18-week waiting time target may not be possible

The government is unlikely to meet its 18-week waiting time target without additional capacity and reform, potentially having to buy in more work from...

NHS must adjust to new market or go under, says report

The NHS should abandon the use of PFI, consider dropping the 18-week referral to treatment target and spend at least £1bn a year developing...

Independent providers could run fast-track cancer centres

Independent sector providers could be invited to bid for up to 60 dedicated NHS cancer centres under plans being considered by the Department of...

New inquiry into ISTCs

The Health Select Committee has announced a new inquiry into independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs).The terms of reference have now been agreed and will...

NHS treatment centres better than ISTCs say NHS clinical directors

NHS-run treatment centres are better for patients and the local health service than their independent sector counterparts, according to a survey of clinical directors...

New leader announces shake-up of Conservative health policy

David Cameron has announced a dramatic shift in the Conservative party’s health policy with all of the party’s key manifesto pledges from the 2005...

RCN urges government to extend ethical recruitment Code

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has urged the government to extend its Code of Practice on the ethical recruitment of international healthcare professionals...

Report confirms that independent hospitals are cleaner than the NHS

The widely-held belief that private hospitals are cleaner than the NHS was, to some extent, confirmed in December after the Healthcare Commission published its...

Dr Foster in joint venture with NHS

Healthcare information company Dr Foster has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with the Health and Social Care Information Centre, a special NHS health...

Sainsbury’s Centre calls for radical overhaul

The next decade should be spent developing a greater choice of treatments for people with mental health conditions, according to a wide-ranging report which...