Not at the heart of neurological commissioning

MAC submitted a memorandum of evidence to the Public Accounts Committee for its session on 18 January 2012 considering services for people with long term neurological conditions. Read it here.  It reflects our views on the shortcomings around neurological commissioning and integration of services for... 
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Rx: Urgent -get out of the Dark Ages

Future Forum 2 – not a sequel but the next round of recommendations from the great and the good that began last summer – has reported, with further insights on integrated services (along with information, by far the most important theme), education and training for the healthcare workforce, information... 
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Integration Holy Grail could be wishful thinking

Integrated services reflecting individual needs and marshalling skills and resources across the health and care sectors for the right people in the right place at the right time.  That’s what we should have now after 60+ years of a nationally funded health service.  But we don’t have it... 
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GP Federations: win-win for patients, public and frogs

The healthcare trade papers report that the RCGP and BMA (GPC) are pushing the GP Federation idea again, this time as a way to escape what they see as the problems with the commissioning reforms and the vulnerability of Clinical Commissioning Groups.  We welcome that as something that GPs can unite... 
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Involvement sell-out gathers pace

Most patients will give a big yawn to the 2012-13 NHS Operating Framework for England. Unwise. Buried in an appendix is the game plan for completing the sell-out of genuine patient and public involvement.  This started in the summer with the launch from NHS CEO David Nicholson of the innocuously named... 
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Decommissioning lessons: accept the anger – and the impact

If you are sitting comfortably, then we’ll begin with the lesson on “decommissioning for GPs”.  When resources are finite –shrinking in real terms given NHS inflation – commissioning to achieve quality, innovation, productivity and prevention (QIPP) can only happen in parallel with decommissioning... 
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A halting step towards choice of GP

Remember all the trumpeting about being able to choose GPs, being able to control of our own records and all those good things  that were just around the corner when Mr Lansley announced the liberation of the NHS in England in mid 2010?  The public’s response to the consultation on being free... 
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Pulling strings at the NCB

While their Lordships sweated over amendments to the the bells and whistles juggernaut that is the Health and Social Care Bill, in another part of the Westminster Village, Chair-designate at the National Commissioning Board (NCB), Prof Malcolm Grant, told the Health Select Committee’s pre appointment... 
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Simple things don’t have to be difficult

In an overkill 70 page missive to his colleagues in the Lords about the merits of the “reformed reforms” in the Health and Social Care Bill, Earl Howe helpfully restated that the user and public involvement duties of Section 242 of the NHS Act will not be – in his phrase – “diluted”.   That’s... 
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The biggest something-or-other in the world

Remember the Government’s  rather breathless aspiration back in the summer of 2010 to turn the NHS into the biggest social enterprise sector in the world?   If you work for Central Surrey Healthcare -  the social enterprise owned and run by 770 entrepreneurial community nurses, therapists and... 
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