How will spending cuts affect recycling targets and staff? Heydon Prowse meets bin men in Westminster Heydon Prowse
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How will spending cuts affect recycling targets and staff? Heydon Prowse meets bin men in Westminster Heydon Prowse
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How will spending cuts affect recycling targets and staff? Heydon Prowse meets bin men in Westminster Heydon Prowse
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Thirty-eight patients in south Wales underwent surgery with instruments used on person at high risk of fatal brain condition Thirty-eight patients who underwent surgery with instruments previously used on a patient at high risk of the fatal brain condition CJD have been warned they may contract the disease. Health authorities say the likelihood of the long-incubating Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease having spread is low. However, the concerns over possible sterilisation problems at a hospital in south Wales in 2007 echo those raised at Middlesbrough general hospital in 2002 when 24 patients were told they had been exposed to risk . The hospital is not being named but it is overseen by the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board, which includes hospitals in Swansea, Maesteg and Port Talbot. A statement from Public Health Wales on Monday said: “Letters were sent to those at risk after it became apparent that a patient who underwent surgery in a hospital in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board area in 2007 was at high risk of the disease. “All surgical instruments used on the patient were removed from use when the patient’s history became known, and all patients operated on with the same instruments in the interim have now been informed.” Jörg Hoffmann, its consultant in communicable disease control, said: “In this incident, we do not have a single confirmed case of CJD. However, we do have one patient who was at high risk and 38 people at extremely low risk. “We know that all the surgical instruments used on this group of patients were cleaned, disinfected and sterilised normally. However, it is possible that the proteins that cause CJD, known as prions, survived these routine sterilisation procedures so an extremely small risk of transmission remains. “We have identified and written to all patients concerned to make them aware of the extremely low risk. They have been offered information and support and a helpline has been set up for anyone who has received a letter and has further questions.” He said there was no risk to anybody else. The statement did not say how it had emerged that the initial patient had been discovered to be at high risk of CJD, nor what type of surgery he or she had undergone. For decades there has been concern over the possibility of CJD, or its variant – originally caused by eating contaminated meat from BSE-infected cows – being transmitted through surgery. There have, however, only been six cases worldwide of any form of CJD being transmitted in this way. The Middlesbrough case led to a UK overhaul of guidance on the quarantining of instruments used on “risky” patients and the handling of such cases. Health Wales NHS James Meikle guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Thirty-eight patients in south Wales underwent surgery with instruments used on person at high risk of fatal brain condition Thirty-eight patients who underwent surgery with instruments previously used on a patient at high risk of the fatal brain condition CJD have been warned they may contract the disease. Health authorities say the likelihood of the long-incubating Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease having spread is low. However, the concerns over possible sterilisation problems at a hospital in south Wales in 2007 echo those raised at Middlesbrough general hospital in 2002 when 24 patients were told they had been exposed to risk . The hospital is not being named but it is overseen by the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board, which includes hospitals in Swansea, Maesteg and Port Talbot. A statement from Public Health Wales on Monday said: “Letters were sent to those at risk after it became apparent that a patient who underwent surgery in a hospital in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board area in 2007 was at high risk of the disease. “All surgical instruments used on the patient were removed from use when the patient’s history became known, and all patients operated on with the same instruments in the interim have now been informed.” Jörg Hoffmann, its consultant in communicable disease control, said: “In this incident, we do not have a single confirmed case of CJD. However, we do have one patient who was at high risk and 38 people at extremely low risk. “We know that all the surgical instruments used on this group of patients were cleaned, disinfected and sterilised normally. However, it is possible that the proteins that cause CJD, known as prions, survived these routine sterilisation procedures so an extremely small risk of transmission remains. “We have identified and written to all patients concerned to make them aware of the extremely low risk. They have been offered information and support and a helpline has been set up for anyone who has received a letter and has further questions.” He said there was no risk to anybody else. The statement did not say how it had emerged that the initial patient had been discovered to be at high risk of CJD, nor what type of surgery he or she had undergone. For