The NHS Is In Crisis And It’s A Matter Of Life And Death
Already this winter, 75,000 people patients have been stuck in the back of ambulances, waiting to be seen in Accident and Emergency Departments. During Christmas week, one in six ambulance patients waited 30 minutes or more before being admitted to hospital. County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust had to turn away patients on four separate occasions during that week.

Hospitals across the UK are on ‘black alert’ (operational pressures escalation level 4 – meaning a state in which trusts are unable to deliver comprehensive care). And yet, the Prime Minister denied there was a crisis, that this was all “part of the plan”. If it is a plan, it is a sustained campaign of cuts across the service, which has had devastating and tragic effects.

I’m sure most people will be aware of the awful case of an 81-year-old woman in Clacton, Essex, who was found dead in her home after waiting nearly four hours for an ambulance the day after New Year’s Day. That unacceptable situation may be an extreme case, but as regional GMB official Dave Powell said, these cases are more widespread than the public realise – and they are indicative of an ambulance service that is at breaking point.

In the remote parts of my constituency, in rural Weardale, residents live in fear of similar tragedies. I recently heard that a man in my constituency waited two hours for an ambulance, impaled on a spike. Many residents in that part of the constituency have been warning about the crisis in our ambulance service since 2010. Time and time again, they have warned about deteriorating ambulance service in isolated communities, citing average waiting times that are creeping up, year on year. Latest figures, in March 2017, show that the North East Ambulance Service reach Red 1 calls (those that are potentially life threatening) in the Durham Dales area within eight minutes in only 61.1% of cases, against a national target of 75%. Within the most rural parts, local monitoring groups estimate that the figure may dip a further 20%, should the Weardale area waiting times be seen in isolation away from more urban areas.

It’s not the fault of the regional ambulance services themselves, and even less the fault of the paramedics and drivers who do their very best and often put themselves at risk in response to 999 calls. The North East Ambulance Service has the lowest funding per head in the country – £26.70 compared to £36.60 for the highest. At the same time, the service is facing massively rising demands, not necessarily connected to population growth but more likely demand connected to other services in crisis (e.g paramedics dealing with drug and alcohol associated injury, complex mental health problems and people in crisis). This extra demand has not been matched by extra funding, and neither are longer travelling distances created by the centralisation of services and the closure of local out-of-hours hospital provision factored in.

This crisis is purely of the Government’s making, because it is about getting a vital, blue light service on the cheap. It’s a matter of putting ideological cost-cutting before the lives and health of the people of this country. Well, the lives of my constituents aren’t cheap, and that’s exactly what the Health Secretary is risking by ignoring the pleas of those rural residents, the health unions and the NEAS.

I don’t buy the idea that we cannot afford a health service for today’s population: if it had been kept free of private interests, if the terms and conditions of staff had not been stripped away, if it had not been starved for so long of the vital real terms cash increases it needed, then we could have averted this crisis. It’s time the Government acknowledged the effects of this crisis and took decisive action to prevent more tragedies from happening.

Laura Pidcock is the Labour MP for North West Durham

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/the-nhs-is-in-crisis-and-its-a-matter-of-life-and-death_uk_5a5741fee4b024fa0543b6e7

Notorious Exporter of Hate Steven Anderson Headed to Jamaica, Advocates Call for a Ban

Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Arizona, which is designated an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is headed to Jamaica later this month on a so called “missions trip”.  

Anderson has called for gay people to be executed.  In the aftermath of the Orlando tragedy in 2017, he called LGBTQ people “perverts” and “pedophiles” and praised their murders.

LGBTQ activists from Jamaica have launched a petition calling on the Jamaican  government to ban Anderson from the island nation.  The petition has attracted about 8,000 signatures in just a week.  

“Steven Anderson is endangering LGBTQ people around the world with his reckless words and dangerous messages,” said HRC Global Director Ty Cobb.  “We stand in solidarity with Jamaican advocates as they tirelessly organize to counter the hateful bigotry he is peddling.”

In September 2016, Anderson was banned from visiting South Africa and then arrested and deported from neighboring Botswana for calling on the government there to kill lesbian and gay people.  Additionally, he has was banned from entering Canada and the United Kingdom in the last few years.

