The NHS needs a Fairy Godmother to put the Patient in the Centre of Health Care

Blog 14

Finger on the Pulse: Max Pemberton, Sadly the NHS means business

Max Pemberton works in chils psychiatry 

By Max Pemberton 23 May 2011

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8526344/Finger-on-the-Pulse-Max-Pemberton.html

Summary

The NHS managers are often blamed for wasting money and doing nothing. This is unfair since the government has not done anything to help to cut in management. Recent research has proved more managers are necessary. Although the author of this article disagrees with the genuine sentiments he finds the tasks managers have been given frightening. They now have the final say in clinical decisions, even thought they have no relevant background. So, the people who are responsible for meeting targets are making life-and-death decisions about patient’s welfare. He claims it is not the manager’s fault, but only if the organization is around the patient paper work can be cut down.

Opinion

The NHS Cinderella has still not given a fitting sandal by the government. I think it is very discouraging for people to work for the NHS. The managers are walloped by almost anyone. The medical staff is often frustrated and it seems no one really cares. There is never enough money or staff to take care of everyone. The people who have to care about meeting the targets are now also making decisions that should be made by doctors. Even if the managers have a relevant background, one cannot ask them to make choices about the patient’s welfare if they have to worry about meeting the financial goals at the same time.

Middle class school children pay the price for new allocation policy

Blog 13
Schools win right to turn away middle class children

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor 27 May 2011, The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/8540055/Schools-win-right-to-turn-away-middle-class-children.html#disqus_thread

Summary

Debatable alterations in the rules schools use to allocate places might be disastrous for middle class children. The rules have been introduced to try to close the disparity between rich and poor. One of the rules is meant to get more children from very low-income families into the better schools. Allowing the schools to select pupils based on the family income will do this. Schools can do this in favour of children who are entitled to free school lunches. Unfortunately this new allocation regime is arguable, because it has a negative side effect for middle class children. For those children there might not be a place anymore on those schools, because they don’t bring enough money in for the benefit of the poorer children.

Opinion

The government has the aspiration to be fair on all children and to give them equal rights. Accessibility to good education is probably one of the most important starting points to get more equal changes for everyone in society. Although this rule seems to give the less advantaged children an opportunity to get better education, it won’t work if other children, the middle class in this case, are duped. I think the intention is good, but Britain really needs a completely different system if they want equal access to good schools for everyone and not just a few new rules.

Whale Found Death on Beach near Uist

Blog 12

22 May 2011 Last updated at 15:42 GMT

Pilot whales leave Loch Carnan following death

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-13488302 

Summary

Last week a pilot whale stranded and died in the Hebridian Loch Carnan. The female whale belonged to a pod of circa 60 pilot whales. The pod had been spotted and about one third of the group suffered from head injuries. Post-mortem on the whale showed that the animal did not die of the injuries, but that she has suffered a disease. One is afraid that more whales of the pod are infected and will die as well. Last year 33 whales where found death on a beach in Donegal (the Irish republic). Although Pilot whales live in deep water they do go to the beaches for their main meals.

Opinion

The cause of death is a serious illness was the conclusion of the post-mortem. However the article does not make clear if a virus, bacteria or prion caused it. The stranding and dying of Pilot whales on the beaches is very disturbing especially if one does not know the cause. Since several years research is done after the influence of windmills in sea on the navigation system of Porpoise. There is some evidence that there is more beaching if there are windmills placed in sea near the coast. I do not know if this is the cause in the neighbourhood of Uist. However I think research is necessary to prevent more sea mammals from beaching.

 

Blog 11

14 March 2011 Last updated at 16:22 GMT
Thousands of reptiles released in Wiltshire
BBC News UK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-12733129

Summary

Thousands of heterothermic vertebrates have been relocated to an area far away from their original environment. The transfer of reptiles was necessary because their Essex habitat is going to become a ship terminal. The animals have been brought to a location where the animals can live from day one. The new area has been checked to make sure that there is enough space and food for the animals to survive. At the moment it seems the snakes, lizards and slow worms have settled. However the cold-blooded animals will be monitored for at least another three years.

