I WARN YOU NOT TO GROW OLD.......

When Neil Kinnock issued his famous speech re the danger of a Tory Govt many of us admired its sheer sincerity and raw appeal to Labour's sense of social justice.
Over 20 years on I wonder what has happened in a world where our old people are treated so shamefully and inadequately by an NHS which was once the envy of the world.
My eyes to the reality behind the slogans of the spin doctors have been opened by several weeks spent visiting my father, now desperately ill, in a Manchester care home where staff are clearly struggling with the impact of years of under-funding.
This place, by the way, is no Gothic horrorshow but a new Intermediate Care unit opened several years ago by a New Labour Minister. When my father was admitted several weeks ago, my hope was he would be restored to health with a simple combination of rest and good food. Neither has transpired.
Food is not cooked on the premises - but outsourced and brought in from a private company in Wales.
Little of it is suitable for my father, who has a chronic gall bladder problem, and most of it is frankful woeful and unpalatable. The consequence is he has not put on any weight - yesterday I resorted to taking in two tins of soup in a desperate bid to improve the situation.
The prospects are not looking good because staff seem to have little notion of nutrition - probably not their fault. But I ask what kind of world are we in when we cannot give elderly people in NHS care a decent meal? When relatives have to advise staff on the right diet for malnourished old folk? And when requests to hand out smaller portions to stop loved ones being overfaced are just ignored?
The bottom line Andy Burnham is we are simply not doing enough for a growing population living way beyond the ages of their parents and grandparents.
The people I saw yesterday suffering from the impact of strokes, long illnesses and chronic conditions like arthritis. This is will be you and I one day.
The least all of us deserve is a system where we willl be treated with dignity and respect.
Free care , first-class care, not £20,000 death taxes and punishment for the crime of living way beyond three score years and ten.
Are the staff where my dad is doing their best? Yes of course they are. The stark truth is that , because we don't raise enough money for a decent NHS elderly care, it is simply not enough. Better than the Tories - but simply not what we should be getting from a Labour Government

WHY I'M KEEPING THIS APPOINTMENT......

Along with thousands of other women in the Calder Valley, I am due for a routine mammogram. And I suspect for most of us it is a traumatic business.

If you trawl the web, it is clear the jury is out as to whether or not three-yearly breast cancer screening actually makes a significant difference to death rates. Which, if you are one of nature's wimps like me, could be a convenient get-out.

But, anxious though I am at tomorrow's encounter with the radiographer, I will be keeping the appointment.

Unlike in other parts of the world, our NHS provides this service absolutely free. And two weeks of anxiety waiting for the result is a small price to pay for (hopefully) the peace of mind of knowing one is cancer free.
Which is why I will be keeping the appointment - and urge every other woman in the Valley to do the same.

TORIES SHOW THEIR TRUE COLOURS ON THE NHS- NOW LET'S DO THE SAME

It's heartening to note the level of public anger at the lies and distortions being spread in the US about our much-maligned NHS. Like many of you I expect, I've done the Facebook poll bit and delighted to see the Tories exposed in today's Observer as the would-be destroyers of our healthcare system.

Trade unions UNISON and UNITE, whose mmebers make up the vast majority of NHS employees, have launched a new campaign so yes let's all rally round and use this moment in time for a re-stating of the case for the NHS.

But we need to go further. At the forthcoming Labour Party Conference, union leaders and grassroots members need to re-state their opposition to private sector companies winning fat contracts and it's also time to argue for an end to the profiteering of the private drug companies. Yes I love the NHS. I would love it much more if Gordon Brown and Andy Burnham turned their backs on the privatisations which have been so fiercely opposed in recent years by those on the frontline.

I LOVE THE NHS .......

OK, I admit to being incensed after seeing various people who probably think we're all "Commies" traduce the NHS on US television. But, speaking as someone with the rare privilege of being given the last rites when I was born two months premature in 1957 ( then a serious matter) , I can safely say I literally owe my life to the NHS. And to see Republican politicians wrangling in America about something as basic as National Insurance and telling fibs about the NHS is a stark reminder just how lucky we are to get our healthcare free from the cradle to the grave. Still.
My 89-year-old dad's been in and out of hospital in the past 12 months and is monitored and looked after in a way which isn't perfect, but he's still here. ECGs, CT scans, all manner of procedures which would cost thousands and thousands of pounds in other places. Thousands he just does not have. I'd like to thank the NHS for that. And for looking after many other loved ones, friends and family. Millions I'm sure feel the same. And millions are looking on in disbelief as America argues and distorts the truth.

