News archive Jul - Aug 2010
24/08/10 UNISON LAUNCHES LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST WHITE PAPER
23/08/10 Non-emergency telephone number 111 being trialled
20/08/10 Legal high drugs to be banned immediately
19/08/10 Ketamine is 'magic drug' for depression
17/08/10 Legalise heroin and cocaine to cut crime and improve health, top doctor says
15/08/10 Doctors face £10,000 cut in NHS bonus squeeze
15/08/10 Tories' vow to end mixed sex wards is 'empty gesture'
12/08/10 Nice denies asthma drug to children
11/08/10 Spending cuts will affect cancer targets, research suggests
07/08/10 Serco and Circle in NHS bid fight
29/07/10 Calcium pills 'increase heart attack risk'
29/07/10 Ban on heart ops must stay, says review
29/07/10 Fears public health may be hit in shake-up of NHS
27/07/10 Homeopathy should be available on NHS, government says
26/07/10 Lansley claims ISTC programme wasted £300m
24/07/10 Axe falls on NHS services
22/07/10 GPs 'could hand' billions of NHS funds to private companies to manage
20/07/10 Sacked NHS managers could simply move to work for GPs
18/07/10 Tory donor's firm will make millions from NHS shake-up
18/07/10 Wrong records: £600 million NHS database shows inaccuracies for 1 in 10 patients
18/07/10 Fears grow over care of mentally ill as GPs say they don't want the job
14/07/10 NHS boss Sir David Nicholson: ConDem cuts will be chaos
14/07/10 PMQs: Cameron accused of 'ditching' NHS cancer targets
13/07/10 GP reforms to create £1 billion commissioning market
13/07/10 The 'two-tier NHS': Fury as ministers set aside more wards for private patients
12/07/10 Patients given greater powers to choose consultants in Health White Paper
12/07/10 NHS privatisation nightmare warning
07/07/10 Don't let the NHS escape pain of cuts, Tories say
06/07/10 London hospital ‘hired out ward for porn film shoot’
05/07/10 Failure in out-of-hours doctor service puts strain on hospital A&E units
02/07/10 GP hits out at ConDem NHS plans
02/07/10 Ministers 'wasted millions on stockpile of swine flu drugs for epidemic that never arrived'
UNISON press release (24 August 2010)
UNISON LAUNCHES LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST WHITE PAPER
Britain's biggest public service union UNISON has made an application for a judical review to the High Court. Citing instructions from NHS Chief Executive Sir David Nicholson to health authorities to start implementing the White Paper immediately, the union says the government's refusal to properly consult the public about the reforms is unlawful.
Independent (23 August 2010)
Non-emergency telephone number 111 being trialled
The north east is to pilot a new non-emergency telephone number 111. The number will provide advice and information about local NHS services. Further trials are to follow later in the year in Nottingham, Lincolnshire and Luton.
Telegraph (20 August 2010)
Legal high drugs to be banned immediately
A change to Home Office rules will allow ministers to ban 'legal high' drugs immediately, The temporary ban will operate while the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs considers the dangers of a new drug and decides whether a permanent ban would be appropriate. An amendment to the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act is expected by the end of the year.
Telegraph (19 August 2010)
Ketamine is 'magic drug' for depression
Ketamine, the animal tranquiliser more recently used as a party drug, has been found to be a swift and effective treatment for depression with one dose effective for 10 days. Anti addiction campaigners have voiced concerns.
Mail (17 August 2010)
Legalise heroin and cocaine to cut crime and improve health, top doctor says
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, the outgoing president of the Royal College of Physicians, has suggested that the legalisation of drug possession would not increase the number of addicts and would save vast amounts of public money. He says that 'prohibition is not a success'.
Mail (15 August 2010)
Doctors face £10,000 cut in NHS bonus squeeze
The NHS bonus system which rewards NHS consultants and cost £230 million last year is to be made 'fairer' by the Doctors and Dentists Review Body. Health secretary Andrew Lansley is to announce that the body will reduce the sums paid to doctors and allow other workers to be eligible for bonuses.
Mirror (15 August 2010)
Tories' vow to end mixed sex wards is 'empty gesture'
Health secretary Andrew Lansley is to announce that hospital trusts will be fined if they still have mixed sex wards by the end of the year. Labour have dismissed the promise as an empty gesture, with mixed sex wards having been largely eliminated by the last government.