decades there has been concern over the possibility of CJD, or its variant – originally caused by eating contaminated meat from BSE-infected cows – being transmitted through surgery. There have, however, only been six cases worldwide of any form of CJD being transmitted in this way. The Middlesbrough case led to a UK overhaul of guidance on the quarantining of instruments used on “risky” patients and the handling of such cases. Health Wales NHS James Meikle guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Thirty-eight patients in south Wales underwent surgery with instruments used on person at high risk of fatal brain condition Thirty-eight patients who underwent surgery with instruments previously used on a patient at high risk of the fatal brain condition CJD have been warned they may contract the disease. Health authorities say the likelihood of the long-incubating Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease having spread is low. However, the concerns over possible sterilisation problems at a hospital in south Wales in 2007 echo those raised at Middlesbrough general hospital in 2002 when 24 patients were told they had been exposed to risk . The hospital is not being named but it is overseen by the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board, which includes hospitals in Swansea, Maesteg and Port Talbot. A statement from Public Health Wales on Monday said: “Letters were sent to those at risk after it became apparent that a patient who underwent surgery in a hospital in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board area in 2007 was at high risk of the disease. “All surgical instruments used on the patient were removed from use when the patient’s history became known, and all patients operated on with the same instruments in the interim have now been informed.” Jörg Hoffmann, its consultant in communicable disease control, said: “In this incident, we do not have a single confirmed case of CJD. However, we do have one patient who was at high risk and 38 people at extremely low risk. “We know that all the surgical instruments used on this group of patients were cleaned, disinfected and sterilised normally. However, it is possible that the proteins that cause CJD, known as prions, survived these routine sterilisation procedures so an extremely small risk of transmission remains. “We have identified and written to all patients concerned to make them aware of the extremely low risk. They have been offered information and support and a helpline has been set up for anyone who has received a letter and has further questions.” He said there was no risk to anybody else. The statement did not say how it had emerged that the initial patient had been discovered to be at high risk of CJD, nor what type of surgery he or she had undergone. For decades there has been concern over the possibility of CJD, or its variant – originally caused by eating contaminated meat from BSE-infected cows – being transmitted through surgery. There have, however, only been six cases worldwide of any form of CJD being transmitted in this way. The Middlesbrough case led to a UK overhaul of guidance on the quarantining of instruments used on “risky” patients and the handling of such cases. Health Wales NHS James Meikle guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Thirty-eight patients in south Wales underwent surgery with instruments used on person at high risk of fatal brain condition Thirty-eight patients who underwent surgery with instruments previously used on a patient at high risk of the fatal brain condition CJD have been warned they may contract the disease. Health authorities say the likelihood of the long-incubating Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease having spread is low. However, the concerns over possible sterilisation problems at a hospital in south Wales in 2007 echo those raised at Middlesbrough general hospital in 2002 when 24 patients were told they had been exposed to risk . The hospital is not being named but it is overseen by the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board, which includes hospitals in Swansea, Maesteg and Port Talbot. A statement from Public Health Wales on Monday said: “Letters were sent to those at risk after it became apparent that a patient who underwent surgery in a hospital in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board area in 2007 was at high risk of the disease. “All surgical instruments used on the patient were removed from use when the patient’s history became known, and all patients operated on with the same instruments in the interim have now been informed.” Jörg Hoffmann, its consultant in communicable disease control, said: “In this incident, we do not have a single confirmed case of CJD. However, we do have one patient who was at high risk and 38 people at extremely low risk. “We know that all the surgical instruments used on this group of patients were cleaned, disinfected and sterilised normally. However, it is possible that the proteins that cause CJD, known as prions, survived these routine sterilisation procedures so an extremely small risk of transmission remains. “We have identified and written to all patients concerned to make them aware of the extremely low risk. They have been offered information and support and a helpline has been set up for anyone who has received a letter and has further questions.” He said there was no risk to anybody else. The statement did not say how it had emerged that the initial patient had been discovered to be at high risk of CJD, nor what type of surgery he or she had undergone. For decades there has been concern over the possibility of CJD, or its variant – originally caused by eating contaminated meat from BSE-infected cows – being transmitted through surgery. There have, however, only been six cases worldwide of any form of CJD being transmitted in this way. The Middlesbrough case led to a UK overhaul of guidance on the quarantining of instruments used on “risky” patients and the handling of such cases. Health Wales NHS James Meikle guardian.co.uk
