‘Wythenshawe’ ‘Hospitals’ and ‘Swine Flu’

Amid fears of a new outbreak of ‘swine flu’ this winter, ‘Wythenshawe Hospitals’ has been named as the north’s ‘swine flu’ centre.

Wythenshawe ‘Hospital’ will be the only ‘hospitals’ in the region – and one of just five in the country – providing specialist treatment for seriously-ill H1N1 patients from next month.

“Please take the time to read this article and allow your self to digest the information, then, if you wish let me know what your thoughts are by submitting a comment in the box below or if you prefer simply tell people or cut & paste the URL into your Facebook page and help us spread the word… Alternatively if you wish to talk with a counsellor then please do not hesitate in contacting us. Thank you.”

Last winter, saw a huge surge in swine flu cases, with many patients suffering severe breathing problems. The virus killed 27 people in Greater Manchester. Wythenshawe was one of the hospitals chosen to pilot the highly-specialist treatment, called Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) last December.

The life-support technique uses a £40,000 machine which takes blood from the heart, removes carbon dioxide, and pumps oxygen into it before pushing it back around the body.

The treatment is only needed by a tiny percentage of swine flu patients who suffer major complications. It allows their lungs to rest completely and recover.
It takes between five days and three weeks and even if it is successful patients still face a long recovery on intensive care.

They have converted a whole unit to become ‘A Swine Flu Unit’.

Older people are usually more at risk of seasonal flu and having a more serious illness than younger people. However, one of the characteristics of H1N1 is that it seems to affect younger people more than older people. One theory for this is that older people were exposed to a similar strain of the virus earlier in their lives and so have some immunity to H1N1.
Many of the people who have died from flu this season have been under 65, but also had other conditions.

THE symptoms of swine flu are similar to more common strains of the virus.
They include: a fever (over 38C); unusual tiredness; headache; runny nose; sore throat; shortness of breath or cough; loss of appetite; aching muscles; diarrhoea; vomiting.

It makes sense to have a thermometer at home as an increase in temperature is a key symptom.

If you have any concerns contact your GP or NHS Direct 0845 4657

Please contact your GP surgery before attending any hospital or medical centre.

“Please take the time to read this article and allow your self to digest the information, then, if you wish let me know what your thoughts are by submitting a comment in the box below or if you prefer simply tell people or cut & paste the URL into your facebook page and help us to spread the word…Alternatively if you wish to talk with a counsellor then please do not hesitate in contacting us. Thank you.”

Hope this is helpful.

'PeaceKeepers' 'on Violence'

Peace Keepers are coming to Manchester-

So…What are Peace Keepers I hear you say? In a nut shell they are Keepers of the Peace

It is a Community Action Plan designed to help keep the peace in a community that is plagued by crime and gun violence. This is done by recruiting, training and organizing men to protect and respect the women, children and elderly of the communities…

The Peace Keepers goal and objective is to implement “New Norms” in the community. This means establishing new rules of conduct and behaviour by which our young people must govern their lives by…

If you want to Get Involved- Join Peace Keeper UK In Manchester 19.11.11 at 2pm 53 Old Birley Street, MAV Hulme M15 5RF or contact Ellie Palma-Cass 07535 679347

The Peace Keepers mission is to get men to accept their responsibility to be the protectors and maintainers of their families…

Our mission is not to condemn our youth or judge their behaviour – our goal is to use Love and kindness to draw them to a better way of life…

Read More

Distressed ‘Mothers to be’?

Police have issued a ‘message for mother’ of an ‘abandoned baby’

An ‘abandoned baby’ has been found dead in a stream in Kirkham. Police have said that the body may have been there for up to a month. The officer leading the investigation said he could not rule out foul play at this stage as the death remains unexplained but it was more likely a case of child abandonment.

Their inquiries are focusing on the basis that someone has given birth and that the child has died or has been stillborn. If that is the case then someone out there will be in need of urgent medical and emotional support and it is vital that they contact the police or go to their nearest hospital.

