Category Archives: Casualty Department

Our fine local NHS administrators, private quacks and other health-related buccaneers

DIRECT ACTION GETS RESULTS FOR FLY-INFESTED AVONMOUTH RESIDENTS!

ANGRY AVONMOUTH RESIDENTS TAKE TO THE STREETS OVER BIOMASS FLY INFESTATION

No flies on this kid! Protest by angry Avonmouth locals – against Boomeco, the biomass company which caused a plague of flies to descent on the village, and the authorities who have failed to sort it out – reaches Crowley Way.

Local residents in Avonmouth today said ‘enough is enough’ after the FAILURE of Bristol City Council, millionaire mayor George Ferguson, the Environment Agency and the Bristol Port Company to sort out the appalling fly infestation in the portside village – and marched on the offices of the biomass profiteers responsible, Boomeco.

After assembling at Avonmouth Park, around SIXTY ANGRY LOCALS have been on a walkabout around the town, periodically blocking roads to get their message across, as they head towards the offices of the controversial waste recycling company Boomeco.

The invasion of flies has been traced back to POOR PRACTICES AT BOOMECO, which bundles up and trades in rubbish – quaintly rebranded ‘biomass’ or ‘refuse derived fuel’ – which is then burnt to create electricity. Further fly infestations are expected if a planned new biomass power plant is built at Avonmouth docks.

Here’s a press release from the protesters:

Residents of Avonmouth are in the process of marching on the offices of the Bristol Port Company due to their their ongoing failure to deal with a recent fly infestation caused by biomass exporters Boomeco at their facility in Avonmouth.

Local elected representatives have failed to address and alleviate this problem and now Bristol Port Company want to lease a section of land to the Day Group for the storage of incinerator bottom ash less than 500 metres from residences in Avonmouth.

The campaign is led by recent independent candidate and seasoned campaigner Stephen Norman after numerous emails to the Mayor, the Port Company and Mr Oliver Latter of Boomeco have been ignored.

Residents have become frustrated at the lack action to stop such industry being attracted by the Port Company like the proposed building of a Biomass plant at the dock.

Mr Norman says the campaign will go ‘on tour’ at chosen strategic venues causing peaceful disruption until common sense prevails.

A leaflet from the Avonmouth Dust Forum also asks local residents affected by the plague of disease-spreading flies to contact as many authorities as possible in order to get this DANGEROUS HEALTH HAZARD sorted.

» Avonmouth Dust Forum flyer (May 2014)

More news as we get it…

LOCAL ELECTIONS: CASHING IN ON DEMENTIA

FORGED DRUG RECORDS CLAIMS AT ‘HORROR HOUSE’ NURSING HOME HOLMWOOD

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As part of our ongoing investigation local private care home of horrors HOLMWOOD HOUSE, where we have reported the concerns of family members over several resident deaths and allegations of neglect, The BRISTOLIAN has taken delivery of a large bundle of medical documents. These relate to the management and distribution of controlled drugs there in 2013 – when the home was briefly managed by a State Registered Nurse (SRN), SIMONE SMITH.

We understand that the police have studied these documents and confirmed that a considerable number of them contain FORGED SIGNATURES. At present it is unclear who was responsible for the forgeries, as the police appear to have discontinued their inquiry.

Also in the bundle is evidence of a DRUG AUDIT ordered by then-manager Smith which was conducted by struck-off nurse ISLA MEEK, who was working at the home as a “consultant”.

There’s little doubt Meek did the work, as the audit was produced on the headed business paper of ‘Isla Meek Consulting’. Obviously, a struck-off nurse should not be involved in any way in the management of controlled drugs at a nursing home.

in a further extraordinary twist, Smith is now using these dodgy drug audits herself as evidence to get another former nurse from the home STRUCK OFF by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). A hearing is expected later this year.

Smith left Holmwood House in the Autumn of 2013 and is now employed by Four Seasons Healthcare as a manager at OAKTREE CARE HOME in Yate. Four Seasons Healthcare rejects any claims of wrongdoing regarding Smith, and told The BRISTOLIAN that Bristol City Council’s Safeguarding Team have described Smith as “a whistleblower”!

Although, as far as we can tell, the only whistleblowing Smith could have done would be in regards to her own management of controlled drugs.

Forged drug records? Bent audits? The Holmwood House affair gets a whole lot murkier…

THE GREAT DRUG & ALCOHOL SWINDLE: TREATMENT TURF WARS, SLASHED BUDGETS AND LOWEST-BID-WINS LEAD TO A ‘SAFER BRISTOL’?

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Chaos has gripped Bristol’s drug and alcohol services as Con-Dem cuts bite deep into budgets…

Over the last twenty years a group of organisations has handled advice, support, housing and other services for people with drug and alcohol problems in Bristol. Overseen by the ‘Safer Bristol’ Substance Misuse Team (SMT) bodies such as Bristol Drugs Project (BDP) and the Addiction Recovery Agency (ARA) handled different parts of the service to aid the recovery and support of addicts.

