tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47403210292488220832024-03-06T08:20:51.430+00:00Diary of an NHS buff@SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-90961724280483474352014-02-20T12:19:00.001+00:002014-02-20T12:21:27.522+00:00Treasury intervention at Papworth prioritizes debt over saving livesAs a recent double-lung transplant patient I was shocked to read that Papworth hospital is under threat of closure from the Treasury. As the UK’s largest cardiothoracic hospital, it is one of only seven hospitals in the UK that performs heart and/or lung transplants, and, with the exception of Harefield (where I had my surgery), has almost double the number of patients in after-care then @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-33481649658517510352014-02-11T17:26:00.001+00:002014-02-11T17:26:37.227+00:00Will new Government occupational health assessments result in benefit disqualification?This week the Government announced the creation of a new Health and Work service. Once set-up, anyone off sick for more than four weeks will be offered a work-focused occupational health assessment to help them get back to work more quickly.It is unclear at the moment how this will play out in practice. The service is intended to be non-compulsory, but so was the DWP's Universal job match service@SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-46393347064988575602014-01-27T15:34:00.001+00:002014-01-27T15:34:58.988+00:00Are patients less deserving of good care if they don't make a fuss?Last week Professor David Haslam, the head of the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body that governs which drugs to license for NHS use, said UK patients should become more 'American'. The idea being that we are too easily pushed around by our doctors and instead we should see ourselves as "equal partners" with our doctors and demand access to drugs we are entitled to.@SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-74869802903263487222013-12-24T13:40:00.001+00:002013-12-24T13:40:22.511+00:00My first Christmas with my new lungsTomorrow will be my first Christmas with my new lungs. I've been feeling very emotional in the run-up because of course at Christmas time, you reflect on the lows as well as the highs of the year. I'm only slowly realising quite how ill I was while waiting for transplant. Having to be so frank about my mortality is something that I know will change my outlook on life for the rest of the time I @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-53694671515889781482013-11-22T12:47:00.001+00:002013-11-22T12:47:55.221+00:00Citizen journalists are the main target behind the Tories' archive deletionThis week the Daily Politics show discussed whether the 2015 election will be the year that internet campaigning comes into its own. Moreover, The Independent recently reported that Labour's 2015 campaign will put on emphasis on the internet, as all parties look to emulate Obama's success in 2008 which many credited to his utilisation of the internet.
If the internet really is the new election @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-14472803141589957642013-11-13T18:15:00.000+00:002013-11-13T18:20:28.881+00:00There but for the grace of my donor go I.....Today Emma Jane Kingston should be celebrating her 21st birthday but she died earlier this summer from Cystic Fibrosis (CF). She needed a lung transplant but, like a staggering one in three CF people on the lung transplant waiting list, she didn't get one in time.
One of the frustrating elements of my illness, Cystic Fibrosis (CF), is that due to cross-infection risks I can never mix with people@SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-11808838298112499032013-11-08T16:00:00.000+00:002013-11-08T16:15:21.951+00:00New rule will leave ESA appellants without ANY income indefinitelyI've been away for a long time - basically being very ill. I'll update you all on my personal travails another time but my first post in over a year will be dedicated to the extraordinary logical brain of Ian Duncan Smith.
He has been lambasted today for the horrendous mess that is Universal Credit - which is over budget, under target, poorly managed, and with no solution in sight on how to get @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-16505760952481633762012-09-18T15:13:00.001+01:002012-09-18T15:14:38.699+01:00ESA cancer concession signals popularity contest for disability benefitsThe news that the Government is softening its harsh approach to cancer patients claiming sickness benefits is a welcome relief. Yesterday it announced that the one year time limit for recipients of Employment and Support allowance will only start counting down once the patient has finished all their medical treatments. It has also said that cancer patients can avoid the WCA medical test carried @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-70956972777327393562012-09-10T14:40:00.004+01:002012-09-10T14:40:52.043+01:00 The myth of ‘overcoming’ will damage the legacy of the paralympicsThanks to the Paralympics disability may suddenly have become mainstream, but while wider society may be openly talking about those who are disabled I still fear it is not listening to what we have to say.