Opinion

Of course it is wonderful they relocate the heterothermic vertebrates and as they say in the article: ”the animals seem to do fine” One can ask if people realize how difficult it is to tell whether cold-blooded animals are doing well. The problem with animals that adjust to the surrounding temperatures is that they do not show immediately signs of stress, sickness or other malaise. When it shows it is often to late to cure them. Apart from this we do not know yet if the animals will be able to reproduce in their new environment. Monitoring the animals for a few more years will tell us the answer to those questions.

Stuffed tiger caused commotion

Blog 10
Appeal to trace tiger toy owner after police alert

BBC News UK
22 May 2011 Last updated at 12:22 GMT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-13491268

Summary
A photographer who had seen a white tiger alarmed the Hampshire police. The police called in specialists from Marwell zoo for assistance. Those specialists are trained to tranquilize escaped wild animals with darts.
The local golf club was evacuated and the cricket was postponed with half an hour. All those action turned out to be unnecessary. The tiger turned out to be a stuffed animal. It fell over when the helicopter flew low. The police still wonders whether this was a hoax or just a lost property.


Opinion
May be this was hoax, but one can see it as a kind of exercise on how to deal with animals who escape from zoo’s or other places where they are held in captivity. I wonder if they evaluate an action like this. It surprises me that the only noticed it was a stuffed animal after it fell over. It makes me wonder if the police had a look themselves. It seems to me if you look with good binoculars you notice the animal is not breathing or looking around. However at least they found out it was a stuffed animal, before the specialist took off with their darts and tranquilizers.

Coffee can make the Difference

Blog 9
The world behind your £3 cup of coffee
BBC news UK
19 May 2011 Last updated at 10:30 GMT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13440217

 

Summary
Hayley Atwell (actress) earned her Shakespeare course by working in a coffee bar. Years later she is in Nicaragua and surprised by the poverty of this country that has so many natural reserves as coffee plantations.
She visited a few co-operatives, who help coffee producers to get a fair price for their products and services. Haley visited a farm that just became a partner in the co-operative. On this farm they omitted the essentials of life, but there was hope. Another farm was already a long time in the co-operative and had apart from the bare necessities built their own school.
She says: “The next cup I drink will remind me how we are all in some way responsible for the choices we make.”

Opinion
It is a pity we are not always aware of the choices we have drinking coffee or tea. Since several years coffee companies are booming business and not just in Italy. I hope this opportunity will be explored to the maximum to make people aware of the choices they have. Although the coffee plants are far away, we should realize that our choices can make the world for many people either a worth or a better place to live.

St. Pancras Reopens his Doors.

Blog 8

By Nick Trend 11:11AM BST 12 Apr 2011


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/8435902/Londons-best-railway-hotels.html 

Summary

Inspired by the restoration of one of London’s most impressive renaissance buildings, St Pancras, the writer of this article visited other impressive buildings of the same period. St Pancras is famous in London because it is also a station. The rooms of the hotel are looking over the platforms of St Pancras station. The author discovered that many of the buildings, apart from one, are still there. Most of them have been restored and have this specific Victorian character. The exuberance of those building is unique and no modern 5 star hotel can competed with the personality and luxury appearance those old restored buildings have.

Opinion

I spend many days of in London and made several sightseeing trips organized by friends, family and colleagues. Back than I was surprised how often St Pancras station was part of the tour. Many Londoners seemed to be very proud of this architectural monument in their city. Later I often was one of the many commuters who used the Eurostar traveling back and forwards between the continents. Every time I arrived at St Pancras there was this feeling of coming home in one of the best places one could be. When I walk through St Pancras with friends I am always proud to show them this piece of splendid architecture.

Why Samantha Cameron Decided to Reduce the Size of her Job

Blog 7

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent 6:30AM BST 14 May 2010

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/7721683/Samantha-Camerons-400000-salary-to-shrink-as-she-cuts-back-hours.html 

Summary

Samantha Cameron has a highly paid job as a creative director at Smython’s. The Prime Minister’s wife decided that in future she would only work two days a week. She claims she made the decision of cutting down the workload when she discovered she was due to have another baby. The intention is to spend more time with her children and to balance her job with her ‘new-day-to-day life’. Whether this pronouncement is also made because she and her husband are moving to Downing Street No 10 is not clear. Fact is that if she kept working the same amount of time as she does her income would be almost two and a half times as much as the PM’s income.

