Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

NHS staff shortages include nurses, midwives, GPs, hospital doctors and mental health workers. Staff leave because of low pay, stress and reduced job satisfaction. Recruitment and retention is a growing problem in this major staffing crisis. In July the government published a long-term workforce plan. Many are sceptical about whether it will lead to a sufficient increase in staff numbers. If it is successful, there will be 300,000 extra doctors, nurses and health professionals by 2037 by training, retention and reform. Criticisms of the plan include shortening medical degree courses from 5-6 years to four years and the general vagueness around who will train the expansion in medical students. There is also uncertainty over funding after the first five years of the 14-year plan. The total absence of any mention of pay and its importance in retention is the elephant in the room.

Senior doctors accused NHS Grampian of ignoring safety concerns about emergency departments. They spoke out because they felt they could not deliver safe levels of care. Grampian’s two A&E departments have no senior registrars on shift to make key decisions about patients for the majority of weekend night shifts. A number of senior doctors spoke anonymously to the BBC about conditions in these departments. Documents show that medics have been raising concerns since 2021 with NHS Grampian and the Scottish government. They have submitted a formal whistleblowing complaint about the situation as they are witnessing avoidable deaths, ongoing harm with unacceptable delays to the assessment and treatment of patients who may be suffering from serious conditions like stroke or sepsis. NHS Grampian said they recognise emergency departments are under tremendous pressure both there and across Scotland. They worked hard to expand the workforce, but consultant numbers are not yet at full capacity.

The first asylum-seekers have been transferred to the controversial Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge. Dozens of others had their transfers cancelled after issues were raised, including mental and physical health. The Care4Calais charity said none of the people they supported - disabled, torture survivors and modern slavery victims - had been moved. In a report, a long-serving firefighter called the Bibby Stockholm a ‘major life risk’ and warned that most fire engines in the nearby area are ‘on call’ only, slowing down response times. The fire brigades’ union has written to the home secretary, raising concerns over an emergency response and demanding an urgent meeting but have not received a reply. Also, authorities and firefighters have issued formal warnings about inadequate fire evacuation protocols for the vessel, which contains 222 cabins lining narrow corridors over three decks. Asylum-seekers who arrived before March will transfer from hotels, not directly from Dover. Their notification documents do not state clearly that the Bibby Stockholm is a barge.

Migrant communities from West Africa and India are renewing and revitalising Manchester churches. As many of them work at hospitals, Fr Paul Hutchins has added a mid-week service to make attendance easier for people working at weekends. He also encourages members to shape the worship, bringing hymns and prayers from their churches of origin, helping them feel as at home as possible. He says, ‘Five years ago we had sparks of promise as a multicultural congregation, but in a short space of time we have seen huge increases in new worshippers from Ghana, Nigeria, and South India.’ Three churches in the diocese have seen huge boosts to their congregations, mostly thanks to the families which have migrated to the area.

Last week you prayed for the police to have adequate support and protection after their names, rank, grade, location and unit were made available online to the public accidently. This week the chairman of the PSNI Catholic Guild has called for an urgent meeting with Chief Constable Byrne over fears that the breach will put Catholics off joining the force. A number of groups are claiming they have access to the leaked information, prompting greater safety concerns. Many Catholic members of the force have genuine concerns over safety for themselves and in many cases their family members. Mr Murray said, ‘Our guild was formed to provide a support service for Catholic police, and it is hard to think of a more pressing issue for Catholic officers and staff than this data breach’. Pray for ongoing protection for Catholic police and their families. Pray for those in receipt of the leaked data to be prevented from using it.

GMB Scotland have announced that school staff in catering, cleaning, pupil support, administration and janitorial services will strike on 13 and 14 September, and teachers in the Unite Union have also voted to strike over pay after the summer break - dates not yet confirmed. GMB members rejected a 5.5% pay offer in April, saying it is not close to matching the cost of living, and warned of disruption in schools. They are giving plenty of warning of strike dates, insisting that there is still time to resolve the dispute, and knowing that even the possibility of strikes closing schools is a powerful weapon. Last year’s council pay dispute led to rubbish building up in city streets. A settlement was made possible after the government gave councils more money to help them increase their pay offer. So far, council body Cosla has not asked the government for more money for pay.

A comedy show in Edinburgh featuring the Father Ted writer and comedian Graham Linehan has been cancelled. The venue pulled the gig because it did not support the comedian’s views, which did not align with their overall values. Linehan has been an outspoken critic of transgender self-identification. He urged the venue to reconsider its decision and suggested the cancellation might be unlawful. He has responded on X, formerly Twitter, by challenging the venue to explain which of his views it found offensive. He posted, ‘It sounds like discrimination on the grounds of my legally protected beliefs.’ The organisers of his gig are looking for an alternative venue. Earlier this year another Edinburgh venue cancelled a scheduled festival appearance by SNP MP Joanna Cherry because staff were not comfortable with her views on transgender issues. However, they later apologised, admitting the cancellation was unlawful discrimination against Ms Cherry.

On 16 August the Future of Church Safeguarding Programme was set up to recommend a model for fully independent safeguarding within the Church of England. Operating independently, it is led by Professor Alexis Jay OBE with her chosen team which excludes anyone employed or previously employed by the Church. Support is provided by Crest Advisory (providing specialist independent support in justice and public safety), and no meetings or business will be conducted on church premises. The team will gather a range of views from survivors of abuse, clergy, church staff, church volunteers, and members of the public to better understand what needs to be improved and what is working well in church safeguarding processes. Respondents can share their views through an online survey or be interviewed in-person up to 31 October. It will be published by 31 December.

The Department for Education confirmed that the drop of top A-level grades by nearly 10% from last year is the biggest ever, causing chaos for those hoping to secure a university place. 19,000 students who were not accepted scrambled for clearing places, causing the UCAS website to crash. Welsh and Northern Ireland A-level students were given advance information about topics to expect in their exam papers. English students were not given the same support. Ofqual said it built protection into the English grading process because of the disruption that students had faced. This should have enabled students to get the grades they would have received before the pandemic even if the quality of their work was a bit weaker due to disruption. The Association of School and College Leaders said the ‘sharp fall’ in high A-level results was because the grading system was adjusted. Pray for the fearful and disappointed students who have not secured their first choice of university or college.

Following a watchdog review of the charity’s accounts, the Captain Tom Foundation faces renewed scrutiny over reports that its co-founder Hannah Ingram-Moore received thousands of pounds for judging a Virgin Media O2 awards ceremony featuring foundation. She was the £85,000-a-year CEO of the foundation, but did not seek its board approval before entering into a commercial agreement with Virgin Media O2. Her appearance fee was paid into a private company which she and her husband owned. After a series of controversies, the Captain Tom Foundation stopped taking donations earlier this year. Its 2022 accounts recorded it giving out £160,000 of over £1m it raised. There have been ongoing investigations regarding conflicts of interest between the charity and businesses owned by the Ingram-Moores, as well as concerns over mismanagement and compliance with charity law.