Cancer is traumatising. It is universal, leaving no family untouched. I saw this first-hand. Cancer took my first wife, Olympia, in 2001. To repeat what I wrote in my memoirs, that experience showed me that whatever may be said in criticism of the NHS, the capacity of the system to deliver high quality, sophisticated treatment […]
NHS
LibLink: Sal Brinton; The NHS can’t work without a sustainable social care system
As the NHS turned 70 this week, Sal Brinton looked back at the development of social care policy and outlined the Government’s failings: … since 2015, the new Conservative Government has dithered and delayed, repeatedly promising that they would sort out the social care funding problem. We still await the Green Paper promised in the […]
Help our MPs choose their Commons debate – last chance to have your say
Lib Dem MPs have a relatively rare opposition day debate this week. They are approaching it a bit differently by giving you a chance to decide the subject. What’s particularly brilliant is that you get to vote preferentially too. That’ll be useful for next year’s Ashdown Prize organisers to note. An email from Alistair Carmichael […]
Happy Anniversary!
Embed from Getty Images It’s hot, and our regular supply of posts from you, dear readers, seems to have melted away. But we can’t let today go by without acknowledging the 70th Anniversary of the NHS. Of course, we can’t do it justice in a short piece, but we can be proud that, for all […]
With more money coming to the NHS do we need to rethink how it’s spent?
While some of the major health think tanks such as The King’s Fund say the announced 3.4% increase in annual NHS spending is not enough – and I would agree with that – can we at least use the additional NHS funding more efficiently? I would say it might be worth looking at changing some […]
Gosport findings ‘shocking and devastating’
We have all be shocked by the revelations about the inappropriate treatment of elderly patients at Gosport War Memorial Hospital. Here is Norman Lamb talking about the way the NHS closed ranks when he was Health Minister, and how he called for the enquiry that has just been completed. We also have some quotes […]
Theresa May shamelessly takes up discredited Leave campaign slogan
Most of my memories of the Leave campaign involve the blatant lies it told. 77 million Turks, we were told, would pretty much be here the day after we voted Remain, according to their literature. And the biggest lie of all was emblazoned on the side of a bus. £350 million a week for the […]
We’re turning away skilled workers
6,000 skilled people were denied entry to the UK last year due to visa caps. The Campaign for Science and Engineering reported on a Freedom of Information request to the Home Office which showed that thousands of workers had been denied entry between December 2017 and March 2018. The Government have refused over 6,000 applications for […]
The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Annual Report
The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Annual Report was published recently by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership. In it are harrowing statistics of people with learning disabilities dying far too young. The report highlights the extraordinarily high incidences of preventable death. The Connor Sparrowhawk case has brought this to public attention recently: a young man with […]
New report out shows more paediatric consultants needed
As a mother of three, we have been to A & E more times than I would have liked and have had help from paediatricians and other consultants. The NHS is wonderful! But sorely understaffed. A report out today by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, “Facing the Future Audit 2017”, has recommended […]