Showing posts with label health. all and sundry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. all and sundry. Show all posts

Friday 5 June 2009

Back on line

My server gave up the ghost yesterday afternoon and has only just had the exorcism performed.

But unfortunately for you I am now internet connected, so here we go:

Today will be a mixture of “sundry” politics, and health.

First a rant, it seems that turnout for the local and EU elections was rather low, and yes it is every ones’ right not to vote, but if we get a piss poor selection of euro and council representatives you non voters will only have yourselves to blame, at this point in our political status, inertia is the worst thing that can happen.

First up:






Purnell the pilchard who is behind the “no matter how sick or disabled you are, you will work” policy has joined the other rats and deserted the labour titanic, firing off a “you need to go Gord” letter to the press and media.

True to form Purnell, who was one of Blair’s babes bypassed the PM and, with gonads disappearing into his body cavity he legged it without a face to face with El Gordo.

Goodbye and good riddance.

The reshuffle has started and the latest is that Ali the PM’s Darling (or is it scapegoat) keeps his job as Chancellor, because he is so good at it.

A bit of Health and Safety gone mad, a school has banned children from wearing goggles during swimming lessons for fear they could hurt themselves.

Teachers and governors at Ysgol Bryn Coch junior school, in Mold, north Wales, said a child could be seriously injured if a pair of goggles was "snapped" onto their face too hard, or if a lens popped out unexpectedly.

Parents described the ruling as "bonkers" and one said the decision smacked of "health and safety regulations gone mad".

So it’s Ok for kids to get chlorine in their eyes but not to protect them by wearing goggles.


Only in America Priest invites parishioners to bring guns to church to celebrate Independence Day a former US Marine, Pastor Ken Pagano of New Bethel Church of Louisville, Kentucky said the church would celebrate the Fourth of July and "our rights as Americans".

Rev Pagano said he wanted responsible handgun owners to attend this service openly wearing their sidearm, on 27 June, the Saturday preceding Independence Day.
The move would be symbolic, however: the firearms must be unloaded and in a secure holster. The priest said he would also invite gun shop owners to attend the service in order to tell about their services.

Rev Pagano said guns must be unloaded and private security will check visitors. Recent church shootings make it necessary to promote safe gun ownership he said.

That should be fun.



From the Times One in seven scientists say colleagues fake data faking scientific data and failing to report commercial conflicts of interest are far more prevalent than previously thought, a study suggests.

One in seven scientists says that they are aware of colleagues having seriously breached acceptable conduct by inventing results. And around 46 per cent say that they have observed fellow scientists engage in “questionable practices”, such as presenting data selectively or changing the conclusions of a study in response to pressure from a funding source.

However, when scientists were asked about their own behaviour only 2 per cent admitted to having faked results.

The study included scientists from a range of disciplines. Misconduct was far more frequently admitted by medical or pharmacological researchers than others, supporting fears that the field of medical research is being biased by commercial interests.

Well there’s a surprise.


And finally:




Farmer finds nest egg under chicken Forgetful Ivan Rasperger, 73, knew he'd hidden his hoard somewhere around the family farm in Medjimurje but couldn't remember where.

But his wife Katarina called off the police search after she found the cash under a nest while collecting eggs from the hen house.

"I had it inside the house and then one day I thought it wasn't that safe in case we ever got burgled so decided to put it somewhere on the farm," Mr Rasperger said.

"I hid it and then forgot about it and when I went to check on it the other day I couldn't remember where it was.

"We turned the whole farm upside down looking for it and in the end we found it. The birds did a good job though. It was all perfectly intact, and very warm," he added.

And I thought I was absent minded, now where did I put my trousers?

“A common mistake people make when trying to design something foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” - Douglas Adams
Further Gord shuffles over on Angus Dei politico


Angus

Friday 17 April 2009

NOT A GOOD WEEK FOR THE GOVERNMENT (AND OTHERS)

Busy day today (RL) so I am combining all three blogs into one, plus the fact that it rained again last night and my internet connection is still behaving like an MP-working for ten seconds and idle for ten hours.


First up-Jacqui Smith is in the Doo again, because Damian Green walked away from the SS Labour police BBC NEWS probably due to the fact that Civil Servants ‘exaggerated’ the seriousness of the leaks, now that sounds familiar, backroom boys telling porkies.

