Archive of: June, 2008

• Whose money is it anyway?

  June 2008

  The system of funding specialised services is in need of review – that was the view of delegates at the Specialised Healthcare Alliance’s event at the annual NHS Confederation conference in Manchester on 20 June. In a lively debate among commissioners, providers and others, there was recognition of the limitations of the method of top-slicing PCTs to fund specialised healthcare at the national level.

  Mark Cooke, Chief Executive of Dudley PCT and Dr Stephen Waldek, Medical Director of Salford NHS Foundation Trust were the speakers at the event, where delegates also discussed how commissioners could influence research and development priorities and the importance of decommissioning outdated services in the NHS.

  • Click here for a full summary of the event

• French EU Presidency set to prioritise rare diseases

  June 2008

  The Specialised Healthcare Alliance has welcomed news from France that the country has issued a new set of actions after its 2005-2008 National Rare Disease Plan. France was the first European nation to implement a rare disease plan, which has since been taken as a model by others. The plan includes measures to provide support for medical and non-medical products for patients with rare diseases. France is also set to assume the Presidency of the European Union on 1 July 2008 and is planning to take action to improve the care of rare diseases throughout Europe, including a series of events throughout the year.

  • Click here for more information

• SHCA conference on high cost treatments

  June 2008

  The Specialised Healthcare Alliance has announced the line-up for its November 2008 conference on high cost treatments. Supported by the Genetic Interest Group and the Royal College of Physicians, the conference will explore the pressures on the NHS in its provision of high cost treatments and the consequences for patients.

  Speakers will include Lord Darzi, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health, Chris Reed, Chair of the North East Specialised Commissioning Group and Joan Saddler, Director of Patient and Public Affairs at the Department of Health.