A report published this week revealed that thousands of patients dying in hospital are not getting the care they deserve because of poor communication between medical staff.
Just four weeks ago my family witnessed our grandmother die in hospital and the whole episode as you can imagine was highly heartbreaking.
Gloomy
Angelina Santangelo had spent over one month dying in a ward with other elderly women, too weak to stay awake at times.
Each visit to my grandmother’s ward was becoming more and more gloomy. There was one co-patient in particular with Alzheimer’s we believe, who constantly repeated demands like:
“Will someone please tell me when me when the bus gets here, my husband will be worrying about me,” and “Oh my legs, will you give me some of those tablets I had last night, they really helped me, please nurse, I had a good night’s sleep last night” and her laments would go on and on.
Whatsa matter you, ah shuddup you face
At one point, when my spirited grandmother was first admitted, exacerbated she yelled: “shut-up” to which her talkative co-patient replied: “who said that? I’ll sue you!”
My family’s concerns deepened when our Angelina took a turn for the worse and she was back on the old oxygen mask to help her breathe.
Who knows?
My mother asked the senior doctor in charge of her mother if she would get better or worse. And his reply consisted of the following remark: “If I were to cross the road and get hit by a bus would I make it through? We do not know.”
Let me stay at home!
So, to an already distressed daughter this only made my mother feel worse which is perhaps why one of the report’s outcomes, titled Caring to the End? - about 60 percent of deaths in England occur in hospital, although two thirds of patients would rather die at home.

MY recent feature on Essential Writers.com lamented the plight of the freelance journalist.
It is a case of survival-of-the-fittest out there for freelancers who are never too sure where their next paycheque is going to come from.
Amazing
However, an amazing development has taken place in America and it comes in the shape of www.futurity.org
This website has been set up by a total of 35 research universities and together they publish discoveries made by their scientists directly to the public, cutting out the middleman - newspapers.
Shift
The reason I describe this as amazing is that it represents a shift, away from the almost monopoly-like, big name media outlets, towards a more grass-roots type of communication.
In turn, this avoids distorted information and specially selected stories which support a newspaper’s agenda.
What’s your agenda?
When I read the Daily Mail for example, I often feel like a fuddy duddy who would prefer to be living in the conform-loving 1950s is lecturing us by the stories it chooses to publish.
Take a look at these headlines from Tuesday 27 October, 2009: Downs’ cases soar as women delay a family; B&Q to teach DIY because Dad’s too busy; Yes, children DO make you happier; and these are all before page 11.
The future
Futurity.org separates its research stories into Earth & Environment, Health & Medicine, Science & Design and Society & Culture.
The academic brains behind the website state that the reason they created futurity.org was because there were not enough research stories in the mainstream media, due newspapers cutting back on science pages and reporters.
Direct to the public
This amazing development signifies a drop in power for these mega-bucks media moguls. So freelancers go forth and be creative in the way you communicate – the future is the likes of futurity.

Your Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI,

It is with great pleasure I write to you but unfortunately the matter I wish to raise is not particularly pleasurable. You see I disagree with your decision to welcome all those Anglican leaders into the Roman Catholic faith, which is indeed my own religion from birth.
Reasons
The reasons they wish to enter the Catholic Church is because they disagree with women becoming Bishops within the Anglican Church.
Please do not get me wrong, I am not asking for women to become Bishops or priests in the Catholic Church, this is for another letter, but surely the message you give in accepting our Anglican brothers and sisters include:
‘Yes, you can become Catholic, not because you want to be Catholic but because you want to make a point to the Bishops who have decided to accept a decision you disagree with.
You rebel priests you
‘Yes, you can become Catholic, and when you disagree with a decision we make? Well we’ll deal with that later, you rebel priests, you.
‘Yes, you can become Catholic, we have had a number of child-abuse scandals but this is not as bad as having a holy person who is not a man, preside over a Mass.’
You are in my prayers dear Holy Father, forget the politics and listen to your heart.

A STORY which grabbed my attention this week was the sad, unsolved murder case of Vikki Thompson, the mother of two who was found beaten to death after walking the family dog near her home in Oxfordshire in August 1995.
A 34-year old man has been arrested in relation to this case due to advances in technology and is in custody.
The aspect which stirred me about this tale of loss was the fact that her husband, Jonathan later married Vikki’s best friend, a Mrs Simpson.
Best friend
To lose a partner is a huge loss and I simply cannot imagine how someone even starts to come to terms with it. But it did make me question what my husband would do.
You see it is very hard to imagine your parner with anyone else apart from you, because we like to think we are the last person our partners will ever be with.
We can accept past relationships but not so much the relationships which come after us.
Three months?
And when I later read a letter sent to You magazine’s Zelda West-Meads, from a man asking the agony aunt if three months is too soon to start dating his late fiancee’s sister, well I had to note it down in my notebook.

APPARENTLY there is an imminent documentary to be screened on Channel Four regarding a number of put-up jobs devised by the channel to see if the red-tops believed their lies about celebrities.
Mayhem
Actors for the show phoned the show-biz pages with made-up stories of mayhem at certain celebrity home-parties, for example.
And what they found was not only did the journalists on these publications not check the validity of these tales but they also added made-up quotes from ‘a chum’ or ‘a friend’.
Mistake
What I cannot get over is this: does Channel Four think we do not know this already? A mistake the media sometimes make - is that they think that the public is stupider than they are.

