NHS GP Federation CEO. Not a GP/clinician. Ex artillery forward observer, with dodgy knees and hearing. Favourite comment about me: "His comms style is like a brick through a window."
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The annual mortality review commissioned by NHS England, external was originally meant to be published last year but faced repeated delays. It found 39% of deaths of people with learning disabilities and autism were classed as avoidable in 2023, almost twice as high as the general population.
Results so stunningly clear they inspired this classic xkcd (xkcd.com/2400/):
She was on LBC this morning saying that she was going to start putting refugees in industrial areas instead. Didn't quite say "as far from humanity as possible" but that was the implication. It's just stupid.
I don’t get who they’re trying to please here. They’re chasing after a voting demographic who will not vote Labour and have never voted for them. All while chasing away lifetime Labour voters and party members like me. Could easily be another party rout like the Lib Dems after 2010.
UK 2025 where we seem to want our own anti-foreigner moments for no reason other than populism. I would not recommend the UK to any of my foreign friends as a place to work or live.
A UK Parish Council. Concentrating on the scourge of over-full dog litter bins and NIMBYism over minor housing improvements.
Thumping down with rain and bright sunlight. How very … Scottish. Pity it’s Suffolk.
I wonder if Starmer will be able to keep a straight face if he summons up the backbone to condemn this?
Pretty sure this is a clickbait story, but…
My lunch today was some gazpacho I knocked up yesterday and left overnight to develop. I usually keep this for hot summer days, but I forgot this summer...
Elon Musk is a radicalised extremist openly championing the most racist faction who would deport the Foreign Secretary, the Leader of the Opposition, the Justice Secretary and the last Prime Minister The govt silence about such a level of extremism is craven: infinite tolerance of racial hatred
The people 50-64 and 65+ are the generation who should most know why the ECHR is so critical and why it's the last bastion against a government gone rogue. They may not have been in the big wars, but they certainly knew many who were and saw the horrors that created it.
Conversations recently with very senior NHS leaders make it clear that how we treat and value staff are a very long way from what Ministers are focussed on. Fits with the minimal attention paid to staff in the 2024 Darzi report www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/wh...
You cannot appease the anti-immigrant people. There is nothing short of making refugees walk around with distinguishing marks on their clothing and state “disappearances” that will even make them nod in approval. All it does is make folk who voted Labour last year look elsewhere for where to vote.
I’m surely not the only one raising an eyebrow at how many previously healthy weight celebrities are suddenly losing lots of weight and have that look about them.
This is the content I come onto social media for on a Sunday.
A lot of these companies fee emboldened by the current US grift attitude and see a way to make even more profit. One didn’t even wait a couple of months before adding a 170% grift to their weight loss drug on widespread NHS adoption and the news coverage that came from it.
I know YouGov is trying to catch out points farmers on their survey but this optional answer to a question asking what you did last week may be a bit too specific...
Some of you will think I’m kidding but this is literally the most Army thing ever.
All they need is some paint cans to tidy up scruffy railings or walls and I’ll be wholly convinced they’re being controlled by a bitter old end-career Sergeant Major who hates seeing soldiers doing nothing.
Australia vs USA now. USA do have a chance here but will be overpowered in the scrum unless they pay attention. Neither side doing that well with the greasy rain and pitch in the first quarter.
Frankly, it’s rank cowardice to keep appeasing this lot. Where’s the Labour Party of last year who got all the credit for their stance on this?
Not sure that’s one that can be beaten. I did try to think of another one but that just does it.
Utter bollocks as usual. The only mention of the ECHR was in confirming that it wasn't considered at all by the judges. Deliberate lying to incite hatred and division by the the frog-faced gobshite.
Vance is an ideal patsy with his negotiable virtues. Far more consistently pliable as well for those who want to turn it into their own little playground.
A well earned win for Scotland but their defence won it for them just as much as their tries scored. Brutal tackling keeping Fiji out. Will be a lot of exhausted and bruised players tonight. The match officials had a poor game and Fiji got the worst of it in many ways.
