NHS failures are the tip of the iceburg

The recent coverage about the Staffordshire hospital where dehydrated patients had to drink out of vases of flowers just to get a drink is the sad reality of care in some of our hospitals today. Staff shortages and poor communication between patients, families and staff mean that some patients are left to fend for themselves to survive the NHS.

Mistakes
Three weeks ago my dad suffered from a bad stroke when he was in Majorca. He was taken to hospital where he received fantastic care, before he was flown back to England so that he could recover with his family in the Midlands. Before the air ambulance had even landed, the long line of botch ups which were to cause my father and our family unnecessary anguish had already begun. They changed which ward he was going to sent to at the last minute, and didn't tell anyone. My mum and brother, who were still in Majorca were told he hadn't arrived in England yet for several hours because my dad had been 'lost'. My dad had been sent home so that he could recover with his family, none of which could find out where he was, because their had been no communication between the wards that he had been moved.
My dad had been sent to the acute stroke ward unit. Five nurses, for more than 20 patients who all needed a huge amount of attention. When I travelled down from university to visit him, I found the ward he was in to be dirty with a pungent smell of God knows what as soon I entered the building. Hardly a place to recover from an acute stroke.
My mum arrived home the next day and was shocked at the difference in quality of care from her Spanish experience. She immediately started her campaign to have him moved to a different hospital, or to Intensive Care where he had been in the Spanish hospital.

The trauma of the transfer had set his recovery back, and he was having difficulty swallowing. Despite this, the staff decided he would be up to eating mashed up food for his dinner. That night we got a phone call to tell us that my dad had choked on his food while the nurse was feeding him, but they had managed to sort it out. A few points to note here;

1. Why was he being fed food if he couldn't swallow? He should have been on the feeding tube as before.
2. He was only being fed by a nurse because my mum had insisted on it during her complaints. None of the other patients were being fed.
3. If he had been feeding himself, unsupervised like the other patients, his choking most probably would have been fatal.
4. The phone call to tell about what had happened was again only because my mum had insisted on being told everything. I am not convinced that if this had happened to another patient, who's family who had not been so assertive about the type of care they wanted to receive, then this would have happened.

Despite the revelation that my dad could not swallow without choking, when i went to visit him later that evening, i found that he still was not on a drip and was still expected to swallow water himself.

Inconsistency
He has now been moved to the rehab ward to start his physiotherapy. Although it is in the same hospital the ward is much cleaner and although we are still not wholly satisfied, we are much happier with the care. Why are some wards seemingly neglected? I was in hospital myself some months ago in the North West to have an operation. The two hospitals i spent time in were clean, well staffed, and the care i received was great. Why is there such inconsistency? Health care should not be pot luck, not only depending on where you live, but the simple gamble of which ward bed becomes free which may determine where you go. Even more lucky is that my dad has an army of feisty troops to fight his corner and make sure that we can get the best care we can from the hospital, which sadly needs some serious TLC of its own. Unfortunately some patients are left to fight these battles themselves.

Sponser Profile: Charles Dunstone

It's looking ever more likely that Charles Dunstone, CEO of the Carphone Warehouse is going in charge of Fulwood High by September 2009. The proposed sponsor will be investing £2 million into the school, allowing him free reign over the curriculum, uniform, hiring and firing of members of staff and their salaries. I think we'd better find out a bit more about him.

Photo by Adrian Purser

• Born November 21st 1964 Charles Dunstone was brought up near Saffron Walden in Essex, and attended Uppingham School in Leicestershire.
  
• In his A-Levels he scraped a C in history a D in geography and an E in economics.
• After leaving school he got a job with Computer company NEC and allegedly enjoyed it so much he abandoned his plans to go to Liverpool University to do a degree in business.
  
• He co-founded the Carphone Warehouse in 1989 with David Ross using £6,000 of his savings. The pair started out by selling phones out of their Marylebone flat in central London to plumbers and builders.
• He is also a Non-Executive Director of HBOS PLC and The Daily Mail General Trust and Chairman of the Princes Trust Trading Board.
• An survey in the Observer rated him as the 124th most powerful person in the UK.
• At 44 he remains single. He says that he wants to have children in the future but "hasn't found the one yet".
  
• He was ranked 83rd in the 2008 Sunday Times Richlist with an estimated £904 million personal wealth.
• Mr Dunstone enjoys sailing and listening to Jack Johnson
  

The Academy Success Story: Hit or Miss?

A five-year study into the government’s academy programme released by Price Waterhouse Cooper this November paints a mixed picture of academy success. Although it reported an overall improvement in all academies since 2003, it raised concerns about the number of permanent exclusions and financial inconsistencies.

