Doctor articles from March 2005

Doctor archives from March 2005

Low pay offer hits training.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Remuneration Cathy Comerford GP leaders are warning of an educational workforce crisis after the Review Body has ordered a 3.225 per cent pay rise for GP trainers, salaried doctors and GPs working in community hospitals. The GPC said...

PGEA back-pay award sets precedent.(postgraduate education allowance)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Legal dispute GPs across England could find they are owed thousands of pounds by PCTs following a test case last week over payment of postgraduate education allowance (PGEA). Islington PCT was ordered to pay [pounds sterling]2,944 in...

Ten-point action plan to fix CaB.(Choose and Book)
March 1, 2005... GPC and IT leaders thrash out deal over programme's problems Christina Golding The GPC and the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) will this week hammer out an action plan to sort out Choose and Book. In an urgent review, the GPC...

Warning on quetiapine use.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Psychiatry The antipsychotic drug quetiapine (Seroquel), commonly used to treat agitation in Alzheimer's patients, may actually speed up cognitive decline, psychiatrists warn. Researchers from London's Institute of Psychiatry say the...

Commissioning rules have GPs up in arms.(general practitioners)
March 1, 2005... The DoH has released its technical guidance on practice-based commissioning, but GPs attack compulsory Choose and Book Cathy Comerford The Government's rules on practice-based commissioning (PBC) have already sparked GP uproar, with...

Atypicals: no greater stroke risk.
March 1, 2005... There is a similar ischaemic stroke risk between atypical and typical antipsychotics, say Canadian study researchers. They say that, while atypicals are often prescribed off-label for behavioural and psychological dementia symptoms, concerns...

GPs get thumbs up from patients over cancer care.(general practitioners)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Cancer Two-thirds of cancer patients rate the care they receive from their GP as 'very good', a National Audit Office report says. The report, based on a survey of over 4,000 patients' experiences of cancer services in England last year,...

New mental health goals set for GPs.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Quality framework From next month, GPs will chase a new mental health target in the GMS contract's quality and outcomes framework (QOF). The GPC has announced two changes to mental health indicator five, which will take effect on 1 April....

Anger at funding provision.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... diagnostics Doctors in Cheshire and Merseyside are livid that none of the [pounds sterling]1bn extra funding for diagnostics announced by the Government last week will be spent in under-funded NHS trusts. Waiting times for some patients at...

EU hours law hits surgical training time.(European Union)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... By Melanie Newman melanie.newman@rbi.co.uk Junior surgeons' training is being severely affected by the European Working Time Directive, a major new study reveals. The Royal College of Surgeons of England's (RCS) survey of 1,323 trainee surgeons...

Help for failing doctors.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... reform Failing doctors will be identified earlier in their careers as a result of new measures being introduced under Modernising Medical Careers (MMC). An 'early warning system' is being built into the foundation programme which will...

GMC says get set for revalidation in 2006.(General Medical Council)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... Revalidation Cathy Comerford GPs have been told they should still collect evidence for revalidation folders ready for a possible April 2006 start date. A letter to all doctors from GMC president Prof Sir Graeme Catto this week urged...

GPs given notice over uptake rates.(general practitioners)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... Vaccination targets Several practices have been told their PCT will commission cervical screening and MMR jabs elsewhere unless they improve their performance. Cervical smear uptake last April to September was below 75 per cent in the...

Migraine linked to cardio risk.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... Neurology Patients who suffer migraines, especially with aura, have a higher cardiovascular risk profile than other people, a Netherlands study has found. The authors measured cardiovascular risk factors and blood pressure in 5,755...

CaB is the price of GP 'freedom'.(Choose and Book, general practitioner)
March 8, 2005... Choose and Book Christina Golding The Government is digging in its heels over its insistence that GPs adopt the Choose and Book system if they want to reap the benefits of practice-based commissioning. Addressing GPs and PCT chiefs at...

More evidence backs MMR.(measles, mumps, and rubella)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... Immunisation Autism levels actually rose in Japan when MMR was withdrawn there, researchers have found. The study was the first to look at autism rates following withdrawal of the triple jab. Its authors, from Yokohama Rehabilitation...