Telegraph (12 August 2010)
Nice denies asthma drug to children
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has said that the high cost of 'pioneering' new drug Xolair did not justify the little extra benefit given to patients aged six to 11 compared to existing treatments. Asthma UK has said children experienced greatly improved quality of life thanks to the drug.
Mail (12 August 2010)
Alarm over 'unbeatable' enzyme that could make all bacterial diseases resistant to antibiotics
A new gene NDM-1, which is resistant to a major group of antibiotics, has been detected in 50 British patients, many of whom are thought to have had medical treatment in India or Pakistan where the gene was first identified.
Telegraph (11 August 2010)
Spending cuts will affect cancer targets, research suggests
Annual plans submitted to foundation trust regulator Monitor suggest that one in four are at risk of missing waiting times targets A drop in trusts' incomes is forecast.
Telegraph (7 August 2010)
Serco and Circle in NHS bid fight
Hinchingbrooke hospital in Cambridgeshire is now entering the final stages of the contest to decide which private sector provider will take over the running of the NHS hospital. Outsourcing giant Serco and healthcare partnership Circle are the last two still in the race.
Telegraph (29 July 2010)
Calcium pills 'increase heart attack risk'
Writing in the British Medical Journal scientists have found an increased risk of heart attack in people taking calcium supplements. An equivalent amount of calcium ingested in the diet appears not to have a similar effect.
Guardian (29 July 2010)
Ban on heart ops must stay, says review
An independent review into the deaths of four babies at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford has concluded that the children's heart unit, closed since February, should not reopen until it has expanded. It is currently the smallest children's heart unit in England.
BBC Online (29 July 2010)
Fears public health may be hit in shake-up of NHS
The King's Fund health think tank has said public health issues such as smoking and drinking could be neglected by the NHS if responsibility is handed to councils as proposed in government plans for the NHS.
Mail (29 July 2010)
Obese? Just call them fat: Plain-speaking doctors will jolt people into losing weight, says minister
Public health minister Anne Milton has said that terms such as 'obese' and 'overweight' should be banned in the NHS because they have less emotional impact thanif a doctor told patients they are 'fat'.
Healthcare Republic (27 July 2010)
Homeopathy should be available on NHS, government says
Responding to the House of Commons science and technology committee recommendation that homeopathy should no longer be available on the NHS, the government has said that patients should be able to make an informed choice, and that local clinicians are better placed to make recommendations than Whitehall.
Health Investor (26 July 2010)
Lansley claims ISTC programme wasted £300m
NHS Support Federation's Paul Evans has emphasised the importance of equity and quality in the NHS as health secretary Andrew Lansley criticises the last government for wasting £300m on its Independent Sector Treatment Centre programme which could have been provided more cheaply in house rather than privately.
Telegraph (24 July 2010)
Axe falls on NHS services
A Telegraph investigation has uncovered what it says are NHS plans to ration common operations such as hip and knee replacements, reduce acute hospital beds, close nursing homes for the elderly, restrict IVF treatment and axe thousands of jobs. The government had said front line services would be protected.
Telegraph (22 July 2010)
GPs 'could hand' billions of NHS funds to private companies to manage
Under the coalition government's proposed shake-up of the NHS GPs will have to become members of a consortium which will take over responsibility currently held by primary care trusts for commissioning services. It has been revealed that consortia could outsource commissioning, effectively passing control of the NHS budget to private companies.
Mail (20 July 2010)
Sacked NHS managers could simply move to work for GPs
The British Medical Association has called on GPs to use expertise currently found in the NHS to take on their new responsibility for the commissioning budget. With primary care trusts (currently responsible for commissioning) to be scrapped, their employees could transfer to new GP consortia.
Mirror (18 July 2010)
Tory donor's firm will make millions from NHS shake-up
Private healthcare company Care UK is set to benefit from the government's plans to give GPs control of commissioning budgets which could then be managed by the private sector. In November 2009 the wife of Care UK's chairman gave a £21,000 donation to the private office of Andrew Lansley, now health secretary.
Mail (18 July 2010)
Wrong records: £600 million NHS database shows inaccuracies for 1 in 10 patients
A pilot version of the £600m 'Spine' NHS database has been shown to hold incorrect data for one in ten patients. The database contains information on medication and allergies, and mistakes could put lives at risk. The British Medical Association has called for the project to be suspended.
