Yesterday at the SNP Spring Conference in Glasgow, Nicola Sturgeon announced the introduction of 600 extra hospital cleaners for our hospitals. These cleaners will be employed directly by the NHS and the £5.4m will be distributed to heath boards immediately, allowing them to recruit the new workers as soon as possible.
This is marvellous news and something I've waited to hear for a couple of years. Our hospitals are not clean, in fact I can honestly say my local hospital was filthy a couple of years ago. Hospitals may look clean at first glance but should you be unfortunate enough to be admitted to one you will quickly realise they aren't clean enough.
How dare I say that? It's two years ago since I contracted clostridium difficile after a 24 hour hospital stay. I've survived but I can understand why older and less fit people die from the effect of this superbug. During the following weeks I spent more time in hospital where the cleaners, when they appeared, spent far more time pushing a dry mop around and machine polishing floors than they did doing real cleaning such as the toilet/shower facilities. Visitors were allowed in at all times of the day and I only saw two use the hand gel supplied.
The formal complaint procedure to my local health trust was a useless exercise as all it generated was pages of jargon minus an apology. So I became a one woman protest and at any opportunity I've moaned about dirty hospitals, lack of cleaners, lack of hand washing and the necessity to restrict visitors.
Now you know why I dare say that and why I welcome this news but let's not forget she also increased the investment for council house building by £25m. A welcome boost for the construction industry.
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24 comments:
600 directly employed..not agency slave
and
She said: "If the Prime Minister can find billions to bail out the bankers, surely it's about time he found the money to protect jobs and build houses too.
all good leftward stuff..well done Nicola
Niko you've complimented an SNP secretary. Feeling ok? Don't think anyone could be negative about her announcements anyway do you.
It would be hard to find a criticism in that announcement. It's excellent news whatever your politics don't you think?
Your ordeal after only 24 hours in hospital is quite terrible Subrosa, and the fact that the vast management structure of the health trusts allows them to employ experts on jargon to send out explanations for why you came out of hospital far more ill than you went in, and with even fewer apologies than Gordon Brown is something we should be ashamed of.
Blair and Brown vastly increased spending on the NHS, to their credit. Unfortunately, the money was spent on all the wrong things...like vast increases in consultants' salaries! They would have done well to spend it on cleaners who clean!
Perhaps these directly employed cleaners, told what to clean by ward staff will go some way to cleaning up our hospitals.
I wonder if we might have an ENP?
I don't really see why not Oldrightie. I thought the Campaign for an English Parliament would take off but that hasn't happened. An ENP party needs to look forward and I think the CEP attracted some who would prefer to look backwards.
Auch Tris I've spent a lot for time in hospital since the 24 hours and all due to problems c.diff causes, but I count myself among the lucky ones to survive. I think if I'd not been so fit or had been older if may not have been the case.
I know labour will say 600 aren't enough, but it's a definite start which I welcome. At least hospitals will have cleaners who are part of the core staff.
not so much into this cult of nicola as you are. She is an undoubted asset. but no messia - up close she's an old school, caucus politician. Ask folks in your party in glasgow that have crossed her.
On the specifics - 600 cleaners - what took her so long? Why not this time last year?- a few lives wouyld have been saved. And it aint really 600 - most are part time, Full time equivilant no more than 300. Again the sort of bad old fashioned hype, spin, we should be moving away from. But fair enough - 300 new cleaners - four a comstituency, better than none. And all direclt employed - VG
Council housing - again all spin -, the double or even treble counting that has been the halmark of housing policy under Nicola. This aint new money, just an allocation under the already announced housing budget. And the 25 million for the councils means £25 million less for housing associations, who have been hammered under Nicolas watch. Look out for stats the will be published in ealy May that will show new build social housing way down under the nats compared to labour. Not because they have allocated less money, but because theyt have spent it inneptly - let third rate civil servants take them, and more importantly the homeless and those in need for a ride. New Housing Minister Alex Neil could not have arrved soon enough - he will sort them out, got therm running scared already. But nicola and her chosen appointed and now departed sidekick Stewart Maxwell messed up big time - as stats they are sitting on will soon show.
Micaol no messia - but good,potentially veryt good. But not without faults. Let's leave the sycophancy for nulab - look where it's landed them
AWC, I'm not in any cult, Nicola Sturgeon's on anyone elses. But I do respect her abilities and her astuteness. By the way the SNP isn't MY party, I'm not a member of any party so let's get that straight.
I respect politicians from most parties and if you'd read my posts you would know that.
What took her so long? I don't know. What took the labour party so long to do something which of course they never did. C.diff has been recorded, in the over 65s, for years and yet the labour/libdem lot ignored it. When my mother died in Ninewells Dundee 5 years ago the place was filthy and I mean filthy. That was the kidney dialysis ward and the staff were rushed off their feet every hour or every day, so don't ask me why the SNP took so long. The last bunch should be ashamed of how they let our hospitals get into the condition they were.
Let's wait and see how the housing money pans out. If she's lying then the public will know. Housing associations are a bit like PFI but in some ways they had to be brought into existence. But they've not achieved anything like the expectations labour shouted about. Don't start me on about housing associations.
Do tell me anyone in labour or the libdems who has the talent of Nicola Sturgeon. I'll not hold my breath.
