Exclusive: No. 1 Tory Donor of all time makes £millions from the demise of the NHS

http://eoin-clarke.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/exclusive-no-1-tory-donor-of-all-time.html

Andrew Lansley :British Medical Association calls for Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to resign.

More to follow....

http://bbc.in/LSOWgk

#Tory #Genocide :

http://www.tayfm.co.uk/news/dundee-family-hit-out-after-dwp-letter/

#Cancer : #SkyNews Reporter Ellie Jeffery Has Lost Her Battle With Cancer Leaving Behind Her A Legacy That Will Live On - A Diary Of Her Own Battle With This Dreadful Disease.

http://themurdochempireanditsnestofvipers.blogspot.com.es/2012/05/skynews-reporter-ellie-jeffery-has-lost.html

http://writtenoff.net/

Ellies final blog entry...


For the moment I’m wrapped in a safety blanket of routine and because this chemo is a fairly easy one I’m able to go about my life pretty normally, something I am very grateful for. The Gemcitabine and Carboplatin are administered intravenously at the same time and for the next few days I’ll sleep like a sloth but the sickness is kept under control by the drugs and the next two weeks are mine. I’m supposed to have a second dose of just Gemcitabine a week after the first infusion but both times my platelets have been too low so it has been missed.
The red mark on my chest is changing but the lump in my breast seems to be the same size so I am at a loss as to whether this stuff is working. Women who’ve had the treatment have told me that it is very effective and maybe it’s too early for me to call but the huge fear that it’s not working tugs at my safety blanket daily.

The wedding is drawing closer, now less than eight weeks away! I always felt I would make this date, despite what my previous doctors told me, but I can’t escape the fear of ‘what ifs.’ The diagnosis of brain mets and the two stays in hospital early in the year really rammed home how fragile my situation is. There aren’t many options left when it comes to chemo and I need to be in good shape if a trial were to come up again.

Sometimes it doesn’t feel real; how could all of this have happened to me? How did I come to be in such an unlucky situation? I don’t feel bitterness towards others, for what they have, but I can’t help but look around in restaurants and on the Tube and see healthy people with their whole lives ahead of them. I can honestly say I wouldn’t want anyone else’s life but I do envy their health.

On our way back from a house viewing the other day I had to tell Tom that something had been nagging at me whilst we noseyed around other people’s homes. I was scared that we would find a new place, move in and then if I died he would be stuck in a three-bedroom house on his own. He reminded me, and I know he’s right, that we can’t live our lives like that. If we’d believed the stats we wouldn’t be having a wedding in two months time; if you let the cancer take over completely then you’re letting it win before you die.

I never contemplated death before my cancer diagnosis. I don’t think anyone truly expects to die. It’s a universal truth that we’ll all pop our clogs but it’s in the future so there’s no need to think about it and we’re all so busy living our lives there’s no time for it anyway. But when you’re told you have months not years, when lumps and bumps of cancer are popping up all over your body, when the extent of your ambitions is to get out of the flat to meet a friend for lunch, you can’t help but ponder what a world without you in it would be like.

I’m not sure anyone is ready to die, certainly not in their twenties. Even my 89-year-old neighbour who lives alone and has no family says, “I’m not ready to go yet!” I’m torn between hoping for what many medical professionals will tell you is the impossible and accepting that I might not see my 30th birthday......R.I.P. Ellie
http://writtenoff.net/

#Boston : #Alzheimer's Research Fraud Case Set For Trial.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Two Harvard teaching hospitals and a prominent Alzheimer's disease researcher accused of using falsified data to obtain a government research grant are set to stand trial after a federal appeals court said this week that a lower court erred when it dismissed the case.

The lawsuit accuses Marilyn Albert, a former professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where she was conducting research, of submitting a grant application based on manipulated data....read more
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-science-fraudbre8491n5-20120510,0,2693773.story

#Crohns And The NHS.

John Ingamells blogs about his battle with Crohns and his deep concern for the now compromised NHS. John explains....


A slight tangent today, this blog has been attempt to look at the implications of getting crohns, living a life with the illness, and the realities of living that life.

Today, it struck me that, though i have mentioned the dedication of the doctors, nurses and staff who have and are caring for me and my welfare, i have been remiss in identifying the role they play and the NHS in their care for people like me.

This is against a backdrop where the NHS as we know it is seriously being compromised. This will have significant implications for patients with chronic illness and their wellbeing.

