Welfare Reform on the Web (January 2003): National Health Service - Funding

CONTRACT CASH MAY BE USED FOR AWARD SCHEME

T. Shifrin

Health Service Journal, vol. 112, Nov 7th 2002, p.6-7

The government is considering putting the £300m earmarked to fund the rejected consultant contract into the clinical excellence award scheme that is set to replace distinction awards for individual consultants. Alternatively, individual hospitals may implement the new contract locally. The government may also press ahead with proposals to introduce a new sub-consultant grade to which the terms of the new contract would apply.

EXTRA CASH PLEDGED BY GOVERNMENT FAILS TO REACH CANCER UNITS

S. Boseley

The Guardian, November 20th 2002, p.8

Half the cancer units in the county have not received the extra cash that the government pledged could go to fighting the disease, according to a survey by the cancer charity BACUP.

GOVERNMENT SETS UP £4BN PAY DEAL TO END NHS WORK RESTRICTIONS

J. Carvel

The Guardian, November 21st 2002, p.1

The government is poised to agree a £4bn pay deal to revolutionise the working practices of a million NHS staff. After more than three years of negotiation the Agenda for Change package will breakdown traditional boundaries, allowing staff to boost their income by taking extra responsibilities.

HEALTH WORKERS OFFERED 16% PAY PACKAGE

J. Carvel

The Guardian, November 29th 2002, p.11

Alan Milburn, the Health Secretary, yesterday offered a phased 16% pay deal for 1.2 million NHS workers that will benefit the lowest paid. All staff will get a 10% increase in basic pay spread over the next three years and most will benefit from a regrading worth on average 5.9% over five years. Negotiations on Agenda for Change, the NHS pay reform programme, began in 1999 and resulted in the biggest job evaluation exercise in British management history. The deal will now go out for union consultation. If accepted, it will be implemented in 12 trial areas next April and throughout Britain in October 2004.

(See also Daily Telegraph, November 29th 2002, p.1; The Times, November 29th 2002, p.1; The Independent, November 29th 2002, p.2; Financial Times November 29th 2002 p.2

IGNORE WHAT GORDON SAYS, LISTEN TO WHAT HE DOESN'T SAY

N. Hawkes

Times, Nov 27th 2002. p.22

The Labour government has pumped massive amounts of public funding into the NHS without seeing any rise in activity rates. The conventional explanation for this is that returns on investment will be small at first, while capacity is built up. However, the public's is patience may run out before results are seen.

NHS PAY DEAL WILL TOP 40% FOR SOME WORKERS

T. Baldwin

Times, Nov 28th 2002, p.1+2

The Health Secretary has told unions that he is prepared to offer NHS staff an across the board 10% pay rise over three years. The replacement of myriad different wage formulas by eight national salary bands is likely to give the lowest paid an extra 7%. Finally the introduction of 24-hour shift working in hospitals could increase the salaries of these working unsocial hours by a further 25%.

PAYMENT BY RESULTS: SILENT BUT DEADLY

S. Brown

Primary Care Report, vol 4, no. 16, Nov 13th 2002, p.18-20

Government is proposing that hospitals charge for services on the basis of national standard tariffs adjusted to reflect regional costs differences. The new system will be reward efficient providers while driving hospitals with higher costs to achieve savings.

PUBLIC SECTOR INEXPERIENCE "WILL NOT BLOCK PFI HEALTH DEALS"

J. Eaglesham

Financial Times, Nov 27th 2002 p.6

The move to foundation hospitals will be allied to an expansion of private sector involvement in the NHS including many more PFI contracts. It is crucial to build up public sector capacity to cope with this expansion by recruiting commercially experienced staff.

(See also Times, Nov. 27th 2002, p.11)

REFORMING NHS FINANCIAL FLOWS

Department of Health

London: 2002

Proposes scrapping block contracts and replacing them with a tariff-based system under which acute trusts are paid according to their levels of activity. Health Resource Groups (HRGs) will be used to develop national tariffs for treatments.Providers will then lose money on a cost-per-case basis for failing to deliver services commissioned by Primary Care Trusts at the agreed activity level. On the other hand, if they treat more patients, they can earn extra money which could be used for service developments.

THIRD OF NURSES 'MOONLIGHT' TO TOP UP THEIR PAY

P. Pauk

The Times, November 4th 2002, p.7

Almost a third of nurses take a second job to supplement their income, while two-thirds work longer hours than those stipulated in their contracts, according to data supplied to the Pay Review body by the Royal College of Nursing.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

A. Harrison

Public Finance, Oct 25th-31st 2002, p.28-29

There is minimal research commissioned on NHS operations and the delivery of care compared to the effort invested in developing new drugs and treatments.