Can we trust the data on hospitals?

By Emma Wilkinson Health reporter, BBC News

Inspections focus heavily on cleaning

The details of what was uncovered during an inspection in October at Basildon NHS Trust in Essex are shocking.

Floors, curtains and equipment stained with blood; soiled and stained mattresses; and re-use of tubes and other items designed to be thrown away after each patient.

It is the second time in less than a year that standards at a foundation trust - a status awarded to strongly performing NHS institutions - have been found wanting.

"Appalling" standards at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust were exposed in March when it was estimated that 400 patients had died needlessly over a three-year period.

The pattern is remarkably similar - an investigation initially prompted by data showing higher than expected death rates - and will further shake public confidence in how hospitals are monitored.

Especially as league tables published by the Care Quality Commission just last month gave Basildon an overall "Good" rating for quality of services.

It immediately poses the question, can the ratings be trusted and what does that mean for patient choice?

Regulation

The Care Quality Commission is a fairly new body having taking over the responsibility for the monitoring of hospitals from its predecessor the Healthcare Commission eight months ago.

"We need a much more sophisticated system that doesn't just rely on data but takes information from real inspections on the ground Baroness Young Care Quality Commission

CQC chair Baroness Young says that they inherited a rating system that is not fit for purpose and needs to be scrapped.

"We did make it very clear that this is not the way we want to regulate for the future.

"We need a much more sophisticated system that doesn't just rely on data but takes information from real inspections on the ground."

The "Good" rating given to Basildon hospital relates to an earlier time period - the year up until April 2009 - and there will be variation within each hospital, which makes the "single-word summary" misleading, she adds.

The CQC, she says, will have greater power and resources to carry out spot checks and inspections, rather than just relying on tick-box exercises which some argue enable trusts to fudge the data.

"By this time next year there will be a completely different system which will be much more able to spot issues, nip them in the bud, and take prompt action, rather than reporting months and months later."

Accurate data

The jury seems to be out on whether figures such as death rates are reliable indicators of poor performance - although in these two cases they started the alarm bells ringing.

Data from Basildon NHS trust showed a death rate 36% above the national average for the past three years.

When initially questioned, the trust had said the data was misleading - the same response given by Mid-Staffordshire when asked to account for higher than expected deaths.

Professor Sir Brian Jarman, who has developed systems for monitoring death rates - known as hospital standardised mortality ratios - and other data on a monthly basis, says the whole idea is to adjust for factors, which may affect the figures such as an unusually high elderly population.

He believes the data can be relied upon and that Basildon, along with some other hospitals, had higher than average rates since they started collecting the figures a decade ago but initially people had not taken any notice of the information.

"We now have a very good relationship with the CQC and they do listen closely."

"What we have found in virtually every hospital we have drawn attention to is there are usually dramatic reductions in the figures.

"Even in Basildon - from April this year they are down to normal."

Complaints

But Kieran Mullan, director of policy and public affairs at the Patients Association says death rates are a very "blunt tool" which only highlights problems once they get severe.

He is also critical of CQC plans to change the rating system.

"The bulk of it will still be data driven self-assessment, that's not going to change.

"It will just be a form where the trust can tick, yes we do this and then it's up to chance whether the CQC will choose your hospital to look at more closely.

"They say they will do more going into wards and talking to patients but the framework is basically the same."

A far simpler way to monitor whether hospitals are up to scratch is to pay closer attention to and follow up patient complaints, he says.

Almost every complaint they receive has already been logged with the trust and therefore accessible to the regulator.

"If you treat a complaint seriously we wouldn't need anything else because patients tell you when something has gone wrong."

who has a form of autism,

Hacker Gary McKinnon to appeal after extradition blow

Supporters make the point that Gary McKinnon has Asperger's syndrome

The "devastated" lawyers for computer hacker Gary McKinnon are to challenge the home secretary's decision not to block his extradition to the US.

They said they would make a last-ditch attempt after Alan Johnson said medical grounds could not prevent it.
Glasgow-born Mr McKinnon, 43, who has Asperger's syndrome, is accused of breaking into US military computers. He says he was seeking UFO evidence.
Now of Wood Green, London, he faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.
'American poodle'
His lawyer, Karen Todner, said: "It's a devastating blow but we are not going to give up. We are certainly coming to the end of the road.
"We're just hoping at some point someone sees sense and steps in. All the legal team do know is we cannot give up because in some ways it's like dealing with a death row case, and we genuinely believe that Gary's life is at stake here."

She said she would issue judicial review proceedings next week - a process she said she was given just seven days to complete, rather than the more normal three months.

If that failed, they would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights, she added.
Mr Johnson said he had carefully considered the representations but concluded that sending Mr McKinnon to the US would not breach his human rights.
"Due to legitimate concerns over Mr McKinnon's health, we have sought and received assurances from the United States authorities that his needs will be met," he said.
But Ms Todner said he had gone against independent legal advice which said he could have used his discretion.
Mr McKinnon admits hacking into 97 US government computers, including Nasa's and the Pentagon's, during 2001 and 2002.

The shoddy treatment of this vulnerable man should demonstrate that our rotten extradition laws need urgent reform Shami Chakrabarti Liberty

He has told the BBC he was on a "moral crusade" to prove US intelligence had found an alien craft run on clean fuel.
His mother, Janis Sharp, told the BBC she was "devastated" by the news and that her son, who has a form of autism, had reacted "very badly".
"It's a disgusting decision. Gary has been in a heightened state of terror for almost eight years.
"To force a peaceful, vulnerable, misguided UFO fanatic like Gary thousands of miles away from his much-needed support network is barbaric," she said.
She said she was not comforted by the home secretary's advice that her son would not be held in a "supermax" jail, which hold the highest-security prisoners.
Extradition treaty
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said it was appalling the government placed a higher value on a "deeply unfair" extradition agreement than on the welfare of a British citizen.
"The home secretary should stop being an American poodle and start being a British bulldog," he said.
And Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: "The shoddy treatment of this vulnerable man should demonstrate that our rotten extradition laws need urgent reform."
Mr Johnson had last month agreed to study new medical evidence before deciding on the extradition. The High Court had previously refused permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Mr McKinnon has been the focus of a campaign to prevent his removal to the US.
Earlier this month, the Commons' Home Affairs Committee said the move should be halted owing to his "precarious state of mental health".
They concluded there was a "serious lack of equality" in the way the extradition treaty deals with UK citizens compared with US citizens.

