One of the most interesting things about being a Parliamentary Candidate is all of the different campaigns, community groups and organisations who contact you to ask for your support, your interest and your opinions. I've been signing up to a number of pledges recently, including (as just a small sample!) the NUS pledge to oppose top up fees and the marketisation of education, a pledge to oppose privatisation of the NHS, a pledge to oppose cruel sports, and one to support Cancer Rearch UK's Cancer Committment. As an example, the press release from the latter is included below.
If you want to know my opinion on any matter, or would just like to let me know what you think are the most important issues in this election, don't hesitate to email me: matt.sellwood [at] hackney.greenparty.org.uk
LOCAL CANDIDATE COMMITS TO BEAT CANCER
Matt Sellwood, who is the Green Party's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hackney North & Stoke Newington, has joined hundreds of candidates across the country in signing up to Cancer Research UK's Cancer Commitment, aiming to make UK cancer outcomes among the best in Europe in the next ten years.
Matt said: "I am delighted to pledge my support for Cancer Research UK’s vital campaign. Cancer remains the public’s number one fear. With a concerted effort from the next Parliament, we can give hope to the millions of people affected by cancer and their friends and family.”
More than one in three people in Hackney North will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime. In the last thirty years, the UK’s 10-year survival rates have doubled but cancer survival rates still lag behind the best performing countries in Europe such as Sweden, Norway and Finland. Cancer Research UK is calling on Parliamentary candidates to commit now that if they are elected, they will help make cancer outcomes for patients in the UK among the best in Europe in a decade.
The Cancer Commitment calls on MPs in the next Parliament to take action in five key areas:
Detecting cancer earlier
Providing world class treatment
Preventing more cancers
Tackling cancer inequalities
Protecting the UK’s research base
Jon Spiers, Head of Public Affairs and Campaigning at Cancer Research UK, said “To consign today’s cancer challenges to tomorrow’s history books, we must act now. Our thousands of scientists and our millions of supporters are hoping to see MPs in the next Parliament step up to the challenge.”
For information on Cancer Research UK’s Commit To Beat Cancer campaign, visit: www.CommitToBeatCancer.org
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Monday, 8 February 2010
Mental Illness - The Unspoken Barrier
Most people in our society still don't understand mental illness. Too often it is seen as a weakness - something that is 'put on' by those who somehow don't want to face reality and 'pull themselves together' - as opposed to a medical condition which can blight lives and which deserves understanding and compassion.
I'm fortunate not to have visited the very outer reaches of such conditions myself - but when I was younger, I suffered deeply from social anxiety and clinical depression. It made life extraordinarily difficult for almost two years, and there are few weeks when I don't thank my lucky stars that I am now in a better and more stable mental place than I was.
Perhaps the worst thing about it all was the feeling of helplessness that not being in control of one's own mood, outlook and social reactions engenders - and the knowledge that many people simply don't understand how a chronic mental condition can affect every aspect of one's being. Someone with depression is not being 'lazy' or malingering - they are sapped of their energy, their drive, and their passions. It's not a good place to be, and when combined with anxiety attacks, it's even worse. Millions of people suffer, in one way or another, from such illnesses - often in silence.
It doesn't have to be this way - and it shouldn't be. That is one of the reasons that I am supporting ReThink's campaign to overturn the blanket ban on anyone receiving treatment for a mental illness being able to serve on a jury in the UK. Rather than being based on the capacity to make sound judgements, the ban applies to anyone receiving treatment - even if their condition is being effectively self managed, or simply monitored by their GP to ensure against a relapse. This is just one example (there are many others, including election to Parliament, in fact) of the stigma that is still attached to mental illness.
Mental illness doesn't have to destroy lives - it can be managed, survived, and worked through. Winston Churchill's 'Black Dog' depressions didn't stop his career, and neither did Abraham Lincoln's frequent bouts of intense melancholy. Marcus Trescothick has bravely spoken out about his own anxiety disorder, and has found happiness back at Somerset, having defied the expectations being laid on his shoulders by others. In contrast, the recent suicide of Robert Enke shows just what can happen when mental illness is viewed as weakness, and when those suffering feel that they can't speak out.
Politicians hardly ever talk about this issue.
They should.
I will.
I'm fortunate not to have visited the very outer reaches of such conditions myself - but when I was younger, I suffered deeply from social anxiety and clinical depression. It made life extraordinarily difficult for almost two years, and there are few weeks when I don't thank my lucky stars that I am now in a better and more stable mental place than I was.
Perhaps the worst thing about it all was the feeling of helplessness that not being in control of one's own mood, outlook and social reactions engenders - and the knowledge that many people simply don't understand how a chronic mental condition can affect every aspect of one's being. Someone with depression is not being 'lazy' or malingering - they are sapped of their energy, their drive, and their passions. It's not a good place to be, and when combined with anxiety attacks, it's even worse. Millions of people suffer, in one way or another, from such illnesses - often in silence.
