Rods Blog: Safety tests on EU nurses working in Britain scrapped for being 'discriminatory'

Safety tests on EU nurses working in Britain scrapped for being 'discriminatory'

By Richard AlleynePublished: 6:00PM BST 22 Aug 2010

Thousands of foreign nurses are now allowed to start work in Britain without safety checks because the tests could be deemed discriminatory under European Union law. Up until now the Nursing and Midwifery Council - which controls who can be employed here – has insisted that new recruits must have worked at least 450 hours in the last three years or go on a refresher course.

But now all they will need is a diploma from their country showing they are qualified. The Nursing and Midwifery Council has stopped administering the tests after being told it could be sued by the European Commission for breaking EU law on "freedom of movement" for workers from the Continent.

It has raised alarm bells and parliament has launched an investigation. "While freedom of movement within the EU in broad general terms is very positive, in this particular instance it is not so positive," said the Council chief executive Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes.

Under the system which still applies to British nurses and those from outside the EU, nurses from EU states wanting to work in hospitals, surgeries or care homes in Britain have to prove their clinical skills are up to standard and date. Either they have to show they have carried out a minimum of 450 hours' nursing in their own country in the past three years or they must attend an intensive three-month course with regular tests on their knowledge and skills.

In the past five years more than 40,000 nurses from the European Union – including former Soviet Bloc countries such as Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia – applied to work in Britain. But just 270 completed the course, deterred by its cost and difficulty.

Now the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which regulates nurses, has been forced to scrap both requirements because they are deemed to be "discriminatory" towards workers from EU member states. At a meeting in July, they reluctantly agreed to drop the requirements.
Although other EU countries are in theory bound by the same rules, major Western countries including France and Germany opted out of regulations which opened their borders to most Eastern European immigrants.

The changes will make the system almost identical to that in place for GPs coming from European countries, which allows them to cover out- of-hours shifts without tests on their skills or language abilities.

The lack of regulation was exposed two years ago when retired engineer David Gray died at the hands of exhausted German locum Daniel Ubani, who gave him ten times the normal dose of diamorphine. (Rods Note: Despite being personally responsible for the death of his patient, Dr Ubani is still practising medicine in Germany and has refused to come back to England for a full investigation).

Thousands of nurses are likely to take advantage of the rule change to work in the NHS or for agencies. Already around 2,000 nurses and midwives from EU try to come to Britain to work every year. The House of Commons' Health Committee plans to investigate.

Stephen Dorrell, the chairman, said: "A lot of MPs and the public will not be happy with the situation where people who are not adequately trained and who can't speak English to a certain standard can work in our NHS."

Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the RCN, said: "Patients need to know that the people looking after them have up to date skills and are suitably trained and experienced. "Therefore the balance between freedom of movement and patient safety must be maintained. Both regulators and employers need the right powers to ensure that nurses are clinically up to date and competent."

Rods Comments: The most important figure here are that 40,000 nurses mainly from former Eastern Bloc countries applied to come here but only 270 actually made it here. The other important fact to remember is that the British government has removed the requirement for foreign medical staff to pass an English language exam. Soon we may be inundated with 40,000 nurses who can’t speak English, and there will be nothing that we can do about it!

The English Democrats advocate removing our country from the EU, which will remove the ‘right’ of any EU citizen to an automatic right work in England.

Did you vote for the Lib/Lab/Con Party, or did you vote for common sense?

www.englishdemocrats1066.org

Rod’s Blog: Do you think that motoring is too expensive already?

Do you think that motoring is too expensive already? Petrol at £1.15 plus per litre (£3.50 ish per gallon), Road Tax at over £200 for a family car, Insurance up by 40% even before you take it off the drive of your Stately Pile.

Well folks, I have to tell you that ‘You ain’t seen nuthin yet!’.

Our Lords and Masters in Brussels will shortly be telling the British government to make us all pay-per-mile on our roads. Before anyone says it won’t happen here, it already does, the M25 Dartford Crossing, the M4 Severn Crossing and the M6 Toll Road spring to mind.

