Evidence on 'deaths linked to hospital targets in Lincolnshire' kept secret

Documents which could support claims that hospital targets led to the deaths of Lincolnshire patients will be kept secret.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has rejected Stephen Phillips's call to publish the alleged evidence to assess the need for a public inquiry.

The Sleaford and North Hykeham MP has seen leaked documents which he says seem to show staff may have made mistakes because of the increasing pressure they were put under.

And the paperwork allegedly suggests United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust chief executive Gary Walker was pushed out for putting patient safety above bureaucratic box ticking.

Mr Lansley has written to Mr Phillips stating it is "not in the gift" of the Department of Health to issue "all relevant material" to help him decide the merit of a public hearing.

He said similar allegations from 2009 about bullying of senior staff to enforce targets were investigated independently.

And he urged "caution" when comparing the trust with the situation in Staffordshire. A 2009 Healthcare Commission report exposed appalling standards of care and a higher than expected death rate at Stafford Hospital.

"On October 28, 2009, the report of the review cleared NHS East Midlands of all allegations made against it in respect of its handling of performance at United Lincolnshire Hospitals," wrote Mr Lansley.

"I would caution against drawing any parallels between circumstances at the trust and those at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

"In 2010, departmental officials passed on to the Care Quality Commission a letter from Gary Walker, which expressed his concerns about patient safety at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust.

"These concerns were taken into account in CQC compliance monitoring work, and prompted an unannounced inspection.

"The compliance report, published on August 24, 2010, stated CQC did not have any significant concerns about patient safety at the trust."

Mr Lansley added that a further review last year, centred on Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, "did not suggest that the issues at the trust were of the same nature as those found at Stafford Hospital".

Mr Phillips is now looking to get a further response from Mr Lansley during a House of Commons debate later this year.

"I am concerned that the response from Mr Lansley doesn't fully address all of the points that I raised.

"But I understand the department's reluctance to reinvestigate matters that have been looked at previously," said Mr Phillips.

"I have been trying to get an adjournment debate in the Commons, but I wasn't successful in the ballot before recess.

"I can't enter again until the House comes back in the autumn."

Mr Phillips's letter relates to the enforcement of the national 18-week GP referral to hospital treatment target in Lincolnshire.

The monitoring of the measure was abolished by the Government in June 2010.

source: thisislincolnshire.co.uk

General damages to increase by 10%

The Court of Appeal today confirmed that general damages will increase by 10% for all judgments made after 1 April 2013.

Senior figures at the judiciary said the judgment was being made several months in advance to provide 'simplicity and clarity'.

The uplift was a key element of Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendations for reform of the civil litigation system. But with the increase not included in government legislation to enact Jackson’s report, the judgment said it would be 'a breach of faith’ for the judiciary not to ensure trial judges would apply it.

In the judgment, the lord chief justice, master of the rolls and vice-president of the Court of Appeal said the uplift would not achieve 'perfect justice in every case’, but that the same thing could be said of any of the changes happening to the civil system.

The uplift will apply to general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity in personal injury, nuisance, defamation and all other torts which cause suffering, inconvenience or distress to individuals.

source: lawgazette.co.uk

The Claim Lawyers Prayer

Our client who suffered injury in Devon

hallowed be thy claim.

read more...

Mum's Horror Being Awake during Surgery

An elderly lady from the Wirral went into theatre to have what she believed to be routine heart surgery. She thought she knew what to expect.

This lady in her early 70s, suffered the trauma of being awake during the operation but paralysed and helpless to do anything. She experienced extreme pain and believed that she was going to die. All she could do was hope that the anaesthetic would take hold.

Supported by her daughters, this Wirral lady approached Fiona Kemp, Partner in the Clinical Negligence department at Lees Solicitors.

At Lees Solicitors LLP, we have acted for a number of patients who have suffered such an experience and understand the serious physical and emotional consequences that can follow.

For most people, the thought of being awake but paralysed during surgery is something that belongs in a horror film. Unfortunately, for some patients, the nightmare can be a reality. Some research has suggested that approximately 1-2 patients per 1000 operations experience some form of awareness of what is happening, despite having received an anaesthetic. Many of these have been as a result of errors by the hospital.

If you know anyone who has experienced anesthetic awareness whilst having an operation, they will have, not only experienced severe pain, but also in many cases may go on to have psychological problems.

At Lees Solicitors we have a team of specialists managed by a qualified nurse who have dealt with many of these cases so they are at the end of the phone to support you from the moment you call to make an initial enquiry.

If you would like further advice on how to bring a claim, please call our specialist team on 0800 387 927.

The Labour Ward Lottery - A Disaster Waiting to Happen

Fiona Kemp, a Principal in the Clinical Negligence department at Lees Solicitors agrees with recent concerns raised about standards of care on labour wards.

A recent newspaper article in The Leader has highlighted concerns about staff shortages on the labour wards at Wrexham Maelor Hospital - and a retired midwife is quoted as saying that she believes that such shortages are UK wide.

