The condition of wards, toilets and bathrooms at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire has been criticised by patients in two separate surveys.
One was carried out on behalf of the Healthcare Commission (HC) while the other was from people contacted by the hospital's patients advice services.
The HC - the independent inspection body for the NHS - called for a review of the cleaning contracts at the hospital in the wake of the concerns raised by the survey.
The patients in both surveys also raised concerns about catering at the hospital but described staff as excellent.
The findings were based on the HC survey in which 461 patients out of 850 polled at the Hartshill complex filled in questionnaires, and from 223 people who completed so-called "feedback forms" issued to 40 wards and departments through its patient advice liaison service (PALS).
Thursday, 10 May 2007
Blackpool: Fight on for post office
The fight to save Blackpool's historic Crown post office has been stepped up with the town's MPs fearing that vulnerable residents will be hit by the closure - reports the Blackpool Citizen.
Plans were announced by Royal Mail last month to close the Abingdon Street office and transfer services to WH Smith in Bank Hey Street, as part of a nationwide cost-cutting initiative which will see 76 Crown Post Offices closed.
Both MPs for the town, Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have signed a Commons motion, which has so far been supported by 30 MPs, calling for more consultation and expressing anger at the decision.
Not enough "anger", however, to consider blocking the government's completely unjustified 60% proposed increase in payments to the audit-failing EU, to divert the £2.5 billion a year at stake to supporting lifeline post offices serving "vulnerable" constituents instead.
Mr Marsden has also written to the managing director of the Post Office, Alan Cook, seeking assurances about services and postal workers' jobs.
In the letter, he states: "The Post Office provides a service to the most vulnerable people in Blackpool, the disabled, those claiming benefits, as well as the elderly and unemployed.
"What plans do you have to relocate the service counters with WH Smith, which has a far smaller surface area in my estimation and how will you ensure that elderly and disabled customers are able to use the new facilities easily?"
Mrs Humble said that there should be much more debate before the decision is finalised.
She said: "I will be seeking information from the Royal Mail, the DTI and ministerial colleagues on the reasons behind it and the treatment of the staff who work there.
"Whenever I go into the Abingdon Street post office it is very busy and provides an excellent service in an ideal location.
"I have my doubts whether relocating the office to WH Smith will be able to provide the same level of service.
"It is also a one of Blackpool's most eyecatching buildings and I will be seeking clarification on its future."
Both Blackpool MPs Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have said they intend to vote in favour of the EU budget deal when it comes before Parliament for approval.
Both clearly seem to think that Blackpool's public services have all the money they could use, so gifting billions of pounds a year to the EU is affordable.
Yet auditors haven't been able to approve the "majority" of EU spending for twelve years in a row, and every week it seems there is a new report of EU waste or fraud.
So Marsden and Humble may well protest when the effects of shortages of public money are felt in their constituencies. But if they vote to waste vast sums on the EU - a 60% increase over what we already pay - then they alone bear ultimate responsibility for local problems that could be solved with a little extra financial support from government.
Plans were announced by Royal Mail last month to close the Abingdon Street office and transfer services to WH Smith in Bank Hey Street, as part of a nationwide cost-cutting initiative which will see 76 Crown Post Offices closed.
Both MPs for the town, Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have signed a Commons motion, which has so far been supported by 30 MPs, calling for more consultation and expressing anger at the decision.
Not enough "anger", however, to consider blocking the government's completely unjustified 60% proposed increase in payments to the audit-failing EU, to divert the £2.5 billion a year at stake to supporting lifeline post offices serving "vulnerable" constituents instead.
Mr Marsden has also written to the managing director of the Post Office, Alan Cook, seeking assurances about services and postal workers' jobs.
In the letter, he states: "The Post Office provides a service to the most vulnerable people in Blackpool, the disabled, those claiming benefits, as well as the elderly and unemployed.
"What plans do you have to relocate the service counters with WH Smith, which has a far smaller surface area in my estimation and how will you ensure that elderly and disabled customers are able to use the new facilities easily?"
Mrs Humble said that there should be much more debate before the decision is finalised.
She said: "I will be seeking information from the Royal Mail, the DTI and ministerial colleagues on the reasons behind it and the treatment of the staff who work there.
"Whenever I go into the Abingdon Street post office it is very busy and provides an excellent service in an ideal location.
"I have my doubts whether relocating the office to WH Smith will be able to provide the same level of service.
"It is also a one of Blackpool's most eyecatching buildings and I will be seeking clarification on its future."
Both Blackpool MPs Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have said they intend to vote in favour of the EU budget deal when it comes before Parliament for approval.
Both clearly seem to think that Blackpool's public services have all the money they could use, so gifting billions of pounds a year to the EU is affordable.
Yet auditors haven't been able to approve the "majority" of EU spending for twelve years in a row, and every week it seems there is a new report of EU waste or fraud.
