NHS weekly news review
from Health Direct of events and developments
NHS
cancer drugs fiasco- 20 Oct 2008
NHS Complaints throttled by red tape- 13 Oct 2008
New NHS IT project flaws- 6 Oct 08
Your NHS health records open to all- 29 Sept 08
Medical
records white elephant steps closer- 22 Sept 2008
Unfair
NHS cancer drugs policy- 15 Sept 2008
NHS
surplus causes funding row- 8 Sept 2008
Quarter of heath trusts fail hygene standards- 1 Sept 2008
NHS productivity creates more problems- 26 Aug 2008
NHS drugs dilemmas- 18 Aug 2008
NHS
red tape ban is crazy- 11 Aug 2008
NHS drugs rationing condems namy to early deaths- 4 Aug 2008
NHS at 60- Rising costs pose at health dilemma- 28 July 2008
Labour NHS credibility hits new lows- 21 July 2008
Health postcode lottery grown by NICE- 14 July 2008
Labour red tape killing NHS patients- 7 July 2008
NHS at 60- Labour loses the plot- 30 June 2008
Dangers of drugs Health Direct compares- 23 June 2008
MRSA deaths still rising- 16 June 2008
Superbug
Clostridium Difficile deaths quadruple- 9 June 2008
18 week waiting list promise to be broken by labour- 2 June 2008
Labour's
postcode lottery alive and kicking- unlike patients- 27 May 2008
Labour's
NHS curbacks hit MRSA, Strokes and health professionals- 19 May 2008
Shocking
health care as labour funding fails NHS- 12 May 2008
NHS
data losses- no one takes the blame- 6 May 2008
Labour
plans to destroy GPs with new polyclinics- 28 April 2008
Red
tape holds back NHS development- 21 Aprl 2008
Doctors fight for fair cancer patient care- 14 Aprl 2008
Health
Direct wins Health On The Net (HON) accreditation- 7 April 2008
Labour
gets the blame for it's culture of spin- 31 March 2008
Labour's
lies and spin coming back to haunt them- Mar 25 2008
Labour
puts money before patients- Mar 17 2008
Labour
red tape threatens hospitals and cancer patients- Mar 10 2008
Clostridium
Difficle deaths in NHS rocket- Mar 3 2008
18
week waiting promise is stopping choice- Feb 25 2008
Labour
health ministers economical with the truth- Feb 18 2008
Private
health care questioned- Feb 11 208
Cancer
care rationing- Feb 04 2008
Labour's cancer care postcode
lottery claims another victim- 28 Jan 08
17000
people die unnecessarily in NHS- 21 Jan 08
Labour's
latest red tape fiasco- 14 Jan 08
NHS
cancer drugs fiasco- 20 Oct 2008
Treasury
U Turn to ensure taxpayer is no longer the loser in PFI deals
Fri, Oct 24, 2008- The Treasury ordered public bodies doing private
finance initiative (PFI) deals to require a much bigger share of any windfall
gains from refinancing them in the future- though Health Direct
asks why it has taken ditherer Brown 11 years to stop wasting tax payers
money.
Two
thirds of patients fail to get a GP appointment within 48 hours
Thu, Oct 23, 2008- Two thirds of NHS patients cannot get an appointment
with their GP within 48 hours, a wide ranging report by the healthcare
watchdog has found- and the situation is getting worse as last year 80
per cent of patients could see their GPs within 48 hours.
Specialist
maternity baby care overstretched
Wed, Oct 22, 2008- Staffing shortages are stretching specialist
baby care units to the limit, labour campaigners say.
NHS
hospitals are warned on core standards
Tue, Oct 21, 2008- Almost a third of National Health Service
hospitals risk being refused a licence to operate because they are still
not meeting core standards of safety, effectiveness cleanliness and record
keeping, the Healthcare Commission, the NHS inspectorate warned.
NHS
hospitals allowing top up cancer drugs payments
Mon, Oct 20, 2008- Health Direct has learned
that payments to top up NHS care - supposedly banned - are happening at
30 hospitals across the UK.
NHS
Complaints throttled by red tape- 13 Oct 2008
Polyclinics
will destroy trust between patients and GPs
Fri, Oct 17, 2008- Plans for polyclinics or so-called "super
surgeries" could destroy the trust patients have in GPs, according
to a new study.
NHS
trust slammed over £400,000 yacht fund
Thu, Oct 16, 2008- An NHS health trust in East Yorkshire is facing
criticism over plans to spend £400,000 on a yacht for unemployed
youngsters.
NHS
trust spends £12,000 treating staff privately
Wed, Oct 15, 2008- An NHS trust has spent more than £12,000
on private treatment for hospital staff because its own waiting times
are too long.
Cervical
cancer jab given 'without consent' by nanny state
Tue, Oct 14, 2008- A mother claims her daughter was injected
with the cervical cancer vaccine without her consent.
NHS
complaints system too bureaucratic for patients, says MPs' report
Mon, Oct 13, 2008- Only a tiny fraction of patients unhappy with
the NHS make a formal complaint because of a bureaucratic, confusing system
which changes little, according to a new report by the National Audit
Office (NAO).
New
NHS IT project flaws- 6 Oct 08
Only
14 pc of NHS Trusts give value for money
Fri, Oct 10, 2008- The National Health Service has tightened
its grip on its finances, the Audit Commission said and is beginning to
extract better value for money from its funding, but still has a long
way to go.
Phil
Hope takes over social care brief at Dept of Health
Thu, Oct 9, 2008- Phil Hope has been appointed as a minister
in the Department of Health, replacing Ivan Lewis
Dying
patient forced to pay £20,000 for NHS care
Wed, Oct 8, 2008- The grieving family of a woman who died last
week tells why health service rules on top-up co payments for cancer drugs
must be changed.
NHS
Choices- patients slow to take up rights on hospital
Tue, Oct 7, 2008- Patients' right to choose which hospital treats
them is being taken up far more slowly than the labour government had
hoped and there are large variations around the country, according to
private hospital operators.