This is the message sent out by Detective Superintendent Neil Esseen;

‘My message to her or anyone who knows her is that we are not here to judge you but to try and help, so please get in touch with us. It is vital we find out what has happened to this child and who its parents are. We could be dealing with a mother with emotional needs who has found herself in tragic circumstances. We are concerned for the physical and emotional health of this woman and urge her to contact us for essential help and support’.

Tests established the infant had probably been at the bottom of the brook in Kirkham, Lancashire, for between two and four weeks and that she was female probably aged from newborn up to one month old.

There is no direct vehicular access to the stream but Mr Esseen said that did not necessarily imply that the person who left the child was local as he emphasised the appeal was nationwide.

The baby was wearing a brown fleece jumper with a motif of a cartoon dog from George at Asda, and two muddied towels, one green and one with a Union flag pattern, in a Blackpool Borough Council bin bag were found about 20m upstream.

Mr Essen said: ‘If there are any concerned family members or health professionals out there who are worried about a mother or have not seen a loved one for a few days, we urge them to get in contact. We need to find out who this child is.’

This is one of those cases where the public input is vital.

Anybody with any information can contact the police on 08451 25 35 45 or you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or on-line at Crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

Is this a ‘Dangerous’ ‘Health Act’?

For the best part of 25 years this patient has been detained in secure facilities under a ‘Mental Health Act section’.

Now this patient who has an intellectual disability will tell his story to the public.

So ‘what is Mental Health Act’?

1. The Mental Health Act 1983 primarily deals with the detention in hospital of people with mental disorders, as well as other compulsory measures including guardianship and supervised community treatment. It sets out the criteria that must be met before compulsory measures can be taken, along with protections and safeguards for patients.

2. The Mental Health Act 2007 received Royal Assent on 19 July 2007. It made a number of amendments to the Mental Health Act 1983. It also extended the rights of victims by amending the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 and amended the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 to introduce new deprivation of liberty safeguards.

Read More;

The patient walks into the room looking nervous. He furtively glances at the ring of chairs in front but only sits down once permission has been given. He’s not used to being able to make his own decisions and he rarely gets an opportunity to meet strangers.

Next week he will appear in central London for the first ever mental health tribunal to be held in public after his lawyers won a lengthy court battle to give him that right.

The offence that landed the 52-year-old behind bars bears none of the brutality that characterised many of his Broadmoor neighbours’ crimes, though it would undoubtedly have been highly traumatic for his victims.

In May 1986 he walked into a hospital carrying a small knife and a machete, threatened staff before giving himself up. No one was physically hurt and later that summer he pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted wounding. He has not seen the outside world since.

Would you still class this man as dangerous?

The power to release this man rests with a mental health tribunal. Normally the workings of these tribunals are held entirely behind closed doors, the secretive system that has the unenviable task of deciding whether someone should continue to be sectioned.

This offers a rare window into one of Britain’s most secretive legal processes. It also sets an important precedent in the closed world of mental health tribunals.

Apparently the right to an open hearing is not likely to happen often. Of the 100,000 mental health tribunals that have taken place over the last 7 years, just 10 patients have applied for public access including this single successful request.

But the numbers are not the point. The principle is. It is an option that should be available to all?

Source: Independent.

European Convention on Human Rights (re-enforced by Article 13 of the CRPD) requires that a patient should have the same or substantially equivalent right of access to a public hearing as a non-disabled person who has been deprived of his or her liberty, if this article 6 right to a public hearing is to be given proper effect. Such a right can only be denied a patient if enabling that right imposes a truly disproportionate burden on the state.

The Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC) provided the Upper Tribunal with a report on laws and practices in European jurisdictions as well as laws in Australia, Canada and the United States. In this report, MDAC also mentions the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in particular Article 13 ensuring people with disabilities access to justice on an equal basis with others.

Source: E-Include.