David Cameron of course promised us a referendum if the EU wanted to implement their laws into English law, but then he promised us a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty didn’t he. He lied then as well.

The following article was taken from the Sunday Express 22 Aug 2010.


NOW EU PLANS TO MAKE OUR ROADS PAY AS YOU GO
.
EU chiefs could seize control of Britain’s roads and motorways

Sunday August 22, 2010

By James Fielding
.
MOTORISTS could be squeezed for millions in crippling toll charges if EU chiefs seize control of Britain’s roads and motorways.

European Commission bureaucrats are plotting to merge the UK’s main traffic routes with those on the Continent to form a transport network under their control. The EC has already agreed to launch the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) on all current the stretch of M4 over the Severn Bridge. It will enable drivers to use a single payment account and one piece of electronic equipment by 2015.

By creating a motorway, perhaps even renaming them E-roads, as well as busy highways and city centres. Another directive has been presented to the European Parliament calling for road pricing, or taxes, for lorries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Next month MEPs will debate whether to consider taxing cars for similar environmental reasons. The Department for Transport has already announced the Government’s commitment to introducing a lorry road user charge.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond ruled out a similar scheme for other vehicles but many believe he will be overruled by the EU. All transport matters in the European Parliament are decided by majority voting. If member states market, the UK will be pressured to join. The DFT announced a public consultation on the plans, part of the Trans-European Transport Network, on August 2 while Parliament was in recess. There have been questions over why the consultation period is so short, with a September 10 deadline just four days after the Commons returns.

Furious MPs and transport watchdogs last night demanded the Government keep control of its road network at all costs. Mike Nattrass, UKIP transport spokesman and a member of the EU’s Transport and Tourism Committee, said: “Motorists avoid the M6 toll and use other roads to avoid the expensive toll charges, so where is the common sense in the EU’s plans? The EU has no right to interfere with our history and traditions by changing the name of our roads.”

Rod’s comments:

Sorry Mike, but the EU does have the right to interfere with out history and traditions, not only of our roads but every aspect of our culture and they’ve been doing it for years and I’m frankly surprised that a high ranking member of UKIP doesn’t know that . AND there is a little bit more of concern here Mike than the M1 being called the E1.

What right do they have? The British government has given them away to Brussels, that’s what!

Unfortunately the die was cast even deeper when the British people did not vote for an anti EU party, such as the English Democrats at the last elections. The English Democrats will immediately hold a referendum to determine the people’s views on our continued membership of the EU. If the majority says ‘leave’, we will do it. If the majority says ‘stay’ then we shall live with it. That is called ‘Democracy’, a word that no other political party understands.

The only hope this country has of common sense government is an English Democrat government.


www.englishdemocrats1066.org

RODS BLOG; Speed cameras to be privatised.

Private companies could be given the responsibility for handing out speeding fines after an influential police body suggested the work should be "outsourced".

Mick Giannasi, the head of roads policing at the Association of Chief Police Officers, recommended that the issuing of tickets and the collection of fines should be privatised to remove the burden from the police forces and magistrates' courts who currently administer the penalty system.

However, with local authorities removing their financial backing from safety camera partnerships, there is a fear that such a move could lead to the privatisation of Britain's entire speed camera network in an effort to keep it operational.

Giannasi, the chief constable of Gwent, has already written to the road safety minister to voice his concern over the results of the Department for Transport's cuts in funding, but some rank and file police officers are uneasy at the idea of private firms managing speeding fines.

Alan Jones, lead roads policing officer at the Police Federation, is quoted in the Metro as saying: 'I understand the fear and costly consequences of a shift towards the privatisation of speed camera enforcement.''This would be totally unacceptable, particularly in relation to effectiveness, public perception, consistency and standards,' he added. 'I also have concerns over data management and information sharing.'We cannot afford the consequences of the private sector managing speed camera enforcement.'

Nevertheless, a spokeswoman for the Department for Transport refused to rule out the possibility of outsourcing in the future. 'If private companies are brought in, it would need to be within the rules of camera law enforcement,' she said.

You voted for change - You got it!

