Austerity in England linked to more than 50,000 extra deaths in five years | Public sector cuts | The Guardian

Researchers looked at 2010-2015 when Cameron cuts to NHS and social care were starting to bite

 

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This was inevitable, as the austerity cuts made Local Authorities and Health Authorities to make savings due to the cuts where savings could not realistically be made, so essential services were being run on a ‘shoe string’ and then the next and next and next, etc, meant that the shoe string was getting shorter and shorter.

If you had money then the cuts really did not touch you greatly, but for the masses who don’t have money, many only having an income which is just sufficient and with some not even sufficient, it touched them greatly.

So for those you could least afford it suffered the worst and are still doing so. The Prim e Minister Boris Johnson talks about leveling up, but he keeps saying this but has no idea what it means. For to level up the resources which have been taken away since 2010 need to be returned and then more. For even in 2010 the levels were not correct, and many were below the levels. To put right money needs to be invested in all areas which are insufficient and it will not be cheap.

A start would be to fund Social Care and then health so that all you need care can reasonably get it without having to think where the money is coming from. For Social Care needs to be funded just as the NHS is thereby making it free on the point of delivery, which it should always have been.

This was a major mistake in 1948 for then Social Care and health should have been looked at as one and be managed together, with public health included.

As it was health was looked after, but not social care, even though they were inter-related.

So, the paltry amounts that the Prime Minister announced some weeks ago fell way short of what is actually required and social care will by doing so will always be the poor relation as care services go.

So due to insufficient funding deaths will continue to soar due to the severe lack of care services.

 

Source: Austerity in England linked to more than 50,000 extra deaths in five years | Public sector cuts | The Guardian

Raising taxes will be a disaster for Britain – and here’s the proof

The last Labour government hiked the top tax rate to 50pc, and it was a policy disaster

 

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This is so true, but one that Labour fail to realise as they are so engrossed in trying to take from the assumed rich, that they fail to see that the very rich have the means to legally reduce their tax burden or even more leave the UK completely. Then you don’t even get the tax they were willing to pay before. It is a fine dividing line between what one is willing to pay and one is not. While those who are not rich have no option but to pay the tax they are requested to do.

So rather than increase tax rates considerably, why not just increase by 1% or 2% rather than 10% to bring in a top rate of 50%.

But, Conservatives are so determined not to increase tax for the rich, so they try to get more from the poor and not so rich. by increasing lower tax rates and also not increasing the initial tax free element.

By increasing the tax free element to line with the National Living Wage and increase rates slightly this would enable people to spend more and thereby get money from VAT and also increase slightly Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax.

Also reverse all austerity cuts, thus allowing Local Authorities to create more job opportunities, rather than cut employment to save money. Also allowing more money to be made available for Social Care so the abysmal rates of pay could be eliminated and allow starting pay at £14 or even £15 per hour so encouraging more to enter the profession.

Alter Immigration requirements so all persons willing to work in the UK could do so and thereby enable more non-UK persons to enter the UK to work, while removing any non-UK persons who are not willing to work.

 

Source: Raising taxes will be a disaster for Britain – and here’s the proof

Ministers to crack down on overprescription of medicines on the NHS | The Independent

Government-commissioned review finds 10 per cent of drugs prescribed by primary care doctors are not wanted or needed

 

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This may or may not be true, for we can only know if we see how this conclusion was reached.

For medications are given to individuals and like all individuals we could all experience problems in many different ways.

Unfortunately the NHS does not treat people as individuals, especially in these times of non-face to face consultations. and then the problems in getting repeat consultations when needed. This is the same for both GP and hospital consultations.

They all treat the condition in a ‘one fits all’ approach, instead of a ‘person centred ‘ approach. Also and especially hospitals treat conditions in isolation, but many have multiple conditions and with GPs and some extent hospitals appointments are time time related., otherwise the appointment system get out of line and appointment times are then not met if appointment times are exceeded.

But, if you have more than one issue when seeing a GP and want to relate to your list, the GP could well say, just give me the top of your list and we will discuss the rest on your next appointment, and that is a major problem for when will that next appointment be, certainly not the next day or even the next week could be weeks or months. Even getting through to a GP surgery is a major exercise for it could take time to get even in a queue and then wait to be connected to the receptionists, to be then told all that days appointment haver been taken, no offer for any face to face for the appointments referred to are telephone appointments. It was said sometime ago that going on 80% of a GP consultation was from the patient and not any GP checks, but with a telephone appointment the only vehicle of communication is voice, no understanding of tone, body language and any other observations, so again the appointment is somewhat not sufficient.

