Hit squads to swoop on 500 care homes to root out neglect and tackle abusive treatment

Andrew Lansley is to send hit squads into 500 care homes to root out examples of the neglect of the elderly.
The Health Secretary will today order inspectors to carry out unannounced spot checks on residential homes to flush out and tackle the scandal of poor and abusive treatment suffered by the frail and vulnerable.
The probes will concentrate on whether older people are treated with dignity, whether their privacy is respected, whether staff treat them with compassion – and whether they are regularly fed nutritious food.
If poor standards are found, the care quality watchdog will be able to demand improvements and, in extreme cases, the complete closure of homes.
In addition, inspectors will carry out unannounced spot checks of 50 hospitals and 150 centres for people with learning difficulties.
The move follows the publication earlier this month of the results of 100 unannounced hospital inspections, which revealed that care of the elderly at one in five trusts was so bad that the law had effectively been broken.
The reports found that only 45 of the trusts were fully compliant against required standards of dignity and nutrition.

Now Mr Lansley wants the Care Quality Commission watchdog to root out similar failings in our care homes. In May, undercover filming exposed systematic abuse of patients at the Winterbourne View home for people with learning difficulties.
Although the CQC does inspect care homes, it does few unannounced visits, which are more effective at discovering poor care than planned visits.
In a major speech today, Mr Lansley will claim Labour turned a blind eye to poor performance in some parts of the NHS for years – and in some cases exacerbated the problems through badly-negotiated ‘private finance initiative’ deals which left some hospitals struggling with huge amounts of debt.

The Health Secretary will also announce help for around 20 trusts struggling with massive PFI debt, including offering them one-off loads.
Mr Lansley will say: ‘Too often, we deny the experience of patients and their family members who have been at the sharp end of appalling treatment. That is why I asked the CQC to do more unannounced inspections in our hospitals and in care homes, and to take tough action if what they find is unacceptable.
‘I want to modernise the NHS because I believe it can and should offer excellent care to every patient, no matter where they live, how old they are or how sick they are; combining access for all with excellence for all.

‘I want the NHS to lead the world in everything it does, not just some of what it does. Unless we face up to its challenges; unless we take action when it lets patients down, it will never be able to do this.’
He added: ‘Where there is great care, we will celebrate it. But wherever there are pockets of poor performance, we will root it out.’
The CQC will be asked to carry out the 700 unannounced inspections, which will focus on core standards of dignity such as privacy, compassionate treatment and ensuring good standards of nutrition are met.
This includes 500 inspections in elderly care homes, 50 in hospitals and 150 in homes for adults with learning difficulties.

Death or Disco? Preserve Your Loved Ones as Their Favorite Vinyl Record

(ZURICH) — Tupac Shakur ended up as a joint. The long-circulated rumor was recently confirmed by two members of his former band Outlawz, EDI Mean and Young Noble. In 1996, the two musicians actually mixed the ashes of the assassinated hip-hop star with marijuana and smoked it just like Tupac had asked in his song Black Jesus: "Last Wishes, niggas, smoke my ashes."

Of course, Tupac's last wish is hardly common. Still, it isn't as unusual as one may think. The number of people choosing an alternative to the peaceful coffin or urn of ashes is increasing every year. If fate has already gambled away half of your battle, the reasoning goes, you should at least be able to organize your departure entirely on your own terms.

In Switzerland, natural burials are very popular, due in part to the "ash freedom" laws: anyone who chooses to be cremated may also decide where the ashes are cast. Scattered under a favorite tree? Along a favorite trail? In the river, on whose banks you stole your first kiss? Basically everything is permitted. (See the top 10 unsolved hip-hop murders.)

Such "gone with the wind" burials are undoubtedly very poetic and moving moments of farewell. And yet there's a catch: once the ashes are gone, all is gone. The memory of an individual is reduced to a thought, without a fixed place of remembrance or a tangible symbol in which the remains can be preserved.

