Joined-up care is NHS priority

Yet, while the non-availability of doctors is contributing to the increased pressures being faced by A&E units across Yorkshire, the biggest issue is the still dysfunctional relationship between hospitals and social care providers that come under the auspices of local councils.

The consequence? Much-needed beds being occupied at weekends by the frail and the vulnerable – so-called bed-blockers – because doctors cannot get hold of social services staff to make the necessary care arrangements.

This is the reason why more people spend longer waiting for treatment in casualty – there simply are not the beds available to them. It is also why there is merit to Labour’s suggestion for a joint NHS and social care budget to reflect the challenges being provided on a daily basis by our ageing society.

It remains to be seen whether such an upheaval can yield sufficient efficiencies (the NHS alone needs to save £4bn a year at present and town hall budgets are still being significantly scaled back) when local authorities and hospitals seem so reluctant to work together.

One short-term remedy would be to get a GP and representatives from adult social care services working alongside A&E staff to assist “vulnerable old people to journey through the NHS”, the challenge laid down by Mr Hunt yesterday.

The welfare needs of the elderly are only going to become more demanding with the passage of time. That fact is illustrated by today’s North Yorkshire County Council report, which says the number of people aged 75 or over with dementia is expected to double by 2030.

Replicate this across the whole of Yorkshire and the need for far-reaching reform becomes even more compelling. As such, the issue is whether the Health Secretary has the political backbone to deliver a lasting remedy. Time will tell.

Insult masks Newsnight’s failings

HOW ironic that Newsnight’s newly-appointed editor Ian Katz should insult Yorkshire MP Rachel Reeves on Twitter and accuse Labour’s treasury spokeswoman of being “boring snoring” when he now presides over a once-respected current affairs programme that now regularly attracts fewer than 500,000 viewers.

That the former Guardian deputy editor did not intend his tactless remark to enter the public domain offers no defence when it is the tired format of the programme, rather than the calibre of the guests, that has seen its ratings continue to fall in spite of Leeds-born inquistitor-in-chief Jeremy Paxman remaining one of the BBC’s highest-paid presenters.

Is it any wonder that the well-resourced Newsnight has become “boring” – the allegation made against Ms Reeves, a former Bank of England economist now trying to balance the competing demands of being a mother and high-profile politician simultaneously – when it only pricks the public’s consciousness when enveloped by scandal, such as its non-reporting of Jimmy Savile’s sex abuse?

Contrast this with the 1990s when Newsnight regularly set the political agenda. Now its mantle is being filled by the likes of Channel Four News, which is able to offer insightful interviews and the very best investigative journalism in an easy-going manner that does not send its viewers to sleep – or rushing to press the “off” button.

Rather than berating Ms Reeves, perhaps Mr Katz should be grateful that some politicians are still prepared to stay up until 11.20pm in order to answer snide questions which do not contribute to the quality of political debate.

Peer pressure or tools of learning?

TODAY’S revelation that the average child takes £120 of gadgets to school each day is likely to perturb the generation who grew up in the “jumpers for goalposts” era when children knew how to improvise.

A time of post-war austerity, it was also a

period in history when youngsters realised that they had to make do and mend because of the state of their family’s finances as Britain began the long journey back to prosperity.

Contrast this with the

peer pressure of today

which sees children expecting to have the latest gadgets – or fashion labels – so that they can keep up with their classmates, and in particular those who can afford these expensive luxuries.

Yet what is more important? Parents spending hard-earned money on the brands used by the rich and famous, like the fashion-conscious children of David and Victoria Beckham who are becoming clothes horses in their own right, or making sure that their children have a chance to undertake activities – or acquire a love of books – so that they can broaden their horizons?

It is a fundamental question that parents find increasingly difficult to answer. Yet they need to reconcile this dilemma. After all, the latest gizmos teach very little when it comes to helping youngsters prepare for life’s great challenges.