Healthwatch's avatar

Healthwatch

@healthwatch.bsky.social

52 followers 48 following 199 posts

Sharing info and occasional comment on health and social care in the UK. Spent over 35years working in NHS, patient and public involvement and NGO abroad with health care in Mongolia. Refugee from Twitter where column was Healthwatch@NHSWatch.

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Wealth fund of just over £7bn!? Might have been a lot more if used income from north sea more wisely. Norway’s wealth fund is over $1.6 trillion from investing income from north sea oil and gas. Last year alone uk government income from North Sea was over £9bn.
www.theguardian.com/politics/art...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Uk government migrates from a period of crooks and clowns to one of grey paper shufflers and bean counters.

www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes

Reposted by Healthwatch

Reposted by Healthwatch

Sylvia 's avatar Sylvia @sylvia-suffragette.bsky.social
[ View ]

Its called Privatisation or as the manifesto puts it Business Growth Partnerships

1 replies 1 reposts 1 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Will it actually solve the housing crisis and build affordable homes for homeless & those on minimum wages? Thousands of empty properties around the country that could do that. A block of LA owned flats in our town alone that have stood empty for over 15 years.
www.theguardian.com/society/arti...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Next year will the US presidency be run from care home- or a prison?

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

On reading Rachel Reeves statement today that they have no money cannot help but recall this piece from 2010 on note left for incoming Tory government by outgoing Labour government. Ever feel we are going in circles with our politicians?
amp.theguardian.com/politics/201...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Yes but reckon will still need gov ££. Cannot build new hospitals on fresh air or pay new teachers on a promise. Only way is to relax the arbitrary financial rules they have adopted from Tories and increase gov debt. It will either be that or raising taxes in some way their hazy promises allow for

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Not sure how the new uk government can secure economic growth without redically improving the level of public and private investment. That will need ££

1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

It is also about recruiting appropriately qualified and trained teachers. Also without improving pay and reducing stress related to workload, constant testing and scrutiny this is going to be a hard ask. Especially when Government has no money
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Not sure Labour’s proposed GB Energy quite fits the bill as an energy champion compared to other european countries’ state owned providers - but it might just help create one - have to see. But it certainly will not lower our energy bills anytime soon.

www.euronews.com/2023/03/03/b...

0 replies 1 reposts 1 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Is our new government going to reinstate the Regional Development Agencies that were abolished during the time of the recently expelled political vandals? Might help solve the problems of inadequate diffusion, underinvestment and absence of joined-up policy making

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Afraid likely to be a whole lot more smoke and mirrors with more of ‘jam tomorrow’. Except for the politicians, their advisers, consultants and favoured business friends- that will be jam today and everyday.

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Surprise, surprise. Last 15 years has seen worst income growth in uk for generations according to IFS. Rebuilding Britain’ might have to wait a long time until we can afford the bricks.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Oh no! Not again! Current NHS PFI debt will not even peak until 2029 at about 2% of NHS budget and costs £millions each year in interest payments alone. Kind of thing liked by ambitious NHS managers wanting to add to their cvs and move on quick before shit hits.
www.theguardian.com/society/arti...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Alas irs the people who want power and choose to become politicians. Maybe they have always been shit

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Labour plans to build 1.5m homes but, regardless of Starmer’s ‘promises’ to ‘bulldoze through planning restrictions’ a major bottleneck would be the huge shortage of skilled construction workers in the UK.
www.theguardian.com/politics/art...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Low birth rate and ageing population, workfoce skills shortages, poor levels of public and private investment over decades, a decaying infrastructure including reservoirs, roads, schools and hospitals. High levels of chronic sickness, and poor mental health. Fix that in 5 yrs?!!

