Immediate Closure of Ukraine Family Scheme and Revised Care Worker Rights (HC 556)
In a recent development, the Home Office has implemented crucial changes affecting care workers and the abrupt closure of the Ukraine Family Scheme. This unexpected shift, effective from February 19, 2024, raises concerns about the government’s approach to immigration policies and has significant implications for affected individuals.
Changes for Care Workers
Implementation Date: March…
Whenever I talk about the medical neglect and ableism I've encountered as a victim of the healthcare system, there's always some cockwaffle who feels entitled to come into my inbox and make the argument of "not all doctors" while talking about how "people like them" (because it's always someone in a field of medicine who does this) are doing their best and it's really hard because so many people fake being ill to get on welfare (Yikes), but like, yeah, obviously #not all doctors, because if all doctors were negligent, bullying scum bags, I'd be dead.
But here's the thing: while I truly believe that the majority of doctors are doing their best in a system stacked against them and their patients, their presence does not negate the mass harm caused by the bad ones. And there are far more bad ones than you realize.
Fuck, John Oliver literally did a segment on this last week:
youtube
Yes, the truly bad, malicious doctors are in the minority. Most are just horrifically burned out and fighting a losing battle against a system, killing both them and their patients through a lack of funding and resources and profound overwork.
But the malicious ones do exist, and they will go out of their way to harm patients who don't kowtow to them.
I almost lost my life because when I was in my early twenties, I told a doctor I didn't think she was listening to me, and I disagreed with her assessment of my mental health (she was not a mental health doctor, and I was there for heart palpitations and chronic pain). She retaliated by putting "non-compliant" in my file.
There was also a fun little "doesn't show respect" note too that lives rent-free in my head because I know I wasn't rude. I was polite. I just didn't agree with her, and my refusal to accept her off-handed comment that "you probably have bipolar or BPD" (again, I was there for heart palpitations and chronic pain) meant I was "refusing care."
I wasn't. I just refused to be slapped with a mood/personality disorder when I was there because I kept fucking fainting when I stood up.
(Spoiler alert: it was dysautonomia)
That "non-compliant" marker followed me around for years. It followed me across an ocean and effectively ensured that any doctor I saw was going to treat me like absolute dogshit because no one wants to help Difficult Patients. It wasn't until I was so undeniably ill, literally on the brink of death, that anyone helped me.
I'm alive because of a good doctor. And all the good ones that came after him because of him.
So, I know they exist. You don't have to tell me that.
But I really fucking need you to acknowledge the bad ones and that you're part of a system with a long, long history of abusing minorities and vulnerable people. I need you to acknowledge that because it's the only way we're going to survive this godforsaken nightmare and make things better.
So yeah, #notalldoctors, but if you feel the need to say that because someone talking about being literally left to die by the medical system hurts your feelings, I'm going to have to ask you to take a step back and ask yourself if you're going into medicine for the right reasons.
Namely: do you want to help people, even the "difficult" ones?
Even the ones who might disagree with you?
Even if they're on welfare?
Even if they'll never get "better" in a way that means "cured"?
Just a thought. But hey, what do I know. I'm just someone who experienced hemolytic anemia because doctors kept telling me I was anxious and needed to exercise more 🤷♀️.
"We are prepared to do whatever it takes, even get arrested in an act of civil disobedience, to stand up for our patients," said one Kaiser Permanente worker.
Dozens of healthcare workers were arrested in Los Angeles on Monday after sitting in the street outside of a Kaiser Permanente facility to demand that providers address dangerously low staffing levels at hospitals in California and across the country.
The civil disobedience came as the workers prepared for what could be the largest healthcare strike in U.S. history. Late last month, 85,000 Kaiser Permanente employees represented by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions began voting on whether to authorize a strike over the nonprofit hospital system's alleged unfair labor practices during ongoing contract negotiations.
The current contract expires on September 30.
"We are burnt out, stretched thin, and fed up after years of the pandemic and chronic short staffing," Datosha Williams, a service representative at Kaiser Permanente South Bay, said Monday. "Healthcare providers are failing workers and patients, and we are at crisis levels in our hospitals and medical centers."
"Our employers take in billions of dollars in profits, yet they refuse to safely staff their facilities or pay many of their workers a living wage," Williams added. "We are prepared to do whatever it takes, even get arrested in an act of civil disobedience, to stand up for our patients."
Kaiser Permanente reported nearly $3.3 billion in net income during the first half of 2023. In 2021, Kaiser CEO Greg Adams brought in more than $16 million in total compensation.
According to the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, the hospital system "has investments of $113 billion in the U.S. and abroad, including in fossil fuels, casinos, for-profit prisons, alcohol companies, military weapons, and more."
