News Archive Oct - Dec 2010
20/12/10 Patients denied treatment as trusts make cutbacks
19/12/10 Low-paid NHS staff to face pay cut or lose jobs
17/12/10 NHS paying private hospitals £35m per month
14/12/10 No credible plan for £20bn savings, MPs warn
13/12/10 Hospital staff asked to work for free
08/12/10 90% of pathfinder consortia may be too small to manage risk
08/12/10 Pathfinder consortium signs deal with United Health
29/11/10 The RCN warn of huge job cuts
25/11/10 NHS hospital to be privately run
28/11/10 Government advisers promote fast food
25/11/10 Supermarket to launch GP network
24/11/10 Cash Strapped Councils Eye NHS Budget
18/11/10 A&E waiting times jump after government scales back targets
18/11/10 Patients still choose local hospitals over better distant ones
16/11/10 Midwife staff cuts puts pregnant women at risk
13/11/10 A quarter of cancers discovered late
10/11/10 NHS locum spending 'nearly doubles in two years'
08/11/10 Stafford hospital inquiry begins
04/11/10 UK tuberculosis cases at 30-year high
29/10/10 & 01/11/10 Nice stripped of power
03/11/10 Children without MMR jabs should be banned from school, claims public health official
02/11/10 Half of Darzi centres under review
02/11/10 Study calls for legal limit on salt
27/10/10 Huge cuts to GP training budget
26/10/10 NHS faces £6bn funding gap, say King's Fund
19/10/10 Government axes 30 health quangos
The Daily Telegraph (20 December 2010)
Patients denied treatment as trusts make cutbacks
Hundreds of thousands of NHS patients are being denied routine procedures as dozens of trusts cut back on surgery, scans and other treatments in order to save money. Trusts around the country are refusing to pay for operations ranging from hip replacements, to cataract removal and wisdom tooth extraction.
The Observer (19 December 2010)
Low-paid NHS staff to face pay cut or lose jobs
35,000 nurses, cleaners and medical secretaries have been threatened with redundancy unless staff accept a pay deal that will see them lose up to several thousand pounds a year. The 1.1 million workers facing the dilemma are mostly the lowest-paid, who, in common with other public sector workers, are already facing two years with no pay rise from April.
BBC (17 December 2010)
NHS paying private hospitals £35m per month
The NHS is paying private hospitals £35m a month to treat patients - a rise of more than 60% in a year. The October 2010 data showed the NHS paid out the money for nearly 17,000 patients to have non-emergency care. Doctors have said it has been driven by an increase in marketing by private firms.
The Guardian (14 December 2010)
No credible plan for £20bn savings, MPs warn
The government has no "credible plan" to make NHS savings of £20bn by 2014 a committee of MPs have warned. The MPs also chided the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, for peddling a price tag for his white paper proposals that was produced for the last government: "It is unhelpful for the government to continue to cite the £1.7bn figure, as it does not relate to specific proposals."
Epsom Guardian (13 December 2010)
Hospital staff asked to work for free
Staff at Epsom and St Helier Hospitals have been asked give up part of their holiday entitlement to help the hospital trust cut £30m from its budget. In an email to staff Samantha Jones, chief executive of the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust, suggested a number of ways staff could personally help the trust plug the deficit.
GP Online (8 December 2010)
90% of pathfinder consortia may be too small to manage risk
The government’s health bill, originally due to be published in October, is to be delayed until the New Year. The delay comes amid stinging criticism from the new chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Dr Clare Gerada, and speculation of political dissent from within the government.
Pulse (8 December 2010)
Pathfinder consortium signs deal with United Health
One of the first GP pathfinder consortia groups has signed a deal with private firm UnitedHealth UK to run a major crackdown on GP referrals. NHS Hounslow revealed the new Referral Facilitation Service would handle all referrals, including consultant-to-consultant referrals, from February 2011.
