NHS Patients 'Feel Ignored And Sidelined'

The NHS is failing some the country's most vulnerable patients by ignoring complaints and failing to show compassion, according to a new report.

The Patients Association says many are left "uninformed" about their treatment, but are scared to complain because they fear recriminations.

Called 'Why our NHS should listen and be human', the report warns says most patients who raise grievances are driven by a desire to improve the system for others rather than punish staff.

The charity also says patients and their families understand doctors and nurses are not always able to answer their questions, but should be kept informed about their care.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "Today's themes report demonstrates that too often patients and their families are treated without compassion, are uninformed about treatment and next steps, feel ignored and sidelined when they raise concerns or complaints.

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"In our report, Why our NHS should listen and be human, we have identified that patients are still being shown a lack of care, compassion and dignity.

"We have also reported that openness and transparency are key themes that patients and the public are concerned about.

"The NHS is failing many of the most vulnerable members of society and patients and the public have told us about inconsistencies in the provision of care, poor standards of care and compassion, and a lack of openness and transparency in communication between healthcare staff, patients and their families.

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"These themes can be summed up as a desire to be treated in a humane and caring way with compassion, dignity, openness and honesty."

The association said the NHS must improve its complaints procedures and the support it gives patients.

Ms Murphy added: "It is now time to stop the rhetoric; be honest with your patients and place them central to everything you do, patients and the public deserve nothing less."

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'Forever Smiling' Schoolboy Oisin Remembered

By David Blevins, Ireland Correspondent

Mourners at the funeral of a 13-year-old boy, who died after an altercation at his school, have been told he was "forever smiling."

Oisin McGrath's parents, Nigel and Sharon, and his sisters, Caireen and Ciana, were joined by hundreds of people at the church in Belcoo.

His classmates and Gaelic football teammates formed a guard of honour outside and a school choir sang as his coffin arrived.

Those inside the church heard how the teenager's organs had been donated to five patients thanks to a decision by his "selfless" parents.

The County Fermanagh village has been stunned by the playground tragedy, which is still being investigated by police.

A 17-year-old sixth form student from the same Enniskillen school was questioned after the incident but has been released on bail, pending enquiries.

The year nine student was taken to hospital from St Michael's College at lunchtime on Monday and died on Thursday evening.

On medical advice, his parents made the agonising decision to withdraw their teenage son's life support and donate his organs for transplant.

Father Seamus Quinn paid tribute to the schoolboy, a budding musician and sportsman, and said the grief of his school friends spoke volumes.

He said: "He was forever smiling, a big wide happy grin etched on his face.

"He was a natural, unaffected young lad, quiet and easy to be with, the kind of smile that drew the best out of you, whether you were young or old.

"Because of his parents' incredibly selfless and faith-based decision, Oisin's falling on the ground and dying like a grain of wheat has brought life to five other human beings."

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Al Fayed Rape Allegation To Be 'Reassessed'

A rape allegation made against Mohamed al Fayed is being reassessed after "new information" about the case emerged.

The claims were first reported to the Metropolitan Police in October 2013.

Following an investigation by officers at the time, no further action was taken against the businessman, who is the former owner of Harrods.

However, the case against the 86-year-old will now be reviewed.

Mr al Fayed, who strongly denies the allegation, has expressed his "dismay" at the decision.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We can confirm the MPS investigated an allegation reported to us in October 2013. The matter was not proceeded with at the time.

"However, we are reassessing the original investigation as a result of new information."

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HSBC Issues Apology Over Banking Standards

HSBC has taken out adverts in national newspapers offering "sincerest apologies" over past activities at its Swiss operations.

In the open letter to its customers, shareholders and colleagues, HSBC's group chief executive Stuart Gulliver described recent media coverage about practices at the Swiss Private Bank eight years ago as a "painful experience".

However, the Business Secretary has said he wants greater assurances about tax transparency.

