Schools told to end religious instruction and teach morality instead

By Richard Garner
The Independent
Originally published June 15, 2015

Religious instruction should be banned from schools and be the preserve of Sunday schools, madrassas or the home, according to proposals by the former Education Secretary Charles Clarke for a radical overhaul of religious education and the way faith schools operate.

Legislation compelling schools to hold a daily act of “predominantly Christian” worship in assemblies should also be scrapped, the Labour former frontbencher argues in a report jointly compiled with the religious education expert Professor Linda Woodhead, from Lancaster University.

In recommendations that will be studied keenly by faith and schooling experts, they argue that the emphasis should shift away from merely religious education, with pupils being taught religious and moral education instead.

The entire article is here.

Psychologist Whistleblower Threatened

By Sophie Borland
The Daily Mail Online
Originally posted September 25, 2014

A whistleblower says her career was destroyed by NHS managers after warning about how vulnerable patients were coming to severe harm.

Dr Hayley Dare, 42, a psychologist,even claims to have received a poison-pen letter from one of her bosses saying her children would suffer if she lost her job which also threatened: ‘You cannot win, you cannot beat us’.

She said conditions were so appalling at the mental health unit where she worked that one 72-year-old woman died after staff forgot about her.

The entire article is here.

UK government says it will legalize gay marriage, but bar Church of England from involvement

Article by: JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press
Originally posted December 10, 2012

The British government announced Tuesday that it will introduce a bill next year legalizing gay marriage — but banning the Church of England from conducting same-sex ceremonies.

Equalities minister Maria Miller said the legislation would authorize same-sex civil marriages, as well as religious ceremonies if religions decide to "opt in."

"I feel strongly that, if a couple wish to show their love and commitment to each other, the state should not stand in their way," Miller said.

"For me, extending marriage to same-sex couples will strengthen, not weaken, this vital institution."

Some religious groups, such as Quakers and liberal Jews, say they want to conduct same-sex ceremonies. But others, including the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, oppose gay marriage.

Miller said the legislation would make it unlawful for the Church of England — the country's official church, symbolically headed by Queen Elizabeth II — and the Anglican Church in Wales to conduct gay weddings. The government does not have the same legal authority over other churches, but hopes that the ban for the Church of England will reassure religious opponents of same-sex marriage that they will not be forced to take part.

The entire story is here.

Assisted suicide could be 'legalised' in groundbreaking case

Sarah Boseley, Health Editor

guardian.co.uk

A 46-year-old-man who wants to die after a stroke that left him almost completely paralysed is bringing a groundbreaking legal action that could effectively lead to the legalisation of assisted suicide in the UK.

Martin, as he has agreed to be called to preserve his anonymity and that of his family, was a fit and active man who enjoyed rugby, cars and socialising with friends in the pub before suffering a brainstem stroke three years ago. Now requiring round-the-clock care, his mobility is limited to moving his eyes and small movements of his head. He communicates by staring at letters on a computer screen which the machine recognises and forms into words spoken by a digitised voice.

Martin has been asking to die since six months after the stroke but says he has no one willing to assist him and cannot on his own organise a trip to the Swiss clinic Dignitas, where he could end his life legally. His wife, who chooses to be known as Felicity, says she will be with him if he dies but will not help bring about his death.

Human rights lawyers at the firm Leigh Day in London have taken the first step in an action on Martin's behalf that, if successful, could have massive implications. One possibility is that the case could lead to a court ruling that Martin has the right to help not only from a paid professional to assist him get to Switzerland, but also to the services of a palliative care doctor in the UK to ease his death, should he decide to end his life by refusing food and drink.

Such a ruling would dramatically alter the current options for seriously ill and severely disabled people who wish to end their own lives in the UK. "There would be no more planes to Switzerland," said Richard Stein of Leigh Day. "Why would you bother?"

However, Stein added that beginning this legal action would potentially put the lawyers working on it in legal difficulty, since both they and any doctor or psychiatrist who came to examine Martin for the case could be considered to be assisting his suicide, thus exposing them to potential prosecution or disciplinary action from professional bodies.

The rest of the story and the video can be found here.
A prior post on assisted suicide can be found here.

Psychiatric Bed Study in England

Link Established Between More Patients Being Detained In Hospitals Involuntarily And Fewer Mental Illness Beds

Medical News Today

According to a recent study published on bmj.com, in the last 21 years hospitals across England have seen a tremendous increase in the number of patients being detained for mental illness while concurrently there has been a reduction in the number of beds for patients with this disorder. The study was conducted by experienced researchers from the Warwick University, University of London & Queen Mary, and the Newcastle University.

The research has revealed that the reduction in the number of beds for mental illness, which was actually done as part of a policy to maximize the community alternatives for hospital stay, had a direct correlation with the increasing number of involuntary patient admittance to psychiatric centres.

In recent years, with an objective to deinstitutionalise the care of the mentally ill in developed nations, the number of beds for mental illness have been cut back. To achieve this objective, several changes have also been made to the legislation in the UK such as the introduction of the Mental Health Act 1983. Despite efforts such as crisis resolution home treatment, assertive outreach and availability of community mental health teams, a number of countries have seen an increase in the involuntary patient admittance to psychiatric centres.

The increasing use of compulsory detention is quite displeasing among both, the patients and the healthcare providers. Huge expenses involved with in-patient care also make it a source of concern to service providers and commissioners.

The analysis was performed by scientists based on the data available publically in the NHS Information Centre and the Department of Health. The researchers took a note of the hospital activity statistics on the NHS mental illness bed provision and involuntary patient admittance rates, between 1988 and 2008.

It was found that for these two decades, the involuntary patient admittance rates increased from 40.2 % to 65.6 % per 100,000 adults/ year, while at the same time there was a decrease of 62 % in the number of beds for mental illness per 100,000 adults.

When a time delay of one year was applied, a substantial association between these variables was found, with bed reductions preceding the number of involuntary patient admittance. Ultimately, in the following year, the results showed that there was one extra involuntary patient admission for every two beds closed.

The information about the clinical reasons for admissions were not mentioned in the dataset that was analysed; however the authors of the study have stated that it is unlikely that the increase reflects "an otherwise unreported dramatic increase in the prevalence of severe mental disorders in England."  

The researchers conclude,

We emphasise that this paper does not suggest that bed closures are intrinsically inappropriate. This strategy may well be a reasonable course of action; but the bed mix needs to be examined more closely and the rate and consequences of bed closures may need to be considered more carefully. Overall, this study provides important evidence for the need to anticipate the effects of bed closures.