Latest news – Page 1931

  • News

    New applicants for foundation trust status

    2006-12-19T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health has named the 17 trusts that will be passed to foundation trust regulator Monitor for authorisation.The eight acute and specialist trusts and nine mental health trusts are set to receive authorisation from April.Health minister Lord Warner said: 'Today's announcement is another important step towards delivering the ...

  • News

    Liberal Democrats announce changes to shadow cabinet

    2006-12-19T00:00:00Z

    Norman Lamb has taken over as Liberal Democrat health spokesman. He replaces Steve Webb, who has become chair of the party's election manifesto team.Mr Lamb has been chief of staff to Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell since March. He said: 'I'm thrilled at the prospect of taking the health ...

  • News

    Survey: new year optimism outweighs financial fears

    2006-12-18T00:00:00Z

    A survey of 648 managers and leaders, published today by the Chartered Management Institute, shows that the mood of optimism in the sector remains despite fears over increasing business taxation and inflation.Key findings included that most managers in the health sector believe employment levels are unlikely to drop and the ...

  • News

    Labour urged to listen to professionals

    2006-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Shadow health minister Stephen O'Brien has urged the government to listen to IT and healthcare professionals following the review of Connecting for Health by the British Computer Society.He said: 'It is time the Government listened to the IT and healthcare professionals, rather than continuing to force this outmoded, large scale ...

  • News

    Care Association delivers end of year report

    2006-12-18T00:00:00Z

    The English Community Care Association, the leading representative body for independent care homes in England, has produced an end of year report, ECCA: Delivering for You.ECCA chief executive Martin Green said: 'This is a particularly difficult time for the care sector with a bad ...

  • News

    MHRA issues safety warning about blood glucose meters

    2006-12-18T00:00:00Z

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has identified a safety problem with some blood glucose meters which, under certain conditions, may display the wrong units of measurement.This could result in an insulin overdose and hypoglycaemic coma.The MHRA has issued advice following a number of reports of adverse incidents where ...

  • News

    Lack of evidence on link between cancer and HRT, says charity

    2006-12-18T00:00:00Z

    A cancer charity has stated that there is not enough evidence to link a sharp drop in US breast cancer cases to a decrease in HRT uptake.Breakthrough Breast Cancer senior policy and information officer Dr Sarah Cant said: 'It's encouraging that the incidence of breast cancer in the US has ...

  • News

    Conservatives call for free hospital parking for vulnerable people

    2006-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Hospital car parking should be free for the most critically ill patients, say the London Assembly Conservatives responding to the latest Department of Health guidelines.Elizabeth Howlett, Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth and deputy chair of the assembly health and public services committee said:'We are calling on the government to ...

  • News

    Call for National IT programme revamp

    2006-12-15T00:00:00Z

    The British Computer Society has called for a major re-evaluation of the National Programme for IT in the NHS.The society's health informatics forum says the programme has achieved some significant successes around infrastructure, but has slowed the deployment of local systems. It also says elements of the NHS Core Records ...

  • News

    New assisted reproduction proposals published

    2006-12-15T00:00:00Z

    The government has also published a white paper setting out its proposals for an overhaul of the law on assisted human reproduction and embryology research and the bodies that regulate this area and the use of human tissues.The paper says a Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos, to be known ...

  • News

    Seasonal gloom at the BMA

    2006-12-15T00:00:00Z

    The British Medical Association has picked up on health secretary Patricia Hewitt's comment that the NHS has had its 'best year ever' by publishing its own review of the Best of Years, the Worst of Years.Overall, it says that while there have been some ...

  • News

    Think tank slams NHS reform

    2006-12-15T00:00:00Z

    The think tank Reform has accused the NHS of failing to develop a coherent vision for change, and warned that unless the government tackles 'centralised, dysfunctional bureaucracy', its funding and policy achievements will go to waste.Author Ian Smith, a private sector manager interviewed for the NHS chief executive's post this ...

  • News

    DoH puts safety first

    2006-12-15T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health has issued a report on improving support patient safety in the NHS.Safety First - a report for patients, clinicians and healthcare managerssays the National Patient Safety Agency should be 'refocused' on collecting and analysing information through its national reporting and learning system, and that this should ...

  • News

    Emma Dent

    2006-12-14T14:25:51Z

    'Getting drunk in front of your mum is too embarrassing to contemplate'

  • News

    NICE chair calls for implementation push as GPs warn of drug companies' influence

    2006-12-14T11:13:34Z

    The chair of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has floated the idea that it should spend more on ensuring guidance gets implemented than it does on producing the advice.

  • News

    Private provider queries future of comprehensive NHS care

    2006-12-14T11:11:26Z

    The NHS will be forced to abandon its founding principle of providing a comprehensive service 'free at the point of delivery' by 2015, a leading private sector provider has predicted.

  • News

    Select committee: no excuse for training cuts

    2006-12-14T11:08:51Z

    Slashing the amount spent on NHS staff training to tackle deficits is unacceptable, the Commons health select committee has warned.

  • News

    Exclusive: PCT fitness bill hits £6.5m

    2006-12-14T11:07:57Z

    The primary care trust fitness for purpose programme cost the Department of Health £6.5m, HSJhas learned.

  • News

    Operating framework: updated principles put new emphasis on dignity

    2006-12-14T11:07:12Z

    The Department of Health is consulting on a set of 10 principles to which all NHS organisations and contractors must sign up.

  • News

    DoH accepts 'double deficit' argument, but no decision yet

    2006-12-14T11:03:32Z

    The government has said it accepts the case against the 'double deficit' accounting system for acute trusts - but has delayed a decision on whether to scrap it until the end of this financial year.