Balsam
@drbalsamahmad.bsky.social
Consultant of Public Health in the #NHS Passionate about art & science #PlanetaryHealth; Mother #SEND ♿️ Ally #LivedExperience #SocialJustice anti-war, loves #parkrun 🐈⬛ 📖 & cooking/catering
Views are own; reposts # endorsements; lives in the proper North!
Views are own; reposts # endorsements; lives in the proper North!
The very best end of a September when I got to listen not once but twice to one of my gurus in Public Health Sir Michael Marmot first at #Healthworks30 and later at #NewcastleUniversity #Insights #Lectures Today I have had a dose of #hope that will last for a long time.
September 30, 2025 at 6:14 PM
The very best end of a September when I got to listen not once but twice to one of my gurus in Public Health Sir Michael Marmot first at #Healthworks30 and later at #NewcastleUniversity #Insights #Lectures Today I have had a dose of #hope that will last for a long time.
#GreatNorth10K My 1st. Only ever did #ParkRun & #WingsForLife solo runs. For a long time I’ve had low confidence. Standing in the 1st wave among competent runners a moment of self doubt creeped but I brushed away.Today I proved a lot to myself & my time was better than I ever imagined #selfbelief
July 6, 2025 at 5:51 PM
#GreatNorth10K My 1st. Only ever did #ParkRun & #WingsForLife solo runs. For a long time I’ve had low confidence. Standing in the 1st wave among competent runners a moment of self doubt creeped but I brushed away.Today I proved a lot to myself & my time was better than I ever imagined #selfbelief
Baking at almost midnight. My cat watched and watched over me. He has wisely decided to give in or give up and go to sleep 😴
June 28, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Baking at almost midnight. My cat watched and watched over me. He has wisely decided to give in or give up and go to sleep 😴
After more than 10 years my Jasmine tree is finally in full bloom. I have always kept faith and hope that one day it will thrive and have kept on doing all I can for this happen. #Hope #Perseverence #Faith #nevergiveup
June 21, 2025 at 6:12 PM
After more than 10 years my Jasmine tree is finally in full bloom. I have always kept faith and hope that one day it will thrive and have kept on doing all I can for this happen. #Hope #Perseverence #Faith #nevergiveup
“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”- Mother Teresa
June 8, 2025 at 5:10 PM
“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”- Mother Teresa
“Digging deep”, an article my son wrote in the SIA Magazine Summer edition. This is a reflection of a trip of a lifetime to Southeast Asia last year & what he learnt as a young person with a recent spinal injury.
#SpinalCordInjury #Accessibility #Travel #WheelchairUser #SelfDiscovery #LifeLessons
#SpinalCordInjury #Accessibility #Travel #WheelchairUser #SelfDiscovery #LifeLessons
June 7, 2025 at 1:49 PM
“Digging deep”, an article my son wrote in the SIA Magazine Summer edition. This is a reflection of a trip of a lifetime to Southeast Asia last year & what he learnt as a young person with a recent spinal injury.
#SpinalCordInjury #Accessibility #Travel #WheelchairUser #SelfDiscovery #LifeLessons
#SpinalCordInjury #Accessibility #Travel #WheelchairUser #SelfDiscovery #LifeLessons
The fact this is a decision by #AccessToWork is shocking #Touretteshero artistic work gave many opportunities to other disabled artists, my son included. I am saddened and angered to read this.
I’m profoundly sad to say that as of today, I’ll no longer be able to do my job as co-artistic director of #Touretteshero because of a recent decision by #AccessToWork to cut my support by 61%. Read & share this post, the hardest I've had to write: www.touretteshero.com/2025/05/23/a... 1/4
June 5, 2025 at 6:13 PM
The fact this is a decision by #AccessToWork is shocking #Touretteshero artistic work gave many opportunities to other disabled artists, my son included. I am saddened and angered to read this.