Nature lovers can work around this problem elegantly by asking that their ashes be turned into fertilizer for a newly planted young tree. As the tree grows, it absorbs the ground cover in its roots, its branches and foliage soon flourishing into a natural grave.

Diamonds and drinks
The pan-European company Algordanza (meaning "memory" in Romansh), founded in 2004, offers a relic particularly well-suited for widows: it converts the ashes of dead loved ones into faux diamonds. The synthetic stones are manufactured in a laboratory in Neuchatel; depending on how much boron has been deposited in the body, the diamonds have a weaker or stronger blue shimmer. The process from order to delivery usually takes two to four months, and the price depends on the carat weight of the gemstone — between 4,800 and 10,000 Swiss francs ($5,300 to $11,085). (See why happens to your social networks when you die.)

An eternal end as a tree or a piece of jewelry? Dandy's and rock 'n' rollers laugh at the idea. Their perpetuation should of course be staged according to the way they lived their lives: unconventional, loud, hedonistic. Actor James Doohan (Scotty in the TV series "Star Trek") and LSD guru Timothy Leary had particularly cool send-offs. They both had their ashes attached to a rocket and sent into space. The price tag? Around $10,000.

Another original — but far more sustainable — offer comes from the British company And Vinyly, who rewrote the well known RIP (Rest in Peace) to RIV — Rest in Vinyl. Specifically: the ashes of the deceased are processed into a working vinyl record. The simplest version costs $3,100, but that will get you 30 vinyl copies (enough for friends and relatives) onto which music or a recorded message can be pressed. One particularly spooky option: opt against a song or message and leave only the eerie crackling of ash to be heard on the blank disc. (See TIME's video, "YouTomb: Where the Rich and Famous Spend Eternity.")

Of course, it can all get much more extravagant. For $786, you can get a custom tune composed; and for a bit more cash, you can circulate your records in shops around the world. Or choose the ultimate option, which will run you $5,500: James Hague, a painter at the National Portrait Gallery, will use residual ash and acrylics to paint your face in gorgeous pastel colors onto the album covers.

Unlike Algordanza, whose diamond offer is strictly limited to human ashes, And Vinyly will also process your pet's ashes onto a record.

Those for who want to take Tupac's joint solution to the next level, should head on over to Thailand. There, a new drug concoction called "Tai Hong," in which cooked leaves of the Kratom tree are mixed with freshly cremated ashes, is quickly gaining popularity. Supposedly, not only does the drink have an exquisite flavor, but it also elicits a heightened state of consciousness — usually not for too long, but just enough time to share an unforgettable farewell.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2097330,00.html#ixzz1bIhRvc4C