Healthcare workers, meanwhile, say they're being overworked and underpaid, and many are struggling to make ends meet amid high costs of living.
"We have healthcare employees leaving left and right, and we have corporate greed that is trying to pretend that this staffing shortage is not real," Jessica Cruz, a nurse at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, toldLAist.
"We are risking arrest, and the reason why we're doing it is that we need everyone to know that this crisis is real," said Cruz, who was among the 25 workers arrested during the Labor Day protest.
A recent survey of tens of thousands of healthcare workers across California found that 83% reported understaffing in their departments, and 65% said they have witnessed or heard of care being delayed or denied due to staff shortages.
Additionally, more than 40% of the workers surveyed said they feel pressured to neglect safety protocols and skip breaks or meals due to short staffing.
"It's heartbreaking to see our patients suffer from long wait times for the care they need, all because Kaiser won't put patient and worker safety first," Paula Coleman, a clinical laboratory assistant at Kaiser Permanente in Englewood, Colorado, said in a statement late last month. "We will have no choice but to vote to strike if Kaiser won't bargain in good faith and let us give patients the quality care they deserve."
A local NBC affiliate reported Monday that 99% of Colorado Kaiser employees represented by SEIU Local 105 have voted to authorize a strike.
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This is a more normal post. Just wanted to say how proud I am of myself for getting into shape. A year and a half ago I was 180lbs and 5ft tall. Now I am 112 and 5ft tall. Also I put this outfit together because my gf likes me to dress more dykish sometimes. Enjoy 😊
I saw a post about someones plans for after the revolution, and I’m begging leftist to get serious for 5 minutes.
Y’all talk about and predict a revolution with the same reliability and trustworthiness as evangelicals talk about armageddon.
US Leftist can’t keep their shit together enough to wear masks and to help poor people get masks because they are expensive. But sure a revolution is going to happen any day now.
In the US many disabled people like myself are now homebound because we can’t safely go outside. Abled leftist admittedly refuse to do anything to change that. They are to busy posting quotes from long dead white men, about ideas those dead white men stole from indigenous peoples.
If US leftist can’t cope with something like covid, how the fuck do you expect to pull off a revolution?
Doctor Beverly Crusher
@SpaceDocMom
I believe your lived experience over what I read in a textbook at the Academy decades ago, and while I may use that textbook for reference in treating you, your information and consent are the most important factors. emojis: black heart, blue heart, masked
3:53 PM · Jan 17, 2024
Hey babes, sorry I've been dead, but I coulda been literally dead if I had not gone.
I didn't hurt myself and we're still figuring things out. I would love to share but I've already forgotten what I've learned. I hope I get more guidance and time for healing and learning on how to lead my life in a better direction than where I was. But that takes time and effort.
I hope to get some rest, get some support, and get it together. But right now, I don't think it's healthy for me to worry about art in the way I do now. I may not express it here, but trying to maintain my art endeavors/projects while there's so much bullshit going on backstage is not helping me. Especially since I'm not even obligated to do so. But trying to force myself to do something I am currently unable to do will just make me feel worse. I'll follow my dreams and passions one day, but I've been putting off the healing process for years.
So I guess it's better to get better now so I can get the ball rolling again. Why drive on a flat tire?
Health and Care Visa 2024: Updates, Eligibility, and Changes
The Health and Care Visa is a crucial avenue for healthcare professionals worldwide to contribute to the UK’s health and social care sector. In this comprehensive guide, we delve into the key aspects of the Health and Care Worker Visa, shedding light on the recent updates, eligibility criteria, and the imminent changes set to take effect in Spring 2024.
Eligibility Criteria for Health and Care…
You lecturing me on the risks of not brushing your teeth when I tell you I haven't been able to due to being fucking bedridden due to a chronic Illness does the opposite fucking thing you think it does! Not to mention I have severe fucking sensory issues and other debilitating mental health issues! You think I don't already fucking hate myself because I can't brush my teeth? And also you don't get to have the fucking audacity to imply that my chronic heart, blood pressure, and neurological conditions could be caused because I "choose to not" BRUSH MY FUCKING TEETH.
IM FUCKING TRYING
BUT SOMETIMES I NEED TO PUT WHAT LITTLE ENERGY I HAVE INTO STAYING ALIVE
🔥 Dr. Peter McCullough Urges Immediate Removal of All COVID Vaccines and to Cut Ties With the WHO
"The COVID-19 vaccines and all of their progeny and future boosters are not safe for human use," attested Dr. McCullough.
"It's my belief that the European Union, the United States, and all major stakeholders should actually completely pull out of the WHO and leave the WHO to its own endeavors — not to have any jurisprudence, any dominion over what we do in healthcare."