Patients 'Failed' By NHS Complaints System

A health watchdog has accused the NHS of letting down patients who complain about their care.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's investigation looked into 150 complaints regarding allegations that patients had died or suffered avoidable harm because of failings in their care.

It found that 28 of the 150 cases should have been investigated by the NHS as a Serious Untoward Incident (SUI), which is triggered to allow doctors to learn from past mistakes.

But in the vast majority of these cases (71%) the hospital failed to carry out an SUI.

Families interviewed for the review complained they felt "belittled" and "misled" by medical staff who failed to listen to their concerns or give them straight answers.

Video: NHS Shake-Up 'Disastrous'

Patients groups said the findings are "worrying" and suggest the lessons from recent hospital scandals have not been learnt.

Ombudsman Dame Julie Mellor said: "Investigations weren't carried out when they should have been and when they were carried out they did not find out or explain why failings happened.

"When people make a complaint that they have been seriously harmed they should expect it to be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated."

In one case highlighted, a one-day-old baby, identified only as Baby F, was left with permanent brain damage because two doctors and a nurse made "serious mistakes" during blood transfusions.

Video: Row Over Hospital Major Incidents

But the hospital's SUI investigation was "fundamentally flawed and did not identify glaring errors in the conduct and recording of the transfusion and ignored obvious explanations for what happened", the ombudsman found.

Dr Katherine Rake, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said: "Our research shows that tens of thousands of people every year are being failed by the NHS and yet never report it because they have no faith the complaints system will make any difference.

"Even worse, fewer than half of those that do find the energy and courage to raise their concerns ever hear the words 'I'm sorry'.

"What we need is a complete overhaul of the complaints system that ensures every incident is properly investigated and learnt from, and that those affected are treated with the dignity they deserve."

Video: Five Challenges To Fix A&E

A Department of Health spokesman said the NHS acknowledges that "listening to patients and staff is absolutely vital to improving care".

He added: "That's why we've made hospitals legally obliged to apologise to patients when mistakes do happen, introduced complaints handling as a crucial element of tougher hospital inspections and asked Robert Francis to produce an independent report on how to create a more open NHS culture."

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Outrage Over Barrister's 'Appalling' Rape Post

A top barrister has been criticised for claiming men should be cleared of rape if the victim was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Writing on his blog, David Osborne said "consent is consent, blind drunk or otherwise", and "regret after the event cannot make it rape".

His comments have been condemned by campaign groups as "ridiculous" and "appalling".

In a post entitled "She was gagging for it", Mr Osborne, a married father-of-four, said: "I have a very simple solution which I hope you will agree is fair.

"If the complainant (I do not refer to her as the victim) was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both, when she was 'raped', this provides the accused with a complete defence. 

"End of story and a victory for fairness, moderation and common sense!"

Mr Osborne, who was called to the criminal Bar in 1974, said recent guidelines on rape accusations have "serious consequences for all red-bloodied males who are out on the rut".

The guidelines issued to police and prosecutors mean people accused of rape will increasingly be expected to prove they obtained consent.

Mr Osborne also used the post to criticise Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders.

"She has decided, or rather it has been decided for her, that anybody who makes an allegation of rape must be believed, and everything possible in the trial process must be bent towards the conviction of the accused," he writes.

Mr Osborne also criticised Alison Saunders in the post

"Rape trials from now on are no longer to be prosecution led, but conviction led, and when you add into the mix that prison sentences for rape are getting longer and longer, the opportunities for a serious miscarriage of justice are self-evident."

Sarah Green, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said she thought the remarks were a "sick joke".

"This is a legal professional indulging in the oldest stereotypes about rape, probably for attention-seeking purposes, and appearing to condone the predatory behaviour of men who target vulnerable girls," she said.

"I suggest he takes time to look at the impact of rape on survivors and how the situation is made worse by being told by people like David Osborne that it is their fault."

Clare Jones from WomenCentre was quoted by the Daily Mirror and The Independent as saying: "It's appalling.

"We are deeply shocked that even today, in 2015, someone can seriously suggest that the violent crime of rape could be provided with a complete defence if a woman was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time."