Patients
at risk from flawed £12bn NPfIT IT system
Mon, Oct 6, 2008- The NHS computer system (NPfIT) intended to
revolutionise patient care has so many software flaws that seriously ill
or badly injured patients are at risk of being inaccurately diagnosed,
according to an internal health service document.
Your
NHS health records open to all- 29 Sept 08
Employers
face higher bills for health benefits
Fri, Oct 3, 2008- The cost to UK companies of providing employee
healthcare benefits is one of the highest in Europe, according to an independent
study published today as worries about the NHS continue.
Drugs
denied to sick - against the rules of NICE NHS watchdog
Thu, Oct 2, 2008- Patients in many parts of Britain are being
denied effective and sometimes life-saving treatments because of funding
shortages in the National Health Service by NICE.
Cancer
drugs prescription charge move by Stalinst Brown is bizarre
Wed, Oct 1, 2008- Health economists and opposition politicians
have expressed bemusement at Gordon Brown’s decision to exempt cancer
sufferers from prescription charges when patients are having to pay thousands
of pounds for cancer drugs that the NHS will not fund.
Drugs
classification should be scrapped, experts say
Tue, Sep 30, 2008- A leading think tank has called for the labour
Government’s system of drugs classification to be scrapped.
Private
companies get access to millions of NHS medical records
Mon, Sep 29, 2008- The confidential medical records of millions
of NHS patients could be handed over to private companies under controversial
plans being drawn up by labour ministers.
Medical
records white elephant steps closer- 22 Sept 2008
NHS
appoints new IT supremos
Fri, Sep 26, 2008- The health department has finally appointed
replacements for Richard Granger, the National Health Service's IT supremo,
some six months after his departure as head of Connecting for Health,
the white elephant health service programme that aims to create an electronic
patient record system.
Midwives
deal with three births at once, says expert
Thu, Sep 25, 2008- Midwives are "overworked and overstretched",
sometimes caring for three women in labour at the same time, according
an expert.
Harmful
mistakes of sex education in school
Wed, Sep 24, 2008- Judged by its results – sex education
has been an utter failure. The increase in sex education here in recent
years has coincided with an explosion of unwanted pregnancies and sexually
transmitted disease (STD) far worse than anywhere else in Europe.
Lady
Archer backs patients in row over top up drugs payments
Tue, Sep 23, 2008- Lady Archer has backed demands for patients
to be allowed to pay for additional medicines without losing their NHS
care by releasing a survey showing that more than 80% of patients at the
trust she chairs back the change.
Labour
U Turn on medical data- NPfIT medical records a step closer
Mon, Sep 22, 2008- After another labour U turn the national electronic
record of patients’ health (NPfIT) looks finally on the cards –
five years late – after the NHS IT programme on Thursday changed
the way patients will give their consent to the system.
Unfair
NHS cancer drugs policy- 15 Sept 2008
Cancer
patient with months to live wins court order for last-chance drug on NHS
Fri, Sep 19, 2008- A cancer patient has won a legal battle against
the NHS to be given a drug that doctors say could prolong his life by
up to three years.
King's
Fund- labour's NHS top up payments strategy is untenable
Thu, Sep 18, 2008- The King’s Fund believes the current
policy and practice on top-ups, which prohibits people from privately
purchasing drugs not available on the health service while continuing
a course of NHS care, is untenable.
Average
NHS dentist earns six figure salary
Wed, Sep 17, 2008- The average Health Service dentist received
a 13 per cent pay rise last year, official figures shows this week. That
means they now earn more than £100,000 on average without any increase
in their NHS workload.
NHS
productivity falls as spending rises by billions under Labour
Tue, Sep 16, 2008- The National Health Service has become less
efficient despite Labour pumping millions into its budget.
NHS's
refusal to fund cancer treatment costs mother £21,000
Mon, Sep 15, 2008- For Barbara Moss, the photographs of this
summer's camping trip to France will be particularly special.Two years
ago, she was diagnosed with bowel cancer and given less than five months
to live.
NHS
surplus causes funding row- 8 Sept 2008
Healthcare
postcode lottery means patients losing out on cancer treatments
Fri, Sep 12, 2008- The level of healthcare inequality across
the country is disclosed in a detailed report which shows some areas are
spending twice as much tackling heart disease and cancer as others.
NHS
hospital car parking charges to be abolished in Scotland
Thu, Sep 11, 2008- Health chiefs in England were under pressure
to scrap hospital car parking charges after a move by the Scottish government
to abolish the charges at 14 NHS hospitals.
Cost
cannot be the only criterion for the NHS
Wed, Sep 10, 2008- Health Direct posts a stinging
letter from senior health professional lambasting NICE and labour's financial
accounting policies which favour tattoo removals over cancer sufferers.
Top
doctors slam NHS drug rationing
Tue, Sep 09, 2008- Britain's top cancer consultants have accused
the labour government’s drugs rationing body of ignoring the plight
of patients forced to sell their cars and remortgage their houses to pay
for cancer treatments freely available in Europe.
NHS
surplus prompts health funding row
Mon, Sep 08, 2008- A political row broke out over health funding
as the National Health Service forecast a £1.75bn surplus for the
current financial year.
Quarter
of heath trusts fail hygene standards- 1 Sept 2008
Lynda
Bellingham hits out over Alzheimer's drugs failure
Fri, Sep 05, 2008- The actress Lynda Bellingham has spoken about
her anger that dementia drugs came too late to save her mother's mind
and are still not available to all patients.
NICE
blight- at last a life saving choice for patients
Thu, Sep 04, 2008- For the past nine years the National Institute
for Curbing Expenditure (NICE) has been called upon to make judgments
on matters of life and death.
NICE
U Turn to save thousands of peoples' sight
Wed, Sep 03, 2008- Patients at risk of going blind will have
their sight saved under a unique deal announced by the NHS drugs rationing
watchdog NICE.