Vince Cable told Sky's Murnaghan programme that what emerged is "striking and unacceptable" - and he has called on former HSBC boss Lord Green to answer specific allegations about the business.

The full-page HSBC advert states: "We would like to provide some reassurance and state some of the facts that lie behind the stories.

The advert was published in the Mail On Sunday and The Sun On Sunday

"The media focus has been on historical events that show the standards to which we operate today were not universally in place in our Swiss operations eight years ago.

"We must show we understand that the societies we serve expect more from us. We therefore offer our sincerest apologies."

The bank added that since 2008 it had established a "much tighter central control around who are our customers".

It said it had also implemented tougher standards around tax transparency.

Earlier this week Mr Gulliver sent a memo to the bank's staff saying the revelations were painful and frustrating.

The adverts come amid a political row over tax avoidance, with Labour leader Ed Miliband on Saturday vowing to carry out an inquiry into the UK's tax authority should his party win power in the next General Election.

Mr Miliband argued that people not paying their fair share of tax had left "a £34bn hole in the nation's finances".

Promising an "aggressive" review into Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if his party wins in May, Mr Miliband pointed to suspicions of "sweetheart deals" with wealthy firms.

And the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, has told Sky News a "crackdown" is needed because there had only been one prosecution out of more than a thousand cases of tax avoidance at HSBC's private Swiss arm.

"Was that because the Conservatives were back-peddling, brushing it under the carpet? Was it because the HSBC boss had now become a minister? Was it because their donors were involved in that HSBC activity? I think we need answers from David Cameron and George Osborne, and we need them soon," he added.

This week, Mr Miliband seized on allegations about tax avoidance by HSBC clients to brand Prime Minister David Cameron a "dodgy Prime Minister, surrounded by dodgy donors".

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Cable said: "I think the worst period we went through was 10 years ago, when all the leading banks were offering industrial-scale tax avoidance to British citizens to avoid British tax - and they were doing it out of London.

"There are still things happening that should definitely not be happening."

After a week of clashes between Mr Miliband and Mr Cameron, the former Tory chancellor Ken Clarke said there needs to be agreement on a "more sensible and defensible" system for funding political parties.

Mr Clarke told The Observer newspaper that the Conservatives should break their reliance on wealthy donors and embrace the need for more state funding of politics.

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Two Killed In Crash Involving Bus And Lorry

Two people have died in a crash involving a minibus and a lorry.

Six others were hurt in the collision, which happened near Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

One man is in a critical condition with "serious head injuries" at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre.

Both victims who died were pronounced dead at the scene on the A511 in Tutbury.

Emergency crews were alerted just before 7am on Sunday.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said four people suffered minor injuries, while another is being treated for chest pain in Queen's Hospital in Burton.

Staffordshire Police said the investigation into how the collision happened was "likely to take some time".

It comes after two women died in a three-car collision close to a roadside diner on the southbound A11 in Besthorpe, southeast of Norwich.

A 46-year-old woman died at the scene, police said, while a 30-year-old died later in hospital after the collision at 11.30pm on Saturday. Occupants of a third vehicle suffered minor injuries.

Earlier on Saturday, four people died in two separate tragedies on two of the country's busiest motorways.

Three men died after a coach hit their stationary vehicle on the M1 in Bedfordshire, while another man was killed in a pile-up involving dozens of cars on the M40 in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

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Boris Johnson To Renounce US Citizenship

Boris Johnson is to renounce his American citizenship, removing a possible obstacle to becoming Prime Minister.

The Mayor of London has dual nationality because he was born in New York but says he wants to hand back his American passport.

"The reason I'm thinking I probably will want to make a change is that my commitment is, and always has been, to Britain," he told the Sunday Times during a week-long tour in the States.

"It's an accident of birth that has left me with this thing. I've got to find a way of sorting it out."

Mr Johnson - who is running for parliament in Uxbridge and South Ruislip - said he would discuss the matter with US ambassador Matthew Barzun.

