare sector challenge over NHS 'bias'
06/01/10 Care home patients tube fed 'to save time'
04/01/10 BMA calls for private firms to be left out in the cold in 2010
Nursing Times (31 March 2010)
Mid Staffs asks to be stripped of foundation status
The board of Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust has said it wants to be stripped of foundation status in order to help regain public trust. Health Secretary Andy Burnham has written to foundation trust regulator Monitor indicating that deauthorisation may be requested.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/whats-new-in-nursing/mid-staffs/mid-staffs-asks-to-be-stripped-of-foundation-status/5013186.article?referrer=RSS
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Community Care (30 March 2010)
White Paper backs free care service but defers 'death tax' plan
A long awaited White Paper commits the Governmet to a national care service free at the point of need but puts off the question of funding until it has been debated by a new cross-party care commission.
Guardian (30 March 2010)
Health of thousands threatened by cancer blunders, NHS report says
A report by the NHS's National Patient Safety Agency has found that cancer was misdiagnosed or not detected early enough, tissue samples were mixed up and some patients were wrongly given the all clear. The study was conducted over a year.
BBC Online (27 March 2010)
NHS presents spending cuts plan to government
The NHS has been told to make savings of £4.35bn within two years, the Chancellor announced in the Budget. Savings presented by strategic health authorities will form the first part of the £20bn of efficiency savings over five years called for by NHS chief executive David Nicholson.
Pulse (26 March 2010)
Record rise in GP numbers - but managers also multiply
A 7% increase in GP numbers over the preceding year is a sign of a change in working practices, according to NHS chief executive David Nicholson, with care closer to patients' homes. Manager numbers rose by 12% over the same period.
Pulse (25 March 2010)
Government's preferred provider rules clear way for further privatisation
A two strikes and you're out policy for NHS contractors should be followed by procurement of private providers to increase competition, according to the long awaited preferred provider rules from the Department of Health.
Health Service Journal (23 March 2010)
A&E targets 'compromising safety'
The College of Emergency Medicine has said the four hour waiting time target for accident and emergency puts staff under 'incredible pressure' and that quality should always take priority.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/home/board-talk/ae-targets-compromising-safety/5012866.article
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Pulse (17 March 2010)
Preferred provider policy could be 'illegal', former health minister warns
Former health minister Lord Warner has said Department of Health lawyers are concerned that Health Secretary Andy Burnham's move to name the NHS as the preferred provider in bids to provide services could be illegal.
Health Service Journal (17 March 2010)
Patient groups back closure of hospitals
National Voices, the umbrella group representing patient groups such as the Stroke Association, Cancer Research UK and the National Childbirth Trust, has said not all local hospital care is good enough, but that local populations should be properly engaged in debates around reconfiguration.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/acute-care/patient-groups-back-closure-of-hospitals/5012616.article?referrer=RSS
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Pulse (15 March 2010)
GP care home support 'cuts deaths and workload'
Shared management of patients in residential homes between GP practices and community geriatricians has been shown to significantly reduce deaths, hospital admissions and out-of-hours call outs, a pilot study has found.
BBC Online (13 March 2010)
England's out-of-hours GP care 'is inadequate'
A government survey of out-of-hours GP care found a fifth of patients in some areas
reporting poor care. Trusts have been given until the end of the year to follow strict new guidelines on out-of-hours care.
