All Commissioning articles – Page 195
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Comment'GPs run the risk of alienating themselves from their colleagues'
As the BMA gears up for a crisis meeting to debate the Health Bill, the chair of its consultant and specialists committee voices his fears of a huge split between members - and a ‘seething cauldron’ of competing providers in the future.
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HSJ Local
NHS Bury predicts year-end surplus, despite January deficit
FINANCE: The primary care trust was still £4.3m in deficit at the end of January, new figures from NHS North West show.
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NewsHospitals will not have to close - Lansley
Hospitals will not have to close despite the NHS budget facing annual real-term cuts of 4 per cent, the government said.
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NewsPCT clusters should have guarantee of existence beyond 2013, says Nuffield Trust
Primary care trust clusters should be given a guarantee that they will continue to exist after 2013 and could become regional outposts of the NHS Commissioning Board, according to experts at the Nuffield Trust.
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NewsHull GPs refuse pathfinder 'political football'
GPs in a primary care trust area known for its strong commissioning performance are refusing to form a pathfinder consortium as they do not wish to become a “political football”.
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Comment'There are no winners while there is 'them and us' tribalism in the NHS'
“Them and us”. All too often an off-hand remark and the death knell of a beautiful conversation, usually with the word “tariff” thrown in.
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NewsGPs commission controversial complementary therapies
Having been given the purse strings to the NHS commissioning budget, a host of GPs opted to commission complementary therapies, including acupuncture and aromatherapy.
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CommentNoel Plumridge: feeling the squeeze
Dupuytren’s contracture is a condition that causes fingers to bend towards the palm. Named after the French surgeon who first described the condition in 1834, it mainly affects men - a reported one in five men aged over 60 - and is most prevalent among people of northern European descent.
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NewsHalf of PCTs employing temporary executives
Almost half of primary care trusts have executive directors working in an “interim” or “acting” capacity, an HSJ investigation has revealed.
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HSJ KnowledgeThe role of patient panels in consortia commissioning
The ability for local people to influence healthcare services in their region should be an important focus for commissioning consortia - and patient panels provide a perfect opportunity.
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NewsConfed warns over EU purchase rule change
Proposals to scrap the barrier protecting health services from European procurement rules could place a “significant administrative burden” on NHS organisations, the NHS Confederation has warned.
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HSJ Knowledge
The spirit of independent enterprise still requires sustainable business planning
Employee- and community-led services are still battling to change the philosophy and approach of staff and trusts alike, but the benefits these organisations could bring to service delivery are worth the effort, argues Kevin Jacquiss.
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News'Sensible boundary' needed on GP competition rules, says Monitor
Monitor has stressed the need to avoid an overly restrictive approach to regulating competition issues affecting GP commissioners.
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Comment'Without a firm battle plan, consortia might find themselves neither here nor there'
The grand old health secretary risks getting the new consortia stuck on the hill, unless a change in strategy to push them higher up the slope of success is attempted.
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NewsCommissioning funds used to pay for GP basics
GPs have been able to boost their take-home pay by using commissioning funds rather than their general contractors’ income to buy basic medical equipment and fund practice refurbishments, an HSJ investigation reveals.
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HSJ Local
Gloucestershire consortium made pathfinder
STRUCTURE: The commissioning consortium in the primary care trust’s area has been granted “pathfinder” status by the Department of Health.
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NewsDH forbids PCT cluster companies
The Department of Health is set to tell primary care trusts they should stop establishing “shadow” commissioning consortia as limited companies.
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NewsConsortia decisions could be voted on via mobiles
New X Factor-style technology could allow GPs to vote on decisions about health service commissioning and service redesign using their mobile phones.
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NewsReadmissions penalties surpass savings target
The tougher non-payment policy for emergency readmissions could cost some hospitals even more in 2011-12 than the planned 1.5 per cent cut in tariff prices.