It doesn't have to be this way - and it shouldn't be. That is one of the reasons that I am supporting ReThink's campaign to overturn the blanket ban on anyone receiving treatment for a mental illness being able to serve on a jury in the UK. Rather than being based on the capacity to make sound judgements, the ban applies to anyone receiving treatment - even if their condition is being effectively self managed, or simply monitored by their GP to ensure against a relapse. This is just one example (there are many others, including election to Parliament, in fact) of the stigma that is still attached to mental illness.
Mental illness doesn't have to destroy lives - it can be managed, survived, and worked through. Winston Churchill's 'Black Dog' depressions didn't stop his career, and neither did Abraham Lincoln's frequent bouts of intense melancholy. Marcus Trescothick has bravely spoken out about his own anxiety disorder, and has found happiness back at Somerset, having defied the expectations being laid on his shoulders by others. In contrast, the recent suicide of Robert Enke shows just what can happen when mental illness is viewed as weakness, and when those suffering feel that they can't speak out.
Politicians hardly ever talk about this issue.
They should.
I will.
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Good News, Bad News
As is often the way with campaigning, some bad news follows hot on the heels of success...
GOOD NEWS
Regular readers will remember that I have previously posted about my involvement in the Hackney Keep Our NHS Public group, and particularly their campaign over the possibility of two new GP-led health centres being taken over by multinational corporations.
Well, the outcome of the bidding process for the GP-led health centre at Oldhill has been announced - and it has been won by a group of local GPs in the Lawson clinic! A real relief, at least for now.
The campaign has thrown up a number of crucial issues - not least among them the enormous cost to local GPs of making such bids (some £40,000+), and the huge amount of time-consuming effort that has to go into drawing up a bid (which requires complex financial modelling, which is not one of the skills GPs are trained in - they are trained to look after patients) and the cost to the PCT of going through the bidding process - some £3million.
Big commercial healthcare companies, of course, have these resources on tap. This is money that would be far better spent on improving existing GP surgeries and encouraging them to network to provide the extra services the GP-led health centres are supposed to provide. The government is rolling out 150 of these GP-led health centres across the UK - so the cost to PCTs extrapolates to £450 million. Just think what could be done with that amount of cash in the health service!
Also, despite the eventual outcome, the very real issue of the PCT's lack of consultation remains - along with the fact that our local Health Scrutiny Committee was not prepared to do anything about it.
Still, celebration is in order - and the campaign's Xmas party on 15 December at the Marie Lloyd pub (7.30-10 pm) will be a good opportunity....!
BAD NEWS
And now, the bad news. The proposed eviction of the Kings Crescent Community Housing Project has gone ahead, although all the squatters were gone by Tuesday morning, when the police turned up with riot gear and battering rams. The reason they were gone? According to reports from the scene, contractors broke up the water pipes above the squatted properties, flooding them! This not only drove out the community housing project, but one presumes also did serious damage to the flats.
So, now the majority of flats in that block, and many all over the estate, are unoccupied once more. The ones that were squatted are boarded up, and the Council has done its job - not the job of providing housing, which is supposed to be a human right - but of crushing any sort of alternative provision, quickly and with overwhelming force. And, in this case, quite possibly illegally - the appeal against the closure order against which the squatters never got to defend themselves remains lodged with the courts.
The mastermind behind all of this? Who else but Banksy's arch-enemy, Cllr Alan Laing:
He commented: "These squatters spoilt the quality of life for tenants who were paying to live in this block. They selfishly wrecked the structure of the building and now, due to this premises closure order, they are finally out of the block where they caused so much damage."
Unlike Cllr Laing, I actually bothered to meet the squatters. They struck me, at all times, as being pleasant, community-minded and constructive - and included at least one family with a week old child, just looking for somewhere to spend the winter. Interestingly, and tellingly, they have never been presented with the exact accusations of their alleged anti-social behaviour, nor have they seen any evidence, nor have they had a chance to defend themselves.
Welcome to Kafka's Hackney - if you try to house yourself in flats that have been kept empty, even if you say that you will leave as soon as they are needed, keep a look out for:
GOOD NEWS
Regular readers will remember that I have previously posted about my involvement in the Hackney Keep Our NHS Public group, and particularly their campaign over the possibility of two new GP-led health centres being taken over by multinational corporations.
Well, the outcome of the bidding process for the GP-led health centre at Oldhill has been announced - and it has been won by a group of local GPs in the Lawson clinic! A real relief, at least for now.
The campaign has thrown up a number of crucial issues - not least among them the enormous cost to local GPs of making such bids (some £40,000+), and the huge amount of time-consuming effort that has to go into drawing up a bid (which requires complex financial modelling, which is not one of the skills GPs are trained in - they are trained to look after patients) and the cost to the PCT of going through the bidding process - some £3million.