After the blog post came to light, Mr Osborne told the Daily Mirror that women would still have protection in law under his "solution".

He told the newspaper: "The protection in law that they have got seems to me to be twofold.

"Number One: Don't go out in the first place.

"Or Number Two: If you do go out don't get rat-a***d. If you get rat a***d, I'm sorry, you are asking for trouble."

He later added: "I tell you what would drop the rape statistics would be if girls covered up, dressed appropriately and stopped drinking themselves legless."

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Addicted 2 UR Phone? Here's How To Switch Off

By Richard Suchet, Sky News Reporter

It's snowing and they're pinging water balloons with a catapult towards a bunch of green cardboard pigs.

This is a low-budget, outdoor re-enactment of Angry Birds, the smartphone app which gamers around the world enjoy for 200 million minutes per day.

There is a subtle irony in it - this real-life version of the famous game is being played by eight people who have chosen to be forcibly separated from their mobile devices and tablets. They are 'digital detoxing'.

They have come to a £200 per day retreat in Hertfordshire in search of some respite from their "connected" lives - no WhatsApp, no text messages, no phone calls, no Google, no Twitter or Facebook.

"One of the reasons I'm here is that I want to find a balance," says 23-year-old law student Jack Longden.

Video: 30 Years Since First Mobile Call

"Using social media does facilitate a lot of things in your everyday life but I think it also changes the way you live your day-to-day life and puts pressures on you that shouldn't necessarily be there."

Environmental consultant Max Goodman, 26, added: "I'm always plugged in, I've always got my phone on, always got it out, constantly texting so it's kind of non-stop."

And Sarah Horscroft, 22, told Sky News: "I guess part of it is about getting outside and having a break from being attached to my mobile and my smartphone but the main aim is to know that other people feel the same way as I do."

According to research by Nokia, the average person checks their phone every six-and-a-half minutes. Most of us are awake for around 16 hours a day which means we are looking at our phones more than 1,000 times every week.

Britons spend an estimated 62 million hours each day on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, a survey by market research company OnePoll found.

For our children, it is an even bleaker picture - the average child born in 2013 will have spent an entire year of their lives in front of a screen by the age of seven, according to MyFamilyClub.co.uk

Detoxing might not sound like much fun but this Hertfordshire retreat is different - there is a hot tub in the snow, yoga, textile art, outdoor cooking, a whittling class, and of course the Angry Birds imitation.

Video: Does Mobile Phone Use Harm Kids?

The aim is to encourage these urban multitaskers to reconnect with the great outdoors, to reconnect with themselves, and to interact with like-minded people face-to-face.

"Digital technology is supposed to free us up but it has actually tied us to our chairs as well," says retreat organiser Martin Talks.

"In the office you are sitting down, at home we sit in front of the TV and one of the worst things you can do for your health is to be sitting down for a long period of time.

"So we are trying to get them up, get them moving around, get them breathing, give them some fresh air and have a bit of fun."

But is all this really worth £200 per day? (Cheaper options might include - but are not limited to - putting your phone in a drawer).

"You don't need to look at a smartphone first thing in the morning, you don't need to look at it last thing at night, or in the middle of the night. You can actually get a bit of a balance and days [retreats] like this do provide a service in reminding people of that."

With 'wearable tech' likely to take off in the coming years, the chances are that digital devices will pervade our lives even more than they do now.

Video: 1 In 8 Answer Phone Whilst Driving

But experimental psychologist Dr Andrew Przybylski from the University of Oxford does not think there is real cause for concern.

"I think the idea of a 'digital detox' is a really curious one and I think it reflects the fact that a lot of people have an idea that maybe technology is bad for them," he says.

"But if you think about what the things are that people do with digital technology, it's typically finding their way around, talking to their friends and family members. So it's really a question of: what are you detoxing from? Your most important social relationships?

"The advantages of technology are irrefutable. We have a massive cognitive surplus. We have things like Wikipedia and TripAdvisor - sources of information that enrich our lives.

"There are definitely concerns about the downsides of technology but really the evidence is quite shaky."

