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Major Developments (3rd – 7th
July)
Hewitt pledges £750 million to community
hospitals
Speaking in the house on Wednesday 5th July,
Secretary of State for Health Patricia Hewitt announced up to £750 million in
extra funding for the NHS to invest in community
hospitals. Click here to view the debate or click here to read the Department of Health
announcement.
Widespread abuse of people with
learning disabilities discovered
Widespread institutional abuse of people with learning disabilities at
an NHS Trust in Cornwall
has been revealed in a report published by the Healthcare Commission and the
Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). The report describes many years
of abusive practices at the trust and the failure of senior trust executives
to tackle this. Click here to read more.
DH puts a stop to the hiring of
foreign nurses
The NHS no longer needs to hire more junior nurses from abroad, according
to Health Minister Lord Warner. The role is being taken off the
Home Office shortage occupation list. This means employers
will need to advertise any vacancies first and only if they are unable to
fill the post can they turn to international recruitment. Click here to read more.
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The Week Ahead (10th – 14th
July)
Monday 10th July
House of Lords: The Lord Addington—To ask Her
Majesty’s Government what is their response to the report by the Audit
Commission, Public Sports and Recreation
Services, that school sports facilities are not being used to full
effect to provide community sports and recreation facilities which are fit
for purpose.
House of Lords: The Baroness Howe of Idlicote—To
ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take as a result of
the Food Standards Agency’s recommendation that all television
advertising of food with high fat, sugar or salt content should be banned
before the nine o’clock watershed.
Tuesday 11th July
House of Commons: Public Accounts Select Committee: Publication
of Report: Reducing brain damage - faster access to better stroke care.
Wednesday 12th July
Westminster Hall: Subject
proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment: David Gauke MP:
Changes to NHS services in Hertfordshire.
House of Lords: The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham—To ask Her Majesty’s Government
whether, in the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza, they would
designate ministers of religion as key workers.
House of Commons: Science and Technology Select
Committee: Human Reproductive Technologies & the Law:
follow up: Oral evidence session: To give evidence: Caroline Flint MP,
Secretary of State for Public Health, Dept of Health
Thursday 13th July
House of Commons: Remaining Stages of the NHS Redress Bill [Lords].
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This Past Week (3rd – 7th
July)
HOUSE
OF COMMONS
Health
Questions l Questions to the Prime
Minister l Westminster Hall Debates l Written Ministerial
Statements l Chamber and Legislation l Written Answers (A-Z) l The Committee Corridor
l Early Day
Motions
HOUSE
OF LORDS
Lords Chamber l Written Answers (Lords)
OTHER PARLIAMENTARY BODIES
Private Legislation l National Audit Office
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____________________________________________________
HOUSE
OF COMMONS
Parliamentary Health Questions –
Answered in the Chamber
There were no parliamentary health questions this
week
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Questions to the Prime Minister (5th July)
Jeremy Browne (Taunton) – Health services in Taunton
Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) – Health services in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) – Southport & Ormskirk hospital
Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) – Closure of Winchcombe hospital
Gordon Banks (Ochil and South Perthshire) – Health in Africa
Eric Illsley (Barnsley, Central) – NICE decisions on Alzheimer’s drugs
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Business of the House (6th
July)
Theresa May (Maidenhead) – Community hospitals
Bill Olner (Nuneaton) – George Eliot hospital and the acute services review
Christopher Fraser (South-West Norfolk) – Community hospitals
John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings) – The communications aid project
Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) – Inhaled insulin
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Westminster Hall Debates
Wednesday 5th July
School Meals
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Written Ministerial Statements
Thursday 6th July
Meat Hygiene Service
Learning Disability Services (Cornwall
Partnerships NHS Trust)
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Chamber and
Legislation
Monday 3rd July
Estimates 2006-07: Department of Health
Department of Health
Wednesday 5th July
NHS Operations
Community Hospitals
Ambulances (County Durham)
Thursday 6th July
Medical Professions
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Written Answers (A-Z by subject) – Select a
letter.
