Hospital Doctor articles from January 2004

Hospital Doctor archives from January 2004

Make good use of media.
January 8, 2004... Doctors should write to newspapers to give patients a better understanding of the problems facing NHS doctors, says Mr John Sinclair octors may not earn any brownie points for pointing out the shortcomings of the health service, but I...

New JCC head sets out his priorities.(Joint Consultants Committee)(interview)(Interview)
January 8, 2004... Prof Bill Dunlop took up his post as chairman of the Joint Consultants Committee last summer. He talks to Frith Rayner about some of the challenges he faces in his new role rof Bill Dunlop is a busy man. Two secretaries -one at his new job...

Limp excuse for coming in to see me.
January 8, 2004... By Tony Copperfield riday afternoon, emergency surgery. Come in number 20. I'm too knackered to argue as to what constitutes 'urgent', so he gets the standard: 'And what's the "emergency" exactly?' He looks embarrassed, and starts humming...

Measles is much scarier than MMR jab.(measles, mumps, rubella)
January 8, 2004... By Ed Walker ike many emergency departments all over the country, ours feels more like a walk-in primary care centre a lot of the time. It feels particularly like that between 4 and 6pm, when most of our patients are children. That seems...

LEGAL CLINIC.
January 8, 2004... This month, Dr John Williamson looks at what doctors should do when they are faced with a medical negligence claim QI worked as a locum in another trust last year. It has just contacted me to say a claim has arisen from the care I provided...

How to meet VAT obligations; on your medical reports.(value added tax)
January 8, 2004... Some consultants face the hassle of having to charge VAT on some aspects of their private work in future. Ray Stanbridge explains In a landmark decision on 20 November 2003, the European Court ruled that doctors will have to charge VAT on...

Defence bodies welcome new rules on suspension.
January 8, 2004... Medical defence organisations have welcomed new Government guidance on doctors' suspensions. The guidance deals with initial handling of concerns about doctors' conduct and performance. Current arrangements have been criticised because of the...

What's ahead for.(beliefs and opinions)
January 8, 2004... As the new year dawns, changes are afoot for the medical profession. New contracts, a new GMC and new government initiatives are just some of the issues facing the NHS in 2004. Hospital Doctor spoke to some of the most influential figures in...

NICE guidelines ; on hepatitis C treatment issued.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... ADULTS with moderate to severe chronic hepatitis C should be treated with a combination of peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, according to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). The latest guidance says the therapy should not be...

Information framework; could revolutionise NHS; health management.(National Health Service)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... A [pounds sterling]500,000 clinical information framework in a London hospital could revolutionise health management across the whole NHS, its creators say. The Medic-to-Medic framework, developed at the Royal Free Hospital, uses a single...

Bowel cancer screening programme delayed.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... HOSPITAL doctors are likely to have to wait until 2008 before they see a national bowel cancer screening programme introduced. Julietta Patnick, national co-ordinator of the NHS cancer screening programmes, told delegates at the St Mark's...

Fast-track orthopaedic; centre plan sparks fury.(Trent Strategic Health Authority)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Orthopaedic surgeons in Nottingham have rebelled against government plans for a fast-track treatment centre in their area. All the orthopaedic consultants in the region have signed a letter to GPs saying they do not endorse the new centre....

Negotiating; team for NCCGs; announced.(non-consultant career grade doctors)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... THE team which will negotiate with the Department of Health for a new contract for non-consultant career grade doctors (NCCGs) has been announced. All the negotiators are doctors in the grade and are members of the BMA's staff and associate...

Pharmaceutical firms 'too focused' on profits.
January 8, 2004... SOME areas of medical research are losing out because the pharmaceutical companies put new drugs and profits first, claims a report. Health think tank the King's Fund says research priorities have largely been left to the drugs companies, with...

Backing for witness in SIDS cases.(sudden infant death syndrome)
January 8, 2004... The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has defended Prof Sir Roy Meadow, the doctor at the centre of cases in which mothers have been cleared of murdering their babies. The press has vilified Sir Roy after three mothers were...

Overseas surgeon wins [pounds sterling]600k in racism case case.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... An overseas doctor refused entry to the specialist register has won over [pounds sterling]600,000 compensation from the Department of Health. An employment tribunal found that Mr Vijay Jadhav had been racially discriminated against by the...

Managerial focus on targets distorts clinical priorities.
January 8, 2004... Doctors are facing more interference from trust managers in clinical decision making, evidence uncovered by Hospital Doctor shows. Some trusts are cancelling operating lists in order to treat people approaching target deadlines, or cancelling...

