24 February 2013

$15,500 for SWISS DIGNITAS DEATH

From UK DAILY MAIL

Assisted suicide 'is legalised' by police: Secret new guidelines from senior officers mean deaths are not investigated

Dignitas suicide clinic helped 33 people from this country to die last year
That pushed total during past decade close to 250
Police gave only a handful of files to prosecutors and no one was charged

By Martin Beckford
PUBLISHED: 00:27 GMT, 24 February 2013 | UPDATED: 00:33 GMT, 24 February 2013

Campaigners fear assisted suicide is being legalised by the back door as record numbers of Britons end their lives at Dignitas (FORCH 6 m.S/E from ZURICH) – while their relatives escape investigation for helping them.
The Swiss suicide clinic helped 33 people from this country to die last year – the highest ever annual figure – pushing the total during the past decade close to 250.
But police passed only a handful of files to prosecutors over the assistance provided by loved ones, and no one was charged. A police worker even accompanied her mother to Switzerland but faced no sanction.

Secret: Campaigners fear assisted suicide is being legalised by the back door as record numbers of Britons end their lives at Dignitas, pictured, while their relatives escape investigation for helping them

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has recently issued new guidelines to every force in the country about how they should investigate assisted suicides.
Although the document is restricted, this newspaper has been shown the section that deals with deaths abroad. It highlights how tough such inquiries can be because of the difficulty in obtaining evidence from foreign authorities.

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80% of state workers are in pension scheme while just 32% of private sector staff are saving for retirement

But the situation has prompted claims that the police are failing to uphold the law and protect vulnerable or disabled people, who could be pressurised to commit suicide.
Kevin Fitzpatrick, of the campaign group Not Dead Yet, said: ‘The idea is gaining hold that assisting someone to commit suicide is not prosecutable in practice.’

Tory MP Mark Pritchard, who is vice-chairman of the Parliamentary Pro-Life Group, said: ‘I fear assisted suicide is being legalised by the back door. If the will of Parliament is being ignored, there should be an urgent review by the Justice Secretary.’
Alistair Thompson, of the Care Not Killing Alliance, said of the police guidance: ‘It is extremely worrying that police officers are saying they cannot investigate and are advising their members not to investigate deaths abroad.’
Aiding or encouraging a suicide remains illegal in England and Wales under the 1961 Suicide Act and punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment. But guidelines published in 2010 by the Director of Public Prosecutions spelled out that relatives would not be charged if they acted out of compassion to help a terminally ill person end their suffering.
New figures suggest that move reassured Britons that they will escape punishment if they help loved ones travel to countries such as Switzerland, where assisted suicide is permitted.

Sir Terry Pratchett is a known supporter of assisted suicide

Tony Nicklinson died a week after losing his legal battle for the right to end his own life

Support: Sir Terry Pratchett, left, is a known supporter of assisted suicide. Tony Nicklinson, right, died a week after losing his legal battle for the right to end his own life

Dignitas, set up in 1998, allows foreigners to use its services, and its own figures show that 248 Britons have now died there – with 33 deaths last year, up from 22 the year before. Anyone who wants the organisation’s help must become a member, pay about £10,000 and see a local doctor before being given a fatal dose of barbiturates to drink.
The Crown Prosecution Service’s statistics reveal that police passed them 44 files on assisted suicides and cases of euthanasia – where a doctor administers the fatal dose – between 2009 and 2011.
By October 2012, the total had reached 66, including deaths in England and Wales as well as abroad. Of these, prosecutors chose not to proceed with 45, nine were withdrawn and 12 were still being looked into.
In previous years, police arrested some relatives and friends after they helped terminally ill people die at Dignitas. But those who made the trip last year said that they had not been questioned.
The new police guidelines say ‘there may be a lack of co-operation or even a legal impediment as to why the relevant foreign authorities cannot provide evidence as to how and why someone has died’.

They also point out that ‘in a substantial majority of cases, the bodies are cremated in the country in which the suicide took place. If the body is not repatriated to England and Wales, the death does not come under the jurisdiction of the HM Coroner’.
Chief Constable David Crompton, ACPO spokesman on homicide, said: ‘It requires any UK police force to be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt the circumstances under which the person died, and this can be difficult, particularly if burial or cremation has already taken place. But whenever we receive information or intelligence about such a case, these investigations are pursued.’
A CPS spokesman said: ‘While no prosecutions have been brought since the 2010 guidelines were issued, each case is considered on its own merits. Any inference that the CPS has implemented a blanket policy of not prosecuting for this offence is wrong.’
Meanwhile, former Labour Minister Lord Falconer will later this year table a Private Member’s Bill that would legalise assisted suicide in England and Wales if a patient had less than a year to live.
Jo Cartwright, press manager for Dignity In Dying, said: ‘Some people will choose an assisted death even if they have to travel abroad at great financial and emotional cost to themselves and their loved ones.
‘So a much better alternative would be a safeguarded assisted dying law here in the UK.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2283561/Assisted-suicide-legalised-police-Secret-new-guidelines-senior-officers-mean-deaths-investigated.html#ixzz2Lput1toA
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23 February 2013

