President Xi has announced he will be opening China’s borders to travel by Chinese citizens from Sunday 8th January, a fortnight before the start of the 15-day celebration of the Chinese New Year which sees hundreds of millions of Chinese go on holiday inside and outside China to visit family and friends. Whilst this is […]
Only 40 armed forces paramedics are qualified to work in the NHS
Embed from Getty Images There are only 40 paramedics in the armed forces who would be qualified to work in the NHS, figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed. The government has admitted in response to a parliamentary question that the armed forces have 107 paramedics, of which 40 are confirmed as meeting the […]
NHS Strikes – view from the back of an ambulance
It is the season of goodwill, the season of health services being stretched to the limit and this year, the season of strikes, including amongst some of our most dedicated health professionals. Nurses and ambulance crews. The government having applauded nurses, health and care professionals on their doorsteps during the pandemic is spoiling for fight […]
186 days – my misadventures with Long Covid
186 days. Not far off half a year. That’s how long it’s been since I first had Covid symptoms. We had tried very hard to avoid it for 26 months, but our son going to a Marina and Diamonds concert in Dublin at the end of May was always going to be a high risk […]
NHS workers will strike to protect patients not harm them
LDV editor Charley Hasted writes in a personal capacity on the reasons that dedicated NHS workers have voted to strike and the pressures that have led them to vote for industrial action. Tuesday brought the news that Unison Members in North East, North West, London, Yorkshire and South West Ambulance Service Trusts have voted for […]
Does your hospital have dedicated baby loss facilities?
Imagine you have just heard the news that every parent to be dreads – that you are losing your much wanted baby. Then, you have to give birth, or support your partner giving birth on the labour ward in your hospital. You can hear the sounds of newborn babies crying and the associated sounds of […]
19-20 November 2022 – the weekend’s press release
Barclay interview: Jumble of jargon can’t hide Conservative failures Responding to Health Secretary Steve Barclay’s interview on the Laura Kuenssberg show this morning, Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: This Conservative Government cannot continue to blame the coronavirus pandemic for years of neglect and mismanagement of our NHS. Patients are being failed as […]
9-10 November 2022 – the press releases…
Apologies, press release fans, as I got rather caught up in the drama of the US midterms yesterday. So, without further ado… Gavin Williamson anti-bullying video exposes ‘rank hypocrisy’ of Conservative Government Lib Dems: Strip Gavin Williamson of his knighthood if found guilty of bullying Sunak failing the next generation as he refuses to protect […]
Ed Davey calls for legal right to see GP within 7 days
Getting a doctor’s appointment is becoming more and more of a challenge. Whether it means explaining in detail to a non-qualified receptionist who triages requests, or having to grapple with an inflexible online booking system, or having to join a phone queue at 8am exactly, or even filling in an online form just to be […]
Why aren’t we talking about Nursing?
It’s difficult to imagine our healthcare system without Nurses, particularly after the past few years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We all stood on our doorsteps back in 2020 and clapped for the NHS staff on the frontline, putting health and care first, yet so quickly ‘the clap turned to a slap’ and consciousness of the […]