tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post8017393663998741106..comments2024-02-10T12:12:06.028+00:00Comments on The Real Blog: At last, a way for passengers to take back control!David Boylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11410159311875228620noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-20403874917112821162016-09-16T14:41:36.864+01:002016-09-16T14:41:36.864+01:00"a way for passengers to take back control&qu..."a way for passengers to take back control"<br /><br />Do they really have to <i>take back control</i>? Can't they just, I dunno, assume greater autonomy, or claim greater freedom or something? Lidl_Janusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-42693291671259996112016-09-08T17:32:50.062+01:002016-09-08T17:32:50.062+01:00As somebody recovering from a life-threatening ill...As somebody recovering from a life-threatening illness, perhaps I can add something to the medical side of things.<br /><br />Last year I lost about 3½ stones (about 50 pounds) in weight and was near to death when a friend called an ambulance for me.<br /><br />The diagnosis was heart failure.<br /><br />Since then the Brighton hospital staff have performed a miracle. I know I've been lucky at a time when some people can't get the treatment they need, but I couldn't have had better treatment, and I can't praise the medical teams highly enough.<br /><br />I'm still being monitored by the excellent heart failure team led by doctor Ellery, but thanks to them and others I've made a full recovery, and am told my heart is stronger now than it's ever been.<br /><br />My limited understanding of the junior doctors' dispute is that they work incredibly long hours, which itself can endanger patients and the doctors themselves, and now the government is imposing severe pay cuts.<br /><br />That's probably not the whole story, but both main political parties have been working for decades to dismantle the NHS, until now it's at breaking point.<br /><br />Politicians are <b>supposed</b> to be our <b>servants</b>, running the country for the benefit of all, but they treat us like cattle, with them as the farmers.<br /><br />Barneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-58640799218167628402016-09-08T14:17:44.440+01:002016-09-08T14:17:44.440+01:00Rob, I think your long list rather confirms the po...Rob, I think your long list rather confirms the point. What is it, precisely - and it does have to be precise (not just a lost of reasonable complaints - do the doctors want to achieve by withdrawing their support for patients?David Boylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11410159311875228620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-79034913274902603312016-09-08T12:57:02.372+01:002016-09-08T12:57:02.372+01:00shame your acumen isn't as correct when it com...shame your acumen isn't as correct when it comes to junior doctors.<br /><br />"so much so that they are prepared to put patients at risk without having a clear idea what they are actually striking about."<br /><br />they are striking for patient safety, same as the trains. They are striking for their safety and to avoid a clash of work/life balance. They are fighting for the very NHS they work in. This one line is offensive to the thousands who are saving lives every day and fighting for our health service, one of the worlds best, even with the tories trying to underfund and dismantle it as much as possibleRob Vickery, Robert Vickeryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05657128198675760678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-35004455579909575092016-09-06T14:33:58.763+01:002016-09-06T14:33:58.763+01:00Something needs to be done about the Brighton to A...Something needs to be done about the Brighton to Ashford (dis-)service too. This two-carriage train has always been too short for the number of sardines carried, and there are only two such trains on this route, so whenever anything goes wrong, it can lead to long delays at the best of times, and these are NOT the best of times.<br /><br />On Saturday (September 3rd), we were packed in tighter than ever, with at least one cyclist unable to board, and hardly room for the rest of us to breathe.<br /><br />Fewer and fewer platform staff at stations. More and more unmanned stations. I won't be able to travel at all when they get rid of the guards.<br /><br />Being disabled, I'm not allowed to use the rail replacement buses, and most taxi drivers and operators refuse to carry mobility scooters nowadays, in violation of the law.<br /><br />I don't blame the striking workers or condemn their right to join a union in the hope of keeping their jobs. Without exception, they remain cheerful and helpful in an impossible situation. I blame the employers and their accomplices in government.<br /><br />Chaotic railways, badly potholed roads and pavements, the state of the NHS, chaos everywhere we look. It's as if the government is deliberately shutting the entire <b>country</b> down, but for what?<br /><br />Barneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-50982615003062607322016-09-05T15:46:48.841+01:002016-09-05T15:46:48.841+01:00As was pointed out on LDV by a railwayman the prob...As was pointed out on LDV by a railwayman the problems afflicting the rail service are mostly caused by the inability of the publicly owned Network Rail to carry out the work necessary to permit the operation of the increased number of trains apparently needed for the higher number of passengers being carried.<br /><br />The changes in the role of guards is a measure ordered by the Government to reduce subsidies. In any case it is probably safer for the driver to open and close the doors as they have done on the METRO services for years.<br /><br />The Mayor of London is being disingenuous when he say the Southern is to be taken over by TfL soon. They are hoping to take over the local commuter services around London but not the longer distance routes and in any case their record of dealing with industrial action is a very poor one as those who rely on the London Underground will be aware.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-84497450489980037112016-09-05T15:35:06.934+01:002016-09-05T15:35:06.934+01:00The Southern Railway actually made a loss. The £10...The Southern Railway actually made a loss. The £100 million profit came mostly from bus operations. The £20 million from the D f T is for improvements to be carried out by Network Rail and the retired BR manager Chris Gibb is getting £1500 per day for his services. I just hope he will not be needed for too many days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-9064405865085977272016-09-05T09:52:18.667+01:002016-09-05T09:52:18.667+01:00Great article and thanks for the links to crowdfun...Great article and thanks for the links to crowdfunding. Just a note on your "private website only for investors" comment - that is not a private website, that is an RNS (Regulatory News Service) that is publicly available, and a requirement if the company is quoted on the stock market.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com