Turgon – Page 8 – Slugger O'Toole

Assembly calls for debate on consent for Organ Donation

Turgon on March 5, 2012, 8:00 am

| Readers 125

A couple of weeks ago the assembly had a debate on organ donation in Northern Ireland and discussed the option of presumed consent as a mechanism to increase organ donation rates. Edwin Poots called for a public debate on the issue. The issues in this are complex. Presumed consent may substantially increase the number of organs available for transplantation since although a majority of people state a willingness to donate their organs following death only a minority are registered donors. …

Terrorists and Forgiveness

Turgon on March 1, 2012, 12:47 pm

| Readers 63

The News Letter yesterday had an article quoting (and interviewing Ian Bothwell of the Crossfire Trust in Darkley). He suggests that some Republicans he has spoken to are “seeking forgiveness for their past.” From the News letter: He says he knows several former IRA members who would like closure on the deeds they have committed in the past. “We are talking about a number of republicans who have engaged in front-line activity,” he told the News Letter. “They would like …

Thoughts on The New Routemaster and Green Transport

Turgon on February 28, 2012, 2:10 pm

| Readers 149

The new Routemaster buses by Wrightbus have finally begun to appear in London. These buses have been championed by Boris Johnston to replace the bendy buses brought in by Ken Livingstone when he was mayor. The buses seem to have proved reasonably popular with the public though a protest bus followed the first new Routemaster to complain about the rise in fares. Several London politicians also joined in the attacks (from the BBC): In an open letter to the mayor, …

Crown Prosecution Service consider Chris Huhne case

Turgon on January 22, 2012, 5:49 pm

| Readers 42

There has been a slow burning story going on for months now about Chris Huhne the Liberal Democrat Energy Sectary. Huhne who was one of the challengers for the Liberal Democrat leadership both against Ming Campbell and Nick Clegg (by whom he was only narrowly defeated). Huhne’s problem has been the claims that whilst he was MEP for South East England in 2003 he was caught by a speed camera whilst driving into central London from Stanstead airport. Huhne already …

The solution to hospital bed crises: not necessarily more beds

Turgon on January 20, 2012, 10:29 pm

| Readers 717

The problems surrounding the Emergency Department at Antrim Area Hospital have made the news several times this week and led to one general practitioner stating that he would not want to go there as a patient (well no one actively wants to be an A+E patient as no one wishes ill health on themselves but his point is well made). There are actually two different problems regarding A+E departments which have occurred in the last few weeks. They often occur …

Twentieth anniversary of Teebane

Turgon on January 17, 2012, 3:40 pm

| Readers 821

Almost any date in Northern Ireland is the anniversary of a death from the Troubles. Often the less iconic are forgotten about. As such marking one event may be unfair to the relatives of the less well known about deaths. Sometimes, however, the anniversary is such that is should be marked. This is the 20th anniversary of the Teebane murders. 20 years ago this evening a group of workmen were returning home from working on Lisanelly army base in Omagh: …

Stepping Hill Hospital, nurses, the police and the media

Turgon on January 15, 2012, 6:06 pm

| Readers 46

After all the recent scandals involving the press one might hope that they are being careful to avoid the assorted pitfalls they fall into with such frequency. More likely, however, than a collective discovery of higher journalistic and editorial standards is that the fear of the current Leveson Inquiry is temporarily keeping them from the more egregious examples of the past. Last year there was the case of Rebecca Leighton the nurse who was accused of murdering patients at Stepping …

Cryptozoology: Unionist outreach to Catholics

Turgon on January 11, 2012, 9:00 am

| Readers 195

Cryptozoology according to wikipedia is “the search for animals whose existence has not been proven.” Here in Northern Ireland we have our own version of this: not monsters in Lough Erne (though the pike can get pretty big) but rather the political version. The two most sought after fantasy animals are the fabled Garden Centre Prod and the unicorn that is the Unionist Catholic. These creatures probably hide in the Craigantlet and Castlereagh Hills in the case of the Garden …

David Cameron boardroom pay and putdowns

Turgon on January 10, 2012, 9:56 pm

| Readers 53

The coverage of David Cameron’s views on any Scottish independence referendum have been analysed in detail. Those comments did rather eclipse the coverage of his interview with the Sunday Telegraph. The Telegraph is obviously the most pro Tory of the broadsheets but they do seem to be even more sympathetic than usual in their coverage of the interview: not only the article by Patrick Hennessy above but also Matthew d’Ancona who bordered a little too close to sycophancy</a. and a …

Thoughts on Prescription Charges

Turgon on January 9, 2012, 9:11 am

| Readers 255

Hidden away amongst the discussion of the Compton Review Edwin Poots again mentioned the prospect of reintroducing prescription charges. There is a certain irony in this in that although it was Michael McGimpsey who ended prescription charges the DUP repeatedly claimed this move as one of the successes of devolution and claimed much of the credit for that decision. More recently, however, Poots has repeatedly proposed reintroducing the charges in order to pay for cancer drugs and the like. Part …

Northern Ireland’s roads remain safe: possibly not at 111mph

Turgon on January 5, 2012, 10:46 am

| Readers 219

Some good news was published by both the BBC and News Letter yesterday. There were 59 deaths on the roads in Northern Ireland last year, a rise from 55 the year before, but still vastly lower than in the past. Prior to 2010 the lowest number of deaths was in 2008 at 107. As the News Letter notes it is sometimes seen as distasteful to celebrate a reduction in deaths when people are still being killed but the reality is …

Why is it so difficult to downgrade local hospitals?

