Tag Archives: health

Caron Lindsay

Banning smoking in cars when children are present: what do you think?

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 29th April 2013 - 11:25 am

Jim HumeNorth of the Border, the war on smoking continues. Today, larger shops are no longer allowed to display cigarettes. Now, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP and health spokesperson Jim Hume is introducing a Member’s Bill in the Scottish Parliament which will ban smoking in cars where children are present. His proposal will be put out to public consultation from 28th May. Talking about his plan over the weekend, he said:

The tobacco display ban is another welcome step in changing Scotland’s relationship with smoking which began with the ban in smoking in

…

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Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 28 Comments
Jamie Hewitt

The Independent View: The case for ending unfair, out of date prescription charges for people with long term conditions

By Jamie Hewitt | Mon 11th March 2013 - 10:15 am

We are now just over two years away from the next general election and political parties are starting to develop their manifestos.

In this age of austerity, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s team has already identified “alarm clock Britain” as a key demographic in need of help – these are the basic rate taxpayers who get up early, take their children to school and then go to work only to find their living standards squeezed by current economic circumstances. If Liberal Democrats are indeed committed to helping this section of the population, they need look no further than delivering reform on …

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Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Also tagged and | 7 Comments
Norman Lamb MP

Norman Lamb MP writes…Preventing another Winterbourne View

By Norman Lamb MP | Wed 12th December 2012 - 11:51 am

The first time I wrote on these pages as a health minister was when eleven former members of staff at Winterbourne View private hospital were sentenced. The judicial process ran its course and the Government process, too, has now reached a conclusion. On Monday I published our response to the shocking abuse that took place at Winterbourne View and the systemic weaknesses that allowed it to happen. Most importantly, I have set out what we are doing in Government to prevent it happening again.

Holding directors to account

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Stephen Tall

That NHS spending row in full

By Stephen Tall | Wed 5th December 2012 - 12:15 pm

The story: Conservative Health secretary Jeremy Hunt ‘rebuked’ for claiming the Coalition has increased NHS spending in England.

The promise: that the NHS budget in England would be increased in real terms during the Coalition. That promise was kept (just) — the 2010 Spending Review committed the Coalition to a 0.1% real-terms annual increase.

The reality: the NHS did not spend all its budget in 2011/12. As a result, the out-turn in NHS spending has, probably, marginally fallen since 2009/10. Though the UK Statistics Authority concludes: “Given …

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Norman Lamb MP

Norman Lamb writes: The Liverpool Care Pathway and end of life care

By Norman Lamb MP | Tue 6th November 2012 - 1:06 pm

I imagine many people had not heard of the Liverpool Care Pathway before it hit the headlines a couple of weeks ago with allegations of patients denied drugs, liquid and sustenance and families experiencing real distress. Set up in the late 1990s, its intention was to help spread elements of the hospice model of care into other settings: hospitals, care homes and people’s own homes. We all want to know that our loved ones – no matter where they are – will receive dignified and appropriate care in the last hours and days of their life.

Used properly, the Pathway ensures that individuals receive whatever treatments are right for them in their final days. The Liverpool Care Pathway itself is very clear that patients should be involved in decisions about their care if possible, and that carers and families should always be included in the decision-making process.

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Kathryn Parminter

Baroness Parminter writes… Food labelling: a cautious welcome but much more to do

By Kathryn Parminter | Fri 26th October 2012 - 11:50 am

For many years, the Liberal Democrats have been calling for more consistent food labelling, most recently with our Autumn conference motion, ‘Good Food Shouldn’t Cost the Earth’.

That’s why I welcome the announcement that a new consistent system of ‘front of pack’ labelling will be up and running by summer 2013. It is a cautious welcome because the new system will be voluntary and the biggest challenge – getting all the food industry fully on board – still lies ahead. But, it is encouraging to

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 8 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Paul Burstow – Why is the Coalition failing to tackle our broken care system?

By NewsHound | Sat 22nd September 2012 - 11:45 am

Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow, until the reshuffle the Lib Dem health minister, has written an article in today’s Telegraph with a plea for the Coalition to ‘be bold and take the decisions needed to fix our broken social care system’. Here are a couple of excerpts, first looking at why Paul fears the reforms he pushed in government might not go anywhere:

The Coalition understood the “urgent need for reform”, and has been wrestling with these issues since May 2010. In July the White Paper I drafted was published. It tackles much that is wrong with care. Widely welcomed, it

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Stephen Tall

LDVideo: Nick Clegg – “If I thought this Bill was about privatising the NHS, it would never have seen the light of day”

By Stephen Tall | Sat 10th March 2012 - 6:55 pm

Nick Clegg took part in an afternoon Q&A at today’s Lib Dem conference, and vigorously defended the changes to the NHS being implemented by the Coalition as amended by the party. Conference representatives earlier voted, by a slim margin of 309 votes to 280, to debate tomorrow morning Shirley Williams’ motion, ‘Saving the NHS’, rather than the ‘Drop the Bill’ motion put forward by Winchester Lib Dems.


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Stephen Tall

Do Lib Dem members’ views differ from conference representatives’ views? Here’s what our survey says…

By Stephen Tall | Sat 10th March 2012 - 12:15 pm

We published yesterday the results of our survey of Lib Dem members’ views of the Coalition’s NHS reforms. Given the importance of this weekend’s debate at the party’s spring conference, we have also tried to test how Lib Dem members who are conference representative might vote on Sunday, when there is likely to be an emergency debate on the future of the Health & Social Care Bill.

All party members registered on the LibDemVoice forum were able to vote: 507 did so, including 147 who said they would be attending the conference as a voting representative. To compare their views …

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Stephen Tall

What Lib Dem members think about the NHS Bill: 57% opposed, but majority might back it if significantly amended

By Stephen Tall | Thu 8th March 2012 - 11:15 pm

We’ve been surveying the views of current Lib Dem members this week on your views on the NHS Bill. Over 500 responded, and here’s what you told us…

  • A majority of Lib Dem members – and a majority of Lib Dem members who will be voting delegates at the party’s spring conference at NewcastleGateshead this weekend – oppose the Coalition Government’s NHS reforms as they currently stand. By 57% to 32%, Lib Dem members reject the Health & Social Care Bill.
  • However, that does not automatically mean the Lib Dem conference will vote to ‘Kill the Bill’ if

    • …

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    Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged , , , , , , and | 18 Comments



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      I'm curious. If I think about something like my food bill, it is pretty obvious that I am exposed to fuel and power prices through...
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      In Essex too we found the UKIP vote very hard to locate. My experience with a residents' survey before a district campaign was that this...
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      The coalition was a necessary response to the election result in the light of the financial crisis. The agreement wasn't at all bad but its...
    • User Avatarjedibeeftrix 20th May - 5:08pm
      a does of realism to head off the usual whimsical libdemmery on europe: http://lindleyfrench.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/hollandes-europe.html
    • User AvatarTerry G 20th May - 4:21pm
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