You have been warned!

www.englishdemocrats1066.org

FREE BIKES FOR THIEVES (who say's crime doesn't pay?)

When I posted my last article about you the taxpayer, paying for people to enjoy holidays in Amsterdam and even receiving sex ‘education’ in the form of a visit to a prostitute, I didn’t think that things could get any sillier. Well I was wrong.

Over in Suffolk the Police are planning to give bikes to certain people absolutely free of charge. Unfortunately they are not being given to everybody only to criminals - and not even any old ‘crim’, you have to be a prolific thief or other criminal.

The idea apparently, is that it will help them get a job! Presumably it will avoid the little darlings from having to catch a bus.

It can be argued that drug selling is a job or even burglary and heaven knows, any self respecting lowlife needs a reliable get away vehicle.

Detective Inspector Richard Crabtree says that the plan is a ‘holistic’ approach towards dealing with crime. Well you can say that again Richard!

The bikes in question are ones that have been stolen but the rightful owner cannot be found and according to the Tax Payers Association, the thief may even be given the bike he has just stolen. In the past they have been sold to normal members of the public via auctions, but DI ‘Dick’ reckons that the scheme will be a success and will then be going nationwide.

Could I humbly suggest to the Chief Constable of Suffolk that when he starts cutting the service his force is allegedly providing to the good people of Suffolk, that Insp. Crabtree is the first to go?

www.englishdemocrats1066.org

Rods Blog - The Looney Left finally raises its ugly head

For a few months now I have been regaling the world (or at least anyone who has the patience to read my thoughts) with different issues that occur around the country and that in my opinion could have, or are having, an effect on my country – England. On some occasions I will also include my own personal thoughts on that subject. Right or wrong, they are my thoughts. Some people agree with me, some people don’t, but that’s what it’s all about isn’t it? Free Speech? By putting my thoughts into the public domain, I open them up to discussion. I may not always be right indeed I have been known to change tack because somebody points out something of which I had not thought. That is free open debate.

The whole purpose of my Blog is to bring to the attention of the English public, issues which are either not reported in the main media or do not receive very much cover. Anyone can see the varied subjects that I put up for discussion if they visit the English Democrat 1066 web site at www.englishdemcorats1066.org and follow the link to my Blog. As a reminder, the subjects have included matters such as the Coalitions plans to restrict council house tenancies to short term, - the difference between government crime figures and those produced by independent bodies, - the fact that over 1,000 12 year old British children are on the ‘Pill’, - how a 14 year old was forced into prostitution, - the ignorance of the British Prime Minister and how an innocent Englishman has been dragged back to Portugal and jailed with the use of an European Arrest Warrant. My last few postings on Facebook have been a couple of video’s and an editorial relating to the serving of Halal meat in schools in West London. A wide variety of subjects I think you will agree. A much too wide a subject base for the Looney Left it would appear.

For it was the last two items that have upset them. The first was a video split into three parts. Part l referred to a homecoming parade for an Army unit returning from active duty in Afghanistan and was an opportunity for the local community to show their respect to our fighting forces. As the troops marched through the town, they were subjected to a barrage of insults and abuse from a very noisy group of Asian males (presumably Moslems) who subjected the troops to taunts of ‘Baby Killers’, ‘Murderers’, ‘Rapists’ among others. Not surprisingly this upset some of the people who had gathered to salute the troops and it was not long before the police were trying to separate them. Members of the public were extremely upset and shocked by the actions of the demonstrators.

Part II of the video showed a very noisy demonstration in Downing Street, by a large group of Muslims who were demanding Sha’ria law be implemented in the UK. Not simply so that Muslims could enjoy living under this 14th century, barbaric law system but for all of us.

Part III of the video showed a civil disturbance in the East End of London that took place on the same day and showed, again presumably Muslims, a very large and noisy crowd of Asian males running through the streets. At one point, Police were seen to run away from the crowd and take shelter behind a police van. It is not difficult to sense the panic that must have been felt by the general public. The film is being taken from the top deck of a bus and as the bus turns the corner, you can clearly see a small group of people running as fast as they can for safety. One of these is a young man with a child in a push chair desperate to get away.

