Public Service Announcement : Parking Signs (Retrospective)

As a follow up to our  Public Service Announcement : Parking Fines   story we bring you an update courtesy of a publicly spirited individual who spotted  – quite by chance because apparently that’s the only way you would discover it – the ‘Notice of Application For Advertisement Consent’ that was rather unhelpfully attached to a lamp-post OUTSIDE the Aldi, Prenton car park.

Significantly the site notice would not be visible to anyone entering or exiting the car park by motor vehicle and is not placed on any of the signs which currently do not have planning permission. Well , Wirral Council wouldn’t give the heads up to the public that the Parking Eye Ltd signs have been in place for years have been operating without proper authority now would they?

What’s more the site notice has been attached with the usual care and attention that you would associate with Wirral Council and the details of the application are all but obscured ( our publicly spirited source has since re-attached the notices so that the occasional dog walker can view at their leisure).

For your benefit the application from Parking Eye Ltd is for :

Car Park Management Signage – 12 signs mounted on lighting columns , signage poles or on the wall of the buildings signage is of 3 sizes, 600mm x 800mm, 700mm  x900mm and 600mm x 700mm facing internally into the car park to advise of the car parks stay allocation as per the British Parking Association (BPA) (Retrospective) 

Isn’t it a shame that the site notices weren’t facing internally into the car park? Note also how the word ‘Retrospective’ is tacked on in brackets – like the afterthought the belated application is itself.

Might we helpfully suggest that any representations about the proposals  should include the observation that as the car park site has operated without any legal authority to impose fines/charges/penalties/whatever , to whom do members of the public who have been cowed into paying apply for a refund? Parking Eye Ltd or Wirral Council for allowing the situation to arise in the first place?

Rich Pickings On Animal Farm

As a companion piece to yesterday’s story we have been sent a link to a story on the Guido Fawkes website by a gobsmacked Wirralian. And yes we know Guido Fawkes has an agenda, so does The Canary and so do we. Deal with it! For avoidance of doubt our agenda is to highlight that modern (and particularly local) politics is complete self serving bollocks.

However for your delectation here is the story that was brought to our attention:

Back in October Guido ran one of our “through the keyhole” looks at Esther McVey’s Wirral home, the four bedroom house was on the market for £615,000. With our help promoting the property it sold the very next month in November for just below the asking price at £605,000.

In a strange twist, the buyer of this suburban dream home was Catriona Davies, the daughter of the leader of Wirral’s Labour Council – Philip Davies* – who, in the 2010 General Election, lost out against the now-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for the Wirral West seat. She bought it for cash, no mortgage needed…

*not her boyfriend Philip Davies, the Tory MP.

Link to Guido Fawkes story : here

So much we’d like to say – much (if not all) are contained in the comments below the Guido Fawkes article.  However the story strikes us as very Orwellian. ‘Animal Farm’ made flesh with the extra frisson that Birkenhead councillor Phil ‘Power Boy Pip’ Davies’ daughter allegedly now lives in the house that was once occupied by the woman who thwarted his political ambitions. As we know at the subsequent General Election McVey was ousted after what was a particularly hostile campaign co-ordinated by Pip’s West Kirby neighbour , Martin Liptrot – the man who first became Pip’s personal PR guru before being appointed to a ‘transformation’ policy wonk role at Wirral Council after a couple of ‘grace and favour’ appointments.

And so it all worked out well in the end for everyone (including McVey) didn’t it ?  – as it always does with those with the ‘right’ connections , who live in the ‘right’ areas and say – but don’t necessarily mean – the ‘right’ words. For those who don’t – and who won’t play the modern political game – not so much……….

Halting the Momentum

One of the few advantages of the modern age is that you can get the Sunday papers on the continent on the same day of publication. OK – we might not get the supplements , but really, who needs know about Dry January diet and exercise tips and what our astrological signs have in store for us in 2018?

The only downside is that it does nothing for our blood pressure especially when Her Ladyship has a habit of lovingly ringing articles that I may find interesting/infuriating. One such ring of ire was reserved for a letter published in The Sunday Times titled  ‘Labour executive wrong to meddle’.

“Did you have to?…..” I harrumphed ” you know it bring on my Sandie Shaw Syndrome – there’s always something there to remind me “

“Oh dearest do stop griping – take two aspirin and tell me how you feel in the morning ………”  chirruped Her Ladyship .

So here goes.

It comes to something when leaders of Labour councils write to the establishment’s favourite mouthpiece ‘a-whingin’ and a-whinin’ about their own party’s National Executive Committee (and more particularly the Momentum element – although the dreaded ‘M ‘ word is studiously not used). You won’t be surprised to read that among the signatories were Mayor Joe Anderson  ( how many Mayors does Liverpool need f’chrissakes?) and your very own ‘leader’ (ha!ha!ha!) on Wirral – Cllr Phil ‘Power Boy Pip’ Davies.  The full letter is re-printed below . The list of signatories can be found here : Sunday Times letter and signatories

This internal clash of ideologies and political approaches comes as a result of the Labour NEC calling a halt on the Labour administration at Haringey Council wanting to get involved with Lendlease and develop a controversial housing scheme. The signatories consider that the Labour Party owe the leader of Haringey Ccouncil , Claire Kober  ,’a huge debt of gratitude’ :

LABOUR EXECUTIVE WRONG TO MEDDLE
It is a vital and long-standing rule of the Labour Party that individual Labour Groups, consisting of democratically elected Labour councillors, are sovereign bodies. As such, they have the ability, within available resources, party rules, and the law, to determine the most appropriate policies to serve their local communities.

