News archive Apr - Jun 10
30/06/10 Jamie Oliver hits back at health secretary over school meals 'insult'
29/06/10 NHS chiefs advertise for 'cost-cutting' adviser... at £1000 a day
28/06/10 BMA and unions call for NHS funding shake-up and an end to market-led health service
27/06/10 NHS suffering devastating cuts to jobs and services, warns BMA
25/06/10 NICE axes plan to restrict arthritis drugs: Thousands more will be able to access treatment
25/06/10 Treasury sends back Lansley plan to give GPs control of £80bn
24/06/10 Doctors attack 'misleading' claims of private health screening tests
23/06/10 Study finds no link between phone masts and childhood cancers
22/06/10 Free-for-all fear as GPs' 48-hr rule is scrapped
18/06/10 NAO targets PFI contracts
16/06/10 Curb NHS spending pledge to save other services, says Andy Burnham
16/06/10 Call to slash NHS costs with £10 charge to see your GP
13/06/10 Huge disparity in NHS death rates revealed
11/06/10 Revised operating framework to pave way for abolition of waiting targets
11/06/10 More than 100 candidates stand in first two health board elections
10/06/10 Scrap NHS Direct, GPs suggest
08/06/10 Hospitals face penalties for discharging patients too soon
07/06/10 Care UK negotiates treatment centre deals
04/06/10 CQC reopens inquiry into Clinicenta
03/06/10 Huge A&E attendance gaps revealed
03/06/10 ‘Patient safety must survive quango cull’
01/06/10 Scottish patients to be assessed by nurses to increase productivity
28/05/10 King's Fund backs Government plans for major overhaul of Choose and Book
27/05/10 GPs should police free prescriptions in England, recommends DH review
26/05/10 Health Bill to cull NHS management and give GPs power to commission
24/05/10 GPs take back community services in radical commissioning shake-up
21/05/10 Lansley orders halt to all Darzi plans nationwide
20/05/10 Coalition document sets out raft of NHS reforms
18/05/10 Abolishing NHS targets could boost firms
18/05/10 Could US health firm hold key to NHS reform?
17/05/10 Abolishing practice boundaries 'a red herring' says top NHS leader
14/05/10 NHS cuts may be deeper than expected, warns Lansley
13/05/10 Concern over safety of £1.7bn set aside for 'non-recurrent' NHS spending
13/05/10 Andrew Lansley outlines NHS ambitions
12/05/10 PCTs impose referral caps to tackle debts
07/05/10 Labour loses all of health team but Burnham; whole Tory health team holds seats
05/05/10 Royal College of Midwives warns against NHS cuts
04/05/10 Polysystem roll-out hit by patient concern over continuity of care
04/05/10 General hospital under threat as NHS faces post-poll closures
01/05/10 Secret plans to cut thousands of trainee jobs for NHS doctors and nurses
29/04/10 U-turn on Whittington hospital closures after local protests
28/04/10 Private firms overtake GP consortiums in Darzi bids
26/04/10 Union warns over potential NHS job cuts
23/04/10 Parties clash over NHS cuts
21/04/10 Cuts being made to frontline NHS services survey reveals
20/04/10 Labour pledges to push through second wave of Darzi centres
14/04/10 Labour and Tories set out health plans to woo electorate
13/04/10 GPs rally against public sector cuts
12/04/10 Labour launches election manifesto
11/04/10 Organ donor blunders 'could cost lives'
08/04/10 Cash-strapped PCTs pin hopes on shift of services to private firms
07/04/10 General election 2010: Tory adviser's firm stands to benefit from cuts
07/04/10 Think tank challenges Tory 'sleight of hand' over cancer drug funding
Guardian (30 June 2010)
Jamie Oliver hits back at health secretary over school meals 'insult'
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has hit back at health secretary Andrew Lansley for his call for "less lecturing" on lifestyle. Oliver said that any problems with the healthy school meals campaign were caused by inadequate funding, and that Lansley's comments were both inaccurate and insulting.
Mail (29 June 2010)
NHS chiefs advertise for 'cost-cutting' adviser... at £1000 a day
Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS trust has adverised for a 'turnaround' director at £1,000 a day. The position is to lead on "efficiency and cost saving measures" at a time when campaigners warn that hundreds of doctors and nurses face redundancy despite Government assurances that front line services will be protected.