Father Sean Major-Campbell, an Anglican priest from Jamaica who recently received HRC and Human Rights First’s 2017 Ally of the Year Award for advancing the protection of LGBTQ persons around the world, was critical of Anderson’s planned visit.

“We still live in a country where many persons suffer from abuse and bullying with the use of Jamaican pejoratives for LGBTQ persons, in the workplace, on the playing field, in school and even in the home,” he said. “This man’s history of promoting homophobia is an insult to human dignity and Jamaica can ill afford importing another bigot to add to our own home-grown practitioners.”

Jamaica is one of the few countries in the Western hemisphere that still criminalizes consenting same-sex relations.

HRC will continue to monitor this developing story.  Read about HRC Global’s work around the world here.

www.hrc.org/blog/notorious-exporter-of-hate-steven-anderson-headed-to-jamaica?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Anderson Cooper Rebukes Trump, Chokes Back Tears in Emotional Tribute to Haiti: WATCH

Anderson Cooper choked back tears last night, rebuking Trump’s racist remarks in a powerful and moving tribute to the Haitian people, remembering time he spent there during the earthquake exactly eight years ago, and recalling the strength of its survivors.

Anderson recalled a Haitian teacher he had in high school “who dedicated himself to teaching kids in America” and when, following the quake, he witnessed a 5-year-old boy pulled from the rubble after being buried more than a week.

“Do you know what strength it takes to survive on rainwater buried under concrete?”, asked Anderson.

Said Anderson: “Like all countries, Haiti is a collection of people — rich and poor, well-educated and not, good and bad. But I’ve never met a Haitian who isn’t strong. You have to be in a place where the government has often abandoned its people, where opportunities are few and where Mother Nature has punished the people far more than anyone should ever be punished…But let me be clear tonight. The people of Haiti have been through more, they’ve withstood more, they’ve fought back against more injustice than our president ever has.”

He added: “Haitians slap your hand hard when they shake it — they look you in the eye, they don’t blink. They stand tall, and they have dignity. It’s a dignity many in this White House could learn from. It’s a dignity the president with all his money and all his power could learn from as well. On the anniversary of the earthquake, when this president has said what he’s said about Haitians, we hope the people in Haiti who are listening tonight, we hope they know that our thoughts are with them and that our love is with them as well.”

Watch the clip above.

The post Anderson Cooper Rebukes Trump, Chokes Back Tears in Emotional Tribute to Haiti: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Anderson Cooper Rebukes Trump, Chokes Back Tears in Emotional Tribute to Haiti: WATCH

Seine Tochter brachte sich um – jetzt lud er die Peiniger ein

www.huffingtonpost.de/entry/seine-tochter-brachte-sich-um-jetzt-lad-er-die-peiniger-zu-sich-ein_de_5a58945be4b02cebbfdad72e

My BBC Unequal Pay Story

Many years ago I went to see my male boss to ask for a pay rise. I had discovered that a man doing the same job as me was paid over a third more. I thought I had a good case.

This was at the BBC in the 1990s. I was a UK-based correspondent reporting on education for radio. My male counterpart covered the same subject for TV. Our background experience was comparable and arguably radio demanded a more prolific and varied output. Moreover, a recent move to bi-medial coverage meant that we were doing regular swaps, with me reporting for TV news while he did the early morning punditry on the Today programme and other radio work.

Up to then, I had been quite happy with what I earned. I wasn’t complaining about my colleague. He was a terrific reporter and if he had persuaded them to pay him so much, good for him. But I reckoned I was terrific too and fair’s fair. Something wasn’t right.

It’s true to say my meeting with the then Head of Newsgathering was not an unqualified success. My complaint of unfairness was met with disdain. No proper explanation was offered and I was made to feel that this was not a suitable matter for discussion. My cautious suggestion that sex discrimination was at play was pooh-poohed (unsurprisingly – equal pay legislation had been around for a couple of decades). I was offered a derisory increase – so derisory as to make very little difference to the arithmetic of the pay differential.

All of this was well before the more recent, if enforced, moves to transparency at the BBC. Salaries were then generally secret above a certain level and disclosure among colleagues was not common. That my TV counterpart and I knew each other’s pay was unusual.

