As Barnets leading gossip and entertainment video, we like to bring you interesting and creative videos that are also thought provoking. This is one of the best we've seen. Given the number of knocking shops allegedly operating in Barnet, maybe we should film our own version?
Saturday, 21 December 2013
The Saturday List #48 - The 1970's vs the Twenty Teenies
I grew up in the 1970's a few things have changed since then. Here's a list of a few tings
1. VD has become STD's
2. Jokes on TV don't include racism but are ageist.
3. Footballers now wear tights and gloves and spend half the game rolling on the floor
4. You eat food in pubs but you don't smoke
5. Trains aren't blue and white don't have engines on the front (sadly they are still smelly and late though)
6. You can eat Turkish food, Italian Food and Pizza in Mill Hill but you can't get tea at the Scottish Tea Rooms
7. Kids aren't thick any more, they are special
8. Telly doesn't stop at Midnight
9. You can't stand up at football but you can't sit down on a Thameslink Service in rush hour !
10. We don't have Top of the Pops on a Thursday
So some things have got much better and some things have got much worse
Have a luvly weekend from Barnet's premier entertainment and gossip blog !
1. VD has become STD's
2. Jokes on TV don't include racism but are ageist.
3. Footballers now wear tights and gloves and spend half the game rolling on the floor
4. You eat food in pubs but you don't smoke
5. Trains aren't blue and white don't have engines on the front (sadly they are still smelly and late though)
6. You can eat Turkish food, Italian Food and Pizza in Mill Hill but you can't get tea at the Scottish Tea Rooms
7. Kids aren't thick any more, they are special
8. Telly doesn't stop at Midnight
9. You can't stand up at football but you can't sit down on a Thameslink Service in rush hour !
10. We don't have Top of the Pops on a Thursday
So some things have got much better and some things have got much worse
Have a luvly weekend from Barnet's premier entertainment and gossip blog !
Friday, 20 December 2013
Your Choice Barnet Week - Thank you for listening - A guest blog by John Sullivan
By John Sullivan,
First I would like to thank the Barnet Eye for ( in the words
of one of our better known right wing cranks) outsourcing the Barnet Eye to us YCB clients
parents and supporters for the past two weeks.
It says a lot for our right wing friends when they have no problem with outsourcing when it suits him, but apparently gets agitated
when outsourcing is being utilised for the benefit of Barnet residents and public servants, rather than to their disadvantage.
Allow me to digress for a moment and point you in the
direction of this Birmingham Post article, that gives us an insight in Barnet
as to what we should expect from the recent outsourcing of our public services
to Capita. Every issue was highlighted by us so called activists, and rubbished
by the likes of our local Tory councillors, which
seriously brings into question any opinions
voiced by these individuals.
Attach Birmingham Post http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/business-news/axe-fall-120-million-a-year-service-6428896
To be honest the YCB week response has been phenomenal,
disabled people in Barnet are finally realising they have the human right to be
heard, and they have us so called activists to either help their parents speaker
for them or help them to speak for themselves. We could have continued this YCB
week that became a YCB fortnight by at least another month, there are so many
more horrifying tales to tell of the ill-treatment of disabled Barnet residents
and their families. In fact as was announced in the Barnet Eye recently we are preparing
to release a video/song about Capita, one of the verses of which refers to the
pernicious treatment of disabled people in Barnet and goes like this
If your disabled Barnet's not the place to be.
Your only a market place commodity
Your only a source of profit that why
If you don't make a profit your left high and dry
So let's get back to our " The Lie That Is Your Choice
Barnet Week " , that has exposed
" The Lie That Is The Safeguarding Committee of 27th November",
along with " The Lie That is The Task & Finish Enquiry Into Your
Choice Barnet "
What has also been exposed in the articles posted over this
period by parents family carers and friends of the disabled, is the abject
contempt displayed towards disabled people by in particular our Tory
councillors most specifically at the so
called " Safeguarding Committee Meeting of 27th November ", where
they even stooped as low as to misrepresent the content of a letter presented
by parents of a severely disabled son that has outraged those parents, and I will highlight and point you in the direction
of the blog posted. I personally think we learned a lot about the heartless
contempt the Tory majority on that so called Safeguarding Committee have for
the disabled people of Barnet ,along with their family carers parents and
supporters.
The disabled people
are an easy target for these profit hungry ideologues the profit at any price
brigade no matter the consequences, dogma before dignity for the disabled is
their collective cry. Because they do not have a voice and everything thing was
done at that meeting to distort the truth, and bad mouth the family and friends
that were in attendance to give these disabled folk a voice.
Fortunately you don't have to take my word for it we have it
all on film for you to make the judgement call at the end of this blog. My blog was posted first and like the response
from the Tories regarding the recent investment of £16.1 million pounds of our
money the taxpayers of Barnet in Capita, that Capita were supposed to invest,
there has been silence which suggests there is at the very least some truth in
the content of my Blog ( Your Choice Barnet Week - Day 1 - The LIE That Is ...)
Listen to the pleas of Phillip ( Your Choice Barnet week - How would you feel in my... ) who like many other disabled people
that enjoyed their days at Flight ways but have now been as it says in the song
left high and dry, because there is not enough profit to be made from these
folk. Councillor Salinger can cynically misquote the words of the parents with
a son at Rosa Morrison ( Your Choice Barnet Week - Outraged at being misrep... ). But the funding for these so severely
disabled folk is far greater than for the Phillips of this world, hence the
reason the service albeit possibly temporarily continues to be an excellent
service, cannot if you have any integrity at all be cynically used as an example
of an across the board satisfaction rating for YCB services in general, so cynically implied by Councillor Brian
Salinger. The same councillor claimed " I have no problem with making a
Profit "what he failed to add , was " from the undermining of the future
long term quality of support services and therefore quality of life of disabled people in Barnet ".