Observer (18 July 2010)
Fears grow over care of mentally ill as GPs say they don't want the job
While the Government's health white paper proposes to take powers to commission mental health services away from primary care trusts and give them to GPs, two polls of doctors have shown large majorities indicating that they do not feel equipped for the role. Charity Rethink has said a national GP training programme is needed.
Mirror (14 July 2010)
NHS boss Sir David Nicholson: ConDem cuts will be chaos
NHS chief executive David Nicholson has written to NHS officials warning of a risk of loss of focus on quality and financial discipline as the ConDems' planned changes are put into force. Detailed planning needs to be done with 500 GP-led consortiums replacing primary care trusts and strategic health authorities.
BBC Online (14 July 2010)
PMQs: Cameron accused of 'ditching' NHS cancer targets
Harriet Harman, acting opposition leader, has accused David Cameron of lacking "the guts to admit" that he is planning to ditch the previous government's guarantee that cancer patients would see a specialist within two weeks. She also challenged him to reveal the cost of the planned overhaul of the NHS.
Health Investor (13 July 2010)
GP reforms to create £1 billion commissioning market
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has told NHS managers that giving GPs the power to commission services will cut management costs from £1.85bn to £1bn, a commissioning services market which will be open to "independent commissioning support organisations".
Daily Mail (13 July 2010)
The 'two-tier NHS': Fury as ministers set aside more wards for private patients
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has said hospitals should be able to set aside wards for private patients as the number of NHS beds is reduced. An end to the limit on hospital income earned from private patients could result in the pursuit of private business at the expense of NHS patients, campaigners warn.
Telegraph (12 July 2010)
Patients given greater powers to choose consultants in Health White Paper
Under new government plans hospital success rates will be published so that patients can choose which hospital to be treated in, by which consultant. The choice will then be exercised through the patient's GP.
Mirror (12 July 2010)
NHS privatisation nightmare warning
The NHS Support Federation has warned that many GPs, to be given powers to commission NHS services on behalf of patients, will hire commercial companies to take on the work.
Daily Mail (9 July 2010)
Did ministers cave in to junk food giants? Experts attack pact to jettison new salt and fat rules
Proposals to impose lenient regulation on soft drinks and confectionery manufacturers in return for funding for healthy eating campaigns have been described as 'bribery' by health experts.
Independent (7 July 2010)
Don't let the NHS escape pain of cuts, Tories say
Chancellor George Osborne is facing calls from Tory backbenchers to end the ring fencing of the NHS budget. Criticism has re-emerged following the announcement of £1bn of education cuts. Other departments have been asked to prepare plans for up to 40% cuts.
Evening Standard (6 July 2010)
London hospital ‘hired out ward for porn film shoot’
Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt has told the Commons that a hospital hired out a fully equipped ward as a set for a porn film. The hospital is believed to be St Charles Hospital in west London. Ms Mordaunt was raising the case of the need for transparency in public spending.
Mail (5 July 2010)
Failure in out-of-hours doctor service puts strain on hospital A&E units
Since GPs were allowed to opt out of providing out-of-hours services A&E admissions have risen by 12%. Patients' lack of understanding of how to access services helps explain why admissions are up by 1.35m over five years. The Nuffield Trust charity has calculated that the extra demand is costing £330m a year.
Why out-of-hours care is such a disaster
In February, with the mainstream media full of the case of an inadequately experienced German doctor whose misprescribing led to a patient's death, few seemed to pick up on the origin of the apalling mistake. The out-of-hours GP was used because the then government had given GPs the chance of opting out of providing out-of-hours care, with practices outsourcing to private companies to supply doctors to fill the gap. New Labour's love affair with the commercial sector has continued under the new coalition government with 'any willing provider' now being a candidate to tender for contracts to supply NHS services.
Mirror (2 July 2010)
GP hits out at ConDem NHS plans
Influential GP Dr George Rae has compared the Government's policy of giving NHS contracts to private companies to the subprime mortgage disaster with the founding principle of fairness under threat from a two tiered service based on wealth.
Mail (2 July 2010)
Ministers 'wasted millions on stockpile of swine flu drugs for epidemic that never arrived'
An official review of the Government's response to the swine flu pandemic has found that a lack of flexibility in contracts signed with drugs companies led to millions of vaccine doses being stockpiled unnecessarily. Overall, however, the response was judged to be ‘proportionate and effective'.
