On the anniversary of the first (late) lockdown, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Coronavirus took evidence on the mental health and general wellbeing of health workers. It should surprise no one to hear that it is not good. Nor will it be a surprise to learn that it is deteriorating as they are […]
Last month we hosted an event on soil fertility and the future of food, inspired by Robert Golden’s important film – This Good Earth. This month we are turning the spotlight, very appropriately, onto that hottest of topics: the future of healthcare in the UK. In the wake of the sale of GP practices to […]
40 per cent hike in salary for lockdown-breaker and UK-destroyer Dominic ‘I-need-an-eye-test Cummings. 13 per cent for Sunak’s HMRC civil servants (may be deserved…not the issue here); £37 billion set aside for Dido Harding’s Test and Trace…which cannot find one traveller who got off a plane from Brazil (and which is, anyway, downscaling its operations […]
Ever get the feeling that this government starts each day wondering what it can get away with? It must seem easier than taking candy off a baby to dole up a heap of lies and cruelties and get us to swallow them and say we’d vote for more. I mean, what are those polls about? […]
As Centene Corporation, an American health insurance giant, takes over 49 NHS GP surgeries and practices and the very real fears of creeping (galloping?) privatisation grow, we thought it was a good time to remind ourselves of what US healthcare looks like for ordinary people. Editor
Saturday 20 February was the 50th day since Boris Johnson’s Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) came into effect. Anyone expecting it to settle all questions, or even most of the details, of how we will do business with the EU from now on will be mightily disappointed. The proverbial expression of something being ‘as full […]
Update from the Editor: Today Matt Hancock attempted to wriggle out of any responsibility for his law-breaking failure to comply with transparency policy. Instead , he has shoveled the blame onto civil servants and claimed that the reason they failed to comply with the law was that they were busy saving lives. He implied that […]
Have you heard about the new health and social care ‘reforms’? The reforms which are restructuring the administration of care across the country, and which claim to overturn the worst aspects of those set up by Andrew Lansley in 2012? Are you glad to hear that these new structures, known as Integrated Care Systems, or […]
STOP PRESSS: £37 billion set aside for Test and Trace £37 BILLION! In the last 24 hours the Good Law Project has won an historic judgement against the government on the PPE procurement scandal and Perseverance‘s rover has begun the search for microbial life on Mars. It seems entirely reasonable to be having a bit […]
Much of the misinformation and confusion surrounding Covid-19 relates to whether the vaccines are safe and effective. It is completely understandable to have questions, and no-one should be dismissed for wanting to find the best information out there. I will do my best, using all the available evidence, to cover some of the questions I’ve […]
Do you remember this from June 2016? Like us, you may feel a chill as you view it in the context of the report on the NHS from the influential, hyper libertarian thinktank, the Institute for Economic Affairs (‘IEA’), and the announcement of new ‘reforms’ to the NHS from Matt Hancock today, 11 February 2021. […]
When the late Captain Sir Tom Moore walked around his garden to raise over £39M for more than 240 NHS-linked charities last year, he exemplified a rich and long vein of philanthropism that runs through the UK. The idea of giving to charity to support those who are less well-off (or indeed other things like […]
Action Man Johnny Mercer, Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View (or ‘less view, please’ as one wag tweeted) is quite keen on posting shots of himself in various stages of disrobement, albeit often at the beach. He has even appeared semi-naked lathering up Dove shower gel for an ad run in the USA. He’s rather […]
On 8 January, MP for Somerton and Frome David Warburton gave an interview to the Somerset County Gazette containing a great deal of misinformation. Short of a small link to a fact-checking website in the middle of the article, his views were printed uncontested. Is it right for an MP to be given a platform […]
Scrutiny – not a word that this government either likes or, being charitable, understands. Scrutiny. It’s essential for a healthy society. It is essential if citizens are to have any trust in their public servants and institutions. Scrutiny, trust and truth have all been damaged in the course of the past few years and their […]
