Doctor articles from January 2006

Doctor archives from January 2006

GPs are happier with life than consultants.
January 10, 2006... Lifestyle survey GPs are now happier with their lifestyle than consultants, according to a joint survey conducted by Doctor and Hospital Doctor. More than half of consultants believe they have a worse lifestyle than GPs, but only 16%...

GPs snub 'choice' initiative.
January 10, 2006... Choose and Book Cathy Comerford Government PLANS for GPs to offer patients a choice of at least four hospitals or clinics on referral have hit a brick wall, as booklets containing information about local trusts have failed to arrive at...

GPs told to screen over-40s for CVD.
January 10, 2006... Influential JBS2 guidelines lower treatment thresholds for statin prescribing and set aggressive new targets for reducing lipids Adam Legge Ambitious targets set out in major new cardiovascular guidelines will mean massive increases in...

Pay squeeze and tougher QOF under revised deal.(pay scales for general practitioners)
January 10, 2006... Contract review GP leaders have admitted that the contract review is 'far from ideal' and have attacked Government negotiators for releasing details before they were agreed. The deal proposals, announced over Christmas, will not offer...

QOF now a political football, claim GPs.
January 10, 2006... Contract Steve Ford The clinical credibility of the quality and outcomes framework has been dealt a blow with the inclusion of indicators that negotiators admit are politically motivated. Detail on the new indicators, which are...

Steep jump in UK liver deaths.
January 10, 2006... Alcohol consumption Britain has the steepest rise in mortality rates from liver cirrhosis in western Europe, according to researchers. Using World Health Organ-ization data for 1955-2001, they compared mortality rates in the UK with...

Ministers vetoed CVD targets over cost.
January 17, 2006... Cardiovascular MINISTERS OPPOSED adding quality and outcomes (QOF) points for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the contract review, say GP negotiators. Despite being one of the areas tipped for inclusion in the...

Pre-term birth risk from antibiotic may outweigh benefit.
January 17, 2006... Pregnancy The antibiotic metronidazole may increase the risk of pre-term delivery, according to researchers. The drug is prescribed to about one in 200 pregnant women in the UK with bacterial vaginosis in order to reduce the risk of...

Hewitt turns up heat over GP complaints.(Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt)
January 17, 2006... White paper to give patients more say on 'unsatisfactory services' Doctor reporters GPs face the prospect of more patient complaints under the Government's choice agenda, even though most believe the system is already weighted against...

... but choice booklets delayed.(Brief article)
January 17, 2006... Patient choice Booklets for the manual Choose and Book system will reach GPs this month, according to health service officials. The Choosing Your Hospital booklets failed to reach the majority of GPs by the start of the New Year,...

HPV tests would cut repeat smear rates.
January 17, 2006... Screening Adding human papillomavirus (HPV) testing to the cervical cancer screening programme would save more lives but cost considerably more than repeating all borderline smears, Government trials show. The DoH set up three pilot...

Practices set to shun commissioning deal.
January 17, 2006... Enhanced services Cathy Comerford The new enhanced services deal on practice-based commissioning (PBC) offers little incentive to GPs to get involved, doctors and academics have warned. It is looking increasingly likely that practices...

Screening for bowel cancer in jeopardy.
January 17, 2006... Funding Adam Legge EXCLUSIVE The national bowel cancer screening programme for England looks set to be the first major casualty of the NHS cash freeze, prompting GPs to warn that lives will be lost. The programme was due to start this...

'GPs will see value of e-booking '.
January 17, 2006... Choose and Book GPs will take on Choose and Book because patients will benefit from it, despite the extra workload and computer glitches, claims the Government's GP clinical lead for IT. Dr Gillian Braunold admitted that booking an...

Bleak outlook for flexible posts.(general practitioner employment)(Brief Article)
January 24, 2006... Funding Funding delays will beset flexible careers schemes for several months and their future remains uncertain, deans warn. As Doctor reported in November, the majority of deaneries have been forced to freeze new entries to their...

GPs question fairness of practice takeover.
January 24, 2006... Privatisation Cathy Comerford GPs are questioning the legitimacy of a contract awarded to a giant private company to run a practice in Derbyshire. UnitedHealth Europe (UHE), part of the US UnitedHealth Group, won its first contract in...

GPC talks tough on e-records opt-in.
January 24, 2006... Patient records Patients must be asked for their consent before information about them is added to the summary care record section of the NHS data spine, GP leaders are demanding. The Government plans to launch a national publicity...

GPs braced for two years of pay limbo.
January 24, 2006... * 83% of GPs think pay freeze will continue * 78% think new targets for no cash is unfair * 40% say contract deal is poor or disastrous Doctor reporters Many GPs are resigned to the fact that the revised contract will not just...

NICE backs ECG for all pulse irregularity.
January 24, 2006... Guidelines ALL patients with an irregular pulse should be given an electrocardiogram, whether or not they have any other symptoms of atrial fibrillation (AF), according to latest NICE proposals. The institute has published a second...

Topicals are best for otitis media.
January 24, 2006... ENT Topical quinolone antibiotics are better than systemic antibiotics at clearing aural discharge in middle-ear infections, a Cochrane review says. A systematic review of literature on chronic suppurative otitis media found short...

'Give flu drugs only during an epidemic'.
January 24, 2006... Infectious disease Doctor reporters The anti-flu drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir should not be used in seasonal influenza control, according to a Government-funded study. NICE guidance currently states that the drugs can be prescribed...

Scrutiny for GPs who refuse to commission.
January 31, 2006... Government outlines guidance on practice-based commissioning Steve Ford PRACTICES THAT fail to take up practice-based commissioning (PBC) face the threat of being singled out for increased scrutiny by PCTs, under latest Government...

Data to show practices how they compare.
January 31, 2006... Government outlines guidance on practice-based commissioning Practices will receive 'benchmarking' data on how their performance compares with other practices in their area and against a national average, under budget-setting arrangements...

GP access incentives top 'consumerist' white paper.
January 31, 2006... Reform GPs will be paid incentives to extend surgery opening hours to evenings and weekends under Government proposals on the future of primary care. The primary care white paper, published yesterday, outlines extra payments for GPs...

GPs face new targets over long-term sick.
January 31, 2006... Working practices Derren Hayes GPs who take 'active steps' to get incapacity claimants back to work will be rewarded with quality and outcomes points under radical welfare reforms announced last week by Work and Pensions Minister John...

GPs must accept referral centres, says BMA.
January 31, 2006... Referrals GPs have little alternative but to accept the establishment of referral management centres in their local areas, the BMA has warned. The centres, which divert or triage GP referrals, are becoming increasingly common and are...

In-debt trusts free to plunder PBC savings.(practice-based commissioning)(Brief article)
January 31, 2006... No guaranteed incentives beyond DES payments Doctor reporters PCTs MAY skim off savings GPs make from practice-based commissioning to help pay off budget deficits, under latest government plans. The proposals say that, under the...

New CVD risk threshold puts 3m in line for statins.
January 31, 2006... Guidelines GPs should start prescribing statins to all patients with a ten-year cardiovascular risk of 20% or more, under final guidance from NICE. The technology appraisal confirms the primary prevention threshold proposed in a draft...