UK:PRIVATE better than STATE management

From UK DAILY MAIL,

Transformed: The failing NHS trust taken over by private firm has one of the highest levels of patient satisfaction

Hinchingbrooke Hospital is ranked one of the highest for patient happiness and waiting times
It was on the verge of going bust when it was taken over by Circle last year
It is the first NHS trust to be run entirely by a private firm

By Peter Campbell and Sophie Borland
PUBLISHED: 00:37 GMT, 23 February 2013 | UPDATED: 00:39 GMT, 23 February 2013

The first NHS trust to be run entirely by a private firm has one of the highest levels of patient satisfaction in the country.
Hinchingbrooke, a hospital in Cambridgeshire with 160,000 patients, was on the verge of going bust when it was taken over by Circle last year.
But NHS figures show it is now ranked as one of the highest for patient happiness and waiting times.

Hinchingbrooke Hospital, the first NHS trust to be run entirely by a private firm, is ranked as one of the highest for patient happiness and waiting times

Patient satisfaction: Hinchingbrooke Hospital, the first NHS trust to be run entirely by a private firm, is ranked as one of the highest for patient happiness and waiting times

The company running the trust has slashed losses at the hospital by 60 per cent and will soon begin to pay off burgeoning debts built up over years of mismanagement. The takeover deal, which saved the hospital from closing down, is seen as a blueprint for the future of many NHS trusts.
The George Eliot Hospital in Warwickshire is already considering adopting the model.

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The NHS is attempting to improve patient care drastically in the wake of a damning report into the scandal at Mid Staffordshire, where up to 1,200 died needlessly.
It blamed the horrific care on a culture of targets across the health service with managers inclined to ignore the concerns of frontline staff.

The NHS is attempting to improve patient care drastically in the wake of the scandal at Mid Staffordshire, where up to 1,200 died needlessly

Damning report: The NHS is attempting to improve patient care drastically in the wake of the scandal at Mid Staffordshire, where up to 1,200 died needlessly

Experts say the system in place at Hinchingbrooke, which empowers doctors and nurses, could be used in dozens of other struggling NHS trusts.
Jim O’Connell, chief executive of the hospital, said: ‘We put more of the decision-making in the hands of the doctors and nurses.
He added: ‘There are still a lot of inefficiencies in the NHS because it is the bureaucracy that has built up over all these years, and we have to change that.
‘Any changes that we make have to be good for patients and good for efficiency as well.’

Patient satisfaction has risen to 85 per cent, placing Hinchingbrooke in the top six of the East of England’s 46 hospitals. The feedback is calculated by asking families and patients whether they would recommend the hospital, then weighting the answers compared to local peers.
Previously the trust was among the lowest ranking for satisfaction.
Figures also show that Hinchingbrooke has risen from being one of the worst performing trusts to one of the best under the private firm’s management.When Circle took over, the hospital was consistently near the bottom of the 46 trusts, with many patients waiting more than four hours in A&E.
It now tops the list for short waiting times, seeing 98.2 per cent of patients within the required window.
The hospital also ranks fifth for the proportion of patients with suspected cancer having tests within a fortnight.
Before the takeover it had missed targets every month since June 2010.
It now treats 89 per cent of cancer patients within 62 days, beating the 85 per cent target.
Circle saved millions of pounds a year by cutting out arduous paperwork and middle management.
Under the former ownership, a lengthy form had to be filled out every time a lightbulb needed changing, in a process that often took more than a week.
The group, which runs independent hospitals in Reading and Bath, inherited debts of £39million with the project.
The hospital had been expected to lose £10million last year, but this has been whittled down to £3.7million by the Circle group.
It made up the deficit from its own coffers, rather than taxpayer funds, and is expected to break even in the current year.

CANADA: CHAGAS DISEASE

CANADA PUBLIC HEALTH:CHAGAS' DISEASE

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/tmp-pmv/info/am_trypan-eng.php

Canada now testing blood supply for (INCURABLE) Chagas' Disease.

Imported by rural South American legal/illegal immigrants.

