By Clare Jerrom and Reg McKay.
Nine NHS trusts accused of ‘massaging’ waiting lists
Nine NHS hospital trusts have been accused of massaging waiting list figures in a deliberate bid to meet government targets for shorter patient queues.
Independent spending watchdog the National Audit Office reveals duplicity, secrecy and distortion of patient records, and nearly 6,000 patients were affected. Some were forced to wait longer than they should have done while their condition deteriorated.
Nigel Crisp, chief executive of the NHS, said any managers who were found to have falsified waiting lists would in future face dismissal for gross misconduct and banned from working in the NHS.
Among the most serious cases were Bart’s NHS Trust in London and Salford Royal.
Source:- The Independent Wednesday 19 December page 1
Prisons inspector ‘shooting from hip’
The former chief inspector of prisons, who has publicly criticised the government’s handling of Britain’s prisons, was attacked by Labour yesterday.
George Howarth, who had been home office minister between 1997 and 1999 accused Sir David Ramsbotham of "shooting from the hip", and displaying lack of judgement during his term as chief inspector of prisons.
"He saw something and jumped from A to Z without working out how the other letters fitted in between," he said. "His judgement was on occasion found wanting."
Earlier this week, Ramsbotham accused ministers and home office officials of pushing him out of his job in an "appallingly underhand way", and said by the time he left his role, he was barely speaking to Jack Straw.
Howarth insisted, however, that this was down to the former chief inspector and not the former home secretary.
"Jack Straw is a very hard secretary of state to fall out with. I suspect that he was not the cause of any deterioration," he said.
Source:- Daily Telegraph Wednesday 19 December page 9
Councillors blamed at Climbie inquiry
Labour councillors who withdrew millions of pounds from Haringey social work department have been accused of contributing to the death of Victoria Climbie, who should have been protected by social services.
Former Labour chairperson of social services in the London borough, Craig Turton, told the public inquiry that the ruling Labour group slashed the child protection budget to please middle class constituents who wanted a greater emphasis on schools.
He said social workers responsible for Victoria’s case were left to struggle with unmanageable workloads because teachers belonging to the Socialist Education Association had an "unhealthy" influence on decisions about the council budget.
"This led to additional resources being provided for education services – seen as an electoral priority – at the expense of all other council services, including social services," he concluded.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 19 December page 8
Call for global group to fight child web porn
The head of the United Nations children’s fund is calling for greater censorship of the internet to combat child pornography sites.
Carol Bellamy, executive director of Unicef, said concerns about freedom of expression should take second place to the urgent need to protect youngsters from child porn sites, which are a breeding ground for international paedophile rings.
Delegates at the Second World Congress Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Japan called for a world organisation to pursue child pornographers across the borderless internet.
Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 19 December page 17
Childminder faces jail for shaking baby boy to death
The childminder who shook a baby boy to death in a violent fit of temper last night faced a prison sentence after being found guilty of the charge.
Linda Bayfield took gulps from an asthma inhaler when an Old Bailey jury passed a unanimous manslaughter verdict after seven hours of deliberation.
Bayfield was granted bail as sentencing was adjourned for a month to allow reports to be prepared.
The jury was not told that she had been acquitted by Croydon crown court in 1986 of actual bodily harm against a three-year-old girl.
Bayfield continued to be registered as a childminder and in July shook Joshua Osborne so violently that he suffered sever brain damage and died in hospital.
A report by Croydon council into the tragedy, published today, said that nine complaints received about Bayfield during her 25 years of childminding had involved "inappropriate chastisement" of children in her care.
Source:- The Times Wednesday 19 December page 9
Blunkett rejects Payne campaign
The home secretary will meet the parents of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne again next year after rejecting their demand for the public to have controlled access to the sex offenders’ register.
Michael and Sara Payne spent more than an hour with David Blunkett yesterday to press their case. They discussed whether a "buddy system" could be launched to provide convicted paedophiles with a confidant if they were tempted to re-offend.
Sara Payne said Blunkett told them he was not convinced that unlimited public access to the register would help to protect children.
Source:- The Times Wednesday 19 December page 8
Guardian Society
Creating a stir
Great menu, plus free bed and board…seems just the place for a cosy holiday. But this is one of Her Majesty’s hotels’ and it’s rapidly slamming the door on the old image of nasty prison food.
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 19 December page 2-3
Outmoded care
Wakefield damned for failing clients
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 19 December page 4
Faith in face-to-face
Donors unfazed by charities’ fundraising techniques
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 19 December page 4
Time is the healer
Imagine having your health and housing problems both addressed by your doctor. Debbie Andalo on a pioneering trade-off that guarantees 30 minutes with the GP.
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 19 December page 5
Best of trends
In an increasingly competitive world, charities can’t afford to be amateurish. Linda Jackson on the volunteer organisation that provides professional expertise.
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 19 December page 6
Out in the cold
While many services close over Christmas, social workers are left to cope with people in crisis.
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 19 December page 32-31
Benefits of sharing
Living standards relaxed for alcohol and drug care centres
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 19 December page 31
Home owner frozen out
Ombudsman rules ‘negative views’ a factor in care closures
Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 19 December page 31
Scottish newspapers
Councils attacked over 3,000 evictions
Shelter Scotland has condemned local authorities in Scotland for acting more like hard-headed businesses than social landlords in pursuing evictions against tenants in arrears at the same rate as banks do in relation to private homeowners.
The first national evictions figures collated by the Scottish executive revealed that 3,000 tenants were evicted by Scottish councils this year. The most "aggressive" local authority was North Lanarkshire with 823 actions pursued in court and 47 evictions achieved.
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said that "evictions remained a last resort", and was the ultimate sanction in anti-social orders. Shelter Scotland said that anti-social behaviour accounted for only 3 per cent of evictions. A Scottish executive spokesperson said: "We exhort local authorities to manage arrears and use eviction only as a last resort."
Source:- The Herald Thursday 19 December page 7
Health deficits rise tenfold
More health trusts in Scotland are operating at a loss and their deficits are almost 10 times higher than three years ago, a report by the auditor general Robert Black will reveal today.
Eight of the country’s 28 trusts suffered a combined overspend of £53.9 million in the year to 31 March 2001 up £5.8 million on last year when the deficit increased by £24 million.
Tayside University Hospitals, the subject of a damning report in July, accumulated the largest deficit of £15.9 million. The overall deficit has been practically wiped out with a government injection of £79 million in September. However, Black warns this was a one-off payment and raises concerns that the health service remains critically under-funded.
Source:- The Herald Thursday 19 December page 1
