Clegg

NHS ‘unsafe and unsustainable’ says health service chief for London

Spread the love

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nhs-unsafe-and-unsustainable-says-health-service-chief-for-london-8877263.html

Problems revealed by the medical director for the NHS in the capital are a symptom of country-wide issues, he says

Image of Andy Mitchell, NHS Medical Director London

The medical director of the NHS for the capital has warned that services are at “breaking point” and that patients are unsafe.

Dr Andy Mitchell has said that London’s health system is “unsustainable” the day before NHS England will publish a report stating that it can no longer afford to staff all of its hospitals at safe levels.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Dr Mitchell stated that the public must face up to the reality that hospitals are overstretched and that patients receive an inadequate service.

“They don’t understand how watered down these services are. What we cannot do is carry on with the idea that all hospitals provide a whole range of services. That is completely unsustainable and would become, frankly, unsafe, and is becoming unsafe in many areas.

“The public isn’t really sufficiently aware, that many places don’t meet acceptable standards of care. The expectation is that, as they walk into hospital, they get high-quality service, and in fact, they don’t in many places,” he said.

…

27/11/13 Having received a takedown notice from the Independent newspaper for a different posting, I have reviewed this article which links to an article at the Independent’s website in order to attempt to ensure conformance with copyright laws.

I consider this posting to comply with copyright laws since
a. Only a small portion of the original article has been quoted satisfying the fair use criteria, and / or
b. This posting satisfies the requirements of a derivative work.

Please be assured that this blog is a non-commercial blog (weblog) which does not feature advertising and has not ever produced any income.

dizzy

Continue ReadingNHS ‘unsafe and unsustainable’ says health service chief for London

Postal workers push ahead with strike plans over pay and conditions

Spread the love

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/13/postal-workers-strike-ballot-pay-conditions

Postal workers union says staff concerns are about longer term issues not Friday’s 38% rise in the price of free shares

Image of post office van next to postbox

Royal Mail staff are pushing ahead with plans for strikes in the run up to Christmas as the battle over privatisation intensifies.

The Royal Mail’s 150,000 workers were handed £2,200 worth of free shares as part of the privatisation, handing them at least an £800 instant paper profit on the first day of trading.

Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said the 38% rise in value would not make “one scintilla of difference” to employees, who are expected to vote for strike action on Wednesday. Staff are prevented from selling their shares for three years.

The union is planning a nationwide strike as early as 23 October – before balloting for further strikes in the run up to Christmas.

“It is likely to be an all-out strike first, then rolling strikes in the run up to Christmas,” a union source told the Guardian.

The union, which represents more than 100,000 postal staff, had wanted to hold the strike – the first since 2009 – before the privatisation but the government started the sell-off sooner than expected. More than 95% of Royal Mail staff were opposed to the privatisation in a consultative ballot earlier this year.

…

[Royal Mail privateers get thousands of pissed-off posties.]

 

Continue ReadingPostal workers push ahead with strike plans over pay and conditions

Michael Gove adviser says genetics are more important than teaching

Spread the love

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/michael-gove-adviser-says-genetics-are-more-important-than-teaching-8876170.html

Dominic Cummings report claims as much as 70 per cent of a child’s performance is genetically derived

Image of Gove with advisor Cummings following[I had better explain: Choosing that genetics instead of teaching determines educational outcomes supports and perpetuates the idea that poor scum are inferior, inadequate and are to blame for their failure to succeed while rich people are intellectually superior and deserve their superior positions in society. He’s saying don’t bother educating the poor: it’s a waste of money. Educate the rich instead.

It’s extremely ridiculous – bordering on insane – but probably goes a long way to explain why Gove is so hated by teachers.]

The most influential adviser to Education Secretary Michael Gove has penned a report in which he states that a child’s genetics are more important than the teaching they receive.

Dominic Cummings’ 250 page private thesis comes weeks before he is to step down from his post after two years at the Department. In it he attacks a fear of elitism and says that billions of pounds have been wasted on pointless university courses and Sure Start schemes for young children.

Having previously advised Gove before the election, his appointment within the department was blocked by Andy Coulson because he was regarded as untrustworthy.

The report includes a claim that as much as 70 per cent of a child’s performance is genetically derived. He also criticises what he calls a “strong resistance” from politicians to accept “scientific evidence” that is “entirely ignor[ed]” when issues such as social mobility are considered.