22 February 2013

UK: DEATH in STATE HOSP after DISC OP. "six-figure compensation"

From UK DAILY MAIL

Friday, Feb 22 2013 3PM 29°F 6PM 32°F 5-Day Forecast

Woman, 42, bled to death after routine back op in hospital where staff had warned bosses about 'grave risks to patients'

Andrea Green died hours after the operation at Barnsley District Hospital
Post-mortem report listed cause of death as internal bleeding
It later emerged she may not have needed the surgery after all
Staff had already warned about 'extreme pressure and stress' in department

By Anna Hodgekiss
PUBLISHED: 11:17 GMT, 22 February 2013 | UPDATED: 13:33 GMT, 22 February 2013

Andrea Green bled to death after a routine back operation she may not actually have needed

A fit and healthy woman bled to death after having routine surgery for a back pain.
Andrea Green, 42, died just 14 hours after the operation at Barnsley District General Hospital.
Her death came after staff in the hospital's orthopaedic department warned managers about grave risks to patients 'extreme pressure and stress' in the department.
An inquest was halted and Sheffield coroner Chris Dorries asked police to investigate following the emergence of the letter outlining staff concerns.
Ms Green had started suffering from back pain in August 2009. The pain was so bad that she was bedridden for two weeks despite being prescribed with painkillers by her GP on numerous occasions.

She was referred to the orthopaedic clinic at Barnsley Hospital but by the time her appointment came round, her pain had subsided.

The clinic diagnosed her as suffering from a prolapsed (herniated) disc. Unbeknown to Ms Green, this condition quite often resolves itself over time without the need for further treatment.
Despite this, the hospital listed her for surgery and she was advised that the pain could return if the operation was not carried out.
Because she did not want the pain to return, she agreed to the procedure, which took place in March 2010.
When her sister Janette Allatt visited her in hospital later that evening, she found her very pale and complaining of stomach pain.
Nurses discovered she had very low blood pressure and because she was in pain, administered medication to relieve it.
At 2am the following morning, Ms Green's father received a telephone call from the hospital informing them that she was seriously ill. To their horror, by the time her family arrived at the hospital, she had died.

Mrs Allatt, 56, said: 'I just remember being in total and absolute shock. I never expected anything like this to happen. We have so many questions about what happened to Andrea and believe if it wasn’t for the surgery, she would still be here today.'
A report from the post mortem examination listed the cause of death as retroperitoneal haemorrhage (internal bleeding).

Andrew Harrison

Solicitor

Areas of work:

Medical Negligence

Accreditations/Memberships:

APIL accredited Litigator

Phone Number: 01226 603 128
Email: enq@raleys.co.u

19 February 2013

ONTARIO LIBERAL PREMIER SPEECH

from ONTARIO LIBERAL PREMIER SPEECH.with (comments)

Your government is committed to health promotion to combat smoking and obesity, and it believes strongly in patient-centred care and evidence-based health policy.(NOT DEFINED)
Along with all parties in the legislature, it understands the pressing need to expand access to HOME CARE in Ontario.
And so your government will continue to expand the support available to people in their homes, and to address the needs of men and women across Ontario currently waiting for the HOME CARE services they require.(MD HOUSE CALL fee will be increased).
Your government will also continue to expand access to mental health services and support efforts to reduce stigma for men and women coping with mental illness.(TWO MENTAL HOSPITALS CLOSED in TORONTO)
It will work with partners in all related sectors to coordinate the best response to these challenges because Ontario's minds and spirits must be healthy, too.
It will also move forward with a Seniors Strategy to ensure that Ontario can best respond to the needs of its aging population.
It will promote partnership between health care providers - from hospitals and long-term care homes, to community support services and front line medical providers through Community Health Links - so that the care of our loved ones and our most vulnerable citizens is constant and cohesive.
To ensure the best treatment for our children, our parents, grandparents and our friends, your government believes the research community must be supported in its work.
And it is therefore announcing renewed support for the Ontario Brain Institute (655 BAY STREET @ Elm St) through a funding partnership with the PRIVATE sector.
Every dollar your government contributes will leverage four additional dollars from its partners by 2018.
( GOVERNMENT RECOGNITION of the IMPORTANCE of PRIVATE EQUITY).

UK DEATH FROM CORONAVIRUS (NCoV)

From UK DAILY MAIL

Tuesday, Feb 19 2013 3PM 37°F 6PM 32°F 5-Day Forecast

Sars-like virus claims first UK victim after man, 39, dies at a Birmingham hospital

The patient, who was being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, died on Sunday
Was a relative of patient being treated in Manchester after bringing back coronavirus from Middle East
Hospital says patient was already receiving treatment for long-term, complex health condition

By Anna Hodgekiss
PUBLISHED: 05:11 GMT, 19 February 2013 | UPDATED: 12:22 GMT, 19 February 2013

A new Sars-like illness has claimed its first UK victim, health officials confirmed today.
The 39-year-old man, who was being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, died on Sunday after becoming infected with the novel coronavirus, the hospital confirmed today.
Of the 12 confirmed cases worldwide four have been British and five have died as a result of the virus.
Scroll down for video

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses known to cause illness ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

The patient in Birmingham caught the disease from a relation who became infected in the Middle East, and is still being treated at a Manchester hospital.
A third member of the same family is also being treated for the virus at the hospital which health officials fear could be spread from person to person.
Of the 12 people who have been confirmed as suffering from the virus across the globe, six have now died.
Three people have died in Saudi Arabia and two in Jordan.
A hospital statement released today said: 'The patient was already an outpatient at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), undergoing treatment for a long-term, complex unrelated health condition.
'The patient was immuno-compromised and is believed to have contracted the virus from a relative who is being treated for the condition in a Manchester hospital.

