31/10/2011
Daily Telegraph
Community care 'failed mentally ill'
A report by the Centre for Social Justice think tank has concluded that care in the community and the closure of mental health institutions has failed those most vulnerable in society. The report calculates the cost of the changes at £105bn a year, and criticises the costs to society both financially and in terms of family breakdown as "completely unsustainable". The report says that at £6bn a year, mental illness constitutes the biggest single cost item to the NHS, but services are failing to meet needs.

Note: I shall contact the 'Centre for Social justice' to see what they have to say about the 'Great NHS Continuing Care Scam' - and will report back in this forum. Steve.

The law protecting whistleblowers and public safety in hospitals is failing staff and patients, the Court of Appeal has found in a landmark case brought by three nurses against an NHS trust in Manchester.

Note: Can anyone spare the time to track this down and provide a link to the details - so we can debate it? I have been told in absolute confidence by a nurse that despite the Law ostensibly protecting 'Whistle Blowers' the NHS are warning nurses that 'whistle blowing' and involving themselves in controversial care and funding issues will result in instant dismissal! Hardly surprising when the NHS clearly consider themselves 'above the law'! Steve.

1. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/whistleblowers-not-protected-from-bullying-court-rules-6255015.html

2. http://www.pcaw.co.uk/news_attachments/Fecitt%20and%20Manchester%20FINAL%20J.pdf


Is that what you were looking for?


VM

http://www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/departments/?locator=597

This may be the report.

People with Dementia, ARE classified by the DoH as having a mental illness, a mental disorder or suffering from what they term mental health problems.

People with DEMENTIA may PRESENT, early on, with mental health/disorder/illness type symtoms and features but they actually have an organic, degenerative brain disease, NOT merely a psychosis.
Due to this false assumption & ongoing treatment of their DISEASE, they are placed with the SOCIAL by default at the outset when at the beginning of problems and treated generally with totally inappropriate and wholly unsuitable drugs which do nothing to alieviate anything.

Also CBT ( talking therapies ) is not likely to have any effect or benefits certainly medium to long term either. People are left to flounder with inappropriate treatment and lack of appropriate services.
These tactics are used deliberately at the beginning of someone's Dementia journey, as people involved 'think' that it is merely a mental illness/health/disorder to be treated in the same manner as someone with a psychosis.

PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA DO NOT HAVE A STANDARD MENTAL ILLNESS, DISORDER OR 'mental health problem' THEY HAVE A DISEASE.

Mental Disorders( the collective name used in the 1983 act ) are deeply embedded now within SOCIAL CARE total responsibility.
They cannot legally have anything to do with HEALTH definied problems.

DEMENTIA should be reclassified as wholly owned within HEALTH,long term degeneerative diseases, as it now is in the USA and many other countries around the world and by the W.H.O.
But if the DoH reclassify it properly as a long term degenerative disease, therefore owned directly and implicitly by HEALTH, which it is, then that would create an immediate massive direct financial burden for them which they currently successfully offset to SOCIAL & us the public under means testing for social care facilities.

3. Centre for Social Justice press release

http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/client/downloads/Poorest%20of%20mentally%20ill%20failed%20by%20care%20in%20the%20community%20warns%20major%20new%20report.pdf

VM

4. The full report - all 256 pages - http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/client/downloads/CSJ_Mental_Health_Full_Report_WEBNEW.pdf

5. A Barrister's opinion on the protection of whistleblowers: http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2011/10/24/58062/legal-opinion-has-protection-for-whistleblowers-gone-too.html

VM

ROOKIE - I have been telling this to the NHS and SS since my late father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease back in 1994 and as I noted recently "there are none so deaf as they who do not wish to hear". It took nearly six years of endless meetings review panels and letter writing before the Ombudsman agreed with my contention that "the eligibility criteria applied were more restrictive than national guidance allowed" - yet right from day 1 they had insisted that their criteria were 'lawful'! In other words they were not even obeying their own rules! Perhaps the Ombudsman was persuaded by my unearthing absolute proof that the health authority had amended specialist medical reports to avoid paying!
The DoH prevented the BBC and newspapers from publishing details of this attempted fraud and they no doubt thought that reimbursing all my father's care costs plus interest and expenses would keep me quiet! Thus I started the 'nhs Continuing Care Campaign' and this forum was born! Steve.

Hello Rookie,VM, Steve

Thats absolutely brilliant Rookie.

You mention The United States of America. Are you aware of Dr Greg Sachs and his work on dementia? I have got a lot of information on this on my PC. I have also got links with some completely medical text book information on the causes of dementia. Again American.

Also works from Australia and something from Japan ( its on my PC will have to find it ).,
which is very interesting because in Japan there was an attempt made to socialize dementia,again with the aim to avoid paying fees for a health condition. But it didnt work.

Have also got loads of information on childhood dementia, which is important becuase of its implications.

Will try to do a piece on dementia that I was going to put on the general forum, but will put on here and try to put in the easiest terms what this American resource means to us.

The backing of The World Health Organisation is important especially as the United Nations are not happy with the provision of health/social care in the UK.
All this must be looked into.

Every avenue we can present against them is helpful.

Kind regards Ian

Hello Steve

I have found what you want but its not good news in the end.

You can find last years appeal at Bailii>> data bases.. United kingdom employment appeal tribunal>>
Fecitt and(put in symbol) v NHS MANCHESTER ( 2010 ) UKEAT 0150 10 2311 ( 23RD November 2010.

The bad news the health organisation took it to appeal and won so that the three nurses lost compensation.
Full story Manchester Evening News 26th of October 2011.

Under the heading : whistleblowing nurses lose court battle for payout.
Kind regards Ian

The Times reports that a General Medical Council survey has found that a quarter of trainee doctors say that they regularly have to cope with problems beyond their competence or experience.
Huh! Surely that applies to NHS managers too!

The Daily Mirror reports that peers with private health links were blasted by Unite last night after backing radical changes to the NHS which leave the service wide open to greedy profiteers.
We already have them - they're called 'Care home proprietors!'

The Daily Star reports that hospital security staff are to be issued with armour to protect them against violent and drunk patients.

And NHS managers have thick skins and selective deafness to protect them from continuing care claimants!

Acknowledgement: News source 'Presswatch'

Ian, I look forward to the articles on dementia...I nursed for a while in a Victorian institution...went on strike because I was horrified by the treatment the patients were getting (4 weeks)....this was in the early 60's..back at the general hospital for my finals, called in to see Matron...found others had joined me without my knowledge!!..anyway I was the one the Matron looked to for answers....her conclusion was that we were adolescence running away from responsibility...in study block 2 weeks later...new Sister Tutor asked us how many of us had worked in this Victorian institution...she said that she had spent two full days the previous week inspecting the hospital and she had not slept since..she then told us that no general trained nurse would be sent there again....I made an appointment to see the Matron and accused her of running away from responsibility....I believed that many more general nurses should be sent there in order to attempt to change the attitude of the staff. The patients were far more intelligent that the staff looking after them....the situation is no better in EMI care homes today.....in many ways the conditions I have witnessed are worse....the patients now are also robbed of all their money and dignity in the process....care in the community has failed the most vulnerable......