Two recently retired midwives have stressed that they feel that midwifery is a "profession in crisis" and that there are simply not the staff to meet government requirements that women should have one to one care during the birthing process. They emphasized both the strain upon the staff, and the risks that this poses to patients, given that labour wards are environments where snap judgements have to be made.

It does not take a great leap of imagination to conclude that such snap judgments, if made by over stretched staff, can lead to disastrous outcomes for the patients involved.

At Lees Solicitors LLP, our clinical negligence team is sadly familiar with such scenarios. We have acted for the families of children who have developed cerebral palsy or other brain injuries as a result of errors of judgment by clinical staff, and have also acted for bereaved parents who have lost children following such incidents.

The time margin between a healthy baby and one with a serious brain injury can be frighteningly small. In cases of acute starvation of blood and oxygen to the brain, irreversible brain damage can be done in little more than ten minutes. If concerns are not picked up by over stretched staff, or if in the worst case scenario, staff are not physically present with the patient at such a crisis point, the consequences can be disastrous.

Our experienced department has acted in one case where staff shortages meant that an unobserved rupture to a previous caesarean scar led to the baby being partly expelled from the womb into the mother's abdomen. No midwife was present, and nor did they respond to the emergency buzzer or calls for help for many minutes. The baby survived but now has serious brain damage, requiring constant care.

We have also acted in other complex cases where brain injuries have followed delays in performing emergency caesarean sections, failures in resuscitation procedures or even failures to ensure that babies are receiving sufficient breast milk from first time mothers. We have also worked for other families who have lost children following delays in providing antibiotics or other similar errors.

Whether such errors are the result of chronic understaffing or excessive strain on staff, is a moot point. For families who have lost a child or are caring for a brain injured child, the real question is whether the outcome could and should have been avoided.

At Lees, we have obtained substantial sums of compensation for such children and their families. We understand the devastating consequences that follow such errors, and the issues that the families face, both practically and emotionally, on a daily basis. We have many years of experience in guiding clients through the legal process and know how to minimise the strain on families who are already over burdened as a result of what has happened.

If you would like to discuss a potential enquiry with us, please call our clinical negligence department on 0800 387 927 and our specialist team will be happy to speak to you about your options. Alternatively, please email us at newclaim@lees.co.uk. 

Man killed in motorbike collision near Malmesbury

A man has been killed and another seriously injured in a motorbike accident near Malmesbury in Wiltshire.

Emergency services were called to a layby near the Burton Hill junction of the A429 at about 08:30 BST.

A pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene and a male motorcyclist was airlifted to Bristol's Frenchay Hospital with serious injuries.

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said the man was in a serious but stable condition.

The road is currently closed in both directions either side of the Burton Hill junction.

source: bbc.co.uk

Doctors to be re-assessed every year to ensure they are fit to practise

Doctors skills are to be reassessed every year to ensure they are fit to practise, the General Medical Council (GMC) said.

At present, doctors can go for their entire career without facing any formal assessment of their competency once they have qualified.

But from December this year, doctors will be checked to make sure they are still fit to stay on the medical register, the GMC said.

This would take the form of an annual appraisal with a more comprehensive meeting every five years, if the scheme is approved by the Health Secretary.

Doctors will be expected to demonstrate they meet clinical standards and have kept up to speed with the latest developments in their field, while appraisals will include feedback from patients and colleagues.

They will be appraised by the medical director of their hospital, GP practise or specialist organisation.

Audits of how patients fare after seeing their doctor will also be included, alongside a requirement to ensure there are no causes for concern in the way a doctor works.

The GMC want to revalidate the majority of licensed doctors for the first time by the end of March 2016.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said: 'Revalidation is on its way.

'From the end of this year we will begin to tell each doctor the date when he or she will be expected to revalidate. We are entering a new phase - after years of discussion about the principle, the reality of revalidation is imminent.

'We will be ready to start delivering revalidation from the end of this year and we are confident that the healthcare systems across the UK will also be ready. Now is the time to get on with this.'

The GMC argues that the process will give patients greater confidence that their doctors are up to date and over time will improve quality of care.

However, a GP who works in a deprived area of the UK and blogs for Pulsetoday.co.uk said revalidation would demoralise the profession.

The 'Jobbing Doctor' wrote: 'Many experienced doctors feel that revalidation is bureaucratic, tedious and ineffective. There are few practising doctors who feel that it will achieve what it purports to do.

'It is a sledgehammer to miss a nut.'

source: dailymail.co.uk

Coles Miller's new gocompensate profile

Dorset based law firm Coles Miller has today renewed their membership of gocompensate.com and at the same time has updated its online gocompensate.com profile to reflect the launch of its new website.


The new gocompensate.com features replicate the website content and design of the main Coles Miller website creating a seamless flow from site to site for potential personal injury and medical negligence claimants.

Lee Taylor, Marketing Manager at Coles Miller said "We're delighted to be part of the gocompensate panel of experts. We've always received an excellent service from the team and the updates to our pages are always done in a timely and professional manner".

