Omid has an incurable condition and wants to die – it’s time the law changed | Saimo Chahal

Omid, a 54-year-old man who lives and works in London, was diagnosed with multiple system atrophy in 2014, a condition that cannot be cured and affects the nervous system. He has a wife and children but rarely sees them in order to spare them the agony. He attempted suicide in 2015 and was then moved to a nursing home. Even with care and family support, Omid wants to die to relieve his suffering. The alternative is to seek assistance to die abroad, but this will cost £10,000-£14,000, and he can’t afford this.

Omid wants to change the assisted dying law in England and Wales – a courageous and selfless act considering his condition. He wants to help others and to leave a legacy. The current law, although it does not criminalise suicide, forbids helping or encouraging suicide.

Omid argues that the law violates his right to private life, in breach of the Human Rights Act. The law does not allow him, and other competent and informed people in his situation, to choose how and when to die. He wants the high court to declare the law incompatible with the concept of human rights.

Rather than being terminally ill Omid has several years to live in this unbearable condition. Previous, failed attempts to change the assisted dying law, by Lord Falconer and Rob Marris, restricted assisted dying to terminally ill people with six months to live. This is a crucial difference with the current, ongoing Noel Conway case. Omid is asking for a change of the law for those with incurable conditions who may have many years of misery and pain ahead. The passing of an assisted dying law for terminally ill people would not have helped him.

The most recent right-to-die case in the UK involved Tony Nicklinson and Paul Lamb in 2014. A majority of judges (5-4) in the supreme court said that, although the court could make a declaration that the law on assisted dying was incompatible with the concept of human rights, they would allow parliament the opportunity to debate the issue first.

Parliament has recently considered the law on two occasions: in 2013, Lord Falconer’s bill proposed that terminally ill, competent adults should be allowed to request and receive assistance in dying after approval by two doctors. The bill did not have enough time for a full review in parliament, but in any case, would have been too narrow to help Omid who has an incurable, yet non-terminal condition.

Rob Marris’s bill was hastily defeated by the House of Commons on 11 September 2015 by 330 to 118 votes. Many found the debate unimpressive, raising questions as to whether parliament is the right forum for such legally complex and morally charged questions.

The main arguments against Omid’s case are that it will lead to a “slippery slope” (for instance, assisted dying leading to the legalisation of euthanasia) and that it will make weak and vulnerable people susceptible to harm. But there is no evidence from other countries that problems of this sort have occurred. It would not be difficult to devise a system that makes sure that the system is not abused – for example by having two independent doctors certify that the decision is freely made and without pressure from relatives.

The courts have tried to duck out of the responsibility once for not making the decision – they cannot afford to do it again if society is to have confidence in the legal system. The pain and misery this is causing is unbearable for people like Omid. They require and deserve the protection of the courts. The time has come for a change in the law.

• To find out more about Omid’s case, click here

Omid has an incurable condition and wants to die – it’s time the law changed | Saimo Chahal

Luke Ambler wants #ItsOkayToTalk to halve number of male suicides

The rugby league player behind a social media campaign urging men to talk about mental health problems says he want to halve the rate of male suicides in five years.

Luke Ambler, who plays for Halifax RLFC, launched the #itsokaytotalk campaign after the suicide this year of his brother-in-law Andy Roberts.

Celebrities including Ricky Gervais, the author Irvine Welsh and the rugby union star Danny Cipriani, as well as the former health minister Norman Lamb have backed the 26-year-old’s campaign, posting a picture doing the OK hand gesture as thousands of people tweeted their support.

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) August 5, 2016

@TheLadBible pic.twitter.com/tSPXKtQvhO

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK and men accounted for 75% of the 6,122 suicides reported in 2014, according to the latest available figures.

Ambler said his brother-in-law might still have been alive if he had somewhere to go to talk about his problems before he died. “He was at our house on Saturday having a laugh and a joke, he played football as usual on Sunday before spending time with the family and then on Monday night, he killed himself with no explanation,” he added.

Related: Suicides and assaults in prisons in England and Wales at all-time high

In an attempt to break down the stigmas surrounding mental health, Ambler set up Andy’s Man Club, aimed at encouraging males from all walks of life to come and chat with other like-minded men in Ambler’s hometown of Halifax.

