Have you ever fancied learning about acting? Or wanted to develop greater self-confidence? Or just simply wanted to meet new people? The good news is that an exciting new adult drama and self-improvement course from The Esoteric Drama Group can help you achieve all this – and more - in a relaxed, fun and non-competitive environment. Judy Viitanen and the PRimage team are firm believers that drama is a great way to build confidence and communication skills and raise self-esteem. That’s why we will be actively involved in the group!

For more information, please visit The Esoteric Drama Group website: http://esotericdramagroup.community.officelive.com/default.aspx

To enrol, contact: esoteric_drama_group@hotmail.co.uk or call on the free phone number: 08006128849.

Going through this morning’s healthcare news, PRimage is interested to see the findings of a new snapshot poll and report by the Family Doctor Association - which found that 17% of GPs were ‘very interested’ in a leading role in GP led commissioning.

A further 46% were ‘somewhat interested’ in a role in the GP commissioning changes proposed by health secretary Andrew Lansley.

The poll also revealed most GPs were keen to support local leaders to develop commissioning – 43% were ‘very interested’ and a further 43% ’somewhat interested’.

Judy Viitanen believes that the challenge now for ministers is to effectively harness this enthusiasm and willingness among GPs to help shape and deliver the reforms set out in the white paper – ‘Liberating the NHS’.

At PRimage Judy Viitanen tries hard to follow these useful steers to achieving the maximum out of her life – and to increase work time productivity. If you’re like Judy, with a lot to get through each day, why not try these lifestyle tips and see if they help you?

1. Make sufficient sleep a top priority. Schedule your bedtime, and start winding down at least 45 minutes earlier. Ninety-eight percent of all human beings need at least 7-8 hours a night to feel fully rested. Only a fraction of us get that much regularly, in part because we buy into the myth that sacrificing an hour or two of sleep a night give us an hour more of productivity. In reality, even small amounts of sleep deprivation can take a dramatic toll on our cognitive capacity, our ability to think creatively, our emotional resilience, the quality of our work, and even the speed at which we do it.
2. Create only one ‘to-do list’ that includes everything you want or need to do, on and off the job. Include everything, including any unresolved issues that merit further reflection. Writing everything down helps get it off your mind, leaving you free to fully focus on what’s most important at any given moment.
3. Ensure you do the most important thing first when you start work each morning, when you’re likely to have the highest energy and the fewest distractions. Decide the night before what activity most deserves your attention. Then focus on it single-mindedly for no more than 90 minutes. Productivity isn’t about how many tasks you complete or the number of hours you work. It’s about the enduring value you create.
4. Live like a sprinter, not a marathoner. When you work continuously, you’re actually progressively depleting your energy reservoir as the day wears on. By making regular renewal and refuelling  important, you’re regularly replenishing your reservoir, so you’re not only able to fully engage at intervals along the way, but also to maintain high energy much further into the day.
5. Monitor your mood. When demand begins to exceed your capacity, one of the most common signs is an increase in negative emotions. The more we move into ‘fight or flight’ the more reactive and impulsive we become, and the less reflective and responsive. The first question to ask your self is “Why am I feeling this way, and what can I do to make myself feel better?” It may be that you’re hungry, tired, overwhelmed, or feeling threatened in some way. Awareness is the first step. You can’t change what you don’t notice.
6. Schedule specific times for activities in your life that you deem important, but not urgent. With so much coming at you all the time, it’s easy to focus all day on whatever feels most pressing in the moment. What you sacrifice is the opportunity to take on work such as writing, strategizing, thinking creatively, or cultivating relationships, which may require more time and energy, but often yield greater long-term rewards.

Good luck!

]]> http://www.primage.org/?feed=rss2&p=2989 http://www.primage.org/?p=2976 http://www.primage.org/?p=2976#comments Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:59:55 +0000 judy http://www.primage.org/?p=2976

Judy Viitanen and the team believe whether we are communicating with clients/customers, colleagues, or family/friends, we can use positive language to project a helpful image rather than a destructive one.

The impact and importance of positive communication as summed up by Mahatma Gandhi can be translated as:

• “Keep my words positive. Words become my behaviours.
• “Keep my behaviours positive. Behaviours become my habits.
• “Keep my habits positive, because my habits become my values.
• “Keep my values positive, because my values become my destiny.
• “There is no dress rehearsal. This is one day in our life.”