Labour Local Government wishes to make it clear to all members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) that they have no right or justification to interfere in or influence the legitimate actions of locally elected representatives. Such actions are not just outside of the party’s rules, but an affront to the basic principles of democracy.

We are extremely disappointed at the circumstances in which an issue in Haringey was brought forward and discussed by the NEC. Haringey Labour Group was not informed that such a discussion would take place, no advance notice was given, and no papers were produced, meaning the NEC discussion took place based on opinion and speculation rather than facts.

This sets a dangerous and alarming precedent and we ask the NEC for categorical assurances that such circumstances will not arise again in relation to this or any other Labour Group.

Labour councillors around the country are deeply concerned that, in seeking to mitigate Tory austerity by proposing radical new solutions, we face calls for disciplinary action against us. Such calls are uncomradely, disrespectful, and wilfully ignore the difficult and challenging role that we play in doing our best to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.

Councillor Claire Kober has an outstanding record of improving the lives of residents in Haringey. Claire became the leader of Haringey Council in 2008 at the age of thirty, assuming the immense personal responsibility of leading a council in crisis following the appalling public service failures that led to the death of Peter Connelly (‘Baby P’).

Under her inspirational leadership, and despite suffering funding cuts of over 40% since 2010, the Haringey Labour Group has delivered the fastest improving schools in the country and generated billions of pounds of investment in the borough, and in 2017 the council won the Children’s Services of the Year award. We believe the Labour Party owes her a huge debt of gratitude for turning around a failing authority and as a result protecting thousands of the most vulnerable children and adults.”

However we feel we get a better insight into why certain Labour Council leaders such as Mayor Joe and Power Boy Pip would hold Cllr Kober in such high regard from a bravura (and brave) letter of resignation from one of her own Haringey councillors ,Cllr Stuart McNamara,which was written last November. The damning indictment of Kober’s leadership (which can be read in full here) includes the following claims:

Somebody has to call you out on your wrecking ball tactics and horrific wasting of public money on nonsense vanity projects whilst council services are starved of cash or sold off to the lowest bidder, making horrendous Tory government cuts even worse. This government and its behaviour towards the most vulnerable in our society is an absolute scandal; I am not suggesting they are not the core cause of the council’s financial predicament, rather that your ideological determination to pursue out-dated and maverick policies, whilst losing sight completely of the Labour values we are supposed to stand for, has made a very bad situation immeasurably worse.

The council’s reputation and recent history had warranted change and you came to us at a time of crisis at Haringey Council when a fresh direction was urgently needed. Like many people, I initially supported your leadership. You had, and still have, a right to be objectively and fairly judged on the merits of your leadership. Sadly, and on that basis, your leadership has been largely focused on the ideological pursuit of a poorly thought-through version of a commissioning and out-sourcing council.

You have projected a falsely positive view of Haringey to other local authorities and people of influence elsewhere in local and central government that is increasingly divorced from the reality on the ground. You have also placed a far higher importance on having good relations with private developers than with others in the Labour Party in Haringey and with residents, the very people we were elected to support and represent.

You are generous with council resources, waiving rents and large payments from powerful organisations when it suits you and you condone councillors dining out and enjoying corporate hospitality when the meals on wheels service has been cut. All too often, Labour councillors and residents find out about these things after the event, through member enquiries or FOI requests.

All you would need to do would be insert Wirral for Haringey and you’d  have a pin -point accurate description of Power Boy Pip’s administration except you wouldn’t get anyone brave enough within his cabal of careerist and complacent councillors to tell it like it is.  And as for the telling the Labour NEC ‘it has no right or justification to interfere in or influence the legitimate actions of locally elected representatives ‘,  perhaps Pip needs to think about matters closer to home and remind Birkenhead MP Frank Field about Wirral Council’s ‘sovereignty’ and ‘party rules and the law to determine the most appropriate policies to serve our communities’ and then ponder as to why Momentum is gaining,er , momentum and scaring the Blairites. We’ve long said that with feeble local political opposition the only thing that would sort the local Labour group out would be their own members – pass the hors d’oeuvres things could get really interesting in the run up to the local elections in May.

Wirral Leaks Weekly Dispatch #1

Following on from last week’s post and with our readers continuing to send us dispatches of despair from dystopia we thought we’d instigate a weekly foreign exchange. Be warned – it might not be weekly. We’ll be treating these titbits like we’re shopping in the local market – keeping it fresh,seasonal and whatever catches our eye.

Tag Hag 

Several of you have been in touch to tell us that Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram plans to fudge a mayoral election pledge to ‘slash’ Mersey Tunnel toll charges . It now transpires he wants to reduce tolls for off-peak fast tag users but to raise charges to £1.80 for everyone else ! We believe the word for this type of manoeuvre is sophistry. However all we can say on the matter is that the £1.70 we paid to get out of Wirral and onward to Liverpool John Lennon Airport for a flight to Nice was the best £1.70 we’ve ever spent. Just sayin’!