— Norman Lamb (@normanlamb) August 8, 2016

We MUST tackle the taboo & get the message out there that it’s #itsokaytotalk about anxiety or depression pic.twitter.com/DiCfg1AF1N

More than 20 men attended during the first three weeks, and alongside the explosion of Ambler’s #ItsOkayToTalk social media campaign, the Andy’s Man Club concept is growing.

“When I first came up with the idea, I expected me and Andy’s mum to be sat there on our own,” he says. “We didn’t even think it would get out of my town of Ovenden, let alone Halifax. I’ve had hundreds of emails and calls and it shows the problem which is out there.

“We’ve had Olympic stars tweeting about it, Danny Cipriani too, famous rugby league players like Australia international Paul Gallen and more. This hasn’t even scratched the surface yet, believe me. We’re aiming to cut the number of male suicides in half within five years: that’s our goal. If we can save lives, we’ve done something really special.”

On average, 12 men killed themselves every day in 2014. Ambler believes that many had nowhere to speak about their issues without fear of being chastised or judged for having mental health problems. That, he says, is where Andy’s Man Club comes in: the groups deal with a myriad of issues that affect men on a day-to-day basis.

— Teddington Lifeboat (@rnli_teddington) August 10, 2016

Us volunteers at #Teddington are all on board with #itsokaytotalk! @ChiswickRNLI @TowerRNLI @GravesendRNLI @RNLI pic.twitter.com/qb51djwtPe

“Sometimes men don’t want to talk as they feel ridiculed or think that they’re putting a burden on their families,” he says. “Then if you try talk about it with the lads, it ends up being turned into banter. I began to think that there was nowhere Andy could have spoken to anyone about what was going on, which is why I came up with the idea of Andy’s Man Club.

“It’s somewhere for men to get together and talk with other like-minded people – and they don’t just sit and talk. We do physical activities, we discuss coping strategies and talk about all sorts of things; from anger to debt management, even things like access to children, which some men have to deal with.“We had the chief executive of a major national company come in recently: that shows you that mental health can impact everyone.

“I’m urging people that when they’re in a dark place, reach out and look at Andy’s Man Club and see what we can do for you. Try to talk, it’s not weak whatsoever to talk. If we could have set this up before Andy died then we wouldn’t have his two-year-old daughter growing up without her father.”

• In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here
  

Luke Ambler wants #ItsOkayToTalk to halve number of male suicides

Why Two MDs Chose To Examine Company: Because Healthcare Wants It

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Why Two MDs Chose To Examine Company: Because Healthcare Wants It

Bill wants push to sweep away "inflexible" healthcare regulation framework

‘If this bill is not portion of the Queen’s Speech on three June all of the healthcare regulators will be caught with “outdated and inflexible” frameworks.’ Photograph: Pool/REUTERS

The publication this month of the draft law commission bill, regulation of overall health and social care professionals, was a crucial milestone for individuals, the public, and the healthcare regulators whose frameworks it will revolutionise.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), of which I am the chief executive and registrar, is hampered by a framework that has not adjusted to the modern day age.

The prime minister, in his response to the Francis inquiry report final 12 months, promised that the law commission bill would “sweep away our outdated and inflexible framework” and its publication goes someway to performing that, but we are not there however. In its initial response to the bill, the government has only “committed to legislate on this important situation when parliamentary time permits”.

This is not excellent sufficient. We are investing far more than £44m – which is nearly 80% of our spending budget – on fitness to practise hearings. We are holding 22 hearings a day, which is equal to Birmingham and Southwark crown courts put together. This is unsustainable inside of our present framework.

We need to have the law commission bill to be picked up in the ultimate session of this parliament if the NMC is to introduce new ways of disposing of situations, with a assortment of sanctions more acceptable to the present day era. It is also important if we are to meet our commitment to conclude 90% of our cases inside of 15 months. It is in the greatest interests of the public and nurses and midwives that the NMC is in a position to conclude situations as rapidly feasible and in the most successful way.

In the command paper Enabling Excellence: Autonomy and Accountability for Healthcare Staff, Social Staff and Social Care Employees, published in 2011, the government acknowledged that the existing legislative frameworks for all of the overall health and social care regulators are “high-priced, complex and need continuous government intervention to maintain them up to date.”

