All articles by Richard Vize – Page 11
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Comment
The curious incident of the missing £870m
The fine print of the coming year's funding settlement indicates that, in contrast to NHS chief executive David Nicholson's protestations, the Department of Health will indeed have a significant sum - up to £870m - locked away in its Richmond House safe next year (for more background, click here).
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HSJ Knowledge
HSJ review of the year: jobless doctors, lethal bugs and a £1.8bn pile of unspent cash
A year with more than its fair share of drama saw medics on the streets, C difficile in the wards, Blair and Hewitt on the way out - and an embarrassing surplus in the bank. By Richard Vize
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Comment
Sir Liam's patient safety spotlight shines on PCTs
Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson is pushing primary care trusts to put his crusade on patient safety at the centre of their work (for more details, click here).
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Comment
Private sector sceptics take on foundation freedom-fighters
The deal the government carved out with Labour backbenchers to get the foundation trust legislation through Parliament has precipitated a battle between the trusts and Unison over the limits of their freedoms (for more background, click here).
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Comment
Don't lose sight of the threat of HIV/AIDS
Last week the Terrence Higgins Trust marked its 25th anniversary with a Downing Street reception. Gordon Brown used the occasion to become the first prime minister in 15 years to talk about the severity of HIV rates in Britain.
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Comment
Some great work, but PCTs are still a long way off 'world class'
The Healthcare Commission's State of Healthcare report, published on Tuesday, reveals much to celebrate (for more background, click here).
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Comment
Management training push for doctors
The momentum for management training for doctors has received a further boost this week with moves by the King's Fund to establish an MBA for doctors (for more details, click here).
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Comment
What is behind the NHS surplus?
Last week’s revelation by HSJ that the NHS is heading for a 1.8bn underspend raises the spectre of renewed financial turbulence.
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Comment
Minority report: shameful race record harms staff and patients
A Healthcare Commission survey has revealed scandalously poor compliance with race equality legislation (for more on the survey, click here).
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Comment
Patients are driven to distraction by parking fees
Are hospital car park charges becoming a tax on patients and carers?
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Comment
Give heart and soul for organ donation
With managers relentlessly focused on keeping patients alive, they could be forgiven for taking their eye off the ball once someone is dead. But, as so often, there is still one more thing to do.
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Comment
Local blueprint for primary care revolution kickstarts GP reform
Heart of Birmingham primary care trust has placed itself in the vanguard of the drive to modernise primary care.
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Comment
Payment by results: top-up scheme clears the way for back-door reconfiguration
The changes to the tariff for specialist services revealed in this week's HSJ risk inflaming public opinion just as Lord Darzi's review is supposed to be restoring confidence in how reconfigurations are managed.
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Comment
Chief executive pay-offs raise doubts about local control
Don't be taken in by ministerial hot air on their belief in local decision-making. The latest move after the Clostridium difficile deaths at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust demonstrates that soundbites, press releases and the irresistible urge to be seen to be doing something still take precedence over sensible government.
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Comment
Overseas workers are getting a raw deal
The Local Government Association's report on the impact of migration presents a powerful case for more funding of public services in areas experiencing the sharpest increases in demand.
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Comment
GP access dispute reveals holes in Darzi's rushed report
Does the Department of Health know what it is doing on GP access?
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Comment
Health check: Foundations lead the pack but PCTs still fighting in the rear
The wealth of data unveiled today by the Healthcare Commission in its annual trust health check reveals foundation trusts are thriving, primary care trusts are struggling, and the best are leaving the rest behind.
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Comment
Health check: does the NHS want for good management?
It is the struggle to shift the trusts hanging around near the centre of the annual health check which is most perplexing the Healthcare Commission.
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Comment
Infection control: we are here for the patients, not targets
The Healthcare Commission's damning investigation into outbreaks of Clostridium difficile at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust drives home the message of its report last week on the lack of engagement of some acute trust boards with what is happening on their wards.
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Comment
Darzi report message is clear: reform faster
Lord Darzi's interim report for his review of the NHS clears the way for private sector providers to break the logjam over GP access.