Health Service Journal (11 March 2010)
NHS managers demand power to fire GPs
A summary of talks between the Department of Health and strategic health authority directors includes calls by managers to be given the right to hire and fire GPs as part of a programme to move much care into the primary sector.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/primary-care/nhs-managers-demand-power-to-fire-gps/5012428.article?referrer=RSS
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Telegraph (8 March 2010)
NHS trusts give 'wrong' hospital performance data to public
Pulse (5 March 2010)
DH report shoots down evidence for shift of work from A&E to GPs
Pulse (4 March 2010)
Virgin snaps up Assura GP companies to become leading Darzi centre provider
Health Service Journal (4 March 2010)
Weak NHS managers could be ‘struck off’
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/workforce/weak-nhs-managers-could-be-struck-off/5012172.article
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Health Service Journal (3 March 2010)
NHS market reforms are not linked with better care
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/policy/nhs-market-reforms-are-not-linked-with-better-care/5012032.article
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Pulse (3 March 2010)
Darzi centre becomes first to agree pay cut
Telegraph (1 March 2010)
Stafford Hospital scandal families 'to sue NHS managers for corporate manslaughter'
Campaign group Now Cure The NHS Campaign is considering a private prosecution of board members of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, found by an independent inquiry to have abused and neglected patients.
Health Service Journal (26 February 2010)
Tories outline hospital efficiency plans
The Conservatives have said they will encourage the private sector and charities to compete to provide NHS services in a bid to increase efficiency and drive down costs.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/acute-care/tories-outline-hospital-efficiency-plans/5011999.article
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Guardian (25 February 2010)
NHS trust's litany of failure, neglect, insensitivity and ineptitude
Robert Francis QC's damning report on the failings of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust details failure, neglect and ineptitude amongst the causes of unnecessary suffering revealed by an extensive examination of care provided at Staffordshire General Hospital.
Health Investor (25 February)
Hinchingbrooke deal 'just the start', says Britnell
The former director-general for commissioning and system management at the Department of Health, Mark Britnell, has claimed a further 20 or 30 NHS trusts will be in positions of financial distress in the next year, possibly leading them to outsource care to the private sector. Britnell now works for accountancy giant KPMG.
Pulse (24 February 2010)
Polysystems go national in huge work shift to GPs
A Pulse investigation has revealed proposals to decommission hospital services on a massive scale with services being moved into primary care.
Pulse (22 February 2010)
MPs call for end to NHS funding of homeopathy
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has said NHS funding of homeopathy should be scrapped and homeopathic remedies should no longer be licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. It has concluded that Government policy on homeopathy is not evidence based.
Guardian (19 February 2010)
Government must halt tendering process that will lead to NHS privatisation, say unions
Hinchingbrooke hospital in Huntingdon looks set to become the first NHS hospital to be wholly run by a private sector company after the only public sector organisation bidding for the contract dropped out of the process.
Nursing Times (18 February 2010)
Government calls on NHS to move care into community
Health Secretary Andy Burnham has said that more services will need to be brought into patients' homes rather than admit people to hospital for lengthy stays, if the NHS is to both improve patient care and cut costs.
Pulse (16 February 2010)
GPs told to ignore choice and refer to Care UK services
GPs in 10 PCTs are being told to refer patients to services run by a private company because the trusts will have to meet the bill for the Department of Health's contract with Care UK, regardless of how much use is made of the services.
Health Service Journal (16 February 2010)
Royal Surrey sold millions of pounds of NHS drugs in 'unacceptable' export trading
The Royal Surrey County Hospital Foundation Trust has bought drugs at NHS prices which it then sold to a wholesaler for export. The subsequent rise in its revenue helped to support the trust's application for foundation status which was approved in December.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/pharmaceuticals/hsj-names-trust-that-made-millions-from-unacceptable-export-of-hospital-drugs/5011578.article
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Nursing Times (16 February 2010)
Unions rubbish Conservatives' NHS co-op plans
Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail has said Tory plans for NHS staff cooperatives were a mask for the break up of public services. Dave Prentis of Unison highlighted the opportunity the private sector would be given to "pick over [the] bones" of public services.
