There is one overriding absolute power in this world. It is a power that when abused can turn out the lights forever. This power is something that you cannot buy, no matter what you may offer, it cannot be bargained for, no matter how hard you may try, and it isn't voted upon, for which we should all be thankful. It has been written about more than any other subject and songs sound from the heavens at the very mention of it's name. Put simply by Huey Lewis it is
The Power of Love.
We do not chose who we fall in love with and when we do fall head over heels then we often find ourselves crashing completely out of control spiraling in a cacophony of silence controlled by our own desires often at odds to our head. We give that power away freely and too often it is taken and abused by another.
Well verily my soul has been raped over the last few years for having given my absolute it was yesterday ripped from my heart with the malice of a demon determined to carry me across the River Styx into Dante's Inferno.
I have changed in the last twenty four hours, changed from the sugar coated idealist always looking for the wonderful in that certain person or challenge to a cold realist knowing that no matter how hard he labours his goal will always be that ethereal wish that will never quite be reached.
Well I don't want to settle for second best so if I can't have the dream then it is time for me to fade.
The person who this is written about if she reads it will know exactly what I am talking about and claim it to be highly unfair. If that be the case so be it for she has always held power over me and well she knows that. And yet again I was stupid enough to give over my power to her thinking that the dream will come true.
Well it may do but not in this life I fear so this may be my last blog about the Abuse of Power in fact it may be my last blog, only time will tell, so I say to all those people out there who care for someone remember
Abuse of the Power of Love is abuse of the absolute. Do it at your peril
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Nappies when you're a baby, nappies when you're old (Or sit in your shit until you die!)
Elaine McDonald is probably not a name that you are aware of. Slightly Scottish, could be a long lost relative of the infamous fast food chain. Well no Elaine McDonald is, or rather was, a Prima Ballerina and it is a name that you should become entirely familiar with because what has happened to her has a direct effect upon you.
Elaine yesterday lost an appeal in the Supreme Court to have her funding reinstated for a night carer. Kensington and Chelsea Council won the right to force her to wear incontinence pads if she wishes to avoid urinating or defecating in her bed. Now for some people these pads are a must but Elaine is perfectly in control of her excretory functions she just needs help to get to the toilet and therefor needs a night carer. Because Elaine wishes to remain independent and not become institutionalised it means that someone needs to be there during the night and up to recently the bill was footed by the Council to the tune of £22000 per annum.
No more of that though because in a majority ruling the Supreme Court stated that Kensington and Chelsea Council are well within their right to remove the funding. There was only one dissenting voice, Lady Hale, (Baroness Hale of Richmond ) who said:
"We are,I still believe, a civilised society. I would have allowed this appeal. In the United Kingdom we do not oblige people who are in control of their bodily functions to behave as if they cannot do so ..."
This is a slippy slope we find ourselves upon. It basically allows social workers the ability to remove basic human rights such as independence by limiting a person to be fully independent. It is basically a retrograde step towards institutionalisation of the sick or infirm. And this is not a good thing!
And it is highly relevant in respect of what I have been saying about Wiltshire Council recently. I have now come across the case where a woman with breast cancer is not being told about her condition by her doctors on what can only be the advice of social workers. All the carers who care for this lady are upset about this but they are powerless to act because if they do so they risk losing their jobs and the company in question the contract. Social workers and her doctors should be telling her what is happening but the cynic in me says that the reason they are not is because it is cheaper to leave her at home doused up on painkillers rather than come up with a better treatment plan.
And how long now before councils start withdrawing care for people based on this ruling? I give it about 5 minutes. I know one recently qualified social worker who would do this with glee almost yet recently when hospitalised she could do nothing but moan about the standard of care.Her husband's response to it was privatise the NHS. When will people realise that it is our duty as a society to look after those who cannot look after themselves. And if we start putting everything out to the cheapest bidder we might as well go back to the Victorian age where it was cheapest to lock people out of sight.
Sure I accept this all costs money but here's the sad thing:
Councils happily spend money on projects that do not need doing such as resurfacing roads in good condition so that they can fulfill their budgets yet at the same time cut back on vital services because they are too expensive. Come on people if this is not an abuse of power I do not know what is!