Opinion

This article makes me wonder if the amount of money the PM’s wife earns with her job would make the headlines if she had been the PM and her husband (David Cameron) had been paid this well for a job. However I think the salary she gets paid is outrageous. So from that point of view I welcome the article about the salary. It is a pity the discussion is more about the underlying motivation of Samantha Cameron than about the high salaries in general. One can wonder if anyone is worth so much money.

Memorising is Key Factor for Teen Music Prodigy

Blog 6

By Laura Roberts 3:25PM BST 15 May 2011

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8514840/Teen-music-prodigy-can-learn-pieces-in-hours-despite-being-unable-to-read-a-note.html 





Summary

A 19 years old boy taught himself to play classical music without any lessons or even without reading musical notation. Samuel has been playing music since he was a child. He started of with the guitar, but he had never learned to read notes. Samuel himself was intending to go and study law; but his teachers urged him to go and study music so he can explore his talents. His piano teacher believes Samuel has a mild form of autism. Samuel agreed on clinical research to find out if his teacher believes are right. His own opinion about his talent is that he is just very good in memorising.

Opinion

Now and then one comes across a talented person. This boy has been playing music since a very young age and has learned to use his ears playing not his eyes. The technique of piano playing he might have copied from his mother at a younger age. I wonder about the musical interpretation of the pieces he plays. The article does not refer to his interpretation of the music. Since he is copying someone else’s opinion on the piece. I wonder if he would give the piece a different interpretation if he could sign read the piece before playing instead of listening to someone’s interpretation.

 

Couch Potato Lifestyles costs HS Loads of Money

Blog 5

By Laura Donnelly, Health Correspondent 9:45AM BST 15 May 2011

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8514091/Junk-food-Britain-costs-the-NHS-more-than-cigarettes-and-alcohol.html

Summary

The new ways of living have an enormous effect on the amount of money that is spend by the NHS. The economic costs of a lifestyle that often leads to obesity is almost twice the amount spent on health problems caused by smoking and alcohol. Since the 70’s the number of adults smoking has halved, while the number of people suffering of obese are quadrupled. Heart diseases, most cancers, diabetes and strokes are related to obesity.

Many Briton’s have a lifestyle of couch potato’s and don’t realize this lifestyle is due to various life threatening diseases.

Opinion

Obese is a problem in many countries. There are probably several reasons for this expanding problem. Science does not have a solution for it yet, because one does not know the cause. There are some social studies on this issue and some believe that the main cause is the attitude of the people. However there are also people who do not suffer of overweight, but do suffer of health problems caused by bad eating habits. It is to easy to blame overweight people for their bad health. I believe it is necessary to make people aware of the positive consequences of good eating habits. This probably has more effect then focussing on the negative effects.

Long Term Effects of Ecstasy

Blog 4

By Martin Beckford, Health Correspondent 8:00AM BST 25 Apr 2011 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8471281/The-health-risks-of-taking-ecstasy.html

Summary
The incidental use of ecstasy can cause damage like overheating. Some say the damage done by this drug is relatively small considering the amount of people using this drug. However there have been over 200 deaths from the use ecstasy over the last 15 years. Only recently it has become clear that regular use over a longer time also can cause mental damage to the consumer. There are examples of depression and brain damage comparable to that experienced in dementia. In spite of those diseases some high profile figures say it is one of the saver drugs to use.

Opinion
Any harm done by drugs is unnecessary. The amount of effort other people have to go through to take care of the damage is enormous. I am not only referring to the economic impairment, but also the emotional suffering. Especially when people get older, settled and may be even start families the emotional affect of depression and brain damage are massive. Depressed parents have an enormous impact on family life and many children suffer just as much or more as the victim himself. Not to speak of such a horrible disease as dementia. Those are the main reason why I think damage caused by drugs should be prevented, may be even by tolerating it if it is a way to reduce the destructive effect of the ecstasy.

