Thursday 30 May 2013

We change or face mayhem

Dr Chris Jones' warning on staff shortages

Unsurprisingly, this represntative of the Cwm Taf Health Board is singing from the same song sheet as the other Health Boards, NHS Wales and our out-of-touch government.

Predictably, staff shortages are to blame, which ( obviously ) means that some services ( Neo-natal, Paediatric, and A & E ) have to be taken out of most hospitals and relocated to more centralised, inaccessible, over-crowded, larger hospitals, where parking is nigh-on impossible. Everyone sees UHW as overcrowded but Llandough will become more congested with a Mental Hospital ( including new concourse and shops ) in a hospital that has long walks that'll save you excercising on the Taff Trail.

The other service to get a good kicking is the Ambulance trust who are blamed daily for failing to meet target times. The factis that existing A&E units are so congested that ambulance are stuck there in queues waiting to unload patients requiring emergency care.  And the reason ?  Not enough beds, after 800+ have been cut over the past ten years during the cost-cutting implemented by successive, incompetent managers within Health Authorities and Local Health Boards - all at the instigation of our inept government with it's role-playing Ministers.

Yes, I'm whining again, but everything I have criticised in every post is true, and uncontested.  Like me, your probably thinking "Why don't they advertise for more staff at competitive salaries ?"  In my opinion, taking on an adequate number of doctors and nurses will go completely against the cost-cutting that is the sole motivator for every proposed ( and implemented ) change over the past decade.

So, we end up with inadequate, inaccessible, under-staffed health units that will only benefit the politicians ( who all have private care cover anyway ).   R.  W.

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Hospital shake-up will cause distress to most patients

Yet another fait Accompli from the Universally Inept Health Board, and others.

Deja Vu this ain't !  It's serial Confidence Tricks on all patients and the apathetic public.
It's the NHS Wales silly season when our government chooses to insult our collective intelligence by pretending to consult us about changes that have already been agreed.  Legislation and quasi legislation will be ignored as the befuddled Community Health Councils present their well-rehearsed farce called Public Consultation, that is supposed to be over a period of 12 weeks.  Now, lasting only eight weeks - if you ever get to hear about them, that is - these public meetings will be held in hard-to-reach venues at incredibly inconvenient times.  Sadly, this year's circus-come-pantomime will be without the usual Master of Deceipt, Paul Hollard, who is hopefully leaving the health board forever.

Although we'll miss the infamous "Now you see it, Now you don't" slight-of-hand, you may be sure that Steve Allen and his bit-players will do their utmost to ensure that anything you have to say about the 'proposed' changes, will be completely ignored by the dumb-as-horse-shit council members and, ultimately, the health boards and their dictatorial Minister.

Fear not campers, most of the dirty work has been completed, by Dr Graham Shortland at a series of inconvenient meetings, attended by few patients, members of the public - and, of course me.  His main precept were that Neo-natal services would be better handled if centralised in Cardiff or somewhere in England.  In addition Paediatric services can't attract any doctors so they will suffer similar centralisation and rationalisation.  Then old 'short-hand' Shortland made us aware of the urgent need to reduce the number of A&E units in order to improve services for the benefit of cost-cutting and increased death rates.  Like the true master he is, Dr Shortland assured his audiences that all these changes were as a result of intense discussions between 300 Consultants ( who all managed to spare the time in order to meet each other for the first time - yeah right ).

So - grab your pencils and paper and rush to the nearest public meeting ! ( if you can find out where it is being held, of course ).  Your partner in ill health - R. W.

"I'm a graduate, I don't do sick" - Nurse to patient

Ann Clwydd vows to highlight complaints about care

The MP has recieved more than 2500 letters and e-mails of  complaints from patients and families, detailling 'appalling' levels of care at University Wales hospital. Patients left in sick or excrement; some with their food left out of reach; some treated like a spare tyre, and many other cases of rough tretment or neglect.  One was told that her buzzer was left out of reach "In case she strangled herself", another couldn't get her fingernails trimmed because the nurse claimed that it would "constitute an assault".  Still more reported sexual assaults,some by same-sex nurses in the shower.

Whatever all the complaints were, we want to know what Ann Clwydd is going to do about them - apart from just pass them on to our useless-as-udders-on-a-bull First Minister.  I hasten to add that the vast majority of nurses that have treated me have been very attentive, kind and caring - even the graduates !  R.W.

Thursday 23 May 2013

An opening for a new auditor?

We all know by now, how controversial the Rookwood move is. Mainly due to the protected nature of the Rookwood buildings and their surrounding trees and land, but also due to the fact the land is 'owned' by Charity, thus needs to adhere to certain Charity Commission rules in order to be altered, or in this case, demolished and built on top of.

Thus it was of great interest to note that, the Business Case for the movement of Neuro Services from Rookwood and the sale thereof, had been submitted to WAG (Welsh Assembly Government) according to a Board Meeting of the Cardiff and Vale Health Charity (the trustees, and also conveniently Cardiff & Vale Board Members). This document was dated March 12th 2013 and can be viewed here: http://www.cardiffandvaleuhb.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/documents/864/Unconfirmed%20CFC%20Minutes%2012%20March.pdf

Upon requesting a copy of the document via FOI Act, I was informed that the document had not, in fact, been submitted to WAG, nor even been approved by the Health Board..... eh?

I then, naturally, pointed out the board notes, to be helpfully informed the notes were in fact INCORRECT. Haha. This is where it gets quite interesting.