What’s in a Name?

We have been sent a very sad story about the death of a young man named Mark Potter –  Wirral Man,32, who died in his sleep was very much loved   

Mr Potter’s family attended the inquest and they repeatedly quizzed mental health workers about how their son would know how to access their services.

Mr Potter’s dad asked Marion Blackburn, from Wirral Ways To Recovery: “Since 2015, how many people have died in your care?

She replied: “We have learnt things and [we’re] to make changes to make things better for people.”

Mr Potter said: “How do we [the public] know you are there?

“People are falling down the cracks. I hope you’re sorting that organisation out because people like Mark might be dying all over the place.”

Needless to say we’ve long raised the same concerns about Wirral Ways To Recovery and particularly the services that operate under the Change Grow Live  (CGL) banner. This of course led to an investigation which concluded the high mortality rate associated with the takeover by CGL of services previously provided by NHS was due to an ageing population. We’re still not convinced.

Public Health england brought in to investigate concerns first raised by Wirral Leaks

Wirral Council are having Nunn of it !

What better way of avoiding scrutiny and accountability by pulling the ‘vexatious’ card from the bottom of the pack. The latest target of this dubious tactic is our old friend Charles Nunn – who has been denied information about consultant Stewart Halliday’s ongoing (?) inflated remuneration because he might say mean things on social media. Wirral Council solicitor Rosemary Lyon , who must be a delicate little flower ,  is also upset by Charles’ ‘tone’ and writes:

I consider that you as a third party are pursuing a legitimate interest.
However I consider that that legitimate interest has been lessened by the
tone of your request in asking the Council to confirm whether “there will
be no further contract extension for this man?”

I have had regard to the guidance issued by the ICO “Dealing with
vexatious requests (Section 14) 20151218 Version 1.3. Paragraph 56 states
that “The context and history in which a request is made will often be a
major factor in determining whether the request is vexatious.” Having
regard to your previous requests about the same individual and also having
regard to comments you have made in the public domain concerning this
individual, I consider that the tone of part of this request for
information is potentially vexatious.

I consider that the processing of personal data ie the release of personal
data in respect of  Mr Halliday is unwarranted  by reason of prejudice to
the rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of him as the data
subject………..I consider that disclosure of the requested information would be
unwarranted having regard to the prejudice that would be caused to the
rights and legitimate interests of Stewart Halliday. 

For full details : Stewart Halliday FOI Request

Ms Lyon appears to have cut and paste her response from various other FOI cases she’s been involved with and one in particular which she suddenly withdrew from. Now that would be a really interesting FOI request for someone to make . The Lyon sleeps tonight? – might we suggest she’ll sleep soundly if she’s got her own solicitor to back her up in case she suffers any detriment for refusing to front a case for Wirral Council that is riddled with corruption. We can only hope the tone of that particular comment doesn’t upset Little Miss Snowflake too much!

All’s not well in Sandwell  

If Rosie Snowflake thinks she’s got it bad she needs to spare a thought for her old boss Surjit Tour who we know she admired immensely. As we’ve previously reported Tour is now fitting in nicely at Sandwell Council . We know this because we have been sent details of a threatening missive he sent last week to the magnificent local blog The Sandwell Skidder . Tour’s full hilarious rant including the immortal phrase ‘ excitable language’ can be read below, but we have to say that we’re a tad disappointed that we never received such a threat of legal action from Tour when he was at Wirral . Hmmmmm- why was that we wonder? He certainly wasn’t averse to issuing such threats as local blogger John Brace can testify. If he would have had the gonads to send such a threat to us we guarantee he would have got the same response from this Julian as he did from The Sandwell Skidder‘s very own Julian Saunders  :  

Dear Mr Saunders

Sandwell Skidder (“the Blog”)

Allegation of Harassment

I am writing to you on behalf of the Council.

The Council considers that your behaviour and conduct over the past few years cannot be left unchallenged any longer. Whilst it had hoped that your activities would die down over time it is clear that that has not happened and instead they have only increased. In addition to using your blog to attack Councillors and employees you are targeting the same individuals on Twitter and other social media sites. You are regularly seen outside of the Council offices seeking to obtain information.

The Council fully accepts that, as a body, it must be subject to criticism but as an employer it has a duty to its staff to ensure that they can work in peace and are not harassed and targeted, and a duty to Council tax-payers to ensure that their needs are not neglected whilst having to expend considerable time and effort trying to dealing with a persistent and vexatious individual such as yourself.

Whilst the Council has carefully considered whether there would be any merit in trying to engage in dialogue with you again unfortunately it does not seem to be possible or be likely to achieve any measure of success. Only today, 25^th January 2018, you have posted a witness statement in a blog entitled “The Statement Sandwell don’t want you to see!” that was produced for a quasi-judicial standards hearing that was held on 24^th January 2018. You were put on notice that the Council objected to the content of this statement yesterday. You have nonetheless gone ahead and not only published your statement but presented a skewed account of what took place.

The excitable language you use on your website is indicative of a motive to do damage. Unlike newspapers or news websites you fling out with abandon accusations of corruption and criminality against individuals. Nor do you appear to verify your accusations. Your persistent publication of a photograph of the Council leader with the captions on it, is designed to harass him. That is why you are doing it.