Firstly, the NHS is not perfect, mistakes are made and on occasions some people do not get the care the NHS is noted for....read more http://jingles21.blogspot.com.es/2012/05/crohns-and-nhs.html?spref=tw

#Virgin Care Take Over The NHS.

by Dr Éoin Clarke (PhD)

Virgin Care's 5 main strategies for taking control of our NHS

1. Infiltration. Andrew Lansley has placed the NHS Future Forum in charge of redesigning the NHS Constitution. You may remember that Gordon Brown's government passed an NHS Constitution Act as a 60th birthday present to the NHS to guarantee its survival and ensure a basic right to a good standard of care for every citizen. Lansley wants to change the Constitution and he has contracted the NHS Future Forum to do it. It may concern you to know that Virgin Care's Commercial Director is on that forum & will now have a responsibility for re-designing our NHS Constitution (see here).... article in full at Dr.Clarke's blog.

http://eoin-clarke.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/virgin-cares-5-main-strategies-for.html

#Alzheimer :Peter Russell Tasered By Police - An Inhumane Story.

Ordeal: Diane and Pete Russell are pictured together at a pub in Epsworth, North Lincolnshire. Two months after the incident, Mr Russell is still receiving psychiatric treatment in hospital and his wife remains traumatised

http://smileyculturelies.blogspot.com.es/2012/05/humberside-police-alzheimer-outrage-as.html

Lying GP Renjith Nair : Baby sent home to die with paracetamol: GP 'failed to examine baby with heart condition then lied to inquest', GMC hears

 

A family doctor let a baby die from a heart condition 24 hours after he failed to examine him at his surgery and advised his parents to give him paracetomol, a medical tribunal heard today.
GP Renjith Nair, 36, was shown Calum Smith by his mother and told he had breathing problems and was cold and sweating yet he did not even get out of his chair to look at him, it was said.

Wanting answers: Lianne Sabin and Mark Smith outside the General Medical Council in Manchester

Instead he reassured Lianne Sabin, 24, and Calum’s father Mark Smith, 27, that their 18-day-old baby was fine.
He then checked the computer in his consultation room and prescribed him with paracetomol - even though hospital doctors had earlier issued advice to the parents saying the baby should not be administered the drug.
Calum returned home after his visit to Dr Nair but was taken later that day to hospital, where he died early the next day. A post-mortem found he died of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.
When an inquest was held into the youngster’s death, it was claimed Nair lied on oath and misled the coroner by falsely claiming he had examined the child.
Today Nair, from Preston, Lancashire, appeared at the General Medical Council facing misconduct charges over the death of the baby and his treatment of another patient.

Calum Smith died from an inflammation of the heart muscle

The Manchester hearing was told Calum was born on February 9 2009 but in his short life was re admitted to hospital on a number of occasions.
At the age of three days he developed a scab across his nose and at the age of six days he started making “grunting noises” when he was breathing.
He was admitted to Ward 8 of the Royal Preston Hospital but blood tests came back normal and there was no sign of infection.
He stayed in hospital for four days but his temperature fluctuated and was given antibiotics. A midwife came to visit and expressed concerns about the boy’s breathing but he was discharged from hospital and sent home.
On February 23, the health visitor visited Calum at home and was so concerned about the boy’s legs being “floppy” he was seen again by the hospital the next day. Yet the baby was then sent home with the reassurance of the doctor that he was perfectly well.
Two days later the midwife was still concerned about Calum’s breathing and rang the neo natal unit at hospital and left a message asking if they would take the youngster back.

 

More...

• GP drug blunders hit 40% of the elderly: Patients given unnecessary pills and wrong doses

