EXTENDED ROLE FOR MENTAL HEALTH TSAR
Louis Appleby’s role as national director for mental health will now be extended to cover mental health services for all ages, including older people and child and adolescent services.
“I want to ensure that the modernisation and improvement that has happened in adult mental health services also happens for children and older people,” he said. “We need to ensure that, as the Commission for Healthcare Improvement report on Mental Health in 2003 suggested, these services are not falling
behind. I’ll be consulting for views on what this modern service would look like.”
The Mental Health Programme Delivery Board and the respective governance boards for the Older People’s programme and Children’s programme will oversee delivery of the mental health programmes across the age spectrum.
CHIEF NURSING OFFICER QUITS DOH
NHS Chief Executive Sir Nigel Crisp has announced that Sarah Mullally, the chief nursing officer, will be leaving the Department in order to take up a full-time career in the Church of England.
After almost five years at the Department of Health, she will leave at the end of September to become curate of the parish of Battersea Fields, in the diocese of Southwark.
Sir Nigel confirmed that he “will shortly be advertising the post to ensure that when Sarah goes we continue to have a senior nurse on the Board taking part in top-level decision-making within the department.”
TORY RESHUFFLE
Conservative leader Michael Howard has announced changes to his shadow cabinet, increasing its size from 12 to 14 members.
The role of shadow public services secretary held by Tim Yeo has been split back into two, with the health and education portfolios taken by Andrew Lansley and Tim Collins respectively. Yeo takes over from Theresa May as shadow environment and transport secretary.
GM QUESTION TIME
DAVID CURRY MP, Dr Ian Gibson MP and Dr Evan Harris MP are to host a “GM Question Time” in association with the Scientific Alliance. It is hoped that it will provide the ideal opportunity for MPs and Peers to query experts on the “GM questions” of greatest importance to them and to discuss the scientific evidence of the risks and benefits of GM technologies. The parliamentary Q&A Session will take place on July 13 from 5-7pm. Parliamentarians who would like to attend should contact the Scientific Alliance either by email, info@scientific-alliance.org (putting “GM Question Time” in the subject line), or by calling 020 7484 355
PATIENT-BASED DATA MEETING
pH7 HELD a lunchtime conference in association with TNS, the leading market information group, in May on the use of patient-based data and the allocation of resources in the NHS.
The event was chaired by Dr Ian Gibson MP, and among the speakers were Richard Allan, who prior to his election in 1997 as a Liberal Democrat MP for Sheffield Hallam, worked for the National Health Service from 1991-7, where he worked on developing information systems to support primary health care; Graham Moon, Professor of Health Services Research in the Institute for the Geography of Health at the University of Portsmouth; Richard Sarson, the former editor of IT and Public Policy, the journal of the Parliamentary IT Committee (PITCOM); and Dr Clive Pritchard of the Office of Health Economics.
The audience was drawn mainly from the field of public health, the majority representing PCTs. Ian Gibson said it was a great opportunity for politicians and those at the frontline to meet and exchange ideas.
“Working out the details of the health budget increases demands a lot of integrated working,” he said. “This conference brought people together to exchange experiences and best practice and was greatly welcomed by the delegates. pH7 is clearly a forum where the discussion can continue.”