___________________________________________________________________
A l B l C l D l E l F l G l H l I l J l K l L l M l N l O l P l Q l R l S l T l U l V l W l X l Y l Z
___________________________________________________________________
A
Abattoirs [4 July 2006]
Abortion [3 July 2006]
Abortion [4 July 2006]
Abortion [6 July 2006]
Administration Spending [3 July 2006]
Agenda for Change [4 July 2006]
AIDS [5 July 2006]
AIDS [6 July 2006]
Alcohol-related Hospital Admissions
[5 July 2006]
Alzheimer's Disease [3 July 2006]
Alzheimer's Disease [4 July 2006]
Anaemia [3 July 2006]
Arun Community Hospital [6 July 2006]
Audiology [4 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
B
Birth/Death Statistics [6 July 2006]
Black/Asian Employees [6 July 2006]
Breast Milk Substitutes [4 July 2006]
Breast Milk Substitutes [5 July 2006]
Breast Milk Substitutes [6 July 2006]
Breastfeeding [3 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
C
Cadbury Schweppes (Chocolate
Contamination) [5 July 2006]
Care Costs [5 July 2006]
Care Homes [3 July 2006]
Care Homes [5 July 2006]
Carers [4 July 2006]
Carers [5 July 2006]
Carer's Allowance [4 July 2006]
Carers Champion [5 July 2006]
Causes of Death [4 July 2006]
Childhood Immunisation Services [6
July 2006]
Children (Medical Procedures) [5 July
2006]
Chiropody [3 July 2006]
Choose and Book System [4 July 2006]
Cochlear Implant Treatment [3 July
2006]
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy [4 July
2006]
Community Hospitals [5 July 2006]
Connecting for Health [6 July 2006]
Consultants [3 July 2006]
Consultants [6 July 2006]
Correspondence [3 July 2006]
Correspondence [5 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
D
Dentistry [5 July 2006]
Departmental Annual Reports [5 July
2006]
Departmental Documents [6 July 2006]
Departmental Staff [5 July 2006]
Departmental Websites [4 July 2006]
DHL/Novation [3 July 2006]
Diabetes [4 July 2006]
Diabetes [5 July 2006]
Digital Hearing Aids [5 July 2006]
Digital Hearing Aids [6 July 2006]
Direct Payments [6 July 2006]
Disability and Carers Service [4 July
2006]
District Community Nursing [4 July
2006]
Doctors [4 July 2006]
Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin [5
July 2006]
Drug Rehabilitation [4 July 2006]
Drug Rehabilitation [6 July 2006]
Drug-related Deaths [5 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
E
Egg Imports (Salmonella) [3 July
2006]
Elderly Care (Staff Protocol) [4 July
2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
F
Field Hospitals [3 July 2006]
Food Safety Act [4 July 2006]
Food Supplements [4 July 2006]
Freedom of Information [3 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
G
Gender Dysphoria [5 July 2006]
Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria [5 July 2006]
GP Referrals [6 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
H
Health and Safety Executive [4 July
2006]
Health and Social Care Awards [3 July
2006]
Health Care (Shropshire) [6 July
2006]
Health Projects [5 July 2006]
Health Questionnaires [3 July 2006]
Health Sector Assistance [4 July
2006]
Health Services (Stoke-on-Trent) [4
July 2006]
Health Services (Stoke-on-Trent) [5
July 2006]
Health Worker Migration [3 July 2006]
Health Workers (International
Recruitment) [4 July 2006]
Hepatitis C [4 July 2006]
Herceptin [6 July 2006]
Home Births [3 July 2006]
Hospital Infections [3 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
I
Incapacity Benefit [4 July 2006]
Incapacity Benefit [4 July 2006]
Independent Sector Treatment Centres
[5 July 2006]
Infant Formula Regulations [3 July
2006]
Influenza [4 July 2006]
Influenza [5 July 2006]
Information Technology [6 July 2006]
Insulin Inhalers [5 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
J
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
K
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
L
Leftover Prescription Drugs [5 July
2006]
Legislation [3 July 2006]
Life Expectancy [6 July 2006]
Lung Cancer [4 July 2006]
Lung Cancer [5 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
M
Macmillan Nurses [5 July 2006]
Malnutrition [6 July 2006]
Management Consultancy [4 July 2006]
Maternity Services [3 July 2006]
Measles [4 July 2006]
Mental Health [6 July 2006]
Mental Health Act [5 July 2006]
Motor Neurone Disease [5 July 2006]
MRI Scans [5 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
N
New Technologies [3 July 2006]
NHS [3 July 2006]
NHS Banks [5 July 2006]
NHS Care Records Service [6 July