Health Service Journal (15 February 2010)
Elderly care row escalates
Attempts to reach a cross party consensus on care for the elderly saw Andrew Lansley of the Tories accusing Labour of planning a 10% death duty and Andy Burnham for Labour accusing the Conservatives of spreading scare stories.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/policy/elderly-care-row-escalates/5011492.article
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Pulse (12 February 2010)
Virgin poised to swipe raft of Darzi centres
Speculation over plans by Assura to sell off its healthcare business has identified Richard Branson's Virgin Healthcare as a potential buyer. Assura has won the contracts for more than a dozen GP led health centres.
Telegraph (12 February 2010)
NHS managers numbers rise at twice rate of doctors, report finds
A report from the BMA says that a 91% increase in senior NHS managers since 1995 compared with a 35% rise in doctors and nurses arose as a result of a 'fixation' with the market leading to more red tape and "expensive commercial experiments".
Health Service Journal (9 February 2010)
Labour to focus election fight on the NHS
Labour is pledging personalised care for cancer patients and rehabilitation care for over-65's following a hospital stay as part of its bid to win a fourth election victory. The Tories responded by accusing Labour of making unaffordable promises to patients.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/policy/labour-to-focus-election-fight-on-the-nhs/5011276.article
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Pulse (8 February 2010)
Children put at risk by Government's early discharge drive
A study by University of Manchester researchers has found that children under 15 discharged from hospital within a day of admission are far more likely to be readmitted. The findings come as a link between early discharge and readmission is debated.
Health Investor (8 February 2010)
Lib Dems attack £63bn PFI bill
The Liberal Democrats have claimed that £63bn will be paid on private finance intiative (PFI) deals for hospitals with an original capital value of £11bn.
Pulse (5 February 2010)
Government to bring in national model contract for out-of-hours care
A new national model contract and more robust skills and knowledge testing are to be introduced for the commissioning of out-of-hours care following a report into the death of a patientcaused by an out-of-hours GP.
Health Service Journal (4 February 2010)
DH dismisses own advisory panel's claims on procurement and competition as 'anecdote'
A report from the Department of Health's cooperation and competition panel which highlighted significant breaches of procurement rules has been dismissed as anecdotal by a Department of Health spokeswoman.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/legal/dh-dismisses-own-advisory-panels-claims-on-procurement-and-competition-as-anecdote/5011139.article
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Guardian (3 February 2010)
Britain ignoring its dementia crisis, Oxford study finds
An Oxford university study has found that cancer research funding is 12 times higher and heart disease research funding three times higher than that for dementia. The cost of dementia care is more than that of cancer and heart disease combined.
Health Service Journal (29 January 2010)
NHS boss 'ordered report cover up'
A senior hospital official has been suspended by Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust pending an investigation into claims that she told a doctor that he should "avoid stressing possible failures on the part of the trust" concerning a coroner's report on a patient death.
Pulse (28 January 2010)
Scotland confirms block on private providers
The Scottish Parliament has passed a bill to amend the 1978 NHS Act, removing the possibility of private companies holding primary medical services contracts. The BMA has welcomed the move saying it ensured that general practice would remain 'the cornerstone of the NHS'.
Daily Mail (28 January 2010)
NHS jobs for nurses to be cut by 13,000, official figures show
Department of Health figures suggest that there will be a net loss of over 13,000 nurses between 2008 and 2014, with large numbers of nurses leaving the NHS not being replaced.
BBC Online (26 January 2010)
Failings allowed Leeds nurse Colin Norris to kill
Record-keeping and medicine management practices at two Yorkshire hospitals have been blamed for allowing nurse Colin Norris's crimes to go undetected. Norris has been jailed fpr life for the murders of four elderly women at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's Hospital.
Health Service Journal (26 January 2010)
Government pushes for greater public involvement in the NHS
Health Secretary Andy Burnham has called on people to join Local Involvement Networks (LINks) as research shows that while 60% of people want to share their views on NHS services only 30,000 individuals and organisations have joined LINks.
Pulse (26 January 2010)
Wrong to let patients use budgets for treatments like homeopathy, says BMA
In its response to the Government's consultation on personal budgets for NHS treatment, the BMA has said that allowing patients to divert resources to clinically unproven treatments such as homeopathy would risk taking money from core services.