Which dishonestly implied YCB were making a profit when in fact they are making
a loss as outlined in my blog, what a very nice chap this Brian Salinger appears
to be to twist the words of people
Although Tony Solomons did not name names, I am assuming I
hope correctly he is referring to the same councillor referred to here in the
Guest blog from Tirza Waisel (Your Choice Barnet Week - The view from the Public... ) which goes on to highlight
the contempt shown for all and sundry trying to protect the rights of disabled
people. A Councillor sleeping then when awakened going into a rant insulting
all and sundry and branding them Trade Union activists or some such nonsense. Parents
family members friends trying to put the case of those without a voice, abused
by this ogre of a man a man that denies anyone else an agenda, whilst foisting
his own agenda on others without consultation or a voice, perhaps Putin should
run for the Tories at the coming local elections, he would fit in nicely. Can
you look at the films from this farcical meeting of the 27th November and with
your hand on your heart no matter your politics say, Phillip or the family
acting for Carl Woolf one of the many potential victims of the planned closure
of Flightways with no plans to replace the facility, that is now denied to
Phillip and many others, came across as
union activists. Can I, as a 71 year old parent with a life threatening illness
and a 50 year old disabled daughter, who had his words read out by his colleague
and friend Barbara Jacobson, be branded a trade union activist because I am concerned
for the welfare of my daughter,and the long term ability of the failed YCB
company to provide her protection in the long term.
Seems to me Councillor Gordon is little more than a rightwing loud mouth, well if he wishes to
test his loud mouth against my loud mouth at any time I will be happy to oblige
him, the utter contempt this man showed for us families and our supporters was
beneath contempt. It is trade unionists that have cared for my daughter and her peers for over 40
years, that are the teachers that taught me and my children in school, that are
the nurses and Drs looking after me in the NHS, that empty my bins and do so
many things that enable our society to function. One thing is for sure the trade
unionists Gordon and his ilk continuously bad mouth, contribute far more to
Barnet society than the likes of Gordon and his fellow Tories. I am not a trade
unionist but if I had to choose between them and the likes of Gordon Salinger
Rayner Rams and Cornelius, I would take the trade unionists every day of the
week, because they contribute and would be a far greater loss to Barnet society
than any of those mentioned above, in fact any Barnet councillor of any
political persuasion.
The chair of the meeting Cllr Perry chatting through most of the
meeting not even bothering to listen to what was being said and even forgetting
there had to be a vote, because it was obvious to all the decision had been
made prior to the commencement of this so called Safeguarding Committee meeting
before the meeting commenced. It further exposed the naivety of the two Labour councils
on the Task & Finish Group who weakly and it would appear unwittingly
supported this farcical dishonest whitewash of an enquiry, and the cynicism of the
Tory Councillor whose name escapes me. Who only chose to have an input into the
meeting in order to point the finger at the labour councillors in question, not
to ask anything about the welfare of the disabled but to play political games.
As another aside I had an exchange with Council Rayner the
so called Chair of the so called scrutiny committee that did not scrutinise the
huge Capita contract we are now lumbered with, he appears not to have
scrutinised the handing over to Capita of £16.1 million of our money to Capita,
although prior to the signing of the Capita contract it was Capita that was
supposed to be providing this finance. He also chose to play political games
again prior to the meeting, the exchanges of which are attached, which further
suggests the decision was made prior to the meeting and the decision had been
made to point the finger at the two naive labour councillors.
Today we had a blog posted by Barbara Jacobson ( Your Choice Barnet Week - Safeguarding? - By Barba...
) that in her professional
manner covers the complete farce the whitewash that was the Task & Finish
Enquiry, an enquiry that was a deliberate cover up yet another action Putin
would have been proud to be involved in.
This enquiry refused to speak to parents and family carers
they refused to speak with support workers, instead they took the word for
everything from YCB. But when you consider that YCB is a Teckal company
controlled by Barnet councillors who make every strategic decision on the
direction of YCB. They were not even talking or listening to YCB, they were
talking and listening to themselves.
There is no possible way you can conduct a transparent and
open and honest enquiry into as complex an issue of the clients of YCB without
consulting with their parents and family carers, it is simply not possible to
arrive at an unbiased conclusion. More importantly if all of these ongoing
changes to YCB services which includes the demoralisation of staff , which
includes massive cuts to their wages and replacing skilled long term staff with
unskilled short tern cheap labour are going to improve things as YCB/LBB claim.
Then why would you refuse to consult with the parents carers and friends of the
YCB clients. The obvious answer being it is a Lie to suggest the services will
not be affected by the proposed further changes , and they know full well they
would lose the argument if they engaged in genuine consultation, because lies
are always exposed when challenged .
Which encourages me to repeat my mantra that YCB is a lie
was conceived on a lie and continues to be supported by lie, a lie that has
spread to the so called safeguarding Committee and the Lie that was the Task
& Finish enquiry is the biggest lie of all.
You have heard and read of the antics of Councillors Gordon,
Brian Salinger . Bridget Parry , Hugh Rayner, along with the silence of Mrs Cornelius
who had nothing to say at all about disabled people, of the councillor the name
of whom escapes me who never bothered to ask a question about the plight of
disabled people but chose to play politics on such a serious issue.