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Ex-Children's Doctor Guilty Of Sex Assaults

A former children's doctor has been found guilty of assaulting young girls in the same hospital as Jimmy Savile.

Michael Salmon preyed upon girls at Stoke Mandeville Hospital at a time when Savile also prowled the wards - though there is no suggestion of a link between the pair.

The 79-year-old was convicted of nine indecent assaults and two rapes carried out between 1973 and 1988.

His six victims, one of whom was raped at his home, were aged 11 to 18 at the time.

Jurors at Reading Crown Court had been told how Salmon, a father, carried out many of his attacks behind a screen in his consulting room at the Buckinghamshire hospital.

Often the victim's parents were waiting nearby, believing the consultant paediatrician was completing a medical examination.

The court heard how Salmon thought he was "bomb-proof" because no one would believe a child over him.

"On some of the occasions he handled the breasts of some of the young girls, with the pretence of listening to their heart, and he also on occasions carried out internal vaginal examinations, something for which there was no medical need whatsoever, without a nurse present and without wearing surgical gloves," the court was told.

Salmon raped one girl, 16, when she turned to him believing she was pregnant.

After confirming the pregnancy, the doctor took her to a bedroom at his home and raped her.

"One favour deserves another," he told her.

Salmon raped her again after luring her back by saying she might be pregnant with twins.

Jurors took just over 15 hours to reach their verdict.

The former paediatrician was cleared of carrying out an illegal abortion on his rape victim, as well as a separate rape and indecent assault.

No date for sentencing has yet been set.

Thames Valley Police said other women had come forward with allegations against Salmon since the beginning of the trial last month.

Stoke Mandeville, in Aylesbury, entered the spotlight following disclosures about Savile's abuse in 2011.

An NHS report into the now-deceased TV personality's crimes there was delayed last year to gather new evidence. It has yet to be published.

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Hapless Robber Left Travel Pass In Getaway Car

A "foolish" robber who was tracked down by police after leaving his travel pass in the getaway car has been jailed.

Jordan McDonald concocted an "unbelievable web of lies" after he and three others held up a wages delivery driver and stole £23,000.

When officers searched a Toyota Corolla abandoned shortly after the Birmingham crime, they found shopping vouchers bearing the 23-year-old's name.

They then found a large amount of cash at his girlfriend's home – and a picture on his mobile phone showed the sequential banknotes laid out on the stairs.

He tried to convince West Midlands Police that the £5,800 – his share from the robbery – was from the sale of a car, and McDonald even produced a receipt to corroborate of his story.

Following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, he has been sentenced to eight years behind bars, but his accomplices are still wanted by police.

"McDonald will now have several years behind bars to contemplate the error of his ways," said Detective Constable Michelle Hunt.

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Mass Web Surveillance By GCHQ Was Unlawful

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

British spies acted unlawfully in accessing millions of personal communications collected by the US National Security Agency (NSA), according to a ruling from Britain's most secretive court.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) has never before, in 15 years, ruled against the intelligence and security services.

But it said that up to December 2014 "the soliciting, receiving, storing and transmitting by UK authorities of private communications of individuals located in the UK, which have been obtained by US authorities" breached articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which refer to the right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression, respectively.

Documents disclosed by Edward Snowden revealed the existence of the NSA's PRISM and Upstream programmes.

PRISM allowed the NSA access to data handled by internet companies including Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, Google and Apple; in one day it was able to collect 444,743 email address books from Yahoo and 82,857 from Facebook.

The National Security Agency headquarters in Maryland

Upstream is an NSA interception programme that taps fibre optic cables carrying internet information.

In one month, Upstream collected 160 billion interception records.

GCHQ and the NSA share intelligence gathered by both programmes.

However, this type of information sharing between GCHQ and the NSA is now legal. This is because a legal case resulted in disclosure of the guidelines governing information sharing.

A GCHQ spokesperson said: "Today's IPT ruling re-affirms that the processes and safeguards within the intelligence-sharing regime were fully adequate at all times - it is simply about the amount of detail about those processes and safeguards that needed to be in the public domain."