Pulse (21 January 2010)
GP consultation length faces cut by a third as 'financial meltdown' looms
Proposals from NHS London following advice from management consultants McKinsey include slashing the length of GP appointment times by a third. A BMA report 'London's NHS on the Brink' says London PCTs will face a £5bn funding gap by 2017.
Health Service Journal (20 January 2010)
Four nations research reignites row over targets
A report from the Nuffield Trust shows that England is doing better than other UK nations measured against some targets. A Scottish government spokesperson said the data was at least three years out of date and there have since been significant improvements.
Pulse (20 January 2010)
GMC unveils plan for crackdown on foreign GPs
A draft report from the General Medical Council gives 27 recommendations for improving the training of doctors. European Economic Area doctors would only be able to practice in the UK once they had passedtheir first revalidation after training.
Pulse (18 January 2010)
Lib Dems and Tories turn both barrels on Burnham over private sector block
The Liberal Democrats have joined Tory opposition to Health Secretary Andy Burnham's decision to name the NHS as 'preferred provider' of services by saying that attempts to improve productivity would be severely hampered.
Pulse (15 January 2010)
Lansley accepts cash donation from wife of Care UK chief
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has accepted a £21,000 donation to his personal office from the wife of the chief executive of Care UK, a leading private healthcare provider who has numerous contracts with the NHS.
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Guardian (14 January 2010)
Government has failed on its dementia promises, says spending watchdog
The National Audit Office has said dementia is still viewed by primary care trusts as a lower priority than cancer or strokes despite the Government's national dementia strategy.
Nursing Times (14 January 2010)
Improvement tsar warns SHAs to 'refresh' Darzi visions urgently
The Department of Health's national director for improvement and efficiency, Jim Easton, has said efficiency and quality improvements are not optional. NHS chief executive David Nicholson says £15bn-£20bn must be saved by the NHS by 2014 while improving quality of care.
Pulse (13 January 2010)
Tories open up talks with private firms
The Conservatives are holding talks with private healthcare providers as part of a policy to increase NHS competition. The BMA has called on politicians put a brake on private sector involvement in the NHS.
Health Service Journal (12 January 2010)
Internet fund 'to boost telehealth'
The Government has said a £1bn investment in high speed broadband will enable telecare and telehealth services to vastly improve the quality of healthcare available to the elderly and those living in remote areas.
Pulse (8 January 2010)
DH orders immediate review of care home prescribing
An urgent safety review has been ordered by the Department of Health amid concerns about frequent prescribing errors in residential care homes. 'Joint working' between GPs, pharmacists and social care providers is urged in an ongoing audit of procedures.
Health Service Jourrnal (7 January 2010)
NHS at centre of Tories’ election campaign
The Conservative draft health manifesto has scaled back earlier pledges in reaction to the recession. It promises to scrap "politically motivated" process targets, cut admin costs by a third and create an independent board to oversee commissioning.
Guardian (6 January 2010)
Burnham faces private healthcare sector challenge over NHS 'bias'
Health secretary Andy Burnham's decision to name the NHS the "preferred provider" of NHS care is being challenged by private sector companies and charities. The NHS Co-operation and Competition Panel is to launch an investigation.
Nursing Times (6 January 2010)
Care home patients tube fed 'to save time'
A report from the Royal College of Physicians says elderly and infirm patients may be forced to have feeding tubes inserted in their stomachs in order to reduce costs and staffing levels. The college has issued guidance to medics that artificial feeding be seen as a last resort.
Pulse (4 January 2010)
BMA calls for private firms to be left out in the cold in 2010
The BMA has called for an end to 'unnecessary and expensive commercial sector solutions' in the NHS. In a new year appeal to MPs the body also urges politicians to 'resist the false economy of making quick savings by cutting front-line NHS services.'
