nursing care

[benn0]

Lets's get this right

Dodyagent hijacks a thread about some bloke's poor wife so he can throw his toys out of the pram to have yet another rant about a government which doesn't pander to his every whim.

Typical, not to mention pathetic.

[DodgyAgent]

Care and foxhunting

Whilst on this subject there lies here another example of how our govt does not work.

In order to be seen to be cracking down on immigration the govt has predictably decided to pick soft targets. One such target is the care industry. There is a huge shortage of care workers in this country needed to look after our increasingly ageing population (many of who populate this site ). Furthermore as a society we choose to ship the job of caring for the oldies in our families to someone else.

The government is struggling to provide funds and facilities to look after people either in residential care homes or in their own homes. As a result a lot of care is being delivered by the private sector much to the relief of govt.

So what is the govt doing? it has singled out care workers from Africa, Phillipines and other non EU countries to make sure that their work status fits with the job descriptions on their work permits. Now because a work permit is only issued for senior care officers and the need is for general junior carers you can see that many of these workers are not working to the letter of the conditions of their work permits (even though they are quite happy not being "chiefs") and are being systematically chucked out of the country.

This is another example of how the minds of our politicians work, and no doubt we will soon see that the govt has acted effectively to root and and deport many thousands of illegal immigrants.

The same applies to the foxhunting ban. The fact that no one takes the blindest bit of notice of it (including those who made the laws) is apparent. It has served its purpose in placating all you animal lovers (Xog) and all you chip on your shoulder losers who want to stick a spoke in the wheel of as many toffs as possible. The truth is that you have been conned hook line and sinker into bellieving something is being done when in fact it is'nt. And guess what? The toffs are still at it- toffing around on their horses giving you losers the

Home Office Crackdown on Working Migrants



by Charles Kelly

08 February 2007

John Reid's immigration crackdown has started, not on the real criminals and people traffickers, but easy targets such as working migrants and employers who accidentally fall foul of the rules.



Last month the Home Secretary announced the new Borders Bill, which includes proposals for compulsory ID cards and fingerprinting for foreign nationals. But the real action is taking place behind the scenes in the Home Office Compliance and Validation team. This is the department responsible for post-issue checking of Work Permits.



The team is currently checking files and sending out compliance questionnaires to employers. Where cases of illegal employment are identified, for instance not employing a worker as stated on the Work Permit, action will be taken. In some cases Immigration Enforcement Officers are dispatched to round up workers and remove them from the UK.



Last week six Senior Carers had their work permits cancelled following a compliance check on their Nursing Home employer. The workers, from the Philippines, India, China and South Africa, all had their visas cancelled and have been issued removal notices ordering them to immediately leave the UK.



One of the Filipinos, has been working for the company for three years and had just returned from maternity leave after giving birth to her second child. Her husband is employed in the town and her son attends the local primary school. The whole family will be forced to leave the UK through no fault of their own. She told me that she enjoys her work and has a good record at the home.



"Since I came to Britain I have always worked hard and never complained about anything. I have done nothing wrong and can't understand why they are sending me home."



The employer, who has asked not to be named, received a letter from the Compliance and Validation Team informing them that they were employing the Senior Carers illegally and that all Work Permits had been revoked.



They have tried to reason with the Home Office officials who have refused to discuss the cases. The Matron of the Home claimed that the Home Office told her that they "did not believe we were employing the workers as Senior Carers."



The Home Office said that the Senior Carer's Job Description, was a "standard document used to get people into the country".



The care group employs hundreds of staff, including 40 overseas workers, and has always done everything by the book.



The Compliance and Validation Team at Home Office have effectively accused them of obtaining Work Permits by deception and told one of their managers that the post of Senior Carer "does not exist in the care industry".



The manager claimed that they warned him that if he appeals or takes things further it could make things worse.



Dawn raid to remove a Nurse who was refused a Work Permit



In another unfortunate case, Cecilia, a Filipino nurse was taken from her house this week during a dawn raid by two Immigration Officers. The enforcement officers knocked on her door at 6.00am and demanded to see the passport of another Filipino, who just happened to open the door. They then asked for Cecilia's passport, which she said was at the Home Office pending an application for Further Leave to Remain (FLR).



One of the officers went to his car and returned with Cecilia's passport and told her she was staying in the UK illegally. Cecilia was taken to Uxbridge Police Station and later transferred to a detention centre in Bedford pending removal on the next available flight. The Police refused to allow Cecilia's family or her employer to see her.



Cecilia came to the UK on a Work Permit in 2004 arranged by Bison UK. In 2006 she changed jobs and transferred to another employer. The new employer was confident they could arrange her new Work Permit without the help of an immigration adviser.



Two applications and two refusals later with Cecilia's existing visa about to expire, the employer decided to submit an FLR application, despite the fact that she still had no Work Permit.



At this point Cecilia went back to her Bison UK consultant who promptly got the Work Permit approved. However, before any further action could be taken, Cecilia was picked up and detained.



The advice here is "look before you leap" and get your Work Permit before changing jobs. Cynthia Barker, Manager of Bison UK agrees:



"Once you leave a job your Work Permit and Visa will be cancelled. Unless the new employer has already arranged your new permit and Further Leave to Remain you should not start work."