Ah no, that’s another one I think the match officials got wrong against Fiji. That was most likely a knock from a foot. Nothing clear about it at all. Same with the upgrade on the yellow card. Just not right on any objectively fair view of it. And I come with a biased view as a Scotland supporter.
That’s a very harsh call against Fiji there with that tackle called high and a yellow card.
I love watching a prop run in a try from the wing. Well done Fiji 😃
Well… that was a good start for Scotland!
It’s very kind of Manchester to bring out the rain to help Scotland feel at home.
It just gets worse. Labour has lost its mind. And its moral compass.
Just watched Canada V Wales at the rugby, a well won demonstration by Canada that they’re a threat to anyone in their way. Not many gaps in their lineup. Scotland v Fiji next up!
On one side, you have some prominent politicians calling for vile and hateful policies against immigrants that would be beyond the NF and BNP’s most wishful fantasies. On the other side, you have Rayner with repeated “she did nothing illegal, but she won’t show us her private files!” commentary.
If you just look at the language here. "Undeterred". This is a judgement of a Court of Appeal. Not a war against a common enemy. It's the small things that are eroding the rule of law in this country. And the Times has become a driving force in it.
I don't give a fuck about Farage's immigration plan. I don't give a fuck about Farage's plan about anything. I don't give a fuck about Farage. Stop shoving that toad faced, codpiece into the news cycle. He's a racist loudmouth whose whole existence is an unending grift. Stop platforming him.
I'm also a veteran and agree entirely with this view.
I’m a veteran. I don’t support Farage and I’m not a rabidly right wing lunatic. Just saying.
The average NHS organisation is a horrible employer, providing almost zero real protection for people who have disabilities. I have two disabilities, largely hidden, and I would not declare them if applying for a NHS job for this very reason. The real risk of prejudice is just too high.
Forgot to mention, I have phrase blocked MAGA, Trump, Farage, etc. That helps!
I don't even follow my wife on there, and I won't click on any links she sends me unless I'm sure they're algorithm safe. Facebook, on the other hand, I hate with a passion as that's a train wreck of family, friends, and acquaintances who've gone down the populist rabbit hole. Effectively unusable.
It's my little window into the internet that's sane and I can just scroll for fun without any doomscrolling. I don't follow family or friends, I see them elsewhere out there. Last week, I spent >1hr scrolling through and getting nothing but classic rock music without a single leakage of dross.
My instagram feed is relentless 80s/90s music, rugby, ballet, and cartoons. The last two because I follow the two big London ballet companies, and because I follow some cartoons. Zero politics, zero nastiness, and the few that get algorithm pushed get "not interested" flagged and never seen again.
Alternative view: Many people who voted Labour last year want Labour, not Reform-lite, and are beyond unhappy with the appeasement of the anti-foreigner thugs. There's a reason that Labour won a year ago, not the Tories or Reform. THAT's why Labour are so damnably unpopular.
Almost four years out from an election & paying *the actual fucking Taliban* to torture & murder people who risked their lives to escape them is getting the full ‘both sides’ treatment in Brexit Britain.
Well it’s bizarre that in 2025 the political dividing line is pro rounding people up and putting them in camps and anti rounding people up and putting them in camps. Even more bizarre that the nuanced position of the Government appears to be rounding people up and putting them in better run camps
The first one was a product of its time and I quite liked it, just entertaining though, not funny. This one is likely to be packed full of cameos and product placements. Scripted within an inch of its life to be "edgy". Can't see any reason why I'd want to watch that.
Folks, Farage is four years away from the next general election. Stop acting like the election is next Thursday. Treat it like the populist grifting it is.
LBC on this morning, Penny Mordaunt standing in for James O'Brien. I thought I'd listen as it's good to hear different folk. Her first hour is focussing on if the govt can fix the "small boats" issue. FFS. Then the news is dominated by Farage's policies on the subject. I think silence is better.
Alternatively, why not consider that companies are replacing junior roles with automation to save money? Selling tomorrow for a bit more money today. Senior folk pulling up ladders behind themselves forgetting that they needed those junior roles to learn, and putting nothing in their place.