DoH to fund trips to Third World.(Department of Health)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Doctors considering work in developing countries could have their trip funded by the Department of Health (DoH). The DoH has allocated [pounds sterling]20,000 to be distributed among teams of health care professionals working on projects in the...

Alder Hey medical director cleared.(cases)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... The former medical director at Alder Hey Children's Hospital has been cleared of misconduct during the organs retention scandal. Dr John Martin was accused of failing to take 'adequate steps' after discovering that pathologist Prof Dick van...

Patients could be told to complain right away.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Patients may be told to complain to the nearest member of staff if they are unhappy with the treatment they are receiving. The Government proposal is intended to avoid the formal complaints process where possible by resolving issues...

Military doctors' pay rise 'inadequate'.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... A PAY rise for doctors in the armed forces is insufficient to resolve a crisis in their recruitment and retention, the BMA has said. The Armed Forces' Pay Review body has recommended an increase of 6.8 per cent for all regular and reserve...

Academics' ballot to close tomorrow.(contracts)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Voting on a new contract for clinical academic consultants closes tomorrow with supporters hoping for an improvement to the careers of these doctors. The contract for medical academics, who are employed jointly by universities and the NHS, is a...

SERMs doubt in osteoporosis.(Selective oestrogen receptor modulators)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... SELECTIVE oestrogen recep- tor modulators (SERMs) could be withdrawn for the treatment of osteoporosis if National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendations are upheld. In its first appraisal, NICE says there is no evidence that...

Doctors honoured in New Year's list.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... PROF Ross Lorimer, until recently president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, was made a CBE in the New Year Honours List. Prof Lorimer, who is continuing to work with the Scottish Executive on its strategy for...

Doctors vote 'yes' to new deal in NI.(Northern Ireland)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... ALMOST 84 per cent of consultants and SpRs in Northern Ireland have voted in favour of a new consultant contract. The turnout in the ballot, which had got off to a false start in December before being re-run over Christmas, was 56.7 per cent....

Call for more openness on NCAA referrals.(National Clinical Assessment Authority)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Doctors should be told when their trusts contact the National Clinical Assessment Authority about them, the British International Doctors Association (BIDA) has said. BIDA president Dr Surendra Kumar said it was 'in the interests of justice and...

A lot to gain from robust appraisal.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Sir, The article 'How to get the most out of appraisal' (13 November, page 40) is a timely reminder of the benefits that individuals - and hence the NHS - receive from robust appraisal to support professional and team development. A useful...

Against private treatment units.
January 8, 2004... Sir, In View from the Top, Health Minister John Hutton signs off with a paternalistic and offensive comment: 'I hope you will be able to work with us.' The implication is that some doctors do not want to improve the service the NHS provides for...

Hospitals in UK meet targets on MI therapy.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Sir, It is a pity that Sheila Leatherman chose thrombolytic treatment for myocardial infarction as an example of an unrealistic target (4 December, page 6). In fact the NHS has delivered: almost 80 per cent of patients with ST elevation...

Managers squander money on glossy rags.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Sir, In a society that can pay a professional footballer [pounds sterling]100,000 a week and a brain surgeon rather less a year, it should come as no surprise that academic worth is valued considerably less than management-speak. A year's...

Time to stop targets undermining doctors.
January 8, 2004... Hospital Doctor Comment It may be the start of a new year, but the front page of this issue is dominated by a perennial problem - targets and their impact on clinical decision making. At last, a body of evidence is coming together which...

We need culture shift on alcohol.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Sir, No one can argue against any campaign to publicise the harmful effects of alcohol consumption, and indeed there must be a widespread support for Dr Record's appeal (Alcohol products should carry health warning, page 40, 20 November). But...

Why too much self-belief may be stressing you out.
January 15, 2004... Do you suffer from an excess of self-esteem? Dr Raj Persaud investigates the role narcissism may play in adding to doctors' stress Doctors like to blame their stress on the environment in which they work - difficult patients, staff and...

Paediatrics pioneer is set to go the distance.(Alan Craft, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health)
January 15, 2004... The new president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health stumbled into the specialty by accident, runs marathons and believes Geordie football hero Alan Shearer is a world leader. Frith Rayner talks to Prof Alan Craft Prof...

Family-friendly rota; devised for SpRs.(special purpose register)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... AN SpR has devised a family-friendly rota that avoids blocks of nights as well as complying with the Working Time Directive. Medical SpR Dr Katie Wynne devised the rota while she was working at Ealing Hospital, west London, following an idea by...

