School pupils' mental health
06 May 2016
The Government has axed Natasha Devon, who was appointed last August as mental health champion for schools in England. This decision came after she had used a head teachers' conference to stress the level of mental strain being put on pupils by rigorous testing. The Department for Education denied that the role had been cut to silence criticism; rather, an independent NHS report had recommended that a cross-government mental health champion be created. Ms Devon, who was made an MBE last year for her work helping young people conquer mental health and body image issues, said she hoped the new champion would be a positive force for good, but she was 'sceptical'. She had undertaken the role on an unpaid basis, whereas someone in a paid role would be under more pressure to 'toe the party line'. The Government says it is putting £1.4bn into children's mental health, with separate money allocated for peer support schemes in schools.
Care homes at risk of closure
06 May 2016
About 5,000 residential care homes risk closure because they carry too much debt and don’t make enough profit to cover loan repayments. Research by business risk analysts found that individual care homes were borrowing 61% of the value of the business - £4bn across the industry. There are 20,000 homes in the UK, operated by 5,871 owners who make about £60,000 profit as operators. Opus Business Services said the figures make investment difficult and leave a very small pot to encourage people to stay in this market, run homes and invest in them to create ‘the extra capacity that we all know this market is going to need as the baby boomers get old and need to go into care’. There is concern that future investors will want big and quick returns on their investments, and the profitability of care homes has been hit by rising costs like the new national living wage of £7.20 per hour.
Dementia patients - second-class citizens
06 May 2016
The Alzheimer’s Society said that some GPs are refusing to visit vulnerable care home patients unless they are paid up to £36,000 a year, and will only prescribe drugs over the phone. One elderly woman was made to wait in agony for 17 hours after suffering an allergic reaction because the GP would not see her out-of-hours. Some surgeries will not even register patients once they move into a home because they are deemed to take up too much of doctors’ time. A fifth of care homes are being charged a fee for a GP visit, which should be free. Martin Green, chief executive of Care England (which represents care homes), who wrote the report, said patients were being all but abandoned by GP services. 70% of adults in care homes have dementia and need regular check-ups by GPs as well as extra visits if they are unwell or suffer a fall.
Ministers and junior doctors agree to new talks
06 May 2016
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has welcomed the agreement by the Government and the British Medical Association (BMA) to return to talks over the new junior doctors' contracts. The Academy had appealed for both sides to end the dispute, with strikes having already caused thousands of cancelled operations. The doctors have been striking over plans to impose new working conditions, and talks over the controversial new contracts broke down in February. The Government has said it is willing to pause the introduction of the contracts in England for five days from Monday to allow for talks. But it said the doctors' union must focus discussions on outstanding contractual issues such as unsocial hours and Saturday pay. The BMA has agreed to postpone any new threats of strikes - also for five days.
Westminster council refuses ‘homeless Jesus’
06 May 2016
Last year Prayer Alert highlighted an application to draw attention to homelessness in London through a bronze sculpture. Huddled figures on park benches are a common sight in Westminster, but the plan to draw attention to homelessness with an evocative statue in the heart of the political establishment was met with a curt rebuff from the London borough. The sculpture depicts a figure shrouded in a blanket and stretched out on a bench. The only clues to the person’s identity are his feet, poking out and bearing visible wounds of crucifixion. Casts of the sculpture are displayed at the Vatican, in Dublin, Madrid, Washington and Toronto. Pope Francis blessed the artwork in 2013, saying it was a ‘beautiful and excellent representation of Jesus’. More than 850 people have backed a petition aimed at persuading the council to overturn its decision, while the Methodist Church is likely to appeal. Westminster has the highest population of homeless people in the UK.
Israel: terror tunnels bombed
06 May 2016
Israel bombed five targets in Gaza after Hamas fired more than five mortar rounds into Israel in 24 hours - an escalation attributed to Israel’s intensified efforts to detect and destroy Hamas’ underground tunnels toward and across its border. Israel’s warplanes struck five targets near the town of Rafah on Wednesday evening. No injuries have been reported yet. An Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman, Lt Col Peter Lerner, said that Israel ‘will continue to operate in order to protect the civilians of Israel from all Hamas’ terrorist threats above and beneath ground. Our efforts to destroy Hamas terror tunnel networks, a grave violation of Israel’s sovereignty, will not be deterred.’ Shortly before launching the strikes, Israeli officials warned Hamas to cease firing mortars at its troops on the Gaza border or face a strong military retaliation.
Canada: Fort McMurray wildfire
06 May 2016
The Canadian province of Alberta was under a full state of emergency on Wednesday as a catastrophic wildfire continued to devour neighbourhoods in Fort McMurray, where 80,000 residents were safely evacuated. By Wednesday afternoon, the fire had scorched 18,500 acres; by mid-evening, it was expected to be more than 24,700 acres - authorities earlier had cited higher numbers in both cases. To date 88,000 people have been evacuated from a ‘nasty, dirty fire’, which the fire chief warned would be looking for even more areas of the city to destroy. The situation is unstable with dangerously high temperatures, relatively low humidity, and strong winds. A record high of 90 degrees Celsius was recorded on Tuesday. Pray for the allocation of emergency funding for the Red Cross to support evacuees directly. Pray also for the thousands of evacuees escaping - given only half an hour’s notice to collect valuables and leave.
New Zealand: your model must be Jesus
06 May 2016
A TV show had an Anglican minister live with a same-sex couple for ten days. How would a Christian who opposes same-sex marriage engage with two atheists and activists who invited him to their wedding? Rev David Ould had a same-sex couple live with him and his family for a few days; then he spent a few days living with them. The programme featured the three interacting and discussing their differences. Michael and Gregory went to church with David. David went to their wedding in New Zealand and marched in a gay pride parade; he displayed grace and honesty, holding fast to Christian orthodoxy on sexual morals and marriage. Michael and Gregory were not able to understand the Christian opposition to same-sex marriage and David was unable to agree to the moral basis of homosexuality and its claim on marriage. He showed that holding to truth is not easy and it opens us up to misunderstanding and even sarcasm. In short, there is usually a price to pay.