Row brews over end of NHS Direct
The government has defended its decision to scrap NHS Direct and replace it with a new 111 number service.
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GP commissioners ‘blow budgets’
GP commissioners overspent their budgets by a net 2.5% last year, according to an analysis by the Health Service Journal magazine. HSJ examined the 2009-10 budgets and spending details of 190 practice-based commissioning consortia from 33 primary care trusts, which between them were allocated an indicative budget of £11.5 billion. It calculates that by the end […]
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Unison takes white paper to High Court
The UK’s largest public service union has started legal action against health secretary Andrew Lansley, claiming that he has refused to properly consult the public on the white paper ‘Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS.’ Unison has made a judicial review application to the High Court, on the grounds that the day after the white […]
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Referral management centres criticised
Providing GPs with more information about referrals would be a more effective strategy for cutting costs and improving quality than setting up referral management centres, according to the King’s Fund. An investigation by the think-tank found that referral management centres were failing to deliver savings and that some schemes could undermine quality by delaying access […]
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Government to scrap Audit Commission
News has leaked out that ministers are to scrap the Audit Commission and transfer its audit arm to the private sector. According to a memo leaked to the Financial Times, communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles will formally announce his intention to disband the Commission tomorrow. Pickles apparently wants a ‘decentralised’ audit regime, that […]
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Simon Burns to speak at EHI Live 2010
Health minister Simon Burns has been announced as a keynote speaker at eHealth Insider Live 2010.
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DH reviews Dr Foster Intelligence
The future of Dr Foster Intelligence, the UK’s best known provider of hospital performance information and analysis, is under review by KPMG on behalf of the Department of Health and Dr Foster Holdings LLP.
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Birmingham Portal drives info sharing
Birmingham Health and Wellbeing Partnership has selected Dotted Eyes’ Health Portal to enable information sharing with GPs and between NHS and local authority organisations. The partnership, an alliance between the city’s primary care trusts and council to tackle health inequalities and improve health outcomes, said the portal would help it to meet the demands of […]
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Dixon urges consortia to work quickly
The NHS Alliance is advising GP commissioners and primary care trusts to get consortia up and running as soon as possible. Dr Mike Dixon, chair of the NHS Alliance, whose membership includes PCT managers and clinicians, said time was of the essence. He told a meeting of 180 GPs at a practice-based commissioning event: “As […]
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All trusts to be foundations by 2013
All NHS trusts will be obliged to become a foundation trust or merge with one by 2013, the Department of Health has announced. In the latest of a series of consultations putting flesh on the bones of the recent white paper, ‘Liberating the NHS’, the DH says it will “drive progress” towards foundation status for […]
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