Matt Taylor's blog

An independent inquiry into the shortcomings of Stafford Hospital has confirmed people's worst fears that bureaucracy and cost-cutting has come at the expense of patients' welfare, sometimes even leading to loss of life. The Sentinel reported yesterday that the report found patients were "routinely neglected" as managers were consumed with "targets" and "cost-cutting", losing sight of its responsibility of providing safe care.

Another controversial pool-shutting idea has caused the latest in-fighting down at the Civic.

A hot topic in the national news recently centres on the issue of how far we can go in the UK, to protect our home and those we care about. At the end of last month, millionaire businessman Munir Hussain managed to have a custodial sentence overturned and walked away with a suspended sentence after having beaten up an intruder who had not only burgled him, but also tied him and his family up and threatened to kill them.

It's been much documented on Pits'n'Pots, amongst pretty much every other form of media in the city, and beyond, the level of misbehaviour which now exists in our town centres come the moonlight hours. Revelers strut the streets of so-dubbed 'trendy' bars which ironically blast out has-been party hits from the nineties as teeny-somethings to those old enough to know a great deal better douse themselves in lager.

It was just under two years ago that Eve Maley, having lost the Northwood and Birches Head election by one vote, following multiple recounts which had found her previously one ahead, took legal action against the council over the conduct of the count.

What on earth is going on with the health service? I keep receiving pamphlets telling me how many different choices I've got to avoid going to A&E, but what happened to the simple doctor's appointment?