But what of Councillor Alison Salinger who clearly stated
" I think it is true to say that no one sitting around this table failed
to be moved by what we have heard tonight.... And it may be that the Safeguarding
Committee, in my opinion, needs to look further into some of the issues that
have been raised tonight and I would be happy
for future meetings of the safeguarding committee to bring up some of these
issues" end of quote.
Well for starters Cllr Parry could not have been moved
because she was not listening, Cllr B Salinger was obviously not moved because
he sang the praises of the fantasy profits making of YCB, Cllr Gordon was asleep
most f the time , so he was obviously not moved, and as no other Tory
councillor chose to raise any question of any of those presenting the case for
the disabled, one can assume the reality is none of them were moved.
What is even more laughable if it were funny, is having made
those comments Cllr A Salinger voted in support of the whitewash the obvious
Lie that was the Task & Finish Enquiry, knowing full well there remained
serious questions to answer.
We learned that Tory councilors put ideology and dogma and
party loyalty before the plight of their disabled residents, they believe in
profit before people and support entirely the principle if you're not disabled
enough to make a profit ,then you are of no use to them and are left high and
dry.
What we learned about the Labour councillors involved in
this whitewash of a task & Finish Group Enquiry, is they need to grow a
pair and not be rolled over by the right wing heartless ideologues of the Tory
party, and stand up for what they believe in. Not after the event which they
chose to do by not challenging the veracity of this farce of an enquiry from
the outset, and left themselves open to political games on the part of their
Tory opponents, all at the expense of the most vulnerable people in Barnet who
deserve better.
The lie that is Your Choice Barnet will be back in the
headlines soon, and no matter how many lies that are uttered and how many
strokes are pulled to avoid meaningful consultation, the family carers &
parents with the support of our friends at CADDSS, Campaign Against Destruction
of Disabled Support Services, will not give up the fight until these vulnerable
folk are protected from the vagaries of the market place, and their support services
are brought back in House where they will once again be safe, as they were
prior to the formation of the financial car crash that is YCB
I finish on what is probably one of the biggest YCB / LBB lies
of all, the claim that an LATC had to be formed due to the direct payments
legislation the bedrock excuse for the for want of a better word of the
privatisation of adult services . It is suggested by legal minds but yet to be
fully confirmed and perhaps challenged legally, that this claim is and I quote
" in my view this is a misstatement of the law, and they should be asked where
they got their advice from.
So in the new year that is exactly what we will be doing, we
have exposed so many lies to date we will not rest until we can be certain that
the claim an LATC had to be formed ,was based on truth or on yet another Lie.
Please watch the filming for yourself and form your own
views.
1.Your Choice Barnet - Public Questions Part 1
2.Your Choice Barnet- Public Questions Part 2
3.Your Choice Barnet - Public Questions - Part 3
4.Your Choice Barnet - Barnet UNISON - Public Comments
6.Your Choice Barnet - John Sullivan's statement read by Barbara Jacobson
7.Your Choice Barnet - Philip Rackham
8.Your Choice Barnet - Barbara Jacobson
9.Your Choice Barnet - Tirza Waisel
10.Your Choice Barnet - Councillor Arjun Mittra
11.Your Choice Barnet - Report, Councillor Brian Salinger
12.Your Choice Barnet - Final Part
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John Sullivan is a Barnet resident and a parent carer. Guest Blogs are always welcome.
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Your Choice Barnet Week - Safeguarding? - By Barbara Jacobson
By Barbara Jacobson,
How
can we believe that services for disabled adults in Barnet will be of the
required quality if the safeguarders are physically or mentally asleep on the
job, embarrassed by trying to defend
the indefensible, and ready to silence criticism even from their colleagues?
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Barbara Jacobson is a Barnet resident. Guest Blogs are always welcome at the Barnet Eye
I was
proud to read part of John Sullivan’s statement to the Safeguarding Overviewand Scrutiny Committee on 27 November, and to deliver a comment of my own. John
speaks eloquently for himself and on behalf of his daughter, Susan, and other service
users and carers. I am not disabled nor am I a carer for a disabled person, but
you don’t need to be to be concerned about the way Your Choice Barnet is run
and how it affects service users and their family carers. I listened to their
concerns and I read the Task & Finish Group report, and here is what I said
to the Safeguarding Committee that night.
‘You came here
tonight to scrutinize the Task & Finish Group report on the inquiry into
Your Choice Barnet; the residents sitting behind me have come because they have
done so and found the report wanting. The questions that have been asked
and the comments that have been or will be made make three points crystal clear.
‘1 The Group did
not investigate all the issues it sets out on page 1 of the report; specifically
it did not
consider evidence
• from
parents and service users about their experience of the services
•
or from staff and relevant groups on what impact the proposed restructure is
likely to have on services.
‘2 The report contains no evidence for any
of the assumptions, statements and recommendations it makes. Yes, there are
tables about the financial plan but, crucially, no explanation of how a plan
that failed the first time around will miraculously succeed on repetition.
‘3 The service users and their carers are
worried – some of them literally sick with worry – about the future of adult
social care services, about the future safety and well-being of their loved
ones, and they want those services brought back in house to ensure their
accountability, and the quality and continuity of care.
‘Points 1 and 2 demonstrate that this
report, like the inquiry it represents, is disappointingly unsatisfactory. Its
lack of thoroughness, which would not be acceptable in a sixth-form student’s essay,
exacerbates the worries of the service users and their carers, some of the most
vulnerable people in our society and in our community. These are real
people, with real needs, real hopes and very, very real fears.
