Monday
Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has demanded an end to police cautions for serious assaults. He said that cautions should not be used for any offence greater than common assault. Mr Starmer, who is seeking a review of on-the-spot cautions, said that he advocated a scheme covering all out-of-court penalties that would specify which offences can be dealt with at what level.
Private sector treatment centres are profiting from NHS funding, a study suggests. Under the “payment by results” scheme, NHS hospitals and private treatment centres are paid the same for carrying out particular operations on NHS patients. However, the private treatment centres — used to relieve pressure on the NHS — are likely to have less complicated and less expensive cases because they tend to be based in more affluent areas, according to the study published in the Health Policy journal.
Tuesday
The total value of charity donations worth £1 million or more fell by 13 per cent from £1.618 billion in 2006-07 to £1.405 billion in 2007-08, according to a report from Coutts, the private bank. Wealthy philanthropists are increasingly giving their money to local community foundations, where they can see the effects of their donations, the report said.
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Wednesday
Ofsted withheld crucial evidence during its investigation into Sharon Shoesmith, the former head of children’s services at Haringey council, the High Court heard. Ms Shoesmith could be eligible for a six-figure compensation award.
An NHS governor said that she was “incandescent with rage” after County Durham Primary Care Trust agreed to give £1 million to the local council to grit the roads in an attempt to prevent accidents. Kath Toward said that the money should have been spent on improving service for patients.
Thursday
The Government is to announce that all new nurses will need to be educated to degree level from 2013. The move is designed to raise the status of nursing as a profession and improve quality of care. Some critics complained that nurses will be “too clever to care”. At present, 27 per cent of nurses have a degree.