So.

I request a document, which, a Board meeting, dated March 12th 2013, says has been submitted to WAG by the Interim Finance Director.

The Health Board meet on March 28th 2013 and confirm the above, attending this meeting is, yup you guessed it, the very same Interim Finance Director.

There was another Board meeting scheduled for May 7th 2013 (as yet, unconfirmed as to whether it went ahead) assuming it did, that would mean they CONFIRMED the minutes from both the above.

Meaning....

This 'mistake' was confirmed as true THREE times.

Can anyone smell bull***t???

Magpie x (Just for a change!)

Wednesday 15 May 2013

We Wouldn't Want NHS TO TREAT US !

Hospital workers' damning indictment of their own standards

Also, A&E units require £400m

In a recent Welsh Government survey, only half of the staff said that they would endorse the care provided by their workplace. I'll bet most of these were terrified at the prospect of being found out and sacked ( their are so many rat-fink snitches trying to garner favour with their bosses, their lips must be chapped from all that ass-kissing ).  However, this has got to be the worst advertisement for our NHS, since the responses to the 'consultations' held by the health boards in Wales.

The first Minister leapt into action saying that he was going to get to the bottom of the matter immediately and demand action ( his Proctologist wasn't so otimistic in getting to the fundamental orifice from which all stupid changes to the NHS were proposed ).  Seething with doubts about his own credibility, Carwyn immediately stated that, "there would be no change to the planned cut-backs to A&E units as remaining the same was NOT an option. [ Over the past ten years of hearing this 'not an option' statement used ( coincidentally ? ) by every Health Board and Community Health Council, I'm amazed that none of these mentally-challenged berks realised that - OF COURSE, remaining the same IS AN OPTION, always.  Alternatively, listening to objectors and finding a mutually agreeable solution might be considered for the first time in our Welsh Government's history . R.W ]

Alright, so we don't live in a democracy, but you'd think that at least one A.M. would have an I.Q. in double figures !

In addition, the Head of Emergency services says that they must have another £400m in order to provide a satisfactory service, as outlined by the government's -stark-raving-looney bureaucrats.
At least, these are the only people in Wales who believe these changes will result in a service 'Fit for Purpose' ( whatever the hell that means. )  The rest of us will continue to suffer from the inadequacies of our depleted NHS 'service', just the same as the poor staff who are expected to maintain any kind of service under impossible conditions.   R. W.

Monday 13 May 2013

Met criticised for their handling of the mentally ill

Metropolitain Police ?  - why are they having anything to do with the mentally - that's the job of the NHS and Social Services

The 'I' reports that a Commission, Chaired by Lord Adbowale is highly critical of the multiple mistakes made by police in dealing with people with mental illness. Their conclusion was that this poor handling could have contributed to dozens of deaths.
The report comes after an examination of 50 deaths of patients who came into contact with Metropolitan police over a five year period.  Instances of discriminatory attitudes, and unsuitable force being used on one prisoner during a particularly long restraint.

Oddly enough I don,t seek to add to the criticism of their handling of the mentally ill because it is not part of their primary function, therefore they should not be used as a backstop in order to cover up the failings and inadequacies of our depleted mental health services.  As long as ten years ago, I predicted that cutting services like hospital care and attempting to transfer to Care in the Community would invitably result in th police having to cope with more and more of these cases.  They are not trained for it.  Psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses are the only people qualified to deal with problems with the mentally ill in the community.

My previous post ( about the use of tasers on the mentally ill ) proves that the only way to deal with so-called difficult mentally ill patients is by the professionals with the skills to do the job.  Hardly surprising then that stigmatisation is on the increase when the mentally ill are demonised this way, as though they were criminals, carrying out premeditated criminal acts.  They do not deserve to be punished merely for being ill, they need help like talking therapies  and occupational therapy.  However, the nHS and the government stand by and do nothing, choosing to continue their cost-cutting and rationalisation of mental health services with their usual lack of concern for such vulnerable patients.       R. W.

Wednesday 8 May 2013

Taser the Mentally Ill - are we Barbarians now ?

Mentally-ill patients 'Tasered' 52 times

I find it incredible that police have used Taser stun guns to subdue mentally-ill patients in hospitals and care homes more that 50 times in the past three years.The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the health service watchdog, has said that Tasers should be deployd only as a last resort in psychiatric wards. However, replies received under the Freedom of Information Act show that English and Welsh police forces authorised Taser use against people in psychiatric care on 52 occasions since 2010.

Whatever happened to the Restraint and Tranquilisation Policy that governs the handling and care of difficult patients ?  How has this been allowed to happen - have psychiatric resourses become so depleted that we go straight to such a barbaric means of last resort instead of following the advise of th Royal College of Psychiatrists ???

Who is making the decision inside the wards ?  Is it psychiatrists, qualified nurses,or merely auxiliaries who are allowed to make such decisions ?  Are relatives consulted before such drastic action is decided upon ?

Does anyone care about the subsequent psycholgical or detrimental effect to the patients who are subjected to 50,000 volts ?  It is a fact that anti-psychotics weaken the heart, making a fatal heart attack a serious possibility.  Do we really care so little about the mentally ill that we don't care if we kill a few ?  And what is our government and NHS doing about this ?  For me, 'nothing' is the obvious answer.  Standards of care have dropped dramatically over recent years and the mentally ill - being at the bottom of the ladder of consideration - are suffering the most.   R. W.