When you move from one structure to another, you can see that far more clearly than years of introspection can give. I went from a really rough mining village to working at the top London City law firms. I can see how people end up with their attitudes in both environments. Then there's the NHS...
I often get those songs in my head on repeat, usually in the morning. Today’s is The Bangles and Manic Monday. My subconscious will not believe that it is neither Monday nor Sunday today.
#AI lies to us. That’s why Jaime Fernández Fisac created a “bullshit index” to track how and why AI is misleading its users. spectrum.ieee.org/ai-misinform...
My wife had a migraine today so slept it off. I took the chance to watch the rugby World Cup games I hadn’t seen yet this weekend. Seriously impressed with all the games. Can’t wait for next weekend!
I’ve documented protests for decades. The asylum hotel protests I’ve photographed have all been very small. When I first turned up at the Newcastle protest, and asked the police where the protesters were, they pointed to one man and said he’s over there.
This is outstanding. God knows what Labour is doing: legitimising the racism that'll be its undoing, losing the coalition which put it in office, trying to secure voters who will never support it, digging its own moral grave. observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
"CROWDS wave flags" according to the Daily Mail caption of this picture
Took me too long to get there with opticians who wanted to sell me the easy thing. Local optician did the job. Seriously not cheap lenses though to get edge to edge vision rather than the varifocal tunnel. I also got a pair of bifocals for driving. Much easier and zero eye strain.
And I can see out of every bit of the lens.
I just couldn’t get used to varifocals. Hated the narrow band of vision. Took going to a really good optician to get one who recommended occupational glasses instead. Narrow long distance at top, mid-range in the middle, short at bottom.
The NZ defence starts: www.instagram.com/reel/DNvrQYJ...
Just before the last election, I stopped watching Sunday politics shows, and my Sundays got better. Politicians who only want their pre-staged answers heard. Show hosts with a list of questions written solely to catch out the politician. No-one learns anything. Pause, reset next Sunday.
Proper sport, done properly by Scotland. www.instagram.com/reel/DNs126z...
Thoroughly enjoyed that. An unexpectedly big win for Scotland in the Rugby World Cup. Properly good rugby all through and the entertainment needed for this match. France v Italy tonight will have a hard job matching that one.
Cracking team play from Scotland with a winger is in central field winning balls on the ground. And some pretty sharp passes and running as well. Seriously impressive play all round from Scotland.
Now, that was a show of strength by Scotland in the scrum where they’ve been struggling! And a well worked first phase try after it.
Scotland doing really well so far. That yellow card for Wales was seriously soft, I think the TMO was bored otherwise it wouldn’t have been referred.
Well, that’s a good start for Scotland!
Two cracking anthems. A world better as sporting anthems than those in the England v USA game last night.
Scotland v Wales about to start. This will be the game of the weekend. Both side will think they’ve a good chance of a win. I think Scotland have the edge in the tackle and ruck area though and that may prove the difference.
“Sit still” while she comes at me with tweezers. Pretty sure she also wants to target the eyebrow hairs that are extending more each year.
Danish activists have been painting their flag on roundabouts. Either that or British 'patriots' are a bunch of thick twats, which I find hard to believe.
It’s easy to disprove most anti-immigrant stuff but… The right wing goons see this as a way to get power through populism. Immigrants are an easy target. “Them” in the way that racists have used forever. The others are either afraid to challenge or don’t want to pay the price of fixing it. 6/6
What about: No, your water and domestic fuel bills aren’t higher because of immigrants putting strain on it, they’re higher because no government wants to step in and properly regulate the grifting in the market that produces disproportionate profit and lack of investment. 5/
What about: No, your food and other bills have gone up because of Brexit. The costs of importing and distributing items is so much higher now. Also, you got rid of the cheap freedom of movement folk who’d come work in our fields in the summer then go home for the winter. That’s your fault. 4/
What about: No, the NHS was doing very well in 2010 but has had 15 years of sleight of hand cuts. Immigrants keep the NHS alive, they keep you alive. To fix the state of much of the NHS would need many tens of £billions of capital rebuild and investment, not a subject any govt wants to raise. 3/
What about: No, there are no council houses because Margaret Thatcher brought in a law that allowed them to be sold off and not replaced. There are less than 1/3 the number of state owned residences than in 1979. To replace them would cost tens of £billions that no govt would fund. 2/
I saw yet another anti-immigrant story this morning with unchallenged “immigrants are taking all our houses, the NHS is falling apart because of them, inflation is all their fault” and so on. I’d love to see politicians call out the facts on that, but they won’t, easier to just nod along. 1/
Last summer, one story I remember was a camera crew showing about 6 people standing on a roundabout (IIRC) looking rather stupid, when they were expecting a large protest. It’s almost as if that sort of thing is not a good story this year.
