GPs are under pressure to do more to satisfy a minority of patients who do not have adequate access to GP services. Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Health, says the results of a national patient survey found people from black and minority ethnic communities report a poorer experience accessing GP services.

By Norma Beavers

A survey by the health education charity Developing Patient Partnerships finds patients and doctors are in favour of taking tough action against those who persistently miss their appointments. The survey found 72 per cent of doctors and 41 per cent of the public think persistent 'no-shows' should be struck off their surgery's register. Others said patients who do not attend should be charged a fee for wasting their GP's or practice nurse's time.

Health managers in Hull are using the national patient survey as a resource to gauge access to GPs in their local area. Heather Rice, Primary Care Quality and Redesign Manager, Hull PCT, said, "This is a very important survey as it allows the Primary Care Trust to compare our own findings on GP access and how we understand services to be operating with the actual experience patients are having when they try to book in with their practice.

PCTs in Cumbria and Lancashire are to work with Capio Healthcare UK, an independent provider, under a deal struck by the Department of Health. Under the contract Capio is due to manage more than 10,000 NHS procedures a year including general surgery and orthopaedics. The Department has terminated a contract under which diagnostic services would have been provided by Atos Healthcare in the North West.

North East Essex Primary Care Trust is one of just two PCTs in England that have been selected by the Department of Health to host a Comprehensive Local Research Network under the umbrella of the National Institute for Health Research.

By Norma Beavers

New guidelines have been published to tell health professionals what they can do to help patients who are in a forced marriage or about to be married off against their will. It is hoped the guidelines will help prevent honour killings such as the death of 20 year old Banaz Mahmod. She was found buried in a suitcase in a garden in Birmingham after a killing in London ordered by her father, 52 year old Mahmod Mahmod. He claimed in court that she had brought dishonour on her family after leaving a forced marriage and beginning a new relationship with an Iranian Kurd who was not a strict Muslim.

By Norma Beavers

A successor is being sought to replace Richard Granger, Chief Executive of NHS Connecting for Health and Director General of IT for the NHS. Granger announced his resignation in June and may return to private sector work. While many view his departure as a setback for Connecting for Health, he said, “I passionately believe the programme will deliver ever greater levels of benefit to patients over the coming years.”

By Norma Beavers

Prime Minister Gordon Brown should free the NHS of political meddling and allow it to be run by an independent authority - so says a report from The Nuffield Trust. The report’s author, Brian Edwards, Emeritus Professor of Healthcare Development at the University of Sheffield gives Brown a lot to think about. He said, “The NHS needs time to consolidate recent investment rather than another series of political initiatives. It is time to give the leaders of the health professions room to move the system.”

By Chris Drinkwater, President, NHS Alliance

If local determination and accountability are to deliver improved health through pooled budgets and more effective partnership working, there must be a joined up approach between all of the currently proposed structures. We will need to be clear about who is responsible and accountable for the development and delivery of the increasing number of local strategies.

By Norma Beavers

The achievements of the NHS over the past year and future challenges are outlined by David Nicholson in his first annual report on the NHS. Nicholson has held the post as NHS Chief Executive for just over eight months. His report is the first of several new documents that will point the way forward for ongoing NHS reform as the health system enters its phase 3 of its “transformation”.