The above letter (it will open as a PDF in your browser) from the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman, Rebecca Hilsenrath, to AJM Health, from earlier this year, would indicate that. while you may be isolated, you are not alone in receiving negligent treatment, bordering on malfeasance, from AJM Health. Every so often, in moments of profound weakness, I consider starting an NHS-themed Substack, that would explain how different parts of the service operate. Then I come to my senses and think, dear God, no – fuck that idea into the same trash can where they dumped the patent for oven-cooling ice-cubes and Satan's preliminary concept art for James Corden.
Recently, I have been making lids for the cardboard boxes where I store my compact discs. I embarked upon this long venture, that I will complete probably around this time next year, on the understanding that there is nothing hotter to women than bedroom shelves filled with numbered boxes, that used to contain bottles of wine when they were delivered to Waitrose, but that now house outdated physical media. It's practically foreplay and a guaranteed conversation starter:
“So, [index finger playing suggestively around the lips] you made these crude cardboard lids yourself?”
“You know it, baby.” [Finger-guns]
But I digress.
During my personal odyssey to put cardboard roofs over the heads of my St Etienne CDs (The Lidiad) I reacquainted myself with a reissue of the final Auteurs album – 'How I Learned to Love the Bootboys'. Tucked away on the bonus disc is the band's parting missive to the world – a live album, titled 'No Dialogue With Cunts'.
Part of your existence, as a disabled man, will be an open dialogue with cunts. It shouldn't be that way, and it is neither right, nor is it fair, but it is a fact. During my time working for the NHS, I encountered patients, or relatives of patients who had their elbows out as a default, and who were bitter and confrontational from the offing. I had to remind myself that most of them didn't start out that way. It's the system, or sometimes people working within the system, not being up to scratch, that compels these people to come at you swinging their grievances like a medieval morning-star. Otherwise, in their experience, either nothing gets done, or it is done badly.
I have noticed, of late, a deterioration in standards within the NHS, which I now experience purely on an outpatient basis. This decline can't directly be attributed to a shortfall in funding. It is more a cultural shift; an abandonment of the concept of public service manifesting as a somewhat adversarial stance towards patients. There are a variety of probable reasons for this, some controversial. One of the causes has been piecemeal privatisation, by means of outsourcing services to private healthcare companies. This is a product of both of the major political parties in the UK. It results in a distancing from the core ethos of the NHS, and a lack of direct accountability. There are binding contracts in place and standards are allowed to slide as a result, because it is easier to do nothing than it is to rock the boat.
On Good Friday, earlier this year, I went for an MRI, as I do occasionally. The man who was sent to fetch me from reception couldn't remember who he'd been asked to collect. Later he asked me to estimate my weight on the release form I was compelled to sign prior to the scan. The MRI was located in a cramped porta-cabin where the changing area was located in the diagnostics area. There was no cubicle or curtain. Fortunately you only had to partially disrobe. There was barely any communication during the scan which was unnerving. Afterwards one of the technicians made disparaging comments about how much I had sweated during the procedure, which unfortunately is what happens when your liver exists under permanent bombardment from your revolutionary immune system. As I was leaving the scanner, I walked into a woman who I assumed was nurse until I read her bewildered expression and realised that she was the next patient. I noted that she had elected to not remove her clothes, which is understandable given that she would have had option other than to do so in what was effectively a cramped corridor, in close proximity to a trio of over-friendly, unprofessional men. I felt so sorry for her. There are a lot of issues within the NHS that aren't just about money. I don't think this would have been tolerated when I worked at the same hospital, but it is now.
Well, on the one hand, I'm truly glad to hear from you again. I think of you often.
On the other hand: ARRRGGHHHHHH!!!!! Really, what the fuck is wrong with people? You would think that at a minimum there'd be some training on the basics of dealing with humans, much less the product they are selling.
So much of the world is simply not aware of barriers that are placed on people with disabilities, people who are poor, people who are vulnerable (for many reasons), and it makes me crazy.
It is my life's work to make people notice. Your posts help.