What he sees as political pressure to fund scheme such as Labour’s Sure Start is also highlighted. He asserts there is “little scientific testing, refinement and changing budgets to reinforce demonstrated success. Therefore billions have been spent with no real gains.“

He suggests the money should have instead been used to “strengthen world-class humanities, maths and science departments”. However, he slams degree courses at what he calls “third-rate higher education institutions” where  “there is a large amount of ‘social science’ work in economics, anthropology, sociology, literary theory and so on of questionable value both from an intellectual perspective and from the perspective of students.”

…

 

27/11/13 Having received a takedown notice from the Independent newspaper for a different posting, I have reviewed this article which links to an article at the Independent’s website in order to attempt to ensure conformance with copyright laws.

I consider this posting to comply with copyright laws since
a. Only a small portion of the original article has been quoted satisfying the fair use criteria, and / or
b. This posting satisfies the requirements of a derivative work.

Please be assured that this blog is a non-commercial blog (weblog) which does not feature advertising and has not ever produced any income.

dizzy

Continue ReadingMichael Gove adviser says genetics are more important than teaching

One home in every street at risk of repossession, warns charity

Spread the love

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/one-home-in-every-street-at-risk-of-repossession-warns-charity-8876317.html

Shelter says unemployment and high cost of living are leaving household on a ‘ knife-edge’

Image of terraced houses

One home in every street in some parts of England is at risk of being repossessed, according to a housing and homelessness charity.

Shelter said that unemployment and the high cost of living are leaving many households on a “knife-edge”, and applications made to courts by lenders and landlords to repossess homes in England have increased.

Between July last year and June 2013, Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, saw the biggest increase in possession as claims rocketed by 80.3 per cent.

Newham in East London has the highest number of homes at risk of being repossessed: one in every 35. This translates into one house on every street in the area where a family may be at risk of becoming homeless, Shelter said.

…

27/11/13 Having received a takedown notice from the Independent newspaper for a different posting, I have reviewed this article which links to an article at the Independent’s website in order to attempt to ensure conformance with copyright laws.

I consider this posting to comply with copyright laws since
a. Only a small portion of the original article has been quoted satisfying the fair use criteria, and / or
b. This posting satisfies the requirements of a derivative work.

Please be assured that this blog is a non-commercial blog (weblog) which does not feature advertising and has not ever produced any income.

dizzy

Continue ReadingOne home in every street at risk of repossession, warns charity

Royal Mail refusenik calls share offer ‘a step backwards’

Spread the love

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/10/royal-mail-refusenik-share-offer

Postman Paul Firmage, one of only 368 employees to have turned down the £2,200 of free shares, says they are ‘little more than a bribe’

Paul Firmage, a postman who turned down Royal Mail shares as a matter of principleOf the 150,000 Royal Mail employees, just 368 have turned down the £2,200 of free shares offered to them as part of the privatisation of the 500-year-old company.

One of them, Paul Firmage, 59, described the free shares as “little more than bribe” and said he refused to take the shares as a “matter of principle”, even though they could be worth more than £2,600 by Friday if the stock rises by 20% or more as predicted.

“I know my refusal to take the shares won’t make much difference, but it is a matter of principle. I’ve always been opposed to privatisations. It’s a step backwards,” he told the Guardian. “Only those at the top – the snouts in the trough brigade, the corporate executives and the speculators – will win. We, the postmen and women on the ground, will lose.”

Firmage, 59, from Downham Market, Norfolk, admits that others think he is silly for not accepting the shares despite his principles. “Yeah, I could have taken the money and still been opposed to it, but principles are principles.

“Some people think it is amazing to turn down £2,000, but I’m looking at it from a long-term point of view – the service will rapidly deteriorate. When it’s private they can cut back on pay and conditions. Our conditions are quite good at the moment.”

He conceded that he might have thought differently about taking a principled stand if he had had a family to support. “I’ve got an older brother, but no other family,” he said. “If I had a family around me I might have a different view.

“[Royal Mail] has always been a public company and there are some things that should be beyond privatisation,” he said. “It’s a state service – it should remain a state service.

“Everything these days is geared towards money. We’ve seen the water companies, the energy companies, the railways, all go. You’ve only got to look at the stock exchange to see everything that used to be ours.”

Firmage, who has been a postman for 11 years, said many colleagues had said they were also going to turn down the shares in protest, but “[the company] hit us with a lot of propaganda”.

The rejected shares will be redistributed between the 150,000 staff who have accepted the shares, which they must hold on to for at least three years.

The 368 figure includes all eight of Royal Mail’s non-executive directors, who are not taking part in the free allocation.

 

Continue ReadingRoyal Mail refusenik calls share offer ‘a step backwards’