‘Our humanity means that each and every one
of us has a responsibility to them. Family members exercise that responsibility
to their disabled relatives by being carers and by fighting to protect the
services their loved ones need. Those of us who are not disabled or carers for
a disabled person exercise our responsibility to them by supporting their
campaign, by coming here to make their voices louder so that you will
hear them.
‘All of us here tonight, representing some
who cannot speak for themselves, are asking you to examine the matter before
you with empathy and the knowledge that it is your responsibility, too, to use
your power to protect adults with disabilities. After all, you are the
‘safeguarding’ committee. While you might not have the power to order, as we
demand, that adult social services are brought back in house, you do have the
power to find that this report is only a first draft and demand further, more
substantial work. And so we ask you to do that.’
After I finished and had
answered the questions from Cllr Kath McGuirk about the need from more
pre-scrutiny of policies, Cllr Kate Salinger made the following statement:
‘I think it is very true to say that no one
sitting around this tabled failed to be moved by what we’ve heard tonight … . And
it may be that the Safeguarding Committee, in my opinion, needs to look further
into some of the issues that have been raised tonight and I would be happy for
future meetings of the Safeguarding Committee to bring up some of those
issues.’
Oh, what hopes were raised in
the public gallery. Here was a Tory councilor, the deputy chair of the
committee, agreeing that at least some of the issues needed further
investigation. It needed only one Tory vote to stop the rubber-stamping
approval of this incomplete report. And
so what disappointment when Cllr Kate Salinger voted the party line to endorse
the report only minutes later.
What are people to think? Can
we believe that councillors were moved by what they heard? Or should we believe
what we see: that they give lip service to our concerns, say how much they
care, and then fail to act accordingly?
Look at the various YouTube
clips from that night and watch the councillors.
1.Your Choice Barnet - Public Questions
Part 1
2.Your Choice Barnet- Public Questions
Part 2
3.Your Choice Barnet - Public Questions
- Part 3
4.Your Choice Barnet - Barnet UNISON -
Public Comments
6.Your Choice Barnet - John Sullivan's
statement read by Barbara Jacobson
7.Your Choice Barnet - Philip Rackham
8.Your Choice Barnet - Barbara Jacobson
9.Your Choice Barnet - Tirza Waisel
10.Your Choice Barnet - Councillor Arjun
Mittra
11.Your Choice Barnet - Report,
Councillor Brian Salinger
12.Your Choice Barnet - Final Part
Why is Cllr Perry, the
chairperson, always in conversation with the officer to her right? She claims
to be listening to the resident speaking but you cannot hold a conversation and
give your full attention to a speaker at the same time. She was so amazed that
the majority of councillors voted to allow a union representative to speak that
she reminded them what the vote was about and made them vote again. Her
patience with democracy was limited: she interrupted Cllr McGuirk in the middle
of asking a question, and she stopped all discussion without letting Cllr
Hutton speak. And she was so sure that the report would be accepted no matter
what issues were raised that she tried to move to the next item of business
without taking a vote.
Look for Cllr Gordon, at the
top right side of the table in the video; does he sometimes appear to be
dozing? He had no questions for the speakers but he was certainly fully awake
when he delivered an angry rant on unions. Should we believe he cares at all
about the disabled when his contribution for the night was to rail against the
union for criticizing the failures of Your Choice Barnet?
What about Cllr Alison
Cornelius? Why did she have nothing – no question, no comment, nothing – to say? Shouldn’t we
expect all councillors on a scrutiny committee to contribute to the scrutiny?
Maybe you can see Cllr Brian
Salinger at the table on the left when he delivers his defense of the report.
It might be difficult because he doesn’t seem to want to look anyone in the
face. Too embarrassing, perhaps.
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Barbara Jacobson is a Barnet resident. Guest Blogs are always welcome at the Barnet Eye
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Christmas Carol Service at The Sacred Heart Church, Mill Hill
This evening we attended a fabulous Christmas Carol service at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Mill Hill. The service featured carols sung by both the senior and junior choirs and relevant Christmas bible stories. It is part of our families Christmas tradition to attend this service. The service started with the Church lights being dimmed and the choir arriving singing "Once in Royal David's City". The church is blessed with a large and very versatile adult choir as well as fantastic childrens choir. For me carols such as "O Little town of Bethlehem" and "Hark A Herald" are a big part of the season. It is interesting to note that over recent years the tradition of children doorknocking singing carols has declined, as "trick or treat" has grown.
The church was packed and everyone was welcomed into the social centre afterwards for a mince pie and a glass of wine or soft drink. For such a wretched night, it was good to see the church so busy. It is probably one of the most popular fixtures in the calendar. I for one find the childrens choir very moving when they sing.
Christmas is traditionally a time of good deeds and giving. It has become heavily commercialised over the last few decades. It is perhaps sometimes worth reminding ourselves that there are plenty of people around the world who won't have much to celebrate this Christmas, indeed some people who won't even be able to openly celebrate the festival. Christmas is traditionally a feast to celebrate new life and a joyful time in the darkest days of winter. The feast has built on the ancient tradition of marking the Solstice, when the days start getting longer again. Over the next week, I'll be having many social events with friends and family and a bit of time off. We all need some time to recharge batteries and to relax. This year, for the first time in many years, we are not going away for New Year. Today for our family was the start of the season. This blog has been focussing on Your Choice Barnet for the last two weeks. Today we heard that the economy is growing and the jobless rate has fallen spectacularly. My hope is that the gap between the rich and the poor does not continue to grow. Lets use the Christmas season to remind us that there are people who need our help. Much as I love a good carol service, the Church means nothing if it doesn't remind us that we have responsibilities at this time of year. Whatever your faith or tradition, please remember that there are people sleeping rough in our very own city as I write this blog. I will be getting up at 6am to help feed them at The Passage, a homeless day centre in Victoria.
