Is the DH giving up on practice-based commissioning?
15 October 2009While the Conservatives are announcing plans to restructure PbC, the current government seems to be rethinking the future of the process as well.
The Blog
Václav vs. Václav
14 October 2009A brief comparison of the political styles of two politicians – Vaclav Klaus and Vaclav Havel reveals the ‘era of disgust’ that has plagued Czech politics in the last twenty years. Vaclav Klaus’ obstructionism in the last few days is somewhat difficult to explain. It is not necessarily pressure from Eurosceptics in the UK. His… [Read More]
Silence is golden
13 October 2009Although I’m pretty certain my children would want to contest the claim, the prize for being the world’s grumpiest old man must surely go to the nineteenth century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. More than practically all else, what got up his nose was noise — especially that caused by traffic. Writing a century a half… [Read More]
NHS care not good enough for its own staff?
12 October 2009Many large corporations in the United Kingdom offer private health ‘top-ups’ or insurance cover as a benefit to employees, and it turns out the NHS is one of them.
Work’s worth
9 October 2009This week the importance of work for a prospective Conservative government was emphasised. In what were received as radical announcements, the Tories announced that they would, broadly ala Wisconsin welfare reforms, push people off benefits and into work – as well as to push longer working years. That the former proposal in particular, off welfare and into work, is seen as radical is an indictment of where Labour has failed to pursue what would once have been seen as its rightful path.
The Conservatives and Practice-based Commissioning
8 October 2009To anyone familiar with NHS policy of the 1990s, Conservative plans to reform PbC sound a lot like GP fundholding.
Who will be the bête noire of Europe?
7 October 2009Of all the concerns that the Conservative Party are currently facing, Europe is but one of them, writes Ahmed Mehdi. The Irish decision to vote ‘yes’ on Friday 2 October has reignited a much-maligned question: what is the Conservative position on calling a referendum over the Lisbon Treaty?
The Proposal: Abolish SHAs?
5 October 2009As prescriptions for NHS cost-cutting abound, health minister Mike O’Brien has proposed a somewhat radical question: do we really need strategic health authorities?
High culture within reach
2 October 2009How best to instil an interest in culture amongst young people today was – broadly – the theme of a New Statesman debate with Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw at the Labour Party Conference. Whether culture is or should be ‘useful’ in a productive sense aside, how can young people be engaged in the arts?
Bungled hip replacements…
1 October 2009Last week The Times published an article with the juicy headline ‘NHS paying high price for bungled hip replacements at private centres’. The problem is that the article refers to a study in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Standards of just one centre; a centre in Weston-super-Mare within an NHS hospital. It is… [Read More]