During the evening at home, Calum developed a cold sweat and did not take feed for 15 hours so the following morning his parents took him to see Dr Nair at the Docklands Medical Centre in Ashton, Preston.
Lianne told the hearing: 'Mark held Calum in his arms, we went in and sat down and I spoke to Dr Nair, explained to him that he had been in the hospital the day before and that he had been in and out of hospital, that we had seen Dr Lee, and had been discharged.
'We were in because of his breathing and that since last night he had not been breathing properly and was cold but was sweating.
'I explained that we had been given a prescription for antibiotics. He had Calum’s records up on the computer so I can recall that he knew about it, but I did clearly state that had been in hospital regarding his breathing.
'He sat in his chair, he did not carry out an examination. He said Calum would have been cold and sweaty because of the antibiotics and he would not be feeding because of the thrush he had and told us to give him paracetemol. But the hospital had said not to give paracetemol at all.
'I said the symptoms had worsened overnight. My nanna had said that if babies stopped feeding there was something wrong. It ended with me asking for re-assurance that he would be alright because I explained about the feeding and he said he would be.
'He was not right, he did not look right but I wanted to believe a doctor. The consultation lasted ten minutes tops. Not once did he get out of his chair, Calum wasn’t touched he was still in the arms of Mark with his coat on.
'I asked him to re-assure me and he re-assured me that he would be fine. He sat at his desk, he did not move out of his chair at any time during the consultation. Calum was not touched during the consultation. Dr Nair never examined him.'
Calum’s condition worsened and he and was taken back to hospital where he died on February 27.
Lianne added: 'A a few weeks after Calum had died we were all very angry. Mark took it upon himself to question the doctor, I went with him. We wanted to question why he had not examined him and the doctor said ‘I did examine him’.
'I did not want Mark to go but he was very angry that he had not checked our son when he should have. We knew ourselves there should have been an examination.'
The panel heard that when they got to the surgery, Mark walked past the front desk and into Nair’s room.
Lianne said: 'Mark said ‘why did you not check him’ or something along those lines. I told Mark to calm down and the doctor said ‘I did examine him’ to which Mark said ‘I will see you in court’. We wanted to go about it the right way.'
An inquest in September 2009 recorded a narrative verdict but police were called in after Callum’s parents complained that the GP had lied by saying he had carried out an examination of the baby.
The couple were invited to a reconciliation meeting with the doctor and hospital trust officials the following December and they decided to tape it.
The recording is expected to be played at the GMC hearing
Lianne said: 'I just saw it as an opportunity to meet with the doctor face-to-face to get the truth.
'I didn’t realise it was just kept in that room. We decided to record the meeting ourselves because in the inquest the doctor had lied so we wanted to get it so that people knew what had happened to our son. We were sick of people thinking things which were not true.'
They put the tape recorder in Mark’s pocket and a transcript was prepared for the couple for the meeting.
Lianne added: 'We put all our concerns to him, the main ones like why did he not check Calum, why did he enter false information into the computer and why did he lie at the inquest.
'They then went into a separate room with Dr Nair. They returned and said that Dr Nair agreed with everything we’d said, however he couldn’t recall everything. I do not know what I understood that to mean.'
Counsel for the GMC Mr Russell Davies said: 'If the factual basis of the GMC case is proved on the balance of probability, the conduct of Dr Nair was very seriously below that expected of a medical practitioner.'
'Dr Nair did write to the coroner who conducted the inquest and stated that he examined baby Calum. The GMC case is that that was was a lie.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2138389/Sent-home-die-paracetamol-Family-doctor-failed-examine-boy-heart-condition-told-parents-paracetamol.html#ixzz1tu2EYsBs

A spreadsheet of the full details of the 2,304 private medical providers in England.

Please view this link.

The link above is a spreadsheet to every single private medical (H & SC) provider & premises in England. Primarily, it shows the 2,304 private medical hospitals and clinics that operate in England but it includes charities, hospices and the entire range of acute services.  From this spreadsheet it is possible to do many things. One can if they wish measure the number of private providers that are profit making. One could map the footprint of private provision to see if it is more pre-dominant in a particular region of England. It is also possible to review how many of these providers a) fund the Tory Party, or b) have been involved in a failure to deliver services in other parts of the country. When they come to decide the carve up of the NHS, one of the main criteria for handing over services to private companies is a measurement of their ability to mobilise services. And so, if one wished, they could map all of these private centres by location and build up a good picture of likely competition when a bidding process begins for a service in their area. Throughout the day I intend to explore the contents of the spreadsheet and will return from time to time with my findings. In the meantime, please feel free to download and reroduce your own copy of the spreadsheet I have put together...read more

http://eoin-clarke.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/spreadsheet-of-full-details-of-2304.html

#Suffolk #Serco :Will Serco provide better services than NHS in Suffolk?

As a private sector company gets set to take over £140m of community healthcare contracts, a local councillor explores what it will mean for patients in Suffolk

• 

Serco will run £140m of community healthcare contracts including specialist dentistry and district nurses in Suffolk. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

NHS Suffolk recently announced that it has chosen Serco to run £140m of community healthcare contracts in Suffolk. This includes community hospitals, district nurses, specialist dentistry and a range of other non-acute services.

Serco will be working with a variety of partners, among these South Essex Partnership University NHS foundation trust and Bedford Community Dentistry, a community interest company.

