Good morning, the sun is out and it’s 12 degrees out there, a little cooler than yesterday but still nice enough not to wear a jumper. Overnight the news is that Iran sent drones and missiles into Israel which thankfully have not landed and added to the death toll. From Gaza there is no respite or protection for civilians from the bombs being dropped on them. I’ve stopped paying close attention to the numbers but I think it’s in the region of 33,000 dead with probably hundreds if not thousands more buried under buildings yet to be found. Netenyahu remains in office the only way he can, by continuing the conflict. Peace for the region means loss of office for him so it’s clear what his priorities are. There was sympathy across the world towards Israel after the attacks by Hamas, and lets not forget they are still holding civilians hostage. But the reputation of the state has taking a knock by the cruel and inhumane response to Hamas’s terrorism. Causing innocent people to die of starvation? When was that ever ok and acceptable?
Work this week has again been very busy but my calendar is clearer for the next couple of weeks and I have a lot of reviews and care plans to type up so hope to make some progress there.
On Friday night I went out with Chris to see a Rolling Stones tribute band, they were quite good and we got back after midnight meaning I was quite tired yesterday and took it easy.
One news item that broke during the week is the prosecution of carers who recieve the Carers Allowance. This is a sum of £81.90 per week paid to people caring for 35 hours or more a week for someone else. You are allowed to earn £151 a week and get this amount. If you earn £152 you lose all of the £81.90. Worse, the DWP have been aware of carers earning over this sum, done nothing for years and then chased them for sums of over £10,000 and threatened people with prosecution. This is a story that broke in this weeks Guardian and here’s just one of the articles that have been published during the week.
Here’s an article about a carer earning 30p a week more than allowed who had to sell his home to pay back £20,000 he was being chased for.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/12/carers-allowance-benefit-error-30p-a-week-dwp
The pressure needs to build on the government to change policy. This is no way to treat carers. This story won’t go away and like the sub-postmasters these individuals will see justice. Whether this current government will recognise this injustice remains to be seen. They have time to do the right thing, whether they have the decency is another matter.
I saw dad last Monday and attended a funeral later that day as one of my mum’s friends passed away. Dad is increasingly deteriorating with his mental health, his telephone calls are becoming more frequent and bizarre in content so I need to contact the mental health team this week and hope they haven’t closed his case once again.
Take care, enjoy the sunshine and stay safe.
myusuf2016 