bridge too far

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease

My experiences go back 12 years for supplies and services so don't include the devolution of power to trusts. I last dealt with NHS construction contracts about 3 years ago and saw a significant improvement in delivery on time and budget. Whether that's still the case I don't know - although there's precious little going on nowadays as far as capital projects are concerned

Some of the construction projects, maybe. But rarely for supplies and services in my experience.

From the link: "Trusts, he said, were reluctant to share information for fear of helping their competitors." When I worked in NHS procurement, there were national contracts in place that achieved best price because of economies of scale. Nowadays, trusts negotiate individual contracts and that purchasing power has been diminished. It's a bit like expecting individual Sainsburys stores to negotiate their own supply contracts and all to achieve the same price. No room for competition like this in the NHS.

Rubbish, frankly. I'm pro Palestinian on this one, but I'm also a friend of a family with a 2 year old and expecting another and currently sheltering underground in Tel Aviv.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/17/israel-gaza-us-policy

It's interesting on a number of levels. Firstly, just how complicated it is for the brain to order the mechanics of actually riding a bike but mostly because the little video shows how a man, almost paralysed by the effect of Parkinson's disease, can nonetheless ride a bike quite normally. If they can crack why this should be possible, it could offer very real hope for therapies for people with this debilitating disease. It really is worth reading, even if you ignore the first bit.

Very interesting article http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/nov/18/cycling-parkinsons-wellcome-prize-catherine-hess

Good to see Anders still in his national squad

In other news, one of Tricky Trev's buddies arrested: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/9014401/Tottenham-Hotspur-private-investigator-arrested-in-Olympic-Stadium-row-swoop.html

An example: Every NHS Trust has to have a medical director. That work has to be undertaken by someone who understands the practicalities of running a clinical service and, most importantly, has the respect and confidence of other clinicians. Consultants, as I'm sure Mrs T will agree, can be a difficult bunch and many, if not most, wouldn't give the time of day to a manager that senior who wasn't 'one of them'. And the same strictures and structures would apply to a private hospital.

Now, for the life of me I can't remember who owns what in the FP area but could it be that the trust might gain ownership of a ransom strip, rendering FP of little value unless the ransom strip is sold for an extortionate sum?

And the other side of that argument is that managers could be appointed who have little or no clinical knowledge of the service they are managing.

Don't lose sight of the fact that many managers in the NHS are actually clinicians. When I last worked for the NHS, my service manager was a nurse specialist (in chronic chest disease treatment). As well as managing a team of about 20 district nurses and developing the service (home oxygen services) she also did home nursing visits.

Now another name in the frame http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-20303606

Or you could base it on 'For whom the bell tolls'.....

Read Badger's post again, Jamie. He didn't say Qtada was minor, he said the 'sticking point' was.

And now it seems that the energy market is being 'manipulated' http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/nov/12/libor-like-manipulation-gas-markets Some good comments at the bottom of the article

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20295998

Some numpty from Amazon getting a right old ticking off by the Select Committee for turning up without any answers to their questions. Obviously a fall guy who will, no doubt, get a huge 'golden goodbye' from his employers for taking the flak.

Really? Who was that? I didn't know the Guardian employed pensioners or that one of them lived in Gloucestershire. I think they might squirm about when questioned by the Select Committee in the House this afternoon, though

The first bit, obviously, was about public pressusre too. Of course (successive) governments should change things but, since the government is really only held to account in a meaningful way at election time, then public pressure in the meantime can flag up the issue and encourage both the tax avoiders and the government to reconsider the loopholes. As will happen this afternoon, maybe. This government has about-turned on a number of issues already due to public pressure so it's always worth a try.

Which is why I said 'as an aside'. The salient point was that the public can be very persuasive if they have a mind too, whether you agree with them or not. Sorry I didn't make that clear enough for you.

Oh OK - let them get away with it then Bad publicity shamed many of our large employers into giving up on the idea of exploiting the unemployed by getting them to work for nothing so who's to say similar campaigns won't challenge these companies to do what's right. Some of them are being questioned by a Parliamentary Select Committee this afternoon so it's to be hoped that loopholes will be closed. And, as an aside, a public campaign in Totnes forced Costa Cofee into pulling out of plans to open a branch there. So people power can be quite effective.