Showing posts tagged with: funding

Health trusts call for urgent debat on national pay

A body representing more than 200 NHS trusts across England says new ways of negotiating pay need to be considered.

The chief executive of the Foundation Trust Network (FTN), Chris Hopson, has questioned whether national agreements can deliver the savings needed for the health service.

He said it was time to consider setting pay regionally or trust-by-trust.

Unison has warned against putting at risk current proposals, covering more than one million NHS workers.

A new national deal on pay, terms and conditions for most NHS staff in England appears tantalisingly close.

Trade unions are consulting on changes to the Agenda for Change scheme, covering more than one million workers. One of the main modifications is a clearer link between annual pay increments and performance.

Mr Hopson said NHS trusts completely supported the deal on the table.

However, he argued that when you look at the challenges trusts face over the next five years - a flat budget, rising costs, and the need to improve care at nights and weekends - it will not be enough.

NHS and social care budgets 'should merge'

Ministers have been told they must go further with their overhaul of social care in England by merging its budget with the NHS.

The government is currently pressing ahead with plans to introduce a cap of £72,000 on elderly care bills.

But the King's Fund said that on its own the policy was not enough to solve the growing problems.

Instead, it called for a joint budget to encourage the two systems to work together more closely.

The report is being published on the day the government's care bill gets its second reading in the House of Lords.

The legislation will pave the way for the introduction of a cap in 2016.

Ministers have also said pilots will start in September to foster greater integration between the NHS and social care on issues such as assessments and hospital discharge.

To read the full article click here.

NHS fraud and error 'costing the UK £7bn a year'

Fraud is costing the NHS £5bn a year, with a further £2bn lost to errors, the former head of its anti-fraud section says.

The amount lost to fraud alone could pay for nearly 250,000 new nurses, a report seen by Panorama suggests.

The NHS must "get on with tackling the problem", said Jim Gee, co-author of the Portsmouth University study and ex-director of NHS Counter Fraud Services.

The Department of Health said it "did not recognise" the figures.

The amount estimated by Mr Gee, who led the NHS anti-fraud section for eight years, is 20 times that recorded in the government's annual fraud indicator report.

Full more details click here.

Dementia patients 'face unfair care tax'

Dementia patients in the UK face a "care tax" because they are left to sort out much of the care they need themselves, experts say.

The Alzheimer's Society found that on average, the equivalent of £32,242 a year was spent on care per patient.

But the researchers said on average only a third - £10,784 - came from NHS or council funds, leaving a shortfall.

The charity said it was unfair as those with cancer or heart problems got their care free on the NHS.

To read the full article please click here.

Cancer gene test 'would save lives'

Genetic screening of tumours would save lives and would be cost-effective for the NHS, a new study has confirmed.

Lynch syndrome raises the risk of developing cancer, particularly bowel cancer and womb and ovarian cancers.

Teenager Stephen Sutton, who raised millions of pounds for cancer research, had a family history of the syndrome.

"This is a way of improving the health of people with Lynch syndrome who currently don't know they have it," said Dr Tristan Snowsill of the Medical School - University of Exeter.

To read the full article click here.