The NHS is in the middle of the transition from a publicly funded and publicly provided health service towards a publicly funded but increasingly privately provided service. It is thus […]
David Lock
David Lock: What does duty of care mean?
This is a serious blog about death, about what can go wrong in the dying process and how it can be put right. It arises out of an inquest where […]
David Lock: Is this the start of the wholesale privatisation process of NHS management?
The prime minister has picked a new health advisor, Nick Seddon, who poured cold water on the creation of clinical commissioning groups and appears to be focused on moving NHS […]
David Lock on integrated care experiments: at last some sensible thinking from the government for the NHS
The HSJ reports that the government is about to signal a series of large scale integrated care “experiments,” which could result in a movement away from the straightjacket of payment […]
David Lock: Spot the legal howlers—picking over the assurances given by Lord Howe to the House of Lords
Healthcare lawyers have a new game—it’s called “spot the errors.” A number of us have been through the speech made by Lord Howe in winding up the debate in the […]
David Lock: Should the NHS fund assisted conception for lesbian couples?
Amongst the issues in the in-tray of CCGs, the issue of funding for assisted conception (typically either intrauterine insemination or IVF) for lesbian couples is not highest on the agenda, […]
David Lock: Organ donation and presumed consent—not a complete answer?
Organ donation presents a unique problem for those concerned with the rationing of medical treatment. Unlike almost any other area of medical care, the constraint on supply of NHS medical […]
David Lock: “Privatisation regulations” mean big change
It is not every day that the Department of Health produces a formal response to two of my dry (and I accept potentially fairly boring) legal opinions. 23 March was a red […]
David Lock: A new and very different type of NHS in England
April 1 2013 saw the launch of a very different type of NHS in England. The current government has grappled with the same problems as all previous governments, but imposed […]
David Lock: Government creates bedblocking headache for CCGs on the day CCGs are created
The fact that 1 April is “April Fool’s day” ought to be enough to warn governments of all shades that it is a bad day to make major changes to […]