IVF
for infertile couples 'should be NHS priority'
Tue, Sep 02, 2008- NHS trusts should make IVF a much higher priority
by offering wider and more consistent treatment, according to a government
panel.
NHS
trusts face fines for poor hygiene
Mon, Sep 01, 2008- A survey published in June showed that one
in four NHS trusts in England failed to meet minimum standards on hygiene.
Fines of up to £50,000 will be imposed on NHS trusts which breach
hygiene regulations in a crackdown on hospital infections.
NHS
productivity creates more problems- 26 Aug 2008
Dentists
pulling out more teeth instead of fixing them
Fri, Aug 29, 2008- Dentists are increasingly pulling patients'
teeth out because they lose money if they carry out more complex operations
to fix them, official figures show.
Labour
targets created £90,000 NHS smoking fraud
Thu, Aug 28, 2008- A man defrauded nearly £90,000 from
the NHS by working as a stop smoking adviser and signing up non smoking
strangers to exaggerate his success rates and income.
NHS
diabetes care 'still has mountain to climb', experts warn
Wed, Aug 27, 2008- The NHS still 'has a mountain to climb' in
the treatment and prevention of diabetes despite labour Government boasts
of good progress, experts have said.
NHS
cancels more than 100,000 operations in a year
Tue, Aug 26, 2008- More than 100,000 operations have been cancelled
by the NHS over the past year because of bed shortages, staffing problems
and other non-clinical reasons, new figures released reveal.
NHS
drugs dilemmas- 18 Aug 2008
NHS
risks losing cancer drugs after NICE blights patients
Fri, Aug 22, 2008- One of the world’s leading drug companies
is threatening to withdraw some of its new cancer treatments from the
process by which they are approved for use in the National Health Service.
Top
up payments for drugs are fair says voters
Thu, Aug 21, 2008- Patients should be given the chance to pay
extra for the best available drugs in addition to their NHS treatment,
according to a Sunday Times poll.
Dental
NHS copayments total £4.5bn since 1997
Wed, Aug 20, 2008- NHS dental patients have paid £4.5bn
in charges since 1997, while 2 million people have "lost" their
dentist, the Conservatives have claimed.
Drug
companies face fresh action after trial failure
Tue, Aug 19, 2008- Efforts to punish a group of drug companies
allegedly behind one of the biggest price-fixing schemes to hit the public
purse are being stepped up after the collapse of their criminal trial.
New
prostate cancer drug hailed by experts
Mon, Aug 18, 2008- A powerful new drug could transform the treatment
of men with aggressive prostate cancer, according to London’s Institute
of Cancer Research whose scientists developed it.
NHS
red tape ban is crazy- 11 Aug 2008
Drug
appeal
procedures chaotic
Fir, Aug 15, 2008- The pleas of cancer sufferers in England for
drugs other than those usually funded by the NHS are not dealt with fairly,
a patient group claims.
NHS
drugs body NICE 'bullied, ignored and patronised' patients
Thu, Aug 14, 2008- The NHS's drug-rationing body NICE has been
accused of bullying, ignoring and patronising patients in consultation
over the availability of life-altering medication.
Cancer
patients condemned to early deaths by NICE's cruelty
Wed, Aug 13, 2008- Thousands of cancer patients have been condemned
to an early death by labour's National Institute for Curbing Expenditure
(NICE) as they blocked paying for cancer drugs which are widely available
in Europe.
Dirty
NHS hospitals report 20,000 pest infestations
Tue, Aug 12, 2008- NHS hospitals have reported mice, rats, squirrels,
bedbugs, fleas, cockroaches, ants, flies, silverfish and even foxes. Nearly
20,000 cases of pest infestations in NHS hospitals have been recorded
over the past two years, the Conservatives have said.
NHS
co-payment ban in disarray
Mon, Aug 11, 2008- Labour's ban on NHS patients paying for medicines
the health service does not fund is in disarray. Figures obtained under
freedom of information legislation show that NHS hospitals were allowing
dozens of patients to top up with private drugs before the government
warned them it was not allowed under NHS rules in July last year.
NHS
drugs rationing condems namy to early deaths- 4 Aug 2008
NHS
managers get away with murder as MRSA superbug hospital escapes criminal
charges
Fri, Aug 8, 2008- The hospital trust at the centre of Britain's
worst recorded hospital MRSA superbug outbreak which led to the death
of 331 patients has escaped prosecution.
Private
hospitals to follow NHS in publishing patient outcomes and death rates
Thu, Aug 7, 2008- Private hospitals will have to publish an annual
"quality" report outlining how their patients have fared, David
Nicholson, the National Health Service chief executive, has disclosed.
NHS
Choices £80m price tag- another IT disaster?
Wed, Aug 06, 2008- NHS Choices website- more bad news. Health
Direct posts NHS has signed another massive IT contract, this
time an £80m deal to create the biggest, most erudite, cradle-to-grave
healthcare website in the world. Ever.
NICE
blights 40,000 people with Rheumatoid Arthritis access to life changing
drugs
Tue, Aug 5, 2008- The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS)
has reacted angrily to the National Institute for Curbing Expenditure
(NICE)'s decision will deny approximately 60,000 people with Rheumatoid
Arthritis (RA) access to a range of Anti-TNF drugs and could blight them
facing high levels of pain, the possibility of more surgery and long term
disability.
NHS
spurns gift of free cancer drug
Mon, Aug 4, 2008- Bosses in the National Health Service have
refused to administer a drug to a patient with advanced kidney cancer
even though the medicine is being provided free.
NHS
at 60- Rising costs pose at health dilemma- 28 July 2008
Clostridium
difficile rates still rising
Fri, Aug 1, 2008- The number of infections caused by Clostridium
difficile are continuing to rise.
