Comment archive – Page 324
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Comment'Healthcare without competition is financially unsustainable'
Despite increased competition raising fears, in some quarters, for the future of the NHS, now is not the time to play it safe - but to harness its power to do great things, says Sir Stephen Bubb.
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CommentMedia Watch: Labour's legacy looms large during conference season
In recent months the government has faced an onslaught in the media over the Health Bill, waiting times and privatisation in theNHS.
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CommentNoel Plumridge: checking up on the Nicholson challenge
Pressed on where the £20bn productivity gain that is now known as the “Nicholson challenge” will actually be found, the top of theDepartment of Health cites a ratio of 40:20:40.
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Comment'Healthcare history can help us transform elderly care today'
Looking back to the healthcare revolutions that helped transform practices in the past identifies the strength of ambition and passion that is needed to rescue modern day elderly care. But most importantly, it shows it is achievable, argues Mark Goldman.
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CommentEast Midlands holds final board meeting ahead of clustering
The papers brought to NHS East Midlands’ September meeting were littered with words like “transition” and “legacy”, reflecting the fact it was the board’s final get-together.
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CommentCircle-style deal for London specialist?
Most regions have a few smaller specialist trusts and London is no exception.
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Leader'Only mugs work in commissioning’: tackling the management brain drain
Of all the postgraduate courses in the country, places on the NHS management training scheme are among the most fiercely contested.
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CommentMichael White: lacklustre Labour missing opportunity in Liverpool
Sometimes politicians clash with experts on real-life issues in ways that expose the weaknesses of both groups, especially the political class.
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CommentHow public and private sector partnerships could stimulate efficiency improvements
The slow uptake of technology is restricting much needed improvements in quality and efficiency. Creating partnerships between NHS organisations and private companies could speed things up, reports NHS graduate management trainee Maxine Miles.
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Comment
What the realities of competition mean for organisations' sustainability
While the theory of competition in healthcare drives up quality, the pragmatics mean commissioners should keep a close eye on whether their services remain sustainable in the long term, warns NHS Tameside and Glossop chief executive Tim Riley.
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CommentIntegrated care needs the clinical-managerial marriage to work
Integrated care is the new Holy Grail but it won’t happen without some bold new relationships, says Mark Britnell.
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Comment'The NHS needs to avoid the wrong kind of integration'
Now that the government accepts that integrated care has a major role to play in the NHS, we must avoid the pitfalls that could prevent it delivering proper benefits to patients, argues King’s Fund chief executive Chris Ham.
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CommentMedia Watch: notes on a sandal
No single, major health story seemed to grab the attention of the national media at the start of this week – the papers instead mostly opted to write about nurses’ shoes and a missing filing cabinet.
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CommentSally Gainsbury: as if by magic... How the government conjured up a saving
The great news revealed in the recent NHS 2010-11 accounts is that commissioners spent significantly less on administration that year than was previously assumed.
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CommentMichael White: don't get mad, get on with it
By the time I reached Birmingham for the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference, the threatened drama about the fate of Andrew Lansley’s much-amended Health and Social Care Bill was all over bar the inevitable shouting.
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CommentReconfiguration plans grow in confidence in the South East
With reconfiguration no longer a dirty word following the approval of plans for Chase Farm Hospital, other trusts may be more confident in getting service changes through while a Whitehall wind is seemingly behind them.
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CommentSocially enterprising South West faces union resistance
Minutes from a recent NHS South West board meeting published last week reveal the extent of union disquiet at plans to transfer around half of the region’s community services to social enterprises.
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LeaderNHS giants sound warning of acute financial turmoil
The leafy villages of Great and Little Shelford lie around five miles south of Cambridge. Shelford boasts a rich history reaching back to the Domesday Book, but it is also has claim to fame in NHS circles.
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CommentMaking clinicians effective leaders: guidance from success in the US
Physician leadership has a long history in the US, and its success could have implications for the NHS to learn from when putting power into the hands of clinicians.
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CommentCan US models of care delivery inform how CCGs should work?
Thomas Cawston’s latest blog from the Fundació Josep Laporte European Health Policy Innovation Seminar in Harvard, MA, looks at two initiatives hoping to transform how healthcare is delivered in the US - which could have key lessons for CCGs in the NHS.