Latest news – Page 1865
-
News
Guy's denies pathology plans go against guidance
Guy's and St Thomas' foundation trust has denied claims by the union Unite that it is attempting to privatise its pathology services against Department of Health guidance.
-
News
Health secretary should not interfere in redesign decisions, report finds
The secretary of state for health should be removed from decisions about hospital reconfigurations, the Institute for Public Policy Research has said.
-
News
Joint working is key to cash fight, says social care boss
Health and social care must work more closely together to provide a health service fit for the future, according to the president of the newly formed Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
-
News
Monitor takes tougher line to prepare for wave of FT plans
Applying for foundation trust status is to become tougher as regulator Monitor responds to an expected rise in acquisitions and mergers and deters 'overly ambitious applications'.
-
News
Partnership working needs financial conviction
'Anxious to move on from rows over cost-shunting, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services has pledged to champion partnership working, pooled budgets and joint commissioning'
-
News
DoH publishes guidance on expanding patient choice
The Department of Health has issued best practice guidance on how free choice in elective care should operate in the current financial year.The guidance recommends that more providers should be added to the menu offered to patients, with payment for services adhering to the national tariff.Click here to read the ...
-
News
Welsh ambulance times off target
Ambulance response times in Wales are continuing to slide, according to figures from the Welsh Assembly published today. Just 79.1 per cent of responses to all emergency calls were within target times between January and March this year, the fourth successive quarterly decline.For more information on the latest Welsh ...
-
News
NHS Alliance names new commissioning director
Former South Leicestershire primary care trust chief executive Julie Wood has joined the NHS Alliance as director for practice-based commissioning and its chief executive transformation network. Ms Wood will also continue to work as a consultant.Click here to read the NHS Alliance announcement
-
News
PCT Network appoints new chair
The NHS Confederation's Primary Care Trust Network has elected Dr Lise Llewellyn as its chair and Paul Sabapathy as vice chair.Dr Llewellyn is chief executive of Berkshire East primary care trust and Mr Sabapathy is chair of Birmingham East and North PCT.
-
News
Scientists isolate breast cancer genes
Cancer Research UK says its scientists have isolated five regions of the genome containing genes that can increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer.The Cambridge-based scientists led an international team in a large-scale whole genome search. The team studied DNA from nearly 50,000 women.
-
News
Mental health charity calls for new approach to commissioning
A new approach to commissioning is needed to promote better mental health, according to the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health.In its response to the government's commissioning framework for health and well-being, SCMH has called for a new strategy that sets out how to promote good mental health and the skills ...
-
News
Ministers should not make reconfiguration decisions, says report
Ministers should not be permitted to make decisions about local hospital reconfiguration, a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research argues.According to the report, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel should play a bigger role in hospital changes and ministers should not get involved.To read the report, click here
-
News
Uncertain roles for maternity assistants lead to care concerns
A national study into the role of support workers in maternity services claims that a lack of standardisation in training could leave some mothers and babies at risk.The report, from King's College London, recommends putting in place a national framework for training and competencies of support workers. It also says ...
-
News
Legal briefing: staying in bed
Delayed discharge can be caused when clinically well patients refuse to go home. In such circumstances, what is the legal position for trusts faced with coercing patients to leave? Ian Long explains
-
News
Process pathways - the answer to 18 weeks?
Traditional efforts to improve efficiency and reduce waste in the NHS have focused on redesigning disease- or condition-based pathways. While this approach reaps the rewards of improved flow and quality of care, improvements are often on a micro scale and do little to attract investment into service improvement at a ...
-
News
Cataract surgery oversubscribed
The NHS is performing too many cataract operations, according to new research. Procedures have increased 10-fold over the past 40 years in England and trusts are now oversupplied. Analysis published in the British Journal of Opthalmology showed wide variation in admissions, ranging from 172-548 people per 100,000 of the population. ...
-
News
Warning on drinking while pregnant
Pregnant women and those trying to conceive should avoid alcohol, according to revised government guidance. The advice is not a result of new scientific evidence but has been introduced to provide a stronger, more consistent message for the whole of the UK, said the Department of Health. The last DoH ...
-
News
Midwives vote to consider industrial action
The Royal College of Midwives has unanimously decided to ballot its 37,000 members on whether to take industrial action over the government's below-inflation 2.5 per cent pay award. The call was made at an RCM conference in Brighton yesterday.
-
News
200 extra training places for junior doctors
Health secretary Patricia Hewitt has promised an extra 200 long-term specialist training places for junior doctors in England and an unspecified number of extra temporary posts, following the judicial review of the medical training application service. The British Medical Association has warned that up to 12,000 doctors may not ...