This “continuous government intervention” has meant the two the NMC and all of the other regulators have struggled to adapt rapidly adequate to reflect the ever-modifying healthcare landscape. To adjust our legislation now calls for agreement from the Division of Overall health followed by privy council and parliamentary approval. This slow and cumbersome method takes on typical amongst 18 months and two years. This impedes our capacity to make crucial improvements quickly.

The bill would also enable all 9 of the healthcare profession regulators to operate collectively a lot much more closely and even, if wanted, to share functions. Francis himself manufactured this a essential recommendation in his report into the failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS basis trust.

Sadly, I dread that if this hugely important bill is not component of the Queen’s speech on three June all of the healthcare profession regulators will be caught with “outdated and inflexible” frameworks that do not serve to shield the public in the most effective and productive way.

Jackie Smith is chief executive and registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council

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Bill wants push to sweep away "inflexible" healthcare regulation framework

NHS hospital closures need to be shaped by health wants, not by the market | Anne Perkins

Strategic choices must a matter, not for politicians, but for a panel operating to defined criteria and in collaboration with the public. Photograph: Neil Hall/PA

There are many desirable reasons to reorganise the way hospitals and healthcare are managed. Reorganisation can supply much better outcomes, as the merging of care for stroke victims in London has shown. It can cut costs at the identical time by closing outdated hospital internet sites, or decreasing the assortment of providers they supply, or the quantity of folks employed. It can lead to much more and smarter investment, as effectively as better value for income. Producing the situation for rationalisation in general terms is effortless. But arguing it by way of on the ground is a nightmare. The only point that can make it even worse is for the well being secretary to consider the power away from the folks who are impacted by it and make closures all about money and the marketplace.

Jeremy Hunt’s Clause 119 of the care bill, which the Commons will contemplate for the first time on Monday, is an emergency response to the court ruling, last October, that Hunt had acted illegally in cutting A&ampE and maternity providers at Lewisham hospital in south-east London. The trust special administrator did not have the electrical power to order the closure of some of the hospital’s providers in buy to shore up the South London healthcare believe in of which it was not part. The providers had been reprieved, but probably not for long. The new clause indicates trust special administrators appointed by the well being secretary to consider more than any NHS believe in failing financially will in potential have the power to drive through whatever nearby modifications are required. The regime of failure will dictate the shape of hospital services.

Monetary crisis driven by the want to make £20bn of efficiency cost savings in NHS trusts is expected to drive tens of hospital closures in the close to long term, which includes very good, hugely valued neighborhood units that never fit into the income-making model. As the Nuffield Believe in remarked in its commentary, this efficiently provides the secretary of state “the capability to undertake large-scale reconfiguration”.

This is no way to reform the NHS. There is presently proof that hospital closures take place not for the public good, nonetheless defined, but simply the place they can be produced to occur. That is, where there is least political challenge. Each politician has discovered the lesson of the Kidderminster effect, when a regional hospital advisor swept to victory in Wyre Forest in the 2001 basic election, in defence of the A&ampE department at his hospital. So if hospitals are to near or services are to be withdrawn, it is most likely to take place the place men and women are least capable to organise properly in defence. How much much more probably are unfair closures when the ultimate say is in impact in the hands of the health secretary?

It will not only put politics at the heart of the process. It will volume to reconfiguration by crisis, cuts shaped by the market rather than by the community’s well being wants. A couple of years back, the Kings Fund suggested the reverse technique. It stated far from ministers taking management of the approach, they must be removed from it altogether. It found that nearby politicians were too usually a barrier to, rather than a facilitator of, honest dialog ue with the public. Strategic decisions must be a matter for a panel, operating to plainly defined criteria and in collaboration with the public. Which is how, twenty years ago, the Canadian province of Ontario decreased 44 hospitals to 14. Their expertise – the method was driven by steep spending budget cuts – may not be a ideal model for Britain, but at least the choices were manufactured on a rational basis that permitted good quality, specifications and accessibility to be set towards cost-cutting and efficiency.

Hospitals are the emotional repository of back links between person and community, neighborhood and the state. But they are also the physical representation of the purpose of the NHS, the embodiment of the notion that we are all in it together. The service undoubtedly wants reconfiguring, and modify in the NHS takes also prolonged. But if ever this government desired a way of demonstrating that they think the whole 1948 vision of a Nationwide Overall health Services is broken, forcing by way of cuts on the basis of a market place model is how to do it.

NHS hospital closures need to be shaped by health wants, not by the market | Anne Perkins