Litany
of surgical blunders revealed
Thu, Jul 31, 2008- Cases of 14 brain surgery patients who were
the victims of catastrophic errors when neurosurgeons operated on the
wrong side of the head are to spearhead a government drive to make operations
safer.
Ban
on NHS top up is cruel rationing, says BMA
Wed, Jul 30, 2008- Doctors believe patients should be allowed
to pay for drugs that are not available on the NHS as they called for
an independent inquiry into the controversial problem.
Medical
innovation needs cost benefit treatment
Tue, Jul 29, 2008- Will technology break the NHS bank? The question
preoccupies health experts across the developed world, who have universally
identified medical innovation as one of the main forces propelling costs
upwards.
NHS
at 60- Growing ranks of elderly add to costs dilemma
Mon, Jul 28, 2008- NHS at 60- Technological change, ageing populations
and rising expectations: for health ministers and executives worldwide
they are the three furies that bedevil attempts to contain the spiralling
cost of care.
Labour
NHS credibility hits new lows- 21 July 2008
Tensions
grow over cancer treatments as NICE blocks drugs
Fri, Jul 25, 2008- The new generation of cancer medicines raises
delicate and potentially explosive issues for the labour government’s
medicines advisory body National Institute for Curbing Expenditure (NICE).
Measles
endemic in Britain official warning
Thu, Jul 24, 2008- Measles has become endemic in Britain, 14
years after its spread was halted in the resident population, the country's
public health watchdog says.
NICE
banned cancer drugs better than NHS ones
Wed, Jul 23, 2008- Privately bought cancer drugs are proving
to be up to five times as effective as NHS treatments, Health Direct reports
on the suffering the co-payments ban is inflicting on patients.
Tories
plan a bonfire of the NHS targets in bid to save 100,000 lives
Tue, Jul 22, 2008- David Cameron has set out his vision for the
health service, with a promise to save 100,000 lives a year by giving
patients more information and more power over their own care.
30,000
NHS records lost as seven laptops stolen
Mon, Jul 21, 2008- Laptops containing the personal details of
more than 30,000 NHS patients have been stolen in two separate thefts-
one of which was not encrypted.
Health
postcode lottery grown by NICE- 14 July 2008
Polyclinics
threaten 600 GP practices, say Tories
Fri, July 18, 2008- More than 600 GP practices are under threat
because of labour Government plans for "super surgeries" despite
overwhelming public opposition to the proposals, according to the Tories.
A
million patients battle against polyclinics
Thu, Jul 17, 2008- More than one million patients have signed
a petition protesting against plans to close hundreds of GP practices
to make way for polyclinics.
Too
high a price- Financial Times's review of labour's drug denials to cancer
patients
Wed, Jul 16, 2008- Doctors' leaders became the latest group to
demand change to labour government guidance that refuses National Health
Service care to seriously ill patients who seek to prolong their lives
by paying for drugs that the NHS will not provide for them. The policy
is so clearly unjustifiable that legal or political pressure looks sure
to force ministers to concede the point eventually. But any delay will
be damaging.
Survey
points to postcode lottery in health spending
Tue, Jul 14, 2008- NHS postcode lottery grows as the amount spent
per head on health and social care is 17 per cent less in England than
in Scotland, according to official figures.
PFI
Hospitals run by HSBC pay £200 to fit wall socket
Mon, Jul 14, 2008- Britain's biggest bank, HSBC, and its investors
have made almost £100m from managing National Health Service hospitals
where contractors routinely charge taxpayers inflated bills for simple
tasks – such as £210 to fit an electrical socket or £200
to install a computer socket
Labour
red tape killing NHS patients- 7 July 2008
Health
Direct- top up health service care is fair
Fri, Jul 11, 2008- Health Direct points out
that when some complication arises after private surgery, many patients
land in the NHS and are treated, not sent away. Equally NHS dental services-
when one can find them, require additional payments from patients.
Doctors'
anger at labour's cruelty to patients
Thu, Jul 10, 2008- The medical establishment is in revolt against
Labour’s policy of denying National Health Service treatment to
patients who pay privately for cancer medicines.
Polyclinics
will not improve care, consultants tell BMA
Wed, Jul 9. 2008- Six out of 10 consultants say polyclinics will
not improve patient care and 83 per cent fear privatisation of the NHS
is detrimental to patient care and the service overall.
Doctors
for Reform fight NHS order to halt cancer care
Tue, Jul 8, 2008- Doctors for Reform- a group representing nearly
1,000 doctors is preparing to mount a legal action against the health
service to stop care being withdrawn from patients who want to pay for
their own cancer medicines.
NHS
scandal: dying cancer victim was forced to pay
Mon, Jul 7, 2008- A woman dying of cancer was denied free National
Health Service treatment in her final months because she had paid privately
for a drug to try to prolong her life.
NHS
at 60 Anniversary- Labour loses the plot- 30 June 2008
Relapse
for NPfIT white elephant records system
Fri, Jul 4, 2008- Just when the National Health Service’s
mighty and troubled £12.7bn programme to provide every patient in
England with an electronic record looked as though it might be about to
turn an important corner, it has skidded off the road again.
NHS
at 60- NICE roadblock deprives patients as big drugs companies shift trials
from UK
Thu, Jul 3, 2008- NHS at 60- leading pharmaceutical groups are
cutting back on clinical research in the UK, claiming insufficient commitment
by the labour government and the National Health Service to support new
drug development.
NHS
at 60- Labour's dentistry reforms failing dental patients
Wed, Jul 2, 2008- NHS at 60- Labour's dentistry changes designed
to improve NHS dental services in England have not been successful, a
report by MPs says today.
NHS
at 60- MRSA superbug infections are patients biggest fear
Tue,
Jul 1, 2008- NHS at 60- MRSA superbugs and fear of picking up a superbug
infection is the public's main concern about NHS hospital care, a UK-wide
BBC poll shows.