Turn your brainwave into a ground-breaking reality.(National Health Service)(Medical Futures)
January 15, 2004... So you have an idea, now what? We all get bright ideas, but an idea will stay an idea unless you act on it. Mr Andy Goldberg explains how to take it to the next stage There are stacks of reasons why ideas fail to get off the drawing board....

Colleges need more force.(National Health Service regulations for medical colleges)
January 15, 2004... Mr Suhail Anwar explains why the royal colleges need to do more to help doctors in the face of an ever-changing NHS urgeons have experienced many radical changes to the NHS recently. They have been under close scrutiny in the wake of the...

Controlling your cash flow is as old as Adam.(National Health Service)
January 15, 2004... Where does it all go? Even with their private practice income, many consultants never seem to have any cash to spare. Ann Copsey looks at a typical case and suggests solutions Even with an NHS salary of [pounds sterling]60,000 to [pounds...

Private care need not be skin deep.(National Health Services)
January 15, 2004... 'In my naivety, I had forgotten the cardinal rule of health economics outside the NHS' nce, in a rugby tour's alcoholic haze, I came close to getting a tattoo. Nothing extravagant, of course, it would be a tasteful, discreet example of the...

Nurses are not great philosophers.
January 15, 2004... 'Another aspect of nursing that is so stunningly fatuous, I just have to go off on one' hen I started writing columns for magazines, I really did not mean to spend the whole time having a go at nurses. I quite like them, really. Hell, I...

Ten-minute HIV test may be available in six months.(Trinity Biotech PLC)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... A RAPID HIV test that takes only ten minutes to produce results could soon be available to UK doctors. The Uni-Gold Recombigen HIV test, marketed by Dublin-based Trinity Biotech, has just been approved in the US. Marie McCarthy, the company's...

New rules to limit number of embryo transfers.(Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... Doctors will no longer be allowed to transfer more than two eggs or embryos to women under 40 under a new ruling by the Human Fertilisa- tion and Embryology Autho- rity (HFEA). HFEA's sixth code of practice updates previous policy, which...

Survey finds wide variation in anti-dementia prescribing.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... THERE is still wide variation in the prescribing of anti-dementia drugs, a UK-wide survey has shown. Pfizer researchers found that although spending had increased, there was still 'significant geographical variation' in uptake and access. The...

Garlic compound shows promise against MRSA.(methicillin resistant staph aureas)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... Early research on a garlic compound has shown that it is effective in killing hospital super-bugs and has been used to successfully treat patients with MRSA-infected wounds. The compound, known as allicin and found naturally in garlic, has been...

UK surgeons attack claim they charge highest fees.(United Kingdom)(British Medical Association)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... Doctors in private practice have strongly criticised a claim that they charge the highest fees in the world. A report found that UK surgeons were charging almost 60 per cent more for procedures such as tonsillectomies and cataract surgery than...

Inquiry call over Labour 'stars fiddle'.(investigations of hospital ratings)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... The Conservative party has called for an inquiry into claims that the star rating for a trust in the Prime Minister's constituency was upgraded after interference from the Health Secretary. Leaked documents appear to show that South Durham...

Conflicts over job planning.(Department of Health)(British Medical Association)(National Health Service)
January 15, 2004... Amena Saleem reports on why trusts are delaying the implementation of job plans, and how differing advice given by the DoH and the BMA impacts on the task ahead WITH the ballot for the consultant contract out of the way, and deadlines for...

Is NHS full of lying, cheating incompetents?(National Health Service workers behaviour)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... Hospitals are boiling over with rage, if latest research is to be believed. Lying, cheating and incompetent colleagues have angered many NHS workers to the point of resignation. Occupational psychologist Jill Booth interviewed workers in the...

Ministers attack EU hours rulings.(European Union .European Commission's regulations for working hours)(health minister John Hutton)(British Medical Association )
January 15, 2004... THE Government has attacked European court rulings which mean resident on-call is counted as working time. It has also accused doctors of not being properly committed to limits on working hours just months before the legislation begins to apply...

Profession must plan for shorter work week.(British Medical Association )(working hour regulations)
January 15, 2004... Hospital Doctor Comment Most hospital doctors of a certain age believe that the younger generation of medics have it easy. They think the exams are softer, the level of clinical skills lower and the hours a fraction of what they worked....

