Primary Care – Page 288
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News
Conservatives launch health policy
GPs should be given control of health service budgets, Conservative leader David Cameron and shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley will say today as they set out their vision for an NHS with fewer targets and a stronger focus on health outcomes.Details of the policy will appear on the Conservative Party ...
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News
LINks bill gets second reading
The government bill to abolish patients' forums and replace them with local involvement networks (LINks) gets its second reading in parliament today. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill also seeks to introduce 'community petitions' that can trigger service reviews.Download the bill
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HSJ Knowledge
Information stations
Tom Morgan and Nick Coyle on how valuable data from QOF results can help compare GP performance and improve patient care
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HSJ Knowledge
Innovation: pulling the dragon's teeth
A Dragons' Denstyle business incubator helping those suffering from mental ill-health is being starved of funds as it falls between departmental responsibilities. Naomi Chambers and Leigh Wharton describe its benefits
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News
Gail Richards on achieving 18-week targets
Efforts to meet the 18-week target are intensifying, as the growing number of articles, tools and workshops show. Are we focusing our energies in the right place?
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News
NHS Partners Network respond to commission report
I read with concern your article of January 18 reporting on the leaked Healthcare Commission draft report into data on clinical quality of independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs).
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News
Consultation on disabled facilities grants
The government has published a consultation document on its proposals to improve the disabled facilities grant programme.The report is a response to the findings and recommendations of the independent Bristol University report on the programme in 2005. The consultation period closes on 13 April.Read the document here
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News
Labour MP slams workforce planning
Labour MP and health select committee member Dr Howard Stoate has criticised a 'boom and bust' culture in NHS workforce planning and argued against local planning.Speaking at a committee hearing yesterday, he said a lack of centralised workforce planning meant the NHS was 'chasing its tail'.
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News
Hewitt: government should have capped GP profits
Health secretary Patricia Hewitt has said the government would have considered capping GPs' earning potential under their contract if it had predicted the extent of their increased profits.Information Centre for health and social care figures show that the percentage of GPs' revenue taken as profit after expenses rose from 40 ...
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News
Consumers switch on to healthy eating message
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has revealed a rise in demand for fruit and vegetables in the last year as the public starts to adopt healthier lifestyles.New figures suggest people bought more fruit and vegetables in 2005-06, while buying less confectionary and soft drinks.The Expenditure and ...
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News
Pension guidance released
The Department of Health has produced a guide for staff leaving NHS employment but wishing to continue their membership of the NHS pension scheme.The guidance also sets out advice about employer responsibilities for pension provision where staff have to leave the scheme.Read the guide here
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News
Overweight drivers urged to detox
The RAC Foundation has called for overweight drivers to look at their habits after finding that they are twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured in road accidents.Every hour spent behind the wheel increases the risk of obesity, says the charitable foundation.www.racfoundation.org
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News
Smoking cessation more successful in deprived areas, says report
Primary care trusts in areas of deprivation are providing the best approach to reducing smoking levels, says the Healthcare Commission in a report today.Half the PCTs rated excellent were in deprived areas where smoking is most prevalent.Read the report here
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News
Doctors call for more allergy specialists
There is a need for more allergy specialists and better training for health professionals, a delegation of doctors from the medical royal colleges has told the Lords' science and technology committee.The committee is overseeing an ongoing investigation into allergy and allergic diseases.Find out more here
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HSJ Knowledge
Solid data bears comparison
Hospital discharge planning decisions need hard facts to back them up, as Mathew Mackenzie and Marion Scholes explain
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HSJ Knowledge
Cross the divide and rule
Chief executives have switched between primary care and acute trusts. Jenifer Taylor examines how the roles and the demands differ, looks at the reasons behind the moves and discusses with three top managers their plans
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Comment
Independent sector falls down on data
A level playing field is the holy grail of trust managers who see themselves as competing with the private sector for clinical work. Key to that is confidence that patients and their GPs will be able to make informed choices about where they should go for treatment.
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News
New bursary scheme announced
The Department for Health has announced changes to the September 2007 NHS bursary scheme.Rent will become a deductible expense for all student nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and medical and dental students, when calculating their childcare allowances.The changes have been agreed with unions, and they include an increase in the ...
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News
Nursing code gets overhaul
The Nursing and Midwifery Council is reviewing its rulebook for UK nurses and midwives. The Code of Conduct is to be made clearer and updated to reflect today's healthcare needs.The draft code was agreed in December and the NMC will be holding a series of focus groups and seminars around ...
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News
NHS should treat gambling addiction
The British Medical Association has called for gambling treatment to be made available on the NHS.In recommendations to help healthcare professionals deal with the growing problem of gambling addiction, it calls for gambling operators to pay at least £10m a year to fund research, prevention and intervention programmes.From September new ...