News

In brief

Private medicine is inefficient and needs a shake-up, says a report from the insurance company Norwich Union Healthcare. The report advocates using fewer part-time NHS or full-time private consultants for more sessions, and argues that work scheduling and use of theatre time in the private sector is badly managed.

Russia has introduced private medical insurance as an alternative to the state-run health services. The launch was originally set for the new year, but has had to be brought forward because the Russian healthcare budget is running out of control. ‘What will happen is that very few people will be able to pay for adequate treatment’, according to one Moscow surgeon.

Prices in the NHS ‘internal market’ bear no relation to real costs, a study from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants reveals. The study, reported in the Health Service Journal, surveyed hospitals in the West Midlands and found a strartling range of prices quoted for near-identical procedures. Skin biopsies ranged from £91 to £1,165, and varicose vein treatments from £287 to £1,278.

The health service reforms can work without hospitals ‘opting out’, the majority of ditrict general managers in the NHS believe. Forty six per cent of DGMs felt trusts were unnecessary, with 43 per cent disagreeing, in a survey by the National Association of Health Authorities and Trusts.

Wendy Savage is leading a group bidding for trust status for the recently closed Elizabeth Garrett Anderson hospital in north London. The action group, Women for EGA, wants to restore the hospital to being one staffed by women, for women.