Sir William Osler advocated the concept of a “quinquennial brain dusting“: which was my justification for taking a week out to visit some integrated care organisations on the West Coast […]
NHS
Chris Ham: Commonwealth Fund survey: If the NHS is doing well, why is it changing?
The Commonwealth Fund’s survey of the experience of adults with complex care needs, published last week, paints a remarkably positive picture of the NHS. The results show that, of the […]
David Pencheon: What is it about large scale change that makes anaesthetists act?
Change may be the new constant, but it is always important to understand who embraces change most readily, and where. Doctors in general are traditionally conservative, as those outside the […]
Martin McShane: A day at the Mid Staffordshire foundation trust enquiry
I was privileged to be invited to the patient experience seminar being held as part of the Mid Staffordshire enquiry. I felt as though I was participating in one of […]
David Pencheon: Good general practice is sustainable general practice and vice versa
Once again the RCGP’s Annual conference last week in Liverpool produced a wealth of stimulating and topical debates – from the ethics of whether doctors should take a lead in […]
Edward Davies: The health bill: no trust and no U-turns
Last week marked a “humiliating climbdown” for the Health Secretary. Apparently. “Andrew Lansley is now in open retreat and is being forced to cave in on issues he previously fought […]
Martin McShane: Care and cure
We are coming up to the annual contracting round. This year it will be led by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). Last year GPs were involved in the difficult, detailed negotiations […]
Alison Spurrier: Caring for older people
To care for older people one vital ingredient is needed…time. Nothing can be rushed. Everybody needs to be washed, have their teeth cleaned, their mouths checked and cleaned, and their nails […]
Vidhya Alakeson and David Coyle: Personal health budgets
Last week the Secretary of State for Health announced that from 2014 onwards, all individuals receiving continuing healthcare will be entitled to take control of that support through a personal […]
Martin McShane: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
There are about 38,000 primary care contracts. They are worth over £12 billion. All of them are going to be the responsibility of the National Commissioning Board. By 2013 every PCT cluster […]