Category Archives: Carers
NHS 111 helpline put on hold after safety warnings
Half of NHS 111 lines yet to be launched after ‘national roll-out’ falls flat
The planned roll-out of the NHS 111 non-emergency line across the entire country today has been aborted amid concerns it is wasting emergency services’ time and putting patients at risk.
By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent
7:30AM BST 01 Apr 2013
Easter Monday was initially meant to mark the national launch of the telephone service, which is replacing NHS Direct, but half of all 111 lines are still inactive.
Just one local service, in the North of Tyne and Tees area, will be opened today, joining 22 which are already running as pilots, but a further 23 are not yet operational.
Doctors claimed health chiefs had been forced to backtrack on plans to roll out the service after repeated warnings that the system was inefficient and could compromise patient safety.
The NHS changes today
NHS structure changes come into force
By Nick Triggle Health correspondent
The changes have proved extremely controversialGovernment reforms of the NHS in England have come into force and health leaders warn of a tough year ahead.
Monday marks the first day of the new structures.
GP-led groups have taken control of local budgets and a new board, NHS England, has started overseeing the day-to-day running of services.
The NHS Confederation said the reforms represented a big opportunity but should not be seen as a “silver bullet” for the challenges ahead.
Mike Farrar, chief executive of the confederation, which represents health managers, said the squeeze on finances and the need to rebuild public confidence after the Stafford Hospital scandal meant the NHS was facing a critical period.
Welfare payment cuts are unjust and target the most vulnerable in society
Welfare cuts unjust, say four churches
Four churches have joined forces to accuse the government of welfare payment cuts they say are unjust and target society’s most vulnerable.
The Easter criticism has come from the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist and United Reformed Churches, and the Church of Scotland.
They also want to see a change to “a false picture” of the poor as “lazy”.
The government said society suffered when people were paid more to be unemployed than to work.
A series of changes to benefits are being made in April – including capping rises on working-age benefits at 1% – which will affect hundreds of thousands of households across the UK.
Ministers say they are necessary to tackle the rising cost to the taxpayer.
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