Commenting for gocompensate.com Simon Oates said "We constantly strive to improve our services to client firms whilst keeping the cost of panel membership to a modest £350 a year with no requirement to pay referral fees".


gocompensate.com released this updated service just days after their Claims Brand initiative and comes just a few days ahead of launching the 'referral fee free' brand into new legal service sectors.

gocompensate.com acquires medicalcompensationclaim.co.uk

gocompensate.com has further extended its range of feed sites through the acquisition of medicalcompensationclaim.co.uk and clinicalcompensationclaim.co.uk websites.


Just days before the planned expansion into employment claims services, gocompensate remains committed to extending their range of domains in personal injury and medical negligence sectors enabling claimants to connect with regional specialist solicitors throughout the UK.

Child birth method should be your choice..Miranda Kerr should respect other women's decisions

WHEN model Miranda Kerr boasted about her drug-free labour with baby son Flynn, she sparked fury amongst mums across the globe.

The Victoria’s Secret model claimed she opted for a natural birth as she didn’t want her son to be ‘drugged up’.

And Kerr, 29, who is married to actor Orlando Bloom, flippantly said she wanted to give her son ‘the best possible start in life’ by refusing an epidural.

Her factually inaccurate pop at women who have epidurals to ease the pain of labour has angered both mums and medical experts.

There is no evidence that epidurals – an anaesthetic injected into the mother’s spine to numb the lower body – do any harm to the baby.

In fact, they reduce birth trauma and foetal distress and around 30 per cent of mums opt for an epidural to help them through long and painful labours.

Here, we meet two mums who had completely different births – to find out what they think about Miranda’s controversial comments.

LORNA, LOIS & JACK ROME

MUM-of-two Lorna Rome, 38, had a drug-free birth with daughter Lois, two, after a disappointing labour with son Jack, five.

Lorna, who teaches hypnobirthing at Your Body, Your Baby, said: “For me, personally, I had a bad experience with my first birth as I was so drugged up, so I wanted to go natural the second time round.

“It was absolutely amazing and I felt no pain.

“Looking back, I was backed into a corner and told I should take drugs and that I wasn’t coping the first time.

“I didn’t feel any pain the second time, I walked into hospital fully dilated and had no pain relief.

“However, it really isn’t anybody’s place to judge other women.”

“I think it’s each to their own and we should all, Miranda Kerr included, respect other women.

Lorna, of Prestwick, Ayrshire, had a long and painful labour with son Jack in 2007.

She said: “I think a lot of women beat themselves up about having the wrong birth.

“I wanted to do something positive instead. My first labour was awful. I was doing fine but the midwives suggested I wasn’t coping with the pain.

“It’s a domino effect and you end up taking pain relief because you’re offered it.

“I had an epidural, but it made me so numb I couldn’t push properly.

“I felt like I wasn’t part of the whole birth experience.

“I was so drugged up.”

Although Jack was a healthy baby, Lorna wanted to avoid a repeat of her experience when she fell pregnant again in 2009.

Lorna’s midwife suggested she read up on hypnobirthing.

She said: “I only started reading up on it when I was 37 weeks pregnant and my second birth was just incredible.”

Lorna laboured at home, and looked after her toddler son between contractions.

She said: “I was just having a normal day but stopping and practicing breathing if the surges were more intense.

“When my mum came down and my wee boy went to bed I felt like I could let go a bit more and I had a bath. I was fully dilated when I arrived at the hospital.

“The midwife didn’t think I was in labour, she was going to send me to a room to have tea.

“I told her I didn’t want it. I wanted to get on a bed and have a baby.

“I wasn’t in any pain at all, I just felt pressure. It was amazing.

“I had put in my birth plan I didn’t want pain relief offered – that I would ask for it if I needed it.

“I felt wonderful giving birth. It’s a huge hormone relief.

“I would never have trained to be a birthing practitioner if I hadn’t had that experience.”

Six months after Lois was born, Lorna began training to teach hypnobirthing.

“I think birth choice is an individual thing. But if you can learn to relax you can have an amazing, natural birth.”

LEE-ANN & JUDE

NEW mum Lee-Ann Beaton, 31, a PR account director, and her husband Kieran had their baby boy, Jude, on May 17.

Lee-Ann opted for an epidural and dismisses Miranda Kerr’s claims it meant she was failing to give her son the best start in life.

She said: “When are women going to stop running each other down just because they’ve made different choices?

“Miranda seems to have appointed herself the poster woman for mummy perfection.

“She didn’t ‘drug up her baby’, breastfeeding ‘came easily’ to her and she does what her granny recommended and slips on a dress and a slick of lipstick for her man coming home.

“While she might claim her comments have been taken out of context, the reality is, as a world-famous model, she should know better.

“The comment that really irks me is she claims she wanted to ‘give him the best possible start in life’. All mums want to do that, Miranda, but we each have to decide what works best for us.