As a country we can’t be serious about addressing climate change if prices of travel on public transport, especially trains, continue to soar exponentially. These👇are discounted return prices for 2 adults (disabled person card) travelling between Newcastle to London in late July. Unethical!
May 31, 2025 at 8:06 PM
As a country we can’t be serious about addressing climate change if prices of travel on public transport, especially trains, continue to soar exponentially. These👇are discounted return prices for 2 adults (disabled person card) travelling between Newcastle to London in late July. Unethical!
Reposted by Balsam
Ending visas for overseas Care Workers will likely result in Care Homes being unable to recruit & poor care for their residents. This might be you, your relatives or your friends.
Unless @teamlabouruk.bsky.social is prepared to increase payments to homes at the same time. Somehow I doubt that.
Unless @teamlabouruk.bsky.social is prepared to increase payments to homes at the same time. Somehow I doubt that.
“Can you see a day when you say no care workers should come in from abroad?” - Laura Kuenssberg
“Yes we do and we’re going to change the rules this year to prevent a care worker visa being used to recruit from abroad” - Home Secretary Yvette Cooper
We already have a desperate shortage!
“Yes we do and we’re going to change the rules this year to prevent a care worker visa being used to recruit from abroad” - Home Secretary Yvette Cooper
We already have a desperate shortage!
May 11, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Ending visas for overseas Care Workers will likely result in Care Homes being unable to recruit & poor care for their residents. This might be you, your relatives or your friends.
Unless @teamlabouruk.bsky.social is prepared to increase payments to homes at the same time. Somehow I doubt that.
Unless @teamlabouruk.bsky.social is prepared to increase payments to homes at the same time. Somehow I doubt that.
“Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better” Albert Einstein
Stunning sunset at Paddy Freeman, Newcastle upon Tyne
Stunning sunset at Paddy Freeman, Newcastle upon Tyne
April 30, 2025 at 7:35 PM
“Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better” Albert Einstein
Stunning sunset at Paddy Freeman, Newcastle upon Tyne
Stunning sunset at Paddy Freeman, Newcastle upon Tyne
A memory from four years ago when my son was an inpatient in hospital. He wrote this note & the play specialist in the ward laminated & attached on curtains around his bed in a bay. Evidence suggests that protecting patients’ #privacy during hospitalisation is an important element of #dignifiedCare
April 27, 2025 at 8:45 PM
A memory from four years ago when my son was an inpatient in hospital. He wrote this note & the play specialist in the ward laminated & attached on curtains around his bed in a bay. Evidence suggests that protecting patients’ #privacy during hospitalisation is an important element of #dignifiedCare
Reposted by Balsam
Where are all wood burners in England & Wales?
Urban areas outside major cities are likely to have the worst #airpollution from wood burning.
New mapping highlights #Worthing, #Norwich, #Reading, #Cambridge & #Hastings.
Study led by @ucl.ac.uk. Story by me.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Urban areas outside major cities are likely to have the worst #airpollution from wood burning.
New mapping highlights #Worthing, #Norwich, #Reading, #Cambridge & #Hastings.
Study led by @ucl.ac.uk. Story by me.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Map reveals residential wood-burning hotspots in England and Wales
Researchers analyse energy performance certificate data to identify areas with potentially high particle pollution
www.theguardian.com
April 18, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Where are all wood burners in England & Wales?
Urban areas outside major cities are likely to have the worst #airpollution from wood burning.
New mapping highlights #Worthing, #Norwich, #Reading, #Cambridge & #Hastings.
Study led by @ucl.ac.uk. Story by me.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Urban areas outside major cities are likely to have the worst #airpollution from wood burning.
New mapping highlights #Worthing, #Norwich, #Reading, #Cambridge & #Hastings.
Study led by @ucl.ac.uk. Story by me.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Balsam
Vaccine Disinformation
Dismantling of Public Health
Very limited primary care infrastructure
Falling routine vaccination
= Measles Resurgence
And an outbreak that will be very difficult to stop
www.milbank.org/quarterly/op...
