Deluxers Life

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which is an independent council that looks into the professional needs of nurses and midwives in the UK, is funding a research in which the functioning of workers providing health care support in hospitals across the UK will be studied.

Many aspects related to patient care and their thorough treatment are taken care of by health care support workers (HCSWs). They also support and coordinate the work performed by midwives and registered nurses. There are about one million HCSWs in Britain who are functioning without any regulation.

The NMC has appointed Dr Sarah Robinson and Professor Peter Griffiths to study how the public faces risks from unregulated HCSWs. Regulation of HCSWs and the necessary steps/action to be taken to do so is what Professor Griffiths and Dr Robinson will aim at in their research. The research will study all aspects of health care and focus on how nurses and midwives perform their tasks in the NHS and in other hospitals across the UK. The tasks of health care staff and how they affect the patients will be studied in detail.

The report from the research is expected to be presented by spring 2010 to the NMC’s Executive Management Board.

NMC Chief Executive and Registrar, Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes told reporters that HCSWs who rank below midwives and registered nurses ought to be bound by certain regulations for the sake of public protection. Any workforce that is left unregulated can have certain serious repercussions as far as health care is concerned.

Weir-Hughes added that it should not happen that a nurse rendering her services in a care home should continue serving in care homes in the role of an HCSW even though her name no longer exists in the register.

Employers have a duty of care towards ensuring health and safety of the workers and members of the public; a NEBOSH course, leading to the award of the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health, can be of benefit to organisations in providing the knowledge to manage safely and effectively in compliance with both the organisation’s policy and best practice in health and safety.

A Toledo man, Anthony Braswell, was indicted by a Wood County grand jury for escaping from the Bowling Green police after being arrested on burglary charges. Braswell was indicted for escape, burglary, and three counts of attempted burglary. Mark A. Weaver, Jr. was also was indicted on three counts of complicity to attempted burglary and one count of complicity to burglary for assisting Braswell. Braswell escaped police custody will still handcuffed. He was picked up an hour later after being found in a taxicab still in handcuffs.

The officers of the Bowling Green Police Division are dedicated to serving people residing in or visiting Bowling Green, Ohio. The Bowling Green Police are committed to serving the community by improving the quality of life of the city’s neighborhoods, involving the community in decisions which directly affect them, and providing essential services deemed by the community as vital.

The Bowling Green Police follow certain core values that define the Bowling Green Police’s mission and organization: Fairness – Integrity – Respect – Customer Service – Team Oriented – Honesty. The programs the Bowling Green Police include Business Watch, EZ Plus, Blockwatch, Crimestoppers, and DARE. These program help the Bowling Green Police Department maintain good communication relations and help develop crime prevention.

Some of us have been put off composing a Will, for the reason that they really feel they’re not necessarily at ‘that’ phase in their lives yet.

On the other hand regardless of what age you are or what your individual circumstances could be, writing a Will can be a very important element of organizing for the future for your loved ones.

It’s a frequent myth that your spouse or partner will probably inherit every thing automatically if you expire. On the contrary, this is just the case if your total belongings is less than a certain worth or when you have no additional relatives that live on you. In case you are unmarried, yet possess a partner, they could possibly be eligible to nothing if your choices have not been declared inside a legally binding document.

Youngsters under 18 should become thought about as their future will rest in your hands should there be no surviving people with parental responsibility. You may choose a guardian, so you have peace of mind with regards to their future happiness and safety.

When you don’t create a legitimate Last will and testament the law makes the decision what happens to any possessions, despite any wishes you could have had. There are also financial plus points associated to making a Will. Your loved ones usually are spared any unforeseen legal bills and, dependent upon the worth of your estate, it is possible to ensure that the lowest amount of tax may be payable.

