Another Christmas Story - from our 'Dear Leslie'

Yes indeedy ! yet another joyous story from our 'Dear leader', Leslie Griffiths.  Unfortunately, old trout, we've heard this so many times before, it's getting a bit tiresome and is now totally unbelievable.  It's usually headed "More Money for Mental Health", followed by some notional piece about rebuilding Whitchurch hospital ( for the 7th time of telling ), or pouring money into what is jocularly referred to as "Care in the Community" ( they say the old jokes are the best, don't they ? - this is now past its' 29th Anniversary, would you 'Adam and Eve It' ? ).

I know that there's this ten year old myth that you can be made Health Minister and know everything immediately.  Of course it isn't true, and just because she's been good at 'Whatever-she's-pleased-the-Party-with histiorically', doesn't mean that she'll be any ruddy good at running our depleted Health Service.  Still, like her equally ignorant predecessor's, she's wearing the old mantle and giving it a bash, as they say, while we sit here trying to work out what the hell she's doing, except 'more of the same', which is bad news all round, I'm afraid.  However - for what it's worth - she recently brightened up the festive season by announcing "Another £5.1/2m for Mental Health", as though we hadn't heard it all before, many times over.  However - in between Kim Jong Il photo opportunities 'at the coal face' as it were - she tells us that this money will benefit Care in the Community services, and make us all happy that the acutely mentally ill will be treated 'at home' instead of in those awful old hospital beds ( yawn ). Yes, to cynical 'Old Lags' like me, it has about as much value to the mentally ill as 'the second coming' has to die-hard Secularists. Once again, to repeat that crass phrase in the old Tom Cruise movie, Jerry McGuire, "Show me the money" - like, where and precisely how much is to be spent, and 'when' of course ? Perhaps someone out there knows more than this ? If so, please write in to robin.williams6@virgin.com, or enter a comment after this post.
Happy New Year to the 3500+ readers !  R.W.

A Christmas Story - No room at our hospitals

With it's usual efficiency, the South Wales Echo reports the staggering facts about Wales NHS, that 50,000 Welsh residents travelled to England for treatment on the NHS last year. These statistics released by the Welsh Government show that almost 6.5% of Welsh patients were treated 'over the border', Oh, and our Health Boards have to pay for these treatments, at a higher cost than if they were treated in Wales.

In contrast, Welsh Health Boards admitted 11,500 residents from outside Wales and, presumably, charged them for their treatment here.  What we don't know is  how many of these actually paid for their treatment or, as with 'Health Tourists', the money may never be paid, because of our crass stupidity in not making them pay 'up front' in the first place.  What we would like to see are the actual figures for the losses that we have to bear because this inherent incompetence. Hardly any wonder that we are seen of the MUGS of Europe, Asia, Africa and the 'free' world, when it comes to health care and other social benefits.

In addition, I learned today that the December issue of the Cardiff & Vale Health Board of 'Caring for the Spirit', proudly announces that our consecrated Christian Hospital Chapel  ( UHW B5 )is to be 'shared' with our Muslim brethren, because their existing rooms are not large enough to accommodate the faithful followeres of Islam.  To help them, we are paying for a muslim interior designer to arrange for the the 'necessary' changes that will have to be made to our consecrated, Christian Chapel.  And all this done in the name of  multiculturism, even though this idealistic concept is not recognised by muslims in any way, shape or form. They continue to blot our land with exclusively muslim enclaves, whilst perpetually whining about the offence caused to them by overtly Christian symbolism and Christian Festivals.  Isn't it wonderful ? - The hell it is !

And, whilst our consecrated Christian Chapel is being 'Islamified', all other faiths such as Hindus, Jews, Buddhists etc etc ad nauseum, remain consistently overlooked by the Universally Inept Health Board, along with everyone else who is still daft enough to believe that multiculturism in Britain is possible.  To me, it's a close run race between Islam and Tesco as to who will dominate Britain in the years to come ! ......................... "May God help us all" ( the real one that is ).  R W.

