Health Policy Insight
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Editors Blog

The Editor's daily blog, by Andy Cowper

Editorial Monday 6 February 2012: How many of Don Berwick's 10 health reform tests would the Health Bill pass?

Publish Date/Time: 
02/06/2012 - 17:57

I'm grateful to National Voices on Twitter for reminding me of the excellent Don Berwick 10-point plan for healthcare reform, which he delivered to NHS Live in 2008.

Just for some fun, let's run it over the 'Liberating The NHS' proposals in the Health Bill. My comments follow (in italics) between Berwick's text.

Editorial Wednesday 1 February 2012: DH briefing notes of Government amendments to Health And Social Care Bill

Publish Date/Time: 
02/01/2012 - 18:54

The DH has published its briefing notes on the latest (incomplete) proposed amendments to the Health And Social Care Bill. Please note that all amendment numbers in this document relate to the list published on the DH website on February 1, 2012

Briefing notes on Government amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill: Lords Report Stage
February 2012

Introduction

Editorial Tuesday 31 January 2012: Timescales and scenarios for the remainder of the Health Bill in Parliament

Publish Date/Time: 
01/31/2012 - 16:55

I am grateful that a kindly mole has felt the need to share a document outlining an anticipated timescale and various possible scenarios for the remainder of the Health Bill's passage in Parliament.

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Click here for details of 'Taking the pith out of the Health & Social Care Bill - “Integrate my chutzpah”, says Andrew ‘Not Looking For A Fight’ Lansley', the new issue of subscription-based Health Policy Intelligence.

Editorial Friday 27 January 2012: Health Policy Intelligence 37 & 38 - 'Taking The Pith out Of the Health And Social Care Bill'

Publish Date/Time: 
01/27/2012 - 17:50

Taking the pith out of the Health & Social Care Bill - “Integrate my chutzpah”: Andrew ‘Not Looking For A Fight’ Lansley

Wow. That was insane.

Really, properly insane. Insane for grown-ups. That, ladies and gentlemen, was Insane 2.0.

The hog-whimperingly reality-free nature of the goings-on of recent weeks slightly defy belief - let alone summary and analysis.

However. It’s time to catch up on the funniest show in town. Fill your glass with something warming; down it in one; refill; repeat. Deep breath. OK. Here we go.

Editorial Wednesday 25 January 2012: 111 pilots saw 5-9% rise in unscheduled emergency hospital admissions

Publish Date/Time: 
01/25/2012 - 10:56

The recent discussion paper from the Clinical Commissioning Federation and Urgent Care Network of NHS Alliance (COI dec - I do some paid comms work for Alliance), NHS 111 - Getting Lost In Translation?, is worth a read.

It is based on a poll of CCG clinicians and leaders about the implementation of the new 111 urgent-but-not-emergency number, and also on data from the 111 pilot project.

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Editorial Monday 6 February 2012: Financial privilege may give Speaker Bercow power of life or death over Health Bill

Publish Date/Time: 
02/06/2012 - 11:25

I am very grateful to a longstanding reader for sending in the following analysis of a potential way through this week for the Coalition Government over the Health And Social Care Bill (which I believe we can now officially designate as "in trouble").

[I have added links and explanations where I hope they are helpful to illustrate the situation, and the short conclusion at the end is also mine.]

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Editorial Tuesday 31 January 2012: No monopoly on political syllogism? Questions for the troika editorial

Publish Date/Time: 
01/31/2012 - 16:19

Today saw the publication of ’The NHS deserves a better, more open debate over health reform’, a joint editorial by the editors of the British Medical Journal, Nursing Times and Health Service Journal.

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Guest editorial Thursday 26 January 2012: Risks? What risks? Reasons not to publish and be damned.

Publish Date/Time: 
01/26/2012 - 18:48

This guest editorial from Irwin Brown of the Socialist Health Association raises an eyebrow laconically at the refusal to publish the Risk Register for the Health And Social Care Bill.

The spectacular chaos that surrounds the Health & Social Care Bill is increased by the Government’s refusal to provide the Risk Register for the transition programme – the programme of activities which will deliver The Nicholson Challenge and the Bill ‘reforms’ (the Health and Care Reform Transition Programme).

Editorial Tuesday 24 January 2012: Lord Owen email to Labour raises interesting questions

Publish Date/Time: 
01/24/2012 - 23:14

Hat off to Robert Winnett of the Telegraph for this story, based on an authentic-looking email from Lord Owen to Labour's Lords health team leads Jeremy Beecham, Glenys Thornton and Philip Hunt.

Owen offers the Labour team (which once upon a time was his party) strategic advice in the email, raising the possibility of a confidence vote on the Coalition Government in 2013. He suggests that a Labour campaign on a 'save the NHS' ticket would require four 'red line amendments'.


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