Why an independent Scotland could be faced with a huge £450m NHS funding gap September 16, 2014 Will the NHS in Scotland really be better off, as Alex Salmond has promised, if Scotland votes for independence on 18 September? Civil servants seem to think it will face a huge funding gap. It was reported today that the government has outlined a radical cost-cutting plan for NHS Scotland, presented to a meeting [...]
Aridhia risk calculation app could save NHS hospitals millions September 11, 2014 A new app designed by health informatics company Aridhia could save the NHS millions of pounds by cutting patient readmissions. Called PARR30 Edition, it uses a risk calculation model to predict the likelihood of a patient being readmitted after discharge, allowing for extra precautions to be taken if this is deemed likely. More [...]
NHS funding should target the old for tax hikes and benefit cuts, says report September 4, 2014 Higher earners over the age of 40 should be targeted for "critical needs taxes" if the UK is to keep up with demands from an increasingly strained NHS, a new report has said. Charges and private insurance were rejected as possible solutions by the report, compiled by a commission within charity the King's Fund. "We [...]
Why an NHS tax is the wrong solution to the UK’s health challenges September 2, 2014 A NEW tax to funnel extra resources to the NHS is rising up the political agenda. Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow, a health minister earlier in this Parliament, proposed the idea before the summer. Sarah Wollaston MP, the Conservative chair of the key Parliamentary Health Committee, subsequently demanded higher budgets for the health service. This [...]
NHS could still be opened to American corporations under TTIP September 1, 2014 The NHS is not safe from the effects of the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal, ministers have admitted. The US-EU trade deal could result in the health service being opened up to American corporations, and today it was confirmed that it is still a possibility. UK trade minister Lord Livingston [...]
NHS reforms will force pharmaceutical companies to lower cancer drug prices August 28, 2014 NHS England will today announce plans to change the cost approval system for cancer drugs, potentially making pioneering drugs available even if the NHS's cost watchdog says they don't represent value for money. The plans involve increasing funding for the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), a government body set up by David Cameron in 2010, [...]
The NHS does face a crisis – but it will take more than a cash injection to solve it July 28, 2014 THE NHS arouses strong emotions, and the front page headlines across national newspapers yesterday, calling out a crisis in the health service, were just the latest example. But behind the talk of the NHS being in a “critical condition”, there are real causes for concern. Over a third of hospitals are now in deficit, waiting [...]
Wireless patch to revolutionise health monitoring and relieve NHS pressures July 22, 2014 A wearable patch which is the size of a plaster could revolutionise the way that patient health is monitored in the UK, reducing pressure on NHS staff. Powered by batteries, the wireless patch sticks to the surface of the chest just above the heart. It monitors a patient's body temperature, heart rate and breathing [...]
Judge the NHS on its outcomes – not the intentions behind it July 7, 2014 WITH Monty Python at the O2 arena and ongoing coverage of the NHS, I was reminded last week of the Python sketch showing a lady giving birth. Unfortunately for her, the doctors played by John Cleese and Graham Chapman are more interested in impressing the hospital administrator by surrounding her with machinery (like the machine [...]
Future of NHS funding needs national debate, say health professionals July 7, 2014 A host of health experts have penned a letter to the Times urging a national debate on the future of NHS funding in England. While celebrating the rise in life expectancy, the letter warned that the next 50 years will see a growth of at least two-and-a-half times the number of people suffering from multiple [...]