The fight goes on and what appalling treatment you received from a "service" funded to provide expert, professional support. Like others, I'm really pleased to hear from you again.
Have you considered sending a copy of your post to Stella Creasey as the Walthamstow MP? She needs to know how poor services are in her constituency.
nice to see you back. It is outrageous that you had to write this letter owing to the lack experience, expertise and empathy but, yeah, glad you shared it here and that you’re in fighting form.
Hi Paul, came across you on UnHerd which does occasionally have some intelligent articles and interviews - I try to balance my Guardian reading with something from the other side of the political spectrum, but it can be quite difficult locating anything vaguely R/wing which involves rational analysis, sadly.
Your complaint email was fine, but I'm afraid to say probably fairly pointless. Frankly, they are unlikely to be interested in whether you or l live or die.
I say this because over coffee I checked out AJM Healthcare* and it is ultimately owned by Livingbridge Group Llp which is a 'mid-market Private Equity investment firm'
Yes, the same type of 'Private Equity' firm which our new 'Labour' government conveniently omitted to increase taxes on, whilst they cheerfully hiked bus fares by 50% for the poorest in our society, and cheerfully hiked Employer NICs, thereby disadvantaging both small businesses (especially hospitality and care homes) and in all likelihood negatively affecting employment figures.
Indeed Livingbridge seems to have its fingers in a number of 'health' pies, including a GP Company (LIVINGBRIDGE GP COMPANY LIMITED) so we can assume it was set up to leech off the NHS good an proper - previously helped no doubt by the Conservative govt., and going forward no doubt by Wes Streeting and his Labour buddies (given the former was entertaining various American private healtchare companies even before getting elected).
Personally, as loathsome as these Private Equity companies are - they managed to bust Comet just as I was buying a dishwasher, and I would have lost all the dough but for buying it on my credit card :o) - I reserve most of my ire for the many 'campaigning organisations' and 'health charities' who are apparently so useless that few people in this country have even heard of Private Equity, let alone understood just how destructive the whole PE game is to the long-term wellbeing of the NHS.
You write some good stuff and appear to be fairly non-partisan - can I annoy you by suggesting that maybe while you are stuck in that bed of yours you look into how maybe you could become a more effective campaigner than they are?
I've come to the conclusion that most Charities are the problem, not the solution - they act as 'problem sellers' rather than 'problem solvers', and whilst acting as a lucrative job creation scheme for the ungifted, they also act as a convenient shield for the government against more vocal and democratic campaigning. Just ask any homeless person in London.
Anyways, keep on writing - and ask your Mum and Dad if they remember the old Boulevard restaurant on Lord St. , sadly missed.
When you find a company e.g. AJM, always click on 'People' tab to find out who is meant to run the Company, but then go immediately to 'Persons with Significant Control' - if a legit small/med business these will usually be the same directors. However for scams like Private Equity, it is like Snakes and Ladders.
AJM Healthcare is controlled by... PROJECT ARIA BIDCO LIMITED... which is controlled by... Project Aria Midco 2 Limited... then Project Aria Midco 1 Limited... then Project Aria Topco Limited... then Fis Nominee Limited...then Livingbridge Ep Llp and then finally... Livingbridge Group Llp (operating out of 100 Wood Street, London, EC2V 7AN - lovely offices by the way: https://synergycreativ.com/case-study/livingbridge-100-wood-street/ )
The head of which is one Mr Oluwole Olatunde Kolade. Our 'Wol' is actually on the NHS Improvement Board, so you might contemplate given them a call to explain that Wol might attend to matters closer to home before advising other health organisations on how to improve themselves - https://www.livingbridge.com/people/wol-kolade
I admire your capacity to break down the situation with such clarity.
To think anyone could have such a lack of understanding of what a person in your situation is and is not physically capable of, let alone someone employed in his role…
https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/default/files/RH%20to%20AJM%20090524.pdf
The above letter (it will open as a PDF in your browser) from the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman, Rebecca Hilsenrath, to AJM Health, from earlier this year, would indicate that. while you may be isolated, you are not alone in receiving negligent treatment, bordering on malfeasance, from AJM Health. Every so often, in moments of profound weakness, I consider starting an NHS-themed Substack, that would explain how different parts of the service operate. Then I come to my senses and think, dear God, no – fuck that idea into the same trash can where they dumped the patent for oven-cooling ice-cubes and Satan's preliminary concept art for James Corden.
