Doctor articles from October 2004

Doctor archives from October 2004

GPs caught in referral stand-off.
October 8, 2004... Funding Judy Sands GPs CAUGHT in the middle of a funding row over routine referral may have to do more clinical assessment of patients before being able to refer them. Practices in the Hammer-smith and Fulham areas of London were...

College calls for more people to get flu jab.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Immunisation The RCGP wants the Government to expand routine flu vaccination to include young children, pregnant women and people aged over 50. Birmingham GP Dr Douglas Fleming, director of the RCGP's flu research unit, said young children...

Drug pull-out affects 400,000 patients.
October 8, 2004... Rofecoxib withdrawal Steve Ford GPs across the UK will have to advise around 400,000 patients, following the worldwide withdrawal of the COX2 inhibitor rofecoxib (Vioxx). The drug was voluntary withdrawn by Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD)...

Chaperones may be needed for eye exams, suggests MDU.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Working practices GPs CONDUCTING eye examinations should consider offering patients a chaperone, says a medical defence body. Following recommendations in the recent Ayling Inquiry report that GPs provide specially trained chaperones, the...

GPs to take LMC to court.
October 8, 2004... Representation Judy Sands GPs on an LMC are facing potential court action over their refusal to resign from their posts. GPs in Sunderland are considering a judicial review of their LMC's decision to retrospectively cancel its April...

Tories would scrap NHS targets.
October 8, 2004... Politics Bill Jacobs Central NHS targets would be abolished on the first day of a Conservative Government, the shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has promised. Speaking to the Tory party conference in Bournemouth this week, Mr...

GPs can retain half of savings in practice-led commissioning.
October 8, 2004... Commissioning Rachel Solotti GPs involved in practice-based commissioning will be able to keep half of any savings they make under the scheme, says Government guidance. But the Department of Health guidance, released this week, says...

Revalidation plan published.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... GMC GPs WERE this week sent the GMC's draft plans for revalidation, with final plans due to be released early next year. By April, all doctors will have online GMC accounts by which to make submissions. The first doctors will get six...

GPs' pay heads for [pounds sterling]87m QOF shortfall.(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Government admits lacking funds for aspiration payments Judy Sands GPs' QUALITY pay is heading for chaos as the Government admits it is almost [pounds sterling]90m shy of fully funding the quality and outcomes framework. The NHS Bank...

No cash for nurse pay rise.
October 8, 2004... Funding Judy Sands GPs are under pressure to pay nurses the Government's Agenda for Change rates, but there is no sign that global sums will be increased to cover this. The Scottish Executive has produced a Framework For Nursing In...

'Explain patient removals'.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Working practices PATIENTS OFTEN misunderstand the reason for being removed from a practice's list, storing up problems for their next GP, according to researchers. A Sheffield team found patients often thought they had been removed...

Over 90% use medication in pregnancy.
October 15, 2004... Steve Ford More than 90 per cent of pregnant women take some form of medication during their pregnancy, say researchers. A survey of 14,000 pregnant women involved in the Children of the 90s project - a long-term study that has followed...

GPs head for court in opt-out row.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Out-of-hours Rachel Solotti GPs IN the Scottish Highlands are at loggerheads with their PCO over whether and when they will be able to give up out-of-hours. A group of 13 Caithness GPs are threatening legal action against NHS Highland...

GPs welcome insurers' HIV move.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... HIV GPs NEED only divulge patients' positive HIV test results to insurers, according to new industry guidelines. The Association of British Insurers' best practice statement on HIV sets out 'reasonable' questions for insurers to ask when...

Double trouble for training revolution.
October 15, 2004... Training Rachel Solotti Reforms which aim to expose all trainee doctors to general practice are faltering as fears rise over who will oversee and fund placements. GP educators are questioning whether there will be enough practices...

Total asthma control unrealistic for most.
October 15, 2004... Respiratory Even under strict trial conditions, most asthma patients do not achieve guideline-defined total asthma control, study results show. The year-long Gaining Optimal Asthma Control (GOAL) trial found 41 per cent of patients...

GPs deny changes increase pressure on A&E.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... GP leaders have hit out at claims that the out-of-hours opt-out is causing problems for A&E departments. In a report on the state of emergency care, the National Audit Office says the opt-out has led to widespread fears that A&E departments...

Guidance ; on quality of care set for release.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... The Government was due to produce new quality requirement for out-of-hours care this week. Heath Minister John Hutton was to publish the guidance yesterday, and the new requirements will come into force next year. As Doctor reported last month,...

NHS IT bill may reach [pounds sterling]31bn.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2004... Technology The final cost of modernising the NHS computer network could rise to between [pounds sterling]18.6bn and [pounds sterling]31bn, it was claimed this week. Doctor's stablemate magazine Computer Weekly this week said officials at...