'QEHB is working closely with the Health Protection Agency which is currently following up other household members and contacts of this case.
Professor John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the HPA, said: ‘This case is a family member who was in close personal contact with the earlier case and who may have been at greater risk of acquiring an infection because of their underlying health condition.
'To date, evidence of person-to-person transmission has been limited. Although this case provides strong evidence for person to person transmission, the risk of infection in most circumstances is still considered to be very low.'
Infected patients have presented with serious respiratory illness with fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.

The lining of the lung, or epithelium, represents an important first barrier against respiratory viruses

Today, experts suggested the virus could potentially be treated by targeting the immune system.
The coronavirus (NCov) belongs to the same family as the coronavirus SARS, which surfaced in China more than a decade ago and infected 8,000 people worldwide, killing around one in 10 of them.
It's thought the virus can penetrate the lining of the passageways in the lung and evade the immune system as easily as a cold virus can.
The research also reveals that the virus is susceptible to treatment with interferons, components of the immune system that have been used successfully to treat other viral diseases, opening a possible mode of treatment in the event of a large-scale outbreak.
Now scientists at the Institute of Immunobiology at Kantonal Hospital in Switzerland, have tested how well the virus could infect and multiply in the entryways to the human lung using cultured cells manipulated to mimic the airway lining.

The lining of the lung, or epithelium, represents an important first barrier against respiratory viruses.

But, said co-author Dr Volker Thiel, this part of the body does not put up a big fight against NCoV.

18 February 2013

UK:POOR PATIENT COMPLIANCE

From UK DAILY MAIL

Monday, Feb 18 2013 6PM 29°F 9PM 32°F 5-Day Forecast

One in three patients does not take medication properly putting their health at risk and costing the NHS half a billion pounds every year

Aston Medication Adherence Study analysed one million prescriptions
People often put off by side-effects and not understanding instructions
Certain groups more susceptible to a lack of adherence to guidelines
Those whose primary language is Urdu and Bengali struggled as did over-60s

By Mario Ledwith
PUBLISHED: 08:26 GMT, 18 February 2013 | UPDATED: 09:21 GMT, 18 February 2013

One in three patients is putting their health at risk because they do not take their medication properly, costing the NHS an estimated £500 million every year.
Fears about potential side-effects and poor understanding of doctors' instructions are partly responsible for the issue, according to a study.
Researchers analysing one million prescriptions found that the absence of symptoms and a lack of trust in pharmacists also played a part in people deciding to stop taking their medication.

Understanding: The Aston Medication Adherence Study analysed one million prescriptions and found that a number of factors, such as side effects and poor instructions from doctors, were responsible for people not taking medication properly

The Aston Medication Adherence Study, is thought to be the first research project looking at adherence to medication in the UK.
It found that certain ethnic groups are more likely to experience difficulties in understanding how to take medication.
People whose primary language is Urdu or Bengali are particularly susceptible, as are those living in poorer inner-city areas.

More...

They found that people aged over 60 struggled with adherence to medication patterns.
The study, carried out by researchers at Aston University’s Pharmacy School, was centred on the Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust, looking at those suffering from type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism and high cholesterol.
Health bodies are facing increasing pressure to manage treatable, long-term conditions in an attempt to reduce hospital admissions.

Findings: The study, carried out by researchers at Aston University¿s Pharmacy School, looked at those suffering from type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism and high cholesterol

The report recommended that healthcare systems should take account of a patient's first language and offer more advice to those taking medication for long-term conditions.
Professor Chris Langley, principal investigator for the AMAS said: 'What is important about the AMAS is that it identifies adherence patterns within an ethnically diverse inner city area with high levels of deprivation; this is currently unchartered territory.
'The results from this study have provided an intriguing insight into adherence behaviour within an inner-city population, whilst the focus group data provided context and understanding of the barriers to adherence from the patients’ perspective.'
Dr Joe Bush, investigator for the AMAS added: 'We identified numerous groups in which adherence levels were lower than in the general population, but it is not possible at this time to identify why adherence is lower in these groups.
'Whilst the focus groups suggested possible reasons for non-adherence, we hope to explore these issues further and identify the primary reasons for non-adherence in these patient groups in future research.'