I’m a Doctor and I Think It’s Wrong to Ban Smoking outside Hospitals

THE TELEGRAPH: Addicts cannot simply quit as soon as they enter hospital and the activity gives them some much-needed relief

Labour’s plan to ban smoking on hospital grounds is the epitome of a top-down initiative by a nanny-state government. It’s a great example of politicians having an idea, without actually being involved in the practicalities. They don’t understand how hospitals work because they don’t work in hospitals. This solution is a poor sticking plaster to a nation-wide problem.

When it comes to hospitals, we have to be liberal about smoking out of sheer empathy for the patients – many of whom are at the end of their lives. There’s no doubt that smoking is bad for you, so I’m not suggesting that we should encourage people to do it. But for many patients it’s a lifeline – a practice that brings comfort and relief at times of deep distress.

We also cannot ignore the fact that smoking is first and foremost an addiction – you can’t just give it up when you are admitted to hospital. Walk into any hospital in the country, even in the height of winter when it’s freezing cold, and you will see patients standing outside the main entrance in pyjamas with drip stands and drugs, smoking. Some will be smoking as relief from the stress of the intense hospital environment, some will be socialising and enjoying time together and some will be relishing the feeling of a comforting habit that they’ve enjoyed all their lives. » | Karol Sikora * | Tuesday, November 5, 2024

* Prof Karol Sikora is a leading cancer specialist, who worked as a clinical director in the NHS for more than 25 years.

THE GUARDIAN:

Smoking to be banned outside schools and hospitals in England, but pubs get reprieve: Legislation also includes ban on advertising of vapes and restrictions on flavours, packaging and marketing »

Revealed: King Charging Millions for NHS to Use His Land

Nov 2, 2024 | All of what they've uncovered doesn't pass the public smell test of ethical behaviour."

An investigation by the Sunday Times Insight team has uncovered the "secret business deals" that the king are using to maintain their "multi-millionaire status", says The Sunday Times's George Arbuthnott.


THE GUARDIAN:

King and Prince William’s estates ‘making millions from charities and public services’: Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster likely to make at least £50m from leasing land to services such as NHS and schools, according to investigation »

Starmer’s Killjoy State

Sep 18, 2024 | Banning smoking in beer gardens. Banning ‘junk food’ advertising. Weighing people at work. The UK’s new Labour government is putting the ‘nanny state’ on steroids. Worst of all, it’s already committed to bringing in the total prohibition of cigarettes – a move that will upend our liberties and fuel the black market. Here, Tom Slater explains why this obsession with policing our lifestyles has nothing to do with public health and everything to do with pushing ordinary people around. This is about the ruling classes forcing their own miserable ways on the rest of us, while blithely ignoring the disastrous consequences of their authoritarianism.

One can but despise Starmer. This man is the closest leader this country has ever had to the man history knows as Der Führer!

Death to the Nanny State! Death to Starmer's authoritarian regime! – © Mark Alexander

Wes Streeting Brings in Blairite Turned Health Lobbyist to 'Fix' NHS

Jul 7, 2024

Dr Suneel Dhand: Be Careful! Huge Diabetes Misinformation from the NHS

Apr 12, 2024 | The level of cluelessness is on another level. Is it any wonder diabetes is getting worse and worse? I feel sorry for anyone newly diagnosed who is dependent on the system.

Shocking advice from US authorities for diabetics »

Could the Lib Dems Really Deliver Their Manifesto? | Election 2024 | The New Statesman

Jun 10, 2024 | Is Ed Davey making election pledges that he knows he'll never have to deliver?

Related article »

Lib Dems Launch Election Manifesto with Pledge to ‘Save the NHS’

THE GUARDIAN: Party presents ‘fully costed plan to tackle the healthcare crisis from top to bottom’, including guarantees on GPs and dentists and free-to-access social care

The Liberal Democrats have become the first of the big parties to launch their election manifesto, with a pitch to voters based on boosting the NHS and social care.