Ultimately these problems will get fixed when we all start fighting a bit harder for Social Justice. That to me is the real message of Christmas.
The church was packed and everyone was welcomed into the social centre afterwards for a mince pie and a glass of wine or soft drink. For such a wretched night, it was good to see the church so busy. It is probably one of the most popular fixtures in the calendar. I for one find the childrens choir very moving when they sing.
Christmas is traditionally a time of good deeds and giving. It has become heavily commercialised over the last few decades. It is perhaps sometimes worth reminding ourselves that there are plenty of people around the world who won't have much to celebrate this Christmas, indeed some people who won't even be able to openly celebrate the festival. Christmas is traditionally a feast to celebrate new life and a joyful time in the darkest days of winter. The feast has built on the ancient tradition of marking the Solstice, when the days start getting longer again. Over the next week, I'll be having many social events with friends and family and a bit of time off. We all need some time to recharge batteries and to relax. This year, for the first time in many years, we are not going away for New Year. Today for our family was the start of the season. This blog has been focussing on Your Choice Barnet for the last two weeks. Today we heard that the economy is growing and the jobless rate has fallen spectacularly. My hope is that the gap between the rich and the poor does not continue to grow. Lets use the Christmas season to remind us that there are people who need our help. Much as I love a good carol service, the Church means nothing if it doesn't remind us that we have responsibilities at this time of year. Whatever your faith or tradition, please remember that there are people sleeping rough in our very own city as I write this blog. I will be getting up at 6am to help feed them at The Passage, a homeless day centre in Victoria.
Ultimately these problems will get fixed when we all start fighting a bit harder for Social Justice. That to me is the real message of Christmas.
Your Choice Barnet Week - The view from the Public Gallery - Guest blog by Tirza Waisel
I was one of those members of the public attending the Safeguarding Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting that Janet Leifer described. I was indeed one of those angered by the lack of true answers, the disrespect and bias demonstrated by this committee and by the poor report of the Task & Finish Group that was set up to investigate Your Choice Barnet and did anything but a genuine investigation. I was one of those fuming with disappointment and feelings of betrayal.
But as if all these, manifested throughout the meeting, were not enough - I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Cllr Gordon utter (like someone just awoken from sleep, which from my seat in the gallery he appeared to be doing for most of the meeting) that 'the unions have a political agenda' and they are known to be 'very leftie', therefore their critique of Your Choice should not be taken seriously.
This, after a presentation from Unison that stressed the impact on services from the workers point of view and on the workers' morale (as is the unions' role to do!) as well as the staff's concerns to the well-being of the service users, and a whole meeting in which family carers and CADDSS members explaining their concerns and the reality of deteriorating services for those most vulnerable of residents!
I think I didn't manage to contain myself and had to heckle: Really, Mr Gordon? And you yourself - do you NOT have a political agenda??? Do you not have such an agenda that blinds you and prevents you from seeing what is happening to your disabled constituents, a Conservative political agenda that stops you from serving the best interests of these constituents?
Anyone who had been there would have seen that nothing was more of a cynical performance of a narrow Tory political agenda than Cllr Gordon's and his peers' behaviour in this Safeguarding committee meeting on Wednesday the 27 November;
Nothing more deceitful than Cllr Brian Salinger's quoting a
sentence from CADDSS’ submission of evidence to the committee out of context, in
a way that turned the conclusion of the CADDSS report on its head, using it to
justify a decision that effectively ruins the lives of vulnerable residents and
the quality of services that used to be the best of their kind, provided by
professional and dedicated council staff; the quote was from the family carers
of a service user in one day centre where most permanent support
staff remain in post and are able to continue their dedicated work, where the new policies haven't struck yet, and
hence no changes are felt to date and the service continues to be
excellent as it was before. This positive testimony that was submitted to the Task & Finish Group precisely
reinforces CADDSS argument: When you
allow the permanent professional staff to continue to do their work as they were able to do under the council control - then you witness
again how council employees provide high quality care; why ruin these good day care services for disabled people by chasing profit?!
However, the current good service in this day
centre does not prevent this and other families of service
users from being concerned about the risk of deterioration in the service provision when the axe will hit the
workers of this centre too, as it did in the other services managed
by Your Choice Barnet.
I was left thinking what a waste of public money this Task & Finish
Group was, or indeed - this Safeguarding
committee is, when the One Barnet council makes every decision
with the sole political agenda of putting profit before residents' well-being
and lives (Yes, Cllr Gordon - you cannot deny that
this is YOUR political
agenda)
Don't we
need to ask ourselves why we should pay the allowances of the councillors
on the committee if the decision was already made, regardless of their
'investigation'? Isn't it enough that we are paying huge salaries to Your Choice
directors and chief executives rather than using the money for the benefit of
disabled people?
And another frightening
thought haunts me since the 27 of November: If this is the face of the
Safeguarding Overview & Scrutiny Committee, then the reality in privatised
Barnet is that there is NO safeguarding for disabled residents!...
In this
reality, the onus of safeguarding our disabled friends, neighbours and family
members is on us: Let us remember the names of these uncaring and contemptuous councillors when we go to the polling stations next
May.
