Dementia campaign to give families open access wins cross-party support

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/07/dementia-johns-campaign-hospital-visit-norman-lamb-andy-burnham

Politicians commit to John's Campaign to allow people 24-hour hospital access to vulnerable patients  with dementia, following deluge of support

[1] A campaign to allow friends and family open access to people with dementia while they are in

hospital has seen a significant victory this weekend with backing from senior politicians. The

Observer-backed campaign has won the

support of health minister Norman Lamb, who

has promised to write to all NHS trusts promoting

the idea, while the shadow health secretary,

Andy Burnham, has committed to strengthening

the NHS constitution on the issue and including it

in Labour's election manifesto.

[2] “I could have wept with gratitude and relief,” said

novelist Nicci Gerrard, whose experiences with

her father's hospital care led her to launch John's

Campaign. It calls for the families and carers of

people with dementia to be allowed to remain

with them in hospital for as many hours of the day

and night as necessary. The campaign has been

deluged with support, not only from families but

from doctors, nurses and charities working with people with dementia. Several NHS trusts have

agreed to start implementing changes within their own hospitals and letting staff know what is

expected of them.

[3] Gerrard said cross-party support showed it was not a political issue but one of common sense and

compassion. It is, she writes in the Observer today, “a rare instance where the costs in both

financial and human terms are none and the benefits enormous”.

[4] More than a quarter of hospital beds in the UK are now occupied by people with dementia. Athird

will never return to their own homes and just under half will leave hospital in a worse condition than

when they entered. Gerrard's father, Dr John Gerrard, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in his

70s, deteriorated significantly during his hospital stay last year, something his family felt could

have been avoided had they been allowed to spend more time supporting him while he was there.

[5]   The campaigners, backed by Labour MP Valerie Vaz among others, believe the current NHS

advice to parents with children in hospital that they should stay with their child as much as possible

should also apply to people with dementia, who are often vulnerable and very easily distressed.

[6]   On Wednesday, which is NHS Change Day – a chance for positive changes at grassroots level to

be highlighted more widely – NHS England is organizing what it is calling a “Thunderclap” on

behalf of John's Campaign, across thousands of social media accounts, including Twitter and

Facebook, at 11am.

Brazil buys 34 German tanks in security drive

ahead of World  

Cup, Olympics,

and Pope

Francis visit

By Jeevan Vasagar, Berlin

3:08PM BST 12 Apr 2013 in

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor

ldnews/southamerica/brazil/9990242

/Brazil-buys-34-German-tanks-insecurity-

drive-ahead-of-World-Cup-

Olympics-and-Pope-Francisvisit.

html

[1] Brazil is buying 34 German anti-aircraft tanks as it beefs up security ahead of hosting the World Cup, the 2016 Olympic Games, and a papal visit.

[2] The first consignment of Flakpanzer Gepard tanks is due to arrive in the South American country by June. The armour, which has been phased out by the German military in favour of missile systems, is equipped with two 35mm guns.

[3] Brazil is strengthening internal security and counter-terrorism measures ahead of the World Cup next year and the Olympic Games in 2016.

[4] Ahead of the sporting events, Pope Francis, the first Latin American head of th Catholic church, is due to visit Rio de Janeiro in July. He will say mass at Copacabana beach, pray at the Christ the Redeemer statue, and attend a Catholic youth festival.

[5] The Brazilian army officer in command of anti-aircraft artillery, General Marcio Heise, told the G1 news service that the first eight Gepards would arrive in June. They will be deployed in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, where the Confederations Cup - a prelude to the World Cup - kicks off on June 15, and in Rio de Janeiro, where the tournament ends on June 30, and also for the papal visit.

[6] Brazil has spent little on defence in recent decades but is now seeking to modernize its armed forces. The country's defence ministry recently announced that it was purchasing surface-to-air missile and artillery batteries from Russia. Brazil is also building five submarines in partnership with France, and plans to replaces its ageing air force.

[7] The country's air force is thought to be the largest in Latin America, and its tasks include surveillance of the Amazon rainforest, to curb drug trafficking and illegal logging.

[8] Germany is one of the world's five biggest exporters of arms. Its exports make up 7 percent of the global total, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

ABOUT #125STORIES

(1) #125Stories, your chance to join in with the Agatha Christie 125th Anniversary celebrations, was ins-

(2) pired by the discovery, in the Agatha Christie Archive, of a collection of very personal letters written to Agatha

(3) Christie throughout the 20th century from fans around the world. Some of these letters are witty and amusing,

(4) while others reveal intimate details of daily lives. Others still provide the modern day reader with an insight into

(5) the political situation of post-war Europe, of the Iron Curtain, and of how Christie’s books provided escapism for

(6) those in the most desperate of conditions.

(7) These letter writers took the time to let Agatha Christie know how important she was in their own lives –

(8) and now you too can share your stories of how the world’s most famous crime writer changed your life.

(9) What story should you share?

(10) Maybe you acted in a play once, and something went wrong on stage…

(11) Perhaps you were inspired to write after reading her novels…Have you ever written a screen play after

(12) watching Poirot on tv?…

(13) Or maybe Agatha Christie herself has been your inspiration – as a traveller, a surfer, an archaeologist, a

(14) musician, a wife, mother, daughter…

(15) Whatever it is, we want to know.

(16) And if you tell us your story, you’ll be in with the chance of being selected to have it exhibited in Septem-

(17) ber at the International Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay, England, as one of 125 Stories.

(18) We’ll be running #125Stories for the whole of 2015 – so if you are not selected for the exhibition but want

(19) to share your experiences of the September birthday celebrations and the rest of the year with us, then you’ll

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(21) Take the time to read others’ stories too – you never know what you might uncover.

(Disponível em http://125stories.com/feed/collection/94793. Acesso em 30 abr. 2015. Adaptação.)