Union Warns Thousands Of NHS Jobs At Risk

Thousands of jobs could be at risk in the NHS in England because of spending cuts.

The Royal College of Nursing has estimated that between 5,000 and 35,000 jobs could be axed if the NHS pushes ahead with spending cuts.

The union has said the loss of posts would put the health service under "real strain".

The NHS has been asked to find between £15bn and £20bn pounds in efficiency savings over the next three years.

Dr Carter from the Royal College of Nursing said it was "disingenuous" to suggest you could remove £20bn from the £100bn NHS budget and "nothing changes".

"I really can't see that you can take £20bn out and expect everything to carry on as is it is."

He said that losses from redundancies and posts not being replaced on retirement would be felt across the health service, not solely nursing staff.

He continued that staff cuts would have a real impact on patient care.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham promised that frontline jobs would be protected under Labour.

"It would not be right to guarantee every job. But Labour will protect frontline services, which we can't do without protecting frontline staff."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman, Norman Lamb, said: "It's incredibly short-sighted to think the only way to save money in the NHS is to slash and burn services."

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "We know that by cutting bureaucracy and the tick-box targets, we can free nurses to care."

"Because we will increase the NHS budget, savings will be reinvested in frontline care and improvements."

In data collected by the Royal College Of Nursing from 180 trusts in April, nearly all health care workers believed they were already short staffed at least several times a month.

NEWS BY:http://news.sky.com

BBC College of Journalism to partner Journalism.co.uk's news:rewired event

The BBC College of Journalism, set to go live online very soon, is to partner Journalism.co.uk's 10th anniversary event, news:rewired on Thursday 14 January 2010.

Taking place at London's City University, the digital journalism event will host some of the industry's leading online practitioners from news organisations both new and old.

Covering everything from video and SEO to crowd-sourcing and data mash-ups, the conference is designed to inspire, showcase and troubleshoot newsroom 2.0.

A speaker from the BBC College of Journalism will address the challenges faced by journalists developing new multimedia and social media skills.

The College, which is part of the BBC Academy, will also be filming on the day, collecting the views and ideas of delegates and speakers.

A key part of the BBC's new Academy which launches today is to "develop partnerships and give wider access to the BBC's training resources and skills to support the wider UK media industry".

"The BBC College of Journalism is hugely excited about being involved in news:rewired, it promises to be a vital event for all journalists learning new skills," said David Hayward, assistant editor of the College.

"We are thrilled to be associated with this excellent initiative by the BBC to open up its considerable educational resources to UK-based journalists," added Journalism.co.uk founder John Thompson.

"We are particularly impressed by the focus on multimedia and social media skills, which can only serve to help the beleaguered publishing industry move forwards in the 21st century."

Some tickets are still available for news:rewired, priced at £80+VAT. Book before Christmas to avoid the VAT rise.

Tweet the news:rewired message and win a Flip HD!

To spread the word even further about our forthcoming digital journalism event news:rewired, we are enlisting the help of the Twitter army and offering you the chance to win a brand new Flip Ultra HD pocket camcorder, just in time for Christmas!

The entry requirement is simple, all you have to do is follow @newsrewired and tweet or re-tweet the following:

NEWS BY:http://www.journalism.co.uk

Tottenham Calms After Saturday's Riot

Fears that Tottenham would explode into a second night of violence proved unfounded as rioters and looters targeted other parts of London overnight.

On Tottenham’s High Road, where the riot broke out on Saturday, teams of street cleaners moved in to sweep hundreds of bottles and bricks from the road.

At either end of the street - now a crime scene - crowds of onlookers gathered to see the aftermath of the violence, the incinerated shells of two Vauxhall Astra police cars eerily marooned in the centre of the usually bustling road.

It was all very different on Saturday night.

In the early hours we managed to get through the police cordon to see the devastation first hand. It was a shocking scene. The systematic vandalism stretching for half a mile.

Around us many buildings were still smoking. A building site was ablaze. Tottenham’s Post Office; an Aldi supermarket; and a pub all razed to the ground.

On side roads we came across police officers in riot clothing laying on the pavement, many clearly exhausted by the ferocity of the violence they had faced.

Nearby on the pavement we saw a large pool of fresh blood.

At the northern end of Tottenham High Road we reached what had been a carpet shop.

The imposing 1930-built building it once occupied now alight, the flats above it destroyed.

More shocking though was the feral looting. At Tottenham Hale Retail Park we watched as youngsters walked away unopposed with trolleys full of plasma televisions.

Many had arrived prepared, some drove up in vans, others came armed with big plastic laundry bags which they filled with stolen clothing. The only restriction on them was how much they could carry.

On Sunday evening a convoy of low-loaders arrived at Tottenham High Road to remove the two burned out police cars and the incinerated remains of a Mercedes van.

As the rain arrived so the area emptied. By the early hours only the media and a few van loads of police officers remained as the violence seen here moved to other parts of the capital.

:: Scotland Yard confirmed that 61 arrests had been made in connection with the rioting in Tottenham, with the majority for burglary, and other offences included violent disorder, robbery, theft and handling stolen goods.

News By: http://news.sky.com