Iraq inquiry to focus on Bush-Blair relationship

Many UK politicians criticised Tony Blair's closeness to George Bush

UK-US relations in the run-up to the Iraq war are to come under scrutiny as ex-US Ambassador Sir Christopher Meyer gives evidence to the war inquiry.

His evidence is expected to touch on the personal relationship between Tony Blair and former President Bush and the extent to which this influenced policy.

The inquiry was told on Wednesday of reports days before the war that Iraq had dismantled its chemical weapons.

But Foreign Office officials insisted the war was still justified.

The inquiry is looking into UK involvement in Iraq between 2001 and 2009, with the first few weeks focusing on policy in the build-up to the 2003 US-led invasion.

Intelligence claims

Sir Christopher, UK Ambassador to Washington between 1997 and 2003, will take centre stage on the third day of public hearings.

Critics of the war claim that the US had already decided to topple Saddam Hussein in 2002 and that the UK had agreed to go along with this - claims both countries have denied.

The reasons for going to war in Iraq - including the now discredited claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction which could be used within 45 minutes of an order being given - remain a long-standing source of controversy.

INQUIRY TIMELINE November-December: Former top civil servants, spy chiefs, diplomats and military commanders to give evidence January-February 2010: Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and other politicians expected to appear before the panel March 2010: Inquiry expected to adjourn ahead of the general election campaign July-August 2010: Inquiry expected to resume Report set to be published in late 2010 or early 2011 Iraq inquiry: Day-by-day timeline

On Wednesday, senior Foreign Office official Sir William Ehrman told the inquiry that a report shortly before the invasion suggested Iraq's chemical weapons may have been "disassembled".

"We did... get a report that chemical weapons might have remained disassembled and Saddam hadn't yet ordered their assembly."

A separate report suggested Iraq might also "lack" warheads capable of spreading chemical agents, he added.

However, Sir William - the Foreign Office's Director general of defence and Intelligence between 2002 and 2004 - said there was "contradictory intelligence" and these reports did not "invalidate" the fact that Iraq had chemical weapons.

"It was more about their use. Even if they were disassembled the (chemical or biological) agents still existed."

'WMD surprise'

Sir William insisted that the role of intelligence in the decision to go to war was "limited".

He also said it was a "surprise" no weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq, saying "it was not what we had expected".

WITNESSES ON THURSDAY SIR CHRISTOPHER MEYER-UK Ambassador to Washington 1997-2003 Q&A: Iraq war inquiry Analysis: tolerant or critical? How US has investigated Iraq war Iraq inquiry 'suffocated' - Clegg

The Lib Dems said Sir William's comments seemed to contradict Tony Blair's statement in Parliament that Iraq posed a "clear and present danger" to international security.

Asked to explain the absence of WMD and why the UK government had got this wrong, Sir William noted a "great deal" of the intelligence about Iraq's chemical and biological weapons production provided before the war had been withdrawn afterwards as false.

Addressing the overall threat posed by Iraq in 2001, officials said it was "not top of its list" of countries causing concern because of their stated desire to develop weapons of mass destruction.

With sanctions in place against Iraq, the Foreign Office believed Saddam Hussein could not build a nuclear weapon and, even if sanctions were removed, it was estimated it would take him five years to do so.

Officials said most evidence suggested Iraq's chemical and biological programme had largely been "destroyed" in 1991.

Although reports in late 2002 suggested Iraq was rebuilding its capability, they said intelligence about its actual position had been "patchy" since weapons inspectors were expelled in 1998.

But they maintain the threat posed by Iraq was viewed as "unique" because it had shown itself willing to use weapons of mass destruction on its own people and its neighbours.

Terrorist links

The inquiry also learnt that the UK investigated and rejected suggestions of links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.

Following the 9/11 attacks, the Foreign Office looked at the matter "very carefully" but concluded the two were not "natural allies".

The inquiry, looking at the whole period from 2001 to 2009, was set up by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who also chose the panel.

Mr Brown and predecessor Tony Blair are expected to be among future witnesses, with the final report due early in 2011.

Previously, the Butler inquiry looked at intelligence failures before the war, while the Hutton inquiry examined the circumstances leading to the death of former government adviser David Kelly.

UK has failed in its attempt to get Tony Blair chosen as the new president of the EU Council after the Belgian prime minister was handed the job.

EU foreign head dismisses critics

Tony Blair has never publicly commented on the EU president role The UK has failed in its attempt to get Tony Blair chosen as the new president of the EU Council after the Belgian prime minister was handed the job. Downing Street abandoned its campaign to put the ex-prime minister in the prestige job on Thursday after it was clear he did not have enough support. But, in a surprise move, Labour peer Baroness Ashton was appointed to the new role of EU foreign affairs chief. Gordon Brown said this "reinforced" the UK's place "at the heart of Europe". 'Effective' "It will ensure Britain's voice is very loud and clear," he said. Baroness Ashton is currently the EU's Trade Commissioner, a job in which Mr Brown said she had been "highly effective". Mr Brown said Baroness Ashton - who will also become vice-president of the European Commission - would represent the EU on the world stage. Little-known outside the UK and not a high-profile figure in British politics, Baroness Ashton was formerly leader of the House of Lords. Gordon Brown spent a great deal of energy and political capital trying to secure the presidency for Tony Blair William Hague, shadow foreign secretary In choosing Baroness Ashton, Mr Brown said he had been determined to protect the UK's national interest in Europe. Mr Blair had never publicly said he was in the running for the job of EU President - given to Belgium's Herman van Rompuy - despite vocal support from Mr Brown. The prime minister said that his predecessor would have made an "excellent candidate" and that he did not "apologise" for backing him. However, he said it had become clear that the job was destined for a centre-right candidate and that the nature of the post had changed - making it less suitable for Mr Blair. 'Defeat for PM' The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats welcomed the fact that Mr Blair had not got the job, saying he would have been a divisive figure. "We did not agree with the Lisbon Treaty's establishment of these posts but they are now a fact," said shadow foreign secretary William Hague. "We look to the President of the Council and the High Representative to ensure that the EU's business as an association of nation states is conducted efficiently." "Gordon Brown spent a great deal of energy and political capital trying to secure the presidency for Tony Blair. The summit's result is a defeat for him."

world's leading climate research units

Hackers target leading climate research unit

www.richimag.co.uk/biofools/

Experts warn that universities' e-mail systems are vulnerable to attacks

The e-mail system of one of the world's leading climate research units has been breached by hackers.

E-mails reportedly from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU), including personal exchanges, appeared on the internet on Thursday.

A university spokesman confirmed the email system had been hacked and that information was taken and published without permission.

