Archive for June, 2009

Disrupting health care

The cat’s out of the bag.  In an erudite and commendably candid paper, the NHS Confederation tells it as it is: the NHS will not be immune from the financial crisis, it will face real term cuts (Tory or Labour government, don’t believe either of their protestations to the contrary).  And they will be of some magnitude; £15 billion over five years from 2011 set against rising demand, aging and an increasingly unhealthy population is no small fry. Read the rest of this entry »

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Changing Lisbon tide could leave Conservatives stranded

Last June, the lamp-posts of Dublin were strewn with Libertas posters calling on voters not to sell Ireland’s future to unelected bureaucrats in Brussels, writes Luke Clark. Others appealed to Ireland’s nationalist spirit – some even reproduced the ‘Proclamation of Independence’. The campaign against Lisbon was significantly aided by the incomprehensible text of the Treaty – Ireland’s EU Commissioner even stated that he wouldn’t expect “any sane and sensible person” to read it…

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I’ve seen the future of education for all… and, frankly, it’s not worth obtaining

Today marks the publication of Education for All: The future of education and training for 14-19 year olds, the long-awaited outcome of the five-year long Nuffield Review of 14-19 education and training.

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More on Patient Feedback

Last week we wrote about the purpose of patient choice as a policy aim and its potential outcomes in practice. Interestingly, the Health Service Journal has just reported that Local Involvement Networks (LINks), the government’s newest patient and public involvement initiative, claim they are not receiving enough financial and directional support from the DH. Read the rest of this entry »

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All the world’s a stage

This year Cambridge University is to email exam results to students before displaying them in public outside the university’s senate house.  On receipt of the email, students will have the opportunity to remove themselves from the public list, if they can prove ‘exceptional circumstances’ such as mental health problems.

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In defence of pluralism

The Economist carries an article this week that the NHS – and not least the new Competition and Cooperation Panel – would do well to look at.  ‘Innovation through regulation’, ‘America’s stunning success in information technology was not the free market but government regulation’ punches a strange headline.
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