“Labour is painful but thanks to medical advances we don’t have to writhe about in agony if we don’t want to.”

Lee-Ann didn’t set out a birth plan and was open-minded about her labour.

She said: “I used gas and air until I was seven centimetres dilated and then got my epidural.

“It gave me a chance to rest and prepare for the hard part. So when the time came to push I had the energy to do it, and there wasn’t one swear word uttered either, it was all pretty calm and actually good fun.”

Lee-Ann says there was no sign of baby Jude being “drugged up”.

The healthy baby boy weighed in at 7lb 14oz.

She said: “We cuddled up together and I was able to feed him myself too, it was better than I could have imagined.

“I was able to enjoy every minute of it with Kieran and we have a wonderful, contented little baby who
is thriving.

“I can also look back on the experience and genuinely say it was amazing and was pretty much pain free.

“Good luck to those who opt to do it with no pain relief, but don’t have a go at others for making a different choice.”

THE MIDWIFE'S VIEW

Professional advisor for the Royal College of Midwives, Mervi Jokinen, supports choice for women when they give birth.

She said: “It’s become a lot more acceptable in society to have an epidural. Everybody thinks the pain of labour is awful and the epidural is the saviour.

“I am a supporter of choice, but I think that choice depends on the quality and level of information a woman receives. The epidural does have an effect on the later stages of labour, as it can actually make pushing more difficult.

“And the baby will be sleepier so it can make breast-feeding harder.

“However, in some cases, if there are medical problems for example, an epidural may be necessary and can help the labouring mother.”

source: dailyrecord.co.uk

Employment tribunal fees condemned by Theo Huckle, counsel general

A decision to charge up to £1,200 for bringing employment tribunals will deny people "access to justice", claims the Welsh government's chief legal adviser.

Counsel General Theo Huckle QC said the move by the UK government would deter many applicants with good claims.

There is currently no fee for applying to bring a claim to a tribunal.

UK justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said it was unfair for the taxpayer to foot the bill for tribunals, which cost more than £84m a year.

Mr Huckle opposed the plans earlier this year during a consultation process and wrote to Justice Secretary Ken Clarke.

The decision to introduce the fees was announced on Friday.

Trade unions branded it a "disgrace".

Justice 'undermined'

Business groups welcomed the move, but complained that most claimants would be exempt from the new rules.

Cases involving unpaid wages and redundancy pay will have an initial fee of £160 and a charge of £230 if it goes to a hearing, while those relating to unfair dismissal, discrimination complaints and equal pay claims will have an issue fee of £250 and a hearing fee of £950.

Mr Huckle said: "True and free access to justice for all citizens, whether their claims are popular or unpopular, is an integral part of the democratic settlement in the UK. This decision totally undermines that principle.

"The process of approaching a legal court or tribunal is off-putting for most citizens. The thought of doing so without direct legal advisory support and representation is daunting in the extreme.

"To be required to do so and pay substantial fees as well in advance will undoubtedly deter many applicants with good claims who will thereby be denied access to justice."

But UK justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said he wanted people, where they could, to pay a fair contribution for the tribunal system, which would encourage them to "look for alternatives".

"It's not fair on the taxpayer to foot the entire £84m bill for people to escalate workplace disputes to a tribunal," he said.

"It is in everyone's interest to avoid drawn-out disputes which emotionally damage workers and financially damage businesses. That's why we are encouraging quicker, simpler and cheaper alternatives like mediation."

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said it was vital that working people had fair access to justice, but introducing fees for tribunals would deter many, particularly those on low wages.

Alexander Ehmann of the Institute of Directors said it strongly supported the UK government's decision to introduce the fees to make people "think twice before submitting vexatious or weak claims".

source: bbc.co.uk

Christine Bleakley in cancer scare due to killer asbestos at school

Christine Bleakley is among the thousands of women who have been urged to undergo tests to see if a recently discovered leak of the asbestos dust at their old school has contaminated their lungs.

An inspection at Bloomfield Collegiate in Belfast, where the star was head girl, found "elevated levels" of asbestos. It is believed the toxic fibres were exposed years ago, when the building was under renovations.

On previous occasions, footballer Frank Lampard's fiancee has had three cancer scare in three years. She recently had three suspect moles removed and in 2009 had an abnormal smear test result, the Sun reported.

And what makes her more susceptible to the killer disease is that she was back in the building as recently as last year in September, when she toured the college for a special edition of breakfast TV show 'Daybreak'.

"The fact she was back in the building as recently as last year has made her more petrified she could fall ill," a source said.

Even the star's spokesman confirmed the news.

"This is yet another cancer scare for Christine so she doesn't want to say anything before she gets tests," Bleakley's spokesman admitted.

Bleakley, who is expected to marry England midfielder next summer, has talked about the shock of her previous cancer scares.

"You start thinking slightly differently and you take a bit more care of yourself. All sorts of thoughts run through your mind," she said.

The school officials have claimed that major damage to asbestos in cupboards was caused during an electrical overhaul in 2001.