However, the ruling could open the doors to millions of claims against the intelligence services.

Privacy International and Bytes for All, two claimants in the protracted legal case, are now petitioning the IPT to find out whether their communications were intercepted. If they were, they will seek their deletion.

The IPT told Sky News that anyone with a "reasonable belief" that their communications had been intercepted unlawfully could petition the Tribunal to find out what information GCHQ had gathered on them.

James Welch, the legal director of Liberty, one of the claimants said: "The Intelligence Services retain a largely unfettered power to rifle through millions of people's private communications – and the Tribunal believes the limits and safeguards revealed during last year's legal proceedings are an adequate protection of our privacy.

"We disagree, and will be taking our fight to the European Court of Human Rights."

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Police Hunt Pair Over Cadet Beheading Threat

Police are searching for two men after female army cadets reported they were threatened with beheading outside an Army Reserve centre.

Officers have released a photograph of the men in a silver Opel Zafira outside the centre in Gateshead.

The occupants of the car are thought to have asked the two teenagers "Are you in the Army?", before shouting threats as they drove past in Alexandra Road.

The alleged reference to beheading has chilling echoes of the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby who was attacked in Woolwich, London, in May 2013.

Northumbria Police have stepped up patrols in the area, following the threats at 9.15pm on Wednesday, 21 January.

They have also warned other Army Reserve centres - formerly the Territorial Army - to be on their guard.

Police have traced the car, which is left-hand drive and appears to have foreign plates.

Lee Rigby was murdered near an Army barracks in Woolwich

The driver is described as black or Asian, in his 40s, and of plump or muscular build with a black bushy beard and wearing dark clothes.

The passenger is also said to be black or Asian, in his 30s, and had short black hair and stubble.

Gateshead Superintendent Richie Jackson said: "The men made no attempt to make any physical contact with the girls or get out of the car, and shouted the comments while driving away from the scene.

"Enquiries are ongoing to establish the exact nature of what was said during the incident and we have spoken to the two teenage girls, viewed CCTV footage from the area and have identified the vehicle and inquiries are ongoing to trace the driver.

"As a precaution we have notified staff at other Army Reserve centres in the area and have had extra officers on patrol in Alexandra Road to reassure residents.

Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale were jailed for Lee Rigby's murder

"Although this is concerning, it is an isolated incident and if anyone has any information that could help us with the investigation I'd ask that they contact us on 101."

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We are aware of an incident allegedly involving members of the Army Cadet Force - this is a matter for the police and we cannot comment further.

"Any witnesses are urged to contact the police.

"We understand the girls were not in uniform at the time of the incident."

Fusilier Rigby was killed near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, while off duty.

Killers Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale set about him with knives and a cleaver, hacking him to death.

The pair were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in jail.

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Hunt For Man Who Stole Dying Pensioner's Purse

Police are hunting a man who stole an elderly woman's purse as she lay dying in the road.

Greater Manchester Police were called to Leigh Road, Leigh, following reports an 82-year-old had been hit by a lorry at 11:45am on 4 February.

When they arrived they found the woman dead at the scene, and witnesses reported seeing a man steal her purse before fleeing.

They are now appealing for information to help catch the thief. 

Detective Sergeant Neil Lawless said: "This is one of the most disgusting crimes I have ever investigated and I find it hard to believe someone could stoop so low to commit such a horrific offence.

"This man has taken what he sees as an easy opportunity by stealing a purse from a dying woman.

"I am sure the community will be equally disgusted and I appeal to anyone who may have seen this man take the purse and walk off on Leigh Road."

The woman has now been identified and her family have been informed.

The suspect is described as white, 6ft (1.8m) tall, between 30 and 40 years old, of medium build and with a dark brown beard.

He was wearing a light grey hooded top with the hood pulled over his head, light blue jeans and black boot style training shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Sgt Lawless said: "If you have any information, no matter how insignificant you think it may be, please call us as soon as possible."

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Keep Daffodils Away From Food, Stores Told

Supermarkets have been told to make sure daffodils are kept separate from fruit and vegetables to prevent customers eating the poisonous plants by mistake.

