External contributors – Page 194
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CommentMichael White: will Lansley's Healh Bill survive the 'big push'?
Do you remember the Battle of the Bulge? No, nor do I. It was the last German counter-offensive on the western front in World War II, a thrust through the Ardennes at Christmas 1944 that hoped to push British and American armies back into the Channel.
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CommentMedia Watch: January gloom continues as colleges are next to oppose bill
‘Blue Monday’ might have been last week but the downbeat mood has continued for many in the media coverage of the health service.
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Comment'Don't rush through regulation at the expense of innovation'
The PIP breast implant scandal has raised difficult questions for trusts and clinicians about the faith they place in the reliability of medical devices they use.
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CommentCumbrian cause for concern in the North West
Will Andrew Lansley stick with his habit of using Cumbria as poster child for GP commissioning?
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CommentThe curious case of evolution in the West Midlands
It’s evolution, but not as Darwin would know it.
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CommentCommissioning by any other name: will 'clinical' become 'world class'?
Linear progress, zig-zagging or going round in circles? Calum Paton asks whether the Health Bill’s ideal of clinical commissioning can really deliver an improved era of healthcare after the years of false starts and rebadging.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.