As I said, even with a face to face you are usually restricted to around 10 mins, which gives no time for many patient to mention all they wish too and a patient is not an expert of medical issues only on their body and how they are feeling, much of which can’t be expressed over the phone.

Yes, GPs are over worked and there are too few of then, but don’t we all have stressed lives and who is to say how much effort it took a patient to try and get an appointment in the first place, is there any wonder why A&Es are so busy these days, as patients will mainly take going to A&E and suffer the long waits there for they know they will be seen, but again by an overworked, mainly junior doctor, not saying they are not fully trained, but long hours can lead to mistakes being made and they are made and one mistake is one too many.

The NHS has been underfunded for many years, but then so as Social Care which is another story, but as equally important, if not more so.

Money is not everything, for there has been much Government interventions into the NHS and mainly not for the better. Care of any nature is more than likely to be long term and costly.

Don’t get me wrong for we in the UK are extremely lucky to have the NHS, and I bless the Labour Government in the 40s for all their work and will to create the NHS in 1948. But in those days Doctors and Dentists and the BMA were not fully in favour of the NHS, as I am lead to believe they did not wish to lose their access to their private practices, so a compromise was reached. This was on the lines that if they agreed to be brought into the NHS not as employees, but as self employed they could retain their private practices and still work for the NHS. So even tough they are contracted to be in the NHS it is the practice and not the individual doctors. So they can withdraw from the NHS if they wish and still work on  private patients, which many |Dentists have done, so creating many problems for |NHS Dentistry, in that there is a very serious lack of capacity in NHS Dentistry, as so many people are experiencing in not being able to find an NHS dentist, and then afford it, for Dentistry was removed for ‘free at the point of delivery’ many years ago, although the NHS payment is subsidised through the NHS.

|Both the N HS and also Social Care need to be fully funded, but that takes money and one of then should not be left short to fund the other. This is not the fault solely of this Government, but of many previous Governments who have left the NHS somewhat underfunded and even more so, Social Care,  latter even true today, in fact very true and the question is will both be able to survive, especially social care, for the current lack of social care is already having an effect on the over use of the |N HS and if it were to get worse,which it is every day, or even disappear, the NHS would not be able to cope and that would mean disastrous consequences for all who need these services and have no ability to pay.

So urgent action is still required and the announcement a few weeks ago was way to little and way too late.

So medication is but one problem in many others. But I would not just say there is over prescription, which in some instances there will be, especially in some instances of antibiotics and in some anti depression. But please before any thing is done view the patient and not just the assumed overt prescribing.

 

 

Source: Ministers to crack down on overprescription of medicines on the NHS | The Independent

Social Care will it survive, now that is the question?

Social care has been in decline for far too many years, due to successive governments lack of actions to do something to ensure that it will survive. Now we have a Prime Minister who has done something, but it is way too little and way, way too late. It would have been too late, if the necessary money was made available yesterday, but to say it will now not be available for 3 more years, is adding insult to injury. People ease in need of Social Care so deserve so much better, for their pain and suffering will continue and not just continue, but will get much worse and they could not well survive, especially 3 more years, but is that the outcome this Government is working to.

Many years of very serious underfunding has and is taking its toil, as it was in serious decline in 2010 when the Conservative Government decided to introduce austerity cuts and these went on for at least 10 years and then came COVID. The austerity cuts came to ensure Local Authorities (LAs) made savings in their budgets, when any fool could see there were no savings to be made, except Government fools. So to work to the reduced budgets services had to be cut, even essential services. and this eventually included Social Care, as many LAs tried to shield Social Services from cuts, but eventually they had to come and it was the persons in need of Social Care who were made to suffer and they still do, well those still alive do.

I applaud those who have decided to become employed in Social Care, however not all who came in were there for the benefit for whom they are caring for and some of the Care Provider when also in there to make profits from the services.

Those providers should not have been there but many still are and they are destroying the reputations of the Care Providers who do care, just as the care workers who don’t care are destroying the reputations of the care workers who do care and it is the persons in need of care who were left to suffer.

