All News articles – Page 1362
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Defend general practice, say BMA
The BMA has written to over 42,000 GPs urging them to stand together to defend general practice.In the letter BMA GP committee chair Dr Hamish Meldrum said the profession was under threat from local deficits, encroachment from the private sector and political criticism of doctors.
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Unions: NHS chaplaincy services being slashed
Amicus and the College of Health Care Chaplains have claimed the NHS chaplaincy service is under attack after compiling a list of areas where services have been cut.The organisations claim chaplains are seen as soft targets for cost cutting.
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Police called in to tackle Belfast hospital attacks
Uniformed police officers will be stationed in a Belfast hospital accident and emergency department as part of a zero tolerance approach to attacks on health staff by the Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety.Two officers will be in the City Hospital on Thursday, Friday and Saturday ...
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Political accountability for health
Congratulations on you superb and balanced debate on politics in healthcare! It was clear from your panel that strategic direction and accountability must lie with politicians when public money is being spent - a very welcome stance, it is just a shame that it does not happen now.
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MPs slam £900m construction project failure
The Commons public accounts committee has slammed the failed development of the £900m Paddington Health Campus.A report on the collapsed scheme said NHS staff were out of their depth and bad decisions were made worse by appalling planning and cost forecasting.Read the report here
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Five-point plan for older people's services unveiled
NHS national director for older people's services Professor Ian Philp has recommended a five-point plan to improve older people's services.His report Recipe for Carehighlights: early intervention; long-term conditions management; early supported discharge; acute hospital care when needed; and partnership working.Professor Philp acknowledged that this ...
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New patient experience scores published
The Department of Health has published updated patient experience scores for the public service agreement to take account of its 2005-06 primary care trust survey and the latest patient survey results for community mental health services.The overall score for primary care fell from 77.4 to 77.0, with a higher score ...
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DoH names renal services 'czar'
The Department of Health has named Dr Donal O'Donoghue for the newly created post of 'renal services czar'.Dr O'Donoghue has been a consultant renal physician at Salford Royal Hospitals foundation trust since 1992, was involved in the development of the NSF and is co-chair of the DoH renal advisory group.Read ...
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Spotlight on lung cancer care
A report gives detailed information on 25,000 people in England and Wales with lung cancer
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Roger Noon on six immediate steps to better change management
I don't envy the leaders of PCTs. Following the recent rationalisation programme, they are under more pressure than ever to deliver improvements in healthcare within tight budgets and aggressive timescales. This against a backdrop of continuous political, policy, regulatory and clinical change.
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Sainsbury Centre appoints prisons director
The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health has appointed Sean Duggan as director of its new prisons and criminal justice programme.Mr Duggan is currently director of health and social care in criminal justice at the Care Services Improvement Partnership's London development centre and consultant in offender health for the Department of ...
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Winterton announces end-of-life strategy board
Health minister Rosie Winterton has announced a 27-strong advisory board to support the development of the end-of-life care strategy.The board is chaired by national cancer director professor Mike Richards and includes chief executives of leading charities, senior clinicians and NHS and social care managers.Working groups will include: measuring the quality ...
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Survey says nine out of 10 patients can see GP within 48 hours
Nine out 10 patients can visit their GP within 48 hours and four out of 10 can get an appointment on the same day, according to a survey of 10,000 patients by Picker Institute Europe.The survey, commissioned by the Department of Health, also found that 70 per cent of patients ...
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Cancer charity hails landmark children's ruling
Cancer Research UK has welcomed a new European law for any new medicine licensed in Europe to be explored for its potential use in children.This is the first time specific EU legislation has been passed to regulate pharmaceutical research involving children.Read the press release here
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BMA slams student resource cuts
The British Medical Association has criticised a decision by the Department of Health to remove funding which enables medical students to have a free copy of the British National Formulary.In a letter to the Department of Health, BMA medical students' committee chair Emily Rigby ...
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Watchdog appoints three new commissioners
The Healthcare Commission today welcomes Professor Deirdre Kelly, Clare Dodgson, and Clifford Prior as commissioners.The trio will join the twelve current commissioners tasked with driving quality in healthcare and public health. Read the press release here
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DoH: reforms cutting unnecessary appointments
The Department of Health says GPs are sending fewer patients to hospital for unnecessary appointments following government reforms to give practices a greater say in procurement and provision of services.Evidence from early practice-based commissioning adopters shows that practices have cut patient referrals for hospital treatment by between 25 and 33 ...
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Another boost for drug treatment funding
Funding for drug treatment services is set to increase as the government looks to build on the progress made in getting people into treatment over the last few years.Public health minister Caroline Flint announced the pooled drug treatment budget is to increase from £375m to £388m for 2007-08.Find out more ...
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NHS to recover up to £150m costs
New rules allowing the NHS to claim back money for treating people who have been paid personal injury compensation could see more than £150m being put back into patient care, health minister Andy Burnham announced today.The NHS injury costs recovery scheme means trusts will be able to recover costs from ...
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'Third sector' inquiry launched
The Commons public administration committee has launched an inquiry into the growing trend towards government buying or commissioning services from the third sector - charity or voluntary organisations and non-government organisations.The committee's inquiry aims to explore the costs and benefits of the policy, and to judge the effectiveness of the ...