Did NHS stats become a political football?
- 10 July 2017
- From the section Health
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Xesai/Getty images
NHS monthly performance stats are not everyone's idea of a gripping read. Spreadsheets and tables are buried in the NHS England website and hard to find for the uninitiated. But they amount to a vitally important barometer of the pressures in A&E units and the waits experienced by patients for both emergency care and routine surgery.
A set of data due during the General Election campaign was postponed. Correspondence seen by the BBC reveals how politically sensitive this decision was.
Whitehall conventions ban the release of controversial announcements during election campaigns. Data releases for which the release date has not already been published will be held till after polling day. But official stats with a publication date already in the calendar will be put out as normal.
The NHS England monthly performance data had been carded some time before for June 8th which, it later turned out, was to be polling day. A Freedom of Information request by BBC News has revealed delicate internal discussions about whether or not to press on with publication on that day.
The emails
An official from the UK Statistics Authority advises Government bodies and departments in an email that statistical publications of "significant public interest" due on June 8th should be rescheduled - "publishing on polling day presents difficulties in communicating data clearly and fully, not least because of restrictions in place around reporting."
Read full article Did NHS stats become a political football?
NHS - planning for winter already
- 28 June 2017
- From the section Health
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s-c-s/Getty
It's June, with some of the hottest weather seen in decades - but the NHS is already worrying about the winter. Sounds odd, but hospital leaders in England argue that if decisions aren't made soon, it will be too late to inject money in a way which will make a difference when the temperature falls and emergency admissions start rising.
There is a hint of familiar special pleading in a new report from NHS Providers - which represents hospital, mental health, community and ambulance trusts in England.
Is NHS rationing a possibility?
- 7 June 2017
- From the section Health
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Getty Images
Money, money, money - it's a familiar background theme across the NHS in England, but the volume is increasing.
Campaign funding promises have been made but whoever forms the next government will find some challenging financial issues highlighted in their ministerial red boxes.
Whose election promise adds up for the NHS?
- 18 May 2017
- From the section Health
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Getty Images
"Billions more for the NHS," is a familiar election battle cry.
This time, the pledges from the main political parties have been much anticipated because of the warnings about mounting pressures on the service.
Read full article Whose election promise adds up for the NHS?
Are NHS patients getting the best medicines?
- 28 April 2017
- From the section UK
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Science Photo Library
There's always a tension in decisions about purchasing medicines by the NHS.
On the one hand, getting the best value for taxpayers. And on the other, allowing sufficient incentives for drug companies to do business in the UK.
Read full article Are NHS patients getting the best medicines?
Will NHS stats spark polling day debate?
- 24 April 2017
- From the section Health
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stockvisual
On general election polling day, broadcasters are obliged to refrain from coverage of campaigning and stick to uncontroversial accounts of politicians voting or the weather.
But there could be an important news story that day relating to one of the main issues of the campaign - the state of the health service.
Health: A key issue in the general election
- 19 April 2017
- From the section Health
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SPL
Health is always discussed on the doorsteps in general election campaigns.
Labour has long seen the NHS as its defining electoral issue.
Read full article Health: A key issue in the general election
'Lucky' NHS struggles through the winter
- 13 April 2017
- From the section Health
As warmer weather and the Easter holidays arrive, the NHS in England is reflecting on what looks like the busiest, some would say the worst, winter on record.
Official figures reveal the stresses and strains being felt during February after torrid times over the previous two months.
Could private investors fund a new wave of hospitals?
- 10 April 2017
- From the section Health
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SPL
The NHS in England is under financial strain. Keeping control of day-to-day spending has proved immensely challenging. Now its emerged that health service leaders have turned to private sector financiers to fund repairs and modernisation of hospitals. So how realistic is the involvement of private money and could there be a repeat of the mistakes made with the controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI)?
Budgets for investment, known as capital, have been raided in recent years by the Department of Health to help hospitals and other trusts in England cover their running costs. NHS leaders are now pushing for investment to allow them to repair decaying buildings, upgrade facilities and fund new plans to develop care in local communities. If central government funding is limited, they argue, the alternative is private finance.
Read full article Could private investors fund a new wave of hospitals?
Better care but longer waits - the NHS prescription
- 31 March 2017
- From the section Health
Intense pressures on the NHS in England have been well documented. So how do service leaders feel about the way things are going?
Today the head of NHS England, Simon Stevens, sets out his stall with his latest strategic plan.
Read full article Better care but longer waits - the NHS prescription
