Health

Crisis, what crisis?

The first signs came just before Christmas, when the Department of Health invited bids for a new £300m capital fund. Applications by January 12, please, for projects worth £5m or more, to commence by March. Read more...

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Public health: who gets what gets tricky

Allocating public health resources to local authorities is a difficult matter and  some awkward tensions between national and local priorities emerge Read more

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More disasters waiting to happen

Andrew Lansley is not the only minister making a hash of major reforms. It’s only a matter of time before Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms hit the buffers
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Lansley: a suitable case for treatment

Reform is urgently needed in the NHS, but Andrew Lansley’s Health and Social Care Bill is not the way to do it. The health secretary failed to undertake a robust analysis of the proposed legislation’s feasibility, prospects of success or risks Read more

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The collaboration conundrum

Scotland wants its public bodies to save money by working more closely together and in partnership with the private sector. But can savings really be made this way? US research suggests they can Read more

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Dilnot’s not for diluting

Cross-party talks are about to start on funding long-term care in England. A positive start would be implementing the recommendations of the Dilnot Commission in full Read more

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NHS management: in the line of fire

Hospital boards are finding it difficult to cut costs and maintain standards of health care. They should consider devolving operational decisions to different business units or ‘service lines’ Read more

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The £33bn question

Will Scotland’s Budget allocate resources in the best possible way? It seems unlikely when a fixed formula is used to determine spending in both health and local government Read more

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Health committee tells it like it is

Today’s Health Select Committee report has many home truths to tell, and they go way beyond the headline-grabbing observations on the Health Bill Read more

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NHS efficiency: closing the gap

Variation in hospital performance has to be addressed both by hospital managers and policy makers if the taxpayer is to get true value for money Read more

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