All News articles – Page 1356

  • News

    Drinking levels lower in London than rest of country

    2007-01-23T00:00:00Z

    Londoners are less likely to drink alcohol than the rest of the country according to a new report, London, the Highs and Lows 2, launched by mayor Ken Livingstone.Young Londoners are also less likely to use drugs than young people in other parts of ...

  • News

    Lib Dems condemn 'depressingly familiar' Tory policies

    2007-01-23T00:00:00Z

    Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Norman Lamb has called the findings of the Conservative policy commission on the NHS 'depressingly familiar' and claimed that giving GPs total control of their budgets would lead to greater health inequalities.He said: 'There can be no doubt that GPs are the backbone of the primary ...

  • News

    Select committee to hear evidence on workforce planning

    2007-01-23T00:00:00Z

    The Commons health select committee will be holding its final session on workforce planning on 25 January.The committee will be hearing from new minister Lord Hunt and Department of Health deputy director of workforce Nic Greenfield.Click here for more information

  • News

    DoH signs prisoner healthcare agreement

    2007-01-23T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health has signed a national partnership agreement with the Home Office covering the healthcare needs of prisoners.This updates the original agreement signed three years ago and covers all public sector prisons in England.Read the agreement here

  • News

    Ethnic health inequalities examined

    2007-01-22T00:00:00Z

    Poverty is the main factor driving the worse health experienced by black and minority ethnic groups, says the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology today. A review of the evidence looks at the causes and patterns of health inequalities and offers policy options.Download the review from 4.30pm today

  • News

    Conservatives launch health policy

    2007-01-22T00:00:00Z

    GPs should be given control of health service budgets, Conservative leader David Cameron and shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley will say today as they set out their vision for an NHS with fewer targets and a stronger focus on health outcomes.Details of the policy will appear on the Conservative Party ...

  • News

    BMA slams private treatment centres

    2007-01-22T00:00:00Z

    Plans for privately run clinical assessment, treat and support (CATS) centres in England could jeopardise NHS finances, threaten medical posts, and create potential conflicts of interest, the British Medical Association says today. The warning comes in response to consultation on plans for up to 10 CATS centres in Cumbria and ...

  • News

    LINks bill gets second reading

    2007-01-22T00:00:00Z

    The government bill to abolish patients' forums and replace them with local involvement networks (LINks) gets its second reading in parliament today. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill also seeks to introduce 'community petitions' that can trigger service reviews.Download the bill

  • News

    Meningitis vaccine collaboration announced

    2007-01-22T00:00:00Z

    The Health Protection Agency and Serum Institute of India are to work together to produce a vaccine that will combat all the principal forms of meningitis in a bid to reduce the burden of the disease in developing countries. The project was announced by chancellor Gordon Brown.Read Mr Brown's speech

  • News

    Gail Richards on achieving 18-week targets

    2007-01-22T00:00:00Z

    Efforts to meet the 18-week target are intensifying, as the growing number of articles, tools and workshops show. Are we focusing our energies in the right place?

  • News

    UK transplant register tops 14 million

    2007-01-22T00:00:00Z

    Nearly one in four of the UK population is now signed up to the NHS Organ Donor Register, new figures reveal. Over 1 million signed up in the last year, taking the total to 14 million people.Read more here

  • News

    NHS Partners Network respond to commission report

    2007-01-19T08:43:31Z

    I read with concern your article of January 18 reporting on the leaked Healthcare Commission draft report into data on clinical quality of independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs).

  • News

    Labour MP slams workforce planning

    2007-01-19T00:00:00Z

    Labour MP and health select committee member Dr Howard Stoate has criticised a 'boom and bust' culture in NHS workforce planning and argued against local planning.Speaking at a committee hearing yesterday, he said a lack of centralised workforce planning meant the NHS was 'chasing its tail'.

  • News

    Survey highlights equipment funding shortage

    2007-01-19T00:00:00Z

    The Information Centre for health and social care has reported 'anecdotal evidence' that health funding of integrated community equipment schemes for items such as stairlifts and hearing loops 'has been a problem, and one that is getting more acute'.The results of a survey of 51 local authority directors of adult ...

  • News

    Gerry Robinson and media coverage

    2007-01-19T00:00:00Z

    The Gerry Robinson TV programme illustrated the differing systems in NHS and private hospital operating theatres. In the private sector time is money, and so the rate tha cases are moved through theatres is much greater. There are no hold-ups, such as waiting for the porter to bring a patient ...

  • News

    Consultation on disabled facilities grants

    2007-01-19T00:00:00Z

    The government has published a consultation document on its proposals to improve the disabled facilities grant programme.The report is a response to the findings and recommendations of the independent Bristol University report on the programme in 2005. The consultation period closes on 13 April.Read the document here

  • News

    DoH publishes travel expenses consultation

    2007-01-19T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health has published consultation on the hospital travel costs scheme, which allows those on low incomes to claim travel expenses.The document looks at how the scheme can be changed to reflect a shift in care closer to home.Read the consultation here

  • News

    Hewitt: government should have capped GP profits

    2007-01-19T00:00:00Z

    Health secretary Patricia Hewitt has said the government would have considered capping GPs' earning potential under their contract if it had predicted the extent of their increased profits.Information Centre for health and social care figures show that the percentage of GPs' revenue taken as profit after expenses rose from 40 ...

  • News

    Unisons weighs options at troubled trust

    2007-01-18T00:00:00Z

    Unions are considering industrial action in what they fear will be a bitter fight against cuts at one of the most financially troubled trusts in the UK.

  • News

    Labour PRs win SHA jobs

    2007-01-18T00:00:00Z

    Two former New Labour PR gurus have been appointed directors of communications in strategic health authorities.