GP scrips the screen stars in first e-transfer.(general practitioner)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... Prescribing software A practice in West Yorkshire is the first in the UK to electronically transfer its prescriptions directly to pharmacies. The Ling House Medical Centre in Keighley is the first surgery to go live in the national...

Catto hits out; at 'misguided'; Dame Janet.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... Revalidation GMC president Prof Sir Graeme Catto has labelled the Shipman Inquiry's criticisms of revalidation misguided, saying inquiry chairman Dame Janet Smith failed to understand the purpose. In an interview with Doctor, the...

Heart rhythm referral urged in recurrent falls.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... CHD GPs should refer patients with recurrent unexplained falls to a heart rhythm specialist, according to new guidelines on arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death syndrome. A new chapter has been added to the national service framework on...

Pay under threat as; QMAS chaos hits.(Quality Management and Analysis System)
March 8, 2005... Contract first year ends in software glitches and PCO mix-ups Doctor reporters GPs face losing thousands of pounds from their first year's earnings under the GMS contract because of chaos over the payment system. Practices' scores from...

NI set for [pounds sterling]95m IT programme.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Northern Ireland Northern Ireland's GPs are to finally join the NHS IT revolution, with a [pounds sterling]95m investment in new systems over the next ten years. Northern Ireland Office Health Minister Angela Smith has announced plans to...

Campaign of threats forces GP; to rely on chaperone protection.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Harassment A GP who was the target of a hate-campaign from an ex-patient has now been threatened with a false complaint over indecent assault. Aberdeen GP Dr Stephen Wedderburn told Doctor he has received three anonymous letters. One...

Locums face ruin over; online register removal.
March 22, 2005... As GMC goes under the microscope, calls mount to change its handling of access to information about GPs facing complaints Cathy Comerford THE GMC is threatening doctors' livelihoods by removing their names from its online register...

Regulatory review.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Health Secretary John Reid has announced another, wider review of health care regulation which will look at dentists, pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals. This will run alongside the Chief Medical Officer for England's...

Three-year terms for negotiators.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... GPC Richard Nixon might have called for 'four more years', but at the GPC they are settling for three. The GPC has agreed to change its election system, dumping the annual appointment of its chairman and negotiating team in favour of...

Leaders give PBC thumbs up.(practice-based commissioning)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... GPC The GPC has issued new guidance on practice-based commissioning, urging doctors to seriously consider taking part. The committee says practices should look carefully at the project as its advantages outweighed its disadvantages....

DoH's radical vision for general practice.(Department of Health)
March 22, 2005... Small practices lose out to walk-in centres and super-surgeries Christina Golding The Government has unveiled its vision of the future of general practice - walk-in centres and large group practices, with little place for small...

Fears of more training cuts.
March 22, 2005... Workforce Christina Golding GP education leaders are warning the Government that cuts to deaneries for a second year running will have a devastating impact on the future workforce. Deaneries are bracing themselves for yet more funding...

New GMS delivers on pay but not workload.(general medical services)
March 29, 2005... Doctor reports on what GPs think of their contract one year on THE NEW GMS contract has delivered on promises to improve pay but failed on the pledge to reduce workload, with many GPs working harder than ever. Eight out of ten GPs expect an...

New GMS delivers on pay but not workload.(general medical services)
March 29, 2005... Doctor reports on what GPs think of their contract one year on THE NEW GMS contract has delivered on promises to improve pay but failed on the pledge to reduce workload, with many GPs working harder than ever. Eight out of ten GPs expect an...

GPs call for targets on obesity and outcomes.(general practitioners)
March 29, 2005... GPs want changes to the quality and outcomes framework to ensure they get paid for work they already do and to remove 'impossible' targets. More than 80 per cent of respondents to Doctor's contract survey have called for obesity-related targets...

That was then.(results of 2001 job satisfcation survey of general practitioners)
March 29, 2005... ... this is now In October 2001, the BMA ran a national survey of GP opinion. How have the profession's views changed? 2001 How would you describe your current level of morale as a GP? Very or fairly high: 27.9 per cent Would...

Year one: your verdict.(general practitioner's responses to survey about new GMS contracts )(Brief Article)
March 29, 2005... When you were sold the new GMS contract, you were told it would enable you to control workload, boost pay, reward quality and slash red tape. After 12 months, a Doctor survey delivers your judgement * Workload: has increased to 'excessive'...