Turgon on December 24, 2011, 2:48 pm

| Readers 138

The response to the Compton Report has thus far been remarkably low key. In part this may be because the Report is so comprehensive and so well argued, backed up by studies and statistics at every turn. Furthermore it says very little that anyone with any significant interest in health policy has not known for years. Possibly (and depressingly) one of the other reasons is that the Report carefully avoided stating which acute hospitals should be downgraded. It seems pretty …

Godot arrives: Compton Review delivers

Turgon on December 13, 2011, 1:05 pm

| Readers 18

Last week I suggested that Northern Ireland health reform was like waiting for Godot. Now Godot has arrived, told us he is sorting out major changes and that he will be back soon. The Compton Review (pdf) is a large and highly impressive document. Despite having been carried out in only a few months it has clearly been well researched with examples taken from best practice throughout the UK. There are twenty one chapters which detail everything from maternity to …

Waiting for Godot: Northern Ireland’s health care

Turgon on December 7, 2011, 11:09 pm

| Readers 28

Waiting for Godot, one of Samuel Beckett’s greatest works, documents Vladimir and Estragon’s fruitless wait for the eponymous Godot. At times waiting for health reform in Northern Ireland has been rather like Beckett’s play: lots of promises that it is about to happen but nothing ever does. In 1966 there was apparently a plan to have six main hospitals for Northern Ireland and most of the reviews subsequently have suggested that as the optimal number of acute hospitals. Throughout Direct …

Martina Anderson reprises her Unionist Outreach role

Turgon on December 7, 2011, 10:58 am

| Readers 268

Previously Ms. Anderson had a less than successful outing as Unionist Outreach Officer (or successful dependent on what one feels SF were trying to achieve). On this occasion she was present at cross-a border “reconciliation” event held in the Gateway Hotel in Co. Donegal. Around 140 young people were attending the dinner on Saturday night as part of a year-long cross-border, cross-community project involved various youth and community groups coming together to explore the joint sacrifice of the Irish and …

UK road deaths

Turgon on December 5, 2011, 1:11 pm

| Readers 23

The BBC has a fascinating feature at the moment on is web site covering every death on the UK’s roads (it says GB but we are included too – please do not side track this one). A number of interesting things come too light from looking at Northern Ireland’s fatal accidents. Our motorways are extremely safe. Considering that the M1 and M2 are amongst the most heavily used roads in Northern Ireland there are remarkably few deaths. This of course …

Sinn Fein are the tomorrow people and the yesterday people.

Turgon on December 4, 2011, 8:31 pm

| Readers 10

Most of the excitement regarding the DUP conference centred on Peter Robinson’s speech (or Sammy Wilson’s). In contrast Nigel Dodds’s has received less attention. The moving forward narrative was again played up with the repeated claim that the DUP are the party of Northern Ireland and the party to move Northern Ireland forward. There were swipes at the UUP and TUV as well as nationalists and republicans. Dodds’s moving forward was couched in somewhat more traditional unionist terms. His remarks …

Loughgall terrorists could not have been arrested

Turgon on December 2, 2011, 9:45 pm

| Readers 710

The Belfast Telegraph and BBC are reporting the results of the HET enquiry into the Loughgall ambush in 1987 where eight members of the IRA’s est Tyrone brigade and an innocent passer-by were killed. For those who do not remember the incident the IRA gang attacked the small RUC station in the village of Loughgall; this attack being part of a pattern of attacking small rural RUC stations (previously Ballygawley and the Birches had been attacked). The terrorists arrived in …

Peter Robinson tactics, strategy and Stranmillis

Turgon on November 30, 2011, 10:16 pm

| Readers 39

Mick has a blog on Alex Kane’s latest column looking at Peter Robinson’s conference speech below as has Chris Donnelly. One line in it struck me that Robinson was a master strategist. I have in the past described Robinson as a good tactician but a poor strategist. However, more recently I have begun to think I was wrong and that the tactics had become so long term that they had become a strategy. Indeed the vision sketched out by Robinson …

Hostage taking in NI prisons

Turgon on November 26, 2011, 8:50 pm

| Readers 15

Since his election earlier this year Jim Allister has become something of a bête noire for justice minister David Ford. It was Allister who first exposed the possibility of changing the symbols of the prison service and dropping the term “Her Majesty’s Prison” resulting in Peter Robinson’s slap down for Ford. Allister also highlighted the discovery of a large amount of cash being brought to Maghaberry. His latest questions to Ford have produced the revelation that in the past four …