The Telegraph (29 November 2010)
The RCN warn of huge job cuts
Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing, warns of an 'insidious erosion of staffing in the NHS' which will have a direct impact on patient care. Dr Carter’s prediction follows the RCN’s findings that at least 10,000 NHS jobs are to be cut despite government assurances that front line health services will be protected.
BBC Online (25 November 2010)
NHS hospital to be privately run
Hinchingbrooke in Cambridgeshire becomes the first NHS hospital to be entirely run by a private company. Circle, which runs a private hospital in Bath, beat another bidder for the contract. Paul Flynn of the BMA warned, 'This could be the start of much greater privatisation. There are quite a few other trusts with debts and private companies want to get a foothold into the NHS. But my concern is that they do not have the wider interests of the health service in mind.'
The Independent (28 November 2010)
Government advisers promote fast food
US Research reveals the extent to which UK government advisors on health policy promote unhealthy fast-foods. John Healey, shadow Health Secretary, said, 'The US experience shows the effect of government taking a hands-off approach to fast food companies, yet Andrew Lansley wants to roll back government action for the nation's health. Worse, the Government is inviting the very companies who make some of the unhealthiest food available to have a hand in writing national public health policy.'
Pulse (29 November 2010)
Health Bill Delayed
The government’s health bill, originally due to be published in October, is to be delayed until the New Year. The delay comes amid stinging criticism from the new chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Dr Clare Gerada, and speculation of political dissent from within the government.
The Independent (25 November 2010)
Supermarket to launch GP network
The supermarket retailer Sainsbury's is set to launch a nationwide network of GP practices. Offering free space in their stores to GPs, the retailer will also offer commissioning advice, marketing and back-office support. With initial plans for up to 40 branches by 2013, the supermarket giant envisions a network of practices operating out of 204 of its stores.
BBC News (24 November 2010)
Cash Strapped Councils Eye NHS Budget
The BBC reports that local councils facing a real-term budget cut of 25% over the next four years are lobbying ministers for access to the proposed ring-fenced NHS budget when powers are devolved to GP consortia in 2013. David Rogers, chairman of the Local Government Association, said that, 'councils need "financial freedom" to make decisions in the best interests of their residents.'
Pulse (18 November 2010)
A&E waiting times jump after Government scales back targets
Following the coalition's decision to abandon numerous targets such as the 18-week referral-to-treatment target, board minutes from NHS London show an increase in people awaiting diagnostic tests. There has also been a deterioration in A&E performance with a rise in the number of people waiting longer than four hours to be seen.
Telegraph (18 November 2010)
Patients still choose local hospital over better distant ones: research
Healthcare think tank The King's Fund has warned ministers that they should be cautious about patients' ability to use information to make choices about their healthcare. The warning uses research showing that patients choose a hospital close to home rather than a better one further away.
Guardian (16 November 2010)
Midwife staff cuts puts pregnant women at risk
Results from the NHS Staff Survey and another from the Royal College of Midwives have pinpointed budget cuts and staff reductions as leading to a negative effect on patient care. While annual birth numbers have risen by 19% in England between 2001 and 2009 the total number of midwives rose by 14.6% in the same period.
Independent (13 November 2010)
Quarter of cancers discovered late
Research by the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) has found that 23 per cent of cancers were only detected after a patient was admitted for emergency treatment. Those diagnosed at the emergency stage were significantly less likely to survive for a year than those diagnosed earlier.
BBC online (10 November 2010)
NHS locum spending 'nearly doubles in two years'
Figures suggesting that spending on locums has nearly doubled over two years has been linked to the European Working Time Directive, which limits the working week to 48 hours, by the Royal College of Surgeons. The increased reliance on agency staff and locum doctors has been at a cost described as ‘astronomical’ by RCS president John Black. Concerns have also been raised about the continuity of patient care under locums.