An investigation was underway and the police had been informed, he added.

"We are aware that information from a server used for research information in one area of the university has been made available on public websites," the spokesman stated.

"Because of the volume of this information we cannot currently confirm that all of this material is genuine.

"This information has been obtained and published without our permission and we took immediate action to remove the server in question from operation.

"We are undertaking a thorough internal investigation and we have involved the police in this enquiry."

Researchers at CRU, one of the world's leading research bodies on natural and human-induced climate change, played a key role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report, which is considered to be the most authoritative report of its kind.

'Inside information'

Graham Cluley, a computer security expert, suggested that December's key climate summit in Copenhagen, which has made headlines around the world, could have increased the university's profile as a possible target among hackers.

"There are passionate opinions on both sides of the climate debate and there will be people trying to knock down the other side," Mr Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, told BBC News.

"If they feel that they can gather inside information on what the other side is up to, then they may feel that is ammunition for their counterargument."

Mr Cluley added that universities were vulnerable to attacks by hackers because so many people required access to IT systems.

"You do need proper security in place; you need to be careful regarding communications and make sure your systems are secure.

"I trust that they will now be looking at the systems, and investigating how this happened and ensuring that something like this does not happen again."

Tribes resistance could help CJD

Kuru attacks the brain tissue

natural selection could help halt human "mad cow disease", experts say after finding a tribe impervious to a related fatal brain disorder.

The Papua New Guinea tribe developed strong genetic resistance after a major epidemic of the CJD-like disease, kuru, spread mostly by cannibalism.

Medical Research Council experts assessed more than 3,000 survivors of the mid-20th Century epidemic.

Their findings appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Kuru, a prion disease similar to CJD in humans and BSE in animals, was transmitted at mortuary feasts where - until the practice was banned in the late 1950s - women and children consumed their deceased relatives as a mark of respect and mourning.

But a gene variation, G127V, found in people from the Purosa valley region of the Eastern Highlands seems to offer high or even complete resistance to the disease .

The fact that this genetic evolution has happened in a matter of decades is remarkable MRC Prion Unit director Professor John Collinge

And experts believe this could be the strongest example yet of recent natural selection in humans.

MRC Prion Unit director Professor John Collinge said: "It's absolutely fascinating to see Darwinian principles at work here.

"This community of people have developed their own biologically unique response to a truly terrible epidemic.

"The fact that this genetic evolution has happened in a matter of decades is remarkable.

"Kuru comes from the same disease family as CJD, so the discovery of this powerful resistance factor opens up new areas for research taking us closer to understanding, treating and hopefully preventing of a range of prion diseases."

Survival advantage

University College London's Institute of Neurology geneticist Professor John Hardy said the findings were fascinating.

"It's fantastic demonstration of natural selection.

"Because people who have this mutation were protected from this fatal disease their proportion in society increased massively."

But he said a similar resistance to CJD would be less likely to develop.

He said: "In Papua New Guinea kuru became the major cause of death, so there was a clear survival advantage and the selection pressure was enormous.

"Here in Britain the numbers with CJD are very small and so the selection pressures will be less."

savage Brown’s free care

Labour peers savage Brown’s free care plan

Sam Lister, Health Editor and Philip Webster, Political Editor

A key plank of Gordon Brown’s re-election strategy was condemned by members of his own party yesterday as irresponsible, unaffordable and based on a myth.

The Prime Minister’s plan to offer free care at home to the elderly, outlined yesterday in the last Queen’s Speech before the general election, was compared to “an admiral firing an Exocet into his own flagship”.

Lord Lipsey, a former member of the Royal Commission on Long-Term Care, also accused the Government of peddling a “pernicious myth” that people are better cared for in their own homes than in a nursing home.

The measure, aimed at 400,000 of the neediest people, amounted to a “demolition job on the national budget”, he said, as the Government would be forced to cover unnecessary claims made by the better-off. He said that it threatened to undo current work on building a system to help the elderly and those most in need of care.

Related Links

• 
  human rights in old age
• nhs / abuse of elderly

“I’m not looking forward to the night of the next general election but, if the result goes as I expect, one of the consolations will be that one of the most irresponsible acts to be put forward by a prime minister in the recent history of this country will be swept away with his government,” he added.

Lord Warner, a former health minister, described the care Bill as totally misjudged. “There has been no proper impact assessment, and no data to show how this would work,” he said. “There’s a big question mark as to whether there’s even actually a Bill ready.”

Other peers are known to oppose a Bill that many see as a last-minute, back-of-the-envelope proposal. Mr Brown, criticised by the Conservatives for what they said was a blatantly electoral programme of 15 Bills, faced more attacks from his own side. Charles Clarke, the former Home Secretary, said that the Prime Minister’s attempts to impose political dividing lines was “neither the best way to govern the country nor the best way for Labour to win in 2010”.

David Cameron said that the “biggest omission of all” was the failure to mention MPs’ expenses or the report by Sir Christopher Kelly, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Sir Christopher joined in the criticism, issuing a statement pointing out that party leaders had agreed that his recommendations should be implemented in full. It was disappointing, he said, that the speech failed to address the remit, powers and independence of the new body being established to regulate expenses.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “We are not standing in the way of any of Kelly’s recommendations. Everything related to sweeping away the old, discredited expenses system . . . can and should be implemented without further legislation.”

The criticisms of the care Bill were echoed by health economists. Niall Dickson, of the King’s Fund, said: “These latest proposals seem to have been hastily put together and appear to cut across the options set out in the Government’s own Green Paper.”

you want to understand other people and how they think

AFTER AN ASSESSMENT OF AN AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER… WHAT NEXT?

While you were wondering whether you had an autistic spectrum disorder, you probably read quite a few articles on the

subject. You are an expert on the disorder that the consultant has said you have: you understand the problems of people

who have a form of autism – because you have lived with it all your life.

Quite often, when we know that there is a problem and we know what that problem is, we can fix it. But you should

only attempt to address your own problems if:

�� you understand and accept that you have a disorder

�� you accept that having this disorder means you may have some problems in your life

�� you are willing to talk about your disorder and your difficulties

�� you want to understand other people and how they think

�� you want other people to understand you and how you think

�� you want to understand what is expected of you in certain situations

�� you want to live as independently as possible.

Talking about your autism or Asperger Syndrome with the people you meet will help them understand you better if they

themselves are not autistic, and if they don’t know anybody with autism. It should not become a major topic of

conversation at every meeting or every occasion! But it is very much a part of you and how you function in this world.