So Marsden and Humble may well protest when the effects of shortages of public money are felt in their constituencies. But if they vote to waste vast sums on the EU - a 60% increase over what we already pay - then they alone bear ultimate responsibility for local problems that could be solved with a little extra financial support from government.
Saturday, 5 May 2007
Carshalton: Bed push protest over NHS budget
The BBC reports today that a bed push between two hospitals in London and Surrey has been staged by campaigners in protest at "rising debts" at Epsom and St Helier NHS.
Two MPs joined the protest between St Helier hospital in Carshalton and Epsom Hospital in Surrey.
Sutton MP Paul Burstow said the trust was now being "forced to save almost twice the £24m asked of it last year".
The NHS trust said it saved £20m last year and had a £21m target next year which was about savings not overspends.
A spokeswoman said the trust's predicted £7.3m overspend this year had actually been £5.4m which was "better than predicted".
But campaign group Health Emergency has warned of both job and service cuts under the savings plans.
And Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling said there was now "a very real possibility that St Helier, Epsom and Guildford Hospitals will all be downgraded".
He added: "We want the NHS to realise that the strength of feeling about our local hospital services and about the future of Epsom Hospital is as strong as ever."
Two MPs joined the protest between St Helier hospital in Carshalton and Epsom Hospital in Surrey.
Sutton MP Paul Burstow said the trust was now being "forced to save almost twice the £24m asked of it last year".
The NHS trust said it saved £20m last year and had a £21m target next year which was about savings not overspends.
A spokeswoman said the trust's predicted £7.3m overspend this year had actually been £5.4m which was "better than predicted".
But campaign group Health Emergency has warned of both job and service cuts under the savings plans.
And Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling said there was now "a very real possibility that St Helier, Epsom and Guildford Hospitals will all be downgraded".
He added: "We want the NHS to realise that the strength of feeling about our local hospital services and about the future of Epsom Hospital is as strong as ever."
Labels:
carshalton,
epsom,
hospitals,
NHS cuts
Friday, 4 May 2007
Ealing: 15 teachers lose jobs in cuts
More news of cuts to public services in Ealing that should give Ealing's MPs pause for thought about whether they can afford to approve the 60% hike in payments to the audit-failing EU - and certainly whether local voters will approve of such a choice, come the next election.
The Ealing Gazette reports today that 15 teachers at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College are losing their jobs as a result of a government cut of 7% - equating to £2m - from the college's budget for adult education services.
The cuts are thought to be the "tip of the iceberg", with more following before September.
The college has campuses in Barons Court and Ealing, and is having to increase class sizes and merge some services as a result.
Amarjit Busi, deputy principal of the college said: "We've lost £2m of public funding support at the same time we're being told to direct money away from lower-level courses."
"It's going to affect the most vulnerable and poorest parts of the community."
The Ealing Gazette reports today that 15 teachers at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College are losing their jobs as a result of a government cut of 7% - equating to £2m - from the college's budget for adult education services.
The cuts are thought to be the "tip of the iceberg", with more following before September.
The college has campuses in Barons Court and Ealing, and is having to increase class sizes and merge some services as a result.
Amarjit Busi, deputy principal of the college said: "We've lost £2m of public funding support at the same time we're being told to direct money away from lower-level courses."
"It's going to affect the most vulnerable and poorest parts of the community."
Ealing: Teachers & health workers protest at pay offer
Public sector workers staged a protest on the steps of Ealing Town Hall on Tuesday to show opposition to the government's 2% pay rise offer - reports the Ealing Gazette.
Organised by public sector union Unison and supported by Ealing teachers and health workers, the protest argued that with inflation running at 4.8% the government deal is effectively a pay cut.
Adam Smith, an officer for the Ealing branch of Unison, warned that the protest was a "first step" and could lead to widespread strike action and disruption of services.
Are Ealing's MPs going to tolerate such a situation - do they agree health and education workers should get a pay cut? Are they going to vote billions of pounds extra away to the audit-failing EU that could actually be used to pay teachers and others in line with inflation?
Organised by public sector union Unison and supported by Ealing teachers and health workers, the protest argued that with inflation running at 4.8% the government deal is effectively a pay cut.
Adam Smith, an officer for the Ealing branch of Unison, warned that the protest was a "first step" and could lead to widespread strike action and disruption of services.
Are Ealing's MPs going to tolerate such a situation - do they agree health and education workers should get a pay cut? Are they going to vote billions of pounds extra away to the audit-failing EU that could actually be used to pay teachers and others in line with inflation?
Thursday, 3 May 2007
Hounslow: Cuts close playground
Angry Mums on a deprived estate have slammed Hounslow Borough Council for "penny-pinching" after a children's playground was forced to close - reports the Hounslow Chronicle.
The cost-cutting council recently removed swings, slides and a climbing frame from the play area on the Beavers Lane Estate. The equipment was deemed unsafe, but leisure services provider CIP has been unable to fund repairs or replacements.
