Hospital Doctor articles from November 2005

Hospital Doctor archives from November 2005

NICE set to fast-track cancer drugs advice.
November 10, 2005... prescribing By Lisa Hitchen lisa.hitchen@rbi.co.uk Patients needing any of five cancer drugs will be the first to benefit from a new fast-track guidance process by NICE which it is hoped will end the situation of NICE 'blights'. The...

Are awards fit for purpose?(Clinical Excellence Awards)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
November 10, 2005... editorial comment Surprisingly, performance-related pay continues to split the profession. Consultants are now rewarded for work above and beyond the call of duty through Clinical Excellence Awards (CEAs), a progressive system of local...

letters.
November 10, 2005... Beware some India colleges Sir, Your news story 'Four trainees sacked' grabbed my attention and caused alarm (13 October, front page). Being an international medical graduate myself, I would at first want to defend the people who were...

Success depends on cracking health code.
November 10, 2005... How has the controversial Payment by Results policy been working out in practice? A recent Audit Commission report, and doctors at the coal face, provide insights into the system of charging for each procedure performed. Francesca Robinson...

Blow is struck for parity in second round of CEAs.(Clinical Excellence Awards)
November 10, 2005... By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk The second round of Clinical Excellence Awards (CEAs) has brought broad parity for women, men and ethnic minorities, the committee that administers the awards has claimed. The Advisory Committee...

GMC to hold hearing over one of its own.(general medical condition)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... disciplinary The GMC is to face an embarrassing situation later this month when one of its own council members will appear before a fitness to practise panel. Prof James Drife, a Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists council...

BMA attacks DoH plans for medical care practitioners.
November 10, 2005... working practices Government plans released last week will allow a new breed of healthcare professional to diagnose and treat patients alongside doctors in both primary and secondary care. The Government consultation on 'medical care...

Angry reaction to workshare report.
November 10, 2005... Psychiatry By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk Plans to reduce psychiatrists' caseload to only the most complex of patients' cases have been condemned by psychiatrists and GPs. New Ways of Working in Psychiatry, a report by the...

Answering the critics.
November 17, 2005... Questions over scan-provider Alliance Medical's competence and value are still being raised. How does it answer its critics? Emma Vere Jones reports Over the past 12 months, Alliance Medical - the company which won a Government contract to...

letters .
November 17, 2005... Time to learn this lesson . . . Sir, Kay Scott gave us a moving account of her husband's death and offered some explanations about what might have led to his suicide (It couldn't happen to Scottie, 20 October, page 26). It's important...

'Old school tie network still active in medicine'.
November 17, 2005... careers By Emma Vere-Jones emma.vere.jones@rbi.co.uk The type of secondary school attended is likely to affect whether a doctor ends up as a GP or a hospital doctor, new research suggests. Male hospital doctors are significantly more...

Cheaper labour costs NHS dear.(National Health Service)(Hospital Doctor Awards)(Editorial)
November 17, 2005... editorial comment The profession has understandably reacted with dismay to the news that prescribing rights for nurses and pharmacists will be greatly extended. 'Be afraid, be very afraid,' said one doctor, summing up the mood of many...

GMC probes Home Office 'whitewash'.
November 17, 2005... Complaints By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk The Home Office decided not to investigate a forensic pathologist even though he changed a postmortem report which led to a manslaughter charge against a surgeon, Hospital Doctor has...

Prescribing plan threatens safety.
November 17, 2005... government plans to extend prescribing rights for nurses are attacked by doctors By Emma Vere-Jones emma.vere.jones@rbi.co.uk Six out of ten doctors believe government plans to extend prescribing rights for nurses and pharmacists will...

38 days is not enough.
November 17, 2005... Under the new government plans nurses may get full prescribing rights after just 38 days of training. The Government is still in discussions with the Royal College of Nursing as to the exact amount of training required, but it is expected to be...

Strokes cost more than heart disease.
November 24, 2005... Cardiology By Lisa Hitchen lisa.hitchen@rbi.co.uk Strokes and transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) affect more people and cost more to the NHS than coronary heart disease, claims research. Oxford researchers have called on the Government to...

Nurses to take over junior doctors' role.
November 24, 2005... mental health By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk Mental health nurses are being trained to take over junior doctor roles in a series of pilots in Manchester. The 'advanced practitioners' teach medical students, liaise with GPs,...

Political games without license.(Brief Article)
November 24, 2005... editorial comment The media circus surrounding access to Herceptin for early breast cancer is in full swing. With Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt as ringmaster, barely a day goes by without another patient forcing their trust into funding...

'I'd far rather pick my moment to die'.
November 24, 2005... As debate on the Joffe Assisted Dying Bill continues in the House of Lords, one doctor - recently struck off for intending to help a friend die - remains undeterred by the prospect of a term in jail. Emma Vere-Jones meets him When Dr...

letters.
November 24, 2005... Grateful for simple cases Sir, I was pleased to read your report in Hospital Doctor which spoke of the widespread anger provoked by the report New Ways of Working in Psychiatry ('Angry reaction to work share report', 10 November, page 3)....

Hip and knee units could face closure.
November 24, 2005... By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk A Government-backed report linking numbers of hip and knee replacement operations with outcomes may lead to closure of units performing low volumes of these procedures, Hospital Doctor can reveal. The...

Regulator drops appeal due to 'court leniency'.
November 24, 2005... register The body which challenges GMC decisions has dropped an appeal because courts are taking a more lenient view of doctors' misconduct than regulators are. The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) pulled its appeal...

Reform of SAS grade.(staff and associate specialist)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2005... contract The highest level of doctor under the reformed staff and associate specialist (SAS) grade will have greater clinical autonomy than the most senior associate specialist has at present. Negotiators on the SAS contract will announce...