Pulse (28 June 2010)
BMA and unions call for NHS funding shake-up and an end to market-led health service
A round table event with academics, trade unions and NHS campaigners including the NHS Support Federation has called for an end to the market model for the NHS, with a re-definition of patient choice to distinguish between choice as a lever of competition and as the ability of individuals to make informed choices about their own care.
Telegraph (27 June 2010)
NHS suffering devastating cuts to jobs and services, warns BMA
A survey of doctors by the British Medical Association has found that 43% of those responding said a recruitment freeze of doctors and nurses was being operated by their trust, and 40% saying that treatments such as varicose vein operations and blood tests were being rationed.
Mail (25 June 2010)
NICE axes plan to restrict arthritis drugs: Thousands more will be able to access treatment
A U-turn by the NHS rationing watchdog NICE will allow thousands of rheumatoid arthritis patients access to a second anti-TNF drug if their first attempt failed. NICE had planned to restrict access to the drugs but has backed down after protests from doctors, nurses and patients together with former health secretary Alan Johnson.
Guardian (25 June 2010)
Treasury sends back Lansley plan to give GPs control of £80bn
Andrew Lansley's NHS white paper intending to give GPs control of 80% of the £100bn NHS budget has been delayed by Treasury officials over fears that there would be a lack of accountabilty for the spending of public funds by ''private businesses". In what had been expected to be a blueprint for the flagship policy, a speech by the health secretary was light on detail.
Telegraph (24 June 2010)
Doctors attack 'misleading' claims of private health screening tests
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the British Medical Association (BMA) has said patients are in danger of being exploited by misleading advertising for medical screening tests and that in some cases false reassurances were being given to people undergoing the tests. The strengthening of marketing rules has been called for.
Independent (23 June 2010)
Study finds no link between phone masts and childhood cancers
A study by researchers at Imperial College, London, to examine the effects on pregnant women of 81,000 mobile phone masts across Britain has concluded that there is no evidence of a cancer risk. The study was the first to investigate the risk of childhood cancers posed by phone masts in the UK.
Mirror (22 June 2010)
Free-for-all fear as GPs' 48-hr rule is scrapped
Patients will no longer be guaranteed a GP appointment within 48 hours. The four hour A&E waiting time limit and the target of 18 weeks between referral and treatment are to be scrapped. The government has also vowed that management job cuts will save the NHS £850m over three years.
Health Investor (18 June 2010)
NAO targets PFI contracts
The National Audit Office has said that the NHS should be able to renegotiate Private Finance Initiative contracts in order to share in efficiency savings made by private consortia.
Guardian (16 June 2010)
Curb NHS spending pledge to save other services, says Andy Burnham
Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has said unless the government withdraws plans for real terms increases in NHS spending other areas will suffer. Social care is identified as a potential loser, which will affect the NHS as hospitals may be unable to discharge patients.
Daily Mail (16 June 2010)
Call to slash NHS costs with £10 charge to see your GP
Centre right think tank Reform has said patients should be charged a 'token' £10 charge for every GP appointment. Hospital beds should be cut by 32,000 and staff by 250,000. Operations should be rationed and many procedures including mastectomies and coronary heart bypasses should not be provided for free by the NHS.
Guardian (13 June 2010)
Huge disparity in NHS death rates revealed
An investigation has found that death rates in NHS hospitals vary greatly with doctors failing to collect and publish data. The policy of patient choice, embraced by all parties, does not allow patients to compare the risks at different hospitals.
Health Service Journal (11 June 2010)
Revised operating framework to pave way for abolition of waiting targets
A revised NHS operating framework, due to be issued next week, is to phase out the four hour A&E target and abolish the 18 week elective waiting target by 2011, and abolish the 48 hour GP access target with immediate effect.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/policy/revised-operating-framework-to-pave-way-for-abolition-of-waiting-targets/5015831.article
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Health Service Journal (11 June 2010)
More than 100 candidates stand in first two health board elections
In a move by the Scottish National Party to introduce democracy to health boards, 22 candidates have been directly elected in NHS Fife and NHS Dumfries and Galloway. Elections to England's primary care trusts have been proposed by the coalition government.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/policy/more-than-100-candidates-stand-in-first-two-health-board-elections/5015793.article
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BBC Online (10 June 2010)
Scrap NHS Direct, GPs suggest
At its annual conference the British Medical Association has questioned the effectiveness of the NHS Direct telephone service, and has suggested it as an area for potential savings along with new buildings and management.