Things to consider when selecting a Will writing service

• Whom you would desire to appoint as an executor and trustee.You might also desire to make available particulars of support executors in the event your selected executors are unable or reluctant to act.A minimum 2 back up executors are encouraged if cash is to be kept on behalf of kids below the age of eighteen
• Who you might want to allocate as a guardian for your children when they are below the ages of eighteen
• Whether you would like to bequeath any gifts of cash or property(for example jewellery or similar personal items) and if so, the full names and addresses of the recipients
• Whom you would like to be awarded the remainder of your estate
• Whom you would like to obtain your residuary estate in the event that your chosen beneficiaries have predeceased you. Here is an example, it actually is commonplace for wives and husbands to leave their estates to one another in the first instance, with a provision on to children in the event that both spouses have died. Many people also like to include back up beneficiaries in the event that the complete family group passes away simultaneously(often referred to as a disaster scenario)
• At how old you would like any child or minor to inherit. The legal minimum age is 18 then again, this can be increased to say 21 or 25
• Whether you would like to feature any funeral particulars for example burial or cremation.

A significant number of employees use cars for use during employment hours for personal travel or business use. Give this, recent findings that about one third of driving employees are found guilty of offences during driving comes as a serious issue.

It was found that in the last six-month period, about a third of the total number of such employees were charged with offences while driving. This translates to about 31% of employees. Considering that about one in every three employees in the UK use a personal car for business transport, this amounts to a significant number of people. Of these, over a half were found speeding over the set limits. A quarter of the offences related to intake of drinks or drugs prior to driving.

Given the seriousness of the offences and dangerous consequences they could have for both drivers and passers-by, companies are being cautioned to take serious note of these findings.

Speaking about these findings, industry sources have said that it is essential for small businesses to pay more attention to the employees who are driving while on work. Such employees need to be periodically asked to submit their insurance and licence papers for company checks, so that only qualified and legally authorised drivers are selected for on- the-road work.

Rob Ingram, Director of Rent-A-Car, said that even if the driver fails to do his routine renewal or business insurance policy coverage, the company would be taken to task for entrusting such employees with work that involves use of transport. This means that small business will have to be especially careful when dealing with driving employees.

In addition to these checks, the company can also insist on regular service calls for vehicles. Such measures will not only reduce road mishaps but also save money for the business, which is currently being expended on fines and penalties.

Companies need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions to employees with regard to health and safety issues; the range of accredited IOSH Safety courses can assist companies in training staff to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures for all kinds of workplace situations.

A 20-year-old trainee working for City Building (Glasgow) LLP on the upper storey of an under-construction primary school building fell down almost four metres when a thin sheet of plywood placed over a gap broke down under his weight. The incident occurred on June 28, 2007, at Kyleakin Road in the Arden area of Glasgow. The accident left the worker seriously injured with a prominent wound on his neck.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) initiated action against the company in the Glasgow Sheriff Court, where the firm pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974. Thereafter, in its judgement dated September 10, the Court imposed a fine of 20,000 pounds on the company.

Annette Leppla, an Inspector in the HSE, said the worker was lucky that he did not receive any permanent injury or die in the accident. She believed the accident was serious enough to have disabled the worker for life or even killed him. She accused City Building of overlooking the health and safety of its workers and of using fragile materials like plywood to cover gaps on the floor, which should have been covered by proper and strong fixed boards.

She pointed out that the gap had remained covered by unfastened plywood pieces for days and the company had not cared to replace it with better covering to avoid a foreseeable accident. Leppla warned firms engaging employees to work at heights to take necessary preventive measures against such dangers (Working at Height Training). Speaking on the present case, she said the trainee was wounded as a direct result of his employer’s negligence in taking proper precautions.

A legal expert has suggested that companies go over their important commercial contracts, especially in light of the swine flu pandemic that can be used as an argument to render certain contracts void.

This has become possible due to the presence of a ‘force majeure’ clause in most of the contracts, which provide that any event that takes place beyond the control of the parties to the contract, can allow the companies to be relieved of their obligations under the contract.

