Data added to clinical indicators
The Department of Health and The NHS Information Centre have published the data for more than 200 indicators against which NHS clinical teams can compare their performance. By typing keywords into a section marked Indicators for Quality Improvement on the IC website, individuals can now assess their performance against the indicators that are most relevant […]
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Lord Darzi quits government
Lord Darzi is to resign as a health minister but to retain a role as a government advisor. Downing Street said he wanted to give up his ministerial duties to spend more time "on his clinical role and academic research". Lord Darzi was one of a number of non-politicians brought into government by Gordon Brown […]
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Ofcom launches 111 consultation
Ofcom has launched a consultation on the use of a national 111 non-emergency number for healthcare. Following the consultation, the Department of Health plans to pilot the new number and to roll the service out across England. Ofcom, the independent regulator for the UK communications industries, will run the consultation from today, looking at use […]
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MPs back technology for patient safety
MPs have criticised the Department of Health for failing to collect data on whether a decade of policies to improve patient safety are working or not. In a report concluding its inquiry into patient safety, the House of Commons Health Committee says “judging the overall effectiveness of patient safety policy is made difficult because of […]
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DH to review hand-held devices
The Department of Health is to review the market for hand-held devices for community-based staff, with a view to issuing guidance to primary care trusts on what is available. The review was announced in a “progress report” on the final report of Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review of the NHS, which was published a year […]
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Community quality indicators launched
The Department of Health has launched more than 70 proposed quality indicators for community services alongside six guides to transforming community services. The guides include advice on how IT can be harnessed to improve patient care, particularly through the sharing of information. On end of life care, the examples of actions with the greatest potential […]
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Innovate or die, NHS told
Lord Darzi of Denham has become the latest minister to urge the NHS not to cut back on technology or other investment as it starts to feel the impact of the credit crunch. Speaking at an Innovation Expo in London’s dockland’s yesterday, he said “politicians should not tell people what to do, but I can […]
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GPs told to harness IT innovation
GP practices are being encouraged to harness innovative IT services to improve the quality of care they deliver to patients. The BMA’s General Practitioner Committee has launched a new publication setting out examples of how GPs have developed services for their patients to inspire others to follow suit. Developing general practice: listening to patients says […]
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Mike O’Brien new minister for NHS IT
Mike O’Brien, the MP for North Warwickshire, has become the latest minister to take responsibility for NHS Connecting for Health and NHS IT. O’Brien, a former solicitor general, was minister for pension reform at the Department of Work and Pensions before Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s reshuffle this weekend. He replaces Ben Bradshaw, who left the […]
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Mind that child
Dr David Low, consultant paediatrician and national clinical lead for paediatrics and child health at NHS Connecting for Health, discusses the importance of child records.
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