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Nothing new about this of course. All they have to do is find the thousands of additional care home beds and care staff that would be needed and governments to continue to pay for them as need increases the numbers into the future. No chance
www.theguardian.com/society/arti...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

‘Sums don’t add up’ in Reform manifesto - surprise surprise. Tax cut proposals alone would cost tens of billions of £ more than stated according to IFS. Another Lizz Truss moment? Just expect people to fall for same kind of casual lies and fantasies they sold Brexit with
ifs.org.uk/articles/ref...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

‘We need the world to wake up’: Sudan facing world’s deadliest famine in 40 years

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Well, we have been governed by fools, charlatans, clowns 🤡 and liars for some considerable time. So, frighteningly, not as improbable or outlandish as would have been once thought.
www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Finding the money for these manifesto promised might be a lot easier than finding the thousands of additional professional staff to meet these committments. Do they have a plan for that?
www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Wonder if there is a Labour party plan as to where all the new radiographers, teachers, mental health staff and dentists are going to come from over next 5 years to fulfill their manifesto promises

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Reposted by Healthwatch

Reposted by Healthwatch

Shaun Lintern's avatar Shaun Lintern @shaunlintern.bsky.social
[ View ]

In 2015, I started on the case of a surgeon at Salford Royal who was harming many of his patients. It was only at The Sunday Times in 2022 that I finally got to reveal the truth...FREE to read 2/5 www.thetimes.co.uk/article/796d...

1 replies 2 reposts 5 likes

Reposted by Healthwatch

Prof Sheena Cruickshank 's avatar Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social
[ View ]

Excellent summary of THAT paper from @actuarybyday.bsky.social and @chrischirp.bsky.social why paper is misleading nonsense & should be retracted from BMJ. The newspapers who published misleading stories should publish a retraction statement. Misinformation causes great harm 🧪

0 replies 22 reposts 40 likes

Reposted by Healthwatch

Ben Barclay's avatar Ben Barclay @benbarclay.bsky.social
[ View ]

I understand and to some extent share the anger about the D-day event, but maybe some of that anger should be redirected towards the govt’s failures on health (new scandal a week, this time deaf children), housing, energy, poverty, Brexit, prisons, universities, etc

1 replies 5 reposts 15 likes

Reposted by Healthwatch

Shaun Lintern's avatar Shaun Lintern @shaunlintern.bsky.social
[ View ]

I care about what I do.

As @thetimes has dropped its paywall for the weekend. Here are some of my stories you can read for FREE.

First, did you know about the ongoing scandal affecting deaf children across the NHS? 🧵 1/5 www.thetimes.co.uk/article/26df...

1 replies 11 reposts 13 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Starmer pledges not to raise taxes or NI but refuses to rule out public spending cuts!? Media reports confusing Labour with Tory policies? New round of public service austerity on horizon? But this time by a Labour gov? How would they sell that one to an increasingly cynical electorate?

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Increasing levels of under 40s diabetes? No mystery with number of takeaway and fast food outlets having increased from 37k to 47k between 2013 and 2023 alone = poor diet and obesity.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

US maternal mortality rate continues to far exceed those of other high-income nations. Persistent inequities in health care are a big reason Black women in the US are by far most likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth - Commonwealth Fund report
www.commonwealthfund.org/publications...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

In 2019–20, 4% of working-age adults (1.8 million) reported being unable to heat their home; by 2022–23, that figure had risen to 11% (4.6 million).
Seven key facts about UK living standards | Institute for Fiscal Studies (ifs.org.uk)

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Reposted by Healthwatch

Britt Lundgren's avatar Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social
[ View ]

COVID is definitely still circulating. Half my family came down with it this past week after traveling to Scandinavia. Testing in advance of visiting with elderly relatives was so important. Highly recommend keeping masks & tests on-hand this summer. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/...

15 replies 97 reposts 264 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Election news - Tory party pledges to draw down the moon to ensure every uk household, particularly over 60s and pensioners, have free green cheese the rest of their lives

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Yet another “tragic mishap” in a war apparently full of them. All deliberate of course. An almost dismissive phrase to use when describing the murder of dozens of innocent people
www.cbsnews.com/news/hamas-r...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

Healthwatch's avatar Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

Government by dilettantes. Seems our so called leading politicians put most of their energy and effort into making money and personal fortunes and see politics and government as just a diversion
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk...

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes