Suspicious deaths of ten elderly patients in Gosport War Memorial Hospital in 1998 are at last going to be examined by the Coroner.

Gosport hospital deaths: Who's to blame?
Read the Independent on Sunday's investigative article.

Extract:

"An unprecedented inquest will this week begin to examine the suspicious deaths of 10 elderly patients who died unexpectedly after being given high doses of powerful painkillers and sedative drugs at a hospital in Hampshire.

"The hearing, granted last year by the Justice Secretary Jack Straw, despite the fact that seven of the people concerned have already been cremated, highlights nearly 100 other cases at Gosport War Memorial Hospital which may be related.

Relatives of at least 92 patients involved in the case have fought for the past 10 years to have the matter investigated thoroughly. They believe the deaths have never been properly explained and want those involved to be held to account. They want to know whether their relatives died as a result of accidents, incompetence or what some fear might be something more sinister. They believe that there was a culture of treating patients with palliative care – as though they were dying – rather than rehabilitating them.

They point out that this week's jury hearing at Portsmouth Combined Court comes seven years after a damning report by the NHS watchdog which identified systemic failings in medication prescribing.

The Government has so far rejected relatives' calls for a public inquiry into the deaths, despite stinging criticisms about the way they were handled by the police and the General Medical Council (GMC). Three police investigations have failed to shed light on why the patients died. The GMC, in particular, has been lambasted by the relatives for its failure to act promptly and decisively."

The GMC is notorious for protecting negligent doctors and doing little if anything for their innocent patient victims and their families. It should be abolished and the money that is wasted on it should be put to good use. The NHS, disgracefully, is also notorious for protecting negligent doctors and doing little if anything for their innocent patient victims and their families...)o: - It too should be scrapped. - Sadly that is unlikely to happen since the NHS is the biggest employer in the country and if any government had the courage and decency to scrap it, it would be, in effect, voting itself out of office.

I do hope the long-suffering relatives of the dead patients get an honest and satisfactory outcome from the inquest/s and that they get it without further long delays.

Confidential patient records could be passed from the NHS to government depts and private companies, leading to a "disastrous impact" on public health

Government plans to sell patient records
article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"Government plans, contained in the Coroners and Justice Bill, would allow almost unlimited access to medical records of named individuals without their consent.

Under the proposals, patient information held by GPs, health centres, pharmacists and hospitals could be passed to insurance companies or research organisations. The data could also be given to other government departments, such as the Department for Work and Pensions to check whether people who claimed benefits were able to work.

In a letter to Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, medical organisations expressed "grave concerns" about the Bill. They said that sharing confidential health records would result in patients being less open with their doctors, which would jeopardise their care and public health initiatives."

I think we can take it that "research organisations" equals drug companies...)o:

"Data Protection" is an oxymoron as far as this Government is concerned...)o: - and, of course, "Data Security" is a wholly imaginary concept...)o:

Coroner tells Jack Straw to act now on the use of restraint in child prisons

Coroner tells Straw to act now on restraint in child prisons - Guardian

Extract:

"The coroner who presided over the inquest into the death of a 15-year-old who died after being restrained in a child jail has warned the justice secretary, Jack Straw, that it would be "wholly unforgivable" if the lessons were delayed by a general review of the use of restraint announced yesterday.

The retired judge, Richard Pollard, who presided over the inquest into the death of Gareth Myatt, the youngest person to die in custody, sent a 17-page letter to Mr Straw yesterday detailing 34 recommendations needed to prevent similar deaths happening in the network of privately-run secure training centres that hold the most persistent teenage offenders in the country.

He believes the changes should be made immediately, but in the face of a potential Lords defeat over new regulations widening the circumstances in which restraint can be used by staff in child jails ministers last night announced a joint review of the issue, not only in STCs but also in young offender institutions and local authority secure units."

Disquiet over huge compensation paid from taxpayers' money to Bernard Matthews, the turkey products company associated with the bird flu outbreak.

Disquiet over pay to 'bird flu farmer' - Independent

Extract:

"Jack Straw, the Leader of the Commons, said he was "uncomfortable" with the payment of £589,000 in compensation by the taxpayer to Bernard Matthews, the turkey products company at the centre of the bird flu outbreak.

Some 159,000 turkeys were culled at Bernard Matthews' Suffolk farm to prevent the H5N1 virus spreading. The firm will be reimbursed between £3 and £4 per bird, depending on their age, by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Mr Straw told MPs: "All of us are uncomfortable about the reports of high levels of compensation to Mr Matthews' firm.""