All Policy articles – Page 253

  • News

    New practices for under-doctored areas

    2007-11-26T00:00:00Z

    Thirty-eight primary care trusts identified as having the poorest provision of GPs have been selected as the first to benefit from 100 new GP practices over three years.

  • News

    Infection control gets £54m boost in Scotland

    2007-11-26T00:00:00Z

    The Scottish government is to spend £54m on tackling healthcare-associated infections over the next three years.The measures include establishing a national MRSA screening programme and monitoring hand hygiene compliance.

  • News

    18-week target update

    2007-11-23T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health has published an update on the latest developments around the 18-week patient pathway.

  • News

    Mental health: PCTs to target potential offenders

    2007-11-22T09:00:00Z

    Commissioners will work closely with neighbourhood police to keep the mentally ill out of jail, the government's director of prison health has announced.

  • News

    Patients could commission own healthcare, says Nicholson

    2007-11-22T09:00:00Z

    Patients could soon be handed responsibility for commissioning their own care through individual budgets, the NHS chief executive has revealed.

  • Comment

    Michael White: inside Gordon Brown's mind

    2007-11-22T09:00:00Z

    Are ministers in Alan Johnson’s health team now finding their feet in their new jobs after a lacklustre start? Are they landing a few blows on the other side too despite renewed talk of a broad consensus on the NHS’s future?

  • Comment

    Media Watch: Gordon Brown under fire

    2007-11-22T09:00:00Z

    Gordon Brown has been coming under fire this week for his behaviour both past and present. The Sun blamed the prime minister for the decision, announced by health secretary Alan Johnson, to scrap six contracts for independent sector treatment centres. The £100m compensation to the dropped companies ‘could have built ...

  • News

    DoH commercial directorate to be broken up and procurement localised

    2007-11-22T09:00:00Z

    The Department of Health’s commercial directorate is to be scaled down and regionalised and procurement of NHS private sector capacity handed to local commissioners.

  • News

    Sir Liam blames overseas applicants for junior doctor crisis

    2007-11-22T09:00:00Z

    The chief medical officer has batted off calls to resign over junior doctors' recruitment, blaming the crisis on a surge of overseas applicants.

  • News

    Pandemic flu framework unveiled

    2007-11-22T00:00:00Z

    Health secretary Alan Johnson has announced plans to buy 350 million surgical masks and 34 million respirators for NHS and social care staff to use in the event of a flu pandemic.

  • News

    Consultants' contract offers no productivity gains, say MPs

    2007-11-22T00:00:00Z

    There have been 'no measurable improvements' in productivity as a result of the 2003 NHS contract for consultants, MPs have concluded.

  • News

    Consultant recruitment under review

    2007-11-22T00:00:00Z

    Scottish health and well-being secretary Nicola Sturgeon has launched a consultation aimed at improving the process for recruiting consultants.

  • News

    Huge disparity in managers' pay, Tories claim

    2007-11-22T00:00:00Z

    The Conservatives have claimed there is a huge disparity in how much primary care trusts are spending on management salaries.

  • News

    £1.8bn NHS underspend 'manageable', says Nicholson

    2007-11-22T00:00:00Z

    The NHS chief executive has defended its expected record £1.8bn surplus as 'relatively small' and 'healthy'.The 2 per cent underspend, revealed by HSJ earlier today, was 'relatively manageable', David Nicholson told the Commons health select committee.

  • News

    consultants contract

    2007-11-21T00:00:00Z

    NHS managers were ‘left in the dark’ over what the government wanted from the consultants’ contract, a damning report has found. The Commons public accounts committee report says consultants are working fewer hours than they did under the old contract even though their pay has gone up by 27 per ...

  • HSJ Knowledge

    Practice-Based Commissioning briefing

    2007-11-20T13:26:07Z

    Practice-based commissioning was introduced as a policy by the Labour government in 2004. It aims to allow GPs to commission directly on behalf of their patients and to give them more control over their budget.

  • News

    Medical test introduced for benefits claimants

    2007-11-20T00:00:00Z

    A new medical test that will score a person's ability to work has been announced by work and pensions secretary Peter Hain.

  • News

    Health and Social Care Bill published

    2007-11-16T00:00:00Z

    New legislation designed to modernise and bring together health and social care services was launched by health minister Ben Bradshaw today.

  • News

    Call for more psychiatric beds in Northern Ireland

    2007-11-16T00:00:00Z

    More psychiatrists and mental health inpatient facilities are needed to help stem the 'rising tide of suicides' in Northern Ireland, say doctors.

  • News

    Doctors demand 'revolution' to increase part-time posts

    2007-11-15T09:00:00Z

    The NHS will need to undergo a 'cultural revolution' if the government gives millions more parents the right to work part-time, doctors have warned.