Triumph
The government claims that turning an under performing school into an academy will improve its performance. Jim Knight, Minister for Schools argues that many academy sponsors are responsible for a new positive ethos in schools. Their belief in the child is improving results. In an article in the Guardian on Friday November 29th he said “Earlier this month, I visited North Liverpool Academy and it was one of the most inspiring schools I've ever visited.

"In one of the most deprived communities in the country, I saw first hand what a difference the academy programme makes to children’s lives."

Academies are not only meeting their mission of helping children in deprived communities let down for decades but also developing a truly comprehensive intake. That’s something to celebrate not decry.”

Myth
In a recent study Dr Terry Wrigley at the University of Edinburgh challenges the success story of academies. He argues that the Academies report does not take the changing population of the schools’ into consideration. He found that the proportion of children from socially deprived backgrounds has decreased compared to their predecessor schools. This is because when a school is turned into an academy a huge amount of money is initially invested. This attracts a different sort of pupil he argues. Children from more affluent families will apply to the school to take advantage of the better facilities. Three children apply for each academy place, and those with better results are chosen. The school demographic changes as more disruptive children are displaced by those from more affluent backgrounds.

“Despite the government's claims, and despite the vast expense, there has been no overall impact of academies on pupils' results, simply a change in the pupil population.” said Dr Wrigley

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Dr Wrigley's research analysed the relative improvement of academies in light of the changing population of the school. The map shows the improvement of GCSE results for academies according to his findings.


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Preston academy consultation branded a “farce”

The current consultation over Fulwood High School and Arts College is a “farce” according to anti-academy campaigners.

Opponents say the ad undermines the current consultation over the controversial plan which is not due to end until December 19th. Parents, students, staffs and residents were invited by Lancashire Council to offer their opinions on the proposed plans for September 2009. If the plans go a head Fulwood High would be replaced by North Preston Academy and will be independently run by proposed sponsor Charles Dunstone, CEO of the Carphone Warehouse.

Criticism stirred after an advert appeared in the Times on 13th November advertising for a new head teacher for the planned academy. According to the advert applicants should apply “as soon as possible” and would receive a “generous remuneration package”.

Councillor Michael Lavalette, an opponent of the plans said “It suggests that the consultation is a complete and utter farce. We have been banned from handing out leaflets and including them in the consultation pack. If you were to read the consultation package you would think that there are no doubts about academies.”



Councillor Vali Patel, who will be making the ultimate decision about the proposed plans, brushed aside claims that he’d made up his mind over the matter. “The reaction is understandable, but the advert does not make the consultation any less credible. Lancashire County Council did not advertise for a new head, it was the sponsor. People can still make their presentations and I can still be persuaded, if arguments carry enough weight.”

Let's all ride a bike!

There's nothing more satisfying that whizzing past a huge queue of traffic on your trusty two wheeled friend. Cycling is cheap, good for the environment and gives you a heavenly 10 more minutes in bed. Hurray!

Pro-Life campaigners shock kids into moral blackmail

According to the Guardian on Tuesday Pro-life charities are doing a UK tour of schools to encourage the belief that abortion is wrong. One girl, Rawnie Chapman-Kitchin describes how when the charity, Spuc (The Society of Protection for the Unborn Child), gave a talk at her school, they compared abortion to Nazism. Children in her class claimed after the presentation they had been converted to a pro-life way of thinking, despite some of the presentation being inaccurate about the process of abortion. Well who wouldn't be convinced when the alternative is being branded a Nazi? Pro-life charities and organisation have much better funding and support to pull off such a tour of moral enlightenment than Pro-Choice campaign groups such as EFC (Education For Choice). It would seem then that British children are not getting both sides of the argument. Schools should take responsibility for providing a balanced platform for which a child can then make an informed decision based on facts. It's not about churning out children to agree with your views. Education, especially on an issue as important like this, should be about letting children explore the debates for themselves, whether you agree with them or not.

Harry Potter trailer for film 6

aaaaaaaaaaah harry pot pot, at last those big wigs at warner brothers are doing you the justice you deserve. It took them until the fifth film to get the formula right and now the trailer for film six looks like it could be even better. It gave me frickin shivers. It looks amazing; Dumbledore's narration gets me all nervous even though i know what happens. The setting of the cave for the hufflepuff horcrux looks just how i imagined.


BUT who is this giant imposter pretending he belongs in a potions lesson? Is this meant to be Professor Slughorn? Why is he 6 feet tall, and where the frig is his lovely bushy walrus moustache? Slughorn should be almost perfectly round, red faced due to excessive drinking and have a more impressive lip wig than Hercule Poirot. Imagery is so important with harry p, they need to get it right. At least Jim Broadbent who's playing him is likeable enough. Maybe he'll be able to pull it off. Perhaps i'll be too grief stricken by having to re-live Dumbledore's death to care.