News – Page 1819

  • News

    Learning disability housing plans at risk

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    The pledge to shut all 'outmoded' NHS homes for adults with learning disabilities by 2010 is at risk, HSJ has learnt. Poor quality local proposals have been blamed for slow progress on the commitment.

  • News

    Andrew Lansley backs value-based drug pricing

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    Pharmaceutical companies should be paid according to the benefits that their drugs bring to patients, shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has said.

  • News

    NHS Litigation Authority to increase legal fees

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    The NHS Litigation Authority is set to increase the fees for its clinical negligence scheme for trusts next year in the face of rising legal costs and compensation payouts.

  • News

    Whitehall will pay buildings costs on ISTCs

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    The Department of Health has said it intends to pay any buy-back costs for independent sector treatment centres - taking a massive financial burden off primary care trusts.

  • News

    Patients to get final say on who sees NHS records

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    NHS Connecting for Health has bowed to sustained pressure and changed its consent model for the summary care record.

  • News

    Northwick Park Hospital cleared over maternity deaths

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    An investigation into maternal deaths at Northwick Park Hospital has found the trust innocent of any wrongdoing.

  • News

    NHS managers lack faith in all three parties

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    An exclusive poll for HSJ reveals the extent of dissatisfaction in the health service with the three main parties' policies.

  • News

    Mental health takes wrong approach

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    The improvements to community mental health services found by the Healthcare Commission are to be commended, but not without a word of caution regarding the 350,000 service users who are shortly to be removed from the care programme approach in the coming months, as they receive only 'standard' rather than ...

  • News

    No problems accessing HPV vaccine

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    I would like to clarify that Luton teaching primary care trust does not anticipate problems in providing the HPV (cervical cancer) vaccination to Muslim girls in Luton, despite the programme starting during Ramadan. We have arranged a rolling programme of immunisation that will run throughout the year, and are happy ...

  • News

    Winning formula for resource allocation

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    The research cited in your article on resource allocation understates the extent to which the existing formula adjusts for age and wealth relative to deprivation. The hospital and community health services formula, for example, allocates more than 10 times as much for people aged 85-plus as it does for those ...

  • News

    Top-up payments are a lottery

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    I would like to thank HSJ for its coverage on top-up payments. The final decision will have huge implications for the health service. If top-ups were allowed, this would enable patients who can afford it to get rapid access to interventions that would not be normally available to all in ...

  • News

    Data quality requires careful analysis

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    Your article on the King's Fund's report into variations in primary care trust spending raises several issues. Although the data we used does allow an insight into spending, we warned that a degree of caution should be exercised with the figures. Data quality is an issue and so too is ...

  • News

    Lord Carter to head up NHS competition panel

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    Lord Carter of Coles is to be the first chair and director of the NHS Co-operation and Competition Panel.

  • News

    Moyes warns: invest in governance

    2008-09-18T09:00:00Z

    Foundation trusts have been warned they are not investing enough time or money in memberships and boards of governors. The Department of Health may reassert its control if an organisations cannot prove it is locally accountable, said Bill Moyes, executive chairman of regulator Monitor.

  • News

    Cases of legionnaires' to rise

    2008-09-17T11:37:48Z

    More cases of legionnaires' disease are likely as a result of climate change, researchers predict.

  • News

    Patient information consultation begins

    2008-09-17T11:35:24Z

    Connecting for Health has launched a consultation on the use of patient information. It wants the public and health professionals to give their views on the use of patient information for purposes such as health research and managing and planning care.

  • News

    Health Professions Council president re-elected

    2008-09-17T11:32:49Z

    The Health Professions Council has re-elected Anna Van der Gaag as council president.

  • News

    Shortfall in care home funding

    2008-09-17T11:28:21Z

    An extra £540m is needed to pay for residential care for older people, research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation predicts.

  • News

    Cancer patients cannot afford prescriptions

    2008-09-17T11:25:43Z

    A third of cancer patients do not take their prescribed medicines because they cannot afford the prescription charge. Many do not know that buying prescription prepayment certificates would help with the cost.A survey by Macmillan Cancer Support found that 41 per cent of cancer patients did not know about how ...

  • News

    Scottish walk-in pharmacy services launched

    2008-09-16T11:00:00Z

    Eight Scottish pharmacies are piloting walk-in services such as immunisation, health checks, nurse-led minor injury clinics, sexual healthcare and smoking cessation. The pharmacies will stay open until midnight six days a week during the pilot, which is due to run until March 2010.