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News Autumn/Winter Update by John Bowis - Conservative MEP for London.
BARROSO COMMISSION ANTICS Dear Friends and Supporters, Christmas looked like being delayed for the new European Commission. We welcomed the Centre-Right Mr Barroso to the Presidency but then the poor man had to allocate posts to the men and women nominated by their Governments to serve as Commissioners. We had a Hungarian who had been a pillar of the old Communist regime; we had an Italian who spoke his mind about gay people and lone parents; we had a Latvian whose party was involved in a court case and we had Peter Mandelson of recent repetitive sacking syndrome. In the end, with two falls and a submission (and a French twist dans le queue) the crisis was resolved and we actually end with a team dominated by the Centre-Right agenda, which seeks to make Europe more competitive and less regulatory. That will be our task as MEPs over the next five years. As we move towards that I send my warmest good wishes for Christmas and the coming year. John Bowis. HEALTHCARE ROUND-UP It has been a busy period for the European Parliament following its return from the elections in June. John Bowis has organised a number of events to highlight issues such as osteoporosis, children's medicines, stroke prevention, arthritis and diabetes. As a diabetic himself he has been keen to encourage colleagues to have a blood test to find out whether they are in danger of developing the condition (Link to latest diabetes press release.) John is working to raise awareness of health issues amongst MEPs and to highlighting the opportunities for co-operating and sharing best practice to improve standards of healthcare for all the people of Europe. EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR DISEASE CONTROL (Link for more info.)Communicable diseases are a major threat to the health of everybody in Europe, as shown by the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and by anthrax bio-terrorist alerts. As a result the EU decided to establish a research centre to help co-ordinate its response to these threats. John was responsible for ensuring that the Centre was up and running as soon as possible by negotiating on behalf of the European Parliament to improve the legislation. With a small core staff, the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control will draw together the expertise of hundreds of scientists around Europe. The Centre will improve upon Europe's existing communicable disease network and will take over the monitoring and planning role of the EU's Health Security Task Force. The Centre is due to open in Stockholm early next year. MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY, WANDSWORTH (Link for more info.) For this year's Make a Difference Day, John joined volunteers at the LARA Community Centre in St. John's Hill in Wandsworth to help redecorate the Centre, which provides a range of services to the Community for local people of all ages. Make a Difference Day is organised nationally by CSV (Community Service Volunteers), who issued a challenge to Members of Parliament to give a hand to a local organisation. John, who wielded a paintbrush for the LARA Centre, said: "Organisations like LARA give a tremendous amount to local people and it was good to be able to give a little bit of help in return. Actually painting doors was quite therapeutic and I recommend it to my fraught fellow politicians!"
SENSE & DEAFBLINDNESS (Link for more info.) John visited Sense’s Anne Wall Centre in Barnet which provides day services to deafblind people from across the borough and beyond. Deafblindness is a combination of both sight and hearing difficulties. Sense offers a wide range of services built around the individual needs of deafblind people, helping them to lead the life that they choose. One-to-one support is provided for 25 adults with a single or dual sensory impairment and associated learning disabilities. Staff support individuals to take part in a range of activities from painting to swimming. They also promote independence in a range of activities including personal living skills such as preparing meals and other everyday tasks. Deafblind children also attend the centre during family weekends. “Deafblindness has many causes including premature birth and rubella during pregnancy. People can also become deafblind at any time through meningitis or accidents. Increasingly old age is also a cause.
CAGED BEDS (Link for more info.) John continues to support the campaign of the Mental Disability Advocacy Centre (MDAC) to end the use of caged beds in countries of the former Austro Hungarian Empire. Caged and netted beds are designed to enclose difficult, agitated patients within the confines of the bed. The alternative to this inhuman and degrading method of "treatment" is to use modern medical care with non-physical and manual control techniques. In October 2004 John repeated his call for an end to the use of caged beds and pleaded for rights and dignity to be at the heart of mental health policy. Health Commissioner David Byrne agreed and promised that conditions would be monitored throughout the EU. The call was echoed by Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Last year John and other MEPs wrote a joint letter to Health Ministers of the countries concerned and he also helped to ensure that the European Parliament's "Annual Report on Human Rights in the World in 2002" included a call for caged beds to cease being used. He also made a direct appeal in a speech in the Czech Senate. Since then there have been moves to ban or phase-out caged beds in the countries concerned. Charities and organisations are monitoring the situation closely in all four countries so that bans are properly implemented. CONTACT: John Bowis MEP I also work closely with my London Conservative colleagues: Charles Tannock and Theresa Villiers.
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