We would ask you to go through your blog and consider carefully the appropriateness of the accusations you are making and the language you are using.  The council requests that you remove all unfounded abusive/offensive remarks and images immediately.

We consider that when you do you should recognise that the language is excessive and much of the content inappropriate and together it is harassing of individuals and is unacceptable.

To that end, we are engaging specialist Counsel to assist us with this matter but would hope that you will take steps to ensure that no further action is in fact necessary.

For the avoidance of doubt, if action is taken by the Council, we will comply with the relevant pre-action protocols. At this stage, we hope you will act to ensure that there is no need to proceed any further.

If necessary, we reserve the right to show this letter to the court.

Yours sincerely

AND HERE IS MY REPLY:

To: Surjit Tour <Surjit_Tour@sandwell.gov.uk>
THIS IS NOT A PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION

My reply is – you are well out of order and can fuck off.

For the full response : An Exchange of Correspondence with Surjit Tour

 

Defend Our NHS: thanks, alerts, invitations, birthdays – and congratulations

Dear friends of the NHS

First , thanks to everyone who contributed to funding the judicial reviews of the government’s and NHS England’s damaging changes to our health service. You’ll be pleased to know that the funding appeals for the reviews – both of which DONHS is supporting have reached their targets. The case will be heard in Leeds High Court on Tuesday 24th April.

Meanwhile we continue to show our support for the NHS and its staff in other ways. There will be a day of protest all over the country on Saturday 3rd February. A march in London will be mirrored by events right across England.

We urge supporters in Wirral to join us outside  Arrowe Park Hospital from 1.00pm. Show that you  : value hospitals like Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge ; support NHS staff: nurses,doctors,midwives,paramedics and others; and believe in a free,comprehensive ,universal National Health Service . Or if you just want to know more about the crisis in our NHS and the answers to it. Come and join us! Details at: https://www.facebook.com/events/157164351576903/ 

The Liverpool protest will be a day earlier on Friday 2nd February . Details at :

https://www.facebook.com/events/565402527138746/ 

Our next public meeting  (your MP and councillors have been invited) will be on Friday 2nd March in Birkenhead from 7.00pm. The venue is : The Welcome Centre 43 Hamilton Street, Birkenhead, CH41 5AA

The NHS will be 70 this year. 

To celebrate – and to show our support for the service and all who work with it – we will be holding not one but two parties ! The first will be on Saturday 30th June in Vale Park, New Brighton.

The second will be a social and public meeting in Birkenhead, 5th July

There is another significant birthday this year. The NHS is 70. Defend Our NHS is 7! This group was  was founded exactly seven years ago this month. We’ve grown  – and perhaps to recognise  what has been achieved we won an award ! Take a look at : 
https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2018/01/11/the-leaky-awards-2017-the-grand-finale/  

Best wishes on behalf of Defend Our NHS

Further information : Leaflet Jan 18 v3 DRAFT

 

 

 

Dispatches from Dystopia

You do insist on sending us news about our former domicile. But where else would you go for solace from the dark foreboding place we know as the Wirral peninsula?

Whilst we appreciate we’ve found refuge far from the madding crowd you poor people still have to endure the madness. Nevertheless we promise you (and ourselves) that we will try and make sense of it all from a sunbed overlooking the Med and living the life of a flâneur – it’s a hard life but someone’s got to do it (as long as it’s not too much effort.)

However we tell you now you won’t get a look in once the temperature rises. So get your grievances and observations in before it’s too late!

First up we have a number of comments on the unfolding Wirral University Teaching Hospital  (WUTH) story (not that you’d know there was a story from perusing the local press) . Whilst it was obvious to us and others that there was a mahoosive problem years ago it obviously went ignored by senior management and regulators – because as we know that’s what they do. Denial may be pathological but for some but for others it’s a career path.

Wirral University Teaching Hospital – Leaks to Cascade

Sadly , it must be bittersweet for some of our contributors who have been ousted from their roles – be it nurses or trustees – because they dared to speak truth to power ( to the likes of former WUTH CEO Len Richards) and now find themselves belatedly vindicated only when their careers and livelihoods have been trashed. Meanwhile the bullies and incompetents go on to find themselves a lucrative niche elsewhere . Talking of which why do we keep coming across the name Linda Birch/Bryceland?

Meanwhile don’t raise your hopes of any improvement as NHS Improvement (!) are clearly in denial about the historical concerns that led to the current crisis as they have written to a prominent complainant and explained that cultural,behavioural and governance issues have seemingly sprung up from nowhere  :

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding Wirral University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Earlier this month we announced that Carole Taylor Brown will oversee the independent investigation into Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The investigation follows a number of allegations made to NHS Improvement about cultural, behavioural and governance issues at the trust, as well as concerns about the handling of a recent disciplinary case involving allegations of sexual misconduct. 

 The investigation will:

(i) investigate concerns raised by members of trust staff in late 2017 with NHS Improvement regarding cultural, behavioural and governance issues

(ii) review the trust’s handling of a recent disciplinary case involving allegations of sexual misconduct; and 

(iii) consider NHS Improvements’ response to the concerns raised with it per (i) above

Meanwhile we’ve had a message about Wirral Council from Frankie . Not that one, obviously – he’s got the starving mites to look after like a low rent St Francis of Assisi . This particular Frankie says:

I know you’ve moved away and hope your enjoying being away from the rat race…. just to give you an update looks like the clowncil are about to appoint the partner this being MUSE who seem to be the front runner in the shenanigans.

