Vale Shirley Shackleton 1931-2023

MELBOURNE —

What a fighter you were Shirley.  Loved our conversations.  Thank you for your steadfast support always encouraging.  Fight untruths and dishonesty with gusto. Stand up to governments who lie as a first order of business.  RIP Shirley, you deserve it. What a fighter.  What a wonderful human being.  Honoured, loved and remembered forever. ….Lorraine Long

Shirley Shackleton will be remembered as the fearless woman who campaigned for justice for the Balibo Five and East Timor

10,000 patients given faulty knee replacements

ENGLAND — More than 10,000 patients have been given a faulty knee replacement which doubles he risk of joint failure, The Telegraph London can disclose.

Implant has twice accepted failure rate with potentially catastrophic consequences for patients, particularly the elderly

The implant, which has been in use since 2003, was withdrawn from the market by its manufacturer in October.

The Telegraph has learnt that UK health regulator the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is now preparing to issue a field safety notice, prohibiting its use.

Available across multiple NHS trusts, the implant, manufactured by Zimmer Biomet, a US firm, has been shown to fail in up to seven per cent of patients after ten years – twice the accepted failure rate of 3.5 per cent set by the National Joint Registry.

One study found the failure rate to be much higher at 17.6 per cent – more than five times as high as the accepted level.

This can have catastrophic consequences for patients, many of whom are elderly, as undergoing a second knee replacement operation poses a much greater risk.

The knee replacement, called the Nexgen, is part of a family of Zimmer Biomet implant devices with 88 possible variants. In total, these have been given to over 183,000 people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and more than five million worldwide.  Of these variants, three combinations have been proven to place patients at a dangerously high risk of joint failure.

READ FULL STORY BY CAMERON HENDERSON IN THE TELEGRAPH, LONDON:

More than 10,000 given faulty knee replacements

The fraud of the TGA

CANBERRA — THE SENATE AUSTRALIA

The fraud of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is scurrilous.  We’ve said it for years.  The conflict of interest boils down to corruption and the majority of politicians are so ill-informed that they let the corruption continue.

Senator Gerard Rennick (QLD) would be one of the most informed politicians we have.  He does his homework.

How many times have we pointed out the failures of the TGA?  Their malfeasance is the standard for Australia, i.e. malfeasance in public service stands as acceptable.  God help Australia.

 

East Kent NHS: Dozens of babies and mothers died in childbirth

KENT, ENGLAND —

Damning report finds ‘shocking and uncomfortable’ failings at major NHS trust caused ‘significant harm’ to families

Dozens of babies and mothers died or were injured during childbirth because of repeated failings in maternity care at a major NHS trust, a damning report has found.

Dr Bill Kirkup, who led the investigation, said his findings into substandard care at the East Kent trust between 2009 and 2020 were “shocking and uncomfortable” and had a catastrophic impact on families.

Kirkup’s scathing report is the second this year alone, and the third since 2015, to expose what he called “embedded, deep-rooted problems” in the way the health service looks after pregnant women and their babies.

His almost three-year long inquiry identified an array of serious problems with maternity services at the trust’s William Harvey hospital in Ashford and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital in Margate.

READ FULL STORY IN THE GUARDIAN BY DENIS CAMPBELL, HEALTH POLICY EDITOR:

East Kent Inquiry: dozens of babies and mothers died or injured in childbirth

Murdering nurse Lucy Letby full indictment

MANCHESTER CROWN COURT, ENGLAND — trial continues…

The murdering-spree of one nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS, north-west England.  An unimaginable timeline of events.  Shockingly, it’s not new!   C A S K 

Full indictment against Lucy Letby — charged as follows:

Count 1

Charged with murder of Baby A on June 8, 2015

Count 2

Charged with attempted murder of Baby B between the June 8, 2015 and June 11, 2015