"It is a laborious business. They don't make it easy for you," he added.

Constitutional experts say dual nationality is not a technical barrier to Mr Johnson becoming prime minister, but it is thought he would face scrutiny about his loyalties.

Aides said the mayor's priority was to avoid paying more tax to US authorities, after he was recently forced to settle a large capital gains tax bill.

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Man Bailed Over Alleged Links With IS

A 32-year-old man has been bailed after earlier being arrested on suspicion of being a member or supporter of Islamic State.

The suspect was detained at a property in Newham, east London on Saturday morning by officers from Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command.

He was taken into custody at a south London police station and questioned before being released pending further enquiries to a date in mid-March.

Police said he was suspected of collecting information which may be useful to someone who commits or prepares acts of terrorism and of encouraging acts of terrorism.

Islamic State, which is staging a conflict in Iraq and Syria where it wants to create an Islamic caliphate, was named as a banned organisation in the UK in June last year.

The group has released a number of videos showing the murders of Western hostages, including British aid workers Alan Henning, 47, and David Haines, 44.

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Abuse Inquiry May Probe Crimes Back To 1945

The offical inquiry into alleged child sex abuse may be extended to investigate crimes committed as long ago as 1945, according to Justice Lowell Goddard.

The New Zealand judge took over the inquiry after two other senior figures were forced to step down over establishment links.

The investigation is expected to focus on allegations of alleged wrongdoing dating back to 1970, but Justice Goddard says this could be extended.

The 66-year-old told The Mail On Sunday that fixed cut-off points for inquiries are "artificial".

"The terms of reference talk about going back to 1970, but there is a push from certain quarters to take it back to about 1945," she said.

Video: NZ Judge To Head Abuse Inquiry

"A cut-off point is always a bit artificial - someone who falls on the wrong side of it is aggrieved."

The newspaper said Home Secretary Theresa May supports Justice Goddard's position on the possibility of extending the terms of reference.

Justice Goddard said she "wouldn't shrink" from summoning prominent people to give evidence at the inquiry.

"I don't feel intimidated. Nobody should be beyond the reach of the law," she said.

"Sexual abuse of little children has never been anything short of a serious crime and that does not alter through religious or cultural mores or a different era or time.

"If criminal offending is evident it will be handed to police. There are people who need to be given a voice about what has happened to them."

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Arrest After House Blast Seriously Injures Man

Police have arrested a 43-year-old man following an explosion at a house in Gloucestershire.

Officers are questioning him on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and burglary.

A 43-year-old man was alone at the semi-detached property, in the Forest of Dean town of Coleford, when the blast occurred on Saturday morning.

He was rescued from the house by fire crews and taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol suffering from serious injuries.

This car also appears to have been damaged in the blast

According to a police spokesman, he underwent surgery yesterday.

"The property is being examined by structural engineers and the cause of the explosion is being investigated," the spokesman added.

Specialists from the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, along with police detectives, have resumed their inspection of the property.

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Catch Me If You Can: Fugitive's Facebook Taunt

A criminal on the run has used Facebook to taunt police officers trying to track him down.

Logan Rhys James, of Caerphilly, South Wales, was in prison for a street knife attack but was released early.

Gwent Police, who are hunting him because he breached the terms of his release, issued the 19-year-old's mugshot on Facebook as officers tried to track him down.

The comment posted on Gwent Police's Facebook page

But a comment appeared, apparently sent from James' profile, which said: "Haha catch me if you can wont (sic) see me slipping."

Officers said they remain confident of catching the teenager, who is known to have contacts in Caerphilly and Barry.

A spokesman said: "Logan received an eight-month sentence for affray after being convicted on 31 July 2014.

"Due to the fact that Logan, who was released on licence, breached his licence conditions he has been recalled to prison."

:: Anyone with information should contact Gwent Police on 01633 838111, quoting log 294 11/02/15 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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