Please share this widely. It’s absolutely crucial for the future of Stafford hospital and of the wider NHS.

An important new academic paper was published this week by the Oxford University Press‘ Oxford Journals on the subject of Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratios (HSMRs). This paper, by a team of respected academics from the ‘Primary Care Clinical Sciences’ and ‘Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics’ departments of the University of Birmingham is titled:

The findings of the Mid-Staffordshire Inquiry do not uphold the use of hospital standardized mortality ratios as a screening test for ‘bad’ hospitals

This paper examines the findings of the Francis Report into events at Mid Staffs NHS Foundation Trust – and reaches two findings that are absolutely vital for the proper public understanding. The whole paper can be read here, but the key conclusions – quoted from the report with the permission of its principal author – are as follows:

Targeting…

It’s been a big day. My articles on the fake psychometric ‘test’ that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is forcing unemployed people to take on pain of losing their benefits were picked up by the Guardian’s Shiv Malik, and subsequently by the Huffington Post’s Felicity Morse. As a result of Shiv Malik’s article, the Guardian asked me to write a brief piece for its ‘Comment is free’ section – my first ever piece of mainstream journalism.

Malik’s article was the most-read of the day in the newspaper’s ‘Society’ section. Clearly the unethical actions by the DWP have struck a chord in people – and rightly so. It’s been great to see such a spotlight shone on such a fundamental issue as the way in which the government is cynically manipulating – and nakedly threatening – disadvantaged people.

However, it appears that the government’s behaviour in this…