ACCORDING to one of Britain’s top business woman, excessive maternity leave and eye-watering sex discrimination payouts could backfire on women.
The newspapers reported this week that Nicola Pease, deputy chairman of JO Hambro capital management denied allegations of sexism in the City, claiming most women did not rise through the ranks because of their own choices rather than any prejudice against them.
Moneyed mother of three
I could not believe my eyes when I read what this moneyed, mother of three told the Treasury Select Committee meeting. This woman, who together with her hedge fund manager husband is worth £204 million, went on to say that although women in the workplace were ‘a really capable, practical and driven bunch of multi-taskers’ – bosses might be reluctant to employ them for fear they could go on to have lots of children supported by over-generous maternity leave.
Scandalous
Now, I am only repeating her scandalous words to condemn them. If I were a newspaper editor I would not even report her ridiculous comments for horror that it may seep into the consciousness of even one boss out there, be it man or woman.
Since the beginning of this year, I have been working at a University where I am very happy. It is a great place to work. My colleagues are all such intelligent, caring and reasonable people.
Short sightedness
And I would not be there if it was not for a woman who went on maternity leave. So I wonder what Mrs Pease would say about that? Surely she would not have it that people were unemployed rather than winning an opportunity to cover someone’s maternity leave with the chance of impressing bosses that they keep you on. Such short-sightedness – this makes my eyes water!

WHAT a cute story in today’s Metro on how a pair of glasses were returned to an 89-year-old lady after she dropped them in her compost bin.
It was only after dustmen had been and emptied her bin that Irene Brown from Suffolk realised what had happened.
Now faced with the task of buying another pair, convinced they were lost forever, you can imagine her surprise when suddenly they appeared at her doorstep, in the hands of composting site manager, Peter Clarke.
He had told her “Igna (employed on the conveyer belts) spotted the glasses and saved them before they went through the grinder!”
Innocent lies
This story struck a cord with me because last night I spent the evening with my nonna at her house.
She told me all about her boss who calls her up each morning asking her to come into work.
And how she worked in an office all her life and this was the reason she was able to get such a good pension.
The truth of the matter is that she cleaned offices but for some reason she gives herself a promotion and makes out that she is still going about her business as normal. Just like she did before her stroke.
My nonna continued and looked me right in the eyes, with pride she said: “Did you know the royal family used to come for lunch all the time! I even gave Prince Charles a bottle of your Nonno’s wine once.”!?!

I READ a really uplifting interview this morning in the Metro, with celebrated Scottish writer Ali Smith about her life-long love of story-telling.
The author of award winning novel The Accidental, said that stories have the power to connect people and she added that through stories we understand each other better.
No one moved
The Accidental reflects Smith’s love for stories which challenge the ordinary and in this case it involves a set of characters whose lives change due to a stranger entering their life!
A touching thing Smith said in her interview was: “I remember when I was very young, a teacher reading us Little House on the Prairie.
“The dog Jack had gone missing and when the bell rang for the end of class, no one moved; we all wanted to find out whether the dog would be found. I realised even at that age how important that story had become to us.”

A FORMER victim of domestic violence has set up a website which gives names of all residents in her state of Lake County, who have been convicted for domestic violence.
The list stretches to those with protection or restraining orders and the reason for the database is so that women can check to see if new boyfriends have a history of violence.
The pioneer of www.theweakervessel.org, Myra Spearman was nearly killed by her ex-boyfriend. Myra endured 14 years of “physical, verbal and emotional torture” ~ she was quoted in the Post Tribune. She later found out her abuser had bullied before.
How incredible! This brave lady was pro-active and by setting up the website ~ is a victim no longer.

WHAT wonderful descriptions Rebecca Front writing in the Independent gives to natives from the country my parents hail ~ Italy.
And in light of the fact I’m off to that sunny land next week I thought I’d dedicate today’s blog to Italian-ess.
Front had just returned from Calabria and described Italians on the beach: “(they) look self confident, relaxed, carefree. They wear the briefest of swimwear without caring whether it suits them, and they wear it with such swagger that somehow it does”.
She goes on:
“They smoke endlessly, eat copious amounts of food, swig beer and caress each other publicly, guiltlessly, joyfully. It’s rather wonderful to behold.”
Apparently us Brits aren’t like that? Surely we too look ‘cool’ with our tummy-hiding, floral tankinis? Or our knee-length surf shorts? What about when we say sorry and thank-you all the time ~ that doesn’t attract admiring glances?
All that glimmers isn’t gold
Well Rebecca thinks not and what’s more, the British comedienne wishes she was Italian! Well, as an Italian in British clothes (born and brought up in Britain/Italian parents) I can see the good and bad in both nationalities.
Let’s start with the negatives of being Italian. Firstly, your business is never just your own. Family get involved in every detail of your life.
And what’s worse they do so in a loud voice! They shout when they’re talking to someone who’s right in front of them! The only way you’ll know if it’s an argument, is if you see pots and pans flying about.
There’s more…
The next thing is food. ‘Full-up’ is a very ignored word in Italian families. In fact in my family, food is SO important that instead of asking you how you are (as in English families), they ask ‘what have you eaten’ ~ to determine how you are.
Anyway, in the meanwhile, if you’re still not entirely convinced that it’s not that cool being Italian, here are some Italian words to delight in: “Ciao! Cosa stai facendo? Che cosa hai mangiato oggi?” (Hi! What are you doing? What have you eaten today?)