PFI HOSPITALS IN TROUBLE

Interesting piece in today's Morning Star. Could this be the end of PFI in the NHS?

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/britain/nationalise_pfi_hospitals_insist_activists

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF......

The rest of my life....... For the past two months, I have lived with a small but significant possibility that I might have a curable but serious illness which might require extensive treatment. So even good things which have happened have been clouded by considerable anxiety.
Yesterday, at the Bradford Royal Infirmary, I was given the all-clear and have to say that ersatz instant NHS coffee has never tasted so good. Indulged myself afterwards with late lunch of sirloin steak, chips and large glass of red wine followed by lots and lots of sleep. Today, I'm resolving the following five things.
1. Buy second-hand bicycle to improve fitness
2.Get stop-gap job to tide me over till Christmas
3. Eat more healthily
4. Read at least one Improving Book every week
5. Use public transport to access moors and nearby countryside.
Right, now back to the politics.......

WHY "CHOICE" ISN'T THE ANSWER

My own ineptitude is entirely to blame for the fact I travelled 25 miles today to a hospital appointment that did not exist. So tomorrow I will set out again for Bradford - a train and bus journey of around 90 minutes each way.
The reason why I have to traipse all this way is because my nearest hospital in Halifax chooses not to offer the treatment I require - at least not complete with anaesthetic and I am afraid I am a complete and utter wimp .
So having been told it was not on offer in Calderdale I had to go back to my GP and do a ring around myself as is the way with New Labour . Now you could argue this is a Good Thing. At least I have a choice. But the fact is that Calderdale Hospital, wonderfully modern though it is, was built with PFI money and clearly won't incur costs, as they see it, unnecessarily. I was told I had no choice as far as this particularl procedure was concerned and the only reason that I knew alternatives were available elsewhere was following a conversation with a friend who is a GP. Most other women round here would not. In other words, women in Calderdale are not getting the "choice" which women in Bradford do unless they plead and beg for it. And, when it comes to the Lottery of drugs treatment, things are even worse.
We should be proud of our NHS - and proud of what Labour has done to build it in the past 60 years. But the market-led approach to healthcare should be one of the fuirst things which Gordon Brown abandons if he wishes to stay in Government. Universal healthcare should be exactly that. Universal

SIXTY YEARS ON...

Life is full of good stuff. When there's the bad stuff we have the NHS. So on that note I just want to say a thank-you to the staff at Wythenshawe Hospital who are looking after my dad - who was rushed into hospital last night but will hopefuly be sorted and back home after a couple of days..
I never fail to be heartened by the unfailing kindness and helpfulness of those who work long hours for low wages and reassure us when our loved ones are ill. I only wish the Government would recognise and reward their dedication more.
At least in this country we have a healthcare system which is still the envy of the world. Let's fight to keep it that way.And also fight against any moves to continue the privatisation programme which would outsource and boost profits of the private sector

NO MERCY FROM THIS GOVERNMENT...

Just read on the BBC website that a woman forcibly removed from this country has died
Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan stepped in to try and stop the deportation of Ama Sumani (pictured) who had been undergoing dialysis and was receiving other drugs at the University Hospital of Wales after being diagnosed with malignant myeloma.
She came to the UK five years ago to become a student but began working in contravention of her visa regulations.
The decision to remove Ms Sumani, who has two children, was described as "atrocious barbarism" by leading medical journal The Lancet.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams also criticised the way cases like hers were handled. What was the response of her local MP Alun Michael?
He said at the time: :"Isn't the debate really about the quality of treatment and medical services available in her own country?
"The question anybody has to ask themselves is whether it's right for somebody who has no right to be in this country to be given medical treatment which would not be available to them had they not become an illegal resident."
I am afraid that, in the face of such basic inhumanity, I am lost for words.One can only hope the law of karma returns to haunt Mr Michael. And the rest of his colleagues who impose such draconian rules with not an ounce of compassion.

NHS - SAFE IN OUR HANDS ????????

Spotted these figures on the Compass website from a Tameside (Greater Manchester ) doctor.
NHS privatisation , far from being mothballed, is steadily eroding the ideals on whuch Nye Bevan founded Labour's greteast achievement in 1948.

