Last month Haringey Council decided to withdraw funding to its lunch club centres for its elderly. Much concern was expressed and its scrutiny committee was called to take another look. Despite a near unanimous decision of this committee to instruct the Council to reconsider, Haringey Council remained resolute and from …
Payment by Results (PbR) emerged in the NHS in 2003 with a simple objective: establish a tariff based hospital payment system that provides care providers with an incentive for improved performance. 1 The same premise underpins Social Impact Bonds (SIBs). 2 SIBs emerged in 2010 and have since been lauded …
Following its inclusion in the Conservative party manifesto for the last general election 1 and a commitment in the subsequent coalition government agreement 2, in July 2010 the health white paper announced the establishment of a Cancer Drug Fund designed to improve access to drugs not yet approved for use …
Extensive research has shown fuel poverty has a negative impact on health.1 The recent Marmot review concluded that fuel poverty is avoidable and contributes to social and health inequalities.2 The graph below shows that the number of excess winter deaths has remained at a level of around 25,000 deaths per …
“Health is Global” the United Kingdom’s (UK) Global Health strategy was launched in September 2008 because, in today’s globalised and inter-dependant world, health has become a global issue.1 A recently launched outcomes framework focuses on three areas: global health security; international development; and trade for better health.2 Global health security …
Following the listening exercise carried out by the NHS Future Forum, the government has pledged that the economic regulator, Monitor, will additionally now be required to support the delivery of integrated patient services, rather than solely promoting competition between providers.1 During the listening exercise, a large number of organisations reportedly …
We are all at risk of adverse events when we use healthcare service and we all stand to benefit from preventing them. ‘Never events’ are “serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if the available preventative measures have been implemented by healthcare providers”.1 Eight ‘never events’ were …
I have had chronic back problems for over 2 years and am currently receiving treatment at Homerton Hospital. I have not responded to more conservative treatments and was discharged by the physiotherapy team after it was clear to them that I was not improving. My consultant has recommended that I …
Shift.ms is an online community where people affected by Multiple Sclerosis can support each other. Most people are diagnosed with MS in their 20s and 30s. Through the website they share experiences and information. They ask each other questions that only other MS’ers will know the answers to. The Lancet …
Rising repossessions due to mortgage debt are forecast this year by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. After a fall in the number of arrears and possessions the rise is anticipated due to poor market conditions, mortgage borrowers exhausting lenders forbearance procedures and because of a weakening in state support to defaulting borrowers (through reductions in …