Hospital Doctor articles from November 2006

Hospital Doctor archives from November 2006

Star ratings get tougher.
November 16, 2006... How fair is the new Healthcare Commission hospital ratings system? Some critics claim the revised system is too harsh and inconsistent. Francesca Robinson investigates the secrets of securing success More than half of the trusts in the NHS...

letters.
November 16, 2006... No referral is unnecessary Sir, Dash it, those dastardly GPs and 'casualty officers' (a 20th-century term) have been at it again ('Lawsuit fear blights care', 2 November, page 10) - overreferring patients in the pursuit of a...

Minister regrets need to change visa rules.
November 16, 2006... overseas doctors Health Minister Lord Warner expressed regret over the abolition of permit-free training for non-EU overseas doctors at the annual dinner of the British International Doctors Association (BIDA) last week. In an...

Intensive care 'to be hospital's core'.
November 16, 2006... intensive care medicine By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk Intensive care medicine (ICM) will mainly involve care of the elderly in future, the president of the Intensive Care Society has warned. Dr Anna Batchelor...

NTN success rate better among women doctors.
November 16, 2006... training By Liz Fox elizabeth.fox@rbi.co.uk The success rate among female doctors applying for a national training number (NTN) is higher than that of male doctors in the majority of medical specialties, new research reveals. ...

CMO's ideas 'lack evidence'.(Chief Medical Officer)(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... regulation reform There is little evidence to back many of the recommendations in the Chief Medical Officer for England's review of medical regulation, an influential health think-tank has claimed. In its response to Sir Liam...

Legal challenge to private triage.(capture, assess and treat service)
November 16, 2006... By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk Public service union Unison is mounting a legal challenge to a decision to set up a privately-run triage and treatment service for NHS patients in Cumbria and Lancashire. Unison wants a...

GMC affiliates idea is risible.(General Medical Council)(Editorial)
November 16, 2006... editorial comment Of all the recommendations by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in his review of medical regulation, the one that deserves to be rejected outright is the idea of GMC 'affiliates'. I'll recap what this is, in case you've...

Celebration of teaching skills.
November 23, 2006... editorial comment Doctors' duty to teach was enshrined in the Hippocratic Oath more than 2,000 years ago: 'I will regard his sons as my brothers and teach them the science, if they desire to learn it, without fee or contract. I will hand...

letters.
November 23, 2006... Getting it right is our priority Sir, After what I thought was a thoughtful and relatively balanced piece on the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) in Hospital Doctor (26 October, page 20) I must admit to increasing...

BMA blasts service withdrawal option.(British Medical Association)
November 23, 2006... commissioning By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk The DoH is under fire from the BMA for indicating that it will allow hospitals to stop providing certain services. The BMA claims the move could increase health...

Skin services are being dismantled.(Hospital dermatology services to be taken care by general practitioners)
November 23, 2006... By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk Hospital dermatology services are being dismantled across the country as the result of a Government push to provide care closer to patients' homes. Three consultants at New-ham University...

Skin services are being dismantled.(dermatology services contract with the primary care trusts)
November 23, 2006... By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk Hospital dermatology services are being dismantled across the country as the result of a Government push to provide care closer to patients' homes. Three consultants at New-ham University...

Laid-off bosses kept on full pay by trusts.(Primary Care Trusts reorganization)
November 23, 2006... Finances By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk Senior staff made redundant following the reorganisation of primary care trusts (PCTs) are being paid full salaries until end of June 2007 under DoH policy. The number of...

Redundant bosses leave on full pay.(reorganisation of primary care trusts )(Brief article)
November 23, 2006... Senior managers made redundant following the Government's reorganisation of primary care trusts (PCTs) are being paid full salaries until the end of June next year. Doctors have blasted the policy, which rubs salt in the wounds of...

Give medical teaching the status it deserves.
November 23, 2006... At a time when the NHS is subject to change in every area, medical teachers are badly in need of a boost to help them adapt, according to a recently published study. Anna Barlow reports Teaching is a vital component of every doctor's work,...

Run-through numbers fall short of expected.(medical specialities posts specifications)
November 30, 2006... Specialist training By Liz Fox elizabeth.fox@rbi.co.uk Provisional figures submitted to the Welsh Assembly government reveal that 36 per cent of specialty training jobs in Wales will be fixed-term specialist training appointments...

RCS urges plan for emergency surgery.
November 30, 2006... Service planning By Rob Finch rob.finch@rbi.co.uk The President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England is demanding the Government makes a nationwide plan to reconfigure emergency surgery. The plan must be made...

Devil is in the detail for SAS.(Staff and Associate Specialists)(British Medical Association and National Health Service contract)
November 30, 2006... editorial comment The SAS contract has finally been agreed, the BMA and NHS Employers jointly announced last week. In the weeks before February's ballot, doctors will be poring over the summary agreement, trying to decide whether they...

A sea change in medicine.(Ian Jenkins )
November 30, 2006... Surgeon General Ian Jenkins stands down from office this autumn with a view to retiring in February. Janis Smy charts a medical career spanning almost four decades and a Royal Naval record of over 30 years Unlike most doctors in the forces,...

Contract threat to SAS job progress.(staff and associate specialist)
November 30, 2006... By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk Changes introduced by NHS Employers (NHSE) to the new staff and associate specialist (SAS) contract since formal negotiations ended will make doctors' career progression more difficult. ...

More women receive CEAs.(Clinical Excellence Awards)(Brief article)
November 30, 2006... Excellence awards Women who applied for the third round of Clinical Excellence Awards (CEAs) were more successful than men. Figures reveal 1.36 per cent of eligible male consultants applied for bronze awards compared to 0.99 per...

Petition against MMC.(Modernising Medical Careers)(Brief article)
November 30, 2006... training Angry consultants and junior doctors have signed a letter asking the BMA to take a stronger stance against further implementation of Modernising Medical Careers (MMC). Dr Clive Peedell, a consultant clinical oncologist from...

letters.
November 30, 2006... Patient safety comes first Sir, Regarding your story on our test of junior doctors' prescribing ability ('Failed test leads to trainees' scrip ban', 2 November, page 8), trusts were asked to administer the safe prescribing assessment in...