BACKGROUND 'NHSPlus' was conceived as a national agency that would provide occupational health services to organizations, for a fee, without imposing any financial burden on the taxpayer. This self-funding requirement brings into focus the resource implications for such a service and the determination of the charges to be made to external clients. AIM The existing provision of occupational he...

OBJECTIVE To analyse the number of voluntary and involuntary (detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983) admissions for mental disorders between 1996 and 2006 in England. DESIGN Retrospective analysis. SETTING England. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Number of voluntary and involuntary admissions for mental disorders in England's health service, number of involuntary admissions to private beds, a...

Magnesium sulphate has been demonstrated to be an effective neuroprotectant for babies delivered prematurely (under 37 weeks' gestational age). Antenatal administration reduces infant mortality and cerebral palsy (CP); however, uptake in the UK has been significantly lower than other countries. A quality improvement (QI) project (PReventing Cerebral palsy in Pre Term labour (PReCePT)) was carri...

THE INTERPLAY AMONG QUALITY of care, technological innovation, and cost control creates a policy challenge for all health care systems. Improvements in the quality of care can reduce health care costs; for example, better management of chronic conditions may lessen the chance of hospitalization, and new drugs and medical devices might improve the quality and efficiency of care. Often, however, ...

A.P.R. Wilson *, D.M. Livermore , J.A. Otter , R.E. Warren , P. Jenks , D.A. Enoch , W. Newsholme , B. Oppenheim , A. Leanord , C. McNulty , G. Tanner , S. Bennett , M. Cann, J. Bostock , E. Collins , S. Peckitt , L. Ritchie , C. Fry , P. Hawkey s Consultant Microbiologist, Department of Microbiology and Virology, University College London Hospitals, London, UK b Professor of Medical Microbiolo...

BACKGROUND NHS Health Checks is a national case-finding and vascular risk assessment programme in England. No research has been published to assess the impact of NHS Health Checks on the prevalence of chronic disease in GP practices. AIM To examine the impact of NHS Health Checks on the prevalence of hypertension, coronary heart disease (CHD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), atrial fibrillation...

1 Beecham L. Tony Blair launches radical NHS plan for England. BMJ 2000; 321: 317. 2 Kmietowicz Z. NHS reforms have produced “only limited benefits so far”. BMJ 2008; 336: 1327. 3 Kilham R. Budget overview 2008. Health budget at a glance. Aust Med 2008; 20: 7-10. 4 Rudd K. Address to heads of agencies and members of the senior executive services, Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra, 30 April...

PolICy baCkgRound Earlier diagnosis of symptomatic cancer has become increasingly recognised as holding the key to better cancer outcomes. Many Western governments have prioritised actions to achieve earlier diagnosis of cancer. England revised its cancer policy in 2007 to address this, with a National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative (NAEDI) to drive forward research, development, and ...

The literature on innovation suggests that projects are successful when rigorous project management is mixed judiciously with 'organic' development. This paper argues that organic growth can play a substantial role in the implementation of electronic services in healthcare settings. Evidence for organic growth is presented, based on a study of email use. Methods are presented for investigating ...

This briefing paper uses five case studies of health economies in the English NHS as a basis for examining how local clinicians and managers are working together to develop closer service integration and less fragmented care for patients. It focuses on what is facilitating or impeding change and sets out proposals for policy-makers that are designed to enable more rapid progress towards develop...