We can help ourselves to develop positive language by:

• choosing words and actions that convey the impression we wish to give;
• actively listening to the words, tone and intonation we use when we speak and by editing carefully what we write;
• deleting anything negative and replacing it with something more positive;
• practising this process until the negative words and phrases are filtered out before they are expressed;
• when disagreeing with something or someone, giving clearly the reasons for our disagreement before stating that we disagree;
• offering alternatives or suggesting options and amendments to ideas that we genuinely believe inappropriate or unworkable;
• asking for support, and challenge, from our colleagues.

]]> http://www.primage.org/?feed=rss2&p=2976 http://www.primage.org/?p=2966 http://www.primage.org/?p=2966#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:45:40 +0000 judy http://www.primage.org/?p=2966

PRimage VIP Events Team

Our areas of expertise include:

• Black Tie Events, Celebrations & Parties
• Corporate Dinners
• Corporate Hospitality
• Road Shows
• Trade events & Exhibitions
• Awards Programmes
• Conferences
• Seminars, Congresses & Symposium
• Internal, external and Partner events
• Sponsorship Management
• Product launches
• Executive and Board meetings
• Press events

We provide an outsourced option – or can work as an extension to your own team.

Our services include:

• All pre-event negotiations and publicity
• Venue research and sourcing
• Bookings and liaison with venues and suppliers
• Full facilitation for your guests including invitations, attendance confirmations, dietary requirements, registration
• Speech writing, publicity and photography

Corporate Events

When you are planning a spectacular corporate event it’s vital that you choose the right company to help. Whatever the event, professional event organising makes it an unforgettable experience that has been carefully planned for every contingency and diligently controlled to delight the senses and be truly appreciated by all.

PRimage VIP Events aim to make your events exceed expectations

PRimage VIP Events aim to make your life easier and add value to your business

Venue Finding

Whatever your event requirement – personal, family or business - our experience and knowledge of the hotel and venue sector ensures the very best available package for you. We can find an imaginative, cost-effective and appropriate venue that will set the right atmosphere and ambiance for your event.

As Health Secretary Andrew Lansley publishes further details on the NHS White Paper today, Judy Viitanen and the PRimage team had their mid-morning coffee break tuning into Mr Lansley’s live online White Paper Q&A via the Number 10 web site.

With clients in the pharmacy and healthcare sector, PRimage has been keen to know what the NHS Health White Paper would mean for pharmacists. So Judy was delighted and encouraged to hear some really positive comments from the health secretary on the value and potential of community pharmacy.

Andrew Lansley commented:

“Pharmacies are an under-used asset in delivering better health”

“ GPs have too often seen themselves and pharmacists in competition for resources. With GP-led commissioning I believe we will see a greater recognition by local consortia that pharmacy is an integral part and an effective part of how they can deliver services better, for example minor ailments and medicines’ use reviews”

“Through local authorities we will also be delivering local health improvement strategies, they can and should be developing preventative work with pharmacists, like the health check or Chlamydia screening”

“Under the pharmacy contract we had simply not seen the development of those additional services that was intended, we need to ensure that the pharmacy contract delivers what all participants wanted which is fair and transparent funding for dispensing and an increasing opportunity for pharmacy to offer health services”

]]> http://www.primage.org/?feed=rss2&p=2917 http://www.primage.org/?p=2911 http://www.primage.org/?p=2911#comments Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:03:36 +0000 judy http://www.primage.org/?p=2911

Mooching over the Sunday papers, Judy Viitanen has just read a good piece of investigative journalism in today’s Mail on Sunday on the dramatic increase in generic drug prices in UK and pharma companies excessive profits.

Check out this link to read the 3-page article in full:   http://bit.ly/dk2CK6

As an example, the piece cites two years ago, when a packet of hydrocortisone tablets cost the NHS £5 – and now the cost is claimed to be £44.

You’d think with the buying power of the NHS we’d get the cheapest possible prices – but as the article reveals, we don’t. This situation is clearly unacceptable – and needs to be reviewed.

So, as a specialist healthcare lobbying and communications consultancy, PRimage is pleased to hear that the Department of Health is evidently launching a review to examine why the cost of some generic drugs has risen so dramatically. In our view, Labour poured millions of pounds of tax payer’s money into the NHS and various PCTs and Procurement Departments, but clearly failed miserably to check just how the money was being spent!

The NHS as a huge customer should be able to negotiate huge discounts on these cheap medicines! Maybe NHS should manufacture their own generic medicines - and use the money from savings from removal of the PCTs to fund it? What’s your view?

There is certainly no profit being made from pharmacies in this. All the pharmacy gets paid by the Government is the price that they’ve paid the wholesaler, - (or at least, the Governments idea of what should have been paid. - which is frequently less!) - plus a dispensing fee of around 90p. That’s their profit!