"Prior to 1997, the NHS was buying less than £200m a year of private treatment; this is estimated to have increased to £4bn by 2007. As much as 15% of cherry-picked elective surgery will be hived off to private hospitals, leaving NHS trusts to cover the complex and Cinderella services. PFI schemes worth more than £5bn have been completed since 1997, with another £12bn under negotiation - all of them locking trusts into costly, long-term leasehold deals."

NHS - GOOD AND BAD NEWS

Welcome news from Gordon Brown that he is to introduce the first national screening programme of its kind in the world, to spot the early signs of heart problems, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.
·Good news too that key diagnostic procedures such as blood tests, electro-cardiograms (ECGs) and ultrasounds will be available in local GP surgeries, to help cut waiting times. But it's a bit of a shame that all these positives are also being accompanied by yet more privatisation and outsourcing, with the market now encroaching into every sector of the NHS.
As this is not the case in Scotland and Wales, where there has been a moratorium on privatisation, it will inevitably lead to disparity in services across the UK and a postcode lottery for services and treatments. Neal Lawson has an interesting piece on this topic on the Compass website and as he rightly points out: " If Labour cannot popularise the National Health Service as an institution that embodies the values of the left, the notion of solidarity will come under threat of extinction in an increasingly individualised and consumerised world. After all, we should all be equal in our pyjamas." Thanks to marketisation, this is not the case........

FROM THE CRADLE TO THE GRAVE- LET'S HAVE A UNITED NHS

Dismayed but not surprised to read that "marketisation" of the NHS is having all kinds of negative consequences.

As the Attlee Government's proudest achievement enters its 60th year, NHS Confederation boss Gill Morgan has told the BBC that patients in the UK are getting very different services,
Ms Morgan, whose organisation represents NHS trusts and health boards, says: "We basically have four different systems. We have had a complete split in philosophy. The model in England is about contestability and choice driving service improvements. Outside organisations have been brought in and patients can shop around. That model has been rejected by the other three."
In Scotland, where people have free personal care - unlike the means-tested systems elsewhere - Ms Morgan said there has been much more consensus.
She described the approach as the "collectivist model".
"They have very little contestability. They have been slower to improve waiting than England, but much less tension between doctors and managers.
"In Northern Ireland there has been very big structural change and more integration between health and social care."
In Wales, which has received praise in England for introducing free prescriptions, she said the close working relationship between local government and the NHS had had an impact on public health. ... diplomatically concluding "All we can say is that patients are experiencing different systems, each one has its advantages and we will have to wait to see what happens."
But others are not quite so circumspect. Joyce Robins of Patient Concern said the differences were "breeding envy".
Former Government adviser Chris Ham, of Birmingham University says:
"Patients are increasingly looking across national borders and wondering why they are not getting the care others are getting."
Michael Summers, vice chair of the Patients Association, adds England is lagging behind the rest of the UK.
"England - for some reason - seems to have been the poor relation."
The reason, as we know, is this Government's obsession with PFI, privatisation, outsourcing and moving the NHS in a marketised direction which would have horrified its chief architect Aneurin Bevan. And delighted Margaret Thatcher.......

THE FAT OF THE LAND.....

Thanks to Christmas over-indulgence, I have put on about 5 pounds over the festive season. With a purge on high-fat foods and excess alcohol, that will hopefully disappear over the next few weeks. But it's just as well I do not live in North Staffordshire. Because the NHS there apparently demands that patients must have a body mass index below 30 to qualify for any routine operation.

As my normal BMI is about 28, I would just about make the grade . And, though no-one would describe me as skinny, size 14 is actually not too bad for someone who has just hit 50.

However, with the BMI benchmark imposed in North Staffs, I would be hovering on the brink and frankly most people I saw in the pub last night would be refused surgery. Which is ridiculous - and wrong.

Apparently, even more people who are overweight and smoke will be at risk of being denied treatment under new proposals being considered by the Government. Another classic case of New Labour targetting the wrong people.

Who smokes, drinks and eats rubbish food? The poorest in our society. Why? Because cheap food is high in fats and sugars and alcoholic oblivion is cheaper than it has ever been thanks to the supermarkets who make big profits out of cheap booze loss leaders.

Smoking, as that great leftie John Reid once observed, tends to be a "pleasure" enjoyed by the working-class.Indeed, my mum, a seriously unexcessive person, used to say her 10 fags a day was her "only pleasure." She died at 61 from lung cancer.

