Ellee Seymour

Dr Mary Archer chairs Addenbrooke’s Hospital

Best not to move to the Cambridge area if you have an illness, and goodness knows how incumbent residents will cope as GPs in the area have been told to send fewer people to hospital and use cheaper drugs.

It follows £28 million cuts to the health service as Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trusts struggle with predicted debts of £45.9 million over the next year.

Addenbrooke’s Hospital, whose chairman is the fragrant Dr Mary Archer, will have to save £15 million by treating fewer patients. The local Arthur Rank hospice is set to axe its home serice and faces cutbacks of £400,000.

GPs will be expected to save £5.4 million by referring fewer patients to hospitals and cutting back on drugs.

My former GP Pam Kenny warned that GPs could be held negligent if they were forced to reduce referrals. She stated the obvious, that GPs only refer patients to hospital if there is a good reason anyway.

I’m wondering if this will cause a flood of patients seeking treatment abroad and then billing their health authority.

So I advise you to avoid moving to this area if you have an illness; the housing is grossly expensive anyway.

Update: Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt told a Cambridge Evening News journalist that the cuts would benefit patients and be good news.

Ramsey Street has its fair share of neighbourhood problems

I am fortunate to have great neighbours. I could not bear the thought of us having disputes over petty issues - but some do and it can cause considerable stress and bitterness.

How are they resolved? They usually end up in court facing what can be a lengthy legal and costly process if an agreement cannot be reached and matters escalate out of control.

Michelle reports on how Australia plans to introduce a Neighbourhood Court to settle these disputes, following in the footsteps of Livability Courts in the USA. The issues it deals with includes barking dogs, overgrown gardens and parking problems. The judge in this report even set up court in a trailer to pass judgement - you can’t get more neighbourly than that!

“From unkept yards to the unpleasant smell of sewage, the court tackles the minute misdemeanors that seem trivial to all but those experiencing these everyday nuisances.”

I think these courts make sense, we need to consider how devastating neighbourhood disputes can be if they are allowed to get out of control. I would like to see them provide a concilitory service, with court action a last resort.

Update: Iain Dale is enthused by the concept of Neighbourhood Courts and has given my post a plug on his site which, as we all know, is read by David Cameron, as well as thousands of others. Thanks Iain.

Hospitals are still continuing to look to India to type up medical notes, despite fears that patients’ safety could be at risk through mistyping or misinterpretation.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is the latest to outsource thousands of patient letters to India on a two-month trial, and 214 medical secretaries naturally fear for their jobs.

Digitally recorded notes will be sent electronically overseas for typing, despite previous errors picked up from other hospitals which have done the same, such as “phlebitis” mistakenly transcribed as “flea bites”, “below knee” interpreted as “baloney cast” and “hypertension” (high blood pressure) recorded as “hypotension” (low blood pressure).

There are also concerns about this happening at Stevenage.

This type of service will be flawed and not instill public confidence. If it is being done to save money, they should consider the real price - and possible consequences - that could result from errors.

Pocket Opera

Fund-raising prosecuting solicitors Debs and Shelley

Barbara and Claire helping victims of domestic violence

Domestic violence is a subject most people never give a second thought to. It is something that happens to someone else and anyway, if they don’t like they can always leave: this is probably how most people view the situation.

Reality is totally different, as I discovered last night. My bubbly friend Shelley Wilson, and her energetic colleague Debs Cartwright, both prosecuting solicitors with the CPS, have been holding a worthwhile fund-raising event over the last two years to help women and children who suffer domestic violence. Through their court work, they have first hand experience of the trauma and devastation it leads to and could not think of a better cause to support.

It was a fun fund-raiser too called “Glyndebourne Comes To Grantham”, held in the fabulous home of magistrate Gill Wild, a most generous hostess, where we were entertained to arias and
opera by the talented Discord and Pocket Opera. I have always wanted to go to Glyndebourne, not made it yet, and this was the perfect alternative.

I learnt a fascinating fact from dedicated duo Claire Morrison and Barbara Simpson, of Lincoln and Grantham Women’s Aid, that on average women experience 35 violent and abusive incidents in seven years before they leave. The reason they don’t leave earlier is because of love, and we all know that love is blind. And, most tragically, 60-70 children a year die because of their abusive homes.

So what can be done, how could Conservatives help this cause? Both women would like to see widespread advertising and promotion about their work, on milk cartons and wine bottles, to hoardings and press. Additionally, they feel women and children should automatically be able to provide evidence in court from behind a screen; this is presently left to the discretion of the judge. The issue needs to be raised at schools, our young people need to know that domestic violence is not acceptable behaviour.

And, most importantly, their organisation struggles from day to day to keep running because of financial constraints, they need fiscal support from the Government which is not presently given. After all, lives are at risk here. Will Conservative policy makers please take note and take positive steps towards helping victims of domestic violence. This is a vulnerable minority that needs all the help and support they can get so they can turn their lives around.

Incidentally, tickets cost only £25 and included a marvellous home cooked buffet with scrummy puddings (it was a banquet fit for a king), prepared by Debs, the legal eagle’s Domestic Goddess, as well as a glass of champagne. I suggest they put up their prices next year.

Update 27th June 2006: I’ve just heard from Shelley that the event raised an amazing £1,250, which I know will be greatly appreciated.

Support has doubled for the Government to ban smacking, with 170 cross party MPs in favour. There is also growing international pressure for a smacking ban.

It would be interesting to know what effect this has had on parenting in countries where the ban is enforced, including Austria, Norway, Sweden Croatia and Latvia. How many parents have been prosecuted and what was their punishment? What long term impact did this have on their family life? I would like to know these answers.

Of course our young and vulnerable must be protected against violence - and they already are by our present legal system, their parents can be reported to Social Services and they can be prosecuted.

If a ban is introduced, I believe those poor children with cruel, bullying parents will still be too afraid to report them and will continue lying to cover up their injuries. Their teachers are trained to look out for warning signs and protection is available for them.

On the other hand, there will be children who will taunt their parents about how they will report them if they touch them, they will run them ragged with threatening to call the police if they lay a finger on them. It is so easy to become bruised and an attention seeking child can fabricate a convincing yarn around this. These are my concerns.

Unless the parent is a bully, I imagine smacking is a last resort because they are tired and stressed, even Tony Blair has admitted resorting to this. An over tired child is deaf to everything a parent says and cannot be reasoned with, though I understand how terrifying it must be for them to be struck by an adult.

Like Nanny Knows Best, I had a “naughty step”, but am afraid to admit I did occasionaly resort to the “short, sharp slap” on the bottom. You can Nanny’s advice on good parenting from the link. Were you smacked as a child? Is it something you do to your offspring?