Many doctors now play a major role in managing health services, both in the UK and elsewhere. To help them acquire the skills they need, a number of masters courses are available. Medics at Imperial College Business School is a new student club formed to act as a networking portal for doctors enrolled onto the various MSc and MBA courses at the Business School and the MPH Programme in the Faculty of Medicine. It will provide a common ground for medics looking to diversify their career and take-up challenging roles both inside and outside of clinical medicine. The group plans to invite alumni and other guest speakers to the business school to share their experiences and also invite companies working in the healthcare sector for campus presentations and networking sessions. In the long term, it will become a connecting link between the business school and the medical profession by organizing talks to discuss issues that matter the most to healthcare. The group held a successful evening event on global health on July 24 2009. Watch-out for other dates and do join the group or email any suggestions you may have to suraj.bassi08 at imperial.ac.uk or ayodele.kazeem08 at imperial.ac.uk.
NHS budgets are under considerable pressure. It is therefore unsurprising that many NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) In England will aim to prioritise price in contract awards, But this approach is a significant threat to community-centred healthcare. While competitive tendering is a legally required, an excessive focus on costs in awarding NHS contracts risks overshadowing key factors such as established community trust, local expertise, and the long-term impact on continuity of care. This shift towards cheaper, often external, commercial providers threatens to cut the links between communities and their local health services. The argument that competitive tendering is solely about legal compliance, and not cost, is undermined by the very nature of such tendering, which by design encourages the lowest bid. This approach risks eroding the social fabric of local healthcare provision, where established relationships and understanding of specific community needs are essential. Establishe...
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