May I introduce to you my daughter Caitlin’s creation Lord Philip? Leader in the field of psychedelic leggings dance. Continue reading
Lord of the leggings dance
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Mental health services upheaval in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield
Most of the news about the proposed NHS changes in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield has focussed on proposals to close and reduce acute and emergency hospital services, and replace them with cheaper integrated health and social care in the community.
Little public or media attention has been given to proposed changes to mental health services, even though the mental health trust, South West Yorkshire Foundation Partnership Trust (SWYFPT), is one of the three NHS providers that are involved in the proposed NHS and social care reconfiguration, known as “Right Care Right Time Right Place”.
SWYFPT’s website gives the impression that SWYFPT’s transformation plans are already well underway, and says they are in line with the Strategic Review/ Strategic Outline Case (SOC) proposals for the Right Care Right Time Right Place reconfiguration. Continue reading
How Yorkshire Ambulance Service prioritises calls
Thanks to Plain Speaker readers who busied themselves with finding out about why Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) took over 7 hours to pick up an elderly patient from her care home, where she was coughing up or vomiting dried blood.
When the ambulance finally turned up, an ambulance crew member told the patient’s grand daughter that the reason her nan waited over 7 hours for an ambulance to pick her up from her care home was because YAS no longer responds to Code 4 calls. Continue reading
The People’s Commission that isn’t – Calderdale Council shies away from public hearing on hospital cuts and closures
On Monday 28th April, Calderdale Council Cabinet authorised the Chief Executive, in consultation with Party Leaders, to finalise the terms of reference for a People’s Commission on Health and Social Care, arrange for the Commission Panel to be established and arrange for the initial call for evidence.
The only thing is, what the Cabinet has set in motion doesn’t seem much like a People’s Commission.
A People’s Commission is a way for civil society to highlight unresolved violations of law, in a public hearing of evidence and testimony from anyone who’s affected. Continue reading
Insulation foam made of wood could replace fossil fuel based foams
The Climate News Network reports that a German Institute for Wood Research has come up with a way to use wood to make insulation foam, as a replacement for polystyrene and other fossil fuel based foams.
Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group no-show, not roadshow
Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has failed to turn up to hold its roadshow to “engage” with the public about the so-called “Right Care Right Place Right Time” proposals. These aim to reconfigure the NHS and social care in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield.
At least three members of the public went to the Halifax North Bridge Leisure Centre car boot sale to attend the roadshow, which Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group listed as one of its engagement events in its Strategic Review Engagement Plan. Continue reading
A great day in sunny Brighouse for Save our A&Es campaign
Calderdale NHS 38 Degrees group had a great morning in sunny Brighouse. With 10 members on their information stall, they talked to the public, gave out leaflets and added
signatures to a petition to save Calderdale and Huddersfield A&E departments. Just short of 300 people signed the petition at the stall. Continue reading
Protecting Mytholm orchard from deer
IncredibleEdible Mytholm has put deer protectors around the trees in a small orchard on Mytholm Meadows playing field that we planted last year with Incredible Farm and St James Primary School gardening club. We’d noticed that deer had been nibbling the trees and stripping off the bark.
The little orchard is right on the border of the Mytholm Works/Browns Field site. Continue reading
Untested £1m Calderdale NHS scheme hopes to improve people’s health by ending loneliness
Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has coughed up £1m out of its non-recurrent budget in order to fund an as-yet ill defined project to end loneliness in Calderdale.
This £1m NHS money complements the Council’s existing neighbourhood schemes, which cost £0.25m a year. Continue reading
Help build a legal challenge to Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS shake up
Philip Grey, a regulatory lawyer at national law firm Mills & Reeve, has explained in
the Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network what NHS bodies must do to fulfill their
legal duty to involve the public at the planning stage of proposed reconfigurations, in
the development of specific proposals and in the decisions.
You can help build the case for a challenge to the Strategic Review by reading the list of what NHS bodies must and must not do and telling us if you are aware of any ways they have deviated from these requirements. Continue reading