NHS
at 60- Labour no longer trusted on National Health Service
Mon, Jun 30, 2008- NHS at 60- On the eve of the NHS's sixtieth
aniversary a new poll shows that Labour is no longer the party trusted
to bring in the health reforms that are needed to safeguard the NHS for
future generations.
Dangers
of drugs Health Direct compares- 23 June 2008
NHS
scandal of dying cancer victim who was forced to pay for her own drugs
Fri, Jun 27, 2008- A woman who died of cancer was denied free
National Health Service treatment in her final months because she had
paid privately for a drug to try to prolong her life.
Relapse
for NPfIT white elephant records system
Thu, Jun 26, 2008- Just when the National Health Service’s
mighty and troubled £12.7bn programme to provide every patient in
England with an electronic record looked as though it might be about to
turn an important corner, it has skidded off the road again.
NHS
pays up to 60pc higher prices to cut waiting lists
Wed, Jun 25, 2008- Private hospitals are once again being paid
well above the standard National Health Service price in a drive to get
waiting times down that has proved only partially successful.
NHS
NPfIT white elephant hit as Fujitsu fired from IT project
Tue, June 24, 2008- The NHS’s £12.7bn NPfIT programme
to provide every patient in England with an electronic care record suffered
a severe blow as the project fired one of its key suppliers after failing
to resolve a dispute over the contract.
Health
Direct compares dangers of drug taking
Mon, June 23, 2008- Health Direct has compared
the latest hospital admission figures by drug types which shows that drinking
alcohol is by far the most damaging drug.
MRSA
deaths still rising- 16 June 2008
Hospitals
hide funds to rein in NHS surplus
Fri, Jun 20, 2008- Hospitals and primary care trusts have prepaid
suppliers many hundreds of millions of pounds and have hidden money in
other ways in order to keep the National Health Service surplus for last
year down to the forecast £1.8bn.
NHS
hospitals lose 32,000 beds in a decade
Thu, Jun 19, 2008- More than 30,000 hospital beds have been lost
since Labour came to power, with record cuts in NHS wards last year- which
Health Direct chronicled.
Cancer
victim told to pay for his own drugs by NHS
Wed, Jun 18, 2008- A cancer patient who was sent home to die
by hospital doctors but then discovered a cocktail of drugs that stabilised
his illness has now been told that the NHS will not pay for his medicine.
NHS
ordered to end care bias against men
Tue, Jun 17, 2008- The equality watchdog has ordered the National
Health Service (NHS) to take urgent action to end anti-male discrimination
in healthcare.
Superbugs
MRSA and Clostridium difficile record numbers of patients deaths
Mon, Jun 16, 2008- Record number of patients are dying in hospitals
and nursing homes after contracting superbugs, new figures show. Deaths
from C difficile in 2006 were almost double those in 2005
Superbug
Clostridium Difficile deaths quadruple- 9 June 2008
Chan
Wheeler to leave NHS less than one year as commercial director
Fri, June 13, 2008- Chan Wheeler, the health department's controversial
US commercial director, whose pay and conditions package was branded "an
eye-watering deal" by the Tories, is resigning to return to the US
less than one year into his three year contract.
Michael
Parkinson fights for dignity in care homes
Thu, June 12, 2008- Elderly people are being treated like inmates
in prison by uncaring nurses, Sir Michael Parkinson has claimed, as he
promotes a drive to ensure patients live with dignity and respect in hospitals
and care homes.
Labour's
nanny state new £10m spin campaign on alcohol ignores science
Wed, June 11, 2008- Health Direct has reviewed
labour's new £10m spin campaign on the risks of drinking alcohol-
which shows that they are again ignoring science and wasting tax payers
money.
Deaths
from superbug Clostridium Difficile quadruple
Tue, June 10, 2008- The number of deaths in Britain linked to
the potentially deadly superbug Clostridium difficile has quadrupled in
just five years, a report warns.
NHS
NPfIT will be at least four years late
Mon, June 9, 2008- It will be at least 2014 - four years later
than planned - before a single NHS electronic patient records NPfIT system
is in place in England, say auditors.
18
week waiting list promise to be broken by labour- 2 June 2008
NHS
constitution- another bad labour idea says FT Editorial
Fri, June 6, 2008- The key test of any health reform should be
whether it will actually improve the quality of care that patients receive.
Foundation
status promise broken by a mile
Thu, Jun 5, 2008- Health ministers have missed by a mile the
goal that every NHS hospital should, by March this year, have had the
opportunity to become a foundation trust.
Hospitals
are getting better- but only very, very slowly
Wed, Jun 4, 2008- Patients' experience of National Health Service
hospitals is improving, but painfully slowly, according to findings in
the annual survey conducted by the health service inspectorate.
More
consultant radiologists needed to meet rising demand, say BMA doctors'
leaders
Tue, Jun 3, 2008- Around 1,300 extra consultant radiologists
are needed in England over the coming years if the NHS is to meet the
increasing demand for emergency interventional treatments, diagnostic
imaging and screening, the BMA has warned.
NHS
18 week waiting list promise likely to be broken
Mon, Jun 2, 2008- A milestone in the labour government’s
drive to ensure that no one waits more than 18 weeks for hospital treatment
looks set to be missed, suggest latest figures from the Department of
Health.
Labour's
postcode lottery alive and kicking- unlike patients- 27 May 2008
Labour's
nanny state bans children with no MMR vaccinations
Fri, May 30, 2008- Labour's latest nanny state wheeze to cover
up their MMR vaccinations fiasco is to ban children from starting school
until they receive the MMR jab.
NHS
hospitals' care standards vary in postcode lottery
Thu, May 29,2008- Most patients staying overnight in hospital
are happy with their care, but this masks problems in key areas and variations
in standards, a survey says.
5,000
cancer beds facing axe in NHS cancer shake-up
Wed, May 28, 2008- The labour government plans to close up to
5,000 beds on cancer wards in a reorganisation of the way patients are
treated, according to a report by experts in the disease.