[ Thought for the day - Perhaps the Hordes of Migrants from Poland could help us, as they did in the Battle of Britain ?   No, you're right of course - they'd take sides - and their English is even worse than that spoken by most of our muslim brethren. ] 

SINGLE-SEX WARD COULD FACE AXE

20/12/11
Madeleine Brindley 's article today worryingly suggests that UHB may not now go ahead with single sex ward provision when the new elderly mental  health unit opens at Llandough in September.She reports that relatives and carers of those effected are currently being consulted by UHB.

However CHC has said it is, "unhappy with any plans to create a single- sex ward."
Why one wonders should this be so ? Surely women suffering with all the indignities of dementia should at least be given their privacy in such a time of dire illness as well as their carers with some peace of mind that their loved one will be in a safe and dignified environment.
Would - one wonders - women being treated for breast cancer be treated with such disdain ?

I myself as a woman patient have experienced the indignity of having to walk through - on a mixed mental health ward  -  curtained beds of men who  lay there smoking in their underpants to get to my own bed:  Whitchurch Hospital-  October  2006.
I myself was assured by the Director at Public Consultation December 2010 that this would never be the case again and that it would be remedied.

UHB it would seem is rather adept at 'u turns' even after having made a public commitment to single sex wards being a priority and an essential component in the way in which people suffering mental illness in 21st century should have the right to expect even living - as we do -  in Wales.

Let us hope sincerely that 'The Time to Change  ' campaign finally to begin in Wales 2012 will address such issues with some alacrity.

G K Brightmore

Atos Work Capability Assessment - 'everyone a loser'

In all my experience I have never come across a con-trick as cruel and damaging as the Atos questions that are supposed to assess your capability to work.
Firstly, I learned that the Department of Work and Pensions sold their Gabalfa Health Assessment Center in Cardiff to some completely unheard of company called Atos.  All the staff now work for Atos, not the DWP as before, and all of them look very disenchanted with their new lot.  They didn't even have any leaflets on Atos - about where they were, what they do or - most importantly - how they came to be a sub-contractor of the DWP in the first place.  Nobody knew a thing, but as I accompany patients there, I thought a word of warning would be appropriate, because, no matter what your capability really is ( Mentally or Physically ), you will be declared 'Fit for Work'. Am I serious - yes I am; Is this test a Confidence Trick - yes it ruddy well is, and even worse than the 'Three Card Trick' that took everyone's money.

Having been to several of these 'interviews' I have discovered that people who were originally tested as being Unfit for work, have to be re-assessed regularly, with the second test taking no account whatsoever of anything said or seen in your first test.  So the lucky ones who were CORRECTLY assessed as being UNFIT for work the first time, all fail the second test, because they refuse to consider ANY evidence at all.  I was horrified, and so should all of you be too, because none of the 'nurses' chosen to handle these interviews are qualified to handle the 'meetings' or make any judgement on anyone.  They are dummies employed to make sure that they never see the same client twice, and NEVER take into account either the first interview, or any written evidence from doctors or psychiatrists.  I proved this on every occasion ( that I knew was 'rigged' ) by asking the 'nurse' - Are you fully qualified to conduct a psychiatric assessment, or even a physical one ? And none of them are - in any way - sufficiently qualified to conduct even a physical assessment, neither do they ask any questions but those on the computer screen in front of them.  The answer to everyone of these pre-meditated and deliberately biased questions will make certain that you end up being declared fit for work. The 'Trick' here is a psychological one, based on the fact that every question is a closed one ie. "You got here alright ?" - answer yes ( 0 points ). "You can dress yourself can't you ?" Answer yes ( 0 points again ).  The inevitable result is that you score all Zeros in answer to every question, which gains you a reject letter showing your 'score'.