In my role as a local councillor, I understand that feelings here are mixed. Obviously, the die-hard NHS people are very sorry about this, and dis-spirited. Few wish to work for a private company and Serco has a lot of work to do to bring these people round. The unions, predictably, are up in arms, perhaps they will look back with regret at their negative stance towards the social enterprise option when this was on the table a couple of years ago.


And, of course, there are those of us, often at the sharp end of poor NHS community services who know that Serco probably won't be that much worse than what we got before. Last year, I spent, or rather wasted, quite a lot of time trying to get a service for my son from the NHS. In the end, the NHS spent far more than the cost of his service telling him he couldn't have one. At least not before the problem got four times more expensive to fix. Exasperated I gave up and spent a grand getting him sorted privately.


For this reason, part of me cheered to hear the NHS had, in this case, lost it right to provide.

But will Serco, really be any better? What has it got to bring to the party? For a start, it is promising to embrace new technologies to improve accessibility and support new working methods. This is designed to improve the 1980s working practices you see in most of the non-acute NHS sector. So a tick there.

They will also be promising to bring a greater level of efficiency and accountability to people delivering services.

This could be a good or bad thing, depending on how it is done. At the moment, most upward reporting doesn't really help matters and can make them worse. You just end up with processes upon processes. Indeed this is what, I suspect, got in the way of our son getting a service. They were so pre-occupied, one suspects, with resource-allocation issues. Clearly, this was where too much of the vital effort was going.


But, overall, my heart isn't lifted by Serco's coming. They represent an ethos that doesn't resonate with me – or I believe with most staff or NHS patients. You know that the system will be profit-maximising and it is likely that this will take priority. In any dispute over delivery between NHS Suffolk and Serco, I wouldn't bet on local David beating the global Goliath. In coming to Suffolk, Serco knows its risks are low.

Would matters have been better had Suffolk go down the social enterprise route, as it might have done a couple of years ago? Investment is now there for social enterprises to buy the new kit needed to improve delivery. I believe staff would have ultimately preferred this and invested freely into this, more readily buying into new working methods. A social enterprise would also be well-placed to involve resources beyond the state to improve health outcomes for patients, their families, communities and other agencies. And finally, of course, profits would be available to reinvest in healthcare in Suffolk.

Why my equivocation?

Well it's not because I don't think any of these arguments are not valid in and of themselves. I love social enterprise. In my professional life I help to create them. My hesitation is borne of the fact that not all new social enterprises in the healthcare sector have made these kinds of moves. Many have failed to invest quickly enough in new tech. They have not acted to improve their businesses fast enough to fend off competition. Culture remains mired in the old world of the NHS. Some are no better at engaging their communities than the NHS was.


Of course, there are some healthcare social enterprises that are doing brilliantly. I am privileged to work alongside many of them. But only the minority which are moving very quickly from NHS culture and practice are going to succeed. These organisations are investing in technology, growing their business and turning their trusted position in their communities to their advantage. Some are, sensibly, getting into social care to complement the health side of their work. Others are partnering with the local voluntary and community sector and local councils, setting up a range of provisions which both promote health and, crucially, entrench their commercial position within a local area.


This is what the CEOs and boards of all SE healthcare ventures need to be doing before it's too late and Serco sweeps into town.


Craig Dearden-Phillips lives in Suffolk, is managing director of Stepping Out Ltd and a county councillor in Suffolk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/healthcare-network/2012/apr/24/nhs-sufflolk-serco-patients

#Serco Takes Over NHS Shared Service.

http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/acute-care/7692/serco-takes-over-nhs-shared-service

#CQC :Former care homes inspector arrested over bribery allegations

Unnamed ex-inspector questioned over claims care home owners were offered positive inspection reports in return for cash

• 

A care home: the former inspector was arrested following allegations that care home owners were offered 'favourable inspection reports' in return for cash. Photograph: Paula Solloway/Alamy

 

City of London police have confirmed the arrest of a former Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector, on suspicion of bribery and money laundering, following allegations that care home owners were offered "favourable inspection reports" in return for cash.

The unnamed 42-year-old, arrested at home in Northamptonshire, is being questioned by police. Detective Inspector James Clancey, said: "We are working closely with CQC to thoroughly investigate these allegations. We are appealing to anyone who may have information linked to these allegations to come forward."

The force, which takes the lead in economic crime, said that anyone with information should contact the Care Quality Commission, which regulates the health and social care system, which had been alerted to this case because of a "whistleblower".

In a statement, the CQC said an "internal investigation revealed that the impartiality of regulatory judgments had been seriously compromised".


