The Oxford Times, the weekly local paper I have been reading since moving to Oxfordshire almost a decade ago, has just increased its cover price from 85p to £1.30. It’s a big one-off increase, and it may affect sales. But the new price feels more realistic than the old one: the Oxford Times is an exceptional local paper, and its new price is equivalent to a quality weekday paper and rather cheaper than a weekend one. Continue reading “Oxford Times hikes cover price by 53%, but it still beats coffee”
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NHS commissioning support units: CSU-zy names, CSU-zy regions
As noted in May, the eventual names of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have ended up being sensible and a bit dull – with the exception of appropriately-independent NHS Kernow CCG (Cornwall). But this is not the case for commissioning support units, which will provide a range of services to CCGs behind the scenes. Firstly, there’s been an in-flight change of generic name – CSUs were firstly known as commissioning support services, then they weren’t.
NHS CSSs are now going to be called NHS CSUs (commissioning support units). Official
#dotrytokeepup— David Williams (@dwilliamsHSJ) August 7, 2012
Continue reading “NHS commissioning support units: CSU-zy names, CSU-zy regions”
A healthcare systems medal table: USA wins inefficiency gold
It is tricky to compare different countries’ healthcare systems, as well as politically explosive. The World Health Organisation (WHO) last tried in 2000, concluding that France had the best in the world.
The following attempt is very simplistic, but also very easy to understand. It uses WHO data to calculate how much each country spends on each year of average lifespan beyond 45, per year per person in purchasing power parity-adjusted US dollars. 45 is chosen simply because it is slightly below the lowest average longevity, Malawi, of 47 years. In the map below, the darker the shade of green, the more expensive each extra year of life: the figure for each country will pop up when the cursor is over it. Continue reading “A healthcare systems medal table: USA wins inefficiency gold”
Roadside cameras suffer from large gaps in coverage, police admit
Automatic number plate recognition cameras stay secret after freedom of information tribunal told of patchy picture
I first applied for the location of police ANPR cameras under Freedom of Information (FOI) three years ago. This article, below and on page 14 of today’s Guardian, is the result of, in effect, a successful failure for FOI. In June, the Information Tribunal reversed its 2011 decision that Devon and Cornwall Police should release its camera locations. However, the evidence the force provided to this year’s tribunal, both written and verbal, sheds new light on the functioning of these systems. Continue reading “Roadside cameras suffer from large gaps in coverage, police admit”
What do NHS bosses talk about on Twitter?
Following last week’s post on which health service heads are on Twitter, the obvious next question is, what do NHS bosses talk about on the service? Continue reading “What do NHS bosses talk about on Twitter?”