So….what’s going to happen in 2012? I thought I’d try my hand at crystal-ball gazing. At least some of the following predictions may be no more informed than those of the next pub bore, so feel free to agree or disagree in the comments threads. Also feel free to add your own predictions. In December… [Read more…]
December 30, 2011 by politicalnurse
As we all begin to relax following the stressful build up to yet another Christmas – yes it comes around quicker every year, sometime in-between celebrations many of us might ponder a while on the meaning of the whole event. It would be a very brave if not fully certified miserable person who would refuse… [Read more…]
December 30, 2011 by ermintrude2
Yesterday Mike Farrar, the Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation made the news by claiming that 1 in 4 patients in hospital beds could be cared for and could recover at home. The difficulties of arranging appropriate discharges from hospitals is a matter that’s particularly close to my heart. Not least because I’ve been involved… [Read more…]
December 28, 2011 by ermintrude2
Reports trickled through yesterday that Lansley has slipped a sneaky potential amendment through in the pre-Christmas rush that allows NHS Foundation Trusts to increase potential provisions for private patients from a current average of 2% to a maximum 49%. This post on Though Cowards Flinch sharply points out the this is a total income rather than… [Read more…]
December 24, 2011 by Zarathustra
It’s Christmas Eve, so let’s have an off-topic giggle. Yesterday, the Daily Mail published an absolutely hilarious alternative history article, supposedly looking back from 2012 when Argentina have…yes, you’ve guessed it…re-invaded the Falklands. Along the way they manage to come across every right-wing bugbear and nightmare. Our Brave Boys and *shock* Prince Harry are defeated… [Read more…]
December 24, 2011 by Zarathustra
Since starting this blog three months ago, it’d probably be fair say that we’ve been gloomy souls at times. So, to cheer you all up, here’s a delightful Christmas anthem from Gruff Rhys, entitled Post-Apocalypse Christmas. The infrastructure lies in pieces, you got me through with hugs and kisses… What are you all listening… [Read more…]
December 22, 2011 by ermintrude2
Last night, I watched a programme on Channel 4 ‘Obsessive Compulsive Hoarder’. I wasn’t planning particularly to sit down and watch it but I was too curious in the end. While this isn’t a review of the programme, I wanted to write about my experiences of people who become ‘hoarders’. I was concerned the programme… [Read more…]
December 20, 2011 by Zarathustra
As regular readers will now, I’ve been using the title of this blog as an excuse to ponder the kind of social changes we’re going through, and what it will mean for the most vulnerable in society. I’ve been reading a fascinating article about a Greek island, and how it’s been affected by the economic… [Read more…]
December 19, 2011 by Zarathustra
Yesterday, in response to Sue Marsh’s shocking and heartless loss of Disability Living Allowance, I made the following prediction. My guess is that there’ll be a chin-stroking news report from the Guardian, and a deafening silence from the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, the Times, the Telegraph…Sorry, but to a wide section of the media… [Read more…]
December 18, 2011 by Zarathustra
[Guest Post by Mental Health Cop] The police service is key to the delivery of effective community based mental health care. There is an inevitability of police officers being called to incidents involving service-users, carers and professionals because some will occur unpredictably and because a few involve responding to significant risks. A fact of law:… [Read more…]
December 31, 2011 by Zarathustra
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