But head Dr Darrin Barr admitted the authorities have no idea what condition it was in before the renovations began.

"It is not known what asbestos conditions prevailed in the past. It is not possible to quantify the exact level of exposure at other times and therefore any consequent health risks," he said in a letter:

Meanwhile, the school has been closed while an investigation continues.

Asbestos fibres have been known to cause 'mesothelioma', a disease that leads to lung cancer, killing around 3,500 in the UK every year. Interestingly, it can lie dormant for up to 50 years and unfortunately there is no cure.

source: newstrackindia.com

Farmers to fight a £6bn asbestos scam

What is the most outrageous Government-supported scam in Britain today? Obviously there are a number of contenders. One is the Public Finance Initiative (PFI) whereby we pay private contractors up to three times the value of the hospitals and such that they build. Another is the Great Wind Scam, whereby we pour billions of pounds into the wind industry, to supply us, very unreliably, with derisory amounts of electricity. But there is shortly to be a legal challenge to another hugely costly scam – or part of it, at least – based on the way powerful lobby groups have managed to hijack government policy on the emotive and widely misrepresented subject of asbestos.

On behalf of some 50,000 farmers, and supported by the National Farmers’ Union, Bryan Edgley, who farms 2,500 acres in Buckinghamshire, is asking the High Court to declare unlawful a new set of asbestos regulations which, his lawyers will claim, are wholly unworkable, not based on proper science and could present farmers with a quite unnecessary bill for £6 billion.

The story of how the framing of national asbestos policy has been taken over by a group of lobbyists centres on the deliberate confusion of two very different minerals, both given the unscientific name “asbestos”. It is 50 years since the world first learnt of the dangers of exposure to the amphibole (or “blue” and “brown”) forms of asbestos fibre, iron silicates which remain in the lungs for years and can cause horrifying diseases such as mesothelioma. But in the years that followed, a systematic attempt was made to blur this type together with the very much commoner “white” asbestos, a magnesium silicate which quickly dissolves in the human lung, and which, particularly when it is used as a bonding agent in cement, poses no measurable risk to health at all. The fibres in cement (90 per cent of all asbestos products in the UK) undergo a chemical change which makes them no longer respirable.

The lobby groups that chiefly benefit from this confusion include the licensed contractors, who charge exorbitant sums for removing asbestos cement; and the lawyers who bring compensation claims on behalf of clients who no longer need to prove that their disease was caused by asbestos. Insurance companies do not even bother to contest such claims, knowing that they can be paid for by raising premiums for all their other customers.

Farmers are particularly vulnerable because some 50,000 British farms have buildings containing asbestos cement, which must eventually be replaced. The new Control of Asbestos regulations, which came into force in April, make it virtually impossible for farmers to remove and dispose of asbestos cement without the very costly help of the specialist contractors who lobbied for the regulations.

Mr Edgley, supported by expert scientific advisers, is seeking a judicial review of these ill-drafted regulations, on the grounds that they conform with none of the six basic criteria governing such law – not least because they create an “exposure threshold” which cannot be scientifically measured. Among many other requirements, they also compel anyone who requires the removal of asbestos to pay for everyone involved to be medically examined every three years thereafter, with all records to be kept for 40 years.

Since 2008, Mr Edgley and his advisers have been trying to put their case to ministers of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which is responsible for asbestos regulation through the HSE. Eventually, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir John Beddington, a population biologist, was asked to hold an inquiry. But the Beddington committee consisted largely of members already firmly wedded to the official view, and Mr Edgley was astonished to discover that they did not even consider the scientific evidence that he and his team had supplied to the inquiry.

That is why Mr Edgley has decided that the only way the farmers’ case can be heard is by bringing a case in the High Court against Iain Duncan Smith, as the DWP’s Secretary of State – although the responsibility for the Beddington inquiry lay with his junior, Chris Grayling (whom Mr Edgley’s legal team will ask to attend the High Court, to explain why the committee was not shown the evidence).

Like many other businesses, the farmers face a double whammy, thanks to an extraordinary judgment last year by the Supreme Court, which opened the door for almost any business to be sued for compensation by anyone who can claim to have been dangerously exposed to asbestos while working for them. As I reported at the time, the court’s president, Lord Justice Phillips, not only made no distinction between the harmful and harmless forms of asbestos, but began his judgment with a scientific howler, by stating that probably every case of mesothelioma results from exposure to asbestos.

Phillips did not appear to have read the scientific literature, which shows that at least 25 per cent of mesotheliomas occur naturally, and many more may be attributable to the Salk polio vaccine. Virtually none, if any – as the HSE itself stated in 1996 – have been caused by exposure to white asbestos. But Phillips’s judgment has paved the way for a host of new compensation claims from people who may not have been damaged by asbestos at all – but which, thanks to his ruling, are scarcely worth contesting.