For some people the fact that they have had a hip replacement, or cannot see very clearly, or suffer from migraines, is

very much a part of them: it might limit their abilities in some areas, but affect them not at all in others. It is the same

for you: your abilities with factual and technical subjects may well be far higher than average; your understanding of

what others are thinking, however, might be limited.

All of us, after all, are individuals, with very individual likes, dislikes, abilities, limitations and interests. We do not all

have to be exactly the same in order to get on with each other: we would all benefit from becoming more understanding,

tolerant and accepting of people as individuals.

rights in care

National Minimum Standards - Your Rights

24 June 2009

Find out about the minimum standards care services have to meet and what you have a right to expect.

The following guidance is from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the regulatory body for care homes in England.

The Government has set national minimum standards for care services. The standards set out the quality of care, service and facilities you should expect from your care provider.

These are just some of the issues the national minimum standards cover:

• you have a right to be treated politely and with dignity

• you have a right to privacy for yourself, and your relatives and friends when they visit

• you have a right to deal with your own finances and spend your money in the way you choose

• you have a right to eat food that is prepared in line with your faith, and to worship when and where you want to

• you have a right to choose the food that you eat and be given the time and space to relax and enjoy your meal

• you have a right to get up in the mornings and go to bed at night when you choose

• you have a right to complain if you are not happy with the care you get.

The national minimum standards enforceable by law but are important guidelines to help providers, inspectors and people who use services to judge the standard of service.

They are designed to make sure everyone understands what's expected and so services can be measured against the same standards.

37 BBC staff earn more than the Prime Minister

(Gill Allen, The Times)

Nearly 300 senior BBC managers earn more than £100,000

Patrick Foster, Dan Sabbagh and Francis Elliott

• 55 Comments

Recommend? (9)

At least 37 BBC executives earn more than the Prime Minister, it was revealed yesterday, as the corporation disclosed the scale of its senior salaries for the first time.

The broadcaster said that its 107 “most senior decision makers” earn £22 million a year and said that the disclosures made it the nation’s most transparent public body. This claim was undermined when it emerged that hundreds of its highest earners were hidden from the published figures.

Nearly 300 senior managers earning more than £100,000, were kept off the list, The Times has learnt. Some earn more than Gordon Brown. Many are paid more than double the £81,100 earned by the lowest-paid manager whose salary was made public. Gordon Brown’s salary is £197,689 but he draws only £192,414.

The revelations put pressure on the Tories to spell out how they would restrain pay in the corporation. In his speech to the Conservative conference last month George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, said: “The excessive salaries at the top have to go. In the current climate, anyone who wishes to pay a public servant more than the Prime Minister will have to put it before the Chancellor. I am not expecting a long queue.” Mr Osborne’s spokesman admitted last night, however, that BBC executives in line to receive more than the Prime Minister would not be required to line up alongside other public sector chiefs.

Related Links

• Long way to go to full BBC disclosure

• Public sector workers laugh all way to bank

• The top ten BBC expenses claimants

Multimedia

• BBC senior staff salaries and expenses

The pay of on-screen stars, such as Jonathan Ross, who earns an estimated £6 million a year, was also left out. Those who were on the list ranged from Mark Thompson, the Director-General, who earned £834,000, down to Tom Sleigh, the chief adviser for operations, earning £81,100.

The BBC’s annual report shows that there are at least 281 staff earning more than Mr Sleigh but who were not featured in the disclosures. Excluded were any who work for the commercial subsidiary, BBC Worldwide, and more than 150 core staff on more than £100,000 who were deemed not to have enough responsibility.

A BBC spokesman said: “The senior managers have been selected according to their salary, responsibility, influence and membership of a BBC board. They are those who have the greatest responsibility for spending public money and for overseeing the BBC’s services and operations.”

Dementia drug use 'killing many'

By Nick Triggle Health reporter, BBC News

Anti-psychotic drugs do not benefit many dementia patients

Needless use of anti-psychotic drugs is widespread in dementia care and contributes to the death of many patients, an official review suggests.

About 180,000 patients a year are given the drugs in care homes, hospitals and their own homes to manage aggression.

But the expert review - commissioned by ministers - said the treatment was unnecessary in nearly 150,000 cases and was linked to 1,800 deaths.

The government in England has agreed to take steps to reduce use of the drugs.

These include:

• Improving access to other types of therapy, such as counselling
• Better monitoring of prescribing practices
• Guidance for families explaining what they can do if they are worried about drug use
• Specialist training in dementia for health and social care staff
• Appointment of a new national director for dementia to oversee the measures

The review - and the government pledge to take action - comes after long-running concerns about the use of anti-psychotic drugs.

Over the past 30 years, the NHS has increasingly turned to the treatment, which was originally aimed at people with schizophrenia, as it has struggled to cope with the rise in people with dementia.

'Different mindset'

There are currently 700,000 people in the UK with the condition, but this is expected to rise to one million in the next 10 years because of the ageing population.

The review, led by King's College London expert Professor Sube Banerjee, accepted that for some people anti-psychotic drugs would be necessary.

But it said they should be used only for a maximum of three months and when the person represented a risk to themselves or others.

Professor Banerjee estimated that of the 180,000 people given the drugs each year, only 36,000 benefited.

He said health and social care services needed to develop a "different mindset".

Allan Trueman's father "became a totally different person"

He believes if the steps the government has agreed to are followed, anti-psychotic drug use could be reduced by two-thirds within three years.

Care services minister Phil Hope agreed action was needed.

"We know there are situations where anti-psychotic drug use is necessary - we're not calling for a ban, but we do want to see a significant reduction in use."

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said the long-awaited review was a welcome recognition of the scale of the problem.

He added: "This goes beyond quality of care. It is a fundamental rights issue.

"Our members tell us of enormous worry and distress over what is happening to their loved ones."

The Royal College of GPs - in most cases the drugs are prescribed by family doctors - admitted the situation was "unacceptable".

President Dr Steve Field said: "People deserve much better."

While the review was commissioned by the government in England, ministers elsewhere in the UK have agreed to study the recommendations.

how do you raise money

You've got a project with potential, but how do you raise money for it?

The good news is that there are thousands of funders, large and small looking for worthwhile initiatives to support.
However, the competition is strong with countless good causes chasing a finite pot of money. To be successful you have to find out what's out there, make your case and stand out from the crowd.
There are a number of ways that Green Communities can support you, you can:
•search our funding database
•get step by step advice on how to successfully apply for funding
•Funding how to guide
•get advice on making your project more attractive to funders
•get regular updates through our monthly e-news alerting you to new sources of funding

Penny Brohn Cancer Care

New healthy eating guidelines for cancer survivors released10/06/2009

Penny Brohn Cancer Care has launched a new set of guidelines called The Bristol Approach to Healthy Eating, designed specifically for people living with cancer and informed by the most up-to-date research evidence.