Elaine yesterday lost an appeal in the Supreme Court to have her funding reinstated for a night carer. Kensington and Chelsea Council won the right to force her to wear incontinence pads if she wishes to avoid urinating or defecating in her bed. Now for some people these pads are a must but Elaine is perfectly in control of her excretory functions she just needs help to get to the toilet and therefor needs a night carer. Because Elaine wishes to remain independent and not become institutionalised it means that someone needs to be there during the night and up to recently the bill was footed by the Council to the tune of £22000 per annum.
No more of that though because in a majority ruling the Supreme Court stated that Kensington and Chelsea Council are well within their right to remove the funding. There was only one dissenting voice, Lady Hale, (Baroness Hale of Richmond ) who said:
"We are,I still believe, a civilised society. I would have allowed this appeal. In the United Kingdom we do not oblige people who are in control of their bodily functions to behave as if they cannot do so ..."
This is a slippy slope we find ourselves upon. It basically allows social workers the ability to remove basic human rights such as independence by limiting a person to be fully independent. It is basically a retrograde step towards institutionalisation of the sick or infirm. And this is not a good thing!
And it is highly relevant in respect of what I have been saying about Wiltshire Council recently. I have now come across the case where a woman with breast cancer is not being told about her condition by her doctors on what can only be the advice of social workers. All the carers who care for this lady are upset about this but they are powerless to act because if they do so they risk losing their jobs and the company in question the contract. Social workers and her doctors should be telling her what is happening but the cynic in me says that the reason they are not is because it is cheaper to leave her at home doused up on painkillers rather than come up with a better treatment plan.
And how long now before councils start withdrawing care for people based on this ruling? I give it about 5 minutes. I know one recently qualified social worker who would do this with glee almost yet recently when hospitalised she could do nothing but moan about the standard of care.Her husband's response to it was privatise the NHS. When will people realise that it is our duty as a society to look after those who cannot look after themselves. And if we start putting everything out to the cheapest bidder we might as well go back to the Victorian age where it was cheapest to lock people out of sight.
Sure I accept this all costs money but here's the sad thing:
Councils happily spend money on projects that do not need doing such as resurfacing roads in good condition so that they can fulfill their budgets yet at the same time cut back on vital services because they are too expensive. Come on people if this is not an abuse of power I do not know what is!
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Hacking and all that jazz
Well the News of the World is in trouble for hacking. Perhaps they should have done some good and used that investigative skill in looking towards valid targets rather than innocents. They could have started with someone like Wiltshire Council.
Remember the debacle about roads that didn't need resurfacing. Whilst continuing with that process they have been sending out letters to vulnerable people saying that their care providers were about to change.
This is without any consultation with their clients, their vulnerable clients.
People need continuity of care particularly the vulnerable but yet again those who should know better are disregarding basic humanity.
We cannot allow this to continue. People died to preserve these freedoms and we cannot now turn a blind eye
Remember the debacle about roads that didn't need resurfacing. Whilst continuing with that process they have been sending out letters to vulnerable people saying that their care providers were about to change.
This is without any consultation with their clients, their vulnerable clients.
People need continuity of care particularly the vulnerable but yet again those who should know better are disregarding basic humanity.
We cannot allow this to continue. People died to preserve these freedoms and we cannot now turn a blind eye
Thursday, 30 June 2011
The Road to Hell
Now those of you who know me know that I am passionate about injustice. You know I can not abide it when I see power abused to the point where it causes genuine suffering.
Well Wiltshire Council are pretty good at doing that!
It has come to my attention that there are many people in Wiltshire, who are suffering from terminal cancer or debilitating diseases, that are being forced to go through a bureaucratic system to get essential care services, that they previously enjoyed, reinstated.
Put bluntly they had care
Wiltshire Council withdrew the care
Wiltshire Council refused their reapplications forcing them to go to appeal.
Yet today I watched as Ringway Parkman (on behalf of Wiltshire Council) caused chaos on back roads that did not need resurfacing by closing them off and resurfacing them.
