Health & Social Care

Andrew Lansley’s health reforms, designed to put doctors in the driving seat, have been widely panned – and he’s subsequently been sacked. But what do local GPs think? CSW finds out

Public officials should be free to try new approaches without fear of being “hauled in front of ministers, the Public Accounts Committee or being investigated by the National Audit Office”, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) says in a report published today.

Call for power to classify protected characteristics to be devolved to Scotland

Almost two thirds (65%) of civil servants have suffered from ill health as a result of stress at work, one fifth (19%) of which have taken more than 40 days off within a 12 month period as a result of stress-related ill health, new surveys from the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union reveal. 

The Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decision to close the Independent Living Fund (ILF) for disabled people was challenged by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on 22 October. 

European health commissioner Tonio Borg has called for policymakers and stakeholders to pursue an "integrated approach to tackling obesity" that cuts "across all EU policies".

A survey of health professionals reveals negativity about NHS reforms across the board. Samera Owusu Tutu reports

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is a full-blown and unapologetic regulator in an era of deregulation. Winnie Agbonlahor hears its chief executive, Dr Ian Hudson, explain the value of its work

NHS Property Services was set up as a limited company to manage the NHS property portfolio without a formal business case being produced to support that decision, the National Audit Office has found in a report published this month.

Civil servants in the Department of Health tried to prevent a doctor from raising safety concerns directly with ministers, The Sunday Times reported this weekend.

There is no doubt that the innovative use of technology within the UK’s public sector is fast becoming paramount to civil servants’ ability to deliver positive outcomes. 

The Care Quality Commission’s budget shrank to the point where there was “insufficient resource available for us to do the job” of inspecting care, its chief executive has told CSW – but the Department of Health is now providing extra funds to support a new inspection model.

The Care Quality Commission exists to inspect quality in our health and care services – but when chief executive David Behan joined it in 2012, its own services were in turmoil. He tells Matt Ross what he’s doing to turn it around.

A suburban GP explains why he thinks the government has broken the NHS up into clinical commissioning groups

Patient records are the lifeblood of the health service. Joshua Chambers examines the analytics techniques that can improve public health and the operation of the NHS – and the sensitivities around privacy and data protection.

This week’s interviewee is a biomedical technician looking after ward-based medical equipment in an urban area hospital.

NHS chief Sir David Nicholson has faced a storm of criticism in recent months as concerns over care quality have rocked hospitals across the country. He tells Suzannah Brecknell of his determination to fix the problems

From unemployment to drug addiction, the public sector’s approach to helping families with multiple problems has often been fragmented. Joshua Chambers explores the new government scheme to unite these efforts

The separation between British health and social care has survived far longer than the iron curtain that divided Europe for 44 years. Winnie Agbonlahor looks at the government’s latest efforts to marry the two core services.

The Department of Health (DH) will provide hospitals with cash to invest in electronic patient records in a £1bn investment scheme announced today by health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

An NHS worker warns that gains in mental health care must be defended by focusing on staff retention.

The health and business departments are behind a big push to help Britain’s life sciences sector realise its economic potential. Joshua Chambers examines the treatments given, and the progress of the patient so far.

The Department of Health has launched a new digital toolkit for policymakers.

A hospital doctor says government edicts and the fear of litigation are limiting medical staffs’ freedom to learn their trade and act in their patients’ best interests. Tom Barfield reports.