With 100,000 Covid deaths, Journalists better mention that Boris Johnson: Feb 2020 Said he wanted UK to have the loosest reaction to Coronavirus. Skipped 5 Cobra Meetings. March 2020 Told people to shake hands Allowed mass crowds May 2020 Denied the Stay Home order existed to save Cummings Seriously!? This was a #DowningStreetBriefing SPECIFICALLY on […]
There are many, many people out there who question whether lockdowns, masks and other ‘restrictions’ are actually more damaging to people’s health, mental health and the economy than the disease itself. This often leads them to conclude that we shouldn’t have lockdowns and that we should somehow simply ‘protect the vulnerable’ and let everyone else […]
Most dogged defenders of our food & farming standards: Devon MPs Ben Bradshaw, Luke Pollard and Dorset MP Simon Hoare stand amongst those who braved the government to demand standards be enshrined in law and not on the table in any future trade deals. (Devon MP Neil Parish almost made it into this select group, […]
With desperate frontline NHS staff warning that the health service is in immediate danger of being overwhelmed by surging Covid-19 admissions, it appears that the government’s much vaunted Nightingale hospitals were built largely for PR purposes – yet another example of government by vacuous gesture. The news that the government’s flagship Nightingale hospital at London’s […]
It was bright when we drew up outside the Eastway Clinic at Sunday lunchtime. Since I don’t drive and the buses are infrequent, I’d allowed us the privilege of getting a taxi. And, on balance, taking a taxi involving greater proximity to one masked driver probably involves no greater risk than sitting on a bus […]
Press release 20 December 2020 Save Our Hospital Services Case for closure of Teignmouth hospital ‘not credible’ says Devon CC Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee A special Spotlight Review meeting took place on 14 December to consider Devon CCG’s recent consultation on closing services at Teignmouth Hospital. Its report to the CCG states: “Members […]
This is aan official press release from Save Our Hospital Services: On 10 December, health campaigning group Save Our Hospital Services (SOHS) held a webinar, inviting the public to listen in to both local and national campaigners who are deeply concerned about the NHS. SOHS was founded in north Devon in 2016 but have spread […]
You might want to look at this Sunday Times article @ChrChristensen @chrischirp . TENGELL, Sweden’s COVID lead, with GUPTA and HENEGHAN, U.K. herd immunity fans, met secretly with Boris Johnson & Rishi Sunak (U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer) at Sunak’s request) on 20th Sept. 20th Sept is highly material as it was the day before […]
Great news, but what’s the betting the Conservative super majority means that all the Lords’ good work will be thrown out, just as food safety, level playing field for farmers and measures to stop government breaking international law were also rejected? Keep writing to your MP. Ask them to vote to keep the Lords’ amendments. […]
MPs urge government to adopt Covid-secure exit strategy – or risk a third spike In the absence of an official review, campaign group March for Change and a group of MPs from all parties conducted their own review to attempt to ensure that lessons are learned and mistakes are not repeated. Here is the press […]
I think a lot of us are done with holding back on what this kleptocratic, autocratic bunch of wreckers and their mainstream media cheerleaders are doing to the UK, to truth and democracy. We are going to unpick the latest lies and call them out, three at a time, for the benefit of those not […]
Hello everyone. Time for one more instalment of my humble reportage from America about our healthcare system as I have come to know it and experience it. As I have said before, I am very lucky to have the insurance that I do, but if there is one area where I am likely to “lose […]
Grassroots campaign group Save Our Hospital Services (SOHS) says Devon’s health services are under attack. They are holding a public meeting (via Zoom) on the threats to health Services in Devon. The public are invited to learn more about the future of their health service in a Zoom meeting on 10 December organised by campaign group, […]
Greetings, everyone. We are enjoying a bit of Indian summer here with temperatures in the 80s, and far too many politicians invading our state. Now I had not really planned to write this article, but it just so happened that I received my Medicare summary notice today in the mail, and thought I would share some […]
Greetings from an election-weary Pennsylvania. I hope I haven’t lost you along the way, as I’ve tried to lead you to some understanding of how the American healthcare system works for senior citizens. In this ‘instalment’ I would like to talk about the costs of Medicare, what supplemental insurance is, and what it costs me. […]