Comment archive – Page 316
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CommentThe rise of the patient leader
Patient leaders have a valuable role to play in tackling the problems facing health and social care at a national and local level, but we need to improve the development of and access to learning opportunities in order to grow this pool of talent properly, says David Gilbert.
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CommentMedia Watch: regional pay deals return to the fore while PIP implant saga rumbles on
It was reported on Monday that the coalition faced a “growing rebellion” from Liberal Democrat MPs against moves by chancellor George Osborne towards setting regional pay.
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Comment'Local healthcare cannot be delivered by giant commissioning bodies'
The key to healthcare delivery models lies within natural communities – not in bloated commissioning organisations, says Charles Alessi.
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Comment'Can Public Health England improve the way we respond to pandemics?'
The Department of Health’s intention for Public Health England to strengthen the national response to public health crises alongside local bodies may not work in practice unless experiences of previous pandemics are learned from, write Drs Jacky Chambers and Andrew Rouse.
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CommentMichael White: trusts need to be wary of the lure of lawsuits
Catching my eye before Christmas was the £4.5m employment tribunal award against Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust in the case ofconsultant Eva Michalak.
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CommentNoel Plumridge: bonus capital fund threatens to embarrass the system
The letter sent by the Department of Health in late December inviting bids for a £300m capital fund, favouring projects with greater spend in 2011-12, smacks of someone realising the potential for serious embarrassment.
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CommentQuestion marks over Imperial chief executive advertisment
Imperial College London Trust’s advertisement for a new chief executive could mean one of two things.
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CommentSouth East trusts fall short on information practises
The importance of providing accurate information has come home to roost at one acute trust in the South East.
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CommentIndependent assessment could reduce long-term sickness absence
Creating an independent assessment service to advise on employee absence is our chance to create a fair system, say Carol Black and David Frost.
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LeaderThe complexity of competition rules creates confusion and risk
Those who worry about the commercialisation of services for NHS patients often point to problems created by privatised utilities or the unholy mess that is the West’s banking sector.
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CommentA perfect opportunity to reform the education and training system
Last week’s publication of the further policy statement on the future NHS education and training system provides a great opportunity for providers to ensure they have the workforce they need to deliver the world class health services the public wants, says Martin Barkley.
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Comment'Start planning the execution, instead of dreaming about the ambition'
In 2012, the Year of the Dragon, will commissioning plans be all smoke and no fire? Paul Zollinger-Read says it is vital that they aren’t.
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CommentJeremy Taylor: the Future Forum's work is about changing culture
It’s not about the money; it’s not about the technology; it’s not about the data. It’s about the culture. That could be a summary of the NHS Future Forum’s work on information last autumn, writes information worksteam co-chair Jeremy Taylor.
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CommentNoel Plumridge: has the sparkle gone from social enterprise?
Social enterprises are starting to find that the odds are not in their favour in a cut-throat market, which could make for a bleak picture in a decade’s time, says Noel Plumridge.
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Comment'Deal with productivity variation, or risk the long term future of the NHS'
Only by swiftly adressing the issue of clinical practice variation and developing better evidence based practice can we stop the quality of NHS care eroding, writes Professor Alan Maynard.
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CommentMedia Watch: government facing breast implants scandal backlash
The breast implants scandal continued to dominate the news agenda as health secretary Andrew Lansley said it was the “moral duty” of cosmetic surgery companies to offer free care to remove implants made by the French firm PIP.
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CommentMichael White: a deal must be cut to restore certainty to the NHS
It’s surely good news that health ministers are to encourage medical staff to ask patients about their lifestyle choices, as ProfessorSteve Field’s NHS Future Forum has been suggesting - though in my experience they have been doing it for ages.
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CommentSally Gainsbury: private sector sweats on essential sensibility
Back when the white paper was first published, we had our first flurry of excitement that the new Monitor would get to tinker under the bonnet of private sector providers – all in the interests of fair regulation and ensuring continuity of services.
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CommentNorth West savings progress still leaves room for trusts to improve
Christmas may seem like a distant memory, but it’s worth recalling that the North of England went home for the break with a big gold star on its Department of Health report card.
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CommentSuspicion surrounds service reorganisation in the South West
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust chief executive Lezli Boswell has become a regular at the local county council’s overview and scrutiny committee in recent months in the face of local uproar at a decision to postpone the reopening of a ward.