A bumper crop today
Quite a few snippets in the press today, the news ranging from bad to worse.
The BBC reviews the process of service reconfiguration & the willingness of local councils to question the fait accompli. It is all about consultation after all, though there is still the problem that after a mammoth listening exercise, there is still no requirement for those concerns to be taken into account.
More from Patricia Hewitt on NHS funding.
Also coverage of a review of the performance of children’s services in the NHS from the Healthcare Commission with rankings.
The investigation by the Healthcare Commission, the health services regulator, today says that 70 per cent of 157 trusts scored only “fair” and five per cent scored “weak” when measured against national standards set by the Government, three years ago.
Lack of training of staff, from nurses through to surgeons and anaesthetists, in communicating with children was a common criticism.
But then there have been other priorities which is why pretty much all funding for training has been cancelled, including for life-support courses, let alone communication skills.
Some coverage in the Telegraph of the ongoing dispute between consultants & private insurers such as BUPA who want to restrict fees.
And finally, more about money.
The FT suggests that below inflation pay rises can be expected by NHS staff with staged increases for consultants & GP’s. Funny how they are not willing to let market forces decide this one. I am told there is a marked shortage of locums, I wonder if that would have anything to do with the NHS Professionals cartel & the derisory rates of pay offered.
This is on top of previous talk of capping GP pay.
With additional scare-mongering about pensions. Sorry chaps but pensions are part of the pay contract & are earned, not a gift that can be revoked at will. The staff are not to blame for poor accounting.