Postcode
lottery claims heart attack victims
Tue,
May 27, 2008- Patients are dying unnecessarily from heart attacks
in rural areas because of a new postcode lottery in care standards, Health
Direct has learnt.
Labour's
NHS curbacks hit MRSA, Strokes and health professionals- 19 May 2008
NHS
shake up to axe hospital services
Fri, May 23, 2008- Scores of hospital departments such as maternity
units and cancer clinics will be closed or merged across the country under
plans for a radical shake-up of the NHS.
Labour
ministers ignored junior doctor recruitment warnings
Thu, May 22, 2008- Thousands of junior doctors had their careers
thrown into chaos last summer because of "inept" decisions at
the highest levels, according to a report by MPs.
£77m
to improve stroke services as UK 'lags behind major Western nations'
Wed, May 21, 2008- The UK lags behind other developed nations
in caring for thousands of patients who have suffered a stroke, and the
labour Government is far from meeting its own targets in England, a new
critical report says
Cannabis
U Turn as labour again disregards scientists
Tue, May 20, 2008- Cannabis is to be reclassified as a class
B drug, Jacqui Smith has said. The home secretary's statement to MPs came
despite the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs' review - commissioned
by Gordon Brown - saying it should stay class C.
Superbugs
deaths now at 10,000 a year
Mon, May 19, 2008- Superbugs kill at least 10,000 people in Britain
each year — 20 times the number who die of Aids. Why isn’t
the labour government spending more on finding out why?
Shocking
health care as labour funding fails NHS- 12 May 2008
Drug
companies win Alzheimer's Aricept appeal against NICE watchdog
Fri, May 16, 2008- The pharmaceutical industry won a stunning
victory in the Court of Appeal over the labour government’s "value
for money" watchdog NICE.
Labour
breaks promise to care home residents funding
Thu, May 15, 2008- A high profile group of organisations have
written to Care Minister Ivan Lewis after the Department of Health reneged
on its promise to consult on increasing the Personal Expenses Allowance
(PEA) for more than 250,000 care home residents.
Labour
warned on DCA DIY cancer treatments as cost cutting bites
Wed, May 14, 2008- The labour government was warned that cancer
sufferers are at increased risk from websites selling unproven cures that
could wreck the remaining months of their life. The controversy centres
on a drug called DCA (dichloroacetate), a chemical being promoted and
hyped across the world as a cure for cancer.
Superbugs-
children hit by playground superbug PVL-MRSA
Tue, May 13, 2008- A new form of the superbug MRSA attacks its
victims, usually children, with frightening speed, doctors are warning.
One of those who has seen the effects is Sherean Roberts, whose son Daniel,
10, was infected after a trivial fall from a playground slide in north
London.
Who
Cares- one family's shocking story of "care" in today's NHS
Mon, May 12, 2008- Who cares- Paul Steane went into hospital
with a minor problem – through repeated neglect in two NHS hospitals
he emerged an invalid.
NHS
data losses- no one takes the blame- 6 May 2008
NHS
fails to dent private insurance
Fri, May 9, 2008- Private medical insurance has remained robust
in the face of competition from supposedly falling National Health Service
waiting times.
MRSA
superbug rises show that Gordon Brown's £50m deep clean did not
work
Thu, May 8, 2008- MRSA superbug infections caught in hospital
are still at unacceptable levels and Labour is failing to tackle the problems
of fatal bugs in the correct way, statistics show..
Lung
cancer drug Tarceva ruled too expensive for English patients by NICE in
postcode lottery ruling.
Wed, May 7, 2008- Thousands of lung cancer patients in England
will be denied a drug Tarceva which could prolong their life after it
was ruled too expensive by the NHS watchdog NICE.
Top
officials to be held to account for data losses
Tue, May 6, 2008- Senior Whitehall figures are to be held personally
responsible if their department loses or mishandles personal information,
under a range of measures designed to increase data security.
Labour
plans to destroy GPs with new polyclinics- 28 April 2008
Polyclinics
'will hit most vulnerable'
Fri, May 2, 2008- Closing GP surgeries to replace them with "polyclinics"
will hit the most vulnerable members of society and damage the fabric
of local communities, David Cameron said.
Nine
more NHS trusts admit scandalous security breaches as more personal data
is lost
Thu, May 1, 2008- Nine more NHS trusts in England have admitted
losing patient records in a fresh case of wholesale data loss by labour
government services, Health Direct has learnt.
One
in five GPs surgeries faces closure in polyclinic plans
Wed, Apr 30, 2008- One in five GP surgeries in England is set
to close, threatening to end the era of a family doctor in every neighbourhood,
an analysis of NHS plans reveals
NHS
pay deal may be cut if offer is rejected
Tue, Apr
29, 2008- Health workers may have their pay offer cut if they refuse
to accept the three year deal which Gordon Brown and labour ministers
are offering.
GPs
could face fee if patients use A&E
Mon, Apr
28, 2008- Family doctors GPs could be charged when their patients
go to accident and emergency units if they could have been treated at
the local surgery.
Red
tape holds back NHS development- 21 April 2008
Operations
halted by unfit equipment
Fri, Apr 25, 2008- Operations are being cancelled because of
dirty or broken instruments sent back by private companies employed to
clean them, the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) informed Health
Direct.
Clot
drug Pradaxa could save 25,000 lives a year
Thu, Apr 24, 2008- Wider use of a new blood thinning drug to
stop clots could save thousands of lives a year, says a charity.
23
million people have not seen a dentist for two years
Wed, Apr 23, 2008- Almost half of Britons have not seen an NHS
dentist in the past two years, it has been claimed.,
GPs
set to lose income guarantee
Tue, Apr 22, 2008- The minimum income guarantee for family doctors
is set to be scrapped, in a move that could open up health services to
more competition.