Mail (10 November 2010)
Jab 'turning cervical cancer into a rare disease' and could spell end of regular smear tests
Scientists at Cancer Research UK say that a mass vaccination programme for all girls aged 12 and 13 should soon make cervical cancer, currently the second commonest cancer in young women, a rare disease. Good uptake of the jab means that a new smear test would only be needed in a woman's lifetime.
Guardian (8 November 2010)
Stafford hospital inquiry begins
The public inquiry into failings at Stafford Hospital begins today building on the earlier independent investigation into the care provided by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust between 2005 and 2009. Calls for a public inquiry were rejected by the Labour government which instead set up the independent inquiry under Robert Francis QC, who will now chair the public inquiry being held to combat "a culture of secrecy" according to Tory health secretary Andrew Lansley.
Mail (4 November 2010)
Middle-aged Britons are healthier than Americans but die sooner 'because our healthcare system is worse'
A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the RAND Corporation research centre in Los Angeles says that while Britons over 50 are healthier than their American counterparts, NHS treatments are too conservative, leading to a lower likelihood that they will live to 80.
Guardian (4 November 2010)
UK tuberculosis cases at 30-year high
The Health Protection Agency has reported an increase in TB cases from 8,621 in 2008 to 9,040 in 2009. Campaigners have described the rise as shocking and are calling for more work to alert people about the posibility of infection. Drug resistance is also of growing concern.
NICE TO SEE YOU....
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to be "stripped of [its] power" to ban drugs it judges not to be cost effective. The Mail can barely contain its glee at a "stunning victory for patients" while the Guardian, in slightly more measured tones, notes that "the move will be greeted with enthusiasm by the pharmaceutical industry" and warns of the dread resurgence of a postcode lottery if local commissioning bodies are to decide which drugs they will pay for.
Mail (3 November 2010)
Children without MMR jabs should be banned from school, claims public health official
The director of public health at East Lancashire Primary Care Trust is negotiating with the local authority to make school admission dependent on uptake of the MMR jab. Uptake has remained suppressed since the vaccine was linked to autism 12 years ago, a claim which has since been discredited.
Pulse (2 and 1 November 2010)
Half of Darzi centres under review
Contracts for almost half of the GP-led health centres and practices signed under the previous government have been renegotiated, Freedom of Information requests have found. Some contracts have been amended in favour of the provider while others could be terminated for not providing value for money. Some trusts have signed 10 year contracts rather than the standard five years.
Click here and here for full articles
Nursing Times / Press Association (2 November 2010)
Study calls for legal limit on salt
Scientists in Australia who compared the health impact of voluntary salt reduction measures by food manufacturers with the likely impact of mandatory curbs concluded that cardiovascular ill health could be cut by 18% under a compulsory strategy rather than the 1% cut shown in voluntary restrictions.
Independent (2 November 2010)
A cure for the common cold may finally be achieved as a result of a remarkable discovery in a Cambridge laboratory
Clinical trials of new drugs to combat the common cold, the winter vomiting bug and other viruses could start in two to five years as a result of a new discovery that has shown that the body's immune system can attack a virus after it has invaded the human cell.
Pulse (27 October 2010)
Huge cuts to GP training budget
Funding allocated to GP Training is being cut by as much as 14%, despite recent warnings from the GMC about the quality of medical education and concerns that the next generation of GPs are not properly equipped for the job. This is causing serious concern with the plans to make the NHS increasingly GP-led.
Independent (26 October 2010)
NHS faces £6bn funding gap say King's Fund
Government claims that the NHS budget will be protected are false according to the King's Fund. Because NHS inflation is typically above the rate of inflation, the 0.1% annual rise in its budget will in real terms actually amount to a 1% cut per year, and a £6bn deficit by 2015.
Pulse (19 October 2010)
Government axes health quangos
The government has cut the number of health quangos as part of its cull of bureaucracy in the public sector. The move, which reduces the number of quangos from 40 to 10, will see a range of committees and regulators abolished, merged with others or absorbed into the Department of Health.