They also said that – unlike those of Labour and the Tories – their plans were fully costed.

Speaking at a glitzy launch event in north London, the party’s leader, Ed Davey, told voters that electing enough Lib Dem MPs would bring “a strong liberal voice pushing for these policies” and could make a notable difference even with an expected Labour majority.

The 116-page manifesto has been launched alongside a costings document, which pledges increased capital gains tax for very wealthy people, plus new levies on aviation, energy companies and banks.

Davey said this would pay for policies particularly focused on health and care, including guarantees about seeing GPs and dentists, free-to-access social care and more mental health support. » | Peter Walker and Pippa Crerar | Monday, June 10, 2024

Rishi Sunak Heckled by Member of the Public over State of NHS

Jan 19, 2024 | Rishi Sunak was challenged by a member of the public over the state of the NHS and his handling of strike action during a walkabout in Winchester today. A video clip played by Sky News at lunchtime showed Mr Sunak being grilled by a woman as he walked along a shopping street.

Sky News criticised by Tory MPs over edit of Sunak being challenged by member of the public: Sky News has been criticised by Conservative MPs over their edit of footage of Rishi Sunak being challenged by a member of the public. / A video clip played by Sky News at lunchtime showed the Prime Minister being grilled by a woman over the state of the NHS as he walked along a shopping street during a walkabout in Winchester. / The woman told Mr Sunak: “You could stop it all. You could make it go back to how it used to be where we had… where if you had a problem you could go to the hospital. My daughter spent seven hours waiting…” »

Rishi Sunak is an AWFUL prime minister. One of the worst prime ministers in my lifetime! He is totally and utterly clueless. He is like a head boy in a senior school. He has no idea about politics and he is totally out-of-touch with ordinary people. His incremental smoking ban is STUPID, UNDEMOCRATIC, TOTALLY UNWORKABLE and UNPOLICEABLE. It is to be hoped that it will fail, as it surely will.

How the Conservative Party tolerates Sunak’s incompetence is beyond my comprehension. The Party needs to get a grip before it goes the way of the dodo. Rishi Sunak is the last in a long line of failed Conservative leaders.

Were I to be Sunak, with all his money, I’d retire with despatch and be off to California to be with fellow crackpots. – © Mark Alexander

How Peter Thiel’s Palantir Pushed Toward the Heart of U.K. Health Care

Peter Thiel at a conference in Florida last year. At an event in England this year, he called public support for the N.H.S. “Stockholm syndrome.” | Chandan Khann/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Palantir, the analytics company led by Peter Thiel, has courted N.H.S. England with pandemic help and assertive lobbying. Its big reward may be yet to come.

It began with a £1 contract.

In the hours after a pandemic was declared in March 2020, Palantir, the secretive American data analytics company, was invited to 10 Downing Street along with other tech groups, including Amazon, Google and Meta, to discuss how it could help the British government respond.

Within days, Palantir’s software was processing streams of data from across England’s National Health Service, with Palantir engineers embedded to help. The company’s services, used by the C.I.A. and Western militaries for more than a decade, were deployed to track emergency room capacity and direct supplies of scarce equipment.

Palantir charged the government just one pound.

The deal provided the company with a valuable toehold. Since then, Palantir, which is chaired by Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor and one of President Donald J. Trump’s major 2016 donors, has parlayed the work into more than £60 million in government health contracts. Its biggest reward may be yet to come: a seven-year contract worth up to £480 million — about $590 million — to overhaul N.H.S. England’s outdated patient data system.