Dismantling of Public Health
Very limited primary care infrastructure
Falling routine vaccination
= Measles Resurgence
And an outbreak that will be very difficult to stop
www.milbank.org/quarterly/op...
The Perfect Storm: Measles Resurgence in an Era of Vaccine Disinformation and the Dismantling of Public Health | Milbank Memorial Fund
In 2024, we warned about the potential for measles resurgence in the United States, due to declining vaccination rates and growing religious and other
www.milbank.org
April 21, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Vaccine Disinformation
Dismantling of Public Health
Very limited primary care infrastructure
Falling routine vaccination
= Measles Resurgence
And an outbreak that will be very difficult to stop
www.milbank.org/quarterly/op...
Dismantling of Public Health
Very limited primary care infrastructure
Falling routine vaccination
= Measles Resurgence
And an outbreak that will be very difficult to stop
www.milbank.org/quarterly/op...
Important & timely paper #AMR #ArmedConflict #Displacement #ClimateEmergency #Disasters #Poverty
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Unravelling the linkages between conflict and antimicrobial resistance - npj Antimicrobials and Resistance
The compounded impacts of conflicts, natural disasters and climate change increasingly fuel the development and spread of drug-resistant organisms while weakening mitigation efforts through failed gov...
www.nature.com
April 13, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Important & timely paper #AMR #ArmedConflict #Displacement #ClimateEmergency #Disasters #Poverty
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
A gorgeous morning more so as my marshalling volunteering position in Parkrun could not have been more perfect: I was in a sunny spot opposite the picnic field & next to a field of wild garlic. Being here I get a positive dose of hope & energy that will last for a week.
Wishing all a joyful Easter
Wishing all a joyful Easter
April 12, 2025 at 11:11 AM
A gorgeous morning more so as my marshalling volunteering position in Parkrun could not have been more perfect: I was in a sunny spot opposite the picnic field & next to a field of wild garlic. Being here I get a positive dose of hope & energy that will last for a week.
Wishing all a joyful Easter
Wishing all a joyful Easter
Ah that is lovely!
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/foo...
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/foo...
Michelin-starred chef to host luxury five-course meal benefitting disabled kids
Chef Kenny Atkinson will be cooking up a huge fundraiser with the team at Smile For Life Children’s Charity
www.chroniclelive.co.uk
April 11, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Ah that is lovely!
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/foo...
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/foo...
“It makes complete sense [to treat it like defence], particularly as we have various state actors engaged in grey zone hostile activity. A good example of that is antibiotics. We don’t make any antibiotics in the UK: that’s not a resilient situation to be in.”
www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...
www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...
85% of NHS medicines could be at risk due to tariff trade friction, ministers warned
Ministers must treat medicines supplies as a ‘defence’ issue as it faces ‘hostile activity’ over the brewing trade war
www.independent.co.uk
April 10, 2025 at 5:32 AM
“It makes complete sense [to treat it like defence], particularly as we have various state actors engaged in grey zone hostile activity. A good example of that is antibiotics. We don’t make any antibiotics in the UK: that’s not a resilient situation to be in.”
www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...
www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...
Reposted by Balsam
Integrated care board cuts – what does it all mean?
Is the complete overhaul of the function and purpose of ICBs a seismic shift or a trivial tweak? We asked our policy experts how the cuts to ICB running costs might play out in reality.
Read the full blog. buff.ly/Y8Kebp3
Is the complete overhaul of the function and purpose of ICBs a seismic shift or a trivial tweak? We asked our policy experts how the cuts to ICB running costs might play out in reality.
Read the full blog. buff.ly/Y8Kebp3
Integrated Care Board Cuts – What Does It All Mean? | The King's Fund
A seismic shift or a trivial tweak? We asked our policy experts how the cuts to integrated care board running costs might play out in reality.]
buff.ly
April 9, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Integrated care board cuts – what does it all mean?
