Jan - Mar 2011
19/03/11 Government accused of hiding NHS good news
15/03/11 Dementia sufferers not helped by reforms
15/03/11 Charities refuse to sign Lansley deal
10/03/11 Poll shows GPs lack confidence in Lansley
27/01/11 Case for reforms 'oversold'
26/01/11 Doubts cast on coalition's "Big Society" and nudging tactics
26/01/11 Government "must do more to win round GPs" says Dorrell
25/01/11 Monitor may pay private providers more
25/01/11 Bar on foreign staff bodes ill for NHS
21/01/11 Watchdog raises alarm over health reforms
19/11/11 BMA warns health bill is huge risk for the NHS
17/01/11 NHS changes: David Cameron's dodgy prescription
12/01/11 Reforms may damage cancer care
12/01/11 Shortage of chronic pain specialists likely to continue
12/01/11 GP pathfinders link with private firms
04/01/11 Care cuts lead to rise in bed-blocking
04/01/11 Criticism over plans for GP call centres in India
04/01/11 NHS pays for contraceptive implant failure
03/01/11 £1bn wasted on overpaying for supplies
The Guardian (15 March 2011)
Charities refuse to sign Lansley deal
Two more health organisations are refusing to sign up to the government's "responsibility deal" on public health, increasing the pressure on health secretary Andrew Lansley over his strategy of allowing the food and drinks industries to help form health policy.
BMJ (27 January 2011)
Case for reforms 'oversold'
John Appleby, chief economist at the King's Fund has claimed the NHS reforms are not justified by UK health statistics.Appleby argues that deaths from heart attacks and cancer are falling despite lower spending on health than in countries such as France. This challenges the government's line that the reforms are needed because of poor health outcomes.
The Guardian (26 January 2011)
Doubts cast on coalition's "Big Society" and nudging tactics
Study reveals 80% of councils concerned and unclear over localism agenda while doctors warn over 'weak' evidence for 'nudging' and its potential harm to public.
Pulse (28 January 2011)
Government "must do more to win round GPs" says Dorrell
Former health secretary Stephen Dorrell has warned of the danger of a damaging battle exploding between the Department of Health and GPs over the health bill and urged the Government to do more to win GPs round.
The Guardian (25 January 2011)
Healthcare reforms and inefficiency
Simon Hoggart's wry political sketch on the heathcare reforms.
Health Service Journal (25 January 2011)
Monitor may pay private providers more
Private providers could be paid 14% more than NHS competitors under changes in the Health Bill.
The Telegraph (26 January 2011)
Bar on foreign staff bodes ill for NHS
Fears are growing that the NHS cannot cope with the immigration cap, after recruiters warned the temporary limit on foreign doctors was already “compromising patient care”.
The Guardian (21 January 2011)
Watchdog raises alarm over healh reforms
The National Audit Office warns that costs will rise and the quality of services fall as a result of the health reforms.
BMA (19 January 2011)
BMA warns health bill is a huge risk for the NHS
Ministers are gambling with the NHS in face of widespread concerns over thescale and pace of reform, the BMA has warned.
The Guardian (17 January 2011)
NHS changes: David Cameron's dodgy prescription
Dianne Abbott argues that Cameron's NHS 'reforms' will work not in the interests of staff and patients, as he claims, but very much against them.
The Guardian (12 January 2011)
Reforms may damage cancer care
Cancer patients could die earlier because the government's health reforms could abolish teams of experts who advise doctors and hospitals on how to improve care, cancer charities are warning. Key staff in some of the 28 NHS cancer networks across England have been told their jobs are at risk because the reorganisation of the health service will abolish the primary care trusts which provide much of their funding and most of their personnel.
Pulse (12 January 2011)
GP pathfinders use private firms
GPs in the first wave of commissioning pathfinders are turning to the private sector for support in areas including referral management, financial support and back-office functions, an investigation by Pulse has revealed. A detailed analysis of 10 of the first 52 pathfinders has found six have either signed deals or are in talks with private companies.
The Daily Mail (11 January 2011)
Shortage of chronic pain specialists likely to continue
Million of Britons are living with long-term pain – but the NHS is employing just one specialist for every 32,000 sufferers, a study reveals today. Only one in four chronic sufferers has ever been referred for specialist care despite the development of new medicines and non-drug treatments, says the report by the Patients Association.
The Guardian (4 January 2011)
Care cuts lead to rise in bed-blocking
Thousands of older patients are being forced to stay in hospital long after they are fit enough to leave, doctors are warning – and the problem is being exacerbated by the coalition's cuts to council budgets. Senior doctors and hospital bosses blamed local councils for making it harder for people to access home help.
Pulse (4 January 2011)
Criticism over plans for GP call centres in India
Plans for call centres in India to handle GP and hospital appointments have been attacked by patient groups and the NHS Confederation, after the NHS body responsible for the proposals said it had begun talks to sign up GPs to the cost-cutting idea.
Channel 4 News (4 January 2011)
NHS pays for contraceptive implant failureMore than a thousand complaints about the contraceptive implant Implanon have been received by the medicines watchdog at a time when the device is being hailed as the future of family planning. So far, the NHS has paid nearly £200000 in compensation to women who have become pregnant or been injured by the device.
Daily Telegraph (3 January 2011)
£1bn wasted on overpaying for supplies
Eight NHS trusts are routinely paying 19 different sums for the same pacemaker, wasting up to £750 a time, according to the head of a cost-cutting programme. John Neilson, managing director of NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS), said that managers sitting just a few feet away from each other in the same trust could be paying different prices for the same supplies.