Confirming that an inspector had been dismissed for "gross misconduct", the director of governance and legal services at the CQC, Louise Guss, said: "Having investigated allegations made to us about this inspector [the CQC] terminated their employment with immediate effect and referred the matter to the police.



"CQC operates a zero tolerance policy in regard to fraudulent or dishonest behaviour … We take any credible allegations relating to this behaviour extremely seriously and, following a full investigation, will take the swiftest and most severe action possible against any member of staff found guilty."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/apr/26/care-homes-inspector-arrested-bribery

Health Workers Strike : 475,000 to strike May 10th.

Who will be out

by Sadie Robinson

Up to half a million workers will strike over pensions on 10 May.

The action will bring together members of the Unite, PCS, UCU, Nipsa and RMT unions. It will hit hospitals, colleges, job centres, transport and other key public services.
And it will show that the mood to fight the Tory attacks has not gone away.

The strike will see 100,000 Unite workers in the health service walk out.

Frank Wood is on Unite’s national executive committee and is a bio-medical scientist at King’s Hospital in London.

He told Socialist Worker, “It is absolutely critical that we don’t retreat on pensions. This attack is part of a coordinated attack by the government—we need a coordinated response.

“People are looking to the unions to give a lead. We must get organised now.”

Laura Miles, a member of the UCU’s national executive committee, said, “This is a fight against the government, not individual employers.

“That means we need to work with other unions to build serious action. Everyone knows that one-day strikes won’t be enough to win.

Sustained

“In the UCU lecturers are fighting for more action after 10 May—including rolling strikes. We need to rebuild a sustained, national campaign.”

The Tories have already forced attacks on millions of public sector workers.

They have increased monthly pension contributions and switched the inflation measure that pensions are linked to—slashing their value.

They also want to force people to work longer before they can receive their full pension.

Frank said, “This week NHS staff will be getting their pay slips with an average £30 less as a result of the attack.

“This is quite a blow on top of a three-year pay freeze, attempts to introduce regional pay and harsh cuts.”

A magnificent coordinated strike on 30 November last year saw around 2.6 million workers take action together.

But since then many union leaders have either refused to call more action or have dithered over the next steps.

The NUT and UCU unions called a strike in London on 28 March. Other workers are glad to be joining this new strike.

Laura Jowell is a PCS rep in Bradford, west Yorkshire. She told Socialist Worker, “People are relieved that we’re coming out again on 10 May.

“There’s a sense that we’re building towards something bigger in June. This strike can kickstart the dispute again.”
Rage

Aileen Scott-McFarlane is a Unite rep and lab technician in London.

She said that in her workplace “the feeling of rage is now at boiling point”.

“It’s as though the feeling to fight is stronger than before. Now we are getting organised to make sure the strike is solid.”
The Tories’ policies will pave the way for more harsh attacks on ordinary people’s living standards.

The government plans to raise the state retirement age for men and women to 66 by 2020.

One study found that four in 10 firms expect that by 2020 workers will retire at 67 or later. And one in six companies expects the typical retirement age to be between 68 and 70.

“My quality of life is being threatened,” said Aileen. “And this isn’t a one-off—if they get this through, they’ll come back for more.”

---

The following should be read alongside this article:

Attack: working longer for less

Other sections are fighting to join the action too

Brendan Barber won’t be missed

© Socialist Worker (unless otherwise stated). You may republish if you include an active link to the original.

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=28293

#Warrington Hospital :Eileen Hansbury - Family’s fury as hospital releases dementia patient, 89, at 2am and claims it was ‘in her BEST INTERESTS’

A hospital released an 89-year-old dementia patient at 2am after claiming it was 'in her best interests'.
Health chiefs at Warrington Hospital, Cheshire, defended the move which saw Eileen Hansbury sent home, although they said they aimed to minimise out-of-hours discharges.
Mrs Hansbury, a grandmother-of-three, had been admitted after a fall at her care home.

Admitted: Eileen Hansbury, a grandmother-of-three, had been admitted to hospital after a fall at her care home. She served with NAAFI, working in the canteen to support troops during the Second World War

Her daughter Marjorie Hamblin had thought her mother would be staying in overnight, and was stunned to learn that she was sent back to the home by ambulance at 2am.
Mrs Hamblin, who now lives in London, said she wants to see action to stop it from happening to anyone else: 'I was furious. Older people should be kept in overnight to be sure.

 

'I complained to the hospital immediately and after six months I had a letter saying my mum was discharged because they thought it was in her best interests.

'They just wanted to get her out of the bed so someone else could have it.
'It's so wrong and I badly want to see something done about it.'