Finally, one part at least of this many-headed racket faces a serious legal challenge. It will be particularly interesting to hear Mr Grayling explain why the Beddington committee had no opportunity to examine the scientific evidence which was the reason it was set up in the first place.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Readers give gift of speech to teenage cerebral palsy sufferer

A TEENAGE triplet who has battled with cerebal palsy since birth has spoken his first words this month, thanks to help from readers of the Standard.

David Pearson and siblings Katy and Robert were born 12 weeks premature, weighing just two pounds, but only David developed the condition that has prevented him from being able to walk or speak and left him partially sighted.

The 16-year-old has been attending Milestone School in Gloucester where he began to improve after using a touch-screen computer, and two years ago the family tried to raise £4,000 for David to have one at home in Stratton.

The family raised some funds themselves but after the Standard launched its appeal for the remaining £2,800 in September 2010, generous readers helped reach the target within a few months and by December that year David had his computer.

This week mum Lizzi Ussher spoke of her joy that David had recently been able to say his first full words, and she puts his progress down to his interaction with the computer.

The youngster was also this month commended by his school at a leaving ceremony for students where he received an award for personal achievement and fortitude.

"He loves using the plasma screen and it's defenitely helped his recent progress and he's now able to say a couple of words such as "hip hip hooray"," she said.

"The school were amazed at the fact that he's been so desperatly ill on at least two occasions, but he's done it with complete courage and bravery, and just gone from strength to strength.

"He battled through three months in hospital, it nearly killed him, but he's come on in leaps and bounds and is looking at what he would like to do now he's finished school. I'm just so proud of him and would never have believed this possible.

"I just thought to myself that I really wanted to thank all those people who donated so generously to make this happen."

source: wiltsglosstandard.co.uk

Porthchapel beach man injured by cliff rock fall

A man has been airlifted to hospital after being hit by a rock which fell from a cliff in Cornwall.

The accident happened at about 14:45 BST at Porthchapel beach, near Land's End, Falmouth Coastguards said.

A coastguard spokesman said a large rock fell from the cliff, hit the ground and "bounced" on to the man, who suffered rib and hip injuries.

He was flown to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro by the Cornwall Air Ambulance. His condition is not known.

The Land's End cliff rescue team was also involved in the man's rescue.

source: bbc.co.uk

Qualified One Way Cost Shifting - Ministerial Announcement

Link: Civil Litigation Funding & Costs Ministerial Announcement

On 24 May 2012, the Government announced implementation plans for the provisions under Part 2 of the LASPO Act 2012 (civil litigation funding and costs) which will come into force in April 2013.

The Government has now considered further advice from the Civil Justice Council and today the Department has issued a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) to Parliament setting out further details of these provisions, in relation to qualified one way costs shifting (QOCS), Part 36 and the new rule on proportionality. 

In addition, the WMS announces that changes to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) will be considered by the Civil Procedure Rules Committee (CPRC) in the autumn, in order for the necessary changes to come into effect for April 2013.

The Ministry of Justice will continue to engage with interested parties throughout the implementation process.

source: parliament.uk

Hospital deaths ''hastened to save money''

The Department of Health (DH) has denied claims that hospitals are putting increasing numbers of elderly patients on a 'death pathway' to hasten their demise and save NHS funds.

The department was replying to a letter from six doctors who specialise in elderly care, sent to The Daily Telegraph, that claimed that the established pathway scheme was being misused by hospitals to speed up the deaths of terminally ill patients. The so-called 'Liverpool Care Pathway' (LCP) is approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the DH.

The doctors reckoned that patients were deliberately not being given food and water, which is what happens when the LCP is implemented. But, the letter said, so many patients were having this done to them without their consent that they are now carrying cards that expressly state they do not wish to have food and fluids withdrawn in their final days.

A person's death is "essentially a prediction", the doctors wrote, but it may be hastened due to "the availability of resources".

"Members of the public have given examples of inappropriate use of the Liverpool Care Pathway," they wrote. "The combination of morphine and dehydration is known to be lethal, and four-hourly reassessment is pointless if the patient is in a drug-induced coma. No one should be deprived of consciousness except for the gravest reason, and drug regimes should follow the accepted norms as laid down in national formularies.

"In the elderly, natural death is more often free of pain and distress. The only certain way of assuaging thirst in the conscious is to provide fluids orally or occasionally by another route such as subcutaneous infusion. The matter of informed consent is another major consideration, and it is therefore not surprising that patients are refusing the pathway in advance directives, or carrying cards refusing this form of treatment, as a measure of self-protection."

One of the letter writers, Dr Gillian Craig, told the paper: "If you are cynical about it, as I am, you can see it as a cost-cutting measure, if you don't want your beds to be filled with old people."

The DH said: "People coming to the end of their lives should have a right to high quality, compassionate and dignified care. The Liverpool Care Pathway is not about saving money. It is an established and respected tool that is recommended by NICE and has overwhelming support from clinicians at home and abroad.

