Primary Care – Page 303

  • Comment

    Professor David J Hunter and Jeffrie Strang on public health and organisational reform

    2006-11-06T10:00:00Z

    The justification for the current reorganisation of strategic health authorities and primary care trusts is to strengthen the commissioning function of PCTs and to save £250m in management costs. But are these good enough reasons and will the mergers create a period of stasis? ...

  • News

    Liam Hughes on joint working

    2006-11-06T10:00:00Z

    Solid local partnerships are essential for PCTs to achieve their objectives for local communities

  • News

    MPs ask how users can shape public services

    2006-11-06T00:00:00Z

    The House of Commons public administration select committee has launched a new inquiry into the role that 'customers' or 'users' should have in helping shape public services. Key questions include the possibility of setting minimum standards for services and how consultations manage to capture the views of the right people.Find ...

  • News

    Scottish smoking ban 'could wipe out lung cancer'

    2006-11-06T00:00:00Z

    In his first annual report Dr Harry Burns, chief medical officer for Scotland, says that the ban on smoking which was introduced in March has already reduced passive smoking levels and is encouraging more people to quit. He said that the ban, coupled with a decline in rates of smoking-related ...

  • News

    Diabetes commissioning toolkit launched

    2006-11-06T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Health has published a commissioning toolkit which provides advice on how to carry out a needs assessment for a local diabetes population. The toolkit also includes a generic specification for diabetes care, highlighting recognised quality markers and suggesting key outcomes for services.Read the toolkit ...

  • News

    Granger tops NHS earners list

    2006-11-03T00:00:00Z

    The average salary of the 12 highest earners in the NHS is £183,000, according to an analysis of senior executives' pay in the public sector for 2004-05.The figures from the Taxpayers' Alliance show the top two NHS earners are Connecting for Health chief executive Richard Granger, with a £285,000 salary, ...

  • News

    Nicholson to give evidence to spending enquiry

    2006-11-03T00:00:00Z

    NHS chief executive David Nicholson, acting permanent secretary Hugh Taylor and finance director Richard Douglas are to give evidence to the Commons health committee on 23 November as part of its inquiry into NHS expenditure. Health secretary Patricia Hewitt will face the committee on 29 November.

  • News

    Select committee to investigate patient involvement

    2006-11-03T00:00:00Z

    The Commons health select committee is to carry out an inquiry into public and patient involvement early next year. Although the terms of reference will not be announced until after the Queen's Speech on 15 November, the committee said it intends to consider issues such as the powers and make-up ...

  • News

    Health sector has worst staff illness

    2006-11-03T00:00:00Z

    The health and social care sector accounted for the highest number of self-reported, work-related illness per 100,000 people in 2005-06, according to the Health and Safety Commission's Health and safety statistics for 2005-06.The report said there were 4,100 self-reported work-related illnesses per 100,000 people involved in health and social work, ...

  • News

    Report targets partnership working between health and schools

    2006-11-03T00:00:00Z

    The Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health have published a report on how extended schools can help health professionals achieve targets on issues such as teenage pregnancy, immunisation and childhood obesity. The Extended Schools and ...

  • News

    Troubleshooter drops in to save PCT with £43m debt

    2006-11-02T11:00:00Z

    A primary care trust with a cumulative debt of £43m has drafted in a troubleshooter to examine 'new management options', including bringing in expertise from the private sector or other NHS bodies.

  • News

    PCTs told to implement radical changes to LAAs

    2006-11-02T11:00:00Z

    Primary care trusts will be expected to develop more flexible agreements with councils under proposals outlined in a white paper for local government reform.

  • News

    Diabetes management targets failing to address inequalities

    2006-11-02T00:00:00Z

    Large variations in the quality of diabetes management exist between general practices in London with younger people worse off, according to a new study published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.The study found that younger patients with diabetes had poorer recording ...

  • News

    PCTs encouraged to embrace new providers

    2006-11-02T00:00:00Z

    Health minister Lord Warner has urged the NHS to open up family doctor services to new providers in a drive to tackle inequalities, improve access to GPs and offer patients a greater choice of practice.Speaking to primary care trust executives at the National Association of Primary Care conference he said: ...

  • News

    New orthopaedic treatment plan

    2006-11-02T00:00:00Z

    Health minister Andy Burnham has announced a new musculoskeletal services framework intended to provide the NHS with new guidance to help improve services for people who suffer from such conditions. An estimated 10 million people in England suffer from musculoskeletal problems.The guidance sets out how the NHS can use a ...

  • Comment

    Service redesign consultations

    2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

    I worry we have lost the plot. In the last two weeks I have received four different letters from solicitors offering me advice on consultation. Post Derbyshire some colleagues have become obsessed with what we need to satisfy our legal friends. How grim. Have we really got to the point ...

  • HSJ Knowledge

    Gail Richards on community cohesion

    2006-10-30T10:00:00Z

    What do you think about when you hear the phrase 'community cohesion'? Is it only important in inner cities? And do we have a role to play?

  • HSJ Knowledge

    Social marketing in practice

    2006-10-30T00:00:00Z

    The announcement last month by health minister Caroline Flint of the launch of a social marketing strategy for obesity next year highlights the importance of social marketing in delivering results that more traditional approaches fail to achieve.

  • News

    Peter Cardy on rewriting the cancer plan

    2006-10-30T00:00:00Z

    As cancer care shifts out of hospital, more cancer patients risk poverty as the associated costs rise. Now is the time to tackle the financial distress of the disease, argues Peter Cardy

  • News

    Warner congratulates PCTs on practice-based commissioning progress

    2006-10-27T00:00:00Z

    Primary care trusts and practices should be congratulated for 'keeping their eye on the ball', in spite of reorganisation, according to health minister Lord Warner. He was speaking after figures published today showed that at the end of September 82 per cent of PCTs had plans in place to achieve ...