2006]
NHS Complaints [5 July 2006]
NHS Direct [4 July 2006]
NHS Direct [5 July 2006]
NHS Direct [6 July 2006]
NHS Finance [3 July 2006]
NHS Finances [5 July 2006]
NHS Information Technology [6 July
2006]
NHS IT Programme [4 July 2006]
NHS IT Support [6 July 2006]
NHS Managers [5 July 2006]
NHS Performance [3 July 2006]
NHS Staff [4 July 2006]
NHS Staff [6 July 2006]
NHS Treatment [5 July 2006]
Nurses [5 July 2006]
Nurses and Midwives [4 July 2006]
Nursing Staff [6 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
O
Obesity [3 July 2006]
Obesity [5 July 2006]
Obesity [6 July 2006]
Older People [3 July 2006]
Olympics [6 July 2006]
Ophthalmic Treatments [3 July 2006]
Osteoporosis [6 July 2006]
Our Health, Our Say [6 July 2006]
Overseas Visitors (NHS Care) [5 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
P
Palliative Care [5 July 2006]
Papilloma Virus Vaccine [6 July 2006]
Parkinson's Disease [5 July 2006]
Patient Transport [4 July 2006]
Personal Capability Assessment [6
July 2006]
Practice-based Commissioning [5 July
2006]
Primary Care Trusts [3 July 2006]
Primary Care Trusts [5 July 2006]
Private Sector Contracts [3 July
2006]
Prostate Cancer [3 July 2006]
Public Consultations [5 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
Q
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
R
Recombinant Factor VII [3 July 2006]
Redundancy Arrangements [5 July 2006]
Referrals [4 July 2006]
Reproductive Health [3 July 2006]
Reproductive Health [5 July 2006]
Residential Care [3 July 2006]
Ritalin [5 July 2006]
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust [4
July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
S
School Meals [4 July 2006]
Seasonal Influenza Vaccine [5 July
2006]
Seat Belts [4 July 2006]
Severalls Hospital, Colchester [3
July 2006]
Sexual Health [6 July 2006]
Sexual Health Education [5 July 2006]
Short Break Provision (Surrey) [4
July 2006]
Sick Days [3 July 2006]
Sir David Henshaw [5 July 2006]
Smoking [5 July 2006]
Speech and Language Therapy [5 July
2006]
Speech and Language Therapy [5 July
2006]
St. Ann's Hospital, Haringey [5 July
2006]
Stem Cell Research [3 July 2006]
Sun Care Products [4 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
T
Teenage Pregnancy [4 July 2006]
Teenage Pregnancy [5 July 2006]
Tetanus [4 July 2006]
Tourists (Health Care Funding) [5
July 2006]
Treatment Abroad [5 July 2006]
Turnaround Teams [5 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
U
Under-age Drinking [3 July 2006]
Under-age Drinking [5 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
V
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
W
Waiting Lists [5 July 2006]
Waiting Lists/Times [3 July 2006]
Water [4 July 2006]
West Cheshire Primary Care Trust [5
July 2006]
Wheelchairs [6 July 2006]
Wound Care [4 July 2006]
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
X
BACK TO
ALPHABETS
Y
Young Carers [3 July 2006]
Young Carers [4 July 2006]
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ALPHABETS
Z
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ALPHABETS
Health Select Committee
Monday 3rd July
Publication – NHS Deficits:
Sixth Report
Written Evidence - HTML version (browsable)
PDF version 
Tuesday 4th July
Independent Sector Treatment Centres
inquiry: Evidence published
Uncorrected transcript of Oral Evidence given by Ken
Anderson, Bleddyn Rees and Geoff Serle.
Click here to view the uncorrected oral evidence.
Workforce Planning inquiry: Evidence
published
Uncorrected transcript of Oral Evidence given by
Professor David Gordon, Chair, Council of Heads of Medical Schools; Paul
Streets, Chief Executive, Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board;
Professor Elisabeth Paice, Chair, Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans;
Bernard Ribeiro, President, Royal College of Surgeons; Professor Tony
Butterworth, Director, Centre for Clinical and Academic Workforce Innovation,
University of Lincoln; Professor Dame Jill Macleod Clark, Chair of the
Council of Deans, Council of Deans of UK Faculties for Nursing and Health
Professions; Professor Sir Andrew Haines, Health Committee Member,
Universities UK; Professor Selena Gray, Registrar, Faculty of Public Health;
Paul Holmes, Chief Executive, Kingston PCT; Dr David McKinlay, Director of
Postgraduate GP Education, North Western Deanery; and Dr Graham Archard,
Vice-Chair of Council, Royal College of General Practitioners.
Click here to view the uncorrected oral evidence.