The papers have veered from castigating disabled people as state scroungers to elevating them as a source of inspiration of how to live life properly. It is great that we can use this spotlight@SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-84112934939857527942012-09-03T18:37:00.001+01:002012-09-03T22:57:25.496+01:00In praise of an accessible paralympics (and amazing volunteers!)I was lucky enough to go to the London paralympics yesterday (and see the wonderful win by David Weir in the 5000m wheelchair race) and had an amazing time, very much in part because of the thoughtful attitude shown towards those not as able to get around as most.
The paralympics has received criticism from some disabled people due to an inability for some wheelchair users to sit with all their @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-11919045463100640522012-07-31T16:57:00.000+01:002012-07-31T17:01:21.894+01:00To rant or not to rant?I had a really interesting mini debate today with a fellow on twitter who thought my article for the Guardian today was like a 'sleeping pill' and 'lacked real passion'. I think the only way you improve your work is to seek constructive criticism good or bad so I asked him to expand on his point.
He argued that: "If you were writing about your family would you be passionate? Well, we are all @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-86122584551876579242012-06-27T18:46:00.000+01:002012-06-27T18:46:14.768+01:00Government disability strategy delayed - reasons unknown?The Government recently confirmed a delay in publishing its disability strategy. Originally due to be published in the Spring, the Office for Disability Issues has now announced that the strategy will be released 'later this year' - and have refused to give an explanation for the delay. But I could make a good guess.
In its consultation document, asking disabled people to contribute ideas to its@SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-81044079464826259532012-05-14T14:12:00.000+01:002012-05-14T15:38:36.401+01:00An open letter to the Telegraph: get your DLA facts straightDear Daily Telegraph,
You had the scoop of the decade with MPs expenses. You are clearly a paper that employs excellent journalists with great research skills. It is a shame these skills weren't utilised when you interviewed Ian Duncan Smith yesterday about the changes to DLA.
Here are the basic mistakes in your article;
1. The subheader says IDS is going ahead with changes to DLA to "rid the @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-37655331599134888622012-05-09T15:11:00.001+01:002012-05-09T15:17:36.788+01:00NHS could be the real problem for the coalition come election timeAfter last week’s wake-up call at the local elections, the Coalition is under pressure to re-examine how its policies reflect voters’ expectations. While there is much debate about the merits of Lord reform, gay marriage, austerity targets and growth policies, the two parties would do well to turn their attention to recent passing of the Health and Social Care bill.
Yesterday’s decision by the @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-91889825110180633402012-03-28T14:36:00.000+01:002012-03-28T14:36:23.666+01:00My predictions for the future disintegration of the NHSYesterday the health and social care bill was made law. So what are my predictions for the future of our beloved NHS?
In the short-term there will be a vacumn of authority as the old system devolves power to GPs who are learning on the job. I predict there will be a flurry of contracts awarded to private companies to take control of local commissioning and health services as GPs @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-4760272764143787962012-03-27T18:00:00.007+01:002012-03-27T18:19:40.267+01:00Today the NHS is dying. Cameron & Clegg will never be forgiven.So let's mark this date in our calendars and tell our grandchildren. The NHS - that wonderful institution created after a war in which every family came to experience first-hand what it was to suffer and to lose loved ones - is officially dying. Today, the Health and Social care bill became law.
It allows private providers to cherry pick what services it provides leaving NHS to pick up @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-75932310150053125132012-03-22T13:47:00.000+00:002012-03-22T13:47:53.777+00:00Budget 2012: the disabled marginalised yet againYesterday's budget contained a kick in the teeth for disabled people, quickly followed by a punch in the face.