Is the complete overhaul of the function and purpose of ICBs a seismic shift or a trivial tweak? We asked our policy experts how the cuts to ICB running costs might play out in reality.
Read the full blog. buff.ly/Y8Kebp3
Is the complete overhaul of the function and purpose of ICBs a seismic shift or a trivial tweak? We asked our policy experts how the cuts to ICB running costs might play out in reality.
Read the full blog. buff.ly/Y8Kebp3
Reposted by Balsam
I can help the government predict who's likely to kill, but they won't like the answer
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
UK creating ‘murder prediction’ tool to identify people most likely to kill
Algorithms allegedly being used to study data of thousands of people, in project critics say is ‘chilling and dystopian’
www.theguardian.com
April 8, 2025 at 5:49 PM
I can help the government predict who's likely to kill, but they won't like the answer
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
A great thread #vaccines #Immunisation #VaccinePreventableDiseases #Outbreaks #Policy #AntiVaxxers #MMR #PublicTrust #PublicHealth
Undermining vaccines is easy, rebuilding trust and reversing policy is much harder, even after harm becomes clear. Japan’s MMR story, often cited by anti-vaxxers, is a cautionary tale. It's important to learn from history and not repeat its mistakes. FIN
April 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Balsam
Once again, the short termism of administrative cost cutting. Yes, you can have a workforce that is entirely made up of clinicians, but who will communicate with patients? Make sure people turn up to appointments? Fix things when they go wrong?
We are in this situation because we did this in 2012
We are in this situation because we did this in 2012
“the UK spends just 1.9% of its health budget on administration costs, the sixth lowest out of the 19 comparable countries measured”.
“In the drive to raise NHS efficiency, national politicians need to be aware that cutting cost is not the same as increasing efficiency”
“In the drive to raise NHS efficiency, national politicians need to be aware that cutting cost is not the same as increasing efficiency”
April 8, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Once again, the short termism of administrative cost cutting. Yes, you can have a workforce that is entirely made up of clinicians, but who will communicate with patients? Make sure people turn up to appointments? Fix things when they go wrong?
We are in this situation because we did this in 2012
We are in this situation because we did this in 2012
Reposted by Balsam
This is madness.
Administrative staff are essential to allow clinical staff to do their jobs.
All initiatives like this do is add more admin tasks to the workload of clinical staff who are already being asked to look after more people for less and less.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Administrative staff are essential to allow clinical staff to do their jobs.
All initiatives like this do is add more admin tasks to the workload of clinical staff who are already being asked to look after more people for less and less.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Hospitals in England could shed 100,000 jobs in response to cost-cutting orders
Exclusive: Scale of looming job losses prompts NHS leaders to ask Treasury to cover costs
www.theguardian.com
April 8, 2025 at 5:57 AM
This is madness.
Administrative staff are essential to allow clinical staff to do their jobs.
All initiatives like this do is add more admin tasks to the workload of clinical staff who are already being asked to look after more people for less and less.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Administrative staff are essential to allow clinical staff to do their jobs.
All initiatives like this do is add more admin tasks to the workload of clinical staff who are already being asked to look after more people for less and less.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
“the UK spends just 1.9% of its health budget on administration costs, the sixth lowest out of the 19 comparable countries measured”.
“In the drive to raise NHS efficiency, national politicians need to be aware that cutting cost is not the same as increasing efficiency”
“In the drive to raise NHS efficiency, national politicians need to be aware that cutting cost is not the same as increasing efficiency”
April 8, 2025 at 5:30 AM
“the UK spends just 1.9% of its health budget on administration costs, the sixth lowest out of the 19 comparable countries measured”.
“In the drive to raise NHS efficiency, national politicians need to be aware that cutting cost is not the same as increasing efficiency”
“In the drive to raise NHS efficiency, national politicians need to be aware that cutting cost is not the same as increasing efficiency”