David McIlwaine of Pinsent Masons, who is an expert on technology law, stated that it is likely that the companies will make use of the force majeure clauses in near future, especially if swine flu becomes a full-blown pandemic and there are a huge number of absentees at work. For example, if a company is a large player in the information technology field, and has deadlines to meet while a major part of the workforce is on leave due to flu, they could invoke the provision.

He suggested that the companies should be ready to negotiate as soon as possible after looking at their contracts. An accredited course for the CIPD certificate in personnel practice will help you to gain a broad grasp of employment law so you can set your own organisation’s policies and procedures in context.

However, he also added that using force majeure clause will entail a lot of responsibility on part of the companies as it would require strong legal defence and it would be the discretion of the court to determine whether the reason is sufficient or not, in light of the facts of the case. However, if the government asks people to stay at home and not go to work or there is a declaration of emergency due to the flu, there is high probability that the clause can be successfully invoked.

Tort reform is when you change the rules that apply to tort law. Tort reform is important because it helps to deal with newer legal issues that arise. Personal injury cases have been subject to a lot of tort reform by politicians. Politicians have been trying to use tort reform when dealing with malpractice lawsuits. Politicians want people to stop receive millions of dollars in compensation from malpractice lawsuits. Politicians want to limit the amount of malpractice claims that can be filed. They also want there to be a maximum amount of money that a person can receive in damages from a malpractice lawsuit. However, the tort system can be very beneficial for people. Many people do have legitimate malpractice lawsuits that need to be heard in a court of law. Doctors do make mistakes which can injure or kill patients. They need to be punished for their actions because another person was injured because of them. There should be reasonable damages awarded to patients who have been injured because of a doctor’s mistake. Many people who file malpractice suits are disabled or disfigured in some way. They deserve to be compensated for their pain and suffering and loss of wages. Some medical mistakes can also shorten the patient’s life so they should be compensated for that as well. Malpractice lawsuits can actually benefit the medical community. They help to ensure that hospitals are safer. Malpractice insurance can be expensive, and the more malpractice lawsuits that a doctor has, the higher their malpractice insurance rates will be. The frivolous lawsuits help to make doctors act more cautiously so that they avoid making mistakes that will harm or kill their patients. There does need to be some oversight as to the validity of some of these malpractice claims. Some people file malpractice suits and ask for millions of dollars in damages which can be excessive. If the malpractice insurance companies have to continually pay out millions of dollars in damages to plaintiffs in malpractice law suits then they may drop some doctors from their malpractice insurance coverage. This would hurt the entire medical community. If there are fewer doctors then fewer people can be treated and other doctors will be swamped with patients. There needs to be enough qualified doctors in the world or the public’s health will suffer greatly. Tort reform has also prohibited punitive damages from being awarded in asbestos cases. Tort reform can be very beneficially economically for many people. Tort reform could help lower car insurance premiums. If there are fewer amounts of torts then people would be receiving lower amounts of damages so the insurance companies could afford to charge lower premiums. It would also help to lower health insurance premiums for people. Everyone could benefit from lower health insurance premiums. The cost of malpractice insurance for doctors is often passed on in the amount of money that a doctor charges for his or her services.

Last month a new piece of legislation was granted Royal Assent, the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 means serious repercussions for fleet managers and directors of companies who do not consider their employees safety while out on the road.

The new law will come into force in January 2009 and its main effect will be to introduce much harsher penalties of those in management with flout health and safety regulations.

Under the terms of the act both company managers and directors who allow vehicles on the road that are unsafe for the employee driving the vehicle, or members of the public, would find themselves in very serious legal hot water.

This will particularly affect fleet managers who operate large numbers of vehicles. An accident that results in the death because of violations of health and safety rules could see executives in court facing charges that may see them fined up to £20,000 and may even send them go to prison for up to 2 years.

The new regulations cover many potential risks, for example, a poorly maintained vehicle that causes an accident could see managers in court rather than the driver. An oversight such as an illegal tyre could end up costing a fleet manager is freedom.