One Mum-of-three said: "This administration's penny-pinching is hitting kids on this estate - including my eight-year-old girl - very hard."
"First the community teacher was cut, then a dance teacher from Waterman's art centre who used to hold classes at the Hub was axed, and now this."
No doubt speaking for hundreds of local parents, she added: "My daughter loved the play area and it's really sad it's gone."
To be fair, councils like Hounslow are operating under a great deal of financial pressure, caught between insufficient funding from central government and the deadly unpopularity of hiking council tax bills unreasonably.
It's for local MPs like Ann Keen to justify why her local council can't be given more to prevent such cuts by the government. Especially when she's enthusiastically intending to approve paying £2.5bn a year extra to the already lavishly-funded but endlessly wasteful EU.
If the government can't afford to give local councils more, why is she going to approve wasting such vast amounts of public money by handing it to an organisation that hasn't had its accounts approved by auditors for twelve years running?
If Mrs Keen doesn't block that extra money for the EU when it comes to the vote in Parliament, local residents will know who's really to blame for cuts to local services come the next election.
The cost-cutting council recently removed swings, slides and a climbing frame from the play area on the Beavers Lane Estate. The equipment was deemed unsafe, but leisure services provider CIP has been unable to fund repairs or replacements.
One Mum-of-three said: "This administration's penny-pinching is hitting kids on this estate - including my eight-year-old girl - very hard."
"First the community teacher was cut, then a dance teacher from Waterman's art centre who used to hold classes at the Hub was axed, and now this."
No doubt speaking for hundreds of local parents, she added: "My daughter loved the play area and it's really sad it's gone."
To be fair, councils like Hounslow are operating under a great deal of financial pressure, caught between insufficient funding from central government and the deadly unpopularity of hiking council tax bills unreasonably.
It's for local MPs like Ann Keen to justify why her local council can't be given more to prevent such cuts by the government. Especially when she's enthusiastically intending to approve paying £2.5bn a year extra to the already lavishly-funded but endlessly wasteful EU.
If the government can't afford to give local councils more, why is she going to approve wasting such vast amounts of public money by handing it to an organisation that hasn't had its accounts approved by auditors for twelve years running?
If Mrs Keen doesn't block that extra money for the EU when it comes to the vote in Parliament, local residents will know who's really to blame for cuts to local services come the next election.
Tuesday, 1 May 2007
NHS leaves war hero to go blind
Ex-RAF flight engineer Dennis Devier, 84, is already blind in one eye and faces going blind in the other, because his local NHS trust has turned down funding for the drug that would save his sight.
Losing his sight fully will mean he can no longer care for his wife Frances, and they would have to be separated for the first time in 60 years - reports the Daily Express.
Mr Devier has been diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration, which can be treated with the drug Lucentis. He has already spent more than £8,000 on private treatment, but the high cost of care is draining his life savings.
Mr Devier said: "If I go blind, it will cost the taxpayer thousands more to look after us both - it's madness."
In his typically plain-speaking style, Mr Devier's local MP Boris Johnson hit the nail on the head when he said: "I find it utterly incredible that we are posing these alternatives to a man at his time of life - cough up, or say goodbye to your eyes."
This is a sad real-world story, no doubt repeated many times across the country, that those MPs intending to reward an audit-failing EU with an extra £2.5bn a year would do well to remember.
Especially if they imagine that boasting about 'record' sums the NHS has received is some kind of justification for approving the obvious waste of large sums on the EU.
Do they really believe the NHS is a 'mission accomplished' - that no more funds are required? This story, and many others, would indicate otherwise.
People like Mr Devier are those who pay a real price of such a lax attitude by some MPs to safeguarding scarce public funds. Those MPs are merely risking their jobs, when the time comes for them to explain such bad choices to local voters.
Losing his sight fully will mean he can no longer care for his wife Frances, and they would have to be separated for the first time in 60 years - reports the Daily Express.
Mr Devier has been diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration, which can be treated with the drug Lucentis. He has already spent more than £8,000 on private treatment, but the high cost of care is draining his life savings.
Mr Devier said: "If I go blind, it will cost the taxpayer thousands more to look after us both - it's madness."
In his typically plain-speaking style, Mr Devier's local MP Boris Johnson hit the nail on the head when he said: "I find it utterly incredible that we are posing these alternatives to a man at his time of life - cough up, or say goodbye to your eyes."
This is a sad real-world story, no doubt repeated many times across the country, that those MPs intending to reward an audit-failing EU with an extra £2.5bn a year would do well to remember.
Especially if they imagine that boasting about 'record' sums the NHS has received is some kind of justification for approving the obvious waste of large sums on the EU.
Do they really believe the NHS is a 'mission accomplished' - that no more funds are required? This story, and many others, would indicate otherwise.
People like Mr Devier are those who pay a real price of such a lax attitude by some MPs to safeguarding scarce public funds. Those MPs are merely risking their jobs, when the time comes for them to explain such bad choices to local voters.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