Sunny spell blown away as gales and rain batter Britain

Millions of us have enjoyed basking in sunshine and warmth as the unseasonably balmy autumn just kept going...and going.
But it seems winter has finally taken a grip, as gales and rain battered parts of Britain yesterday.
The clouds and wind brought an abrupt change to the sunny weekend when  temperatures had soared to 19C.
The arrival of winter proper was confirmed when the Met Office issued a severe weather warning tonight for north-west England and northern Wales.
Flash flooding was a threat with predictions of up to 60mm of rain overnight while gusts of up to 70mph howled in.
Forecasters said gales of up to 50mph would persist until at least Thursday although the worst of the wind and rain would be over by Tuesday.
Just two weeks ago, the country was baking in a mini-heatwave as the mercury rocketed to 30C for some. But on Tuesday,  temperatures are set to be a maximum of 14C in the South and only 11C in the North of England.
Wednesday and Thursday will be even cooler with more blustery showers and temperatures peaking at 13C, just above average for October.
The first ground frosts of autumn will hit the South and North on Tuesday night, with temperatures plummeting to –2C overnight.
Helen Chivers, of the Met Office, said: ‘We will see heavy and persistent rain across parts of north-west England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
‘It will also be very windy in northern England and north Wales. The next few days will see more blustery conditions, with sunshine and showers.’
October started with some of the warmest temperatures for decades but transport chiefs are planning ahead as some forecasters warn of a ‘Siberian’ winter.
The Department of Transport said it has a 2million ton stockpile of salt and grit – its biggest ever. The Highways Agency has 500 salt-spreading trucks ready and Network Rail has spent ￡40million on heating and de-icing units.
Snow has already fallen in the Scottish mountains, starting on Sunday night and with up to 6in expected by this morning.
Shrouded in early morning mist, the South Downs in East Sussex took on an almost mystical quality today.
And the sun's rays soon pierced the fog to create more wonderful scenes.
In a warning to motorists who will probably have to scrape ice from their cars this week Andy Ratcliffe, a forecaster at MeteoGroup, said: 'It's going to be pretty cold everywhere across the UK on Wednesday night, with widespread ground frost expected in the whole of the UK and perhaps air frost in places too.'
Met Office forecaster Tom Morgan said yesterday: ‘This is the first cold snap of autumn and Monday is the changeover day.
‘Monday afternoon sees the risk of very heavy outbreaks of rain in northern England and Scotland, potentially gale-force winds and thunderstorms, and snow expected over 500m in northern Scotland.
‘All parts will be much colder from Tuesday, with wintry showers of hail, sleet and possible snow on the Pennines and North Yorkshire Moors, and hail and sleet in the Peak District.
‘Wednesday afternoon will see sharp showers in those areas, and we could see snow to lower levels in northern and north-eastern Scotland.’
Mr Morgan said that once the gale force winds subside, temperatures will fall further.
Forecasts of Arctic weather has raised fears of a major spike in oil prices for home heating.
Experts said elderly people living on their own could freeze to death if they cannot get their oil tanks filled because of raising costs or because delivery lorries cannot get through on snow-covered roads.
Last winter the two million homes and businesses which rely on heating oil for cooking and central heating saw prices double in a few weeks, from 40p per litre to 80p per litre.
Many households shivered as suppliers battled to get them enough oil to cope in the severe weather which saw tanks freeze when temperatures plunged to nearly -20 in some places.
Oil lorries could not leave UK refineries on schedule because of treacherous road conditions as blizzards struck.
Now the industry is appealing to people to stock up early and take advantage of lower prices now before they soar with the onset of winter.
Chris Bale, director of whichoilsupplier.co.uk, said: ‘With limited oil available and huge demand, the national price went through the roof and a large number of consumers, especially those in the countryside, were left with no fuel for weeks on end last winter.
‘We are encouraging people to plan ahead and ensure they have sufficient kerosene to see them through the winter.’

BEE GEE ROBIN GIBB RUSHED TO HOSPITAL

THE Bee Gees star Robin Gibb was taken to hospital in an emergency yesterday suffering from “severe” abdominal pains.
The singer and songwriter, who spearheaded the campaign backed by the Daily Express for a permanent memorial to Bomber Command, was taken ill at his home in Thame, Oxfordshire.
His wife Dwina was at his side as he was rushed by ambulance to a specialist stomach unit.
Mr Gibb, 61, who is teetotal and vegetarian, is known to have suffered with “terrible” stomach pains for years, but doctors have been unable to establish the exact cause.
The showbusiness legend lost his twin brother Maurice eight years ago due to complications relating to a twisted intestine.
In Robin Gibb’s case, the problem is thought to stem from his liver.
“An ambulance rushed over to pick him up,” an onlooker said. “His wife was with him and she obviously looked very worried. He looked in severe pain.”
Last night, a friend of the star said: “He would never go to hospital unless he really had to. He is a very brave man. We don’t know if it is a recurrence of the previous problem or if it is something else entirely.” Mr Gibb had to cancel tours in America and Brazil earlier this year after suffering with similar crippling pains.
And last year he had emergency abdominal surgery to remove part of his intestine after excruciating pain at a concert in Belgium.
“It was a shock,” he admitted later, “I was told my intestine could burst at any time and I could be dead within half an hour.”
Today, he was due to perform a charity single with soldiers in Colchester to raise money for this year’s Poppy Appeal.
The performance was to be recorded for the BBC’s Songs Of Praise next month. The concert now hangs in the balance.
Mr Gibb is a central figure in the successful campaign for a permanent memorial to honour Bomber Command for their actions during the Second World War.
The singer is scheduled to perform at London’s Natural History Museum on November 8 with fellow music star Jim Dooley to raise more funds for the memorial in central London.
A charity auction will include a Lancaster flight in Canada, and days out with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and Red Arrows.