It is said that during the COVID Pandemic people were Clapping for carers, but were they for were they only clapping for certain carers, namely Nurses. Now, while those nurses did deserve the clapping they were not alone for there were many others in health who were as deserved as where the care workers in the care profession. Certainly those in Care and Nursing homes did, but they were not alone, for it is not just the elderly in care/nursing homes who are in receipt of care, as we are left to believe from those who should know better . such as , the Prime Minister and his fellow Ministers, all the MPs and those in the media. Can we blame many of the population for believing that Social care is just for the elderly, well I believe we can for children and any adults can, through no fault of their own find themselves in need of accessing Social acre, either on a temporary basis or on a more permanent basis. For the elderly will only be for some for a short period, when you look at the length of the ‘Cycle of Life’ as some are in need as soon as they are born and then until their dying day, but why are these persons not seen for they are there in full sight, well it is because the people are not seeing them, many because they do not want to, others because they can’t understand the whys and wherefores and some who couldn’t careless, for all they care about is themselves.

Then we have the unpaid carers who currently save the UK well over £132 Billion every year by them caring for their relatives, until they can care no more, by reason of their own death or they become ill and need support themselves.

There are many reasons why people do not enter the care profession, which include

1. the derisory salary for the work undertaken, which is more likely to be around the National Living Wage of £8.91 per hour, rather than the Real Living Wage of £9.50 per hour. When this is compared that persons could earn well over £13 per hour working at Amazon, surely someone looking after your relatives lives should at least be earning £14 per hour
2. insufficient persons in the UK who are willing to work in the Care Profession for any reason, when there are many outside the UK will but are unable to do so because of the UK’s Immigration policy. in the 1950s when there was a lack of works due to WWII the government of the day went to various countries to encourage workers to come to the UK, many from the Caribbean, while today there are many still in Europe and certainly in many of the African countries and others, if only they were given the opportunities.
3. but there are also lack of travel expenses, suitable sick pay, unsocial hours payments and other terms and conditions

But firstly we need a Government who understands care and will do what is required, not the Paltry offer from Boris Johnson, who after COVID is insulting all care workers.

I am not saying the NHS is not deserving the money it has been offered, but both need to be the money required, for not to do so will see the complete demise of Social Care and this will then truly bring the eventual demise of the NHS, just because Boris and his Ministers in Crime are not prepared to take the required actions needed urgently.

So the actions need to be taken now for 3 years is much too long to wait.

Why should I get involved in Health and Social Care?

This week, Manisha from Healthwatch Barking & Dagenham talks about how getting involved locally in health and social care makes a difference.

Source: Why should I get involved in Health and Social Care?

National Adult Social Care Strategic Partners: our response to the 2021 Queen’s Speech

I agree with all you say and I am supporting the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care,
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care

Please could you support it also, and then share.

More information can been here, https://1drv.ms/w/s!Aq2MsYduiazgoEy6ROxeV0abd2mT?e=PICUib

It is essential that the social care funding is sorted for that is a main area, but also are

Care workers pay and conditions
quality of care
quantity of care
social care not being free at point of delivery, as is health
And others

We are united in our view that the Government’s proposals for the future of social care – promised again in the Queen’s Speech for later this year – must be brought forward urgently along with a clear timeline for action.

As senior members of organisations representing people who draw on, work in, commission, provide and regulate adult social care and support, we are united in our view that the Government’s proposals for the future of social care – promised again in the Queen’s Speech for later this year – must be brought forward urgently along with a clear timeline for action.

This was an important opportunity for the Government to make good on its promise to ‘fix social care’ and move the reform debate further forward, building on the many lessons that have been learned during the course of the pandemic.

One of those lessons is the clear and important…

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UK needs £102bn boost to NHS and social care, says major report | NHS | The Guardian

Funding from higher taxes would cut avoidable deaths and improve equality after the Covid pandemic, yes it would, but with Social Care it can’t wait for over a decade for it needs its funding now, like yesterday.

COVID, if we did not know it already that England, even the whole of the UK needs Social Care like never before. The funding increase has to be now, before any more deaths take place.

The funding situation was bad enough before the start of austerity cuts in 2010, they made it much worse and now COVID has left Social Care so decimated that no one is safe.

To not do anything, shows that this Government has no consideration for anyone in need of Social Care, it is as though they are being left to fend for themselves and this they are unable to do, hence their need for Social Care.

To do nothing means that this Government has blood on its hands.

There is a petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care, https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care, Which needs your support

 

Source: UK needs £102bn boost to NHS and social care, says major report | NHS | The Guardian

A vision for the future of social care

I so agree, which is why I support the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care, https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care

Further information can be found at https://1drv.ms/w/s!Aq2MsYduiazgo1VP3BeD4Qrpt0Xm?e=hHwlFU

This vision has been developed by people that draw on or work in social care and through extensive public audience research. It changes how people think about social care and builds public support for and optimism about investment and reform.

