All Health Service Journal articles in 2006
View all stories from this issue.
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News
Only two top scorers in first year of healthcheck ratings
Just two organisations, both of them foundation trusts, have scored top marks in the first healthcheck ratings by the Healthcare Commission.
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Child visitors face ban
A hospital trust has drawn up contingency plans to severely restrict child visitors if patients are at risk from diarrhoea and vomiting bugs.
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Commission says sorry for PCT score mistakes
The Healthcare Commission has apologised for sending 62 primary care trusts the wrong ratings last week. The commission was alerted to the errors by PCTs, which were given their individual scores on Tuesday, ahead of the official launch of figures for all of England on Thursday.
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Michael White on politics
Tony Blair on the Prime Ministers Question Time and the Health Care Commissions annual rating
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New head of policy at ASH
Asthma UK policy and campaigns director Martin Dockrell has been appointed as the new head of policy at pressure group Action on Smoking and Health. Mr Dockrell was an AIDS activist in the 1980s and 1990s. For the last five years he has worked closely ...
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Response to NHS charges report
The Department of Health has published its response to July's Commons health select committee report on NHS charging. The response covers charges levied on patients and families for prescription dental charges, sight tests, additional charges for some clinical services, assistance with transport costs and charges ...
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Improving outcomes for wheelchair users
Out and About: wheelchairs as part of a whole systems approach to independencehas been published by the Department of Health. The document provides a view of the current state of wheelchair provision and makes recommendations on how the NHS working with partners can improve outcomes ...
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Law on assisted dying is 'not working', says charity
A charity campaigning for the legalisation of euthanasia has argued that the UK is failing terminally ill people and their loved ones.On Friday, David March was given a 12-month suspended sentence for helping his wife, who had suffered from multiple sclerosis, to die.Dignity in Dying chief executive Deborah Annetts said ...
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New NI guidance for child death procedures
The Northern Irish Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has published a consultation paper on procedures to be followed in cases of sudden unexpected child deaths.The regional child death review protocol recommends a multi-agency approach to be followed in cases on unexpected deaths of children up to 18 ...
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World Health Organisation makes flu vaccine warning
Immediate and sustained action and funding is needed if the world is to be prepared for an influenza pandemic, the World Health Organisation has said. The organisation said stocks of influenza vaccines were several billion doses short and could lead to a public health crisis ...
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Efficiency savings costed at £2.2bn
The Department of Health is to expand the number of productivity indicators on which trusts are compared as the first set of figures revealed the NHS could save £2.2bn a year if it improved its efficiency.
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New regulations on mental capacity research
The government has responded to the consultation on the Mental Capacity Act draft regulations, governing people with impaired mental capacity and their involvement in research work.The response covers proposals for appointing a body to oversee research arrangements for people who previously gave consent, then subsequently lost the mental capacity to ...
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Community petitions: threshold options revealed in DoH paper
Details of the way 'community petitions' could be used to trigger formal service reviews have been revealed in a Department of Health paper.
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New incontinence guidelines
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has launched new guidelines to improve the management and care of the estimated 5 million women in the UK suffering from urinary incontinence. Topics include diagnosis, treatments and training. http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=378930
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Action plan for audiology services
An action plan is being developed to improve access to audiology services including those outside the 18-week waiting time, a Department of Health minister has announced.Social care minister Ivan Lewis said in a parliamentary written answer that ministers were aware of long waits for audiology services.
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Lords consider Commons amendments to NHS Redress Bill
The bill to streamline the handling of NHS complaints has returned to the Lords, where peers have failed to reach agreement with MPs over its provisions.Peers yesterday voted by 149 to 133 to back an amendment to ensure that investigations were carried out by a body independent of that against ...
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Conservatives launch initiative on patient involvement
The Conservatives have launched a consultation on the future of public and patient involvement in health.The concept of HealthWatch was outlined by Conservative leader David Cameron and shadow health minister Andrew Lansley in a speech to the King's Fund earlier this month.At a summit today Mr Lansley will highlight the ...
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Suicide rate continues to fall
Suicide rates in England have continued to fall and are now at their lowest ever level, according to new figures.The three-year average is now 8.5 deaths per 100,000, down from a baseline of 9.4 deaths per 100,000 in 1995.The Department of Health has published a new guide giving advice on ...
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Government responds to report on ITCs
The government has published its response to the Commons health select committee's report on independent treatment centres.The committee's report criticised the role of ITCs and said their performance had been variable.In its response the Department of Health has promised to provide more information to patients on which to base their ...
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Doncaster therapy pilot sees 1,000 clients
A pilot scheme in Doncaster to improve access to talking therapies for people with mental health problems has seen 1,000 clients in its first three months. The scheme is one of two pilots designed to help people with mild to moderate depression to get back into work and off incapacity ...