But an outcry over Palantir’s rapid ascent within the N.H.S., the beleaguered but beloved public institution that provides free health care across the country, has been building for months among some lawmakers, doctors and privacy campaigners. It could come to a head in October, when the winning bid is expected to be announced. » | Euan Ward and Adam Satariano | Euan Ward and Adam Satariano, reporting from London, spoke to health service officials, Palantir employees and industry insiders, as well as reviewing email correspondence and notes from internal meetings. | Friday, September 29, 2023

It would appear that the privatisation of our beloved National Health Service is to be kicked up a few notches. – © Mark Alexander

Lib Dems to Attack Tories on NHS and Pensions Triple Lock, Ed Davey Says

THE OBSERVER: The leader says his party is focusing on the NHS and protecting pensions to woo Conservatives in rural heartlands

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey at the Barton Hills nature reserve in June 2023 while campaigning in next month’s Mid Bedfordshire byelection. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian
The Liberal Democrats are planning to open two fronts against the Conservatives in their traditional heartlands, with a campaign focused on NHS waiting lists and a pledge to protect the pensions triple lock.

In an interview with the Observer, Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said that the scale of support his party had been receiving from lifelong Tory voters meant that there was now no Tory seat in either the “blue wall” or the Conservatives’ rural heartlands that was safe.

The Lib Dems are in an increasingly optimistic mood as their annual conference takes place this week after a string of byelection wins, including in Chesham and Amersham, and Tiverton and Honiton. There is also mounting concern among Tories in constituencies where the Lib Dems are in second place.

Davey’s party is now honing an election campaign designed to win over liberal, pro-remain Tory voters as well as rural communities that have been out of reach to the Lib Dems for years. He said that, unlike in the run-up to previous elections, concern about the NHS and GP waiting times was a “common thread” across all the voters it was targeting. » | Michael Savage, Policy Editor | Sunday, September 2023

In my opinion, this is the gentleman who would make the best prime minister for our times. This is the man who could lead this country out of the mess and morass we now find ourselves in after thirteen years of Tory screw-ups and misguided government. – © Mark Alexander

Huw Edwards Scandal: 'The BBC Should Stand Up for Itself More,' Says Sir Tony Blair

Jul 16, 2023 | The Sun is facing questions over its coverage of allegations against the 61-year-old newsreader - with some asking whether the claims should have been reported at all. Sky's Sophy Ridge asks former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair his opinion on whether or not certain institutions are "gunning for" the BBC.

Is Blair right about Brexit, though? Check this out here.

Theresa May Gets Booed Arriving at Luxury NHS Anniversary Dinner

Jul 6, 2023

All politicians are in it for themselves! The bloody lot of them! Especially the corrupt Tories.

This is such an irony! On the one hand, the Tories are doing their level best to destroy the National Health Service; yet on the other, they attend a luxury dinner celebrating its success. Go figure! By the way, almost all of those attendees will almost certainly be availing themselves of private healthcare. – Mark

Doctor EXPOSES Plan to DESTROY NHS

Jul 5, 2023 | The NHS is in imminent danger.

Keep the American healthcare system well away from Britain. The American healthcare system is the last thing we need here. I speak from experience – a lot of experience. My late partner was an American, a well-heeled American; so he was well-insured. But I could write a book on the flaws of that healthcare system. God help the Americans who are down-at-heel!

American healthcare is the privilege of the rich. It is not a right enjoyed by everyone. It is also a very expensive healthcare system. Expensive to run and expensive for the patient. Outcomes are poor in relation to the cost of the healthcare system as well.

The Tory Party is obsessed with all things American. Fact is, there are far better healthcare systems in Europe than the American model. The irony is that at the very time that many Americans are clamouring for universal healthcare, the Tories are busy dismantling the NHS.