Another aspect that can be a minefield for fleet operators is in the area of the hours that drivers are allowed to work. Overstretching the driver who is tired and perhaps falls asleep causing an accident can mean a company director facing a huge fine or a possible prison sentence.

Clearly, this new set of regulations should not be taken lightly, especially as we can assume that the first few prosecutions are likely to attract the heaviest sentences. To make yourself fully aware of the possible consequences and ways to avoid health and safety problems contact Workplace Law for your staff health and safety training needs such as NEBOSH training.

In January 2005, Indian Prime Minister announced scrapping of the contentious Press Note 18 pertaining to foreign financial or technical collaboration under the automatic approval route with effect from January 2005. The scrapping of restrictive Press Note 18 was hailed as, and has proved to be, a positive step towards further liberalising foreign direct investments regulations in India.

A. Press Note 18:

In terms of Press Note 18, the automatic route (which requires no prior regulatory approval) for foreign investment was not available to foreign investors having an existing or previous venture or technology transfer/trade mark agreement in the same or allied field in India. Investors having a previous or existing venture or technology transfer/trade mark agreement in the same or allied field in India required prior Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval for such investment.

To obtain FIPB approval, the foreign investor had to give detailed circumstances in which they found it necessary to setup a new joint venture/enter into new technology transfer (including trade-mark) and the onus was on such investors/technology suppliers to provide the requisite justification as also proof to the satisfaction of the FIPB that the new proposal would not in any way jeopardize the interests of the existing joint venture or technology/trade-mark partner or other stakeholders.

In implementing Press Note 18, the Indian Government, in practice, required a letter/certificate from the existing Indian joint venture partner that it had no objection to the foreign partner’s new investment proposal in the same or allied field.

Press Note 18 was issued In the wake of the liberalization policy of the Government of India which allowed 100% foreign direct investment in almost all sectors of the economy without prior regulatory approval. Prior to the “opening up” of these sectors to 100% foreign direct investment, joint ventures were the popular mode of foreign investment in India in view of ceilings on foreign investment in several sectors. The objective of Press Note 18, it appears, was to protect the Indian joint venture partner against the prospect of the foreign joint venture partner walking out of the existing joint venture and joining hands with another Indian party or establishing its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary.

B. Scrapping of Press note 18:

In terms of Press Note 1 of 2005, new JVs and technical collaborations will no longer be governed by the provisions of Press Note 18.

Pursuant to scrapping of Press note 18, the above restrictive provisions of Press Note 18 have been done away with for all future joint ventures in India between Indian and their foreign partners. In the new dispensation, new joint ventures and collaborations are being based on the free will of partners without any Government interference.

An interesting development of Press Note 1 of 2005 is the acknowledgement that Indian companies as well as their foreign partners may contractually safeguard their interests in JVs through provisions in JV/collaboration agreements which tackle ‘conflict of interest’ situations, for example, where a JV partner decides to invest in another JV or a fully-owned subsidiary in the same field of activity.

C. Non-Applicability on Existing JVs:

The joint venture existing at the time of scrapping of Press Note 18 however continues to be protected by a few provisions of Press Note 18. Venture capital funds have however been exempted from the requirement of having to obtain a no-objection certificate from local partners for new investments. Similar freedom has been extended to sick companies and joint ventures where either the domestic or foreign venture partner hold less than 3% shareholding. International Finance Institutions and foreign direct investment proposals in the Information Technology sector had been exempted from the applicability of Press Note 18 in the year 2001 and 2000, respectively.

The need for consent from both domestic and foreign venture partners will apply in the case of existing JVs only if the proposed sector of investment is the ’same’ as the existing JV. Earlier, the need for consent also applied to proposed investments in an ‘allied’ sector as the existing JV. For purposes of Press Note 18, ’same’ field means those activities, which are covered under the same four digit National Industrial Classification 1987 (NIC) code, while ‘allied’ field refers to those actitivities covered under the same three digit NIC code.

Alishan Naqvee has substantial experience in areas of transactional law and foreign investment in India and he regularly authors articles on Indian legal issues.