Equipment out of date, say Lib Dems.(liberal democrats)(use of out of date equipment in hospitals)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... DOCTORS are being forced to work with inadequate and out-of-date equipment in hospitals, according to the Liberal Democrats. The diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer is being delayed, while a quarter of theatre units in UK...

private fees.(cataract operation fees)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... Cataract fees compared * UK [pounds sterling]780 * US [pounds sterling]364 * Canada [pounds sterling]177 * Germany [pounds sterling]141 to [pounds sterling]325 * Spain [pounds sterling]269 Source: NERA

Doctors withdraw political support.(National Health Service's health policy )(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... A group of doctors who signed a letter urging people to vote Labour to save the NHS have now voiced strong opposition to the Government's health reforms. The 60 doctors had argued just before the 1997 election that the policies of the previous...

Trusts extend job planning deadline date.(British Medical Association)(Department of Health regulations)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... MOST consultants will not be signing off their job plans at the end of January, as trusts extend the deadline set by the Department of Health (DoH) as far ahead as April. Consultants who wanted to receive backdated pay under the revised...

South African firm to do cataract ops.(National Health Service)(contract for cataract operations )(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... The Government has signed a contract with South African company Netcare to carry out cataract operations in two mobile treatment centres. Over the next five years, over 41,600 cataract operations will be performed in the centres around the...

Doctor Death leaves a harmful legacy.(Dr Harold Shipman)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... With the death of mass murderer Dr Harold Shipman, who was found hanged in his prison cell this week, Hospital Doctor asked members of the profession what impact the atrocities have had on the future of the medical profession: 'The impact...

CONTRACT CLINIC.(doctors)
January 15, 2004... Each week, experts will answer your questions on the consultant contract. Send your questions to hospital.doctor@rbi.co.uk. The first set of questions are answered by Stephen Campion, chief executive of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists...

IS THE DoH FAILING ; PATIENTS WITH; Schizophrenia?(Department of Health)(National Institute for Clinical Excellence regulations for antipsychotic drugs for treating patients with schizophrenia)
January 15, 2004... When the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued its stamp of approval for atypical antipsychotic drugs for treating patients with schizophrenia, the charity SANE hailed the ruling as a 'landmark victory' for all those who had...

Switching off a child's ventilation support.(Pediatric intensive care)
January 15, 2004... In our monthly series Clinical Dilemma, doctors and other specialists present their professional view on what to do in various complex clinical situations in primary and secondary care This month's dilemma A six-year-old boy is admitted to...

BMA is racist gentlemen's ; club, claims one of its own.
January 22, 2004... ONE of the most senior members of the BMA has launched an astonishing attack on the organisation, claiming it fails to represent its members and is run more like a gentlemen's club than a professional body. Mr Nizam Mamode, deputy chairman of...

Machiavelli's mask can help you gain workplace power.
January 22, 2004... How do you win power in the hospital? The secret, says consultant psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud, can be found in a 500-year-old book Most of us hate office politics, but if you do not play the game, you will not get on. Talent and hard work...

Doctors condemn awards scheme.(failure of Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards in guiding the doctors )(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... A backlash is growing against the awards system that has replaced merit awards and discretionary points. Senior members of the BMA's consultants committee are frustrated and angry with a system which, they claim, has been imposed on them by the...

CHAI advisory panel mooted to ensure doctors are represented.(Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection)(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... AN ADVISORY panel will need to be set up to give doctors some form of representation on the Government's new health watchdog, according to one of its shadow commissioners. Prof Iqbal Singh, who was appointed in May to help establish the...

Government rules out possibility of presumed consent for organ donation.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... THE Government has ruled out introducing presumed consent for organ donation. Health minister Rosie Winterton said explicit consent would remain at the centre of the Human Tissue Bill which was debated in the Commons last week. The BMA has...

Don't leave them hanging.(Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board (UK), health care industry)
January 22, 2004... More and more overseas doctors pass the PLAB test only to find themselves in the UK without a job or any kind of support. Dr Umesh Prabhu says something must be done to help them raditionally, the UK has given lots of opportunities to...

Why pain management is a job for the whole team.
January 22, 2004... It is not just anaesthetists who need to take pain management seriously, argues Dr Joan Hester. It is a multidisciplinary specialty which often does not comply with a target-driven NHS The management of pain undoubtedly has a...

Time to disparage the media medics.
January 22, 2004... 'Copperfield might at least buy you a pint and make you laugh' ne of my New Year's resolutions is the same every year, and I never really act on it. It is, to be blunt, to be blunt. Tell it like it is. The greatest gift you can offer...

How to structure a presentation.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... In the first of a series about the ways doctors can improve their presentation skills, Bob Mathers outlines the best way of structuring a talk, and explains why a clear sense of purpose is the driving force behind a successful presentation ...