Just resign and get it over with.



Then there is BBC NEWS the pooper scooper snoopers are going to lose their powers, and about bloody time!

Jacqui Smith was speaking as the Home Office launched a review of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.

The act allows the use of methods such as hidden cameras to detect crimes such as benefit fraud but councils have been accused of targeting minor offences.

The Tories and Lib Dems say Ripa is a "snoopers' charter" which needs reform.

Ripa was introduced in 2000 to allow police and security services to fight crime and terrorism more effectively and was later extended to allow local authorities to use some covert techniques.


Jacqui Smith- Just resign and get it over with.


That’s the politics out of the way, now health-BBC NEWS Female hairiness health warning apparently Excessive hairiness in women is not just a cosmetic problem but is likely to be a sign of an underlying medical condition, say UK doctors in a report.
Five to 15% of women have excess hair, and a hormone disorder is the most likely cause in many cases, they said.


Women with the problem should not be afraid to seek medical advice, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists report urged.


Professor Stephen Franks, an expert in reproductive endocrinology at Imperial College London, said the condition could be very embarrassing and women might be reluctant to seek medical advice.


They may also not realise hirsutism could be linked to a condition like PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome) because symptoms such as irregular periods are not present, he added.

"It's always worth getting it investigated. Even if it's a benign condition."



And a bit of a triumph for patients-BBC NEWS NHS to publish death rates on web The NHS is to make it easier to compare success and failure of English hospitals by publishing death rates and other tables on its own website.

The Department of Health will publish the Mortality Ratio on the NHS Choices site, allowing patients to compare death rates at their nearest hospitals.


The NHS says the move is part of a commitment to sharing more information.
It follows a damning report into failings at Stafford Hospital, triggered by its high mortality rates.

The hospital watchdog, the Healthcare Commission, concluded there were 400 deaths more than would have been expected at the hospital and that there were deficiencies at "virtually every stage" of emergency care.

In the next few weeks, patients and doctors will be able to access standardised mortality ratios, or HSMRs, for every hospital in England.

Rather than being a crude death rate, the HSMR is a measure of how many patients with particularly conditions die compared with how many would be expected to die.


HSMRs are already used to rank hospitals and are based on how many patient deaths occur above expected levels.

The NHS already publishes mortality rates for heart surgery and common operations, such as hip and knee replacements.

The Department of Health said it was important for doctors to see how their peers were performing as well as offering patients the chance to use the data to choose hospitals.

The tables published on the NHS Choices site will be accompanied by information for patients to help them understand the strengths and weaknesses of the figures.

At the risk of repeating myself-about bloody time!



And something I have been saying for quite a while, and will probably upset some doctors, BBC NEWS Doctors 'must root out bad care' NHS staff - and in particular doctors - must do more to tackle bad care, the head of the new health regulator says.

Care Quality Commission Chairman Barbara Young said there was a culture of silence among health staff, as shown by the Stafford Hospital scandal.

The hospital was criticised in an official report last month for its appalling standards of care.

But doctors' leaders warned medics were often bullied and harassed into accepting the status quo.

Ms Young said that, as head of the super regulator which was set up at the beginning of April to cover both health and social care, she was determined to make quality "the priority"

"We need to create a culture where doctors are obliged to challenge each other. It is not happening everywhere at the moment. There is a silence among professionals."
She said nurses could also play an essential role.

"They are the glue in the system that. They are there 24/7."

Ms Young, who was speaking at a conference hosted by the King's Fund health think tank, also said other front-line staff such as social workers could have an impact, but stressed doctors and senior nurses were probably in the strongest position because of the clout they had.

Added to the fact that the NHS and in particular senior managers ignore patients and relatives to the nth degree.

Good start Ms Young, now let’s see you do something about it, especially this Doctors' regulatory power 'to go' when back in 2007 ‘The General Medical Council is set to lose its power to adjudicate on fitness-to-practise cases.’

“The GMC will also have to change its membership to 50% doctors, 50% lay people in a move away from the much criticised profession-led regime.
Similar systems are being introduced for the other eight health professional regulatory bodies, covering the likes of dentists, pharmacists and nurses.”


And finally:


What I would like to do with my computer:



"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." Joshua J Marine


Angus

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