Count 3

Charged with murder of Baby C on June 14, 2015

Count 4

Charged with murder of Baby D on June 22, 2015

Count 5

Charged with murder of Baby E on August 4, 2015

Count 6

Charged with attempted murder of Baby F on August 5, 2015

Count 7

Charged with attempted murder of Baby G on September 7, 2015

Count 8

Charged with attempted murder of Baby G on September 21, 2015

Count 9

Charged with attempted murder of Baby G on September 21, 2015

Count 10

Charged with attempted murder of Baby H on September 26, 2015

Count 11

Charged with attempted murder of Baby H on September 27, 2015

Count 12

Charged with murder of Baby I on October 23, 2015

Count 13

Charged with attempted murder of Baby J on November 27, 2015

Count 14

Charged with attempted murder of Baby K on February 17, 2015

Count 15

Charged with attempted murder of Baby L on April 9, 2016

Count 16

Charged with attempted murder of Baby M on April 9, 2016

Count 17

Charged with attempted murder of Baby N on June 3, 2016

Count 18

Charged with attempted murder of Baby N on June 15, 2016

Count 19

Charged with attempted murder of Baby N on June 15, 2016

Count 20

Charged with murder of Baby O on June 23, 2016

Count 21

Charged with murder of Baby P on June 24, 2016

Count 22

Charged with attempted murder of Baby Q on June 25, 2016

Killer nurse tracked families of her victims on Facebook after killing them

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND — Lucy LETBY, 32, ‘tracked families of her victims on Facebook after killing them’: Neonatal nurse ‘murdered seven babies by injecting them with milk, insulin or air’, ‘poisoned newborn twins and killed premature boy just minutes after starting her shift’

  • Lucy Letby, 32, allegedly murdered five boys and two girls in Countess of Chester Hospital over 12 months
  • Nurse also accused of trying to kill ten other children between 2015 and 2016 at Countess of Chester Hospital
  • Boy had three attempts on his life – including two in one day, court told. Two children ‘poisoned with insulin’
  • Letby also allegedly pumped air, milk and other fluids into the bodies of babies she was meant to be caring for
  • She denies all 22 charges relating to 17 babies. Her Manchester Crown Court trial will last up to six months

By Martin Robinson Chief Reporter and Elly Blake and Nigel Bunyan and Laurence Dollimore For Mailonline

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READ THE COURT REPORTERS’ FULL STORY IN THE DAILY MAIL UK:

Lucy Letby, 32, ‘tracked families of her victims on Facebook after killing them’: Neonatal nurse ‘murdered seven babies by injecting them with milk, insulin or air’, ‘poisoned newborn twins and killed premature boy just minutes after starting her shift’

New York ex-gynaecologist sex abuse victims get over $165m

NEW YORK — Columbia to pay over $165 million to sex abuse victims of ex-gynecologist Robert Hadden

Two New York hospitals have agreed to pay more than $165 million to 147 former patients who have accused a former gynecologist of sexual abuse and misconduct.

Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian announced the agreement Friday.  Last year, the two hospitals reached a settlement to establish a $71 million compensation fund with 79 of HADDEN’s former patients.

The doctor, Robert HADDEN, surrendered his medical license after being convicted in 2016 on sex-related charges.  He currently awaits trial on separate charges of sexually abusing dozens of young and unsuspecting female patients for over two decades.

HADDEN, Englewood, New Jersey, resident has pleaded not guilty to six counts of inducing others to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.  A message was left Friday with an attorney representing Hadden.

Prosecutors have described HADDEN as a “predator in a white coat,” accusing him of singling out young and unsuspecting victims, including a young girl he had delivered at birth.

In a statement Friday, Columbia University Irving Medical Center said:

“We deeply regret the pain that Robert Hadden’s patients suffered and hope that these resolutions will provide some measure of support for the women he hurt.  All those who came forward should be commended.”

READ THE FULL STORY FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) in New York Post:

Columbia to pay over $165 million to sex abuse victims of ex-gynecologist Robert Hadden

MEAG COMMENT:  Compare this to the highly offensive and paltry sums victims of the crimes of the ‘butcher of Bega’ Graeme Reeves were offered by the New South Wales Government.  Oh, you won’t know because it was kept secret from the public.

Up to 200 doctors caught in specialist registration bungle, AHPRA admits

CANBERRA —

The watchdog AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) refuses to divulge how many have had to surrender their specialist GP registration as a result of its admin error.

AHPRA has revealed that close to 200 doctors who have been working in general practice for more than ten years have been asked to prove they are qualified GPs following an administrative bungle dating back to 2010.

Last month, Australian Doctor was told a dozen doctors were currently being investigated by the regulator to determine whether they had mistakenly been given specialist GP status back when the national registration scheme was first created.

If they fail to satisfy AHPRA, they face being stripped both of their specialist status and their patients’ access to higher Medicare rebates.

But AHPRA is remaining tight-lipped on how many other doctors have already lost the right to call themselves GPs.

It has only said that following an audit, it identified “a small number (fewer than 200)” doctors who may have been wrongly practising as GPs.

It would not give any further figures but confirmed some were able to demonstrate their eligibility, while others “tardily volunteered to surrender their specialist registration”.

AHPRA said its register of medical practitioners created a decade ago had relied on data matching processes, including datasets from the specialist colleges and Medicare, which were later found to contain errors.

GPs whose eligibility for specialist registration could not be confirmed were asked to provide evidence, such as fellowship with either the RACGP or ACRRM.

READ MORE from AAP published in Australian Doctor by Siobhan Calafiore 5/10/22:

Up to 200 doctors caught up in specialist registration bungle, AHPRA admits