News – Page 1932
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News
Independent providers opened up to public scrutiny
The Healthcare Commission has launched a new web service that provides patients and the public with information about performance in independent acute hospitals, mental health units and independent sector treatment centres.Healthcare Commission chief executive Anna Walker, said: 'We want to make sure that patients have access to information about the ...
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Scottish patients urged to get a flu vaccination
Scottish doctors have urged patients who are eligible but have not yet received the winter flu vaccination to contact their GP practice.Uptake rates for November are lower than ever before with just over half of Scots aged 65 or over receiving their vaccination.Only about a quarter of patients in the ...
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Five portions a day is not keeping obesity at bay
An annual study published by the Information Centre for health and social care indicates that more people in England are eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.However one in five adults remain obese, the Health Survey for England 2005 reports.Reported daily consumption of five or more ...
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Drinks industry a key partner in alcohol problem prevention
A study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that the drinks industry agrees with the government's alcohol strategy for England which identified the industry as a key partner in preventing alcohol problems and reducing levels of harm.The study found that the drinks industry acknowledged problems associated with the misuse ...
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More baby research funds demanded
Babies' lives are being jeopardised by a lack of funding for looking at the cause of premature birth, according to charity Action Medical Research.The charity said £3.7m - just 0.3 per cent of the total research budget - was spent on research in this subject during 2004-05.Around 43,000 babies are ...
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Health Protection Agency reports increase in awareness of hepatitis C
The Health Protection Agency has issued a report which shows that the number of people newly diagnosed with hepatitis C has increased from 2,116 in 1996 to 7,580 in 2005. It said that new figures also show that testing for hepatitis C has increased by almost 60 per cent in ...
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New applicants for foundation trust status
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 ...
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Liberal Democrats announce changes to shadow cabinet
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 ...
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Survey: new year optimism outweighs financial fears
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 ...
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Labour urged to listen to professionals
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 ...
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Care Association delivers end of year report
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 ...
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MHRA issues safety warning about blood glucose meters
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 ...
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Lack of evidence on link between cancer and HRT, says charity
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 ...
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Conservatives call for free hospital parking for vulnerable people
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 ...
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Call for National IT programme revamp
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 ...
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New assisted reproduction proposals published
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 ...
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Seasonal gloom at the BMA
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 ...
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Think tank slams NHS reform
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 ...
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DoH puts safety first
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 ...