NHS cuts

The media seem to love scaremongering and sensationalising news as they have done regarding government cuts and the loss of "front line services".

It would be very satisfying if they picked up on and reported the following actual waste of public money.

Most normal people know that enormous savings are to be made in public services such as the NHS that would avoid the need to reduce front line staff.

I have first hand experience recently of how non-added value procedures cost us, the public, money.

Having experienced a problem with one of my eyes I used the NHS Direct via the Internet to diagnose the problem and was instructed to go directly to Accident and Emergency. Believing this to be a little dramatic I phoned NHS Direct and was given, in no uncertain terms, the same advice.

Immediately I went to the Royal Eye Infirmary ( on NHS advice ) and waited to see triage nurse and this is where the waste of our money started. I was told that I was not an emergency and "no" I could not make an appointment to be seen that day but should go to my usual opticians, which I duly did.

The optician was not surprised, but a little angry, that I, like others before me, had been referred by the Eye Infirmary.

Subsequently, after a full check I was told I would need another test and that the optician would write to my GP for him to arrange a check at the Royal Eye Infirmary from whence I had just come!

So to summarise the unnecessary steps in this ridiculous process the following is where increased costs have been met by you and I.

1     Full eye test at private optician.
2     Letter from optician to GP
3     Contact from GP to Sentinel Healthcare ( to arrange appointment )
4     Phone call to me from Sentinel to discuss appointment.
5     Letter from Eye Infirmary to me confirming appointment.
6     Phone call from Eye Infirmary to remind me of appointment ( yet to happen)
It is an absolute disgrace that we are wasting public monies just because the establishment has procedures which have absolutely no purpose. These people are there to serve the public, not to waste their hard-earned cash.
Please send a link to this Blog to any MP's that you know and lets shake the system up a little.

Occupy somewhere!

Back to my blog for a change as I am feeling grumpy again. I am prompted to do so by a Twitter contact who said that the Occupy movement was successful and achieved good things.

I really disagree. While it is apparent that the vast majority of the British public ( silent majority that is!) agree with the sentiments, they do not agree that the effort was proportionate to the achievement and in some ways was counter productive.

The "Occupiers" will claim that they have brought the current economic and political mess to the public's attention through their actions.

Do they think that the majority of citizens are brain dead or stupid?

We are nearly all in the same boat and dislike the same things but most people will only moan and do nothing.

In fact I will later suggest very strongly that doing nothing could be the best weapon.

It appears that we dislike a small minority being in a position to amass vast fortunes at the expense of the majority. Well that has always been the case in to a certain extent is important and acceptable. No one was complaining very loudly when we were all doing so well, but in reality very little has changed, so why the fuss?

How do a few manage to glean such huge fortunes? Mainly due to the thoughtlessness and laziness of us, the Silent Majority.

While we are earning, and in some cases when we are not, it would seem that many of the products we buy have become necessities, where as in the past they were luxuries.

We have put huge amounts of our incomes into satellite and cable media companies, fast food and drinks companies, mobile phone and electronic companies, supermarkets etc,.

These incomes have enabled individuals to gather immense wealth, but until recently no one was really concerned.

The wealthy ones that we have created  have enormous power and influence on governments and banking systems. I will hopefully develop this thread later but at this time I am trying to encourage others to think through the logic of what I am saying.

So, all those of you who have mobile phones, satellite or cable TV, shop in supermarkets because it is convenient, buy branded goods because of the name, take their coffee in intenational chain coffee shops etc, please think a little deeper on the effect of your actions. 

Blackpool to become Yellowpool?

Today large numbers of police are converging on London to protest about budget cuts. They claim that they are concerned that the standards of policing will be compromised by the cuts although the vast majority of the public believe that in reality they are concerned about their own pay, pensions and conditions.

Police say that front-line policing will be affected by these cuts but there are areas in all police authorities that could be removed or reduced to save costs.

So why is the title of this blog relating to Blackpool?

Apparently Scotland Yard IT staff have received an email form security services chief Brian Douglas who wrote " the IB (Information Board) are concerned with the use of the term "whitelist"  and ( I presume Blacklist )...... so please ensure it is no longer used. "

Staff have been told to use red and green instead.

Any discussions relating to this matter, internal meetings, emails etc, are all costing money and as such are an unacceptable misuse of taxpayers money.

My blog title suggests that may be Blackpool must change its name to Yellowpool, the Blackdown Hills become the Reddown Hills, the All Blacks become the All Pinks!!!!

We must put a stop to this nonsense and those people at Scotland Yard involved in these discussions MUST be disciplined for wasting public funds