According to the HM Courts and Tribunals Service the application by Mr.X  for discharge from liability to detention in hospital will be heard in public by the First-tier Tribunal (MentalHealth) on 27th and 28th September 2011 at 10.30am at Field House 15 – 25 Breams Buildings, London EC4A 1DZ.

Let me know your views

‘Celebrity’ ‘Big Brother’: Is it possibly the worst time for a comeback?

The first series ‘Big Brother’ apparently was when the contestants were ordinary people and not ‘celebs‘ and no-one really knew what to expect – This was quite interesting I was told. Good honest communication and displays of real emotion not just ‘celebrity gossip‘.

At the time I just felt that it was like watching ‘Lab rats’ only they weren’t rats they were human beings. I struggled as to why anyone would want to be on camera 24/7 and saw the potential damage that this could and has created, I also questioned whether this was an experiment into psychological programming for future clones? But that’s a completely different post all together…

How easy would it be to modify the format to make ‘Big Brother 11‘ more relevant to current topical issues?

Reading the comments in The Guardian made for some insightful and amusing anecdotes, in case you missed them let me share some of them with you;

How about setting up two houses;

• In one, the inhabitants are paid state benefits and index-linked pensions and in the other house they are given any thing they wish for (within reason of course).

• In one, journalists are allowed to hack celebrities’ phones and in the other they are not.

• In one, we allow riotous behaviour; inhabitants can do whatever they want with impunity, as long as they blame their behaviour on everyone and everything else. In the other house, inhabitants risk a hail of rubber bullets for even the slightest transgression.

• How about instead of sending the rioters to prison they get sent to the big brother house but instead of evicting them we just lock the doors and throw away the key. Then we don’t give them any food or water.

• How about locking them in and then pretending to film them, and not broadcasting it.

In each case, we can all witness how the two houses behaviour differs. The outcomes should help resolve quite a few contemporary debates.

Anyway (drum roll please…) let the exhibitionisms, metro-sexuality, bitchiness, bullying and dysfunctions begin…What time is it on?

Thank you Mark Lawson and to those of you who submitted comments.

‘Counselling’ ‘Super Mario‘ (‘Mario Balotelli’) or ‘Roberto Mancini’?

For those of you who may not know we’re talking ‘football‘  these 2 prolific people are; ‘Roberto Mancini‘  Manchester City’s Manager. ‘Mario Balotelli‘ aka ‘Super Mario‘ a striker for Manchester City.

A question for all you ‘Psychotherapists‘ who in your opinion needs ‘counselling‘  - ‘Super Mario’ or ‘Robert Mancini‘?

Apparently following this weekends 3 – 2 loss to Manchester United. ‘Robert Mancini‘ admitted that he needs ‘counselling‘ or ‘psychotherapy‘ after being driven to the edge by the behaviour of  ’Super Mario‘.

‘Mancini‘ reckons that ‘Balotelli City‘ player is “doing his head in.”

Mancini also went onto say that “when I played ‘football‘ 15 or 20 years ago players were mentally stronger than they are now,
modern footballers have increased physical strength, speed and stamina but display a decline in their mental robustness – We were hungry back then, we had less money and we wanted to become top players. We were prepared to give up everything..”

After reading this headline I was curious about these two high profile people and what their back grounds were?

Mancini was born in the small town of Jesi, Italy in 1964 but then moved onto the mountain town of Rocadaspida, Italy and was raised by Aldo and Marianna Mancini along with his younger sister, Stephanie. His young life in Jesi revolved around football and his Roman Catholic religion. On one occasion a fixture clashed with his first Holy Communion. Halfway through the ceremony the young 8 year old Mancini was nowhere to be seen. His local priest, who was administering his first communion, heard their team were losing 2–0 at half-time and so he asked a young Mancini quietly after receiving his communion if he had his football kit and boots with him because his team needed him.

As an adult Mancini has been married for nearly 20 years to, Federica. They have a daughter and two sons.

Mario Barwuah Balotelli (born 12 August 1990) is a professional Italian footballer who plays as a striker for English team Manchester City and the Italian national team.