Based on the charity’s near 30 years of experience of working with people with cancer, The Bristol Approach to Healthy Eating gives practical advice for anyone living with the disease.

The guidelines show how a plant-based diet may support the health of those living with cancer. Highlighted foods include those that are high in compounds thought to inhibit the cancer process, and low in compounds that may undermine overall health.

A 2006 nutritional survey undertaken by Penny Brohn Cancer Care shows that 82 per cent of the survey’s respondents were not given any dietary advice by a member of their healthcare team when diagnosed. 61 per cent of respondents would have liked to have received such advice, and over a third (38 per cent) sought information about healthy eating outside of their healthcare team.

Liz Butler, Senior Nutritional Therapist at Penny Brohn Cancer Care, said: “There is a wealth of information on diet and cancer in books and on the web but much of it has little scientific basis. From our 2006 survey we know that people living with cancer are generally not receiving dietary guidance or being encouraged to adopt a healthy diet by their healthcare professionals. This can often lead to patients conducting their own investigations into nutrition and cancer and collecting information from sources of questionable quality.

“We have produced the Bristol Approach to Healthy Eating guidelines that are informed by the most up-to-date evidence, including studies that directly examine the effects of diet on the health of cancer survivors.

“The evidence showing that healthy eating can benefit those living with cancer has grown significantly in the last few years. We feel it is time that all cancer patients are offered healthy eating advice and that doctors regard this as an essential part of long-term care, as they already do for people with cardiovascular disease.

“There is no one diet that suits every person with cancer, but the basic healthy eating principles will always apply. Practical and informative guidelines such as these provide strong foundations which can be further adapted for those needing more specialist advice.”

The guidelines encourage people to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, together with other plant foods – whole grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. It is recommended that people include moderate amounts of animal products, particularly unprocessed meat, fish and eggs. For some people, moderate amounts of dairy products may also be included. Foods containing refined sugar and processed fats such as crisps, cakes, biscuits, margarine, and ready meals should be cut down or avoided. The guidelines also encourage people to keep alcoholic drinks to a minimum.

Penny Brohn Cancer Care (formerly known as Bristol Cancer Help Centre) is the UK’s leading and oldest provider of complementary care for people with cancer. The charity has almost thirty years of experience of providing healthy eating advice to people living with cancer, delivered as part of a person-centred package of physical, emotional and spiritual support known as The Bristol Approach. The Bristol Approach works as a natural partner to medical treatment, and is delivered by the charity’s experienced team of doctors, nurses and complementary therapists.

The full guidelines are available to download in PDF format by clicking here.

- Ends

Asia

Asia slips into cold war
Under a deal signed in August, India is installing radar across the Maldives, linked to its coastal command

Jeremy Page in Delhi
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You have to go to a tropical paradise to find the latest front in the brewing cold war between China and India.

On the southernmost tip of the Maldives lies the island of Gan, a tiny patch of coconut palms and powdery white beaches. It was here that Britain set up a secret naval base in 1941, building airstrips and vast fuel tanks to support its fleet in the Indian Ocean during the Second World War.

The RAF then used it as a Cold War outpost until 1976, when the British withdrew and the officers’ quarters were converted into a resort called Equator Village.

Now, 33 years later, India is preparing to reopen the base to station surveillance aircraft, helicopters, and possibly ships, to monitor Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean. Under a deal signed in August, India is also installing radar across the Maldives, linked to its coastal command.

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Graphic: Asian giants face off
Both countries publicly deny that the move is aimed at Beijing, but privately admit that it is a direct response to China’s construction of a giant port at Hambantota in nearby Sri Lanka.

The plan is also being seen as the latest move in a low-level, but escalating struggle for economic and military supremacy between Asia’s two emerging giants. This week the flashpoint is their disputed Himalayan border, as China protests over the Dalai Lama’s visit to a northeastern Indian state that it claims. But they are also competing over naval control of the Indian Ocean, resources and markets in Africa, strategic footholds in Asia — and are even in a race for the Moon.

“It doesn’t have the same proportions as the Cold War,” said Alexander Neill, head of the Asia programme at the Royal United Services Institute, a research centre. “But there is potential for this to spiral out of control. Allies of both countries need to think carefully about the consequences of this rivalry.”

Relations were cordial for the first decade after India’s independence in 1947, and the founding of communist China in 1949. They quickly deteriorated, however, when the Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet in 1959 and was granted refuge in India. China then humiliated India in 1962 when its troops briefly occupied the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and seized the region of Aksai Chin. Beijing also began to provide aid and weapons to Pakistan — India’s rival.

In the past decade, the frost had been thawing as bilateral trade expanded from $3 billion in 2000 to $51 billion last year — the two even began joint military exercises.

Yet this year, things have taken a sudden turn for the worse as China seeks to project its economic and military clout, and a more assertive India tries to respond. Militarily, India frets over China’s recent efforts to improve infrastructure around its frontiers and force a compromise on the disputed border. It also worries about China’s plans to develop a “blue water” navy capable of protecting trade routes through distant waters, including the Indian Ocean.

India feels particularly threatened by China’s “string of pearls” strategy, building ports in Burma, Sri Lanka and Pakistan that could be used by its navy. Beijing is concerned that a nuclear deal finalised last year between India and the US, was designed as a counterbalance to China. The deal not only lifted a ban on India buying US nuclear supplies, it also opened the door for India to take part in joint military exercises and buy billions of dollars of US weaponry.

“Since 1962, I think Chinese strategists have basically decided that they can deal with India on their own terms,” said Evan Feigenbaum of the Council on Foreign Relations, an American research centre. “But when you introduce the United States into that equation, it introduces all kinds of uncertainties. I think we’re in for a period of India-China tension.”

Economically, the competition is most intense in Africa, where India and China are vying for resources and markets in a rerun of the “Scramble for Africa” by colonial powers.

China began courting African nations a decade ago, offering investment and trade in exchange for soft loans and development aid with no political conditions attached. But India is catching up fast, pledging $5 billion in credit and hundreds of millions of dollars in financial help at an inaugural India-Africa summit last year. At stake is not just access to industrial raw materials, but support for India’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which China opposes. India is also trying to make up lost ground in South, South-East and Central Asia.