But Carrie Gracie’s bold resignation as the BBC’s China Editor in protest at unequal pay and her claim of unlawful discrimination by the BBC brought it back to me. Politicians have entered the fray, the Equality and Human Rights Commission is asking questions and once again the BBC seems on the back foot, despite its revealing a few months ago a gender pay gap smaller than the UK average. As it pointed out, the gender pay gap is not the same as equal pay and arises in large measure because there are more men in senior positions.

But what we are talking about here is equality – equal pay for work of equal value. Public interest is stirred because of the names involved and the size of their pay packets and because those pay packets come from public funds. But where the BBC goes, no doubt most others go too, and, for all we know, more extremely so. Other broadcasters? Industry? The city?

In a free market for talent, pay differences are always going to be difficult. But if there is any hint of a systemic gender bias, then there is a problem. It is probably not a conscious bias (‘oh, he’s a man, that’ll be 40% extra then’) and other factors must be at play. There may even be a subconscious throwback to the ancient notion that men work because they have to and women work for pin money. No employers are going to have pay more than they need to and men may simply negotiate harder and better. I hate to generalise but there may be a glimmer of truth here.

All those years ago, I certainly could have done with advice on negotiating pay. I should have done more research and presented my case more convincingly. I could have been smarter and blown my trumpet more loudly.

But of course it shouldn’t be left to the negotiating skills of individual women and women shouldn’t be left to fight a rearguard action on discovering they’re shafted. The BBC has already promised to be a beacon of fairness by 2020. It may now be under pressure to act more quickly.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/my-bbc-unequal-pay-story_uk_5a57a6b8e4b0f5da6183589a

HRC Announces Special Guests at Time to THRIVE Conference on LGBTQ Youth Safety and Inclusion

Today, HRC announced LGBTQ advocates and allies who will be special guests and speakers at the organization’s annual Time to THRIVE Conference on February 16-18 at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando. They include trans athlete Chris Mosier; Native American dancers Adrian Stevens and Sean Snyder; advocates Judy and Dennis Shepard of the Matthew Shepard Foundation; and performer Johnny Manuel. They will join Gavin Grimm, the transgender trailblazer who is being honored at the conference with HRC’s Upstander Award.

The conference is co-presented by the National Education Association and the American Counseling Association. Toyota, BBVA Compass and AT&T are presenting sponsors of the event.

“Spanning arenas and cultural backgrounds across the U.S. and beyond, these special Time to THRIVE guests are doing the vital work to ensure that LGBTQ young people are able to live, learn and thrive in environments that respect every aspect of their identity,” said Vincent Pompei, Director of HRC’s Youth Well-Being Project and Time to THRIVE Conference chair. “At a time when too many people have been emboldened to bully marginalized and vulnerable people, it’s never been more important to have professionals fighting for the equal treatment of LGBTQ youth in schools and their communities.”

• Chris Mosier is the first openly transgender athlete to qualify for a U.S. national team, earning a spot on the Team USA sprint duathlon men’s squad for the 2016 World Championships. He founded Transathlete.org and is the vice president of You Can Play, which works to ensure the safety and inclusion of all in sports – including LGBTQ athletes, coaches and fans.
• Native American couple Adrian Stevens and Sean Snyder are working to bring visibility and equality to all LGBTQ Native Americans through dance. Their powerful story was recently featured in People.
• Judy and Dennis Shepard founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation to honor their gay son after he died from injuries sustained in a hate crime, and fought for passage of The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA). Judy is also a longtime member of HRC Foundation Board of Directors.
• Johnny Manuel, a semifinalist on America’s Got Talent, is slated to perform during the conference.

HRC previously announced that it will honor transgender advocate Gavin Grimm with an Upstander Award during the Time to THRIVE Conference. Grimm made history after suing his school district over its discriminatory policy that barred him from using the boy’s restroom, alleging that the district violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. HRC’s Parents for Transgender Equality Council, HRC’s Youth Ambassadors and HRC’s Welcoming Schools Program will also be featured at the conference.