Thus, having been judged ( unfairly ) as fit for work by the Atos-created algorithm, your money will drop to Job-Seekers allowance and you will forced to join a job club or lose even the lower Job Seeker's allowance if you refuse to attend.  My advice gives you two options; 1. Refuse to answer any question with a 'yes' on 'no' answer  2. Ask them ( exactly as I did ) if they are qualified etc. and then enact option 1.  3. Alternatively, ask them 'Do you mean 'to what extent can I do this', or 'At what point does the pain /dizziness affect your working?' or answer "well, I can put my shoes on but only with help as bending over causes chest/back/ head, neck, leg etc etc"  This stops the trap of answering 'yes' or 'no' to every answer, when you know the answer will give you a zero score, because all of the questions are made 'open' ones to which you may reply at length about how, when and where your disability affects you.

Once faced with your inevitable declaration as being fit for work, you must appeal. Make sure that you point out that the test is unfair as it doesn't take into account any supporting evidence, and it is unfairly  biased against you because all of the questions are closed, in order to trick you into giving them the answer they want.  Get any and every bit of help you can - from the Citizen's Advice Bureau ( which is being closed in Cardiff - I wonder why ?), from a solicitor, or any recognised Patient Group, or an advocate such as myself.  DON'T QUIT, whatever you do - if you have a disability , you have a right to the same financial benefit you received before, so fight for it and send a big 'No you cannot steal our money as is being done with our pensions' to David Cameron, his deputy for being a bloody hypocrite, and the Welsh government especially ! R.W.  

Aaaaaand to prove it, here is further evidence researched by my brilliant colleague, Lynnette Spragg:-

Atos, company paid to drive people off disability benefits, slammed by
MPs after blunders ........................by Tom McTague, Daily Mirror 26/07/2011

THE firm paid to drive people off disability benefits has been slammed by MPs in a scathing report out today.

More than 150,000 people deemed fit to work by French IT company Atos have won appeals in a process costing taxpayers more than £30million a year, it found.
And some had their benefits stopped for “failure to attend” a test when they had not even been booked in.
The Commons work and pensions select committee condemned the blunders.
Tory MP Simon Hart said people were deemed totally fit to work in one test, only to be found in the appeal they were unfit to get a job.
Committee chairman Dame Anne Begg said some of the blame needed to fall on the Government for designing “flawed” assessments which Atos had to work with.
She said “considerable efforts” had been made to improve things, but more needed to be done

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2011/07/26/atos-company-paid-to-drive-people-off-disability-benefits-slammed-by-mps-after-blunders-115875-23297366/#ixzz1gX93h8NW
 

Aaaaaaand - if THAT ISN'T ENOUGH - READ ON FOR MORE . R.W.  

Twelve doctors employed by the firm that is paid £100m a year to assess people claiming disability benefit are under investigation by the General Medical Council over allegations of improper conduct. The doctors, who work for Atos Healthcare, a French-owned company recently criticised by MPs for its practices, face being struck off if they are found not to have put the care of patients first.

The Observer has found that seven of the doctors have been under investigation for more than seven months. The other five were placed under investigation this year following complaints about their conduct

Vaughan Gethin A.M. - A good Judge of Health Developments ( gawd 'elp us )

Readers of the Penarth times may have missed the tiny article at the bottom of page 4, which shows our local A.M.'s glorification of the new Mental Health Assessment Unit, on which construction has started, at a cost of £56m.  Well, he was nearly right and good on him for supporting anything to do with mental health.  However, I feel that some bit of knowledge of this development may be of use to him when he next decides to discuss the project.

Unless I am seriously mistaken the Elderly Mentally Infirm Assessment Unit is near completion and due to be opened in the September 2012.  I would suggest that the £56m cost quoted be checked, as a 57 bed unit on the same site was recently built for £7.155M, whereas the Assessment Unit will have 82 beds, which makes the quoted cost of £56m unbelievable.  This unit should not be applauded, as it is a reduction of 192 E.M.I beds since June 2002.  Moreover, he may have noticed that this is an 'Assessment unit', with a targeted maximum stay of 42 days, whereupon no one knows what the fate of these vulnerable patients will be.
Mr Gethin A.M. may care to know that all existing E.M.I beds in Cardiff and the Vale are to be closed, leaving only the hopelessly inadequate unit in Llandough.which offers no hope for most of these Incurable, degenerative Demntia/Alzheimer's who will only get worse and die.