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Tirza Waisel is a Barnet Resident. Guest Blogs are always welcome at the Barnet Eye
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Your Choice Barnet Week - Care, Compassion, Choice and Quality of Life for Disabled People and Family Carers - Guest blog by Linda Edwards
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| Linda receives her MBE with Rachel |
By Linda Edwards MBE,
Having been invited to contribute an
article to The Barnet Eye "Your Choice Barnet" (YCB) week, I felt
unable to write. What could I say when I have no personal experience of
YCB? However, I do have experience of care, compassion, choice and
quality of life for disabled people and their family-carers.
I struggled to search for a connection,
something inspiring to link what is being proposed by YCB to my daughter's
experience in the "care industry". I realised that what is
being reported resembles the many years Rachel, my learning-disabled
daughter, who is also on the autistic spectrum, became a commodity instead
of a human being.
Rachel’s previous service providers, including Barnet In House Supported Living, made her depressed, institutionalised and compliant. Pavlov's dogs had a better experience than my daughter, whose only way of survival was to be "a good girl"! She was put at risk, neglected and taught to operate by automation and fear rather than encouraged to use her own thought processes and abilities.
From 2007 Rachel had been telling Barnet
In House Supported Living Service and the bullying service provider later commissioned
by LBB Health and Social Care, that she “needs her routine".
When staff didn't arrive or were late, she would scream "They've let me
down again.” “They're confusing me.” “They mess my head up." Now how
clear was that?
Yet, Kate Kennally, now Director of
People, and Amanda Jackson, then employed by YCB and now departed to Hillingdon
Borough, refused to remove this bullying service provider. Neither of them were
interested in listening to Rachel or giving her any choice. Her quality of life was dismal, institutional
and she lived in fear of the continual incidents created by staff putting their
own needs first because they were not supported appropriately by their managers.
When her behavior demonstrated she was depressed and miserable, she was
referred to a psychiatrist!
In the past 15 months Rachel has been
with a new service provider and at last, for the first time in her life, she
has begun to live as a human being. This is because…. she is now being treated as a human
being.
It is not always easy for her,
especially because of the many years of institutionalised service provider culture, conditioning, being
controlled, neglected, told what to do, what to say and how to ‘people please’
– she is now learning there is another way. Now she not only has my encouragement
to make real life and informed choices for herself, she also has the support
and encouragement of Susan, her new Supported Living Manager, and her staff
team. They communicate, listen and hear what
Rachel needs and wants; they work in partnership with me and demonstrate that
they actually care. Together we celebrate Rachel's "Magic Moments” and she
is so proud of her own achievements in her new life.
What family carers need to see in a
service is that their disabled child’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs
are met. They need to see their child is valued by
everyone and fulfilled in doing and being the best he/she can be.
·
Rachel has begun to value herself because she is valued.
·
She has begun to believe in herself because all around her
believe in her too.
·
The more responsibility, encouragement and autonomy they give
her, the more she thrives and soars.
Susan is a firm and fair manager with
old-fashioned values. It is so easy to respect her because she is proactive in
managing issues and has never been defensive - this is a complete contrast from
the two previous service provider managers who always blamed me for whatever
went wrong under their responsibility.
Susan’s genuine desire to ensure the best for all the people who are her
responsibility and her truly person centred approach is awesome to me. I
welcome her advice because it comes from an empathic, compassionate and genuine
heart. I promised the organisation 16 months ago that I would either be
their best ally or the parent from hell! It is such a relief to
work in partnership with Rachel’s service manager, who shares humanity and
humility with Rachel.
Now we need to ensure all vulnerable people have the same
respect and esteem from our community, and especially from the people who are
responsible for commissioning and providing services.
Experience has taught me that a service
for vulnerable people is only as good as the people working within that
service. This includes senior managers
who are role models for the culture of the organisation, crucial for ensuring
the organisation is fulfilling its lawful obligations and ensuring staff
working with vulnerable people are given appropriate support, training and
encouragement. Managers have to ensure
they create the best teams possible to value each individual for their own
unique gifts, talents and skills. This
costs no money but only happens when an organistion is healthy and holistic and
has a clear intention to put into practice everything they say and write. Once an organisation becomes contaminated
with a culture of bullying, scapegoating, devaluing, shaming and blaming
everyone is engulfed in fear. Fear ensures
that communication becomes oppressive and defensive and so the culture
continues to be contaminated. Fear prevents fun, creativity, compassion and
healthy and equality based relationships.
We must address the current disharmony and fear for so many disabled
families in the London Borough of Barnet and celebrate decent values and
practices that put the disabled family in the centre of all decisions.
The Staff item of a budget is usually the
most costly item of any service so it is easiest to cut this part of the budget
first. Sometimes it is necessary. Indeed, sometimes it is essential. Staff working with vulnerable people whose
crucial role it is to create a relationship of trust and respect, reliability
and consistency must not be preoccupied with worry about their own working
conditions. It is essential that people
working with vulnerable people, feel valued and respected by their management so
they are not overburdened with their own survival needs. Their presence needs
to be available, open hearted and present to the people they are with. How many times have you been with someone who
you know is not present with you? How
did it make you feel? Disabled and elderly people know whether someone is
present with them and will feel, respond and react accordingly.
Rachel was my inspiration for creating
Larches Community with £50 in our home. Now hundreds, possibly thousands,
of disabled people living in the London Borough of Barnet have benefited.
Rachel and her peers have been my teachers; leading, advising and showing
us what they need to have for the quality of life they deserve.
Will YCB provide this? I
would like to hope so. From some of the
things I have read and heard it feels like we are going back less than 100
years ago to when disabled children were thought of as uneducable.