"The decision to use the pathway should involve patients and family members, and a patient's condition should be closely monitored. If, as sometimes happens, a patient improves, they are taken off the LCP and given whatever treatments best suit their new needs. To ensure the LCP is used properly, it is important that staff receive the appropriate training and support."


source: publicservice.co.uk

Claims Brand Marketing - Solicitors: Reclaim the claims market

Oates Consult Limited are presently engaged in developing a number of claims brands for solicitor clients throughout the UK and have linked this service to their gocompensate.com brand by providing two FREE regions on gocompensate.com with every claims website developed.


Simon Oates said "With the incoming changes to personal injury claims and the removal of referral fees, this is a real opportunity for solicitors to reclaim the claims market from the claims management companies".


gocompensate.com provides a profile page for specialist personal injury and medical negligence solicitors and will shortly be adding an employment law and professional negligence provision to their range of services.


gocompensate premium panel firms each receive a stand-alone website on a dedicated claims brand enabling  potential claimants to access via gocompensate.com or direct.


Solicitors interested in developing their own personal injury brand should contact Simon Oates at oatesconsult on 0845 3 299 585 or via email on simon@oatesconsult.com to discuss your individual requirements on a no obligation basis.

Warning to Lincolnshire drivers after crashes in heavy rain

Police are urging drivers to take extra care on roads after flood warnings were issued across Lincolnshire.

It comes after a spate of road collisions across the county this morning following heavy rainfall.

A 37-year-old man from Waddington was treated for injuries after his motorcycle was in collision with a Vauxhall Astra at 7.12am today. The incident happened at the junction of Brant Road and Station Road, in Waddington.

Then, at 9.10am today, three cars were involved in a collision on the B1188 between Metheringham and Dunston. The road was closed causing delays in the area, but no drivers or passengers were injured.

Surface flooding has also caused road closures in Grantham town centre, Hemingby, Aslackby and Goulceby.

Heavy rain has been forecast to fall this morning but should begin to clear up by lunchtime. Showers are also expected tomorrow and more unsettled weather on Sunday.

David Powell, head of Lincolnshire's Joint Emergency Management Service, said: "The rain which was originally forecast overnight has now reached the county and we are expecting heavy rain this morning across Lincolnshire.

"Surface water flooding is still possible so we are asking people to remain vigilant

"Residents should keep an eye on the local forecast and not take risks such as walking and driving through flood water.

"It is simply not possible to judge how deep the water is, or whether there are missing manhole covers and hidden obstacles under water.

"Unless your home is in immediate danger of flooding, please do not contact your district council for sandbags.

"If your home has previously experienced any kind of flooding, do be vigilant and take appropriate precautionary steps. We have had several reports of individual properties being flooded across the county."

For the latest flood updates, call the Environment Agency's Floodline Warnings Direct service on 0845 988 1188 or visit www.environment-agency.co.uk/floodwarning.

source: thisislincolnshire.co.uk

Fitness instructor fighting back after near-fatal road crash

FITNESS instructor and female rugby player Tash Gardiner from Bishopsteignton is fighting back after being involved in a near-fatal road crash.

The 20 year old's life was saved when she instinctively curled up into a rugby-scrum ball position when she saw the head-collision approaching.

Tash suffered a broken neck and was left with brain damage and now has a tracheosotomy tube in her windpipe. She spent seven months in hospital and had only a two per cent chance of survival.

Despite being left with devastating health problems, the Bishopsteignton girl is now fundraising for Devon Air Ambulance.

Without the air ambulance Tash says she would not have got to hospital in time: "If it wasn't for the air ambulance I wouldn't be here now. I would be 6ft under."

Tash, who went to school at Bishopsteignton primary and Teignmouth Community College, was the passenger in a car in March, 2011, near Cowley Bridge in Crediton when the accident happened.

Tash said: "We were on our way to get tattoos. The girl who was driving had only passed her test three weeks before.We were running late and as we went around a bend we collided with a 4x4.

"I was 19. I broke my neck in two places and had internal bleeding of the liver and spleen and smashed my pelvis up.

"I had to have a tracheostomy to save my life. My wind pipe and voice box were damaged.

"I will get better but it will always affect me."

Before the accident she was working as a self-employed fitness instructor, teaching in Teignmouth, Dawlish and Exeter, and living independently.

Now she is back at home being cared for by mum Kathy, who said: "There was only a two per cent chance of her surviving.

"The surgeon who operated said that it was her rugby that saved her life.

"When she saw the other car coming straight at them she instinctively tucked herself up into a ball, almost like a scrum. She was in a position like a baby in the womb.

"It saved her from losing her legs but it broke her neck.

"She was on the operating table for five hours before I even knew that she'd been in a crash.

"We have been told that she should make about a 95 per cent recovery over time but they don't know exactly.

"Her long-term memory is very, very god but her short-term memory is not very good because of the brain damage. She is totally different. A different personality. But she is getting better."

Now Tash is organising a themed War Time Dance at Bishopsteignton Community Centre on Saturday, July 21.

Guests are invited to wear clothes from the era and wartime-style food will be served.

Live music from Divertimento will provide the entertainment with a variety of songs and nostalgic hits from years gone by.

