Indeed, currently, modern life is rubbish, I’m trying to block it out with some Ralph Vaughn Williams, but still it peeps through, threatening to impede my quality of life. However I have been and plan to keep on trying to stave off these changes that threaten the status quo, for starter I took the brave step to go along with a friend to a meeting for the Nuneaton Socialists, we (that’s me and her) are planning to go along to a demo tomorrow, that’s the demo outside Atos’s offices in Birmingham against their sponsorship of the Paralympics, this is comparable to the child-snatcher donating money to the local Brownie pack, it’s one twisted idea, I’m surprised that this fact is not widely known away from disability circles. This is expedition is reliant on me having a lift as a girl can only take so much public transport. Public transport is my next gripe, last Wednesday whilst meeting with the Nuneaton Socialists I was told about a white paper that had recently been published. When the government want to bring in changes they first publish a green paper, we send in our responses and then they publish a white paper detailing what they plan to do. This white paper he told me about was relating to the railways, his main concern was selling off Network Rail so a number of smaller companies would maintain the tracks which in his opinion could jeopardise passenger safety, the second point was that they were planning to replace human ticket selling staff with machines, I’m not a fan of machines, I’m the idiot swearing (in context) whilst struggling with ticket machines on the Underground. He also claimed that they were planning to also get rid of most station staff and worst of all, the staff on the trains except the driver! Usually in my role of voluntary policy officer I keep up with what’s going on in welfare, health, education and work, transport kind of passes my by (pardon the pun) but yep, this policy effects me. As my railway worker comrade explains “You’re on your train late at night with no conductor, you get off at your un-manned station and then onto the street that’s poorly lit” I must say as a female ticcer who frequently travels on her own London Midland staff are worth their weight in gold, and to be honest the thought of not having them around as a woman traveler regardless of my vulnerabilities that come about due to being a ticcer frankly scare me rigid. You can imagine what events could or have in the past unfolded on board trains late at night. I have got hold of the white paper outlining these plans and I’m ploughing my way through them so I’ll be keeping you posted.
Another thing that I’m finding abhorrent is the use of private companies to run hospitals. A while ago I was talking to a guy at a conference about the NHS reforms and I found it quite difficult to put into words my gut feelings about this policy which is just wrong, wrong, wrong, this man couldn’t see what could be wrong with this policy as long as the company deliver. My local hospital is due to be taken over by a private company coventrytelegraph.net/news/...
I may or may not have mentioned this before, but this is definitely one of my friend’s issues, along with the fact that George Eliot Hospital may also be losing their pediatrics department, being a mum this has angered her and she’s fighting for this and hopes to/WILL be protesting within the next few days, hopefully there should be some news coverage on TV. I know that in the scale of things George Eliot being taken over by Circle is a small part of the NHS reforms, reforms that may I add nobody asked for so they bulldoze their way forward anyway. I would also add please be wary of the recent spate of press articles giving personal accounts of bodged surgery, dirty wards, slovenly nurses etc as we know the NHS have many, many more successes that are not heard of in the media and these articles are being presented to us to make us think that the NHS reforms are needed (when they’re really not) just a good tidy-up would have done..