Guardian (8 June 2010)
Hospitals face penalties for discharging patients too soon
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has said that hospitals will be penalised for emergency readmission of patients within 30 days of discharge. While hospitals are thought to be discharging some patients too soon the reasons for readmission can be complex.
HealthInvestor (7 June 2010)
Care UK negotiates treatment centre deals
Private healthcare firm Care UK has been given preferred bidder status to take over the running of a NHS treatment centre in Bradford. Arragements at two other independent sector treatment centres are under negotiation with Care UK.
Pulse (4 June 2010)
CQC reopens inquiry into Clinicenta
The Care Quality Commission is to launch a second inquiry into private healthcare provider Clinicenta following initial findings of 'significant failings'. The company provides services to 20 London PCTs.
Mail (4 June 2010)
NHS 'preparing to cut millions of operations': Patients will lose out to ensure £20bn savings
The chairman of the BMA's consultants' committee has warned that health trusts are targeting procedures such as joint replacements and cataract surgery as candidates to help achieve £20bn of savings by 2014.
Health Service Journal (3 June 2010)
Huge A&E attendance gaps revealed
Data from the NHS Information Centre has found that in some PCTs only 6% of A&E patients are admitted to hospital, compared to a national average of 20%. Concern persists that hospital A&E departments are being used where GP services are inaccessible.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/acute-care/emergency/huge-ae-attendance-gaps-revealed/5015414.article
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Health Service Journal (3 June 2010)
‘Patient safety must survive quango cull’
The Health Foundation has urged health secretary Andrew Lansley to "cull quangos with care", fearing that service reconfiguration of bodies such asthe NHS Institute and National Patient Safety Agency would be a retrograde step with unintended consequences.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/policy/patient-safety-must-survive-quango-cull/5015386.article
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Health Service Journal (1 June 2010)
Scottish patients to be assessed by nurses to increase productivity
In a bid to meet the 18 week referral to treatment target Scottish ministers have proposed that patients be assessed by specialist nurses rather than consultants.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/primary-care/scottish-patients-to-be-assessed-by-nurses-to-increase-productivity/5015372.article
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Pulse (28 May 2010)
King's Fund backs Government plans for major overhaul of Choose and Book
A King's Fund report on the Choose and Book system has found that it has failed to deliver on promises of great change in patient choice. GP workload, the inability to refer to named consutants and inflexibility were all sited as reasons why an overhaul is needed.
Pulse (27 May 2010)
GPs should police free prescriptions in England, recommends DH review
A major Department of Health review has said that GPs should be responsible for deciding which patients with conditions likely to last over six months should be eligible for free prescriptions. The coalition has said it will consider the findings in the comprehensive spending review later this year.
Pulse (26 May 2010)
Health Bill to cull NHS management and give GPs power to commission
The Health Bill included in the Queen's Speech includes plans for a new independent Health Board, the downgrading of SHAs, strengthening of regulators the Care Quality Commission and Monitor, and allowing GPs rather than PCTs to commission patient services.
Pulse (24 May 2010)
GPs take back community services in radical commissioning shake-up
In the latest example of GPs trying to regain influence over community services, ESYDOC, a partnership of 20 GP practices in Surrey, has put forward proposals to take charge of budgets in community, acute and social care sectors.
Pulse (21 May 2010)
Lansley orders halt to all Darzi plans nationwide
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has said top-down reconfigurations of GP services into polysystems envisaged by former minister Lord Darzi are to end. The move comes as a report commissioned by NHS London reveals that managers vastly over estimated their ability to move hospital services into the community.