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Accept the lead role in a musical and there’s nowhere to hide, Daniel Radcliffe. But somehow semi-competence is perfect here If this series proves anything, it is that the quality of people’s acting will always be a matter of opinion. Singing and dancing, on the other hand … Well, if you accept the lead role in a Broadway musical then there is only so much uncertainty to hide behind. As Daniel Radcliffe has just discovered. Two things emerge unanimously from the American reviews of his performance as the young window cleaner J Pierrepont Finch, who strives to scale the corporate pyramid in How to Succeed in Oh I Can’t Be Bothered You Type the Rest. The first thing: everybody wishes young Radcliffe well. The second thing: absolutely no one thinks he can sing. “As winningly game and diligent as he shows himself to be … he’s out of his league,” says Peter Marks in the Washington Post . “Radcliffe’s skills do not include showmanship, an attribute this slick part cries out for. Because carrying a tune is not the same as carrying a production, and merely talking fast does not a fast-talker make.” Joe Dziemianowicz in the New York Daily News concurs. “He shows off a pleasant singing voice,” Dziemianowicz says, “but he’s waxen and not animated enough to make Finch soar.” Even the show’s best review, in USA Today , comes to much the same conclusion. “Radcliffe relaxes enough to revel in the controlled chaos,” writes Elysa Gardner. “He also reveals, in the musical numbers, a serviceable tenor and sufficient rhythmic savvy to handle Frank Loesser’s jaunty, jazz-tinged score.” The problem, as everybody notes, is that, no matter how expertly he flaps around and gasps for breath, Radcliffe on Broadway remains a fish out of water. Or, to put it kindly – as Charles McNulty in the LA Times does – “an honest-to-goodness trouper”. “Gleaming with young-adult stardom,” McNulty continues, “Radcliffe gets an A for effort, but he doesn’t have the theatrical stature to pull together this choppy production.” In the New York Times, Ben Brantley is less indulgent. “I would give him, oh, a 6 out of 10,” he sighs, like a well-meaning but eternally disappointed maths teacher. “[Radcliffe] conscientiously hits his choreographic marks, speaks his lines quickly and distinctly (with a convincing American accent) and often sings on key … You truly want him to succeed, just as you hope a favorite athlete or hip-hop artist will avoid elimination on Dancing With the Stars. But you don’t particularly want his character in the show to succeed, and that really is a problem.” Yet, despite all this, with something that the less imaginative critics cannot resist calling wizardry, Radcliffe survives. Scott Brown at New York magazine , as he tends to, puts the matter well: “Radcliffe has often struck the ungenerous mind – mine, I mean – as a nice, lucky kid who was in the right place at the right time,” he says. “He was the boy who looked like Harry Potter, therefore Hollywood made him Harry Potter … Radcliffe, Equus aside, has always given off a just-happy-to-be-here vibe. He still does, and it might be his greatest asset here. For Finch is also a bit of a blank page, one that no one can resist filling with his or her obsessions.” Bingo! Radcliffe’s own semi-competence just happens to be suited perfectly for the part! “He doesn’t have to play the role like a Broadway wiseguy,” notes Chris Jones in the Chicago Tribune , “he can play him as a risk-taking, flying-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kid. That feels like a pretty apt description of Radcliffe himself in his first Broadway musical. The hair-raising tour de force not only is great fun for everybody, but it also fits the themes of the piece.” So it looks as though Radcliffe, in the end, has come out ahead. Which makes this probably a good time to quit. Do say Wizard performance! Don’t say What, he isn’t naked ? The reviews reviewed Well done. Just. Daniel Radcliffe Broadway Theatre Musicals US press and publishing Leo Benedictus guardian.co.uk
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All eight appointments to the bench since that of Lady Hale in 2004 have been white men Just two weeks after it was reported that women in the legal professions are still finding it difficult to break through the glass ceiling , here comes another setback. Though an official announcement has yet to be made, it seems that the next two appointments to the supreme court will be men. Sir Nicholas Wilson and Jonathan Sumption QC were said to be in the running when Sir John Dyson was appointed in March 2010. This time they’ve made it to the finish line. Of course there is much to be said about Sumption’s “leapfrogging” from the bar straight into the top level of the judiciary. But what about the most obvious characteristic they both share with all but one of their new colleagues? What of the fact that, Baroness Hale excepted, the supreme court is populated by white men? When it comes to the diversity of its members, the supreme court continues to lag far behind its overseas