RFU gives Martin Johnson deadline to say if he wants to keep England job

Martin Johnson has been given a deadline of Monday week to indicate whether he wishes to continue as England manager in the wake of his side's failed World Cup campaign. The mood at Twickenham is also hardening against the players, whose off-field conduct during the tournament is to be investigated. Some have been warned they could face suspension from England's Six Nations campaign as a result of their behaviour in New Zealand. Johnson's role as manager is now under fresh scrutiny in the form of an independent review led by the former England prop Fran Cotton, commissioned by the Rugby Football Union's acting chief executive, Martyn Thomas.

This latest development also increases the pressure on Rob Andrew, who indicated at the weekend that he would be effectively deciding Johnson's fate. It now appears the positions of both himself and Johnson are under increasing threat.

Thomas said the off-field headlines surrounding the squad had been "wholly unacceptable" and said the RFU's legal officer, Karina Vleck, would be "investigating all the allegations of misconduct off the field". Among the possible sanctions would be fines or suspensions for breaching the code of conduct agreement all the players had signed up to.

Johnson's future is likely to be the first issue decided. "It's not his decision whether he remains in the post, I want to make that clear," said Thomas. "I've given him seven to 14 days [from the day England flew home] to advise me of his position. What I need to know is if he wishes to be considered for appointment on 1 January. That's not to say he will or will not be appointed.

"If Martin walks and we have to appoint a temporary coach for the Six Nations, that's fine. We've wasted a lot of time since 2003. I really want to make sure we get this right this time. We've got to take stock and do this right. I spoke to Martin immediately after the game He was pretty upset and it wasn't the moment to discuss the future with him."

Cotton, a one-time RFU vice-chairman as well as Lions prop, has already been vocal in his criticism of Johnson. He will lead a two- or three-strong panel likely to include a member with no current rugby connections. Johnson's contract expires on 31 December and, though he led England to a Six Nations victory in the spring, the World Cup campaign in New Zealand was a disaster on and off the pitch, the quarter-final defeat by France last Saturday following a series of embarrassing disciplinary incidents. "We've had internal reviews in the past and I don't think they are the solution," said Thomas.

Cotton told Sky Sports News: "Martin has now been in charge three and a half years and it is very difficult to understand what style of play this England rugby team is all about. The basic skills of rugby at that level just aren't good enough and I haven't seen an improvement. The players have got to take a huge responsibility. When they go on the pitch they are in charge of their own game and it was very obvious in this World Cup that there seems to be a lack of leadership."

Cotton's team will be charged with reviewing the performance of the RFU's professional rugby department and assessing Andrew's report into the World Cup campaign. The independent panel will undertake its review in November and make recommendations to the RFU's management board and the council on 2 December.

Andrew announced after the France defeat that he had accepted the new position of professional rugby director. That role was created to oversee the whole England set-up and the RFU's relationship with Premiership Rugby and the Championship but the appointment is yet to be formally approved. Cotton's panel will have the power to recommend who should lead the professional rugby department.

The fact that Andrew is not a guaranteed choice will also open the door to the possibility of Sir Clive Woodward returning to Twickenham. Martyn Thomas's backing of Woodward led to the departure of John Steele as chief executive early last summer and the fall-out has led to fresh calls from clubs for Thomas to follow him.

The latest initiatives mean there are now five different reviews being undertaken into different aspects of the RFU's management. It may be difficult to bring fresh disciplinary charges against players whose cases have already been dealt with. Manu Tuilagi has already been fined for his ferry jump and three players were officially reprimanded following an alleged incident in a Dunedin hotel. The ball-swapping saga also resulted in two members of England's back-room staff being suspended for one match.