Care: Warrington Hospital in Cheshire defended its decision, although it said it aimed to minimise out-of-hours discharges

Mrs Hansbury, a war-time NAAFI canteen worker who died earlier this month, was taken to hospital in November last year after a fall in Green Park Care home, Penketh.
Staff did not know if she had hurt her head as she had dementia, but suspected she had broken her nose and took her to hospital to be checked over.
A Warrington Hospital spokesman said patients can be released at any time from the clinical decisions unit once it has been decided no further treatment or hospital admission is required.
He added: 'On review by the doctor, a decision was made that no further treatment was required and Mrs Hansbury could safely return to the nursing home and be more comfortable in familiar surroundings.
'The nursing home was notified and an ambulance was arranged to take her as soon as possible.
'We do everything possible to minimise discharges out of normal hours and in A&E try to assess patients as quickly as possible so they can return home if no further treatment is required.'
Warrington Hospital came under fire last week after figures revealed it was among the highest in the country for discharging patients in the middle of the night.
Five per cent of patients, which equated to 3,621 people, were discharged from the hospital between 11pm and 6am last year but hospital chiefs said the figures included women on the maternity unit who often opt to go home after giving birth.
Staff at Rosevilla Residential Home in nearby Collins Green said being discharged after midnight had caused distress to one of their residents recently and led to a complaint from the family to the hospital.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2135536/Family-s-fury-hospital-releases-dementia-patient-89-2am-claims-BEST-INTERESTS.html#ixzz1tANZnnKF

#SERCO : The Company That Is About To Dominate Your Life.

Serco Group plc is a business services company based in Hook, North Hampshire in the United Kingdom. Serco was founded in 1929 as a United Kingdom division of the Radio Corporation of America and initially provided services to the cinema industry. It changed its name to Serco in 1987 and has been a London Stock Exchange listed company since 1988.

#NWO #SERCO #ARCP : Sleep deprivation and pain medication – how Dotcom was tortured in prison

Posted: March 3, 2012 in Prisoners stories

Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom recently spent a month in the Auckland Central Remand prison (ACRP) after the US government persuaded New Zealand police that his file sharing company, Megaupload, was infringing US copyright laws.   ACRP is run by Serco, an international conglomerate which runs prisons in a number of countries including New Zealand.  In Britain, Serco prisons have been criticised for institutional meanness and forcing prisoners to sleep in toilets.  In 2011, the company was criticised over the suicide of a 14 year old boy who was mistreated by staff in one of its British prisons.   Serco also runs the overcrowded Australian Federal Detention Centre for asylum seekers at Christmas Island. In November 2010, 230 asylum seekers in the island prison began a hunger strike; 20 prisoners sewed their lips together and one Iraqi Kurd, a man in his 30s attempted to commit suicide. In 2011, the New Zealand Government allowed Serco to take over the management of ACRP which is primarily used to hold prisoners on remand.

14,000 New Zealanders are sent to prison on remand every year. Mr Dotcom was also on remand, denies he has done anything illegal, and appears to have a good case. But according to the NZ Herald, he was treated like a convicted criminal.  He reports that on the first night he wasn’t allowed blankets or toilet paper and was woken up every two hours.  The mattresses used by prisoners are really thin (about two inches) and the beds are solid concrete.  Most prisoners find them uncomfortable – let alone someone as big as Dotcom.   In other words he was subject to sleep deprivation – which he said felt like torture.... read more

http://brookingblog.com/2012/03/03/sleep-deprivation-and-pain-medication-the-torture-of-kim-dotcom/

#SERCO : Government unveiled £70bn worth of public sector contracts.

Outsourcing firms including Serco, Capita and BAE have been invited to the Cabinet Office for a briefing in which the government unveiled £70bn worth of public sector contracts.

The idea of the briefing was to highlight any ‘skills’ gaps as early as possible, but the extensive list of opportunities highlights the government's long term plans to rely on the private sector for the delivery of public services.

The future outsourcing opportunities cover 13 sectors, including NHS Drugs & Equipment, Facilities Management and Welfare to Work schemes. The announcement does however exclude local authority and regional contracts, such as the £1.5bn deal to run police services. ...read more

http://sercofilm.co.uk/index.php/news/12-serco-film/news/43-government-outsourcing

#SERCO #Plymouth Hospital Dispute.