counterparts . Since Lady Hale’s elevation to the then House of Lords in 2004, all of the subsequent eight appointments to the supreme court have been men. In contrast, four of the nine members of the Canadian supreme court, three of the nine justices on the US supreme court, three of the seven judges of the high court of Australia and 19 out of the 47 judges on the European court of human rights are women. Furthermore, none of the members of the UK supreme court (or the court of appeal for that matter) has a black or minority ethnic background. Nor is there the diversity in sexual orientation found on the South African constitutional court and, until recently, Australia’s high court. This lack of diversity should give us pause for thought. Indeed, if the recent exchange between Lady Kennedy (incidentally the only woman on the government’s bill of rights commission ) and Lord McNally in the House of Lords is anything to go by, questions are already being asked. After all, assuming that judicial qualities are, on the whole, evenly distributed between men and women, appointment on merit should lead to (more or less) equal numbers of male and female judges, precisely because women are just as likely as men to possess the attributes of good judges. However, the reality is that this will happen only if the pool from which appointments are made is itself gender-balanced. We don’t know how many women applied in the latest round of appointments (though none made it on to the all-male shortlist ). But what we do know is that as long as we continue to select only from legal professions in which women continue to find it difficult to progress , appointment “on merit” will do little more than replicate this imbalance. If this is the case, then appointment on merit and progress to a more diverse judiciary truly are opposed. Something has to give. So what are the options? The answer need not be simply to parachute women into the shortlist through the use of quotas or targets. Nor should we abandon the search for “the best”, the goal of appointment on merit. The way forward lies in recognising that, all other things being equal, a more diverse judiciary is a better judiciary. Appointment on merit requires us to look for merit wherever and however it is to be found. This requires, first, that we acknowledge – with Hale – that a judiciary is enriched by the diversity of its members, by incorporating a broader pool of experiences, insights and attributes. For it is on this experience, insight and expertise that all judges will, on occasion, need to rely when applying and developing the law. Second, it means we must be alive to the risk that our quest for the best appointments may be thrown off track by misplaced assumptions as to how and where these are to be found. Should the rumours prove true, what the latest round of appointments shows is that there is a danger that we end up associating judicial quality with the attributes possessed by those who have traditionally held such positions, the result being that we see merit only in its familiar guises. Direct appointments to the supreme court bench may yet prove to be an effective way of addressing some of these problems. However, if the government is truly committed to a more diverse judiciary, then it needs to do more to ensure that the highly qualified women, who are out there and are eligible for judicial appointment, are promoted to the supreme court bench. After all, when it is suggested that the appointment of yet another white, male barrister – albeit one who has not previously held a judicial appointment – might be welcomed for the “diversity” it brings, then something is amiss. • Erika Rackey is on the executive committee of the Equal Justices Initiative , a group of academics, practitioners, judges and policymakers working towards gender parity on the bench UK supreme court Judiciary Gender Race issues Erika Rackley guardian.co.uk
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To prepare for the Lewa marathon, Adharanand Finn starts training with a new team of top Kenyan runners “It’s like we’re going to war,” jokes our coach, Godfrey, as we pile out from the back of the pick-up truck and start stripping down to our shorts and T-shirts. My wife, Marietta is scooting around taking photographs, while my children watch sleepy eyed from the truck cab, piles of water bottles on their laps, a bunch of bananas up on the dashboard. At the end of my six months in Kenya I’m going to run the Lewa marathon . Whenever I mention it to runners here in Iten they shake their heads and say: “That is hard.” The race is hot, hilly and is run along dirt trails. Oh, and there are lions and cheetah roaming around. To keep the wildlife at bay, the organisers send out helicopters to circle the route, but there’s not much they can do about the heat, the hills and the uneven terrain. It’s not a fast course. To help me prepare, I’ve managed to find myself a team of top Kenyan runners who also want to race in Lewa. We’ve christened ourselves the Iten Town Harriers and this morning we’re off on our first training run. The rainy season seems to have ended early and the early morning air is crisp and fresh. Runners and small buses pass by as we stand on the side of the main tarmac road in Iten while Godfrey gives us a little prep talk. “No racing,” he says. “Take it nice and easy.” And with that we’re off. The plan is to run a steady 30km, although I’ve already told them I’m likely to bail out at 20km. The truck, with Godfrey and my family in it, will follow us along the way, giving us five km time splits and handing