Health Service Journal (20 May 2010)
Coalition document sets out raft of NHS reforms
The coalition government's plans for the NHS have been published with pledges for some directly elected members of PCT boards, strengthening of the role of the Care Quality Commission, and the development of Monitor to encompass access, competition and price setting.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/coalition-document-promises-directly-elected-pct-boards/5014912.article?referrer=RSS
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Health Investor (18 May 2010)
Abolishing NHS targets could boost firms
Jill Watts, chair of the NHS Partners Network, has said that if the Government scraps NHS targets patients are likely to be pushed to the independent sector. The Conservatives had pledged to replace targets with outcome measures of care.
BBC Online (18 May 2010)
Could US health firm hold key to NHS reform?
Executives from US healthcare company Kaiser Permanente are advising NHS managers on new approaches to healthcare focusing on the care of chronic conditions. A preventive care model rather than crisis management is emphasised.
Pulse (17 May 2010)
Abolishing practice boundaries 'a red herring' says top NHS leader
NHS Confederation's director of policy, Nigel Edwards, has openly criticised the policy endorsed by all three main parties of abolishing GP practice boundaries. Describing it as 'irrelevant' to the urgent job of moving care from hospitals to GP organisations, Edwards said the proposals would only benefit a small number of patients.
Guardian (14 May 2010)
NHS cuts may be deeper than expected, warns Lansley
New health secretary Andrew Lansley has indicated that NHS cuts greater than the £20bn already announced may be needed. While he said the budget would rise above inflation, there remained a case for more savings. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says such large efficiency savings may not be achievable.
Health Service Journal (13 May 2010)
Concern over safety of £1.7bn set aside for 'non-recurrent' NHS spending
NHS finance sources are expecting the new government to claw back the 2% of PCT allocations set aside for 'non-recurrent spending' this financial year. When the NHS operating framework set the 2% requirement it was expected to "fund the costs of change" including reconfigurations.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/finance/concern-over-safety-of-17bn-set-aside-for-non-recurrent-nhs-spending/5014553.article
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Health Service Journal (13 May 2010)
Andrew Lansley outlines NHS ambitions
New health secretary Andrew Lansley has promised "consistent, stable reform" for the NHS with evidence based quality standards. The NHS must show increased efficiency with decisions taken close to patients, with clinical leadership.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/topics/new-government/andrew-lansley-outlines-nhs-ambitions/5014643.article?referrer=RSS
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Pulse (12 May 2010)
PCTs impose referral caps to tackle debts
NHS managers are clamping down on GP referrals, with the imposition of arbitrary limits in some trusts, in an effort to reduce spending on acute services. The move comes as financial crisis grips the NHS.
Health Service Journal (7 May 2010)
Labour loses all of health team but Burnham; whole Tory health team holds seats
Care minister Phil Hope, public health minister Gillian Merron, and health ministers Mike O’Brien and Ann Keen all lost their seats to Conservative opponents in the general election with only health secretary Andy Burnham remaining. All five members of the Tory health team held their seats. Richard Taylor, the independent MP for Wyre Forest also lost to the Conservatives.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/home/election-2010/care-minister-phil-hope-loses-seat-to-conservatives/5014367.article
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Health Service Journal (5 May 2010)
Royal College of Midwives warns against NHS cuts
Nursing union the Royal College of Midwives has said patients will have to travel further to receive care at new "mega-centres" with the disappearance of some hospitals and the centralisation of children's departments and maternity services.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/acute-care/royal-college-of-midwives-warns-against-nhs-cuts/5014290.article
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Pulse (4 May 2010)
Polysystem roll-out hit by patient concern over continuity of care
A patient consultation run by Kingston NHS has found that fewer than 3% wanted their GP to be based in on of the new polyclinics which are being seen as the future of primary healthcare in the capital. Patients valued their relationship with individual GPs.
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Times (4 May 2010)
General hospital under threat as NHS faces post-poll closures
Approaches to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, the expert group which advises on NHS service changes, doubled over the last year. The 26 NHS organisations are thought to be preparing the ground for restructuring (e.g. closures) after the election.
Telegraph (1 May 2010)
Secret plans to cut thousands of trainee jobs for NHS doctors and nurses
NHS organisations have identified thousands of trainee posts which could be cut in pursuit of savings. While the Conservatives have condemned the Government for hypocrisy, Labour has insisted that they would not allow such cuts to go ahead.