Recently, I have been making lids for the cardboard boxes where I store my compact discs. I embarked upon this long venture, that I will complete probably around this time next year, on the understanding that there is nothing hotter to women than bedroom shelves filled with numbered boxes, that used to contain bottles of wine when they were delivered to Waitrose, but that now house outdated physical media. It's practically foreplay and a guaranteed conversation starter:
“So, [index finger playing suggestively around the lips] you made these crude cardboard lids yourself?”
“You know it, baby.” [Finger-guns]
But I digress.
During my personal odyssey to put cardboard roofs over the heads of my St Etienne CDs (The Lidiad) I reacquainted myself with a reissue of the final Auteurs album – 'How I Learned to Love the Bootboys'. Tucked away on the bonus disc is the band's parting missive to the world – a live album, titled 'No Dialogue With Cunts'.
Part of your existence, as a disabled man, will be an open dialogue with cunts. It shouldn't be that way, and it is neither right, nor is it fair, but it is a fact. During my time working for the NHS, I encountered patients, or relatives of patients who had their elbows out as a default, and who were bitter and confrontational from the offing. I had to remind myself that most of them didn't start out that way. It's the system, or sometimes people working within the system, not being up to scratch, that compels these people to come at you swinging their grievances like a medieval morning-star. Otherwise, in their experience, either nothing gets done, or it is done badly.
I have noticed, of late, a deterioration in standards within the NHS, which I now experience purely on an outpatient basis. This decline can't directly be attributed to a shortfall in funding. It is more a cultural shift; an abandonment of the concept of public service manifesting as a somewhat adversarial stance towards patients. There are a variety of probable reasons for this, some controversial. One of the causes has been piecemeal privatisation, by means of outsourcing services to private healthcare companies. This is a product of both of the major political parties in the UK. It results in a distancing from the core ethos of the NHS, and a lack of direct accountability. There are binding contracts in place and standards are allowed to slide as a result, because it is easier to do nothing than it is to rock the boat.
On Good Friday, earlier this year, I went for an MRI, as I do occasionally. The man who was sent to fetch me from reception couldn't remember who he'd been asked to collect. Later he asked me to estimate my weight on the release form I was compelled to sign prior to the scan. The MRI was located in a cramped porta-cabin where the changing area was located in the diagnostics area. There was no cubicle or curtain. Fortunately you only had to partially disrobe. There was barely any communication during the scan which was unnerving. Afterwards one of the technicians made disparaging comments about how much I had sweated during the procedure, which unfortunately is what happens when your liver exists under permanent bombardment from your revolutionary immune system. As I was leaving the scanner, I walked into a woman who I assumed was nurse until I read her bewildered expression and realised that she was the next patient. I noted that she had elected to not remove her clothes, which is understandable given that she would have had option other than to do so in what was effectively a cramped corridor, in close proximity to a trio of over-friendly, unprofessional men. I felt so sorry for her. There are a lot of issues within the NHS that aren't just about money. I don't think this would have been tolerated when I worked at the same hospital, but it is now.
Well, on the one hand, I'm truly glad to hear from you again. I think of you often.
On the other hand: ARRRGGHHHHHH!!!!! Really, what the fuck is wrong with people? You would think that at a minimum there'd be some training on the basics of dealing with humans, much less the product they are selling.
So much of the world is simply not aware of barriers that are placed on people with disabilities, people who are poor, people who are vulnerable (for many reasons), and it makes me crazy.
It is my life's work to make people notice. Your posts help.
The fight goes on and what appalling treatment you received from a "service" funded to provide expert, professional support. Like others, I'm really pleased to hear from you again.
Have you considered sending a copy of your post to Stella Creasey as the Walthamstow MP? She needs to know how poor services are in her constituency.