What appears to be happening with YCB
shows much the same culture as when disabled people were dumped into large
hospitals, living an institutional life and treated as a commodity. It
doesn't help those violated people that we now know better and that what was
done to them was as a result of ignorance.
We are enlightened now.
London Borough of Barnet employ (directly or indirectly) highly paid directors
and managers of Adult Social Care and Health who well know the legislation, government
requirements, what constitutes good practice and what ensures people have a
good quality of life. As Kate Kennally ignored my daughter’s pleas to
remove the oppressive regime that was making her depressed and repressed, are
they so far removed from the vulnerable people they are employed to serve that
they ignore what they now know? This is far worse than 100 years ago,
when there was ignorance, because now we know, and we appear to be ignoring
what we know!
“Those
who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
What sins are we committing when we can
remember but ignore the past? What would
it take for the London Borough of
Barnet to demonstrate that providing care and services requires more than what
appears to be proposed by YCB?
Simplicity!
Phase 1. Draw a circle and place in the
centre the people and stakeholders concerned: people with learning and physical
disabilities, the Local Authority Trading Company, family-carers, professional
carers, significant others.
Phase 2. In columns around the circle
list:
·
What is needed: be specific – aim to
write millions of needs (“blue skies”) and later reduce.
·
How can we meet those needs? Again, think
(“blue skies”) in and out of the box.
·
Who is going to take responsibility? A
truly joint partnership using everyone's gifts, skills and talents is possible
with open hearts and intention.
·
By when? Phases need to have time lines.
·
What else do we need to make the above
happen? Resources, finance, etc.
Phase 3.
Action – putting this into practice.
Phase 4.
Evaluation and Monitoring – this must be done with integrity and involve
everyone, including……… people who are dissatisfied with some or all of the
service.
Integrity Action was founded in 2003 and
views integrity as “The set of characteristics that improves trustworthiness to
stakeholders. Without integrity, measures to safeguard human rights, protect the
environment, strengthen democracy, promote social equity and reduce poverty are
compromised. In the absence of integrity the corrupt flourish.” Their vision is “….For a just and equitable
world, where citizens are empowered and integrity is central to vibrant
societies.”
Their Mission is to empower
citizens to act with and demand integrity.
They actively take part in building institutions to promote a state that
is open, accountable and responsive to their needs and expectations.
Their approach in institutionalising integrity requires the alignment of
four factors:
• Accountability: Enabling
stakeholders to check that we do what we say we do
• Competence: Doing it well
• Core values: Doing it with honour
• Corruption control: Doing it without corruption
Integrity Action’s approach to integrity is
this formula:
Integrity = Accountability + Competence + Ethics - corruption
http://www.integrityaction.org/what-integrity#sthash.AzYEBK2z.dpuf
Recently Larches Community was invited
to participate in the annual Learning Disability Today Exhibition at
Olympia together with Frameworks4Change. This is a sharing of a "Magic
Moment" I feel so privileged to have experienced; something that has been
in my heart since that day knowing that it is this kind of spiritual experience
that makes many of us get out of bed in the morning. For me, this story
makes all the Larches Community cashflow sleepless nights worth every anxious
moment.
"John" is completely dependent
for all his needs on his care staff. Throughout the day he uses a chair and is fed
through tubes. We have been told that his only communication is spitting and that
staff prefer not to work with him. At the Larches Community we don’t
always believe what we are told and our biggest knowledge about the person is
gleaned by watching, observing, reflecting, asking and just being with the
person! Whilst his staff clearly enjoy being connected to people, they
don't seem to believe that he does - we often see John and his chair facing the
wall in the opposite way to people and activities. John seems to enjoy
his day with us at Larches Community Programme, especially activities with
music.
We had a soul-searching dilemma about
how to travel to the Exhibition. We could have gone in one or two mini
buses at very little cost and John would have travelled by mini cab with his
own staff. This would have been a sensible ‘head’ decision. However, we
made a 'heart' decision to search for a coach that could remove rows of seats
to accommodate John so we could all go together. Inclusive means All! This
cost us several hundreds of pounds that we didn't have a budget for and I am
still explaining!
We participated in the Compassion discussion
group led by Frameworks4Change. We were in a circle facing the centre and each
other. Again, John was placed facing the wall. I gently turned John’s his
chair around so that he could face the group and Francis, who was facilitating
our group.
Throughout the session John made noises.
Each time Francis stopped talking and acknowledged John's contribution. We
couldn't have known what John was communicating with us. Did he feel a
part of the group? It was only after reflecting much later that I thought this
might have been a rare experience for him to be acknowledged, honoured and
valued for who he is – as Francis had done when he stopped talking to
acknowledge John's contribution. I truly treasure how Francis was a role
model to us and how we have all learnt another way of being. He broke
boundaries to allow and encourage John to speak whenever anyone else was
talking.
At the beginning of the day John’s carer
had been irritable and preoccupied. Throughout the morning Charlie, one
of our trustees, supported John's carer by chatting and encouraging. Later, I
checked with Charlie to make sure he was surviving with what felt like
considerable negativity. We shared the
thought that we could have removed this carer because of her attitude and
behaviour towards John. Charlie was on
an unspoken mission to help her demonstrate her compassion and heart towards
John and nothing was going to beat Charlie! We both knew the carers gifts
were available, but not yet present. I really wasn’t sure that Charlie
had sufficient time in a short day!
Later, during the Compassion discussion,
John's carer spoke about how she feels valued at Larches Community, how we come
into the hall and say "Hello" to her, ask her how she is and chat
about little things. How she often doesn’t feel valued in this way. What is
this lack of value towards carers doing to vulnerable people?