Loves ya leaky
Frankie

MUSE

Wirral Council placing public assets and development programmes under the control of a private company –  what could possibly go wrong?  Just don’t mention Carillion !

 

 

Bye Bye Beyga !

Who’s smiling now? – We are. The ‘dark days’ of Beyga are over!

You people are not making our semi -retirement easy are you? But then a semi is always a bit of an anti-climax isn’t it?

We did say we had unfinished business and we suspect that the powers that be have taken advantage of the fact that we’re out of the way in sunnier climes to try and sneak out of another long running scandal.

No chance! Thanks to the leak below we are confident we can draw a line under the Chris Beyga case. Regular readers will know that Beyga was the Managing Director ( ha!ha!ha!) of pretend Wirral Council backed company Wirral Evolutions (Charles Darwin would be turning in his grave as far as the management of this service is concerned as it would appear to be the ‘survival of the unfittest’ ). And what’s more as far as we’re concerned this was just another ploy to deprive vulnerable people of essential services via pseudo-outsourcing.  Before you read our latest leak here’s what we wrote last September – and once again it would appear we were spot on with our predictions and it would appear that indeed Beyga is a gonna !.

 ” It is great to see so many people here as we move from a public service to a commercial entity” we asked the question “What could possibly go wrong?…….”

 Wirral De- Evolution

The answer to our question would appear to be  : ” The same as usual”

For those who don’t know what ‘Wirral Evolutions’ is – although we all pay for it –  it is a  : ” Local Authority Trading Company (LAC) bringing together nine key day centre and daytime services from across the area to continue to offer high-quality care for people with long term and learning disabilities” 

Re: Evolutions

Whilst those in charge at Wirral Council are relentlessly and recklessly pursuing the ‘public services/assets are best held in private hands’ model, let’s see how that works in practice with a couple of examples.

Firstly, a Wirral Council manager with a penchant for awards ceremonies and expensive shoes ends up being the Chief Executive of the Wirral Chamber of Commerce (Paula Basnett) .

Secondly, a rather more dowdy persona is made ‘Managing Director’ ( ha! ha!ha!) of a pretend company called ‘Wirral Evolutions’ ( Chris Beyga)

Other than power crazed empire building using public assets and public money what do they both have in common ?

That’s right the “The ‘N’ Word”. Needless to say the dirty ‘N’ word in this case is nepotism.

What we can’t understand is how Wirral Council are prepared to pump public assets into both enterprises whilst throwing public accountability out of the window.

However we have to give a round of applause to Wirral Council for keeping a lid on the Chris Beyga , ahem, situation using their timeworn strategy – ‘If it’s unmentionable , it’s manageable‘ – but then they can’t let their bogus flagship ‘commercial entity’ hit the rocks can they?

We’ve known since July that Beyga has been conspicuous by her absence. No doubt tending the flowerbeds (but not at Dale Farm). As one of our sources writes  : ” She also has always blanked the union but as soon as this happened she joined it.”

Let’s hope Unison (for it is they) give Beyga the same kind of support they give to the rank and file who come to them when they’re being victimised by their managers. If so Beyga’s a gonna.

Perhaps ‘ Independent Chair’ of Wirral Evolutions , Carey Bamber can clarify for us exactly what is going on just as she did with the ‘open and transparent’ (yeah, whatever)  appointment of Beyga as ‘ Managing Director’ . Or perhaps she just lives up to her name – ‘ Carey’ – an imitation of caring. Or even better Cllr Adrian Jones can tell us what he knows about the allegations that were made against Beyga before she was appointed MD?

Meanwhile all we know is that it doesn’t Beyga belief – it’s just business as usual!

 https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2017/09/21/wirral-evolutions-origin-of-the-specious/

  

Now read this leak and cheer! :

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Oh dear , you can’t – because someone has asked us to remove it . Which makes us realise why we decamped in the first place. If people want things to change on Wirral they need to be brave , own their opinions and realise PUBLIC SERVANTS are there to serve them!

We particularly look forward to comments on latest developments from ‘ Independent Chair’ of Wirral Evolutions, Carey Bamber, and  bullying- Beyga enabler Cllr Adrian Jones . Meanwhile we have one request :

Hey Beyga ! – can you take this waste of space with you?

Wirral University Teaching Hospital – Leaks to Cascade

 

 

Lessons have been learned ? – A Wirral Leaks picture from our January 2014 story GREEN LEAVES would suggest not. If leaked documents had not been sent to Health Service Journal would bullying and management concerns ever been made public?

Leaked email from Wirral’s largest employer which appears to confirm that it suffering from the same toxic culture that afflicts Wirral’s second largest employer. The media exposure referred to are articles published in Health Service Journal and not the local press.