Now why does this happen I hear you ask?
Simply because if budgets are allocated they have to be spent.
It is an absolute abuse of power by officials and elected members of Wiltshire Council if they allow vulnerable people to go with out essential care just so they can keep the budgets in line by resurfacing roads that do not need resurfacing.
For crying out loud people this is plainly wrong. Someone needs to turn around and grab this situation by the scruff of the neck otherwise we truly are on....
The Road to Hell
Well Wiltshire Council are pretty good at doing that!
It has come to my attention that there are many people in Wiltshire, who are suffering from terminal cancer or debilitating diseases, that are being forced to go through a bureaucratic system to get essential care services, that they previously enjoyed, reinstated.
Put bluntly they had care
Wiltshire Council withdrew the care
Wiltshire Council refused their reapplications forcing them to go to appeal.
Yet today I watched as Ringway Parkman (on behalf of Wiltshire Council) caused chaos on back roads that did not need resurfacing by closing them off and resurfacing them.
Now why does this happen I hear you ask?
Simply because if budgets are allocated they have to be spent.
It is an absolute abuse of power by officials and elected members of Wiltshire Council if they allow vulnerable people to go with out essential care just so they can keep the budgets in line by resurfacing roads that do not need resurfacing.
For crying out loud people this is plainly wrong. Someone needs to turn around and grab this situation by the scruff of the neck otherwise we truly are on....
The Road to Hell
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Panorama programme on Institutional Abuse
Well then this is not new is it?
Disturbing as it was this is probably and very sadly it is only the tip of the iceberg. Now I know care companies very well. I know the industry and I know how the deal works. Recently I was representing someone in an Employment Tribunal. The employer, a large care company, had constructively dismissed the employee through bullying, harassment and psychological torture.
Needless to say I won the case but the way the company conducted itself just showed that if they can do this to an employee what are they capable of doing to client.
This ex employee was instructed by her manager, someone with no qualifications in health care, to leave a patient to soil herself and in distress rather than to try and help her. And this was just one example there are literally hundreds more.
Care companies in the UK are regulated by the CQC, an organisation that prefers to preen it's own feathers rather than get tough.
If you really want to stop abuse happening then the CQC should put undercover people into care companies not rely on inspections that are telegraphed sometimes weeks in advance and rely on looking at paperwork. Paperwork what a joke that is. Organisations have learned that audit trails exist and know how to cover things up. For goodness sake the Police and the Medical profession have been altering notes for years and this is well documented!
We need to be tough on organisations who abuse however when we are looking at the vast sums of money that are involved there will undoubtedly be large numbers of people willing to take that money and therefor abuse is more difficult to track down. We need to see that managers and care staff are properly trained and qualified. And the qualifications need to carry some weight not just be tick box training courses so that people can say "Ooh look I've got a certificate"
Disturbing as it was this is probably and very sadly it is only the tip of the iceberg. Now I know care companies very well. I know the industry and I know how the deal works. Recently I was representing someone in an Employment Tribunal. The employer, a large care company, had constructively dismissed the employee through bullying, harassment and psychological torture.
Needless to say I won the case but the way the company conducted itself just showed that if they can do this to an employee what are they capable of doing to client.
This ex employee was instructed by her manager, someone with no qualifications in health care, to leave a patient to soil herself and in distress rather than to try and help her. And this was just one example there are literally hundreds more.
Care companies in the UK are regulated by the CQC, an organisation that prefers to preen it's own feathers rather than get tough.
If you really want to stop abuse happening then the CQC should put undercover people into care companies not rely on inspections that are telegraphed sometimes weeks in advance and rely on looking at paperwork. Paperwork what a joke that is. Organisations have learned that audit trails exist and know how to cover things up. For goodness sake the Police and the Medical profession have been altering notes for years and this is well documented!