Hi Paul,
nice to see you back. It is outrageous that you had to write this letter owing to the lack experience, expertise and empathy but, yeah, glad you shared it here and that you’re in fighting form.
Send it to PALS, regional health authority and SIA. This is unacceptable
Hi Paul, came across you on UnHerd which does occasionally have some intelligent articles and interviews - I try to balance my Guardian reading with something from the other side of the political spectrum, but it can be quite difficult locating anything vaguely R/wing which involves rational analysis, sadly.
Your complaint email was fine, but I'm afraid to say probably fairly pointless. Frankly, they are unlikely to be interested in whether you or l live or die.
I say this because over coffee I checked out AJM Healthcare* and it is ultimately owned by Livingbridge Group Llp which is a 'mid-market Private Equity investment firm'
Yes, the same type of 'Private Equity' firm which our new 'Labour' government conveniently omitted to increase taxes on, whilst they cheerfully hiked bus fares by 50% for the poorest in our society, and cheerfully hiked Employer NICs, thereby disadvantaging both small businesses (especially hospitality and care homes) and in all likelihood negatively affecting employment figures.
Indeed Livingbridge seems to have its fingers in a number of 'health' pies, including a GP Company (LIVINGBRIDGE GP COMPANY LIMITED) so we can assume it was set up to leech off the NHS good an proper - previously helped no doubt by the Conservative govt., and going forward no doubt by Wes Streeting and his Labour buddies (given the former was entertaining various American private healtchare companies even before getting elected).
Personally, as loathsome as these Private Equity companies are - they managed to bust Comet just as I was buying a dishwasher, and I would have lost all the dough but for buying it on my credit card :o) - I reserve most of my ire for the many 'campaigning organisations' and 'health charities' who are apparently so useless that few people in this country have even heard of Private Equity, let alone understood just how destructive the whole PE game is to the long-term wellbeing of the NHS.
You write some good stuff and appear to be fairly non-partisan - can I annoy you by suggesting that maybe while you are stuck in that bed of yours you look into how maybe you could become a more effective campaigner than they are?
I've come to the conclusion that most Charities are the problem, not the solution - they act as 'problem sellers' rather than 'problem solvers', and whilst acting as a lucrative job creation scheme for the ungifted, they also act as a convenient shield for the government against more vocal and democratic campaigning. Just ask any homeless person in London.
Anyways, keep on writing - and ask your Mum and Dad if they remember the old Boulevard restaurant on Lord St. , sadly missed.
*Everyone should have Companies House on speedial - https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/
When you find a company e.g. AJM, always click on 'People' tab to find out who is meant to run the Company, but then go immediately to 'Persons with Significant Control' - if a legit small/med business these will usually be the same directors. However for scams like Private Equity, it is like Snakes and Ladders.
AJM Healthcare is controlled by... PROJECT ARIA BIDCO LIMITED... which is controlled by... Project Aria Midco 2 Limited... then Project Aria Midco 1 Limited... then Project Aria Topco Limited... then Fis Nominee Limited...then Livingbridge Ep Llp and then finally... Livingbridge Group Llp (operating out of 100 Wood Street, London, EC2V 7AN - lovely offices by the way: https://synergycreativ.com/case-study/livingbridge-100-wood-street/ )
The head of which is one Mr Oluwole Olatunde Kolade. Our 'Wol' is actually on the NHS Improvement Board, so you might contemplate given them a call to explain that Wol might attend to matters closer to home before advising other health organisations on how to improve themselves - https://www.livingbridge.com/people/wol-kolade
Angering incompetent bollocks! Nevertheless I'm happy and relieved to receive this bulletin. I'd noticed your long silence.
I admire your capacity to break down the situation with such clarity.
To think anyone could have such a lack of understanding of what a person in your situation is and is not physically capable of, let alone someone employed in his role…
I have no words!
Absolutely shameful 😱That company need to invest in hiring a professional physiotherapist when someone is receiving a new wheelchair.
That is disgraceful. What is wrong with our services in the UK? How have things got this bad? So sorry that this happened to you.
I'm so sorry to hear about this dreadful treatment. To think the lack of public understanding about disability can reach even places like that!