This prompted one Peter Kay to launch into a tirade criticising me severely for posting this video and asking what the point of it was. The point of showing the video was to ensure that as many people as possible saw these incidents because I bet nobody has seen any mention whatsoever of most certainly Part I & Part III of the video. It is possible that some of the central section of the video was shown but if it was, it would have been ‘edited’ by the media to not show the unpleasant parts. Despite the protestations of Mr Kay, I believe that it is important that we are told just what is going on in our country.

It was not long of course before I was being accused of being a racist. This you will probably know is the Lefts stock response to anybody that does not agree with their bizarre beliefs. According to the Left, everybody who is even slightly to the right of ‘Uncle Jo Stalin’ is a fascist, extreme right wing and quite simply their enemy to be destroyed.

Even a Leftie could be expected to read an article fully and understand what they are going to criticise before they actually do criticise it. When I published the article relating to Halal meat, I made it clear that my problem, and it is a very big problem, is the method of slaughter used to kill the animal. In addition to mentioning that this is the method used by Islam, I also mentioned that the Jewish religion use the same method for killing animals only they call it Kosher. I stated quite categorically that it is the method of killing that I find so wrong, as indeed does English law. That states equally categorically that animals must be treated as humanly as possible and that their death must be painless. The cutting of the throat and allowing the animal to bleed to death whilst still conscious in not humane. However, if you are a religion, you can be as cruel as you like. In short it is an animal welfare issue.

Mr Kay was also concerned that this incident was not actually happening in 1066 Country and therefore I had no right to discuss it with you and obviously, you with me. Should we restrict ourselves to covering only our little corner of the world? I think not Mr Kay!

Not good enough for the Looney Left. Oh dear, did I actually criticise Islam? Well, yes I did. I also criticised the Jews. Apparently that makes me a racist. Although how criticising a religion can be classed as racist, I know not. What does it make me if I criticise the Roman Catholic Church? That wouldn’t even register on their radar – but ISLAM!

I don’t give a damn what colour a persons skin is, where they come from or what their religion is. As far as I am concerned they are welcome in this country under certain circumstances and they can be found on the English Democrats 1066 web site (above). This country has a proud and long history of protecting the underdog and welcoming them into our society. They have accepted that English culture is paramount in England. That English law will always be above any of the traditions or practises that they may have brought from the old country. “When in Rome – You do as the Romans”. They did not expect the Romans to change their laws or their ways because of the newcomers’ wishes.

Over the centuries, the contribution made by ‘immigrants’ has enriched our nation and made England what she is today. Or rather, what she was 30 – 40 years ago, because England is not the same now. She is being changed by the likes of Mr Kay who advocate multiculturalism and political correctness – they are the Real Fascists.

Any person, who advocates the destruction of England and what she stands for, is an enemy of freedom and democracy. I give notice that I will fight you as hard as I can to prevent my country from being destroyed. I will fight you to prevent my grandchildren’s lives from being destroyed by your actions to give England and the United Kingdom away to foreigners of any description. And I am not alone. Despite the efforts of the media this information is getting out to the people of England and they are hearing it.

No Mr Kay I am not a coward as you claim me to be. I am happy to debate with anyone, even you! But I will not debate with a bigoted person who resorts to personal insults.

If anybody does want to see the evidence of Halal Slaughter, this is the link. But I warn you, it is graphic and disturbing (it is also in French – but the pictures speak for themselves).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQOKQ__3vQw&has_verified=1

http://www.englishdemocrats1066.org/

Rods Blog - Parents' fury at council plans for halal-only menus in primary schools. By Daily Mail Reporter

Parents have expressed fury at plans to serve pupils halal-only menus for school dinners.
In a move which has also enraged animal welfare groups, only meat from animals killed and prepared using Islamic teaching may be allowed at 52 primaries in Harrow. Critics say the plan puts the needs of Muslim children before those of other faiths, while parents say they have not been consulted over the scheme.

