‘Your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery’ – Revelation 18:1-24 The bedrock of general practice – and indeed the NHS itself – is that all of us will need healthcare at some point in our lives, most of us will not need it for….
The Doctors for the NHS Essay Prize
In collaboration with the BMJ £500 first prize £200 second prize Open to all doctors in training (more…)
Judicial Review – not in our favour but hope remains
The High Court handed down its judgement on 5 July on the judicial review we brought against the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and NHS England on their introduction of Accountable Care Organisations (ACOs). We had originally brought our claim on four grounds – two on the lack of proper consultation, one….
Let there be hope – the patient is still alive
Dare we hope? A string of celebrations mark the NHS’s 70th anniversary later this month. The government has backtracked on allowing doctors into the UK from non-EU countries, and a few days ago promised more cash for the NHS – with the added rarity of a serving Conservative government openly admitting this funding would come….
Health Select Committee: More Support
Some of our biggest concerns about ACOs received very welcome endorsement from Parliament’s Health Select Committee in their report Integrated care: organisations, partnerships and systems published this week. (more…)
Visa restrictions and medical staffing: A perfect storm
We train fewer doctors per head of population than any other European country. 36% of UK doctors graduated outside the UK, 10% from EU countries, 26% from non-EU countries.1. Most non-EU doctors coming to the UK use either the Tier 2 (skilled worker) visa, or the Tier 5 (Government Authorised Exchange short-term) visa. Visa rules….
Bawa-Garba: Campaigners urged to sign letter to GMC
Members of Health Campaigns Together and Keep Our NHS Public have been urged to write to the Chief Executive of the General Medical Council, Charles Massey, following its recent response to Dr Hadiza Baw-Garba’s conviction for negeligence manslaughter. DFNHS members are asked to consider doing the same. (more…)
Health Select Committee STP/ACO Inquiry: DFNHS Evidence
Doctors for the NHS will be submitting evidence to the Health Select Committee on Accountable Care Organisations and Sustainability and Transformation Plans. You can read a summary of the evidence on STPs here and on ACOs here.
Judge orders costs to be capped in judicial review of ACOs
The High Court has enabled the judicial review[1] of the policy on accountable care organisations to go ahead by capping the Secretary of State’s and NHS England’s costs – i.e., the costs they can ask the claimants to pay if, at the end of the day, the claimants lose. In an important judgment, Mrs Justice….
Judicial Review on ACOs granted: Might there be hope?
The High Court on 26 January granted permission to Professor Stephen Hawking, DFNHS Chair Dr Colin Hutchinson, Professor Allyson Pollock, Professor Sue Richards and Dr Graham Winyard to bring a judicial review against the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Hunt, and NHS England to challenge the introduction of accountable care organisations….