China has been trying to negotiate a friendship treaty with Nepal to replace the one that has tied the country to India since 1950. Beijing’s growing clout in Bangladesh was highlighted last week when armed police closed a photo exhibition organised by Tibetan activists. India has poured $1 billion in aid into Afghanistan, while a Chinese company has invested $3 billion in a giant copper mine in the country. Technologically, the contest is playing out in a 21st-century Asian version of the Cold War space race. India launched its first unmanned lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1, last year and plans to land a man on the Moon by 2020. China sent its first taikonaut into space in 2003, and plans its first manned lunar mission by 2024.

Yet the most fundamental source of rivalry is also the most abstract: the relative merits of Indian-style democracy and Chinese-style autocracy. Although neither promotes its political system, they are seen as rival models for the developing world. And if this is the “Asian Century”, as many agree, then it will be defined to a large extent by that ideological contest.

on genes

Early life stress 'changes' genes
By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News



Mice that are abandoned as pups have behavioural problems later on
A study in mice has hinted at the impact that early life trauma and stress can have on genes, and how they can result in behavioural problems.

Scientists described the long-term effects of stress on baby mice in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Stressed mice produced hormones that "changed" their genes, affecting their behaviour throughout their lives.

This work could provide clues to how stress and trauma in early life can lead to later problems.

The study was led by Christopher Murgatroyd, a scientist from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany.

He told BBC News that this study went into "molecular detail" - showing exactly how stressful experiences in early life could "programme" long-term behaviour.

To do this, the researchers had to cause stress to newborn mouse pups and monitor how their experiences affected them throughout their lives.

"We separated the pups from their mothers for three hours each day for ten days," Dr Murgatroyd explained.

"It was a very mild stress and the animals were not affected at a nutritional level, but they would [have felt] abandoned."

The team found that mice that had been "abandoned" during their early lives were then less able to cope with stressful situations throughout their lives.

The stressed mice also had poorer memories.

Programming genes

Dr Murgatroyd explained that these effects were caused by "epigenetic changes", where the early stressful experience actually changed the DNA of some of the animals' genes.

"This is a two-step mechanism," Dr Murgatroyd explained.

When the baby mice were stressed, they produced high levels of stress hormones.

These hormones "tweak" the DNA of a gene that codes for a specific stress hormone - vasopressin.

"This leaves a permanent mark at the vasopressin gene," said Dr Murgatroyd. "It is then programmed to produce high levels [of the hormone] later on in life."

The researchers were able to show that vasopressin was behind the behavioural and memory problems. When the adult mice were given a drug that blocked the effects of the hormone, their behaviour returned to normal.

This work was carried out in mice, but scientists are also investigating how childhood trauma in humans can lead to problems such as depression.

Professor Hans Reul, a neuroscientist from the University of Bristol, UK, said that this was "a very valuable addition to the body of work on the long-term effects of early-life stress".

"There is strong evidence that adversities such as abuse and neglect during infancy contribute to the development of psychiatric diseases such as depression," he told BBC News.

"This underscores the importance of the study of epigenetic mechanisms in stress-related disorders."

Blood, bullets and motorcycle oil

Blood, bullets and motorcycle oil

By Chris Summers
BBC News

Six members of a Canadian motorcycle gang have been jailed for life for murdering eight fellow bikers found shot to death in deepest Ontario. What lay behind the massacre?

Four of the killers
Killers and victims (L to R): Raposo, Muscedere, Kellestine and Sandham

Realising he and his friends had been betrayed and faced death, John "Boxer" Muscedere told his killers: "Do me. Do me first. I want to go out like a man."

Muscedere, who was betrayed by his best friend Wayne Kellestine, was one of eight men shot dead in a barn in Ontario.

Their bodies were found on 8 April 2006 in three cars and a tow truck which had been dumped in a field near the town of Shedden, 14km (10 miles) from where they had been killed.


THE KILLERS
Wayne Kellestine

Wayne Kellestine, 60 (pictured)

Michael Sandham, 39

Dwight Mushey, 41
Marcelo Aravena, 33
Frank Mather, 35
Brett Gardiner, 25

Ironically several of the men - suspects in another murder case - had been under surveillance by the Ontario Provincial Police only hours earlier.

All eight were associated with the Bandidos, one of North America's most notorious biker gangs and second only in power to the Hells Angels worldwide.

Schism

The motive for the bloodshed lay in a deep schism that had developed within the Bandidos' Canadian chapters.

The victims were members of the Toronto chapter, who were sponsored by the gang's Scandinavian wing but were not recognised by the Bandidos' head office in Texas.

Peter Edwards, a journalist with the Toronto Star and expert on the case, explained: "There was a chapter based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, who came under the auspices of Toronto.

"But Winnipeg were not granted full patches by Toronto. They effectively had no job security and they grew really frustrated."

The killers were led by Michael Sandham, a former soldier and police officer who became president of the Winnipeg chapter.

THE VICTIMS
John 'Boxer' Muscedere, 48
Luis 'Porkchop' Raposo, 41
George 'Pony' Jessome, 52
George 'Crash' Kriarakis, 28
Frank 'Bam Bam' Salerno, 43
Paul 'Big Paulie' Sinopoli, 30
Jamie 'Goldberg' Flanz, 37
Michael 'Little Mikey' Trotta, 31

Bikers guilty of massacre

Lured to death

He tried to claim that he had actually been working undercover for the police, but was unable to explain why he had initially denied being at the scene.

Sandham was helped by Kellestine, an Ontario native who was allied with the Winnipeg chapter.

The victims were lured to their deaths in his barn, after being told they would meet to settle their grievances.

When police arrived, they found blood smears and pieces of flesh amid the detritus of a biker party - beer bottles on a table and Confederate and Nazi flags hanging on a wall.

Kellestine and five of his buddies were arrested. Three years later they finally went on trial.

The star prosecution witness was another Bandido, known only as MH, who testified about the events leading up to the killings.

MH, who hailed from Winnipeg, told the court the original plan was to "pull the patches" of the Toronto members, effectively throwing them out of the Bandidos.

But Kellestine then decided they would have to kill all eight.

MH described a messy and farcical situation in which Kellestine frequently changed his mind about whether or not to let his rivals live and at one point allowed Muscedere to call his wife as long as he "didn't say anything stupid".

Bungling

He broke down as he described the stoic reaction of one of the men, Frank "Bammer" Salerno.

"Bammer went to shake my hand. I didn't do it," said MH.

BBC

MH said Kellestine had been promised that in return for carrying out the killings he would be named Canadian president of the Bandidos and could start up his own chapter based in nearby London, Ontario.

But Mr Edwards, who has covered the trial, said the killers were disorganised and bungling.

