Katherine Burke

Overseas talent can help us build a better NHS, says Magdi Yacoub

The NHSs first special envoy, Professor Magdi Yacoub, has backed plans to bring top international consultants to England as the “correct” way of tackling skills shortages until more trainees come through the ranks. Under the International Fellowship Scheme, up to 450 consultants will be drafted into the NHS over the next three years, mainly from the specialties starved of specialists—histopathology, radiology, cardiothoracics, and psychiatry. In an interview with the BMJ , the heart surgeon Professor Yacoub claimed that UK doctors could benefit from sharing ideas …

Professor Louis Appleby

Health tsars: spin or substance?: Eight health directors (“tsars”) were appointed from 1999 to 2002. Katherine Burke asked them to summarise their achievements and other people to assess their work. A ninth “tsar”, Dr Sue Roberts, was appointed in March 2003 to cover diabetes. The full text is accessible at www.bmj.com ![][1] Professor Louis … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif

Professor Al Aynsley-Green

Health tsars: spin or substance?: Eight health directors (“tsars”) were appointed from 1999 to 2002. Katherine Burke asked them to summarise their achievements and other people to assess their work. A ninth “tsar”, Dr Sue Roberts, was appointed in March 2003 to cover diabetes. The full text is accessible at www.bmj.com ![][1] Professor Al Aynsley-Green National clinical director for children Appointed: July 2001 … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif

UK government moves to tackle lottery of cancer drugs

Electronic prescribing is to be launched two years earlier than planned in an effort to put an end to “postcode prescribing” of newer chemotherapy drugs. Launching a report into variations in prescribing earlier this week, health minister Lord Warner described as “unacceptable” and “unfair” the differences in the way Englands 34 cancer networks use new chemotherapy drugs. Lord Warner promised to implement all the reports recommendations, including bringing forward electronic prescribing to 2006, rather than the current launch date of 2008-10. Electronic prescribing would enable cancer networks to give doctors feedback when they prescribe chemotherapy differently from the norm. Such feedback has been shown to reduce variation. He added that the results of the report would be sent to all strategic health …

Doctors question government's prediction of an end to premature heart deaths

Claims that the NHS in England is “winning the war” against coronary heart disease andthat premature deaths resulting from the condition will become “very rare” over the next decade have been criticised as simplistic by experts in the field. In a four year progress report on the implementation of the national service frameworkfor coronary heart disease, published last week, the national clinical director for heart disease, Dr Roger Boyle, claimed that the “corner had been turned” in preventing and treating coronary heart disease. Results in the report showed that the …

Foundation hospital plan defeated in Lords.

Plans to create a “super league” of foundation hospitals have faced fresh opposition with a decisive defeat in the House of Lords last week. The arrangements to give some English hospital trusts limited operational and financial freedom were to form the basis of the flagship Health and Social Care Bill. But Labour and independent peers joined their Conservative and Liberal Democrat colleagues last week to defeat the measure by 150 votes to 100. Ministers had trimmed the plans heavily, hoping to ease the bills passage …

GPs' time to be freed up under plans for increased choice

Patients across England will be able to register with a GP near their work instead of home, pick up repeat prescriptions direct from their pharmacist, and attend nurse led clinics, under the governments flagship initiative to extend choice in the NHS. Presenting a command paper before parliament on 9 December, the health secretary, John Reid, outlined the results of the national consultation on extending choice for patients. Under a new general medical services contract, nurse led clinics and polyclinics (which offer a wide range of GP and specialist services) will be …

Surgeons' college launches campaign to save research

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is launching a campaign to save surgical research after learning that up to one in five university chairs of surgery across the United Kingdom are currently vacant. The college is calling for research councils to view grant applications from surgeons more favourably and to put money aside specifically for fellowships for the profession. The government should also provide more funding to university departments of surgery instead of giving the lions share of money to the more fashionable area of biomedical sciences, the college says. According to college estimates, at …