On the coach my colleague thanked
everyone for representing Larches Community and hoped that we had all enjoyed
the day. John made a noise. We looked at
John and saw his hands had gone up and he was smiling. Everyone clapped. We
hadn't noticed any spitting throughout the day. Why would John need to
communicate in this way when he had been validated, listened to, respected and
accepted?
We chatted to John's carer again and
discussed how this was probably the first time John has gone to an exhibition
and been acknowledged and validated for his unique contribution. We asked John’s
carer to acknowledge her part in making John's day so meaningful. She beamed
and became animated.
I hope that this story warms your soul
too. You could ask: What use is John to society? He can't walk, or talk
or eat or look after his bodily functions and, yes, John costs money that we
have to find in order that we may own we are a civil, caring and compassionate
society!
John is someone's child and brother.
In some cultures, he is everyone’s
child.
In that one day, John’s presence
taught us that even simple things like belonging, experiencing the leader stop
to acknowledge him and responding respectfully to his contribution had been
felt deeply. This was an amazing and wonderful experience and I feel so
humbled to have been part of John's life and the group for that day. It
took integrity, intention, passion, love and compassion and was possible only because
we ourselves feel valued and valued each other. It cost us absolutely
nothing else other than an expensive accessible coach!
At Larches Community we plough spare
money back into services to benefit disabled people. This was our commitment
when creating Larches in 1995 in my home with £50.00 and we haven't deviated
from putting disabled people at the heart of everything we do. Larches
Community staff have not had a salary increase since 2010 and the price of our
courses remains well below the actual cost of providing experienced sessional
workers whose expertise we cherish and value.
A quality service does not have to cost more money. At the
end of last term one of our tutors asked if we had a budget to go to one of the
three coffee shops in Edgware (some would call this “out and about in the
community”). The cost would have been approximately £50.00. The service users
would have had the experience of drinking in a coffee shop – so what?
Instead they invited their families to the last session and we all made bath
salts and shared homemade cake and tea made by our learners. Such delight with
everyone choosing which colour bath salts they made for themselves and another
person, and working in collaboration and comradeship with each other.
Costs are always an issue when
discussing care and services, and there is something everyone seems to have
forgotten. There is no legal obligation for parents to provide housing to
their adult children over the age of 18 years. Has anyone worked out how much
it would cost government and local authorities if parents refused to have their
disabled adult children live with them providing 24/7 care? We must acknowledge
that these families are 'on duty', with love, even when their adult children
are using services. Has anyone worked out how much family-carers are
saving local authorities with their dedication and lifelong commitment?
·
When an adult disabled person is sick
whilst using a day service, who is called to collect them? It is the parents of
course.
·
Who then coordinates doctors and hospital
appointments for the disabled adult? It is the parents of course!
·
Who then stays at home to look after the
adult disabled person for the duration of the illness? It is the parents
of course!
These
are the harsh facts that make the lives of parent carers so different from those
of other parents, who have hope that their children will have a fulfilled and
creative life, enjoying education, a career, marriage, children, holidays and other
ordinary life events.
Our family carers have none of these
hopes. For most of them their biggest hope is that people will care about and
for their disabled children after they die.
Their second biggest hope is that people
will care about their disabled child’s daily life and provide the very best
support and services throughout their lives.
Whatever informal support they have from
family and friends, they cannot look forward to being free from the
responsibility of ensuring their child gets up in the morning, has healthy
meals, brushes his teeth, takes his medication and all the other tasks we do
when our children are young and take for granted that when they reach
milestones, they will do these basic tasks for themselves. At the age of 60, 70
and often 80, family carers of disabled daughters and sons will still be lying
in bed at 5am listening for their child's waking noises as they did when their
child was two years old.
Many family carers live the whole of
their adult life, into their winter years, taking care of their disabled sons
and daughters, often ignoring their own ill health, until their own death. I am
full of respect and admiration for these families who have devoted their own
lives to taking care of their beloved children. Their courage and fortitude is
exemplary and deserves all the medals given to people who do far less for
humanity.
The example demonstrated to us by family
carers should be applauded, supported and modeled. Barnet Council should
be insisting that all organisations provide services of excellent quality,
appropriate to every disabled person’s individual needs. Will YCB be a
model all organisations will want to mirror?
Families of disabled children have
been engulfed with emotion that only another disabled family has
experienced, our community should be doing everything possible to help these
parents, and often siblings, have some life of their own, knowing that their
disabled child is well cared for, safe, stimulated and valued.
“Fanaticism consists of
redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.” George
Santayanak
London Borough of Barnet could destroy the
current YCB commodity culture. We could lead the way in setting an example to becoming a compassionate community if we listen and “hear”
about the pain, practicalities and needs of disabled people and their family carers.
It is easy to write and speak these words in order to “tick the boxes” but we
need to work with integrity to put them into action for all vulnerable people
in Barnet.
Private companies see clients as a
commodity. Until they see my beloved
daughter and all her peers as human beings we have to oppose the YCB culture of
profit from disabled people. Rachel’s
life has begun at 40 years. The highly
paid people who kept her infantilized and conditioned to be “a good girl” know who they are but appear
to have not learnt anything. We have to
ensure that all disabled people’s life is full of the same quality of care and
service that my daughter is experiencing now, half way through her life.
We have learnt many lessons from Winterborne but have been
too slow in putting all these lessons into practice. We are still using many of the ingredients
that created Winterborne and ignoring lessons.
When will we ever learn?
Linda Edwards MBE
December 2013
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