"They were at the very bottom rung of biker gangs. Some were in their 40s but still lived with their parents. They were not making any money, many of them had been rejected by the Hells Angels and half of them didn't even own a motorbike," he said.

Mr Edwards says they were forced to dump the cars with the bodies in because they were "too cheap to buy enough gasoline".

"They didn't even set fire to the bodies or the cars," he says.

All six men were jailed to life, which means they will not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years.

Victim impact statement from the families of the eight men were read out.

Muscedere's daughter, Tereasa, 24, said: "My daughter will never remember the tickle of my father's moustache or the way she loved to jump on the front of his Harley and pretend it was hers."

The massacre, and Thursday's convictions, have left the Bandidos effectively defunct in Canada.

According to Mr Edwards, there is very little public sympathy for the victims because they were bikers, and Canada has seen a lot of biker wars in the past.

Pause in Arctic's melting trend

By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website

Walrus have been seen on Alaska's north coast in unusual numbers

This summer's melt of Arctic sea ice has not been as profound as in the last two years, scientists said as the ice began its annual Autumn recovery.

At its smallest extent this summer, on 12 September, the ice covered 5.10 million sq km (1.97 million sq miles).

This was larger than the minima seen in the last two years, and leaves 2007's record low of 4.1 million sq km (1.6 million sq miles) intact.

But scientists note the long-term trend is still downwards.

They note that at this year's minimum, the ice covered 24% less ocean than for the 1979-2000 average.

The analysis is compiled from satellite readings at the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado.

Colder front

Among the reasons for the less drastic melt are that Arctic temperatures have been cooler this year than last, researchers said, and that winds have helped disperse sea ice across the region.

Arctic ice in retreat

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NSIDC scientist Walt Meier said the reasons for the somewhat cooler temperatures this year were not entirely clear yet.

"We had cloudier conditions and low pressure zones in late summer that probably helped keep temperatures down," he told BBC News.

"It's something we need to look at in more detail.

"But it certainly wasn't as warm as 2007, which was in the order of 2-3C warmer than the average in a lot of places."

The question now, he said, was whether 2007 turns out to be a "high-melt blip", or whether 2009 turns out to be a "low-melt blip" - which will not become evident until next summer at the earliest.

What continues to have scientists worried is that a significant proportion of the cover consists of young, thin ice formed in a single winter.

This is much more prone to melting than the older, thicker ice that dominated in years gone by.

"If we get another warm year, anything like 2007, then the ice is really going to go," said Dr Meier.

"And the chances are that at some point in the next few years we are going to get a warm one."

White heat

In recent decades, the Arctic region has been warming about twice as fast as the average for the Earth's surface.

Recently, scientists specialising in reconstructing past temperatures released data showing that the current decade is the warmest in the Arctic for at least 2,000 years.

Melting ice is a "positive feedback" mechanism driving temperature rise faster. Whereas white ice reflects sunlight back into space, dark water absorbs it, leading to faster warming.

The NSIDC team cautions that this is a preliminary analysis and that further melt is possible, though unlikely, this year.

Next month they will publish a full analysis including more details of how temperatures, currents and winds affected the sea ice this summer.

Kenya: Government destroys the Ogiek's forest

Alert Bulletin from Survival International

Kenya: Serikali yaharibu Msitu wa Wa-Ogiek

'Kutoa makazi kwa watu wengine katikati yetu ina maana kuwa mila ua Wa-Ogiek itakufa na sis tutapotea kabisa.' Joseph Towett, Mwenyekiti wa Halmashauri ya Wa-Ogiek

Jamii ya Wa-Ogiek wa Kenya wanapinga serikali inayokusudia kuharibu msitu ambao ni mahali pao pa kuishi.

Jamii hii yenye karibu watu 14,000 wameishi hapo tangu zama za kale katika mlima wa msitu wa Mau unaoelekea bonde la ufa kwa upande wa Kenya. Jamii hii huishi kwa kutegemea ukusanyaji wa matunda mwitu na uwindaji, ingawa wanafahamika pia kwa umaarufu wao wa kukusanya asali kutoka mizinga iliyotundikwa katika matawi makubwa ya miti ya msitu huo. Pamoja na kuwa wala asali maarufu, Wa-Ogiek pia hufanya biashara na majirani zao waishio nje ya msitu. Baadhi ya Wa-Ogiek waishio ndani ya msitu huishi kwa kutegemea ukusanyaji na uwindaji tu, wengine hukamilisha mahitaji yao ya chakula kwa kulima mboga kidogo na ufugaji. Kwa Wa-Ogiek wote, ufugaji nyuki na okusanyaji wa asali ni sehemu muhimu ya aina ya maisha yao. Kama wakusanyaji/wawindaji hawapewi heshima inayostahili na majirani zao ambao ni wafugaji.

Mau ni makazi ya asili ya Wa-Ogiek, ni sehemu iliyotengwa maalum na serikali ya Kenya chini ya sheria ya Misitu. Tangu nyakati za Wakoloni, serikali imejaribu kuwatoa kutoka msituni chini ya kigezo cha 'kulinda mazingira' kutoka shughuli za Wa-Ogiek; lakini mwaka huu mamlaka inayohusika imejaribu kuwatoa nje ya makazi yao ya asili. Lakini siku zote watu hawa wamejaribu kurudi kwao ingawa sasa wamepata vitisho vikali zaidi.

Kwa madai kuwa msitu unahitaji kulindwa kutoka jamii hizi ambazo kwa namna nyingine wametunza mazingira yake vema, serikali ya Kenya imefungua karibu heckta 60,000 kwa matumizi ya sekta binafsi. Watakaofaidika na hatua hii, wengi si Wa-Ogiek, ila ni wafanyabiashara kama vile wa mashamba ya chai, wakata mbao na wakulima kutoka sehemu zingine za Kenya. Kampuni kubwa tatu za mbao kwa mfano, Pan-African paper Mills, Raiply Timber na Timsales Ltd – tayari zinaendesha shughuli zao katika msitu huu.

Kuruhusu wageni ndani ya msitu wa Mau ni sehemu ya kampeni ya kufungua moja ya kati ya sehemu kumi za misitu ya Kenya kwa makazi ya watu wasio na ardhi – msitu wa Mau ukiwa ni mmoja wao. Tatizo kubwa ni kuwa hatua hii ya serikali ikitekelezwa, Wa-Ogiek wataingia katika idadi ya Wakenya wasio na ardhi na wasio na hadhi na watapotea kama watu. Licha ya hivyo, mpango huu pia unatishia usalama wa mazingira ya Kenya kwa sababu msitu huu ni eneo muhimu kwa ukusanyaji wa vianzo vya maji. Tayari ukame umeikumba Kenya na wataalamu wanakubali kuwa kupotea kwa msitu huu kutaongeza tatizo hili na itaathiri eneo kubwa zaidi hadi eneo la jirani yao Tanzania.