Guardian (29 April 2010)
U-turn on Whittington hospital closures after local protests
Plans by NHS London to close A&E and maternity services at Whittington hospital have been halted by Health Secretary Andy Burnham who has said there is a lack of evidence in support of closure. The proposals prompted a concerted public campaign in opposition.
Pulse (28 April 2010)
Private firms overtake GP consortiums in Darzi bids
A year after the then Health Secretary Alan Johnson said the majority of GP-led health centre bids were being won by GP consortiums, private companies are now in the lead for new tenders.
Independent (26 April 2010)
Union warns over potential NHS job cuts
The Royal College of Nursing has said 5,600 posts in 26 trusts could be at risk. If the data is extrapolated across all hospital trusts a worst case scenario figure of 36,000 job cuts is arrived at, the RCN's head of policy warns.
Pulse (23 April 2010)
Parties clash over NHS cuts
In a debate between the health spokesmen for the three main parties, Norman Lamb for the Liberal Democrats challenged Labour's Andy Burnham to publish a controversial report from management consultant McKinsey recommending NHS London cuts, and questioned Andrew Lansley of the Conservatoves over a donation to his private office from the wife of Care UK's boss.
Telegraph (21 April 2010)
Cuts being made to frontline NHS services survey reveals
A survey of 370 GPs has found that over half report cutbacks in their local areas with a further third saying cuts to services are being planned. Cutbacks are being made to nursing and health visitors, despite government policy to move care from hospitals into the community.
Pulse (20 April 2010)
Labour pledges to push through second wave of Darzi centres
Labour's manifesto has promised to expand the programme of GP-led health centres, in a move welcomed by the private healthcare sector. GPs have criticised the move before the first phase of centres has been properly evaluated.
Health Service Journal (14 April 2010)
Labour and Tories set out health plans to woo electorate
Both main parties have pledged to increase GP access, expand the number of foundation trusts and give a free choice of hospital providers. Labour includes its £20bn saving target over four years and rules out top-down reorganisation of PCTs and SHAs while the Tories reaffirm their commitment to 'real terms' increases in NHS spending.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/policy/labour-and-tories-set-out-health-plans-to-woo-electorate/5013541.article?referrer=RSS
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Pulse (13 April 2010)
GPs rally against public sector cuts
A weekend march and rally in London has protested against public sector cuts. The event was supported by the British Medical Association and attracted thousands of GPs and NHS workers.
Health Service Journal (12 April 2010)
Labour launches election manifesto
Labour's election manifesto promises to give existing foundation trusts incentives to take over underperforming NHS trusts with the aim of all hospitals achieving foundation status. A new set of rights and entitlements is intended to drive up public sector standards.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/policy/labour-launches-election-manifesto/5013468.article?referrer=RSS
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Telegraph (11 April 2010)
Organ donor blunders 'could cost lives'
It has emerged that 400,000 organ donor records which were wrongly recorded have yet to be corrected. The mix up occured over which organs a potential donor would not wish to donate. Officials fear the blunder could deter people from registering for organ donation.
Pulse (8 April 2010)
Cash-strapped PCTs pin hopes on shift of services to private firms
A Pulse investigation has revealed that up to 65% of primary care trusts are planning to shift serves to alternative providers in response to government demands for efficiency savings.
Guardian (7 April 2010)
General election 2010: Tory adviser's firm stands to benefit from cuts
Sir Peter Gershon, the Conservatives' independent efficiency expert who has identified £12bn of savings an incoming government could make this year, is the chairman of the UK's biggest private sector healthcare company General Healthcare Group. GHG has admitted it will benefit from NHS cutbacks.
Pulse (7 April 2010)
Think tank challenges Tory 'sleight of hand' over cancer drug funding
The King's Fund has questioned Tory plans to finance two new policies concerning cancer drugs, saying that meeting the cost by reversing the National Insurance increase (thus supposedly reducing the NHS's NI liability) is a sleight of hand in that the money isn't yet there to be saved and will have to come from other budgets.
Daily Mail (2 April 2010)
Health cuts 'will put lives at risk' say doctors protesting against plan to axe jobs and wards
A survey of NHS finance directors has found that a third of hospitals plans to cut clinical staff and a quarter plan to cut patient services. Top doctors said the cuts would cost far more in the long run in both human and financial terms.