At the age of 3 he was fostered by Francesco and Silvia Balotelli. As an infant Balotelli had life-threatening complications with his intestines which led to a series of operations, although this condition greatly improved, Mario’s health problems and the family’s cramped living conditions meant the Barwuahs decided to ask for the help of social services who recommended that Mario be fostered.

In 1993 Mario was 3 years old when the Barwuah family agreed to entrust him to Francesco and Silvia Balotelli. As Balotelli’s reputation as a footballer grew his biological parents, the Burwuahs, asked for him back…

Balotelli later said that his parents only wanted him back because he had become famous and described them as “glory hunters”.

Love him or loathe him there is no getting away from the fact that he divides opinion within the world of football. Balotelli is credited with pace and technical ability, but criticised for a petulant attitude. He is often nicknamed “Super Mario” and can play anywhere along the front line and is regarded as a promising but difficult young striker.

Many antics have ensued Mario throughout the season some good and some most definitely NOT.

Despite courting controversy on and off the pitch Balotelli has occasionally displayed random acts of kindness and sincerity.

He saw a youngster hanging around outside City’s Carrington training ground and asked the striker for his autograph, but Balotelli was more interested in why the youngster was not at school. After the child told him he was being bullied, Balotelli made arrangements with the boy’s mother and drove them both to the school in question to address the matter.

Another situation saw the Italian coming out of a casino after winning £25,000 in one night. He then gave away £1000 to a lucky homeless person who just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

For me one of his most endearing quotes was when he crashed his car. While the police were checking for any drugs or alcohol in his possession, the police discovered £5,000 in his back pocket. When police asked Mario why he has carrying around so much cash, he replied, “Because I am rich.”

In conclusion it seems somewhat apparent that Roberto had a stable childhood, and I am assuming that he had constant and secure parental involvement with clear rules and boundaries, enabling and establishing consistency whilst encouraging his own responsibility to himself, his family, his career and his subsequent actions.

Mario has not been as privileged as Roberto, for someone who perhaps has experienced a cocktail of emotional distortions, for example; abandonment issues laced with an attachment disorder together with considerable life changing status with immense financial enhancement – is it any wonder that he struggles with seriousness, commitment and responsibility.

Show me any one who has endured similarities who doesn’t like to play the fool, show off, cause controversy or generally act up. The list would be endless.

Don’t get me wrong I’m most definatley NOT colluding or condoning this kind of behaviour but merely accepting that some have not had the best starts in life and with an ‘expert therapist‘ things can improve beyond compare.

So let me ask you, who do you think needs Psychotherapy?

Source: Wikipedia. Guardian.

Dawn Pugh

7 Things Every Therapist
Should Know About
Attracting New Clients

Press Right Click on the mouse HERE to download Report

…Finding your true place in the world when you have no map.

MANCHESTER – Best-selling author Brunonia Barry presents “The Map of True Places” on Saturday, April 2, at 7 p.m. at the Northshire Bookstore.
Barry, the author of the beloved New York Times and international bestseller, “The Lace Reader,” delivers her second novel, “The Map of True Places,” a complex and emotionally compelling novel about finding your true place in the world when you have no map.

After Boston psychotherapist Zee Finch’s impending marriage falls apart and she loses a bi-polar patient to suicide, she returns to the town of her troubled youth – Salem – to care for her father, a Hawthorne scholar suffering from the end stages of Parkinson’s disease who is now alienated from his partner, Melville. While in Salem, Zee encounters danger as she falls into the puzzle of unraveling the mystery surrounding her own mother’s suicide when Zee was a child and realizes shocking parallels between the death of her mother and that of her patient, Lilly Braedon.

“The Map of True Places” is resonant, evocative, suspenseful, and satisfying tale about finding your true place in the world.

Please take the time to read this article and allow your self to digest the information, then, if you wish let me know what your thoughts are by submitting a comment in the box below.

Thank you.

_________________________________

Bowdon Counselling – 0161 928 5551

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Altrincham Counselling Centre – 0161 928 8522

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