Mr Gethinn may agree with the Cardiff & Vale Universally Inept Health Board that this is an excellent solution to the growing number of the elderly in our society, a percentage of whom will become fatally ill with dementia - i.e. dumping them 'in the community', thus abdicating their Duty of Care to these our elderly relatives.  On the other hand, Mr Vaughn might care to investigate this, and the proposed £80m Adult Mental Health Hospital, which will offer inadequate access to much needed inpatient care for the hundreds of acutely mentally ill patients in our area.

I accept that Mr Gethin is somewhat naive in his new role but I respectfully suggest that he gets up to speed on these mental health issues with some degree of urgency.  So far, no other A.M has had the intestinal fortitude to question either ( or both ) of these developments or their fanciful costs, that were obviously created in some smoke-filled den of inquity in the Cardiff Bay Area. As a member of the same party, I understand that he is a qualified solicitor, which should be of enormous help to him when he questions the legality of events leading up to the so-called consultations on these matters.  I must also add that the UHB also propose to move Rookwood Hospital to half of the top floor of Llandough, in order to profit from the sale of Rookwood site to a property developer, whilst reducing the amount of care available to their spinal injury patients. Still we ( and they, of course ) live on the hope that their deception of the Charity Commission will not convince that august, and independent authority that the UHB ( or it's bogus Trustee - led 'charity' ) that "It's a straight swap - we're making not a penny on the deal - honest guv".  Fat chance, I say, but who knows how such large public bodies get away with the mismanagement of our money, now or in the past ? I really hope that Mr Gethin can get us an answer to the question "What is to become of the long-suffering patients at Whitchurch hospital during the 4 years that the new until will take to be built ?      R.W.

"The Truth is....Over by 'Ere"- More Ministerial Cock-ups

Minister for Health Predicts £50m overspend by the year end 

After you were kind enough to publish my letter 'Let us have the openness and transparency that we were promised' ( Echo 15th November ), I am staggered that the latest damning statement from Minister for Health, Leslie Griffiths' didn't make front page news, or ANY page in your newspaper.

According to Ms Griffiths, she predicts that the health Boards ( that she is supposed to be managing ) are going to have a £50m overspend by the end of the year, ( December 2011 or April 4th 2012 ?? )  What vision she must have, and how wise to warn them and us the 'there will be no top-up funding available' when this ( apparently ) forseeable disaster occurs.  How does she know this, when - as I said in my last letter - none of us know what the budgets are because they haven't been published ( even the overall budget figure might be helpful ) ? Is she getting her excuses in early, I wonder.

I daren't say anymore as - from information supplied to me under the Data Protection Act - I am a habitual, vexatious complainer, who is not a patient representative nor an advocate, and I refuse to accept dismissive letters when I politely request truthful information.  Pretty damning stuff for someone who has spent the last 14 years, trying to help patients get basic information on their service that we have a right to know.  What a beastly charlatan I must be !

Unfortunately, none of the information is accurate, and anything useful to me to defend myself has been redacted.  What bullying cowards they all are, to condemn a man who has committed the sin of daring to challenge our government when they deny any responsibility for the deceitful misrepresentations of their health boards and their lap-dogs the outright, proven liars, the Community Health Councils.  If I'm wrong, why has no one taken me to court for defamation or harrassment, or jay-walking even ? Perhaps I'll get a lethal injection next time I attend clinic, or be run over by an ambulance whilst leaving the car park ?  As the x and 'LL' files say - The Truth is over by 'ere', but it certainly isn't in any statements given by our Health Minister or her subordinate organisations.

Yours fearfully - Robin Williams - Patient Advocate and Government Pest ( In hiding )