From: Communications (Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust) Sent: 12 January 2018 17:05 Subject: FOR INFORMATION: Health Service Journal (HSJ) media exposure Message sent on behalf of Dr Susan Gilby, Medical Director Please cascade to those not on NHS Mail Dear Colleagues, As my executive colleague, David Jago highlighted in his global communication today (issued at 13:12), I would like to further update you on likely media exposure following this matter. Many of you keep up-to-date on social media and via the local press, however for those that do not, I felt it was only right to share with you an article that has today (Friday) appeared on Twitter and online in the Health Service Journal (HSJ). Upon joining the Trust early last year as Medical Director, I requested that a medical staff engagement survey was carried out as I felt there was a widespread perception of ‘disconnect’ between management and medical staff. As a result of my early observations, it was clear that this benchmarking exercise, with a strong evidence base, would enable the Board to support a strategy for cultural change within the organisation. On behalf of the Executive team, I would like to say that the Trust is extremely grateful to staff that have raised concerns and we deeply regret any failures to identify and effectively deal with some of these highlighted attitudes and behaviours that this survey has uncovered. It is my intention to now plan and commission an external cultural change programme which will help address the root causes of unacceptable behaviours and embed the positive behaviours that staff would expect to consistently exhibit and witness. In the spirit of openness and transparency, I will keep you all fully informed on its progress and will feedback its findings later in the year. For colleagues not on social media, or who do not follow the press, I have placed below the full HSJ article in order to prevent rumour and inaccuracy. I would like to take this opportunity to thank colleagues for showing great and ongoing understanding to the Executive and Senior team during this period of challenge and I look forward to working with you all on our journey towards quality improvement. Kind regards, Dr Susan Gilby Medical Director HSJ article published 12/01/2018: Leaked documents reveal bullying and management concerns at trust Wirral University Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust  doctors reported high levels of bullying and “disconnect” from management, according to documents leaked to HSJ. They resonate with serious concerns raised about management and culture at the trust that were reported by several of the trust’s executive directors to regulators, and revealed by HSJ, last month. Documents seen by HSJ also allege former chief executive David Allison, who left suddenly in December, dismissed a proposal to appoint clinical leaders, saying it would happen “over my dead body”. Trust medical director Susan Gilby raised the results of a first medical staff engagement survey at a private board meeting in summer last year. The survey reported “a continuing widespread perception of ‘disconnect’ between management and medical staff”. Results of a second survey of 95 doctors, carried out in March 2017 and also leaked to HSJ, revealed 43 per cent of respondents said they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse in the previous 12 months. A report on the findings said “most of [this] was from managers”. Only a third of doctors in this survey said they felt able to make improvements happen in their area of work. Changes suggested by doctors included improving culture and behaviours of managers towards doctors. Minutes of three trust executives’ meeting with NHS Improvement in November show they raised the survey and told the regulator they “felt the organisation had a culture that prohibits raising concerns as there was a lack of transparency and honesty when difficult issues are raised”. The same minutes said: “One example cited [of poor culture] was the recent poor results from the medical engagement scale which in the view of the MES team were extremely poor. “The [medical director] raised this with the CEO and chair [Michael Carr] and at private board but did not receive support from the CEO to address the concerns. “He was heard to say to the company secretary that the doctors would be leads of their services ‘over my dead body’. The minutes of the private board meeting discussion on this topic did not adequately reflect the discussion. “In the pre-meet before the subsequent [public] board meeting the MD was told by the CEO not to go into detail in addressing the required amendments [to minutes of the private board].” According to the survey results of more than 100 doctors, the trust scored among the lowest for medical engagement of 110 NHS trusts with which it was compared. The report on the second survey, passed to HSJ by a member of staff, concluded: “The views of medical staff in Wirral University Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust suggest a general perception of very low levels of medical engagement compared to the medical engagement norms for NHS trusts.” It pointed out that the trust’s results had deteriorated from an earlier survey in 2012 warning: “Medical engagement is not significantly improving and in some areas appears to be getting worse. The results suggest a continuing widespread perception of ‘disconnect’ between management and medical staff characterised by insufficient contact and authentic communication.” The report states that, comparing the 2017 to 2012 results, the survey showed a 29 per cent decrease in staff feeling they were involved in decision making and a 21 per cent fall in staff feeling valued and empowered. The report said there was a “consistent divide” between managers and doctors with 63 per cent of managers saying they work closely with doctors compared to just 12 per cent of medical staff. In total, 70 per cent of managers agreed that senior management actively encouraged innovative thinking by medical staff compared with just 7 per cent of doctors. Only 13 per cent of medical staff said they could trust non-medical managers to take their opinions on board. The report said: “Clearly, many members of medical staff feel that there is little opportunity to talk freely with management about future plans and consequently their ideas and opinions are either not taken seriously or simply ignored by management staff… “The results reveal a consistent tendency for managers to overestimate medical engagement and this over-optimistic perception may well indicate that managers are far from fully aware of the working challenges that medical staff face, and do not take the medical engagement as seriously as they might.” In a statement to HSJ, Susan Gilby, the trust’s medical director, said: “As a result of my early observations upon joining the trust last year, a survey around clinical leadership and collaborative working was commissioned. It was felt that this benchmarking exercise, with a strong evidence base, would enable the board to support a strategy for cultural change within the organisation. “The trust is hugely grateful to staff that have raised concerns around bullying and harassment and we deeply regret any failures to identify and effectively deal with some of these highlighted attitudes and behaviours. “As an executive team, we wish to make it clear that there is no place for such attitudes and behaviours in the trust and we can only apologise to staff that may have experienced this culture.” She said the trust now planned to commission an external cultural change programme to help address “the root causes of unacceptable behaviours and to embed the positive behaviours that staff would expect to consistently exhibit and witness”. NHS Improvement has previously said it will launch an investigation into the concerns raised about the trust.

