Doctor articles from February 2007

Doctor archives from February 2007

A nightmare week for GPs' public image.
February 6, 2007... public image Amena Saleem GPs faced possibly the heav-iest onslaught yet of negative media reports about pay and out-of-hours last week in a barrage of criticism described by the BMA as 'politically-inspired doctor-bashing'. Family doctors...

Muslims urged to refuse jabs.
February 6, 2007... immunisation Muslim parents have been urged to refuse vaccination for their children by the head of the Islamic Medical Association. Dr Abdul Majid Katme, a retired NHS psychiatrist, said that all vaccines contain animal or human...

Legal warning over olanzapine checks.
February 6, 2007... mental Health Adam Legge GPs are being urged to annually check the blood glucose of any patient taking an atypical antipsychotic, following news that a UK law firm is preparing cases on behalf of patients who believe they developed...

GPs to bear HPV burden.
February 6, 2007... immunisation The proposed human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programme looks set to fall on GPs, as school nurses warn they will be unable to carry it out. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is meeting...

PMS practices given notice on contracts.
February 6, 2007... personal medical services Mark Pownall A cash-strapped PCT has told GPs in its PMS practices that their contracts will end in the summer, and GP leaders now fear a wave of similar actions as PCTs try to balance their budgets. ...

Snub over regulation.
February 6, 2007... cmo's review THE Government is set to ignore doctors' input into the biggest overhaul of medical regulation in over 30 years. The DoH hopes to introduce legislation in the autumn subjecting GPs to a reduced burden of proof in...

Time to stop GP bashing.
February 6, 2007... The media onslaught on GPs reached a crescendo last week. Doctors have been accused of being overpaid, inflexible and smug. Doctor believes the time has come to fight back against biased reporting and has today sent this letter to the editors...

Antivirals advised as flu levels rise.
February 13, 2007... immunisation A rise in seasonal flu levels and some isolated outbreaks have triggered advice to GPs to start using antivirals in high-risk patients. Health Protection Agency respiratory scientist Dr Carol Joseph said: 'Since...

GPs join forces with specialists.
February 13, 2007... services A CONSORTIUM of GPs and consultants has been selected as preferred bidder in a tender to provide ENT outpatient services in Ipswich, in a move believed to be the first in the country. Three GPs and two consultants formed Suffolk...

Rethink on global sum.
February 13, 2007... funding Cathy Comerford pay negotiators have unveiled plans to change the way the global sum is calculated, which could see some practices' core income fall by up to 19%. The results of an 18-month review of the formula were put...

Anger at pharmacy's bid to cut scrip costs.
February 20, 2007... prescribing A national pharmacy chain's plan to advise GPs to switch from branded to generic drugs to tackle cardiovascular disease has prompted concerns from doctors' leaders. Lloydspharmacy initially wrote to GPs and PCTs outlining...

Commissioning is going private.
February 20, 2007... services Amena Saleem SIGNS that PCTs are taking the first steps towards outsourcing commissioning have led to renewed fears for GPs' role in the process. Dr Michael Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance, said it was vital that...

GPs deny claims they are 'ageist'.
February 20, 2007... elderly care Adam Legge GPs have strongly defended the profession against accusations of ageism from older people's charities. A study published last week - based on hypothetical case studies - suggested GPs, cardiologists and doctors...

Is it a racehorse? Is it a camel? No, it's NHS IT E.(United Kingdom National Health Service)(Brief article)
February 20, 2007... technology Staff at the beleaguered National Programme for IT (NPfIT) have probably got the hump this week after their programme suffered the indignity of being compared to a camel. To make matters worse, the comparison was made by a...

Legal warning over referrals.
February 20, 2007... working practices The risk of legal action by patients has risen significantly since the introduction of referral management centres (RMCs), medical defence experts have warned. GPs have been urged to make letters to RMCs as clear as...

Locals fail to win practice.
February 20, 2007... THE Derbyshire practice at the centre of a legal battle over who should run it has been handed to a UK-based private company by its PCT. ChilversMcCrea, which manages more than 20 practices and walk-in centres in the UK, was awarded the...

New deal promises IT freedom for GPs.
February 20, 2007... technology Will Beacham IN A rare good-news story for the National Programme for IT (NPfIT), doctors have welcomed the fact that procurement has begun for a contract that should give them complete freedom to choose their own IT...

Pay review fears.(general practitioners)(Brief article)
February 20, 2007... Global sum changes Local GP leaders are warning that planned changes to the global sum allocation formula would enable the Government to cut funding and bring in private providers. They are angry at last week's announcement that NHS...