Will Art put Margate Back on the Map?

Blog 3

12 April 2011 Last updated at 16:02 GMT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13054326

Summary
Summary
Margate was a popular seaside in Britain. Now it is a desolated village with wonderful  beaches. The grandeur from the old days has gone. Great fires destroyed several attractions. Margate is called a ghost town, because of the many boarded shops.
The opening of the ‘Turner Contemporary art Gallery’ might be a turning point for Margate. One hopes that this Gallery will have the same effect for the town as The Guggenheim Museum has for Bilbao. The Turner Contemporary itself, designed by the famous architect David Chipperfield, and the collection inside will have a positive influence on the whole region. The collection is not permanent, but will always have at least one work of Turner.

Opinion
I think the opening of the Gallery will make people aware of the positive effect of art. The architectural design as well as the visual arts can make a huge difference for many people. It is difficult to express the value of art in terms of money, but I believe that if we could measure arts on a scale of well being it wouldn’t do bad at all.
The building itself is magnificent and has a wonderful luxurious appearance, but no doubt there will be others around who will turn away in revulsion when they see this building. However no one will pass the building without an emotion and may be this is one of the strongest arguments that art should be part of everyday life. Art makes it impossible to neglect ones feelings and the feelings of a society.

BBC News Reader Collapsed in Front of the Finish

Blog 2

17 April 2011 Last updated at 16:12 GMT
London marathon: Thousands join record-breaking elite
Thousands of runners were raising money for charity

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13107523

Blog 2

Summary

The London marathon was joined by thousands, among those runners was the BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth. She ran to raise money for a cancer charity and was determined to finish. This attempt almost failed when she collapsed 2,5 miles before the finish. However after she had received care from the paramedics she continued her race and crossed the finish. With this marathon she raised £12,000. Apart from Raworth there were several other known runners taking part like the Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell, former Manchester United footballer Dwight Yorke, and models Agyness Deyn, Nell McAndrew and Elen Rivas. The Olympic rowing champion James Cracknel was raising money for brain injury charity Headway.

Opinion

Running is one of the cheapest sports to exercise; all you need is a pair of good running shoes. People who start running often set themselves a goal; sometimes this goal is the London Marathon. You have to be very well trained to run this race, but even then there is always s the risk of collapsing.

It makes me wonder if all this fund raising for a good cause yields as much as we think. Of course the spotlights are on, the name of the organization is in the news and an amount of coins will be handed over to the fund. It remains an open question how much damage is done by showing the collapse of Raworth. Doesn’t is set a bad example, if you read the article it is almost as if she is hero. Are people who molest their body’s heroes? Is it necessary to show a whole nation the breakdown of someone?

However the London marathon is a great happening, but from the point view of health education it might be better to make an agreement about what one wants to show the entire country.

Will the Queen decide to make a Princess of Kate?

Blog 1
16 April 2011 Last updated at 09:33 GMT
Royal wedding: What do we call her?
By Nicholas Witchell Royal correspondent

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13099871

Summary
After the wedding to Prince William ’Kate Middleton becomes Her Royal Highness, Princess William of Wales and Princess Catherine. Some say: ‘with the wedding coming it is time to unfurl the banners and polish the escutcheons of the royals dukedoms’. This means Kate will become the Duchess of whatever. Only the Queen can give Kate the title of Princess of the United Kingdom. When in 1947 he Philip Mountbatten was married he kept his name only later he became Prince Philip because the Queen ‘accorded him the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom.
 

Opinion
This name business is a hot issue in the UK. The same discussion took place in the eighties when Lady Diana Spencer got married to Prince Charles. It makes me wonder what Kate would prefer. One can imagine she prefers to be called Princess over Duchess. ‘Ordinary girls becomes Princess’ sounds like a fairy tail, but when you read ‘Ordinary girl becomes Duchess, one is easily inclined to think: ‘poor girl’.  There is nothing glamourous to it if you are called ‘Duchess of whatever’. Whereas you are called ‘Princes Kate’ of ‘Princess Catherine’ one will have associations with a youthful and sparkling life.