AWC I do wish you'd stop referring to me as a sycophant. It's a lie and one you've pedaled round blogs recently. In fact it's offensive. If you knew anything about me you would realise I don't deserve your label in the least. I've never a!se-licked in my life and people of influence or authority have to gain my respect.
Obviously you tend to insult me but I'm not intimidated by your attitude or language.
Sycophancy...who me
subrosa is he really a Nat? i have my doubts
Delighted with what we've heard thus far from the SNP. Nicola's a babe, not my kind of girl but you've got to admire her grrrrrrrrrrr!
I'm not worthy and she ripped the shit out of Spud Murpheid in the Glenrothes Bye-election on the EBC but now we can be certain that the Layabout Party conducted postal fraud.
Brian's Blog - what a windbag I've now had time to digest and basically our fat Brian biased as any BBC employee is clearly envious of Eck's success and furthermore the SNP's firm focus and desire to improve Scotland's lot, despite the interference from
Westmidden.
Oh I'm brave tonight lol!
Of course he's not for independence Niko any more than you are. At least you're open about it.
In fairness, I guess 600 is not enough, specially if, as Aye We Can suggested, they are part time... but even 600 part time is 600 part time more than Labour/Liberals managed.
I'm sure NS isn't perfect, but she's a sight better than anything Labour has to offer... and the Libs???? Ha Ha Ha... that's funny! The Tories have AG, for whom I have a lot of respect, even if I disagree with most of what she says.
Nicola's a wee stoater so she is. Well done hen - keep it up.
Welcome to the light Niko.
Subrossa - he's a right wind bag - is he no?
Subrosa - when you post a big pic of nicola with a heading like that what do you expect to be called?
But I did not call you personally a sycophant - yet you have just called me a liar - ie i dont really support independence, am just kidding. Ive had this before, indeed it is the near standard retort from some card cariers when you criticise their beloved leaders, especially effectively. Dont join in this so easy but essential vacuous assertion.
What did I say? That it was no more than 300 cleaners ( fulltime equivilant) not 600 - provable fact. Go ask Scottish Government Officials if you dont believe me
That the extra £25m for council housing was not new money but redirected money - again a fact, go ask the Scottish Government, not an SNP news release. And that social housing outcomes for the finacial year 2008-09 just ended ( Housing associations and councils combined) will be down when the figures come out. We'll see - i'm near certain im right - look at the already published figures for the firt three quarters of the year,way down .
So this makes me anti independence -actually looking at the facts, the outcomes, what is deliverd for the people of scotland , real people, voters, beyond the party conference spin?
And I personally know at least a dozen SNP members in Glasgow who have been done in by Nicola for doing no more that asking questions like this. Maybe they too are 5th columnists like me, not true belivers.
But I did say she is relatively good, if you care to take another look at my initial post. Being better than Nulabour - is that the extent of our ambition?
AWC I've posted many 'big pics' of various people on this blog. On your last post you said 'leave the sycophany to nulabour', that's saying I was sycophantic in my post or you wouldn't have had the need to mention it. Aye I did call you a liar. This is not the first time you've called my a sycophant AWC but this is my blog so I can say what I like to you. On other people's blogs show restraint as it would be rude.
I'm not getting into a conversation about Nicola Sturgeon's character as I don't know the woman. Her abilities are what matter to me.
Still no mention of anyone in Nulabour who equals her...
CD sadly I think Brian Taylor has become brainwashed by labour. Such a shame really, especially as he's a Dundonian :)
He's no hauf scunnert.
Scunert - is that a "right wing windbag" like your good friend Oswald Mosely?
Subrosa - you are not a sycophant, - if i thought you were I would not even be posting on your blog Im sorry if I upset you, read me the wrong way, but it was a politcal point i was making, not an attack on you, or indeed nicola - look again at my initial post. I ended it by sayin she was good, potentially very good. Labour at leadership level anyway has no one comes close. but i stand by my view she is a conventional politician, and not adverse to spin or as few black arts. Maybe she needs to be.
Ok AWC truce. Any good politician is good at a few black arts as you call them and yes Nicola Sturgeon is a conventional politician as defined by today's standards. Studied politics then straight into a political career.
Sadly more and more we shall see our politicians coming from this background. I wish it wasn't so as I think a mix of society is far healthier but I doubt if it will change now.
Tris, I think full time hospital cleaners went out in the 70s and they've all been part-time since then.
Annabel's good but what about my wee pal Derek Brownlee. I'm sure he's going places. Someone said he's called the 'wee John Swinney' I think it was. He certainly does his homework like John.
I wasn't much aware of Mr Brownlee Subrosa, but I'll watch him now you've highlighted him... We need genuine talent in all the parties, and most of all we need vision in politics... not just bonny fechters.
Fair enough about the part time jobs. They are, of course, a godsend to many people who have to work around other things in their lives, or who, perhaps, are not well enough to work full time, so I think it's still legitimate to describe them as "jobs" and count them as 600... just as it was when Asda and KFC announced that they were bucking the trend and employing people. I'm pretty sure all of these jobs are part time too.
My SRN Mum always said that the first rule of good healthcare was to always clean the drains.
Shame that management forgot that for a few decades.
Aye but I bet your Mum was trained the 'old fashioned' way, not like today's nurses who it's thought require a degree before any basic common sense or caring skills.
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