Budget brews up new tax trouble.(health care industry)
January 22, 2004... Doctors' small companies are under threat from a tax crackdown. Willie MacKenzie explains how small companies are likely to face increased taxes in the spring Budget Tucked away in the detail of the Chancellor's pre-Budget report is a tax...

No smoke without getting fired up.
January 22, 2004... 'This all smacks of rank hypocrisy from the Right-Ons Blair, Brown et al' must first admit a degree of ambivalence about the prospect of a ban on smoking in public places. Like many medical students, I smoked for a few years, and gave up...

Where have all the doctors gone?(doctors sidelined for top jobs )
January 22, 2004... Lay people rather than doctors are being given the top jobs in some of the new NHS bodies. Francesca Robinson asks if doctors are being shunned and whether the profession is concerned about such posts going to non-medics The Department of...

VAT on private work is coming - but not yet.(value added tax)
January 22, 2004... There have been further developments following Hospital Doctor's warning about the VAT payable on some aspects of consultants' private work. John Barnes explains The European Court decided late last year that some reports produced by...

Part-timers file claim for unlawful underpayment.( health care industry)(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... THE first claim has been filed in a case brought by a group of part-time consultants who claim they are being unlawfully underpaid by the NHS. A further six claims are due to be lodged in the next few weeks. Christopher Sing, an employment law...

THE I.T. PAGE.(information technology)
January 22, 2004... The [pounds sterling]2.3bn national programme to reform NHS IT was launched in 2002 and aims to deliver a care records service, e-prescriptions, electronic booking of hospital appointments and a new infrastructure. The Department of Health aims...

NHS launches scheme to improve leadership.(National Health Service (UK))(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... THE latest stage of a scheme to improve leadership in the NHS has been launched. Run by a group of consultancy and academic organisations, with experts from within the health service, the Department of Health (DoH) programme aims to improve...

Obesity line 'set wrong for Asians'.( health aspects of health care)(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... INTERNATIONAL obesity markers are wrong for some Asian patients, says the World Health Organization. Many south-east Asian people are at high risk from diabetes and cardiovascular disease at a body mass index lower than the WHO thresholds for...

Force-fed humour on Doctors And Nurses.(BBC1's television comedy 'Doctors and Nurses')(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... Thirty seconds into the first episode of the BBC1's Doctors And Nurses comes the gist of it: The NHS, we're told, is 'in the shit'. It's tempting to speak in similarly complimentary terms about the programme thirty words into this review. Even...

National bowel checks could cripple NHS.(National Health Services)(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... THE NHS would sink under the pressures of a national bowel screening programme, researchers have predicted. An audit of colonoscopy services in three NHS regions has highlighted serious under-provision, and deficiencies in quality and training....

Tory leader accused of twisting BMA's words.( british medical association)(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... NHS managers and the BMA have accused Tory leader Michael Howard of flagrantly twisting their words in a newspaper advert. A full page advert in The Guardian, signed by Mr Howard, appealed to doctors to root out incompetence. Dr Gill Morgan,...

Call for national STD screening.(sexually transmitted disease)(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... DOCTORS have welcomed news of more chlamydia screening pilots, but are asking why screening is not yet being rolled out nationally. Ministers have announced 16 pilots, which will cover 50 primary care trusts (PCTs). When added to the ten...

Avian flu danger is 'worse than SARS'.( health care concerns)(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... IF avian flu in Asia mutates to spread from human to human, it will be much worse than the SARS outbreak, a virus expert has warned. Hospital staff should therefore stay alert to the situation in Asia, according to Prof John Oxford, professor...

Current cosmetic surgery rules deemed adequate.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... CURRENT regulations should be sufficient to prevent private cosmetic clinics offering poor consultations to patients, according to leading cosmetic surgeons. An investigation published in this month's Which? magazine found half of clinics...

Mammography at 40 'is the answer'.( control of cancer deaths)(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... WOMEN should have mammography screening from the age of 40 rather than 50, cancer experts are recommending. Dr Gill Ross, clinical oncologist at London's Royal Marsden Hospital, and Prof Kefah Mokbel, consultant breast surgeon at St George's...

NCCGs without lead negotiator just before contract talks start.(non-consultant career grades)(Brief Article)
January 22, 2004... THE BMA has no one to head contract negotiations for non-consultant career grades (NCCGs) just weeks before the talks with the Government are due to begin. There are concerns that the vacuum in the BMA's Staff and Associate Specialists...