Tories have trashed this country in so many ways; now, they want to trash the National Health Service, too. Don't let them do it! Once it's trashed, destroyed and gone, we will never get it back. Under the Tories, this country is rotting at the core; and Maggie started that rot (even though many, even I, couldn't see it at the time). Maggie bedazzled many of us, but she really did start the downward spiral. – © Mark Alexander

The Guardian view on the NHS at 75: pride mixed with disappointment: Underfunding and a lack of planning have undermined the health service, but the public is still behind it »

Most doctors think ministers want to destroy NHS, BMA boss says: Philip Banfield says health service is in state of ‘managed decline’ and may not survive next ‘five or 10 years’ »

Tories, hear this: the public still believes in the NHS on its 75th birthday – and we know you don’t: It has suffered years of cuts but the service will recover, because British people understand what it means for our way of life »

Sajid Javid Calls for Patients to Pay for GP and A&E Visits

THE GUARDIAN: Radical reforms needed to tackle waiting times, says former health secretary

Sajid Javid cited schemes in Ireland, Norway and Sweden as possible charging models. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Patients should be charged for GP appointments and A&E visits, Sajid Javid has said, as he called the present model of the NHS “unsustainable”.

The former health secretary said “extending the contributory principle” should be part of radical reforms to tackle growing waiting times.

In an opinion piece for the Times, he called for a “grown-up, hard-headed conversation” about revamping the health service, noting that “too often the appreciation for the NHS has become a religious fervour and a barrier to reform”.

The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, is not “currently” considering the proposals, Downing Street told the newspaper. » | PA Media | Friday, January 20, 2023

It should be crystal clear to one and all by now that the Conservatives are in the process of dismantling the National Health Service. They will achieve their goal by stealth, dismantling the service one step at a time. First, they will ask patients to pay for GP appointments and A&E. In a short while, they will be demanding that patients make partial payments for operations and hospital stays. Then later, it will be full payments, and so on. This government is shameless. Give all to the 1% and take all from the 99%. What a shower! What a shameless shower! Be sure: The NHS is NOT safe in the hands of the Tories.

If savings need to be made on the NHS, there are plenty of ways that savings could be made. To start with, there are far too many highly-paid management staff. That was caused by Thatcher and her misguided ideas of making a business out of everything.

We need a change of government. This administration is stale. It is bereft of any good ideas. It is also too ideological. Kick the Tories out as soon as possible. – © Mark Alexander

Rishi Sunak Refuses to Say If He Uses Private GP

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly refused to say whether he uses private healthcare, insisting it is "not really relevant".
Read the article here.

Sunak gives us the answer in his display of tetchiness and obfuscation. Were he to use the NHS for his medical needs, he would be only too willing to tell us, to admit that he does. – © Mark Alexander

Sunak Refuses to Budge on NHS Pay

Dec 20, 2022 | Rishi Sunak has insisted he cannot budge on NHS pay because he does not want to exacerbate soaring inflation as he comes under increasing pressure to negotiate with striking workers.

Read the Guardian article here: Rishi Sunak refuses to budge on NHS pay as strikes continue: PM says rises could make inflation worse and states politicians should not ‘cut across’ independent pay review process »

Hogwash! Where would we have been without the nurses during the pandemic? Clapping in appreciation of their services was all well and good, but when all is said and done, clapping doesn’t put food on the table!

Why is it that when bankers, others in finance, and CEOs pay themselves multi-million pound bonuses, it is not inflationary, but when people like nurses want a modest increase in pay to keep their salaries in line with inflation, it cannot be paid because doing so would fuel even more inflation? This, Mr. Sunak, makes no sense whatsoever. For heaven’s sake, pay our health workers properly, pay them a decent salary, pay them a salary commensurate with their services to society! – © Mark Alexander

Professor Tim Wilson: Rachael Johnson Is a Disgrace Promoting the Idea That Some Should Pay for the NHS

Nov 28, 2022 | This does not mean we should not encourage those who can pay to ease the burden on the NHS and use private healthcare where they can.

Very well said! Aneurin Bevan must be turning in his grave because of that stupid woman, Rachael Johnson. Until the Tories got their mitts on the NHS, it worked well and efficiently. The Tories—and I say this as a one-time dyed-in-the-wool Tory voter—have got a hell of a lot to answer for. Thank you for bringing some common sense into this debate. – © Mark Alexander

Liz Truss Plan to Divert NHS Funds to Social Care Is ‘Robbing Peter to Pay Paul’

THE GUARDIAN: Health expert says NHS needs money too and diverting promised £13bn is not a sustainable solution

Liz Truss said in 2009 that the health service ‘cannot not be put on a pedestal’. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA
Liz Truss would be “robbing Peter to pay Paul” if she diverted £13bn of funding for the NHS to deal with a Covid backlog in social care, experts have said.