Dept
Of Health is frustrating to work with claim private companies
Mon, Apr 21, 2008- Three more independent sector treatment centres
were finally given the go ahead as Ben Bradshaw, health minister, celebrated
the private sector's treatment of the millionth National Health Service
patient under the health department's centrally procured contracts.
Doctors
fight for fair cancer patient care- 14 Aprl 2008
Patients
told only one illness at a time, please
Fri, Apr 18, 2008- Family doctors have put up signs in surgeries
banning patients from discussing more than one ailment per appointment.
Statistically
speaking, 100% of us are fed up with dodgy data
Thu, Apr 17, 2008- The majority of 25 to 34-year-olds have sex
three to four times a week,” Health Direct reads.
There I am, minding my own business on the train and a statistic attacks.
Four times a week?
Labour
government spending on quangos soars
Wed, Apr 16, 2008- Labour ministers have authorised a huge increase
in spending on quangos despite having promised to reduce their cost.
Prescription
charges postcode lottery widens
Tue, Apr 15, 2008- The gap between prescription charges in England
and Scotland has widened dramatically to £2.10 as people south of
the border were stung by a 25p increase- with charges in Wales scrapped
entirely.
Doctors
for Reform fight NHS order to halt cancer care
Mon, Apr 14, 2008- A group representing nearly 1,000 doctors
is preparing to mount a legal action against the health service to stop
care being withdrawn from patients who want to pay for their own cancer
medicines.
Health
Direct wins Health On The Net (HON) accreditation- 7 April 2008
NHS
dentists play as patients wait
Fri, Apr 11, 2008- Health service dentists have been forced to
go on holiday or spend time on the golf course this month despite millions
of patients being denied dental care.
Health
Direct wins international Health On the Net (HON) accreditation
Thu, Apr 10, 2008- Health Direct has been accredited
by the international Health On the Net (HON) Foundation. The HON Foundation
is a Non-Governmental Organization, internationally known for its pioneering
work in the field of health information ethics, notably for the establishment
of its code of ethical conduct, the HONcode.
Data
watchdog hits out at diabolical NHS trust
Wed, Apr 09, 2008- The privacy watchdog has attacked a National
Health Service trust's "clearly inadequate" records management,
in a warning to other public authorities guilty of similar failings.
Private
hospitals retreat from NHS
Tue, Apr 08, 2008- A drive to get patients to exercise their
right to choose any accredited hospital, public or private, for their
routine treatment was launched by labour ministers - just as some of Britain's
biggest private hospital groups said their appetite for work in the National
Health Service had diminished sharply.
Vital
year of reform for healthy looking NHS claims nhs spin boss
Mon, Apr 07, 2008- The National Health Service faces a critical
year that will shape its performance over the next decade, according to
David Nicholson, its chief executive.
Labour
gets the blame for it's culture of spin- 31 March 2008
Pressure
to reveal ex-ministers' outside pay
Fri, Apr 04, 2008- Pressure is mounting on the authorities at
Westminster to overhaul the rules that allow MPs and peers to avoid disclosure
of earnings from outside interests.
Two
in five trusts turn away women in labour
Thursday, April 03, 2008- Women in labour were turned away by
42 per cent of trusts last year, figures obtained under the Freedom of
Information Act show as labour's maternity promises look stillborn.
Number
of X-ray errors reported has doubled
Wed, Apr2, 2008- A new method for reporting errors in X-rays
and scans has found almost twice as many as had been reported under the
old arrangements.
Hospital
managers to blame for MRSA, say eight out of 10 Brits
Tue, Apr 1, 2008- Today all NHS hospitals should have completed
a "deep clean" in an effort by the Department of Health to tackle
superbugs according to Gordon Stalinist Brown.
Public
mistrusts official data- particularly waiting times lists
Mon, Mar 31, 2008- More than half of Britons think labour politicians
interfere with official data, according to a survey by the government's
own statisticians.
Labour's
lies and spin coming back to haunt them- Mar 25 2008
Whitehall
cannot afford to pay for budget's incapacity benefit tests
Fri,
Mar 28, 2008- Labour ministers insisted that they had enough money
to implement new budget promises for tests on all incapacity benefit claimants
after Conservative claims of a “con”. Disability charities
also voiced concerns about people being “thrown off” benefits
under the scheme.
Gulf
in health between rich and poor widens under Labour government
Thu, Mar 27, 2008- Health inequalities between rich and poor
have widened since Labour came to office in 1997.
GPs
win legal fight over pensions cap
Wed, Mar 26, 2008- Patricia Hewitt acted unlawfully when health
secretary by capping the pensions of family doctors after they earned
more from a new contract than expected, the High Court has ruled.
NHS
NPfIT delays hit promised cash savings
Tue, Mar 25, 2008- The potential savings from the £12.4bn
NHS's NPfIT project in England have been hit by delays dogging key parts
of the programme, the labour government admits.
Labour
puts money before patients- Mar 17 2008
Terry
Pratchett funds Alzheimer's study as labour wouldn't fund treatment
Thurs, Mar 20, 2008- Best selling fantasy author Terry Pratchett
is to donate £500,000 for research into Alzheimer's disease. Pratchett,
announced the pledge at the Alzheimer's Research Trust annual conference.
NHS
private service ISTC buyback deal could cost £187m
Wed, Mar 19, 2008- The National Health Service will have to pay
out £187m to buy back 14 of the independent sector treatment centres
if their five year contracts are not renewed, the Department of Health
has acknowledged.
Thousands
of mistakes in cancer treatment costs NHS payouts of £50m
Tue, Mar 18, 2008- Thousands of mistakes were made in treating
cancer patients last year and more than 500 cases were missed by doctors,
official figures show.
£1.8bn
surplus forecast for NHS after cutbacks in patient care
Mon, Mar 17, 2008- The National Health Service in England is
heading for a surplus of £1.8 billion this year, provoking anger
among patient bodies over cutbacks to the funding of care.
