Jul42017

Green Party calls for immediate lifting of public sector pay cap

Green Party

4 July 2017

*Co-leader Jonathan Bartley: “Private companies are having a banquet organised by the Government while public sector workers aren’t even getting the crumbs from the table”

The Green Party has called on the Government to immediately lift the public sector pay cap after a damning report revealed the scale of the impact on workers [1].

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:

“What will it take for Theresa May and Philip Hammond to listen? The staff on the frontline in our most important jobs – including the emergency services they have been so ready to praise in the last few months – and even their own party colleagues have urged them to see sense.

“Enough is enough and it’s time for the Government to shift its priorities away from cutting taxes for those who don’t need it and start paying public sector workers fairly, many of whom are struggling just to make ends meet.

“The Prime Minister’s attempt to sneak out this report is the latest indication that she knows this unpopular policy is nearing the end of its shelf life. Planned tax cuts for corporations should be scrapped immediately. Private companies are having a banquet organised by the Government while public sector workers aren’t even getting the crumbs from the table. Let’s give our teachers, doctors, firefighters and police the pay rises they deserve.”

Notes:

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/03/damning-government-report-shows-scale-of-public-sector-pay-cuts

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Jul42017

The shocking findings of this report should serve as a wake-up call to this Government- Lewell-Buck

Labour

Emma
Lewell-Buck MP, Shadow Minister for Children and Families, commenting on
the Children’s Commissioner’s report on measuring the number
of vulnerable children, said:

“The shocking
findings of this report should serve as a wake-up call to this Government who
have so far refused to even measure the scale of the problem let alone come up
with effective policy solutions.

“From the 800,000
children suffering from mental health difficulties, the 46,000 thought to be in
gangs, or the 119,000 homeless or in unstable housing, these figures lay out
the startling facts about the lives of vulnerable children who have largely
been ignored by this Government.

“The
Government should be taking action now to support every child and ensure that
they are safe, secure, and have a roof over their head.

“Labour will
enshrine the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into law, as we tackle
the root causes of vulnerability, such as housing, crime, and poverty, deliver
universal infant free school meals to address food poverty and school based
counselling in secondary schools to support vulnerable children, as we ensure
every child gets the best possible start in life.”

Ends

Jul42017

News story: Miniature pump for failing heart to be trialled with 50 patients

HM Government

Calon Cardio-Technology is preparing the UK’s first artificial heart pump for a 50-patient clinical trial in 2018.

The pioneering medical technology spin-out from Swansea University, based in the Institute of Life Science 2, has developed a miniaturised ventricular assist device (VAD) to be implanted directly into the left ventricle of a failing heart. This follows support from Finance Wales and Innovate UK.

Dramatic impact on the quality of life

Up to 60,000 new cases of advanced chronic heart failure are diagnosed every year in the UK, and 40% of those diagnosed die within 12 months.

Calon Cardio’s MiniVAD assists the weakened heart rather than replacing it. It could have a dramatic impact on quality of life for a significant number of patients.

It can slow or stall heart failure progression and prolong the life of patients waiting for a heart transplant. The MiniVAD is driven by an embedded electric motor and is powered by a battery pack worn by the user.

Smaller, lighter and more cost-effective

Existing VADs on the market are expensive, require extensive surgery for implantation and have been known to cause complications by damaging proteins and cells in the blood.

The MiniVAD addresses these problems with a smaller, lighter pump that requires less invasive surgery and causes less damage to the blood by allowing it to flow more gently. This also means it is more cost effective.

Innovate UK awarded Calon Cardio and Swansea University a Biomedical Catalyst grant of £1.66 million in 2013, to gather the necessary performance and safety data before applying to begin human clinical studies.

Substantial benefits to patients

Stuart McConchie, Chief Executive of Calon Cardio, said it was the most-advanced pump of its kind, adding:

This is for a very sick group of people and there are millions of them in the world, and hundreds of thousands in the UK.

It is the first British pump to be built for this purpose: to treat blood which is flowing through the pump extremely gently and to minimise damage to the blood.

Patients don’t have return to hospital for correction of adverse events related to blood handing, so the absolute cost benefit becomes substantial.