Public Health England (PHE) said people have been known to mistake daffodil bulbs for onions and the stems of a popular Chinese vegetable.

PHE has sent a letter to stores advising them on how to avoid this happening as the flower comes into season.

If eaten, daffodils can cause vomiting and diarrhoea and irritation to the mouth and throat, according to the British Columbia Drug and Poison Information Centre, which said symptoms can last anywhere from four to 24 hours.

Figures from PHE show that doctors and nurses have sought advice on poisonings linked to eating daffodils 27 times in the last year.

For each year that figures are held, the rate of poisonings goes up in spring and peaks in March.

Professor Paul Cosford, head of Health Protection at Public Health England, said: "We can't hope to stop every possible incident but I would hope that by ensuring that daffodils are not displayed alongside fruit and vegetables, we can reduce the number of people accidentally buying them as food."

In the letter, entitled "Steps to avoid daffodil poisonings this spring", Prof Cosford, said: "Each spring stores such as yours provide a wide selection of flowers, particularly cut daffodils and daffodil bulbs.

"Unfortunately there are rare occasions when the bulbs are mistaken for onions, and the stems or leaves are mistaken for a type of vegetable popular in China.

"As I'm sure you are aware, daffodils are dangerous if eaten and poisoning can occur as a result."

"We are asking you, along with all other major supermarkets, to ensure that daffodils, both the bulbs from which they sprout and the cut variety too, are displayed well away from the produce or fruit and vegetable area."

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Miliband Threatens To Blacklist Tax Havens

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Tax havens such as Bermuda, Jersey and Guernsey will have six months to open their books or face international blacklisting if Labour wins the General Election in May, Ed Miliband has vowed.

The Labour leader has accused David Cameron of failing to follow through on demands that all overseas territories and crown dependencies adopt transparency measures being introduced in the UK.

Agreement on action to expose the owners of "shell companies" used to evade tax was hailed by Mr Cameron as a key achievement of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland in 2013.

He said then: "The UK is today leading the way by committing to create a central registry of company ownership.

"Each and every one of our overseas territories and crown dependencies has agreed to sign up to the multi-lateral convention on information exchange to exchange information automatically with the UK and to produce action plans on beneficial ownership."

Video: Miliband's Tax Haven Threat

But so far, according to Mr Miliband, none of the countries around the world over which Britain retains sovereignty has accepted the Prime Minister's appeal to them to "move forward together in raising standards of transparency" and some have ruled out reform.

Among the 10 countries whose leaders were called to No 10, Bermuda has rejected calls to make public the companies registered there.

So too have the Cayman Islands. Gibraltar has taken no further action. Neither has Guernsey or the Isle of Man.

Video: Top Firm 'Promoted Tax Avoidance'

In a letter to the leaders of the overseas territories and crown dependencies, Mr Miliband put them "on notice" that, if elected in May, his government would refer any that failed to produce publicly accessible central registers of beneficial ownership - who profits from a company - to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

"I am writing to put you on notice that a Labour government will not allow this situation of delay and secrecy to continue," he wrote.

"Labour will act on tax avoidance where the Tories will not," he added, ending protection from international scrutiny and requesting OECD blacklisting.

Video: Is Miliband Anti-Business?

Mr Miliband, accused this week of being anti-business, told a conference of Labour councillors in Nottingham: "The current Conservative leadership have become the political wing of offshore hedge funds.

"Unlike them, we will not stand by. We will ensure a country where everyone plays by the rules, from top to bottom."

But a Conservative Party spokesman said: "People should judge Ed Miliband by his record, not his rhetoric.

Video: #AskTheLeaders Highlights: Labour

"For 13 years - including when he was an adviser in the Treasury - Labour did absolutely nothing to tackle tax avoidance. This shows that Ed Miliband is simply too weak to deliver on what he promises.

"In contrast, we are tackling the problem head-on. David Cameron put tax dodging at the top of the global agenda at the UK's G8 summit, securing major new international rules to ensure that companies pay what they owe."

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