out water if we need it. I’ve never been a great organiser, so I’m amazed this has all come together. My approach is usually to have an idea, put it out there and then hope that someone will come along to help me put it into action. In Kenya, it’s not a recipe that usually gets me very far, but somehow today it has worked. Our team’s star runner is Chris Cheboiboch , who has the fifth fastest time ever in the New York marathon. He’s a smooth operator who travels everywhere in his low-slung car, his Rolex and big grin hanging out of the window. He is largely responsible for everything coming together this morning, especially as he managed to find a truck we could use for the day. Godfrey, our big-hearted coach, got me worried when he rang me up the night before the run to tell me there was a change of plan. This usually means he has double booked himself, or he’s somewhere on the other side of the country, but fortunately he was just calling to say he would be 15 minutes late. Kenyans are infamous for bad timekeeping, but I’ve found that every training run I’ve been on has started exactly on the dot. If they say 6.10am, they’ll be gone if you turn up at 6.12am. Godfrey is bringing over a young runner called Shadrack, who he keeps telling me is going to win Lewa, for sure. “Are you kidding me,” he says. “This boy is good.” Shadrack himself is quiet and gentle, like most runners out here. His friend and training partner, David Barmasai, has just won the Dubai marathon , the world’s richest race, and I get the feeling Shadrack is feeling a bit left behind. Also on the start-line for our morning run is Josphat, a friend of Chris who has been running for years. There is much debate about his age, although his official Lewa entry form says he is still only 34. He doesn’t say much but instead likes to stand quietly in the background with a knowing look on his face. The last runner is one of my neighbours in Iten, Japhet. A young man of 24, he lives in a humble wooden shack without any electricity. His shoes are torn almost to pieces, which gives him a constant string of niggling injuries he treats by massaging himself. Despite his hardships, Japhet is a full-time athlete – even though he has never actually made a single Kenyan shilling from running. He’s a talkative, friendly person who is constantly smiling and saying: “It is good.” The run sets off at a gentle pace (we go through the first five km in 24 minutes), and I run at the head of the group with Chris, the two elders leading our troop along. After about ten minutes the truck drives past us along the main road, the children waving, Marietta crouched in the back snapping away. It’s a beautiful morning as we turn off the road and head out through the lush patchwork of fields. The dirt road meanders gently through small homesteads, clusters of round mud huts dotting the landscape like huge kilns or chimneys for an network of underground houses. At ten km the truck stops and Godfrey and my eldest daughter hand out water bottles, which we grab on the run as Godfrey shouts out that we’ve run the last five km in 22 minutes. As we run on, Chris suddenly ups the pace. I don’t know if he’s trying to show his authority, but suddenly the talking and joking stops. The truck keeps passing us by, but I’m having to focus too hard to wave back now. I’m not sure how long I can keep this up. Chris turns to me with a grin. “You OK?” he asks. Surprisingly, I am. I’m quite enjoying the new pace, even. But I feel as though I’m pushing my luck. Chris’s question sends doubts, excuses pinging around in my head. Before I’ve fully made the decision, I’m blurting out: “I’m just going to run 15K.” “Sure,” says Chris. I feel like I’ve given him the answer he was expecting. “We’re nearly at 15K,” he says. “Just two more corners.” I should go on, but the pronouncement has been made. Once you decide where you’re going to stop, it takes a reckless surge of energy to overrule yourself. Up ahead I see the truck stopped at the 15km point. It feels good to stop. My daughter runs to meet me, handing me some water. Marietta is crouched down, still snapping away. A group of children stand in a muddy field staring at us dumbstruck as though they have just witnessed an alien spaceship landing. The others run past, and on, following the dusty road disappearing into some trees. “That last five km was just under 20 minutes,” Godfrey tells me. “That’s fast.” It’s not bad, but I can’t help feeling I bailed out too early. I clamber into the back of the truck and sit down on the spare tire next to my youngest daughter. She’s looking up at me as though she’s only half sure who I am. Chris, after pushing the pace, ends up hopping in the truck at 20km, complaining of a twisted ankle, while the others plough on to 25km, where they all stop (the last 10km is run in 38 minutes). Godfrey hands out bananas and we take a group photograph. Then we jog the last one km back to Iten for a warm down. Inspired by watching the run, or perhaps just fed up with sitting in the truck, my eldest daughter joins us, skipping along up and down the banks at the side of the road like the Kenyan children who usually like to follow the runners. By the end she’s feeling very pleased with herself. Godfrey drops us all off in town and we head our separate ways, resolving to meet up again for another group run in a few weeks. The Iten Town Harriers are up and running. • The book Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn will be published in 2012 Running Fitness Adharanand Finn guardian.co.uk
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