MPs urge government to adopt Covid-secure exit strategy – or risk a third spike In the absence of an official review, campaign group March for Change and a group of MPs from all parties conducted their own review to attempt to ensure that lessons are learned and mistakes are not repeated. Here is the press […]
I think a lot of us are done with holding back on what this kleptocratic, autocratic bunch of wreckers and their mainstream media cheerleaders are doing to the UK, to truth and democracy. We are going to unpick the latest lies and call them out, three at a time, for the benefit of those not […]
While argument rages over whether Cornwall should have been assigned to Tier 1 of the government’s social distancing regime, little attention has been paid to the US company operating the meat-packing plant in Cornwall which has been at the centre of a major outbreak of Covid-19. Tom Scott lifts the lid on its grim record […]
Since 2010, successive Conservative governments have made it a priority to ‘clear up the financial mess left by Labour’ through a wide-ranging programme of austerity measures intended to reduce the deficit. As those cuts were biting, I began working as a volunteer advocate for adults with a learning disability, going into day centres, running a […]
Hello everyone. Time for one more instalment of my humble reportage from America about our healthcare system as I have come to know it and experience it. As I have said before, I am very lucky to have the insurance that I do, but if there is one area where I am likely to “lose […]
Dr Cathy Gardner and Ms Fay Harris’ case goes to full trial. So said the QC representing Dr Cathy Gardner and Ms Fay Harris whose fathers died in care homes after Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals earlier this year. A woman discharged from hospital to Dr Gardner’s father’s care home had previously tested positive. […]
Hibernation has never seemed a more attractive prospect. Hunkering down in a dark, snug spot, away from the daily horrors in the news would probably do wonders for our mental and physical health. I’m tempted. I am sure you are, too. We’ve put out a lot of shocking stories of corruption, incompetence and bare-faced lying […]
A vaccine is on the way – hooray! Most people cheered when elated Pfizer and BionTech scientists announced their news last week, revealing that early results showed their vaccine to be 90 per cent effective against Covid-19. It was the first in a line of good news stories about possible vaccinations coming on stream. Will […]
Unpacking Johnson’s messaging about his need to self-isolate: Johnson’s messaging to colleagues by Twitter and WhatsApp after he was contacted to self-isolate demonstrates a Trump-like understanding of Covid-19.
Grassroots campaign group Save Our Hospital Services (SOHS) says Devon’s health services are under attack. They are holding a public meeting (via Zoom) on the threats to health Services in Devon. The public are invited to learn more about the future of their health service in a Zoom meeting on 10 December organised by campaign group, […]
On Wednesday 11 November at 11am, I shall be standing by the village war memorial, leading the act of Remembrance. The memorial is beside quite a busy road, so the 2 minute silence will be subject to interruption, and in most years there are no more than 10 or so of us in attendance; this […]
Hello lockdown, my old friend; I’ve come to walk with you again. How are we all feeling? You may have awoken early in a state of uhtceare (pronounced uht-kay-ara; the ‘h’ is as in ‘loch’), an Anglo-Saxon expression for the ‘sorrow before dawn’ when you lie awake in the darkness and worry about the day […]
Greetings, everyone. We are enjoying a bit of Indian summer here with temperatures in the 80s, and far too many politicians invading our state. Now I had not really planned to write this article, but it just so happened that I received my Medicare summary notice today in the mail, and thought I would share some […]
Late again! Originally intending to hibernate until after the US election, EuroDog had to come out of hibernation to comment on the PM’s latest U-turn.
Nigel Farage’s ‘new’ Reform Party is doing exactly what the far-right has always done: exploiting misery, chaos and toxic conspiracy theories. In 1919, with the world reeling from the impacts of the recently ended Great War and a devastating flu pandemic, Benito Mussolini was contemplating his future. As Denis Mack Smith writes in his History […]
Amongst numerous cuts to NHS services over the last 10 years have been those to hospital beds – 17,000 hospital beds have gone since 2010, with beds in community hospitals drastically reduced in 2017. Could this have contributed to the huge number of Covid-19 deaths in care homes earlier this year? We now know that […]
I took a mobile phone call yesterday. I was out walking the dog, when I heard a ringing sound in my ear, reached up and pressed the button and heard a voice – loud and clear. “Is that Sarah?” “Yes, hello.” I’m deaf, but I could talk to the caller through my new Bluetooth enabled […]
Amazingly, this is my third #TheWeekInTory in 7 days, and if anybody wants to pay for me to go somewhere comparatively sane and relaxing for a week, I’m up for it. I hear Mogadishu is nice. Anyway, buckle up, here we go… 1. Previously on The Week In Tory: the government campaigned for Brexit so […]
Do you find yourself boiling with rage at the growing evidence of wanton cruelty and shameless and shameful politicking from this government? I do. Today was another terrible day. You might wonder why this piece mentions second helpings, when even firsts are being denied. Cast you mind back to the summer, when footballer Marcus Rashford […]
National problems, local solutions. As some pubs are required to close under Tier 3 restrictions, staff develop local solutions to beat the across-the-board failings of Serco ‘Track and Trace’ and overcome limited lab capacity.
Editor’s comment: we are running this story because one of our aims is to give voice to those who are otherwise ignored. We do not endorse the breaking of the law – even “in a specific and limited way“. We suggest reading this personal perspective with its companion piece. When your doctors tell you your […]
#TheWeekInTory returns, and I’m very sorry, but it’s a monster. The little scamps have achieved quite a lot in the – yep – FIVE DAYS – since the last one. Let’s dive straight in with probably the most gobsmacking sentence you’ll read all year… 1. NHS staff were polled on whether, in recognition of their […]
The tide is slowly turning in one of the early fronts of the culture wars, as scientific possibility and questions of personal freedom challenge the assumptions of an earlier generation. Throughout its history, on questions where private vice encounters the desire to create the perfect ‘city on a hill’, the United States has lurched between […]
Greetings from an election-weary Pennsylvania. I hope I haven’t lost you along the way, as I’ve tried to lead you to some understanding of how the American healthcare system works for senior citizens. In this ‘instalment’ I would like to talk about the costs of Medicare, what supplemental insurance is, and what it costs me. […]
Editor: We are putting this out on #WorldMentalHealthDay because we feel that this short piece from the heart sums up what so many people are feeling right now. There has to be a better way and we have to do more than hope. We must be the change. We shared a tweet last week that […]
World Mental Health Day is on 10 October. This year, as we all try to navigate the emotional uncertainties of Covid-19, learning to manage our mental health is an essential skill. I hope this personal story helps to highlight the importance of finding and embracing some individual means of dealing with symptoms of poor mental […]
You’ve probably heard about ‘Obamacare’, but maybe not Medicare. They aren’t the same thing. I don’t know much about Obamacare except that it protects my insurance for pre-existing conditions: it is my only legal protection. There are so many provisions to it, but basically it is a resource to help people find some kind of […]
Normally Mondays bring on a bout of the blues, but 5 October bucked the trend. It was a day for rejoicing, because the Lords inflicted a string of defeats on the government’s controversial immigration bill. Two of the amendments, both proposed by Lord Alfred Dubs, concerned children. You’d think amendments safeguarding children would pass unanimously, […]
In the first of a new series of insights into other countries’ systems, John from across the pond gives us an appreciation of the complexities of health insurance in the United States. Greetings from across the pond. My name is John and I am a retired high school teacher from Pennsylvania. I am writing to […]
After a week back in school, my teenager had a temperature. My partner is vulnerable so we separated our household as best we could, and I started trying to book a Covid-19 test. Four days and many online hours later, the best I managed was a time slot at Bristol Airport – a four hour […]