Photographer Andrew Kemp will be on hand to snap portraits on arrival.

Tash said: "The Devon Air Ambulance team saved my life last year.

"People who were living in the war years weren't so fortunate to have an Air Ambulance so, following all the jubilee celebrations, we have themed this fundraiser as a War Time Dance to remind people how lucky we are now."

Tickets for the evening cost £10 per person, to include a buffet. They are available in advance from Supply Stores and the Post Office in the village or from mum Kathy Gardiner on 0789 159 7137.

source: thisissouthdevon.co.uk

Olympic torchbearer credits farming with head injury recovery

When the Olympic torch relay passed through Lincolnshire there was one young farmer for whom the journey was particularly momentous.

As one of the 8,000 people carrying the torch as part of the flame's journey across Britain, Simon Hale had achieved something that three years ago his family would have deemed impossible.

In his own words, Simon has had an unlucky life. Brought up by his mother after his father died in a car crash when Simon was six, he had been at university for just 12 months when he suffered an accident that changed his life.

At the end of his first year studying agriculture at Newcastle in 2009, he was on a night out when he decided to climb over a fence to get back into a nightclub he had been thrown out of by mistake. In the dark, Simon didn't realise there was a 20ft drop on the other side and he fell, landing on his head. Lucky to survive, he spent five weeks in a coma.

When he woke up, it became clear that the 19-year-old Simon his friends and family knew had gone.

Once a promising student with dreams of becoming a farmer, his severe brain injury left him needing to learn how to swallow, walk and talk. He was also left with memory problems, difficulties with controlling his emotions and a challenge of learning to live with a new, less compliant brain.

Many people would think the change was massively unfair, but Simon - with help from his mother, Jane, and his brothers Tim and George - has been determined not to just rebuild his life, but to continue pursuing the career he always dreamed of.

"I never liked working inside, so when I was at school I looked at what careers I could go into where I could be outdoors," he says. "That's when I thought I'd like to go into farming."

With no family background in agriculture, Simon started helping out on local farms near his home in Oakland, Leicestershire.

"I discovered I loved working with animals and I wanted to be a livestock farmer," he says. "Getting into farming can be hard, so I applied to Newcastle to study agriculture."

Following his accident, Simon's farming ambitions were understandably halted. He spent a year in a rehabilitation centre in Northampton as he relearned how to do things for himself and came to terms with the impact of his injury.

During that time, he was followed by a team of Channel 4 filmmakers, who wanted to chart his progress for a Cutting Edge documentary called My New Brain.

"There was a cameraman and an assistant who came to see me every day," Simon says. "It gave me some normality, which was what I needed, because rehab wasn't fun."

The programme aired in August 2010 and as well as earning him an interview on This Morning to talk about his progress, it raised awareness locally of his situation.

"The Tyler family, who farm nearby, knew I was interested in farming and they said I could go and help with lambing," Simon says.

Despite being "understandably cautious" about having him on the farm at first, he proved such a good worker that they asked him back after his first day.

"I have to be careful not to do too much because I can get tired, but after working there I wanted to do more because I loved it," he says.

"I got in touch with Four Extra Hands, which is a farm work organisation, and they helped me find some work with another farm in Launde.

"I'm doing general stuff - helping them with worming and shearing. Working with sheep is just what I always wanted to do."

So happy with getting back to work on farms, Simon, now aged 22, is also looking to rebuild his academic career. "I'm hoping to study at Brooksby College in Melton in September to see if I am able to learn again. After that, who knows - I might even go back to Newcastle and finish my agriculture degree."

But despite his ambitions, Simon is very aware that he is not - nor may ever be - back to "normal". He still relies heavily on support from his mother, who is his primary carer and he sees a psychologist to help him continue to deal with his injury.

"A silly, drunken mistake has cost me a lot," he says.

"A brain injury is a hidden disability. I have a scar on my head from when I fell and a scar on my throat from my tracheotomy, but otherwise you wouldn't notice there was anything wrong with me.

"I visit a psychologist still and I do a lot of work with Headway, which is a charity that helps people with brain injuries.

"A worker comes from there once a week to take me to the shops or for a coffee. It's someone to talk to and it gets me away from mum for a bit."

Since leaving rehab, he has spent time visiting local schools to talk to children about the effects of brain injuries and to warn them about the dangers of not wearing safety helmets. "I've done it a few times and it's something I like raising awareness about," he says. "We have a helmet we put on an egg to show them how wearing a helmet can make a big difference when you have an accident."

The work Simon has done educating children - and the physical and mental progress he has made since the accident - led his mother to nominate him as an Olympic torchbearer.

On Tuesday (3 July) Simon carried his torch through Stamford in front of hundreds of people.

"She said she nominated me to get me back for having to look after me after my accident," he says.

"I was surprised she did it, but I'm very happy about getting chosen to carry it. It made me feel like a celebrity. I guess I'm not so unlucky after all."

source: fwi.co.uk