In the past the Home Office would have taken a more lenient view on this kind of situation. Even when mistakes were made by employers the migrant worker would be given an opportunity to rectify the problem and regularise their stay. After all, they are just ordinary hardworking people, not criminals.



How attitudes have changed in a Labour Government, which has traditionally taken a more sympathetic line on immigration. Is this the "Safe and Tolerant Society" the Home Office is building?



What these cases prove is that the Home Office has adopted a harder approach towards migrants and employers who fail to comply with the rules.



If you should have any questions or views or need help please email Charles Kelly [email protected].



I will be speaking at the 'Showcase for Social Care and Social Work', organized by Surrey Care Association and Skills for Care, on: "Employing Overseas Staff?" - 14th March 2007 at the Copthorne Hotel, Effingham Park.


Immigration Matters
www.immigrationmatters.co.uk
[email protected]

[BoredBloke]

Cheers for the info and support - will check things out

[XLMonkey]

Sobering story - best wishes to your wife.

Best resource I know of is www.privatehealth.co.uk. My mother used to do some work for Strand, and said that they were pretty good. Don't know the others very well.

Cost-wise, can be as much or as little as you want (varying from 100/week to 200/day or more if you need equipment/drug administration as well). Only way to find out is to get them in and do an assessment.

Hope the op goes well

[Lucy]

Tony

I hope all goes well.

Have you tried phoning some of the nursing agencies, I am sure they provide this kind of service and you can get an idea of the costs etc

I know it is nice to be there yourself, but if you can't then a professional is the best way to go.

[bogeyman]

Tony,

I hope everything goes well.

Long trips are not uncommon these days for specialised procedures like organ transplants.

My sister-in-law had the same op about 4 years ago (she was 47 at the time) and was up and about fairly quickly, and has been fine since thankfully.

I understand that the recovery time depends on how young and fit the person is, and how far the disease has progressed, before surgery. Every case varies of course, so you have to play it as it comes along.

You will probably need some help looking after the missus after the op. for a couple of weeks at least. This could be provided by your local NHS trust (wouldn't recommend). If you have any family or friends you can call on then that would be better.

Good luck to you both.

[DodgyAgent]

Tony. why don't you just take a couple of weeks off to look after her? Money isn't everything

True, but it is right up there alongside oxygen

[BoredBloke]

I'm hoping that is the case - but you never know. just thinking out loud at the moment.

[Bagpuss]

From what the transplant team said, it isn't a couple of weeks. Yesterday I was told it would be

2 weeks in hospital full time.

For the next
2 weeks - 3 times a week in hospital then for the next
2 weeks - 2 times a week in hospital then for the next
2 weeks - 1 time a week in hospital
then reducing to once every 2 weeks, month, 2 months etc

On each visit they will carry out a blood test which she has to wait around for the results. If the results are bad she has to be admitted there and then.

Throughout most of this time and for the first 6 weeks definately she will need care. Her mum is hopefully going to be her donor. Our son is blind and so needs a bit more looking after than most. Her mum currently does all the after school stuff regarding him - could arrange something easy there I suppose with sombody else.

I currently work on the outskirts of London - the hospital is in the centre of Manchester and we live about 12 miles from it in Rochdale. Travelling to it on Wed morning for a 9am appointment took over an hour and that was using some of the best rat runs I know.

I am prepared to take the time off, but would be interested in possible options.

Surely they can let you work at home for a few weeks, I haven't seen a much stronger case than this.

[Paddy]

There are some excellent but pricy nursing homes. These are as good as a four star hotel plus there is 24 hour care. I suggest visit a few.

[BoredBloke]

From what the transplant team said, it isn't a couple of weeks. Yesterday I was told it would be

2 weeks in hospital full time.

For the next
2 weeks - 3 times a week in hospital then for the next
2 weeks - 2 times a week in hospital then for the next
2 weeks - 1 time a week in hospital
then reducing to once every 2 weeks, month, 2 months etc

On each visit they will carry out a blood test which she has to wait around for the results. If the results are bad she has to be admitted there and then.

Throughout most of this time and for the first 6 weeks definately she will need care. Her mum is hopefully going to be her donor. Our son is blind and so needs a bit more looking after than most. Her mum currently does all the after school stuff regarding him - could arrange something easy there I suppose with sombody else.

I currently work on the outskirts of London - the hospital is in the centre of Manchester and we live about 12 miles from it in Rochdale. Travelling to it on Wed morning for a 9am appointment took over an hour and that was using some of the best rat runs I know.

I am prepared to take the time off, but would be interested in possible options.

[Bagpuss]

Tony. why don't you just take a couple of weeks off to look after her? Money isn't everything

[BrilloPad]

my ex had a kidney transplant. up and about very quickly. she was in hospital for a week - i didn't even need to take a day off work.

its far worse for the donor - her brother was off work for 2 months.

[BoredBloke]

Anybody know any good resources on this to give an idea of costs etc? My wife needs a kidney transplant and I need to find some options which would allow me to continue working while she gets better