An investigation found the pair had no case to answer and that the trust had breached its own disciplinary policy
Two NHS professionals were investigated and barred from their workplace for expressing interest in organising a peaceful protest in support of Palestine during their lunch break.
The therapist and nurse were accused of posing a threat to the “personal safety” of the staff at Kensington and Chelsea child and adolescent mental health service, and of “bringing the trust into disrepute” for considering the demonstration.
The pair, who the Guardian is calling Layla and Maya, were told they were to be investigated and could not enter the building they worked at before being redeployed to new NHS workplaces in London.
A three-month investigation into the pair’s conduct found they had no case to answer and that the trust had breached its own disciplinary policy in its treatment of them.
The investigator noted that, though there was no intent from the pair to bully other staff members, two staff members did feel unsafe to come into work “as an indirect result” of their intent to organise the protest.
The two professionals filed an internal grievance against the Central and North West London NHS foundation, which upheld their claim of policy breaches in their treatment.
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWREGenocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Screen grab from PA video of Becky Platt, a British paediatric nurse who provided aid for children with shattered and amputated limbs from airstrikes in Gaza described what she encountered as “beyond anything I’ve ever seen before”, August 2, 2024.
A BRITISH nurse has described the plight of children in Gaza as “beyond anything I’ve ever seen before.”
Becky Platt, 50, treated youngsters with shattered and amputated limbs from Israeli bombing raids at a Gaza hospital in April.
She described the healthcare situation as broken and in dire need for medicine and other aid.
“When I first arrived, I remember seeing small children and toddlers picking through rubbish in the middle of the road, unaccompanied children, picking up things and eating [them],” she said.
“Multiple children had spinal injuries or pelvic injuries, which meant that they were unable to walk, and may always be unable to walk.
“These are children that have had their limbs blown off and what we’ve got to offer them is paracetamol and ibuprofen because all of the supply chains have broken down, and it’s really difficult to get hold of anything stronger than that.
“In addition to that, there are multiple children, thousands affected by all of the problems that are associated with living in poor hygiene conditions and overcrowded areas.”
The advanced clinical practitioner at a London paediatric A&E, who visited the hospital for charity Save the Children, told of how children couldn’t look at their amputated limbs and how one boy “who had his femur shattered when he was near where a bomb landed when he was playing with his friends — he lost his six best friends, and he dreams about those boys every single night.
“When he closes his eyes, they’re there — that kind of psychological distress is something that maybe they’ll never get over.
“They need significant help with that and they need it urgently. There’s an absolute dire need for aid at the moment.”
More than 20,000 children are estimated to be lost, disappeared, detained or buried under rubble, according to recent analysis from Save the Children.
Liz Bradshaw, senior conflict and humanitarian adviser at Save the Children UK, said: “Becky’s experiences in Gaza highlight the critical need for immediate action.
“We urge the international community to support our efforts and provide the necessary resources to help children enduring horrific violence from the ongoing Israeli bombardment.
“The world cannot keep standing by as these children suffer. An immediate and definitive ceasefire is the only way to save lives in Gaza and end grave and serious violations of their rights.”
“In addition to that, there are multiple children, thousands affected by all of the problems that are associated with living in poor hygiene conditions and overcrowded areas.”
‘The government needs to get real and address the situation.’
A nurse nails the government’s refusal to negotiate in NHS strikes. BBC Question Time
A nurse has been praised after taking apart the Tory government’s response to ongoing NHS strikes, as she defended the strikes over poor pay and conditions.
Junior doctors and consultants chose to take joint industrial action for the first time in history this week, with more walkouts planned across October.
While Tory MP and panellist Kevin Hollinrake MP sought to defend the government’s refusal to negotiate over pay, the nurse exposed just how awful the government’s position is.
Joining in on the debate on what should be done differently to resolve the doctors pay dispute, the audience member said: “I’m a nurse, I voted to strike in the last ballot, when I’m balloted again, I will vote to strike again, and I’ll do that continually until pay talks open and they’re realistic.
“We are striking for pay, we are striking because we feel undervalued but we are also striking for patient safety, so when we’re accused of putting patients at risk, I say, patients are at risk every single day of the week.
“We’ve got 7 million people on waiting lists, we’ve got 140,000 vacancies, people are dying on waiting lists, people are dying in the back of ambulances, and this cannot go on.
″The government needs to get real and address the situation.”
Firstly, I have to admit that this is not my idea but a friend’s. This idea is proposed seriously and I hope that it is taken up.
The NHS wastes millions on temp agencies. Let’s look at some figures: Let’s assume that some medical professional e.g. a nurse, is employed as a temp at £24 an hour. The temp agency will typically take a 40% cut of the fee they charge: £16 for each hour that medical professional works – the NHS gets charged £40 an hour. If s/he works a 8-hour shift the temp agency makes £128. If s/he works a 40-hour week, the temp agency makes £640. The temp agency is making ridiculous amounts of money for possibly as little as 10 minutes’ work – only one short phone call and running the payroll.
Here’s how to save that money. The NHS operates as a temp agency and does it for far more reasonable fees of 5% or less. They only need to cover their costs – they don’t need to make a profit for anyone. The medical professional still gets paid £24 an hour but the NHS gets charged only slightly more than that instead of £40.
6/8/15: This article needs more research. NHS operates a ‘framework’ whereby agency fees are limited or capped. Temporary staff are also employed ‘off-framework’ e.g. when staff are needed urgently.
