Category Archives: Medical News

The proposals include plans to: Allow patients to communicate with their clinicians via an online system Give patients access to their Medical Records Maximise the use of Choose and Book, the online appointment booking system used by GPs to organise consultant meetings for patients Although the National Programme for Information Technology was not mentioned in […]

No decision about me without me The Government intends to create a ‘shared decision making’ environment in the National Health Service between patients and healthcare providers. Based on International evidence the Government believes that the changes will result in improved treatment, increased patient satisfaction and significant cost savings. Government proposals are based on three key […]

Although there was widespread agreement from the medical community on the impact of the European Working Time Directive on medical training Sir John’s recommendations were called into question by a number of industry groups including the Royal College of Surgeons. In the report Sir John recommend that services needed to be revised so that Consultant […]

The Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing, Peter Carter, said that “Our figures expose the myth that front-line services will be protected. If this trend for cuts continues, the NHS will soon be straining at the seams. Local NHS organisations appear to be adopting a slash and burn approach to jobs, which is […]

Mr Faraguna said that “Despite the high unemployment levels in the UK, we are still struggling to recruit certain skills and are faced with an ageing workforce so would not recommend a blanket approach to immigration. Skill shortages are prevalent in a number of areas of social care and affect many healthcare disciplines. For example, […]

The focus of BMA efforts seem to be directed at those Doctors from within the European Economic Area (EEA) rather than outside. At the present time Doctors from outside the EEA (e.g. India, South Africa, Pakistan etc) must undergo tough English Language tests and pass a two part PLAB test with the GMC in order […]

In 2006 the criteria surrounding the approval of Highly Skilled Migrant Programme Visas (HSMPs), now Tier 1 General of the Points Based System, were increased and this left many skilled International Doctors unable to qualify for a UK work visa. The tightening of the requirements of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) also increased pressure […]

In his letter to the General Medical Council, Andrew Lansley the new Health Secretary said that “I do not yet have sufficient confidence that there will be time properly to gather and evaluate evidence on all aspects of revalidation and to amend plans in the light of the current pilots. I therefore intend to extend […]

What is the Vetting and Barring Scheme? The Vetting and Barring Scheme (run by the Criminal Records Bureau, the Independent Safeguarding Authority and Access NI) is a new system introduced to replace: The Protection of Children Act (PoCA) List The Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) List The Disqualification from Working with Children (DWC) List The […]

The National Programme for Information Technology system was designed in order to create a centrally held database of National Health Service (NHS) patient data in England which would connect 300 hospitals and more than 30,000 GPs. Beset by problems from the outset and criticised by Doctors and healthcare workers for being a top down implementation, […]