Monday 23rd April 2012
 

SERCO CUTS OFF FORMAL DIALOGUE WITH GMB AT PLYMOUTH HOSPITAL IN A DISPUTE ABOUT CUTS TO STAFF HOURS AND CHANGES TO ROSTERS

If the matter is not resolved it will lead to a formal dispute between GMB and Serco on the Plymouth hospital site

A dispute is brewing between private contractor Serco and GMB union at Plymouth hospital after the company responded to a GMB campaign to stop cuts in terms and conditions of employment at GMB members working at Derriford site by refusing to talk to the union. This is completely unacceptable and if it is not resolved with lead to a dispute.

Serco has taken this action because over the last nine months GMB has opposed a number of large scale workforce changes on the Derriford site in Plymouth hospital by the. These changes, some of which have been implemented without consultation with GMB, are detrimental to GMB members and the workforce. GMB has been opposing changes to mean some staff face drastic pay cuts and have become the lowest paid workers in the City.

In September 2009 Serco took over the running the 10 year contract at Derriford hospital to provide helpdesk, ward housekeeping, patient and staff catering, portering and cleaning and is valued at £140 million over 10 years.

Kevin Mason, GMB Organiser said, “Since Serco cut off formal dialogue with GMB at the beginning of April this year. I have made several attempts to re-establish dialogue, discuss our members concerns and resolve the issues. Unfortunately, to date, the company have not responded to our approaches.

Serco say they intend to replace the formal negotiating committee with a staff forum. This is a clear indication that Serco is trying to limit GMB’s input into future negotiations to frustrate the safeguarding GMB members interests on the Derriford site.

GMB is doing its best to working with Serco to get these matters resolved, however, Serco’s current position means that union members on the Derriford site are being denied representation at work, and this is not an acceptable position going forward. If the matter is not resolved it will lead to a formal dispute between GMB and Serco on the Plymouth hospital site.”

Ends

Contact: Kevin Mason, GMB Organiser on  07852 182347 or 01752 604478 or Stuary Fegan, GMB Senior Organiser on 07912 890434 or GMB Press Office: Steve Pryle on 07921 289880 or Rose Conroy on 07974 258123.

http://www.gmb.org.uk/newsroom/latest_news/plymouth_hospital_dispute.aspx#

#Spain: Ex - Pats #NHS Crackdown - Health Minister announces crackdown on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service

Fri, 20 Apr 2012

The cabinet on Friday decided to crack down on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service as part of an additional 7 billion € of cuts. They intend to toughen the conditions for inclusion on the Padrón census. Minister for Health, Ana Mato, said ‘We are going to end the abuses committed by some foreigners’. She is going to change the Ley de Extranjería which intends to put a limit to the so-called ‘health tourism’, which has seen family members of foreign residents to come to Spain ‘exclusively’ to receive health attention. Ana Mato insisted that from now it will not be so easy to come to Spain, sign the Padrón census, and obtain a health card, as it has been. ‘Just getting on the Padrón they all had the right to the health card’, said the Minister. ‘Now there will be a series of additional requirements when the Padrón is issued’. She said to guarantee the universality of the Health Service ‘for all the Spaniards’ it was necessary to stop the illegal and undue use which some foreigners have been making of this service. On Thursday the Minister met with the regions and they agreed on a new article which will ‘explicitly prohibit a person moving regions in search of health attention'. The Minister considers these measures will do away with health tourism and save 1 billion €. Ana Mato also said that she was going to revise some international conventions on the matter, given that ‘many’ countries do not repay the money they owe Spain for the health attention given here to their citizens. Among the other measures approved, the end of paying for some medicaments ‘with little therapeutic value’. A list of included medicines accepted nationally is to be prepared. The Minister said ‘We all have to collaborate with those who having a worse time’.

Branson Scavaging Off Our NHS -VIRGIN London Oxford St. shop occupied in protest.

Published on 21 Apr 2012 by PrivatiseThis

Vote here to help boycott Virgin: http://tinyurl.com/7qxpe6c

Part of the weekend of protest against Virgin, nationwide on 21 April 2012, for Branson's poisonous role in profiting from dismantling the NHS that the government is privatising on the sly.http://eoin-clarke.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/virgin-care-have-hundreds-of-sleepe...

LIBCON March 17th : Machine Guns Poised During Medics Demonstration Along With A Complete Media Blackout!

http://govermentterrorism.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/syria-england-nhs-armed-police-and.html

Branson Virgin Media Blackout On Appeal Against the NHS!