Wirral Leaks Says ‘Au Revoir Mes Amis’

Ce n’est pas un adieu, c’est qu’un au revoir 

As we finally pack our bags for our new life in the South of France (and boy do we have baggage) we feel to need to finally clarify what the situation is with regards to the future of Wirral Leaks.

After extensive discussions with interested parties the situation is this  – we have reached the abyss. As our friend Fred said :

“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”

However – our work is not done. Why should Wirral Council have an easy ride into the abyss – and on a less philosophical note we want a million hits on our WordPress site (and we’re so very,very close).

So let’s peer into the abyss a little longer. There is unfinished business.

So whilst our faculties are failing and it may be a case of ‘begone dull care’ we understand our public service responsibilities (unlike those at Wirral Council) .

Not only are there are local elections in 2018 there are some unresolved matters that as much as Wirral Council and their influential partners want to shove as far away as they can – we’re having none of it!

Having said that any future leaks we receive have to be on the Exxon Valdez scale of damage. We just want to be in a position to raise ourselves gently up from our sun lounger , take a sip on our pousse-café and press the publish and be damned button.

Meanwhile it has been agreed that there will be an occasional column from His Lordship titled :

” Thoughts from Abroad”

And one from Her Ladyship titled :

“Thoughts from A Broad”

We also welcome contributions from approved campaigners and our esteemed regulars – The Prof, The Doc and Highbrow and any others who are able to meet the high standards of our regular roster of writers.

We particularly look forward to the work of Wirral Guerilla who tell us they’re taking our fight to the streets and as much as they admire satire they think that direct action is much more effective. We wouldn’t disagree. Go, Wirral Guerilla!

In the meantime you’ll have to endure expensive advertisement features  such as this:

and expensive sponsored features disguised as journalism featuring the likes of Simone ‘Rhyming Slang ‘ White :

Post Its and BS

….and which of course WE all pay for!

But finally we’d like to give all of our readers a great big send off and thank you for all your kind comments and support over the years. Let’s just let’s hope our brakes haven’t been tampered with as we travel ‘La Grande Corniche’ to our place in the sun!

Keep on leakin’ !

 

 

Defend Our NHS – Latest News

Launched just over an hour ago is a Crowdfund appeal to fund a Judicial Review against NHS England’s Accountable Care Organisation contract. Set out below is everything you need to know courtesy of Leaky Awards 2017 winners Defend Our NHS – Wirral.

Also note : On SATURDAY 3RD FEBRUARY there will be a national day of action in support of the NHS with various local activities. In WIRRAL this will involve a gathering outside ARROWE PARK HOSPITAL from 1.00pm to show DONHS solidarity with NHS staff, to alert the public to what’s happening to our health service, and to continue to #DefendOurNHS.

The next PUBLIC MEETING  will be in Birkenhead on Friday 2nd March from 7.00pm. More details soon. PLEASE put the date in your diary now.

 

Defending the NHS nationally and in Wirral

A judge has granted permission for national campaign group 999 Call for the NHS to bring a Judicial Review of NHS England’s draft Accountable Care Organisation contract. The group believe this is not only unlawful under current NHS legislation, but would threaten patient safety standards and limit the range of available treatments. The case will be held in Leeds High Court at some date after 16 February.

Wirral’s NHS campaign group Defend Our NHS support the Judicial Review; they recognise that the legal challenge affects everyone – patients, public and NHS Staff.

Kevin Donovan from Defend Our NHS urged people to support the appeal to fund the Judicial Review. He noted that, “The leader of Wirral Council, Councillor Phil Davies, says he opposes the government’s so-called ‘sustainability and transformation’ plans which are the framework for the Accountable Care Systems and Organisations. Yet, behind closed doors he has been supporting the development of the whole apparatus. The documented policy of Wirral Council – in collaboration with the local clinical commissioning group (and quoting from Council papers) – is now ‘the development of a single ‘Accountable Care System’’. Wirral Council acknowledges that, ‘The STP will operate at Cheshire and Merseyside level’.”

“Defend Our NHS members are yet to find anybody in Wirral outside of a campaign group who has heard the initials ‘STP’ or ‘ACO’ or ‘ACS’, let alone understands what they will mean for our beloved National Health Service. The issue is that Accountable Care Systems and Organisations are being planned secretively, including right here in Wirral. They are a new form of local NHS and social care organisation; the intention is to cut costs by managing demand for health and social care. This will speed up the creation of a two-tier system – where those with money will use private providers and the rest will be left with reduced health and social care services.  Protecting the NHS as a fully funded public service of comprehensive healthcare is vital for us all.”

The Judicial Review and the national campaign

999 Call for the NHS and internationally recognised public law firm Leigh Day are launching the third and final stage of their ‘crowdfund’ on 12 January, in order to cover all the costs of bringing the Judicial Review, and are appealing for £12,000. This amount, when added to existing funds donated by hundreds of generous members of the public in 2017, will cover the £37,000 cost of the Judicial Review.

