Comment archive – Page 406
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Comment
Media Watch: Olympic health worries
'I would rather be in music than in politics,' said health secretary Alan Johnson in an interview with The Observer's Music Monthly magazine.
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The case for integrated care systems
John Deffenbaugh's article on commissioning is a majestic triumph of hope over experience and evidence.
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Role of pharmacy
Your news analysis on regulation focused on the creation of the new Care Quality Commission. Government plans for changes in health and social care regulation are wide-ranging and will have very significant impacts for pharmacy. It was therefore surprising that your report did not make mention of the creation of ...
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Comment
Let's cut NHS waste
As a clinician with an interest in management, the waste in the NHS astounds me. There are huge variations in drugs that do practically the same thing, such as statins, and numerous different types of joint replacement and procedural systems that work efficiently in one hospital but are unworkable in ...
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Proud of diversity
Charlotte Santry's commentary on the scarcity of black managers in the health community was welcome, writes Tom Sandford ('The same old faces')
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Bad practice online
Having recently had reason to email all 409 trusts and strategic health authorities in the English NHS as part of a survey, I discovered two common, very surprising, examples of bad practice, writes Mike Simpson
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An eye on Monitor
May I clarify my comment in your article about Monitor's decision to consult on private patient income.
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Healthcare chaplaincy debate
Your article 'A spirited row' is misleading about the work of healthcare chaplaincy in the NHS in a number of respects, writes Carol English
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Comment
Good environment for chaplains
Your article on chaplaincy presents an impression of the service which many will struggle to recognise, write Graeme Hancocks and Christopher Swift
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Michael White: budget politics
No point in spending too much time on this year's Budget, I think, which wasn't much of an NHS event anyway. I'm all for optimism about the future, but Alistair Darling's low-key confidence a week ago has already been overtaken by the gathering financial storm in the Atlantic. Fasten seatbelts.
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Sophia Christie on fighting change
Besieged by change, senior managers in the NHS are adept at resisting it while apparently leading it.
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Darzi's national blueprint must leave room for local innovation
The King's Fund's response to the consultation on reforming London's healthcare following Lord Darzi's landmark report is a scene-setter for the debate that will follow the publication of his national strategy in July.
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Care Quality Commission: open your wallet and pay for real talent
For a department renowned for its largesse when it comes to remuneration, it is difficult to understand why the Department of Health is being so parsimonious when it comes to the salary for the chair of the new Care Quality Commission.
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Ian Watson and Adrian Newland on the role of healthcare scientists
Junior health minister Lord Darzi's interim report promotes a radical patient-centred view most would endorse. The concept of local treatment centres where most examinations can be carried out is an attractive one. But such services must not be offered in isolation, remote from high-quality diagnostic services.
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Leader
Richard Granger – an apology
Our recent article headlined “Informatics policy finally gets direction after years of drift”(HSJ 7 February 2008) included a report of statements, made during a conference by Mr Tom Denwood, who is managing the Department of Health on-going review of its NHS informatics strategy.
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This week's All Our Yesterdays
March 26, 1948, Public Assistance Journal and Health & Hospital Review Mr Aneurin Bevan, minister of health had recently addressed the annual meeting of theInstituteofAlmoners.Mr Bevan said that it was now “accepted that it was not possible to treat the patient independently of his social background. ‘Social medicine’ – an ...
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Spot the difference in this week's lookey likey
Whever End Game gets sent a lookey likey for a pop star -asMartin Graham,forensic services manager at Affinity Healthcare Middleton St George Hospital has this week, suggesting that junior health minister Ben Bradshaw and David Bowie look rather alike - we like to have some fun looking for the artiste's ...
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David Woodhead and Valerie James on tackling decommissioning
Government is stepping away from setting central targets and relinquishing direct control over delivery. Locally identified needs and priorities will take their place. Directors of public health and commissioning will be at the vanguard of service reform in the health service and local councils.
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Raj Persaud on getting blood out of a stone
Management is all too often about persuasion; powerful managers are better at persuading those in the workplace to pursue helpful change, while less competent managers are not so effective at overcoming resistance.
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Stephen Ramsden on stability in leadership
This month I celebrate 10 years as chief executive of Luton and Dunstable Hospital. For the first few years, I concentrated on building an environment of trust and respect between managers and doctors.