Public Accounts Select Committee
Monday 3rd July
The National Programme for IT in the
NHS inquiry: Evidence published
Uncorrected transcript of Oral Evidence given by Sir
Ian Carruthers OBE, Acting Chief Executive of the NHS; Richard Granger,
Director General of IT; Richard Jeavons, Director of IT Service
Implementation; Sir Muir Gray, Director of Clinical Safety for Connecting for
Health; Dr Mark Davies, Primary Care Director for the Choose and Book
programme; Dr Gillian Braunold, National Clinical Lead for GP Services,
Department of Health; Professor Peter Hutton and Dr Anthony Nowlan.
Click here to view the uncorrected oral evidence.
Tuesday 4th July
Publication – NHS Local Improvement Finance Trusts:
Forty-seventh Report
HTML version (browsable)
PDF version
Thursday 8th December
Publication - A safer place for patients: learning to
improve patient safety: Fifty-first Report
HTML version (browsable)
PDF version
Science and Technology Select Committee
Thursday 6th July
Scientific advice, risk and
evidence: how Government handles them: Evidence published
A large body of oral and written evidence has been published.
Click here to view the
evidence.
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Early Day Motions
Monday 3rd July
MEDIA COVERAGE OF SUICIDE – 2484
Edward Vaizey MP
BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION AND EUTHANASIA – 2485
Dr Brian Iddon MP
CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND HEALTHY SCHOOL MEALS – 2486
Diana R Johnson MP
Tuesday 4th July
REDRESS FOR NHS PATIENTS – 2502
John Baron MP
Wednesday 5th July
FULL COMPENSATION FOR WRONGLY
DIAGNOSED CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE CLAIMANTS – 2513
Michael Clapham MP
PUBLIC SERVICES AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR – 2514
Robert N Wareing MP
NUT ALLERGIES – 2518
Lindsay Hoyle MP
Thursday 6th July
WAITING TIMES FOR HEARING
AIDS – 2521
Dr Howard Stoate MP
MEN AND CHLAMYDIA – 2522
Dr Howard Stoate MP
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______________________________________________
HOUSE
OF LORDS
Lords Chamber –
Debates, Legislation and Ministerial Statements
Monday 3rd July
Paediatric Medicines
Tuesday 4th July
Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive
Personal Data) Order 2006
Health Bill
Disability: Pathways to Work
Wednesday 5th July
NHS: Community Hospitals
Thursday 6th July
Obesity
Care Services: Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust
Meat Hygiene Service
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Written answers (Lords)
Monday 3rd July
Diabetes: Inhaled Insulin
NHS: Wales
Tuesday 4th July
DNA: Supply of Pathogenic Sequences
Drugs: Methamphetamine
NHS: Independent Sector Treatment Centres
NHS: Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast
Sexual Offences: Mental Health Accommodation
Smoking: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 5th July
Autism: Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Drugs: Methamphetamine
NHS: In Vitro Fertilisation
NHS: Training Budgets
Thursday 6th July
Autism
Drugs: Methamphetamine
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________________________________________________________
Private Bills originate outside Parliament and are
promoted by bodies seeking special powers not available under the general
law.
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________________________________________________________
The National Audit Office scrutinises public spending
on behalf of Parliament. It reports to the Public Accounts Committee and is
totally independent of government. The role of
the NAO is to audit the accounts of all central government departments,
agencies, and other public bodies, reporting to Parliament on the economy,
efficiency and effectiveness with which they have used public money.
There was no news from the National Audit Office this
week.
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Department of Health and National Health Service
Key issues from the
Department of Health and NHS
Monday 3rd July
Raising the legal age for buying
tobacco
Proposals to crack down on smoking amongst teenagers have been unveiled
by public health minister Caroline Flint. Plans include increasing the
minimum legal age to purchase tobacco and imposing tougher sanctions on
retailers who persist in selling cigarettes to under-age teens. Click here to read
more.
Band 5 nurses to be taken off the Home
Office shortage occupation list
The NHS no longer needs to hire more junior nurses from abroad, according
to Health Minister Lord Warner. Nursing has historically been included on the
Home Office shortage occupation list to support international recruitment
where NHS trusts have been unable to fill vacancies using UK or EEA trained staff. By
removing general nurses from the shortage occupation list, employers will
need to advertise any vacancies first and only if they are unable to fill the
post can they turn to international recruitment. Click here to read
more.