Under these guidelines, perhaps the chemotherapy which extended her life by 18 months would now be refused. I sincerely hope not.

I have noticed for some years that the nation is getting fatter. On a scale hitherto only seen in the US. That doesn't give the Government the right to play God and refuse NHS treatment to people who have paid their taxes and national insurance in the expectation that when they became ill they would get help. Why don't they start having a go at the fast food industry, and the employers who pay the low wages which mean people are simply too skint or too tired to seek out healthier ways of life. Even if they wanted to.

TONY LLOYD BACKS KAREN

Heartening day at the rally and demonstration in support of Karen Reissmann today in Manchester . I was really pleased to see Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd speaking up in support of a fellow trade unionist who has been wrongly victimised. Yes, we in the Labour Party have a different position politically. But this is about a hard-working woman who has been sacked for speaking out about the conditions of mental health patients. As Tony said, we stand together to support each other in the labour movement. Whatever our diffrerent views . My NUJ coleague jenny Lennox was also on the platfom along with many of Karen's co-workers. People travelled from as far afield as Glasgow and London to support her and many trade union reps were there -including the RMT, NUT, NUJ, many UNISON branches. A great day and a great feeling to be with people committed to fighting for the NHS. This is where we on the left need to be. Out there, campaigning, talking to people and making it clear there are many of us in the Party who are not sticking rigidly to the New Labour agenda. Support too from Coronation Street actor Chris Bisson, Shameless writer Paul Abbott. Loads more banners than I have seen in recent times. We have to win this campaign. And I think we will.

TEXTING FOR KAREN

First thing this morning I got a text message from a friend urging support via my mobile phone for NHS worker Karen Reissman, sacked by Manchester Mental Health Trust for speaking out on behalf of patients. UNISON members backed a strike today to defend her and I am glad to note that John McDonnell is now seeking to raise her case in Parliament.It would also be nice to see some Manchester MPs putting their heads above the parapet for once....Karen addressed our NUJ rally on Monday in Manchester.

We LOVE THE NHS!

Today, thousands of NHS workers are converging on London for a national demonstration. The "I Love The NHS" demo is seeking to protest at the Government's continuing agenda of privatisation and below inflation pay rises.

Disturbingly, Health Emergency 's Geoff Martin has revealed that the same privateers fingered in Michael Moore's new film Sicko ( which I haven't seen yet but am told is excellent) will be given the green light to take over the commissioning of local health services.
United Health, which features heavily in the expose of the scandal of the healthcare system in the US, has been fined millions of dollars in recent years for cheating patients, inflating prices and delaying payments.
Geoff , never exactly a man to pull his punches, says that if anyone wants to know where the NHS could end up in 10 years, they should take a look at Sicko.
"Nye Bevan, the founder of the NHS, must be spinning in his grave at the idea that a Labour government would open the door to the worst of the scum ever spewed out by the privatised US health system." Good luck to the demonstrators......

TIME FOR THE GOVT TO GET ITS TEETH INTO DENTAL CARE

Until a year ago, I was one of the last women standing as an NHS patient in my Manchester-based dental practice. Then big corporate Whitecross decided enough was enough and turfed us all out from their list. Ergo I currently have no dentist.....however I cannot exactly imagine being so desperate I would extract my own teeth. Which , incredibly, is what some people are now doing in the absence of properly-funded treatment in the public sector. In a survey of over 5,000 people, almost half said they did not understand the charging system and 20% of those with NHS dentists went without treatment because of the cost. Some are even FILLING THEIR OWN TEETH ( with Polyfilla) AND PULLING THEM OUT WITH PLIERS. It's a disgrace and it's time the Government fulfilled its pledge to make our dental service fit for purpose. What next? DIY surgery.......

A THURSDAY POSITIVE........

Health Minister Alan Johnson made an announcment yesterday which is great news for families with personal experience of clinical depression or mental illness . At the moment, NHS patients have to wait months for counselling . And when it arrives, it's more often than not inadequate. Now the Govt has pledged to increase state spending on psychological therapies from £5m to £170m by 2010, including the recruitment of 3,600 therapists. Social scientist Lord Richard Layard, who raised the issue with the former prime minister, Tony Blair, said: "This is great news and just what we've all been waiting for. Mental health is the biggest social problem in our country."So there you have it., Still Grimmer Up North but a little less grim than yesterday.......