Comment archive – Page 401
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Comment
Nicholas Hunt on specialised healthcare commissioning
Since the first statement of intent from the Department of Health back in December 2007, world class commissioning has grown rapidly from concept to, some might say, mantra.
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Comment
Naomi Chambers on NHS lessons from the private sector
Public sector organisations are frequently exhorted to raise their game by borrowing from approaches used in the business world.How can non-executive directors on NHS boards make sense of their role in today's uncertain climate?
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Leader
Taxpayers deserve a say over NHS, but there is a less disruptive way
Disputes at opposite ends of the UK highlight the complexities of introducing democracy into the health service.
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Leader
NHS Confederation: stop dithering or start shedding members
More than 10 months after Gill Morgan quit as NHS Confederation chief executive, it has failed to appoint a successor.
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Comment
Media Watch: NHS Blackpool
Anyone still planning their Christmas celebrations may wish to take heed of the recent experience of NHS Blackpool.
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Michael White on NHS politics
In these times of global recession and rising unemployment we should seek cheerful news. I offer these crumbs of comfort from the thinly attended fag end of the Queen's Speech debate, where health and education were bundled up as one.
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Comment
Jon Restell on an NHS Christmas list for Santa
For this column, I am going to cheat by giving you something I have been working on for a while - my Christmas wish list.
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Comment
Your Humble Servant: an NHS Christmas
To: Don Wise, chief executiveFrom: Paul Servant, assistant chief executiveRe: Manager in a manger
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Comment
Andrea Sutcliffe on PCT provider services
In recent weeks, I have been contacted by increasing numbers of chairs and non-executives who are struggling with the governance arrangements for the separation of their provider services.
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Mark Simmonds on developing young clinical leaders
The profile of NHS clinical leadership has risen considerably in recent times, but the concept is not a new one. Arguably, it rests at the heart of working as a doctor.
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Maggie Rae on the role of GPs
Yes, they have won again. The GPs have excelled in our local area survey. Each year, like the rest of the country, we participate in what is known as the place survey.
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Comment
Jenny Rogers on friendships
A holiday in deepest Norfolk has brought home some lessons about friendship. In a village you do not have the lazy luxury of making friends who are identikit portraits of yourself: same profession, age, income, newspaper - and prejudices.
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Comment
Hilary Thomas on clinical-managerial networks
I have had the worst cold I can remember for some years - and every time I get on the Tube somebody sneezes on me. The economy is depressing, the weather has been depressing and the built-in obsolescence of collapsible umbrellas convinces me their manufacturers did not consider the eventuality ...
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Comment
Sandy Watson on NHS performance management
NHS boards have very clear roles. They must ensure governance arrangements are sound, probity and propriety are to the fore, a strategic steer is given to the executive team and staff, the executives are held to account and supported, and there are clear and effective performance management mechanisms.
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Leader
NHS surplus robbery risks a return to financial instability
This week the NHS was told part of the price it will have to pay for the collapse of the economy, as it bid a fond farewell to £1bn of its £1.8bn surplus.
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Comment
Your Humble Servant on NHS co-payments
To: Don Wise, chief executiveFrom: Paul Servant, assistant chief executiveRe: Co-payment cunning
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Comment
Sophia Christie on becoming a world class commissioner
Every primary care trust is participating in the first stage of the world class commissioning assurance process. World class commissioning is not the little brother of foundation trust development, or even Big Brother, although it can seem like that.
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Comment
Media Watch: public health budgets
Those seeking to defend public health budgets amid financial turmoil were unlikely to take heart from the press this week.
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Comment
Michael White on the NHS in recession
A rough old trade is politics, as most MPs can confirm. All the same, I felt a bit sorry for Andrew Lansley the other week when he was beaten up for saying 'on many counts recession can be good for us'.
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Comment
Improving patient safety: advice for NHS boards
Institute for Healthcare Improvement president and chief executive Donald Berwick talks to Stockport foundation trust chair Robina Shah about the role of NHS boards in improving patient safety and quality of care