The Conservative leadership frontrunner told a hustings on Tuesday night that she would spend the £13bn earmarked for the NHS to catch up on delayed treatment after Covid on social care instead.

She said: “I would spend that money in social care. Quite a lot has gone to the NHS. I would give it to local authorities. We have people in beds in the NHS who would be better off in social care. So put that money into social care.

“We put the extra £13bn in and what people who work in the NHS tell me is the problem is the number of layers in the organisation they have to go through to get things done, the lack of local decision-making. That’s what people are telling me is the problem, rather than a lack of funding.” » | Rowena Mason, Deputy political editor | Wednesday, August 24, 2022

This woman is out of her depth. Further, she is just plain silly. She's making up policy as she goes along, on the hoof. Heaven forfend that she should become prime minister! – © Mark Alexander

NHS Bosses Warn ‘Unprecedented’ Risk of Death from Cold Weather and Soaring Energy Bills

Aug 19, 2022 In a letter to ministers, the NHS Confederation and 100 health leaders have warned of an “unprecedented” risk of death from cold weather unless more is done to help people pay soaring energy bills. It outlines the stark choice that will be faced by those struggling - eat or freeze.

Palantir: Trump-backer’s Data Firm That Wants Access to Your NHS Records

THE GUARDIAN: Company co-founded by Silicon Valley’s Peter Thiel has been criticised for US defence and immigration contracts

Peter Thiel’s Palantir is favourite to win a £360m contract to amalgamate a wide range of NHS health data on to a single platform. Photograph: John Lamparski/Getty Images
For a company tipped to provide the NHS’s new overarching data platform, it is appropriate that Palantir Technologies is named after an all-seeing orb.

Palantir, which draws its name from the powerful crystal balls deployed in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, is the favourite to win a £360m contract for the NHS’s Federated Data Platform (FDP). Covering everything from individual patients’ data to vaccination programmes, waiting lists and medical trials, the FDP will aggregate data from multiple sources and different formats on to a single platform.

According to a document sent to potential bidders for the five-year contract, it will “provide access to real-time data to enable decision-making to better coordinate care”. Speaking at London Tech Week last week, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “This is the perfect moment to bring data together and reap the benefits.”

The ambitious scope of the platform has alarmed campaign groups, who fear for patient confidentiality, privacy and data security, but the identity of the frontrunner has also caused concern.

US-based Palantir was co-founded by Peter Thiel, one of Silicon Valley’s few high-profile Donald Trump supporters. The $15.6bn (£12.7bn) company has been criticised for its work with the US immigration agency, as well as its intelligence service and defence contracts. It already works closely with NHS England by providing software that processes data for a variety of purposes including take-up of Covid-19 vaccines and managing the post-pandemic bounce back in elective care (surgery or treatment booked in advance). » | Dan Milmo, Global technology editor | Tuesday, January 21, 2022

Palantir, the all-seeing US tech company, could soon have the data of millions of NHS patients. My response? Yikes!: You might never have heard of tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s CIA-backed analytics company. But it could know all about you if it wins a contract to manage NHS data »

This is troubling news indeed! I don’t want any company owned by this Trump-supporting ideologue to have any access to my NHS data. Thank you, but no thank you! In any case, he has got crackpot ideas on ageing. You can check out some of his ideas on YouTube. Here’s a link to one interview. It doesn’t look to me as though he is “winning the fight”!

That BoJo is considering giving this man and his company access to all this sensitive data in the NHS shows the need to kick BoJo out of office with dispatch.

This is another Brexit bonus, I guess. One can see it on the horizon in the sunny uplands yonder. – © Mark Alexander