Earlier this year some idiot (thought to be head of the SMT Sue Bandcroft) decided to unleash the FREE MARKET on these services by asking BDP, ARA and other organisations to bid for a much-reduced budget slashed by Con-Dem austerity measures. The result? Like tossing a bone to a bunch of starving dogs – yes, a dog fight ensued, creating chaos for drug workers and their clients across the city as ARA, BDP and the others fought it out for a pitiful pot of money.

Overseeing this mess in July, Bandcroft and the SMT, throwing decades of addiction experience to the wind, went with the CHEAPEST BIDS, causing whole parts of the service to be relocated and reorganised. Then they promptly washed their hands and walked away from it all, leaving ARA, BDP and other services in chaos. The heads of BDP and ARA both knew in April that undercutting each other for the Con-Dem bone would lead to massive cuts in the services and redundancies, but they refused to inform their employees of the situation until it was a done deal.

On Friday 1^st November (D-Day) demoralised drug workers will find out if they still have a job after the expected 30% REDUNDANCIES – and clients will be forced to relocate as drug services are passed from one organisation to another like a crazy ‘pass-the-parcel’. The SMT will sit like a dysfunctional Pontius Pilate behind its laughable statement “the re-commissioning places the clients at the centre of the process”, while employees and clients will ask…

‘Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?’

FRUIT & VEG SCHEME GONE BANANAS!

A SICK RACKET – HOW BRISTOL COUNCIL PROFITS FROM INJURIES AND DISEASE

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Bristol City Council traffic bosses are using the RESIDENTS PARKING ZONE in Kingsdown to bleed money from hospital patients, visitors and staff, an internal memo reveals.

The Kingsdown RPZ has proved a HANDY CASH COW for the council, providing thousands of pounds in parking fees and fines thanks to the proximity of nearby medical facilities such as the Bristol Royal Infirmary, St Michael’s, the Children’s Hospital and the Oncology Centre.

In a document seen by The BRISTOLIAN, council traffic chiefs say:

It is likely that the Kingsdown scheme, for which we have most data, will generate more income than the future schemes will. this is because it is close to a number of key attractors such as the University and the Hospital.

And there was us thinking that hospitals were much-loved vital public services to be respected and cherished. Not at Bristol City Council. They’re an income attractor!

So mind how you park if you’re unfortunate enough to have a relative at the BRI: The ghouls will be waiting to turn your care into cash…

FERGUSON FAMILY FIND FUNDING – BUT NOTHING FOR KNOWLE WEST

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Congratulations to local group PLAYING OUT, which has secured major government funding for its work in encouraging “resident-led street play activity” (that’s helping parents make roads safe for kids to play on).

The announcement of the cash injection came just as several streets around the City Centre were closed to traffic for the first ‘Make Sunday Special’ events. The latest bright idea of Mayor George Ferguson – who’s still having trouble getting his ‘boulevards of solar-powered giant inflatable vegetables’ scheme off the ground – five monthly traffic-free Sundays are planned until October, costing Bristol a total of nearly £200,000.

Whilst a boon to the street performers and circus groups paid to entertain, you can’t help but wonder if the money could be spent better elsewhere…
Certainly KWADS, the Knowle West–based support service for friends and family of those affected by alcohol and drugs, which has just had £180,000 funding snatched away by the council-supported quango Safer Bristol, could do with a bit of that JUGGLING-AND-MIME CASH.

So maybe KWADS could ask Fergo for some assistance – or perhaps not. Knowle West isn’t really fashionable enough for Fergo, and anyway kids there already play out in the streets safely…

Without help from Playing Out (director: ALICE FERGUSON – DAUGHTER of the MAYOR).

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NOW A LOAD OF ATOS

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A frisson of excitement went through the city’s chattering classes when the council’s brand new Public Health chief, JANET MAXWELL, immediately started talking up her eco credentials and pushing for Bristol to become European Green Capital. So it’s a pity that as she cycles over to the Farmers’ Market to save the bloody whale she can’t show the same respect to her own staff that she does for the environment.

For Janet’s first proper decision at the council after a couple of months dicking about with green poshos is to appoint one of the country’s most notorious companies as a partner. Step forward ATOS HEALTHCARE, which has just been awarded a contract by Janet to look after the well-being of Bristol City Council’s long suffering staff by running the occupational health service.

ATOS is of course the company making a mint out of government contracts by throwing disabled people off benefits after finding them ‘fit for work’ following dubious tests. Indeed, the company first shot to fame in 2011 when 1,100 PEOPLE DIED in the first 8 months of that year soon after being found ‘fit for work’ by ATOS!

Just the firm to help out ordinary underpaid overworked council workers who don’t have the benefit of a six-figure salary like Janet’s, don’t you think?