The Prime Minister’s summit on implementing the NHS reforms has provided a new focus for debate about what the reforms will mean in practice. The government’s critics maintain that competition will undermine the core values of the NHS to the detriment of patient care. Some of these critics go further to claim that competition will […]
Category: NHS
Peter Bailey: The emperor’s finery
It was not of course in relation to the NHS that Tony Blair famously said “I only know what I believe.” His assertion was in defence of military action in Iraq despite the millions on the streets saying “Not in my name.” It is however a convenient method of ignoring the troublesome masses who disagree […]
Annabel Ferriman: Will Cameron face warfare in the new Jerusalem?
Poor Mr Cameron. Up till now, he must have thought that if only the Health and Social Care Bill survives the House of Lords and its return to the Commons, everything will be all right. Then, when it gets the Royal Assent, the sceptics will see the light, hail Andrew Lansley as the new Bevan, […]
Edward Davies: Hysteria. There, I said it.
Oh, behave. I got some grief for saying on a previous blog that some of the criticism of health reform was a bit “hysterical.” I felt a little chastened. I now feel utterly justified. I just did a Google search for “NHS Arab Spring” which gave me almost 1,000,000 results. I saw the phrase used […]
Martin McShane: Incentives to transform primary care
I was fortunate to be able to listen to Danna Safran from Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Massachusetts at a recent King’s Fund conference. She was talking about the alternative quality contract (AQC). Double digit inflation in healthcare costs and a mandate for every individual to have insurance in Massachusetts drove BCBS to think […]
Sarah Waller: We need to make our wards more friendly for people with dementia
The report of the national audit of dementia care in general hospitals 2011, published last week, has put a sharp and timely focus on the care of people with dementia in hospitals and the need for improvements in the physical environment of care. A ward at King’s College Hospital, refurbished as part of The King’s […]
Helen Jaques: NHS pensions: the saga continues
One story has dominated my first year as news reporter for BMJ Careers: pensions. And what a compelling story it has been. The issue kicked off way back in March this year when Lord Hutton set out a raft of changes to public sector pensions, which included ending final salary schemes in favour of career […]
Martin McShane: Networking
“We need to think about networks and define if they are commissioner or provider led.” I heard this said a few weeks ago. I also heard it said 3 years ago. I think the first time I heard it said was well over 10 years ago. Creating a taxonomy for networks seems to be a […]
Chris Cox: Eva Michalak wins £4.5 million over discrimination
Expressions of disbelief in some newspapers about the size of the award of compensation for Dr Eva Michalak, who will apparently receive almost £4.5 million from the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust following her successful employment tribunal case, are rarely combined with equivalent expressions of outrage at the way in which she was treated by […]
Douglas Noble and Felix Greaves: stealth attack on public health
Last month we drew attention to three critical pieces of data that painted a picture of the piece by piece dismantling of the public health specialist workforce. Consultant appointment processes have dropped considerably in the last three years, registrars at end of training are failing to get substantive full time consultant posts, and academic public […]