We need to be tough on organisations who abuse however when we are looking at the vast sums of money that are involved there will undoubtedly be large numbers of people willing to take that money and therefor abuse is more difficult to track down. We need to see that managers and care staff are properly trained and qualified. And the qualifications need to carry some weight not just be tick box training courses so that people can say "Ooh look I've got a certificate"
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Unnamed Premiership Footballer
Now there are some that would argue that a privacy law is a good thing and there are some that would argue that it is eroding the enshrined perception of the freedom of the press.
Well here's my take on it:
Democracy is about the right for a person to say what they feel without fear of retribution by the state or others because they don't agree with what is said. It is also about defending the right for someone to say something even if you vehemently disagree with that person.
We cannot and must not let some ridiculous story about sex allow our freedoms to be eroded. People died for us and are still dying for others around the world for that freedom.
Well here's my take on it:
Democracy is about the right for a person to say what they feel without fear of retribution by the state or others because they don't agree with what is said. It is also about defending the right for someone to say something even if you vehemently disagree with that person.
We cannot and must not let some ridiculous story about sex allow our freedoms to be eroded. People died for us and are still dying for others around the world for that freedom.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Bath Thermae Spa and the great Voucher Rip Off
Well I finally found the vouchers that were bought for a Christmas present for a 2 hour spa session are out of date.
Now when the Spa were asked if they could accept these the answer was no, when they asked if they would accept the difference between the cost of the voucher and the current cost of a voucher they said no.
Bear in mind that these are not money off vouchers but vouchers that were paid for in cash so in effect the Spa have had money and interest on money for absolutely nothing in return!
This is apparently becoming common amongst retailers and there is a problem with this as I see it. If they take your money and then say that vouchers are no good then they have stolen your money.
This is wrong. And as such I am going to start a campaign to stop this happening. If you pay cash for something then you have paid for something. If the price goes up say after a year then I can understand that you have paid at a discount but you should be allowed to pay extra to even things out not lose everything. This is almost gambling. It is not reasonable to put valid till dates without the possibility of extension.
THIS MUST STOP NOW JOIN MY CAMPAIGN. twitter and facebook your friends and contacts. LETS STOP THIS NOW
Now when the Spa were asked if they could accept these the answer was no, when they asked if they would accept the difference between the cost of the voucher and the current cost of a voucher they said no.
Bear in mind that these are not money off vouchers but vouchers that were paid for in cash so in effect the Spa have had money and interest on money for absolutely nothing in return!
This is apparently becoming common amongst retailers and there is a problem with this as I see it. If they take your money and then say that vouchers are no good then they have stolen your money.
This is wrong. And as such I am going to start a campaign to stop this happening. If you pay cash for something then you have paid for something. If the price goes up say after a year then I can understand that you have paid at a discount but you should be allowed to pay extra to even things out not lose everything. This is almost gambling. It is not reasonable to put valid till dates without the possibility of extension.
THIS MUST STOP NOW JOIN MY CAMPAIGN. twitter and facebook your friends and contacts. LETS STOP THIS NOW
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Are Bankers the new Estate Agents?
Should this be the other way round?
Today I received the most incredibly horrible call from my son. Not because he is horrible, far from it infact, but because what was happening to him was terrible.
He is following in his father's footsteps by attending the University of Liverpool (OMG I've created a dynasty) and he is staying in his first flat. Today he was supposed to be coming to see his old dad for Easter but this afternoon I get a call saying that he couldn't come down because his letting agent had taken his next 3 months rent early because of the quadruple bank holiday.
This left him broke.
He works hard at his subject. He works hard in his job.
Yet the action of the greedy letting agent was right according to the agent.
If this is not an abuse of power I don't know what is.
Today I received the most incredibly horrible call from my son. Not because he is horrible, far from it infact, but because what was happening to him was terrible.
He is following in his father's footsteps by attending the University of Liverpool (OMG I've created a dynasty) and he is staying in his first flat. Today he was supposed to be coming to see his old dad for Easter but this afternoon I get a call saying that he couldn't come down because his letting agent had taken his next 3 months rent early because of the quadruple bank holiday.
This left him broke.
He works hard at his subject. He works hard in his job.
Yet the action of the greedy letting agent was right according to the agent.
If this is not an abuse of power I don't know what is.
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