Mpango wa kufungua misitu ya taifa ulitangazwa kwa mara ya kwanza januari mwaka huu 2001, na ulifungua mlango wa upinzani mkali kutoka pande zote za dunia. Upinzani ulitokea pia toka bunge la Kenya na makundi ya wanamazingira. Chama cha Maendeleo ya Wa-Ogiek kilipata amri ya mahakama kuu ya Kenya ikiamuru kusimamisha ufunguaji wa hekari 35,000 za upande wa mashariki ya Msitu wa Mau hadi usuluhishi wa kesi waliyopeleka mahakamani kupinga hatua hiyo mnamo mwaka 1997. Mamlaka ya halmashauri yalitoa vitisho kwa jamii hii ili ifute kesi hii lakini wao walisimama imara na hawakufuta, mzee mmoja aliiambia mamlaka hii kuwa 'hakuna kiasi cha vitisho kitakachowafanya waache kudai haki yao ya asili waliyopewa na Mungu na ya kikatiba.' Katika mazingira ya kawaida ya kukataa kujibu madai ya Wa-Ogiek, kesi hii imeahirishwa. Hata hivyo uchoraji ramani wa eneo hilo umeendelea licha ya amri ya mahakama. Mara eneo la mashariki la mlima huu litakapofunguliwa, maeneo mengine ya mlima huu yatafuata.

Mnamo mwezi wa kumi wa mwaka huu, Waziri wa Mazingira alitoa amri ya kuruhusu kufungua maeneo haya ya mlima huu na kuna taarifa kuwa wakata mbao wameshaanza kusafisha maeneo yaliyotolewa. Kwa kuchukua hatua hii, serikali inapingana na maoni ya kimataifa, utaratibu wake wa kisheria, na haki za Wa-Ogiek chini ya sheria za kimataifa na inahatarisha usalama wa Wa-Ogiek kama watu.

Tafadhali andika kwa kifupi na kwa lugha nzuri barua au fax kwa Kiswahili au Kiingereza au kwa lugha yako mwenyewe na ingiza mambo yafuatayo:

• Haki ya Wa-Ogiek kumiliki ardhi yao ya asili inatambulika katika sheria za kimataifa na ni lazima itambulike.

• Kufunguliwa kwa msitu wa Mau kutakiuka amri ya Mahama Kuu ya Kenya na itaongeza kiwango cha kudharau mahakama.

• Kupima na kuweka mipaka katika maeneo yenye mgogoro ndani ya msitu huu ni lazima kusimamishwe.

Tafadhali andika kwa

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ENGLISH :

Kenya: Government destroys the Ogiek's forest

"Settlement of other people in our midst would mean that the Ogiek culture would cease. We will be wiped out." Joseph Towett, Chairman, Ogiek Welfare Council.

The Ogiek people of Kenya are resisting a government that seems determined to destroy their forest home.

The Ogiek, who number about 20,000, have lived since time immemorial in the Mau mountain forest overlooking Kenya's Rift Valley. They live by gathering wild plants and hunting, but most of all they are famous as collectors of honey from beehives in the high branches of the forest trees. As well as eating this honey themselves, they also trade with neighbouring peoples living outside the forest. Some Ogiek in the deep forest live purely by hunting and gathering; others supplement their hunting with small vegetable plots and some livestock. For all Ogiek, bee-keeping and collecting honey remain central to their way of life. As a hunter-gatherer people they are looked down on by their cattle-herding neighbours.

Mau, the Ogiek's ancestral home, is a protected area under Kenya's Forest Act. Ever since colonial times, governments have tried to evict them from the forest, under the fiction of 'protecting the environment' from the Ogiek's activities; even this year the authorities have tried to throw the Ogiek out of their homeland. Up until now, the Ogiek have always made their way back. But now they are facing the worst threat yet.

While still claiming that the forest needs protection from these hunter gatherers who have always managed it sustainably, the Kenyan government has opened up nearly 60,000 hectares of it for private use. Those who will benefit are mostly not the Ogiek, but developers such as tea planters and loggers, along with settlers from elsewhere in the country. Three powerful logging companies – Pan African Paper Mills, Raiply Timber, and Timsales Ltd – are already active in the forest.

Allowing outsiders into the Mau forest is in fact part of a larger vote-winning scheme to open up around one tenth of Kenya's forests for settlement by some of the country's many landless people – the Mau forest makes up a large proportion of the total area being opened up. The tragedy is that if the government's scheme goes ahead, the Ogiek will simply join the numbers of Kenya's dispossessed and die out as a people. The plan also threatens Kenya's environment, as the Mau forest is a vital water catchment area. Drought is already endemic in Kenya, and experts agree that the loss of forest cover will worsen the problem, affecting neighbouring Tanzania also.

The plan to open up the nation's forests was first announced in January 2001, sparking a wave of international protest. There was opposition in the Kenyan parliament, and protests and petitions from environmentalists. The Ogiek Welfare Association obtained an order from the Kenya High Court halting the opening up of 35,000 hectares in East Mau until after the resolution of a case which they had filed in defence of their land as long ago as 1997. Local authorities tried, through threats and intimidation, to make the Ogiek withdraw the case, but they remained firm; one elder told the local head of government, 'No amount of intimidation will deter us from demanding our God-given right within the constitution.' In an obvious attempt to avoid answering the Ogiek's claims, the case has been postponed. Yet surveying of the disputed land has gone on, in clear contempt of court. Once the East Mau has been opened up, the same is likely to happen to other Ogiek areas.

In October 2001, the environment minister gave the order to go ahead with the opening up of these forest areas, and there are reports that loggers have already started systematic clearing of the newly-opened forest tracts. By going ahead, the Kenyan government is defying international opinion, its own legal system and the Ogiek's rights under international law, and is endangering the survival of the Ogiek as a people.

Please write a brief and polite letter or fax (in Kiswahili, English or your own language) including these points:

• The right of the Ogiek people to the ownership of their ancestral land is enshrined in international law and must be recognised.
• The opening up of East Mau Forest would be a blatant violation of High Court orders, and by extension a contempt of court.
• Surveying and logging in all the disputed areas of the Mau forest must be stopped.

Please send your letter to

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