The Chancellor's retreat on child benefit, moving the threshold for ineligibility from those earning over £43,000 to those earning over £60,000, was a bare-faced example of the Government looking after its own voters. When the planned benefit cut was announced last year there were howls@SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-11568717665359608552012-03-21T18:57:00.000+00:002012-03-21T18:57:11.343+00:00What practical changes to Atos's WCA would you recommend to the Government?The 'Responsible Reform' Spartacus report revealed the power of social media in helping to raise awareness to the cuts faced by disabled people in the UK. It got the House of Lords to listen to disabled people. If it wasn't for a the Government utilising the Commons 'financial privilege' in a way that has seen no precedent, significant changes would have been made to the Welfare Bill that would @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-37728856038216742502012-03-19T15:01:00.000+00:002012-03-19T15:01:37.782+00:00C4 programme 'The Undateables' - Good or bad idea?I saw today that Channel 4 are launching a new programme called 'The Undateables'. It basically sends people with a disability or impairment to a dating agency and tries to help them find love. Is this a good idea?
The blurb is already pretty unfortunate.
It says that the programme will follow "a range of people whose ability to form relationships is affected by an impairment or challenging @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-68628592616384976682012-03-01T11:02:00.001+00:002012-03-01T11:03:27.080+00:00The Government’s disability strategy out of touch with the reality of cutsThe Government is in the final week of its consultation asking disabled people to help develop its disability strategy. Maria Miller, minister for disabled people, has said that: “The Government is committed to enabling disabled people to fulfil their potential and have the opportunity to play a full role in their community”. But in reality it is clear that the Government lacks any cohesive @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-77138411091666853312012-02-10T16:43:00.001+00:002012-02-10T16:45:06.104+00:00Reason #3 why the NHS bill should be droppedWe live in a democracy and the way this Bill has been handled is thoroughly undemocratic.
The Government is sitting on a risk register of its NHS reforms and refuses to publish it until after the Lords have debated the bill. The Government has logged an appeal against a decision by the Information Commissioner that this document must be in the public domain. The lengthy appeal process means @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-82402988603699085082012-02-09T14:54:00.002+00:002012-02-10T16:27:10.579+00:00Reason #2 why the NHS bill should be dropped: Winterbourne scandalToday three staff from Winterbourne care home appeared in court to admit abuse of their patients. The case came to light after a shocking Panorama documentary expose of appalling abuse at the care home.
The care home had previously been inspected three times by the Care Quality Commission and deemed to provide acceptable care - even more shockingly it failed to act on three emails it received @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-44453147056767140972012-02-08T17:41:00.000+00:002012-02-08T17:41:15.463+00:00Reason #1 why the NHS bill should be droppedUnder the NHS bill currently being debated in the House of Lords, provisions have been made that allow all NHS hospitals to allocate 49% of their beds to private patients. Which means waiting lists will automatically double in length and us lot who are already over-stretched paying bills and can't afford private healthcare, will be at the back of the queue.
Makes a mockery of Lansley's recent @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-26658687477703658542012-01-17T10:16:00.001+00:002012-01-17T10:20:42.399+00:00DLA reform should be PAUSED until TWO key issues resolvedFollowing on from last week's dramatic defeat in the House of Lords of three proposed welfare reform changes, the debate has now moved on to the reform of DLA. The Lords will be voting tonight on the plans, including an amendment by Baroness Grey-Thompson, of paralympic fame, that there would have to be a pilot before a new medical assessment of DLA is brought in. You can also read more about @SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740321029248822083.post-85631988691473812362012-01-13T17:09:00.001+00:002012-01-13T17:10:15.471+00:00For the taxpayer’s sake, halt the introduction of disability benefit PIPIn response to every criticism of the Government’s austerity drive, the Coalition insists there is no alternative to the cuts and yesterday morning was no different. Speaking on the Today programme, Work and pensions minister Chris Grayling again argued that it was in the taxpayer’s interest for the Government to press ahead with disability welfare cuts despite last night’s dramatic defeat in the@SharonBrennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16734206229923689899noreply@blogger.com1