Frankly folks, if you vote for Reform after reading this then you aren’t even pretending any more that you’re not a racist. And that’s just the grifter-in-charge, wait to you see who ends up as MPs if he gets in power. This is a position even the BNP wouldn’t make this publicly at their peak.
England thoroughly deserved the win and the heavy win, definite benchmark set. The USA played well, lots of individual quality but they struggled to tie it together, too many unforced errors. The referee was just too fussy in a mismatched scrum, and that made it unnecessarily harder for the US.
So good to see Emily get out in her 5th World Cup. One of those players who adds so much to the game and stresses any defence.
Again, not impressed with the scrum management. England are dominant, just let them have the dominance, no need to rub it in by lecturing the US prop and warning her for getting shoved backwards.
The two games I’ve got planned for tomorrow are: Scotland v Wales France v Italy. First one obvious reasons. Second one, could be a really open game and France aren’t that much better that the result is assured for them.
I agree with the commentators here, didn’t need to be a yellow card. Middle of the field, no materiality. Harsh given the context of the game.
Really not a fan of the referee’s management of the scrum in this World Cup game. English tight head going in so low that there’s no stability, yet US loose head punished when the English player ends up on her face. The one time the English prop stays level, the US get clean ball.
England v USA tonight, rugby World Cup. Sliding towards supporting the US women simply for the underdog tag.
“After a seven-minute multiple-choice questionnaire, I am deemed eligible for antibiotics: a single sachet is £43.”
Just looking at the teams for tonight's England vs USA game. There's something really pleasing about seeing Emily Scarratt on the subs bench, I thought we'd seen the last of her at the international level. One of those legendary players who is a real joy to watch play. #rugbyworldcup
I suppose I'm grateful for being seen to contribute more than journalists, male footballers, and MPs. 😀
I much preferred the Labour government of 2024 that came in with a heavy hand over outright racism and violence against places like this. The 2025 version is too terrified of upsetting folk who'd never vote Labour and have never voted for Labour.
I was going to post about which teams I really want to see. Then realised I want to see them all! Delighted that Brazil made it and hope they bring some proper flair with them.
A certain irony that 10-15 years ago, as med students, we were discouraged from considering emigration to Australia by certain senior colleagues in part because "well, don't you know how racist Aus is compared to here..." *Turns on the TV/Radio/Opens a newspaper in the UK in summer 2025...*
"Legitimate Concerns" is dog whistle racism. Zoe said, camping outside a hotel, shouting abuse and behaving threateningly towards homeless asylum seekers (and non-white British citizens passing by) is not showing "Legitimate Concerns", it's just loutish racism. Call it out every time.
Here I am, a consultant in emergency medicine and father of 4 working in the UK. My journey to this point didn’t start here. A thread 🧵
While on the subject, last week, I used a very reduced and almost burnt bitter plum tomato paste as the heart of this lunchtime snack idea from @nigella.bsky.social . Now, that was outstanding... bsky.app/profile/nige...
The big ones I used to use for cooking are just tasteless balls this year. Been using smaller tomatoes, of all varieties, this year instead. Cherry ones for salads and light sauces. Plum for deeper sauces and reducing to salsa, etc.
There are many talk-radio stations that try to hold a middle-ground to "encourage debate". The middle ground they hold would have been beyond the BNP's best expectations a couple of decades ago.