Schools are free to opt in to the programme or look elsewhere for their meals from the start of next month, according to Harrow Council. The local authority is thought to be the first in England to consider insisting on a halal-only menu apparently after recommendations of dietitians. Harrow council in Middlesex says the composition of the area's primary schools is now significantly different from 2001 when the last census was taken, and the Muslim population is larger.

Using the halal method, animals are slaughtered by being slashed across the neck and being left so that the blood drains from the carcass. The religious ritual, which does not allow the animals to be stunned beforehand, is considered cruel by campaigners and is exempt from animal welfare laws.

'The Farm Animal Welfare Council has lobbied the government in the past to get the Kosher and Halal method of slaughter banned. 'The Halal method, in which animals are slaughtered by a single slit to the throat, is the only way of killing livestock allowed under Islam but this method is deemed cruel by some animal-lovers, who object to the slow death it involves.

Read the full story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1300589/Parents-fury-town-hall-plans-halal-menus-schools.html#ixzz0vlzps9Pd

Rods Comments:

Halal and Kosher are particularly cruel ways of killing an animal. Already Kentucky Chicken have tried to bring in Halal meat in their restaurants but they were defeated by public opinion following campaigns organised by organisations such as the English Democrats.

Many, many people are opposed to the killing of animals for food and I can understand that position. I personally am a carnivore and do eat meat (when I can afford it) but I will never, ever knowingly eat either halal or kosher meat. It is simply wrong to put any animal through so much suffering for the sake of dogma.

Please boycott shops selling either (I doubt if you will find a shop selling both as Halal is Muslim and Kosher is Jewish).

Rods Blog - You Voted for Change – and that’s what you have got!

Council homes for life could go, says Cameron

In some cases council houses were handed down through generations, David Cameron said. Council houses should be allocated on fixed-term deals rather than being granted automatically "for life", David Cameron has said. The prime minister added that it was important tenants had the opportunity to move to find work, requiring more flexibility in the system. Those who succeed in getting better-paid jobs should be encouraged into the private housing sector, he said.
Labour said what was needed was "more secure homes, not less".

Mr Cameron said he expected a "big argument" over the proposals. The prime minister said fixed-term deals for tenants would allow people to move on if their circumstances changed. On a visit to the West Midlands, he was questioned by a mother of two teenagers, who said she had slept on a blow-up bed for two years because her council could not find her more space.
Mr Cameron said the government was investing in social housing, but added there was "a bigger question here", which was how to make sure people were able to move through the housing chain.

"At the moment we have a system very much where, if you get a council house or an affordable house, it is yours forever and in some cases people actually hand them down to their children.
"And actually it ought to be about need. Your need has got greater ... and yet there isn't really the opportunity to move."

Many councils ran "swap" schemes to match tenants, he said, adding: "But there is a question mark about whether, in future, should we be asking, actually, when you are given a council home, is it for a fixed period, because maybe in five or 10 years you will be doing a different job and be better paid and you won't need that home, you will be able to go into the private sector.... "So I think a more flexible system - that not everyone will support and will lead to quite a big argument... looking at a more flexible system, I think makes sense."

Any changes would apply to future, rather than current, tenants, Mr Cameron said.
'Long-term stability' Housing Minister Grant Shapps stressed that the government remained "committed to protecting the security of tenure and rights of those currently in social housing". But he added: "We should also look at ways of how best to help the most vulnerable in our society, and how to tackle the record 1.8 million households that now on social housing lists"
Shadow housing minister John Healey said Mr Cameron's words confirmed his party's worst fears about Conservative plans.

"What is needed is more secure homes not less. Before the election Labour warned the Tories had a secret plan to get rid of secure tenancies and they accused us of scaremongering. "Less than three months later we have the truth. "This is so important because people highly value the affordable cost and long-term stability of secure tenancy."

Rods Comments:

The people of England and Britain voted for change at the last election. Unfortunately, nobody told us what the change would be. Now we are beginning to find out, and be sure that this is only the beginning. There will be more ‘change’ on the way. Let us all hope that if this government lasts for the full 5 years, that there is enough of the country left to bother about voting for!