Branson's Virgin lost its appeal against the NHS 1 month ago and no one reported it

Richard Branson has bought into a partnership (Assura Medical) with 350 medical centres throughout the UK, totalling thousands of GPs for an I O U note of just £4m. Not a bad deal eh? From the 1 March 2012, Assura formally changed its name to Virgin Care... Those 350 medical centres are clustered in 25 key areas and these powerbases give us a sense of where Branson feels Virgin Care's bidding power lies....read more 

http://eoin-clarke.blogspot.com.es/2012/04/is-this-reason-virgin-care-richard.html

#Belarus #Syria #NHS : Maybe Cameron Should Think Instead Of Bombing Syria Why Not Extradite The Poverty Stricken Brits There Instead - They Have A Fantastic NHS System.

http://www.sana.sy/eng/36/2012/03/24/407895.htm

#NHS: Say NO To Lower Pay Regions - Please Sign The Petition. Thank-you.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31547  #NHS

#Spain #Madrid : All NHS Medics In Madrid Have Wages Reduced By 1/3

More to follow...

Lansley to cut the pay of Doctors & Nurses serving poor patients.

The real reason Lansley wants to cut the pay of Doctors & Nurses serving poor patients.

Andrew Lansley is busy formulating plans to cut the pay of NHS doctors and nurses in poorer parts of the UK (here). He wants to pay particularly nurses who save the lives of poor patients much less than nurses who save the lives of wealthy patients.  His stated rationale is that the cost of living in places like Yorkshire & Manchester is much lower than Sussex, Surrey or Milton Keynes. But today I can reveal the real motivation behind Lansley's thinking...read more

http://eoin-clarke.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/real-reason-lansley-wants-to-cut-pay-of.html

LibCon Vote Them Out :350,000 children 'will lose free school meals in welfare reform' – charity

Children's Society says coalition's universal credit, as currently envisaged, seems a step backward

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Free school lunches are the main meal of the day for many children, says the Children's Society. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

More than 350,000 children will lose their free school meals under the government's radical plans to reform welfare entitlement next year, an analysis by the Children's Society has warned.

In a report entitled Fair and Square, the charity says the proposed universal credit system, which comes into force in October 2013, will stop paying for certain benefits if a household earns more than £7,500.

At present the welfare system compensates poor families with cash from the tax credit system.

The result is that 120,000 poorer families are likely lose free school meals, worth £367 a year, unless they dropped their earnings below the threshold of £7,500. This would mean parents having to cut the numbers of hours worked or take a pay cut to keep their benefits.

The charity says that although the universal credit, which is a single payment designed to replace a plethora of benefits, was supposed to simplify the current system it will end up replicating some of worst aspects of the old one.

"Because of how universal credit entitlement is structured – with high withdrawal rates of benefits when earning more or working longer hours – many of the families affected will have to earn far more before they recover the loss of free school meals."

Parents would have to garner "unrealistic" pay rises before the loss of benefits could be recouped.

As an example, it says that a lone parent with three children earning just below £7,500 a year would need to get a pay rise of 60% or £4,500 to compensate for the loss of free school meals under the new benefit.

The report argues that the system does need reform as it estimates more than half of all schoolchildren living in poverty – 1.2 million – are missing out on free school meals. Another 700,000 are not entitled to free school meals at all.

However, it adds that universal credit, as currently envisaged, seems a step backward.

Free school meals provide vital financial support for low-income families, argues the charity. For almost a third of children, school lunch is their main meal of the day.

Elaine Hindal of the Children's Society said: "If the government introduces a free school meals earnings threshold into the universal credit, then as many as 120,000 families could end up in the perverse situation where they are better off taking a pay cut, or working fewer hours. This could mean 350,000 children suffering as a result.

"It is exactly this kind of problem that universal credit set out to solve. The government can and must address this by extending free school meals to all families in receipt of universal credit."

At the heart of the debate is a split in the coalition.

Some ministers think universal credit would create a very complicated system that is very difficult to administer. To ensure that half of children in poverty get free school meals would cost an extra £1bn – galling at a time of fiscal restraint.

Stephen Twigg, Labour's shadow education secretary, said "the government has shown a scant disregard for the welfare of some of the poorest children in England" and he would be considering how to tackle the issue as part of the party's "policy review".
The Department for Education said it would be consulting on the issue "later this year".

Children's minister Sarah Teather said: "We remain totally committed to continuing to provide free school meals to children from the poorest families.

"We are reforming welfare to get more people into jobs as that is the surest way of cutting poverty.

"The reforms mean we will have to think hard about the best way to decide who is eligible for FSM so they continue to be targeted at those who need them the most. No plans have yet been set and we will be consulting later this year about the best way forward."

Source : Guardian