Judy Viitanen was interested to read that an HSJ survey shows that 61% of respondents think GP consortia will be “indistinguishable” from PCTs in 5 years! Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose?

More than 2,800 HSJ readers - PRimage included - have taken part in the survey, which drew responses from managers and clinicians across the NHS, including chief executives, chairs and GPs themselves. And three quarters say that they do not agree with plans to place the bulk of the NHS’s £80bn commissioning budget in the hands of GPs. Two thirds say GPs do not know enough about services outside primary care and over half say they do not trust local GPs to use commissioning budgets in the best interests of patients.

Worryingly, over half say they expect GPs to use commissioning budgets to increase their own profits! And perhaps predictably, over 55 per cent of primary care trust staff involved in commissioning fear they will lose their jobs as a result of the NHS white paper.

Have spent this morning assessing media reaction to NHS reforms. Very predictable!

The reforms have been broadly welcomed by right-leaning papers, who like the prospect of putting ‘doctors back in charge’, while left-leaning press raise concerns about a move towards a ‘pro-market NHS’ and public sector job cuts.

PRimage especially liked The Sun’s welcome of the removal of ‘thousands of NHS penpushers’ – and The Express’s description of the cost savings as coming from ‘taking the axe to bloated NHS management’ ……

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/LiberatingtheNHS/index.htm

Judy Viitanen believes Lansley and the Government need to factor in safeguards to ensure GPs are competent and appropriately incentivised to commission health services! A total focus on a medical model to revolutionise NHS services could risk diluting the great potential and benefits of other primary care services - community pharmacy, optical services, dentistry etc - and their valuable role in public health.

We were amused by Burnham’s quote that ‘PCTs are screwed’ in response to Lansley statement!

We are especially pleased that “Patients will be in charge of making decisions about their care.” … and their carers.

Implications

implications for all health organisations in the NHS and very significant changes for PCTs and SHAs: PCTs will go by April 2013! Many staff will be worried … Thank God we have an end to tick-box targets! GP commissioning to be compulsory and ‘management allowances’ to fund it.

• patients at the centre of the NHS
• empowering clinicians and GPs in particular
• refocusing the NHS on outcome measurement.
  

The key highlights of the document, entitled Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, are listed below:

· Put patients right at the heart of decisions made about their care

· Put clinicians in the driving seat on decisions about services

· Focus NHS on delivering health outcomes comparable with, or even better than, those of our international neighbours

· Introducing an Outcomes Framework to set out what the service should achieve leaving the professionals to develop how

· General Practices responsibility for commissioning NHS services

· Real, local democratic accountability to healthcare

· Reward commissioners for delivering care in line with quality

· The Outcomes Framework will be supported by clinically established quality standards

· Reform the payment system in the NHS

· Patients will be at the heart of the new NHS. Our guiding principle will be ‘no decision about me, without me’

· Extend ‘personal budgets’, giving patients with long-term conditions real choices about their care

· An independent and accountable NHS Commissioning Board will be established

· The Care Quality Commission will safeguard standards of safety and quality

· Detailed consultation documents will enable people to comment on the implementation of this strategy

· Ensure patients’ voices are heard, so we will establish ‘HealthWatch’

· All NHS trusts will become Foundation Trusts

· Reduce the Department of Health’s NHS functions

· Phase out the top-down management hierarchy

· Publish a report setting out the future of NHS-related quangos. Meaning a reduction of at least a 1/3

· Reduce the Department of Health’s NHS functions

· Patients will have choice over treatment options

· All GPs expected to join commissioning consortia by 2012, says the white paper

Strategy:

• The government will devolve power and responsibility for commissioning services to GPs and practice teams working in consortia.
• Every GP will be a member of a ’shadow’ consortium by 2011/12.
• Consortia will start taking on duties from 2012/13 and full financial responsibility from April 2013.
• Management allowances will be available to help fund commissioning.
• An independent and accountable NHS commissioning board will allocate and account for NHS resources.
• NHS commissioning board will calculate practice-level budgets and allocate these directly to consortia and will hold practices to account.
• GP consortia will include an accountable officer.
• Each consortium will hold its constituent practices to account.
• GP consortia will agree local priorities each year, taking account of the NHS Outcomes Framework.
• GPs will need to engage patients and the public in the commissioning process.
• Over time the DoH will seek to establish a single GP contract and funding model.
• PCTs and SHAs will be phased out.
• Patients will be able to choose which GP practice they register with regardless of where they live.
• The current performance regime will be replaced with separate frameworks for public health and social care.
• A new NHS Outcomes Framework will provide the direction for the NHS.
• The government will incentivise ways of improving access to primary care in disadvantaged areas.