Labour
red tape threatens hospitals and cancer patients- Mar 10 2008
Prostate
cancer services subject to wide postcode lottery
Fri, Mar 14, 2008- Prostate cancer services must be improved
to help tackle the wide variations in care seen across England, say health
experts in Prostate Cancer week.
Average
NHS waiting times up under Labour
Thu, Mar 13, 2008- Average hospital waiting times have risen
under Labour, figures show. Before Labour came to power in 1997 waits
of more than 18 months were not uncommon, but now few people wait longer
than six months in England.
Younger
dentists abandoning the NHS
Wed, Mar 12, 2008- More and more young dentists are abandoning
the NHS in favour of private practice, official figures show with fears
that more and more dentists may be lost to the private sector.
Doctors
raise concerns over 24 hour drinking
Tue, Mar 11, 2008- The British Medical Association flagged up
a possible link between 24 hour licensing and alcohol related cases in
accident and emergency units and said the labour government "must
act" if this was confirmed.
Whitehall
clash looms over PFI for NHS hospitals
Mon, Mar 10, 2008- A clash between different accounting standards
for private finance initiative projects is threatening to create conflicting
incentives within the labour government, with the Treasury continuing
to favour PFI while other departments are more circumspect.
Clostridium
Difficle deaths in NHS rocket- Mar 3 2008
Hospital
PFI project hit by US monoline credit crunch
Fri, Mar 07, 2008- Reverberations from the crisis in US bond
insurers were felt this week in an unlikely corner of the financial markets-
Tunbridge Wells.
NHS
Direct- each call to ineffective health service costs £16
Thu, Mar 06, 2008- NHS Direct- every call answered by NHS Direct
costs taxpayers more than £16 despite attempts to cut costs at the
health helpline. A single telephone query is almost as expensive as a
visit to a GP, official figures show.
Postcode
lottery grows as Welsh NHS scraps car park tax on the sick
Wed,
Mar 05, 2008- Patients, staff and visitors will be able to park for
free at almost every NHS hospital in Wales by the end of 2011. The Welsh
Assembly will also confirm that free parking will be available to patients
from April 1.
Children
wait years for vital dental care
Tue, Mar 04, 2008- More than 10,000 children with severe dental
problems including jaw deformities and an inability to bite properly are
waiting up to seven years for corrective treatment on the National Health
Service.
Superbug
related deaths up by 72 per cent to 6,480- nearly twice UK road deaths
Mon, Mar 3 2008- The number of death certificates mentioning
clostridium difficle has risen by almost three quarters in one year, official
statistics reveal.
18
week waiting promise is stopping choice- Feb 25 2008
Contract
was a windfall for GPs but ‘not a good deal for patients’
Fri,
Feb 29 2008- The controversial contract to improve GPs pay and efficiency
cost £1.76 billion more than the labour goverment expected and NHS
productivity has actually fallen, a damning report by auditors concludes.
The findings, by the National Audit Office, show that GPs who run their
own practices received huge pay rises while giving up responsibility for
the 24-hour care of their patients.
Health
spending on non NHS care soars
Thu,
Feb 28, 2008- Spending on patient care from outside the NHS has been
the fastest growing component of the health service's expenditure during
the past decade and reached £5bn a year in 2006, figures from the
Office for National Statistics show.
Private
surgeries hurt NHS, say academics
Wed, Feb 27, 2008- Two leading academics claimed the government’s
fast track private surgery centres for NHS patients would “contribute
to NHS deficits, NHS service closure and staff redundancies”.
Hugh
Grant calls for terminal care funds and labour to keep it's promise
Tue, Feb 26, 2008- Hugh Grant accused labour ministers of breaking
a key commitment to the terminally ill as he called for extra funds for
their care on Tuesday.
NHS
18 week target is preventing choice
Mon, Feb 25, 2008- Hospitals across England are stopping patients
booking advance appointments in an attempt to meet a labour Government
promise of treatment within 18 weeks.
Labour
health ministers economical with the truth- Feb 18 2008
Midwives
left woman to drown in the bath
Fri, February 22, 2008- A pregnant woman lay drowning in a hospital
bath just as she was about to give birth after staff left her unattended
for 45 minutes - despite being told she had a history of fainting attacks,
an inquest has heard.
Row
erupts over NHS health trusts in centralist health dictats
Thu, Feb 21, 2008- A battle for the soul
of NHS reform has broken out after accusations that the labour government
has usurped key hospitals’ independence.
A&E
patients die waiting for ambulances to meet labour targets
Wed, Feb 20, 2008- Seriously ill patients are left for hours
in ambulances instead of being immediately admitted to accident and emergency
departments to meet a labour Government target on treatment times, it
was claimed.
Dentists
warn of future of NHS services at risk
Tue, Feb 19, 2008- Contract changes that have seen more than
1,000 dentists leave the health service threaten to bring about the end
of NHS dentistry, MPs are warned. The introduction of financial penalties
for missing targets has already seen twice as many dentists leave the
NHS as the Government estimated.
Health
Minister defensive over Cerner NPfIT NHS progress
Mon, Feb 18, 2008- When advisers to ministers write replies to
Parliamentary questions they have no legal duty to be candid. Within reason
they can say what they like. So for them answering written Parliamentary
questions may be no more challenging than playing tennis with the net
down.
Private
health care questioned- Feb 11 2008
Third
of NHS trusts don't check CVs of health professionals
Fri, Feb 15, 2008- A third of NHS Trusts have identified healthworkers
using fake CVs or lying about criminal convictions, according to research
seen by Health Direct.
PFI
wastes £180m finds NAO watchdog
Thu, Feb 14, 2008- Millions of pounds of public money are being
wasted because contractors are charging unjustifiably high fees for making
changes to active private finance initiative (PFI) projects, according
to the National Audit Office (NAO).
NHS
pays out £160m for social care patients
Wed, Feb 13, 2008- The National Health Service has paid out £180m
in compensation to people with continuing care needs whom it moved into
the means tested social care system.
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