Rescuing Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected Dictatorship

Spin, not face-to-face confrontations with the voters, is the Government's chosen method of communication. Ordinary people are dangerous. Ordinary people might ask a question which throws a politician 'off message'; the Cabinet member might reveal himself or herself to be a human being like us, and not a programmed android. Worse still, he or she might tell the truth. Ann Leslie - Daily Mail, September 16, 2004

 

WWW silentmajorityspeaks.com

How washing hands and a few other old-fashioned hygiene rules helped an NHS hospital beat MRSA

by Beezy Marsh, Health Correspondent, Daily Mail, July 16, 2004

It was hardly a revolution, more a return to old-fashioned values. Ward staff were told to wear clean uniforms, change patients' bedsheets and wash their hands properly between tasks. Then the hospital stopped cramming patients into the ward and introduced admissions screening for MRSA.

But these simple changes in routine have helped Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, eradicate the deadly superbug and dramatically cut rates of other infections. Because fewer beds are being taken up with patients fighting hospital-acquired infections, its surgeons have been able to carry out far more operations than before.

As the Health Service prepares to bring in a battery of experts from overseas to tackle the MRSA epidemic, Broomfield proves all it takes is a little common sense. The changes were instigated by orthopaedic surgeon Leela Blant in Broomfield's 28-bed hip and knee replacement surgery ward in 2000.

She and her colleagues kept records the year before on all the patients who had picked up infections on the ward, including MRSA, so they could monitor its success. In 1999, 417 patients had been admitted to the ward. There were eight cases of MRSA and rates of other hospital-acquired infections were running at 10%.

With new measures in place, infection rates fell in 2000 to 15 out of 488, or 3%. There was no MRSA. The surgeons were able to perform 17% more operations because beds were not being blocked by patients recovering from MRSA. The results are reported in the British Medical Journal.

Miss Blant said: "The measures we took were quite simple and we have proved that they not only lead to a drastic cut in infections, but the eradicated all cases of MRSA. It actually works out to be more cost-effective for the NHS because people were able to leave hospital earlier and we were able to do more operations overall."

Orthopaedic patients are at high risk of MRSA. One of the first things the surgeons did was 'ring-fence' beds on the ward so they were only used by patients undergoing hip and knee surgery. This goes against current NHS practice which allows accident and emergency cases to go on to such wards, along with patients needing other forms of surgery when there is a shortage of beds.

Miss Blant said: "As surgeons we were very concerned for our patients because undergoing a hip or knee replacement means you are at high risk of MRSA. If it gets into the wound it can have devastating consequences and can lead to the implants being removed. We wanted to make sure these patients were protected as much as possible."

All patients were tested for MRSA before being admitted, and those who had MRSA already were given antibiotics to clear it up, then isolated. When there were serious bed shortages in the hosptial, only patients who were deemed low-risk for MRSA - such as young, fit adults - were allowed on the ward.

Miss Blant, now specialist registrar at Lister Hospital in Stevenage, Hertfordshire said: "The measures are still in place and the ward has had no cases of MRSA."

Up to 700,000 patients are believed to pick up infections in British hospitals every year. This week, the National Audit Office published a damning report into the failure of both the Government and the NHS to eliminate hospital superbugs.

Experts believe over-crowding and poor hygiene have helped the rampage of MRSA and other bacteria. They want to cut out over-crowding, introduce better isolation facilities and return to old-fashioned cleanliness on wards. But Government targets put such pressure on hosptials that managers are reluctant to reduce bed occupancy or introduce isolation rooms.

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Before you vote please read Michael Howard's challenge to Tony Blair in the House of Commons on the day the Butler report was published, and the latest news on John Scarlett. A devastating report by hugely respected BBC Panorama journalist, John Ware, raises new questions about No. 10 and the 'truth', which are even more disturbing. Also read Rifkind on Blair and a letter from one of the normally silent majority in the United Kingdom.

Mr Blair has lied and deceived us over Iraq. He must resign at once. Do you agree? Agree strongly Agree Disagree Disagree strongly Don't know Don't care Please click one of the links above to cast your vote Current results

The candidates could be asked if their own views and that of their Party manifesto corresponded with the polls, and if not, how they intended to represent the will of the majority of local voters.  Local and National Press, Radio and TV coverage would be arranged and the results published on this web site.

Here is another powerful strategy for using your vote effectively in the forthcoming General Election. Send your sitting and prospective MPs a letter defining your requirements if they want your vote. This example deals with the proposed EU Constitutional Treaty.

Your letters would end: "If you do not answer this letter, I shall take it that you intend to follow the Government line. I shall act accordingly in the forthcoming General Election."

Blair's defiance of the will of the majority of we, the people of the UK, over the invasion of Iraq must be exposed by voters as a matter or urgency, and not just in the two by-elections we have had this July and the European elections in June 2004. But how can this be done?

The most effective way of getting our deceitful PM to resign would be to mobilise the army of Labour MPs currently in the House of Commons and get them to demand it, the loss of their seat to be a penalty if they did not. All voters in Labour-held constituencies need to write a letter along these lines to their local Labour MPs:

Here's one to get Tony Blair to resign:

Dear Despite his absolute and unequivocal assurances over the past year of the serious risk to our security of Saddam Hussein's 'weapons of mass destruction', Prime Minister Blair has admitted, that the threat was non-existent. For that critical error of judgement and for his gross incompetence in handling this very important issue, I ask you to take immediate steps to ensure that Tony Blair does the honourable thing and resign without delay.. I would therefore be much obliged if you would propose and help mobilise a Parliamentary vote of 'No Confidence' in Mr Blair which, despite Labour's huge majority, would leave the PM with no option but to resign. If I get no reply to this letter, I shall assume you will continue to support Mr Blair as our Prime Minister. In such circumstances I shall not vote for you in the forthcoming General Election. Signed:

Simple, non-violent, protest letters along these lines on a variety of issues could be the basis for re-vitalising our democracy and increasing voters' interest and participation in politics. Download a printable copy of the above letter here.

Or why not create a questionnaire that you send to all the candidates in your constituency, getting them to give yes/no answers to questions of your choice, and ending it with the same paragraph(above).

Download a printable example of the questionnaire.

It is high time for the people of this United Kingdom to stop allowing themselves to be manipulated by politicians. We need our representatives in Parliament to genuinely reflect the view of the majority in their own constituency, even if this means going against their personal and/or their party's policy. While they may argue their case, hoping to change the minds of the majority in their constituency, they should ultimately be obliged to reflect the majority view of those who elect them. 

It will be argued by politicians of all parties that most voters don't have the knowledge necessary to express an opinion on important subjects at issue, and that our vote is a form of delegated democracy. We should argue that it is their duty to ensure that we voters do have ready access to such information as is necessary to form an intelligent opinion. That, after all, is one main purpose of Opposition Parties in our Parliamentary Democracy.

Most important of all, such proceedings would rekindle in voters their latent interest and obligation to cast their vote, knowing that the candidate of their choice would be more likely to act in accordance with their wishes. A much higher turnout in elections would be the result.

Contact your local Party Chairman. Gain his support for setting up public forums in your constituency on these, as well as any other relevant topics, well before the next General Election expected in 2005. You should then, depending on the integrity of the candidate of your choice, feel fairly certain that your view on any subject being debated in Parliament will more accurately be reflected by your representative in that assembly.