Big commercial healthcare companies, of course, have these resources on tap. This is money that would be far better spent on improving existing GP surgeries and encouraging them to network to provide the extra services the GP-led health centres are supposed to provide. The government is rolling out 150 of these GP-led health centres across the UK - so the cost to PCTs extrapolates to £450 million. Just think what could be done with that amount of cash in the health service!
Also, despite the eventual outcome, the very real issue of the PCT's lack of consultation remains - along with the fact that our local Health Scrutiny Committee was not prepared to do anything about it.
Still, celebration is in order - and the campaign's Xmas party on 15 December at the Marie Lloyd pub (7.30-10 pm) will be a good opportunity....!
BAD NEWS
And now, the bad news. The proposed eviction of the Kings Crescent Community Housing Project has gone ahead, although all the squatters were gone by Tuesday morning, when the police turned up with riot gear and battering rams. The reason they were gone? According to reports from the scene, contractors broke up the water pipes above the squatted properties, flooding them! This not only drove out the community housing project, but one presumes also did serious damage to the flats.
So, now the majority of flats in that block, and many all over the estate, are unoccupied once more. The ones that were squatted are boarded up, and the Council has done its job - not the job of providing housing, which is supposed to be a human right - but of crushing any sort of alternative provision, quickly and with overwhelming force. And, in this case, quite possibly illegally - the appeal against the closure order against which the squatters never got to defend themselves remains lodged with the courts.
The mastermind behind all of this? Who else but Banksy's arch-enemy, Cllr Alan Laing:
He commented: "These squatters spoilt the quality of life for tenants who were paying to live in this block. They selfishly wrecked the structure of the building and now, due to this premises closure order, they are finally out of the block where they caused so much damage."
Unlike Cllr Laing, I actually bothered to meet the squatters. They struck me, at all times, as being pleasant, community-minded and constructive - and included at least one family with a week old child, just looking for somewhere to spend the winter. Interestingly, and tellingly, they have never been presented with the exact accusations of their alleged anti-social behaviour, nor have they seen any evidence, nor have they had a chance to defend themselves.
Welcome to Kafka's Hackney - if you try to house yourself in flats that have been kept empty, even if you say that you will leave as soon as they are needed, keep a look out for:
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Keep Our NHS Public Rally
So, this evening I was on the steps of Hackney Town Hall, with the local branch of Keep Our NHS Public. We were drawing attention to a meeting of the Council's Health Scrutiny Committee, which was discussing the PCT's decision to put GP services out to tender for possible privatisation.
I've covered this issue in previous posts, so I won't write too much about it in detail now - but I should say that one thing which saddened me was the sight of several Labour councillors passing by, unwilling to say anything to the demonstrators. Shame, perhaps? Or just contempt for grassroots campaigners with whom their party would once have stood, who knows.
To her credit, Diane Abbott released a statement yesterday indicating her concern over the move. Nothing at all from the Lib Dems or Tories, as far as I can tell - and I was the only candidate for any elected office at the rally itself.
I filmed a very brief video at the rally, laying out in simple terms my opposition to these plans.
I've covered this issue in previous posts, so I won't write too much about it in detail now - but I should say that one thing which saddened me was the sight of several Labour councillors passing by, unwilling to say anything to the demonstrators. Shame, perhaps? Or just contempt for grassroots campaigners with whom their party would once have stood, who knows.
To her credit, Diane Abbott released a statement yesterday indicating her concern over the move. Nothing at all from the Lib Dems or Tories, as far as I can tell - and I was the only candidate for any elected office at the rally itself.
I filmed a very brief video at the rally, laying out in simple terms my opposition to these plans.
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Keep Our NHS Public
LOBBY OF HACKNEY'S HEALTH SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
STOP THE SELL-OFF OF GP SURGERIES TO PRIVATE COMPANIES!
CONSULT THE PEOPLE OF HACKNEY!
WEDNESDAY 14TH OCTOBER - 6 PM TO 7 PM - HACKNEY TOWN HALL
I am going to be at this lobby in 10 days time. I hope you will be too. As I've made clear before, I think that the creeping privatisation of the NHS is an ongoing disgrace. Lets make sure it is stopped in its tracks.
STOP THE SELL-OFF OF GP SURGERIES TO PRIVATE COMPANIES!
CONSULT THE PEOPLE OF HACKNEY!
WEDNESDAY 14TH OCTOBER - 6 PM TO 7 PM - HACKNEY TOWN HALL
I am going to be at this lobby in 10 days time. I hope you will be too. As I've made clear before, I think that the creeping privatisation of the NHS is an ongoing disgrace. Lets make sure it is stopped in its tracks.
