NHS bosses warned to “get a grip” Official figures have shown that the NHS in England has worked up a deficit of nearly £500 million within the first few months of the new financial year. The blame for increasing costs was pinned on the rising demand for services, with regulators explaining that hospitals in particular … [Read more…]
These days, you can’t open a newspaper or turn on the TV without catching a glimpse of a news story hailing the incredible debts of the NHS and the undoubted financial struggles that lay ahead for our health service; with prominent think tank the King’s Fund even predicting a complete monetary crisis during 2015/16, if … [Read more…]
Trusts could face regulatory action if no ethnic minorities in senior spots NHS organisations will be forced to increase black and ethnic minority representation in senior positions or face contractual or regulatory consequences. NHS England will be introducing the recent regulation with a new national workforce race equality standard on the health service through the … [Read more…]
Chief inspector of hospitals pinpoints strong leadership in trust turnaround Chief Inspector of hospitals Sir Mike Richards has defined strong leadership and good clinical engagement as the two key factors for turning around failing trusts. Marking the year anniversary of the special measures scheme, Sir Richards told the HSJ that the 11 organisations put in … [Read more…]
Rising spending depletes underspend pot Department of Health reported the greatest rise in health spending of the current Parliament this year, showing a 2.6% rise in real terms. Experts believe this was achieved by burning the entire NHS underspend in a single year, although it took eight years to accrue the money. This suggests that the NHS … [Read more…]
A lack of funding is not an excuse for poor care, says the health secretary Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has declared that a lack of money is no excuse to deliver poor care, after the trusts placed in special measures estimate a collective deficit of almost £140 million this year. Five of the 11 trusts … [Read more…]
Auditors raise concerns over 19 hospital trusts The Audit Commission have referred 19 NHS trusts to ministers because of concerns about their financial health. The referrals were made after a review of 98 trusts, which run a combination of hospital, ambulance and community services. The 19 trusts in question have been passed over to ministers because … [Read more…]
NHS trusts issue apologies under new duty of candour A statutory duty of candour is set to be enforced within the NHS, covering a wider set of incidents than was expected, and also meaning that trusts will be forced to apologise more frequently to affected patients. The regulations in Parliament have introduced a variety of … [Read more…]
Acute NHS providers fall short on registered nursing levels More than three quarters of acute NHS trusts have missed their own targets for the number of hours worked by registered nurses at their hospitals. Of 139 trusts, 105 failed to meet targets for the total nursing hours worked during both the day and night on … [Read more…]
Care homes under same scrutiny as failing hospitals The special measures system introduced by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to improve failing NHS hospitals across England is due to be launched across care homes. The government scheme, introduced last year, put 11 trusts in special measures and although most have made progress, only five have … [Read more…]