The link to crowdfund is: Crowd Justice Healthcare4All Stage 3

Recognising that it is in the public interest to establish if the Accountable Care Organisation contract is lawful or not, the Judge has awarded 999 Call for the NHS a capped costs order of £25K. This limits the costs that the campaign group would have to pay NHS England, were they to lose the case.

999 Call for the NHS were originally well known as the Darlo Mums who organised a 300 mile Jarrow to London People’s March for the NHS in 2014. This culminated in a rally in Trafalgar Square attended by 20,000 people.

Jo Land, one of the original Darlo Mums who marched from Jarrow to London, said,

“In 2014, 20,000 people felt so strongly about the devastating effects of marketisation on the NHS that they joined us at the end of our 300 mile march to London to take a stand against it and spread the word.

Please join us again, in marching on the courts to challenge the Accountable Care Organisations contact.  This is a big step for us and we need your support. We believe it is vital to determine if the new contract is lawful or not. We all have to fight this together for the sake of the nation’s health and democracy.”

What is an ACO?

The Judicial Review is a direct challenge to NHS England’s introduction of a model contract for use by new local NHS and Social Care organisations, known as Accountable Care Organisations (ACO).

ACOs are based on the business model used by the USA’s Medicare/Medicaid system, which only provides state-funded “managed care” for the elderly and people who are too poor to pay for private health insurance. “Managed care” involves a variety of mechanisms used by managers of American healthcare companies to get doctors to avoid expensive forms of treatment.

In granting permission for the Judicial Review, the Judge commented that it would not consider the merits or demerits of the ACO model, but would focus on the lawfulness of the method for paying Accountable Care Organisations. 

The group say that the current lack of a legal framework for Accountable Care Organisations – and in particular the way they would be paid to provide local NHS and social care services – is simply not compatible with democratic control and oversight of the resources and future of our biggest public service. And the government has backtracked from its 2017 Manifesto promise of new legislation for this radical shake up of the NHS and social care.

The Wirral campaign

Defend Our NHS has existed for seven years. It was formed in January 2011 by a small group of people concerned about the changes to the NHS proposed by the then Tory Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. The warnings given by the Group’s founder members (who included Margaret Greenwood, now MP for Wirral West) about the likely damage to the NHS have sadly come true.

Since 2011 the group has been active in informing the public about the growing local and national crisis in the NHS. It has a large mailing list and massive support for its Facebook page. Scores of people attend its public meetings and demonstrations.

In recent years Defend Our NHS in Wirral has:

• Joined the junior doctors on their picket lines as they campaigned for safe conditions for patients;
• Uncovered the hidden involvement of Richard Branson in Wirral general practice;
• Challenged Wirral Clinical Commissioning group over its implementation of government health cuts;
• Identified the now public crisis at Arrowe Park Hospital;
• Supported the community campaign to re-open the Eastham Walk-In Clinic;
• Revealed (in 2015) Wirral’s invitation to and involvement with Advocate Health Care, a US organisation well known for its ACO dealings; and now:
• Exposed the secretive plans by the leaders of Wirral Council to defy their own party’s policy by implementing the STP/ACO.

Email: defendournhswirral@gmail.com 
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Notes 

1. 999 Call for the NHS is a grassroots, volunteer-run campaign organisation. It has been actively campaigning since 2014 to restore the NHS as a properly funded, publicly owned, managed and provided comprehensive health service that is free at the point of need for everyone with a clinical need. www.999callfornhs.org.uk

2. Defend Our NHS was established in Wirral in 2011 and is also entirely volunteer-run. It has attracted a large and active group of supporters. As well as concerned local residents its supporters now include a significant and growing number of doctors and nurses, outraged by what is being done to the NHS. Its Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/defendournhs/

3. From 6pm on 12th January, the crowdfund will be live at: Crowd Justice Healthcare4All Stage 3

4. Campaign groups are concerned that the contract, if implemented, would threaten patient safety and force hospitals and doctors to restrict treatment, making decisions based on money not clinical judgement. They believe that this new contract is unlawful under current NHS legislation.

This is because the new ACO contract does not link payment to the number of patients treated and/or the complexity of the medical treatment they need, as required by the 2012 Health and Social Care Act,  but is based on a fixed budget for an area’s population.  This budget would be  geared to helping to meet the £22bn+ funding shortfall by 2021 that the government is imposing on the NHS in England.

5. As well as bringing this Judicial Review, 999 Call for the NHS – all unpaid volunteers – is also campaigning with other grassroots groups across England for the passage of the NHS Reinstatement Bill, the restoration of proper levels of NHS and social care funding and the protection of NHS healthcare for all – not the fragmentation and downgrade of our NHS to something resembling the USA’s Medicare.

6. A Judicial Review is a process of examining in court whether the government and/or its agencies are acting lawfully.

7. CrowdJustice is the only platform dedicated to raising funds and awareness for legal cases. CrowdJustice has established legal crowdfunding as a powerful tool for citizens to access justice and lawyers take cases that otherwise would not be heard. CrowdJustice is democratising the justice system by empowering people and communities to champion and build support for legal issues that matter to them. CrowdJustice has raised more than £4 million from over 100,000 backers to support legal action in the courts.