News – Page 1818
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DoH admits bed-blocking stats blunder
The Department of Health has apologised to NHS and social care staff after it emerged figures showing a shock rise in 'bed-blocking' were wrong.The statistics showed an increase in the number of 'bed days' lost through delayed discharge from hospital. But the figure had actually gone down.
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Legislation on IVF and embryos launched
Legislation to update the regulation of in vitro fertilisation and research on embryos began its journey through Parliament yesterday.
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Plans to relax 18-week target
Opposition politicians have accused the government of watering down its promise that no NHS patient will wait more than 18 weeks for hospital treatment or an operation.
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Lyn Whitfield on patient portals and information
There have been some interesting developments in health portals in the past few weeks. Over in theUSA, Microsoft launched HealthVault: a free site – paid for by advertising – that allows users to store personal health information and inputs from medical devices, and choose who to share the data with.By ...
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Is evidence based policy making dangerous?
Alan MaynardThere is a dangerous new rhetoric in Whitehall with politicians describing their policies as 'evidence based'. If this description were true it would be cause of great celebration. However sadly it often is synonymous with a political desire to con the public.The Darzi report in October offered some wonderful ...
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NHS primary care director to back anti-privatisation charity
The Department of Health faces serious embarrassment next week when one of its top officials supports the launch of a campaign to oppose some of the government’s NHS privatisation plans.
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Health visitor investment will reach too few, says union
The government is investing an additional £30m on an untested health visiting scheme that will reach too few needy families, according to trade unionists.
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Measles increase prompts PCT vaccination letter
The rise in measles cases in England and Wales has prompted a primary care trust to write to parents urging them to have their children vaccinated.
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International development: NHS sponsor trains new doctors for Iraq
The international trade and promotion arm of the Department of Health is helping to educate a new generation of Iraqi doctors to support the rebuilding of the country's shattered health service, its annual report reveals.
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Unions issue warning to government over plans to curb wage rise
Proposals to raise NHS wages by just 2 per cent will lead to political strife and sustained 'hard bargaining', according to health economists.
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Delayed discharge of elderly blamed on funding gap
Bed-blocking is being driven up because hospitals are discharging patients earlier and social services do not have the resources to cope, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services has claimed.
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Two hospital directors sacked in fraud probe
Two directors of a private hospital group at the centre of an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service have been sacked for 'incompetence'.
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Tax the rich to solve health inequality, says professor
The government has been accused of failing to tackle health inequalities fully because it is too 'afraid' of upsetting the electorate.
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Treasury may veto golden handshakes for trust chief executives
Future pay-offs to senior managers who leave under a cloud may have to be approved by the Treasury. It follows the furore over severance pay to former Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust chief executive Rose Gibb.
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Walk-outs planned over sacked union representative
A mental health trust is facing strikes and legal action after sacking a senior nurse who spoke out in her role as a union representative.
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Early Christmas bonus for Birmingham staff overpaid £200k
Christmas has come early for more than 300 primary care trust workers. They have been told they need not repay an average of £600 paid to them by mistake over the past three-and-a-half years.
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Private firms fear axe for treatment centre deals
Private health providers were waiting anxiously for the results of an official review of independent sector treatment centres as HSJ went to press
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Trusts doing well will not be penalised for historic deficits
Hospitals working hard to address historic deficits have been given a reprieve by the Audit Commission: they will no longer automatically score 'inadequate' in the resources element of the health check.
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DoH workers slate leaders
More than two-thirds of civil servants at the Department of Health say the organisation is not well-managed, a staff survey reveals.
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Queen's Speech quiet on health policy
The lack of health legislation in the Queen's Speech has sparked calls for the government to set out its vision for the NHS.