External contributors – Page 249
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CommentSophia Christie on getting the best from GPs
Successive governments have attempted to engage primary care in commissioning in recognition of the sector’s vital role in demand management.
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CommentC difficile lessons: getting to the bottom of complex health problems
Are there lessons from the C difficile experience with wider health policy implications, ask Annalijn Conklin, Sharif Ismail and Tom Ling
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CommentKen Jarrold on fixing NHS care and compassion
Occasionally something really important is published. Something that makes you think. Something so powerful you wish the board of every health organisation would place it on the agenda for their next meeting, and every chief executive would say to the executive team: “Today we are not going to strive for ...
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CommentDavid Stout on the NHS public profile
Some decisions will always be unpopular, so PCTs must improve their reputation by ensuring that all decisions are seen to be transparent, efficient and fair
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CommentCally Bann: no beating an annual general meeting
You can’t beat a good annual general meeting, can you? Well maybe you can, with just about anything: walking on glass, needles under the fingernails, back to back episodes of Big Brother, a detailed discussion on the board assurance framework…
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CommentMichael White on Labour policy
I had scarcely arrived in Brighton for Labour’s last pre-election conference than a succession of party veterans had pinned me to the nearest wall to explain why the party is doomed - or why it is not.
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CommentStephen Eames on defending district general hospitals
Reconfiguration of acute and community services is bound to be on the cards again, once the dust has settled on the autumn QIPP and Monitor downside submissions.
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CommentMedia Watch: 'secret tipplers' and Scottish GPs
In the NHS, there is widespread agreement that early action to prevent disease, or at least spot it earlier, is beneficial for patients and the health service alike.
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CommentSheila Williams on work-life balance
I took a short break this summer and promised myself no laptop, no mobile, no sneaky catch-up on emails.
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CommentThe four hour A&E target: an accident waiting to happen?
While many have commended the government’s achievement of the promised four hour waiting target in accident and emergency, there are still concerns over whether this comes at the expense of quality and patient care
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CommentMichael White on NHS spending cuts
Gordon Brown’s belated admission of looming spending cuts unleashed a masochistic torrent of bid and counter-bid by leading politicians.
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CommentNoel Plumridge on no-frills healthcare
Who actually likes Ryanair? For the benefit of sustainably minded readers who would not dream of blowing their hard earned moolah on a cheap weekend in Bratislava, the Ryanair pricing model starts with an unfeasibly small headline fare, supplemented by an increasingly imaginative list of charges.
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CommentNicky Spencer on handling NHS complaints
It’s tempting to avoid complaints or that quiet aside that indicates dissatisfaction with our services. But it’s a false economy. Dealing well with complaints as early as you can saves time, resources and reputation, and improves quality.
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CommentPaul Corrigan on NHS reform
NHS reform requires the creation of significant parts of the NHS system that are independent of the Department of Health and the NHS mainstream hierarchy of the past.
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CommentMedia Watch: NHS cost cutting
At the start of last week, the papers were obsessed with Gordon Brown’s first use of the C-word. By the end of the week politicians of all hues were at it and it was impossible to get away from it.
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CommentGary Belfield on world class commissioning
World class commissioning is not a status to be achieved and retained but an ongoing process of improvement which has patients’ changing needs at its heart
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CommentChris Ham on increasing NHS co-operation
Tighter budgets and more integrated care mean the co-operation and competition panel must change tack away from its old policy of relying on competitive markets
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CommentPete Mason on covert NHS leadership
A covert leader has a rather dramatic ring to it and sounds like someone likely to be heading up a secret unit on an international mission - all very James Bond.
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CommentSimon Stevens on Labour’s mistakes
Heat rather than light has been the main output of this summer’s transatlantic healthcare comparisons.
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CommentYour Humble Servant: NHS carbon reduction
‘The NHS could immediately achieve much larger savings if the SHAs, Monitor and CQC stopped emitting the whole time… after all there is carbon in flatulence isn’t there?’