GPs hit out at PCO inaction over data Act.
October 15, 2004... Practices can be quizzed from next January Cathy Comerford GPs are demanding PCOs act to help them prepare for a new law which will open them to public questions about their income, quality scores and practice protocols. The GPC has...

A&E increase 'not a casualty of OOH'.
October 22, 2004... Out of hours Rachel Solotti The Government has denied claims that patients are flooding A&E departments in areas where GPs have handed over out-of-hours to PCOs. Speaking at the launch of new out-of-hours standards last week, Health...

Class effect fear as second COX2 is linked to heart risk.
October 22, 2004... Drug safety A second COX2 inhibitor has been linked with increased cardiovascular risk, heightening fears that the risk may be a 'class effect' of the drugs. Valdecoxib (Bextra) was found to increase the risk of stroke and myocardial...

Information overload; a net loss to patients.
October 22, 2004... Internet Steve Ford Chronic disease patients who 'empower' themselves with knowledge from the Internet end up worse off than those who listen to their GP, a Cochrane review has concluded. Researchers said clinical outcomes, such as...

Court threat to GP in patient record stand.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2004... Working practices A GP who refused to release a patient's full medical record has been accused of being obstructive and threatened with a county court summons. Dr Hasmukh Makanji, from Edgware in Middlesex, had invited the firm to...

GMC starts single system of looking into complaints.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2004... Regulation The GMC's new system for handling complaints about doctors comes into force on 1 November. The reforms follow criticism that the current process is lengthy, inconsistent and lacks transparency. Cases will in future be...

GPs face GMC probe on cremation forms.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2004... Shipman TWO GPs were facing charges of serious professional misconduct at the GMC this week for failing to fill in cremation forms properly. Dr Faheem Khan and Dr Malcolm Reid signed forms B and C respectively, for the same patient, who...

GPs lobby against training cutbacks.
October 22, 2004... Politics Rachel Solotti GP leaders are lobbying Parliament as they step up the fight to ensure a [pounds sterling]20m cut in postgraduate deaneries' training budgets is reversed. Doctors' leaders have drafted a Parliamentary Early Day...

GPs 'must stop sick notes'.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2004... Health improvement Simon Ebbett GPs have been urged to tell patients to 'be like Tony Blair' and return to work quickly rather than issue sick notes. Work and Pensions Secretary Alan Johnson has told GPs they need to be a 'critical...

HRT fears reversed in younger women.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2004... Prescribing HRT reduces mortality in younger women, according to a meta-analysis of trial data, which included the combination arm of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). Researchers looked at 30 controlled trials, involving 26,708...

[pounds sterling]6.2bn IT overhaul 'heading for rocks'.
October 22, 2004... IT tsar is forced to defend troubled NHS computer overhaul as Department of Health officials warn of significant risk of failure Doctor reporters The [pounds sterling]6.2bn NHS IT overhaul is already hitting technical problems and...

DoH proposes registrar pay cut.
October 29, 2004... Remuneration Rachel Solotti The Government has asked the Review Body to consider whether GP registrars' pay should be reduced in a bid to entice more doctors into hospital training. In its evidence for the 2005-06 pay award, the...

Locums lose 20pc of pay in muddle over pensions.(Brief Article)
October 29, 2004... Out-of-hours Locums doing out-of-hours for PCOs are having 20 per cent of their pay taken in confusion over pensions. In some parts of England, locums doing out-of-hours work are paying six per cent into their superannuation funds. But...

Bowel cancer screening programme to roll out.(Brief Article)
October 29, 2004... Cancer A national bowel cancer screening programme has been announced by the Government for people over 60. Screening will start in phases from April next year. Health Secretary John Reid this week announced [pounds sterling]37.5m over two...

Fury at prospect of GP health plans for all patients.(Brief Article)
October 29, 2004... Health improvement GPs are incensed over Government plans for them to create and monitor personal health plans for all patients who request them. The scheme - due to be announced in the upcoming white paper on public health and to come...

GPs told; to say no; to unpaid; e-booking.
October 29, 2004... GPC demands extra cash for GPs' Choose and Book work Simon Ebbett GPs should refuse to take part in the Choose and Book project until they are paid for it, say doctors' leaders. The GPC wants the Department of Health to pay practices...

GPs' record fears 'are bullshit'.(Brief Article)
October 29, 2004... Working practices Doctor reporters The Government's older people's tsar has accused GPs of acting like 'protectionists' and signalled plans to erode their control over patient records. National director for older people's services...

'Two-week epilepsy target unrealistic'.(Brief Article)
October 29, 2004... Epilepsy NICE guidance says new cases of suspected epilepsy must be seen by a specialist within two weeks. But even the guideline developers admit there are insufficient neurologists to meet the demand. Guideline development group member...