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Articles tagged with NHS
Putting the ‘National’ back in NHS
by Henry Smith MP / 06 Mar 2013 11:57
Under the previous Labour government, the NHS lost hundreds of millions of pounds through the treatment of foreign patients where the costs were not recovered. As such, last year I was delighted by the broad support I received from my Conservative colleagues following my introduction of the NHS Audit Requirements (Foreign National) Bill to Parliament.
Freedom of Information requests have shown that most NHS trusts at best only cursorily audit the
This weekend Liberals should trumpet their influence
by Martin Shapland / 09 Mar 2012 15:30
I would usually be penning this article on the train to whichever fabulous city has granted the Liberal Democrats' wish to grace it with a fair conference. Alas, sadly, I’ll be watching from afar this spring but as Liberal Democrats mass in Gateshead I do have a message for you. Use your power wisely.
The Health and Social Care bBll, like so many this Parliament, has been difficult to navigate for
Nick Clegg's NHS letter is a hit with Lib Dems
by Ben Duckworth / 27 Feb 2012 16:17
The letter from the leader of the Liberal Democrats and Baroness Williams has made quite an impact this afternoon. The key paragraph to see which “changes” they call for is below.
‘First, we propose removing the reviews by the Competition Commission from the Bill to make sure that the NHS is never treated like a private industry. Second, we want to keep the independent regulator of Foundation Trusts, Monitor, to make sure
PMQs victory for Ed Miliband heralds next election battle
by Ben Duckworth / 08 Feb 2012 12:58
There are times when victories at PMQs don’t really matter in the greater scheme of things. But there are times when it adds considerably to the argument. Today was one of those. It is difficult to imagine Ed Miliband causing bruises but he probably caused his greatest damage yet. There was a lot of control exerted by the Labour leader, he kept calm, spoke slowly and it was only when he started slapping his knee excitedly
Lessons from the PIP implant scandal
by Gráinne Maguire / 26 Jan 2012 15:08
Women who get boob jobs are a demographic it is hard to sympathise with. They are the vacuous, orange airheads the media encourages us to mock. Why should they deserve our concern? When reports about faulty breast implants rupturing and leaking first made the news there was a feeling that since they’d already put themselves through one unnecessary operation, why should we feel bad they had to go through at least one more? Why
Andrew Lansley really, really cares
by Jon Stone / 23 Nov 2011 11:27
American public buildings proudly display portraits of their president, Che Guevara is daubed on walls all over Cuba, and Kim Jong-Il’s image is considered sacred in North Korea.
Now hospitals across England have Andrew Lansley.
It has emerged that a video of the health secretary’s face is being played on a loop to bed-bound patients in hospitals throughout the NHS.
The video reminds patients that their care “really matters to
Healey's behind the scenes on the NHS
by Amber Elliott / 28 Sep 2011 15:51
John Healey has one of the easiest tasks this conference – to reinforce the most overused phrase in Labour politics at the moment…
“You can’t trust the Tories with our NHS.”
And the shadow health secretary certainly stuck to his brief.
In fact, he deviated from it so little that it felt like an elongated version of Ed Miliband’s health statements in his speech yesterday.
Dressed in a red tie
“It’s guaranteed to be a shambles but it’s not the end of the world”
by Nik Darlington / 28 Jul 2011 11:01
For thousands of young people in Britain, next Wednesday is the biggest day of their life so far. They have waited at least five, perhaps six, years for this moment. On 3 August a new intake of junior doctors take their first cautious steps on to hospital wards. Should you be concerned?
This annual changeover hit the headlines in September 2009 – the usually muted Guardian described it as the NHS’s “very
Consequences of the NHS reforms for the coalition
by Ben Duckworth / 14 Jun 2011 12:48
David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Andrew Lansley have announced their response to the Future Forum report on the NHS. Speaking to various MPs in Parliament this morning revealed just how serious the long-term consequences of the NHS reforms could be.
“You can smell the burning rubber” was one description of this particular U-turn. Other Conservatives I spoke to dismissed the Lib Dem claim of victory as “bad politics which they will regret”.
Should we start charging for nuisance ambulance call-outs?
by Iain Dale / 13 Apr 2011 11:14
Last night on my LBC radio show we spent an hour discussing the massive cuts in the London Ambulance Service (LAS), which had been announced earlier in the afternoon.
Over the next five years, the LAS will shed 20% of its staff – 890 jobs in all, 560 of them on the front line.
I interviewed the chief executive of the LAS, Peter Bradley, who seemed rather unsure of his figures. He
The big NHS pause
by Ben Duckworth / 06 Apr 2011 13:52
On a sunny day, the prime minister, deputy prime minister and health secretary all headed down the M3 to Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey to launch the NHS listening exercise this morning. In front of an audience of hastily assembled NHS workers (see image above), the three politicians were bending over backwards to sound placatory towards those voicing concerns – Cameron said “We want to work with you, not against you” which is different to some of
Politics has been Cleggerooned
by Jerry Hayes / 05 Apr 2011 11:12
Whatever you do, don’t pass too closely to the Leader of the Opposition’s suite in the next few days. There will be enough wailing, gnashing of teeth, smashing of plates and demented ravings to make Ed Balls nostalgically recall the good old days when he was in charge of the Brown torture and re-education cellars in Downing Street.
Balls, Healey and MiliEd must loathe and despise Clegg now more than ever
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