External contributors – Page 297
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Clive Savory on Gerry Robinson and NHS fixes
Sir Gerry Robinson's bid to 'save the NHS' sparked much debate. But is outside help really a prerequisite for progress? Clive Savory investigates
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Mike Cooke on mental health
'The reason? A lost couple of inches of trouser protection over my backside. My local notoriety was re-established.'
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Letters about cleaning contracts
The comments by Andy Burnham ( read the story here) are not surprising as he has made them on a number of other occasions, but it is disappointing to see a government minister publicly taking such a short-sighted view.
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Independent sector falls down on data
A level playing field is the holy grail of trust managers who see themselves as competing with the private sector for clinical work. Key to that is confidence that patients and their GPs will be able to make informed choices about where they should go for treatment.
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Comment
No quick fixes but Sir Gerry did find room for improvement
Last week's BBC2 programme, Can Gerry Robinson fix the NHS?, may not have fixed anything by itself but has certainly got the NHS talking. Inevitably there is a range of views about both the diagnosis and cure put forward by the business guru during his stint ...
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More readers responses to Gerry Robinson TV programme.
I appreciate the disappointment Brian felt about the programme and the programme makers. However, I would argue that there are some critical defects with the approach that says much about the 'Gerry Robinson' style.
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Readers responses to Gerry Robinson TV programme
We would like to address the recent programme 'Can Gerry Robinson fix the NHS?' and the comments made in return by Brian James, Chief Executive of Rotherham Foundation Trust.
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Rotherham chief executive Brian James on why Gerry Robinson can't fix the NHS
'Disappointingly, Sir Gerry never seized the opportunity to explore and challenge consultants as to how they could be more efficient and productive, which is ultimately the key to eradicating waiting times. The opportunity was sacrificed for a much simpler story of consultants versus managers, with both sides presented as stereotypes.'
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A prescription for professionalism
What ideas like NHS independence lack is not the eye-catching headline or even the fine detail but the implementation and local connection
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Dr Pat Troop on managing the Polonium-210 outbreak
Staff have learned what it is like to work intensively at that speed under public and political scrutiny, and it has been useful training for future events, such as pandemic flu
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Key themes for change
The NHS has lost a great deal of talent in recent years. As a result it's lost much of its corporate memory
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Support is vital to change
It is at the front line where the drive for financial recovery overwhelms any opportunity to invest in the means to change the dynamics
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Mental health and ministerial promises
Why should the Government be believed when it hints at non-statutory answers to some of the issues around reform of mental health law (Michael White column, 4 January, page 10). The evidence tells us that we should be very wary of trusting them.
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Comment
Superbug memo: scale of problem in no doubt as MRSA paper admits failure
The memo considers - and rightly rejects - the case for primary care trusts to fine acute trusts for MRSA rates
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Pay and workforce: GP contract delay is the first staff salvo
The government will still be desperate not to see another staff group set itself against reform, particularly given the crucial role primary care will play
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Comment
Pay and workforce strategy 2008-11
There is currently great confusion among hospital doctors as to how best to respond to the many changes in employment conditions that are affecting our working conditions
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Comment
Chris Rudge on why the NHS needs to raise its game on transplants
'The NHS is spending nearly £190m a year on dialysis for the 6,278 patients waiting for a kidney transplant. If every one of these patients currently had a functioning transplant, the annual saving would be £160m'
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Comment
Information for GPs and search engines
Conservative MP Grant Shapps' 'Name and Shame' website is the latest publicity stunt to put patient appointment targets back into the headlines. While political parties continue to wrangle with one another, GPs must continue to run their practices under the significant pressure placed on them by these targets.