Our social care future

We all want a good life

We all want to live in the place we call home, with the people and things we love, in communities where we look out for one another, doing what matters to us.

Caring about each other

If we or someone we care about has a disability or health condition during our life, we might need some support to do these things. That’s the role of social care.

Drawing on support to live our lives in the way we want to

When organised well, social care helps to weave the web of relationships and support in our local communities that…

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Joint statement on the future funding of adult social care

Yet another saying the Government needs to, urgently, provide the promised review of Social Care including the substantial funding required to ensure Social Care can continue.

I have been saying this for some time and support the Petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care, https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care

In my promotions of the petition I have been saying the following

‘The issues raised in the petition were mentioned on Boxing Day in a Sky News report, Social Care – The Other Health Crisis., https://news.sky.com/video/social-care-the-other-health-crisis-12172633, regarding an investigation they have done into the crisis in social care.

They highlighted many of these issues and called on the Government to abide by the promise made by Boris Johnson in 2019 in his election winning speech outside 10 Downing Street, one promise that is still outstanding.

Other perspectives were mentioned in the Community Care article, ADASS urges emergency workforce plan as NHS pressures and staff gaps risk ‘overwhelming social care’,

https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2021/01/08/adass-urges-emergency-workforce-plan-nhs-pressures-staff-gaps-risk-overwhelming-social-care/?utm_content=News%20of%20the%20day%20image&utm_campaign=CC%20daily%2011%2F01%2F2021&utm_source=Community%20Care&utm_medium=adestra_email&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.communitycare.co.uk%2F2021%2F01%2F08%2Fadass-urges-emergency-workforce-plan-nhs-pressures-staff-gaps-risk-overwhelming-social-care%2F‘

Please support the petition by signing and sharing and in doing so give your support to Social Care being given the ability to survive.

For without Social Care many in need of care could have serious unmet needs, which could lead to their deaths, perhaps even more than attributed to COVID-19.

Please sign and share the petition to show your support for Social Care

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care

#socialcarefuture, a unique movement of people that draw on or work in the field of social care, has today joined forces with organisations representing local councils, charities and professionals to call on Ministersto break their silence on the future funding of social care.

Anna Severwright, convener of #socialcarefuture said “While the government has set out its ‘roadmap to freedom’, many of us who draw on social care to live our lives fear something akin to permanent lockdown unless further resources are committed urgently.”

“People and families in our network that draw on social care are already telling us that they are facing increased costs and reduced services because of this underinvestment in our lives. After the year many of us have had to endure, this just adds insult to injury”

“Today we are joining with others to express our deep disappointment at the invisibility of social care in the Chancellor’s…

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With no certainty over retail’s future, are John Lewis staff now being undersold? | Retail industry | The Guardian

Is this the final ending of the High Street as we have known it.

Store after store with many retailers has been ongoing for many years,  https://www.gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates but COVID appears to have increased the process.

Many customers, myself included are now only shopping on the internet.

This coupled with the closing of stores is decimating many high street and this is not good, especially those who have no wish to  do not wish to use the internet or have no opportunities to do so.

But it is not just customers who are affected, for Local Authorities, (LAs), rely on businesses for some of their income through Business Rates. This is coupled with the Government Grants, Council Tax, etc. The LAs need income to pay for the various council services we all experience. With less income and this income from Government Grants has been reducing for the past 11 years through the Governments Austerity Cuts. Even though this Government has stated they will not be continuing the austerity cuts, they are not increasing the Grants to offset all the reductions. Then we have the costs related to COVID and Yes, some of this has been reimbursed by the Government. but not all.

Many of the Council services are essential and even though some people think not Social Care is one.

Social Care is a vital service for those who are in need of care and their families, who have and are still going all they can to provide much of the care needed. Currently family carers are providing over £130 billion in Social Care, so without family carers the costs to LAs would be very much more. But family carers are not able to provide more and without Council Social Care input their vulnerable relatives will suffer in many areas of live we all take for granted, the right to live a reasonable life.

The promised White Paper on Social Care, which has been promised for many years, has still not been published, it was urgently required at least 10 years ago, so now the situation in social care is exceedingly worrying. My own worry is, will Social Care be able to last until the Government, not only, publishes the White Paper, but enacts the measures, urgently required.

Without these measures deaths will occur and maybe in excess of those related to COVID-19.

So please support the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care, https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care

Source: With no certainty over retail’s future, are John Lewis staff now being undersold? | Retail industry | The Guardian