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Saying No To NHS Privatisation
One of the most cherished institutions in the UK is the National Health Service. Not many people know it, but the NHS is being slowly privatised, piece by piece, right before our eyes.
I was the only Parliamentary Candidate to attend a public meeting held last week by Hackney Keep Our NHS Public, the local branch of the excellent national organisation Keep Our NHS Public. The meeting was called specifically to address the utterly ridiculous plans to sell off two new 'GP led health centres' to big private health care companies (including one centre based on the site of the existing OldHill practice), to add to the three GP surgeries that have already been sold off to the private sector in Hackney.
It is clear that the first interest of these big private companies is in making money for their shareholders, not in caring for patients. The “GP-led health centres” will use a new contract model, called the Alternative Provider of Medical Services contract, or APMS, which allows the private sector to take over GP services.
This will have a direct effect on patient care in Hackney, as well as pay and conditions in the NHS. GPs employed on short contracts by large private companies don’t have the commitment or knowledge of patients that local GPs do, and commercial contractors do not have to adopt NHS pay and conditions for staff, and do not offer NHS pensions, allowing them to undercut traditional GPs and slash their wage bill.
I was delighted that one of the speakers at the public meeting, Dr Wendy Savage, pointed not only to the consensus among the three large political parties about the creeping privatisation of the NHS, but also explicitly stated that the Green Party were the only national electoral force serious about preserving the core principles of the National Health service. As this recent press release, and the accompanying report make clear, Greens are committed to an NHS that "meets the needs of patients, not the needs of the market and corporate shareholders."
Of course, no institution is ever perfect, and as with all public services, a Green NHS would be a democratised organisation. At the moment, as the report points out, "the NHS responds to centrally driven targets and initiatives at the expense of the needs and wishes of local people. Local services are accountable to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) that have unelected boards; these in turn are accountable to Strategic Health Authorities, who are accountable to the Department of Health. The Department of Health is accountable to the Secretary of State who reports to parliament. The NHS is a centrally controlled mammoth where local people have almost no influence."
Greens want to change this, by giving patients and NHS workers real control over the services that the state provides for everyone. The most effective, efficient and moral way of providing healthcare is to ensure that it is free at the point of use, treats people like human beings rather than numbers on an accountacy ledger, and is controlled from the bottom-up by ordinary people.
The next meeting of the Hackney branch of Keep Our NHS Public is this evening, at 7.30 pm, in the Churchill Room, General Browning Club, Valette Street, E9, Hackney. Lets all get behind this vital campaign - privatisation must stop here!
I was the only Parliamentary Candidate to attend a public meeting held last week by Hackney Keep Our NHS Public, the local branch of the excellent national organisation Keep Our NHS Public. The meeting was called specifically to address the utterly ridiculous plans to sell off two new 'GP led health centres' to big private health care companies (including one centre based on the site of the existing OldHill practice), to add to the three GP surgeries that have already been sold off to the private sector in Hackney.
It is clear that the first interest of these big private companies is in making money for their shareholders, not in caring for patients. The “GP-led health centres” will use a new contract model, called the Alternative Provider of Medical Services contract, or APMS, which allows the private sector to take over GP services.
This will have a direct effect on patient care in Hackney, as well as pay and conditions in the NHS. GPs employed on short contracts by large private companies don’t have the commitment or knowledge of patients that local GPs do, and commercial contractors do not have to adopt NHS pay and conditions for staff, and do not offer NHS pensions, allowing them to undercut traditional GPs and slash their wage bill.
I was delighted that one of the speakers at the public meeting, Dr Wendy Savage, pointed not only to the consensus among the three large political parties about the creeping privatisation of the NHS, but also explicitly stated that the Green Party were the only national electoral force serious about preserving the core principles of the National Health service. As this recent press release, and the accompanying report make clear, Greens are committed to an NHS that "meets the needs of patients, not the needs of the market and corporate shareholders."
Of course, no institution is ever perfect, and as with all public services, a Green NHS would be a democratised organisation. At the moment, as the report points out, "the NHS responds to centrally driven targets and initiatives at the expense of the needs and wishes of local people. Local services are accountable to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) that have unelected boards; these in turn are accountable to Strategic Health Authorities, who are accountable to the Department of Health. The Department of Health is accountable to the Secretary of State who reports to parliament. The NHS is a centrally controlled mammoth where local people have almost no influence."
Greens want to change this, by giving patients and NHS workers real control over the services that the state provides for everyone. The most effective, efficient and moral way of providing healthcare is to ensure that it is free at the point of use, treats people like human beings rather than numbers on an accountacy ledger, and is controlled from the bottom-up by ordinary people.
The next meeting of the Hackney branch of Keep Our NHS Public is this evening, at 7.30 pm, in the Churchill Room, General Browning Club, Valette Street, E9, Hackney. Lets all get behind this vital campaign - privatisation must stop here!
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