The event brings together a wide range of youth-serving professionals to discuss best practices for working with and caring for LGBTQ youth and their families in schools, community centers, health care settings and beyond. To register, visit www.TimeToThrive.org.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-announces-special-guests-at-time-to-thrive-conference-on-lgbtq-youth-sa?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Was moderne Eltern machen, hat unser ganzes Land verändert

www.huffingtonpost.de/entry/moderne-erziehung-gewalt_de_5a576b00e4b03bc4d03e8e03

Pre-Prepared Vegetables Are A Necessity For Those Of Us With Disabilities – Excess Packaging Is Not

I remember the day clearly, when in my early 30’s, I picked up my veg knife and went to chop up a carrot… and I physically couldn’t. It was as if the carrot was made of concrete, I couldn’t understand it.  Such a simple task yet I could not complete it.  I’d spent the majority of my 20’s in my kitchen with my friends, on my feet for 12 hours or more, music blaring, with a bottle of wine, cooking up a storm for a dinner party for 10 or more guests. Usually, by the time the guests arrived I’d be too exhausted to actually eat anything myself but I could cook and all that goes with it. That was until I reached my 30’s, then disability really took its toll and slowly but surely, more everyday ‘simple’ activities became unachievable goals.  I still knew how to cook. It obviously wasn’t ignorance or lack of education; I hadn’t forgotten. I tried everything. Like most disabled people, I’m exceptionally innovative – we have to be.  I started roasting vegetables, such as sweet potato or butternut squash. After an hour or two you can remove the softened peel from the flesh of the veg with your hands. A couple of hours roasting however is not exactly environmentally nor financially friendly on the energy front. Also, you still need a degree of ability to achieve this now simplified task. A month or two later, even with the aid of my ‘perching stool’ (also made from none recyclable materials), I no longer had that ability either. I then tried eating all veg in ‘shavings’ form – basically I peeled them.  For a while that was ok but then I lost that ability too.  

This situation may sound ‘alien’ to many of you; something you just cannot empathise with… yet. I assure you all, whether it be through disability, ill health or old age, most, if not all of you will inevitably one day need pre-prepared food. When that day comes you won’t be ready for it, you’ll feel it’s too soon and you’ll feel a multitude of emotions that come with that change. I only hope when that day comes you don’t have people shaming you and calling you lazy for what you are not physically able to do.  Please try and remember when you comment on the ‘laziness’ of others that most people, like myself, didn’t arrive at ‘pre-prepared veg’ without working really hard to find an alternative first.  We worked hard, we put the time and effort in to both research and practice with alternatives.  We did our bit. We did our duty.

So, how about you do yours M&S?

The problem is the packaging and that’s firmly on you, the manufacturer and supplier.  The problem is not the ease or pre–prepared nature of the food, nor is it the people who require it.  We are not lazy. We are unable.  We are not the problem. We have physical limitations, time limitations, waste limitations (we also don’t want to waste food, which is another problem with larger portions). We need that food pre-prepared. You do not need to package it in an abundance of plastic. So the only party here who doesn’t have an essential need, who has the privilege of choice, is you M&S. You could have chosen to support your customer base and change the packaging to, for example, a paper bag but you didn’t; you chose the easy route and removed the product. You displaced the problem, the blame and the resolution not just onto your customers but onto the most vulnerable of your customers (including but not exclusive to pensioners, the incapacitated and the disabled.)

I Imagineif M&S suddenly released a statement saying they’re no longer selling baby formula as it promotes the use of plastic bottles over the more environmentally friendly option of breastfeeding, the uproar would quite rightly be deafening.  The presumption of privilege, evident to many in that example, may not be as apparent with disability but it’s there and our community is suffering greatly because of it. Ultimately, one way or another, most of you will sadly experience this form of ableism first hand, one day.

So I challenge you M&S, to put your customers first and speedily set about resolving this issue by reinstating the existing pre-prepared veg, until you come up with a more environmentally friendly alternative to package it in. I’ve already proposed one alternative. If you’d like a group of disabled customers to aid you and brainstorm, you can contact me in the comments and I’ll be sure to point you in the right direction. Or simply make contact via Twitter, you’ll find thousands of us on there, waiting and ready to engage.  

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/pre-prepared-vegetables-are-a-necessity-for-those-of-us-with-disabilities-excess-packaging-is-not_uk_5a58afaee4b04df054f81cbd