Wednesday 5th July
£750 million investment in community
hospitals
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has announced up to £750 million in
extra funding for the NHS to invest in facilities offering patients more
blood tests, x-rays and minor operations outside of large hospitals. The new
community hospitals will offer speedy access to medical checks, day surgery
and out-of-hours GPs and other services. Funding will be available to support
a variety of projects ranging from converting old acute hospitals into
community hospitals and renovating existing community hospitals to community
based chemotherapy and mobile cancer scans. Work on building the first new
clinics and community hospitals will start early next year. Click here to read
more.
Thursday 6th July
Practice based commissioning uptake
is over 40%
New figures published today by the Department of Health show that
almost 3,500 GP practices have adopted practice based commissioning. Figures
for May 2006 show that 3,454 practices out of 8,433 - 41% - of all GP
practices in England,
had taken up an incentive payment to participate in practice based
commissioning. Click here to read
more.
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Independent Regulators
The Healthcare Commission and Monitor are independent
bodies responsible to Parliament for regulating different elements of health
care provision. See below for details of the key issues from both:
Key issues from the
Healthcare Commission
Wednesday 5th July
Widespread institutional abuse of
people with learning disabilities at an NHS trust in Cornwall
Widespread institutional abuse of people with learning disabilities at
an NHS Trust in Cornwall
is revealed today (Wednesday) in a report published by the Healthcare
Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). The report
describes many years of abusive practices at the trust and the failure of
senior trust executives to tackle this. Examples of abuse included physical
abuse and misuse of people’s money. The Healthcare Commission has
today written to the Secretary of State for Health to advise that she place
the trust under special measures. This will involve an external review of the
trust’s board by the strategic health authority (SHA). The Commission
also recommends retaining the external team, which the SHA agreed to bring in
last October after the Commission highlighted that the trust had
“significant failings”. Click here to read
more.
Health and social care inspectorates
set out concerns about services for people with learning disabilities
The heads of two independent health and social care inspectorates have
joined forces to highlight serious concerns about the care and treatment of
people with learning disabilities. Anna Walker, Chief Executive of the
Healthcare Commission, and David Behan, Chief Inspector of the Commission for
Social Care Inspection have released a joint statement on learning disability
services across England.
Click here to read the
sentence.
Monday 10th July
Healthcare watchdog promises
rigorous analysis of trust declaration on standards
The Healthcare Commission has said it will carry out a
rigorous analysis of the accuracy of NHS trust declarations on basic
standards. Every NHS trust in England
has for the first time issued a public declaration on how they have performed
against the government’s core standards for healthcare. They have made
the information available as part of the Healthcare Commission’s annual
health check of English NHS trusts, which has replaced star ratings. Click here to read
more.
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Key
issues from Monitor
Tuesday 4th July
Greater co-operation between Monitor
and NCAS
A memorandum of understanding between Monitor and the
National Clinical Assessment Service has been published. The document sets
out the framework for a working relationship between NCAS and Monitor. In
particular, it concerns co-operation and co-ordination between the parties by
setting out the parties’ respective responsibilities and arrangement s
for the exchange of information. Click here to read
more.
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APHG and Website
Forthcoming
Meetings
Tuesday 18th July
APHG BRIEFING: THE WANLESS SOCIAL
CARE REVIEW
Speaker:
Sir Derek Wanless OBE
Chair: Baroness Julia Cumberlege
With the number of people aged over 85 and over set to increase by
two thirds in England
within two decades, the King’s Fund commissioned Sir Derek Wanless to report
on the kind of personal care services people want to see and the way this
should be funded. The final report, entitled Securing
Good Care for Older People: Taking a Long-Term View, was published
in March 2006. This will be a terrific opportunity to hear from Sir Derek about
the findings of his report and his recommendations for the future of social
care.
Website
Links
To access our own site, containing information on past
and present meetings and access to constituency health data, click here.
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Useful Links
NHS
The National Health Service Website. Contains
details of local NHS services and information on how the NHS works.
Healthcare Commission
The Healthcare Commission’s website. Includes
information on their role, plus details of reports & investigations that
they have carried out.
NHS Direct
Information and links on health issues, including
self-help and in depth information on various topics such as breast cancer,
depression and diabetes.
Dr Foster
Source of information on UK
health services, including NHS and Private Healthcare available by area, and
comparisons across the UK.
Monitor-Independent Regulator of NHS
Foundation Trusts
Monitor’s website includes
information on its role, the makeup of its Board and Management Team, the
Public Register of NHS Foundation Trusts and its latest press releases.
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