Inside The Life Of Wes Streeting, From Mum Born In Jail To Fixing The NHS

Wes Streeting’s life story is unusually stark for a senior British politician: a childhood shaped by deprivation, criminality, and even a mother born in prison, followed by a rapid climb to the top of government and a central role in attempts to improve the NHS.

Streeting grew up in a council flat in London’s East End, born in 1983 to teenage parents who struggled financially. His family background was drenched in criminality and instability. His maternal grandfather, Bill Crowley, was a career criminal and armed robber known to the Krays.

Libby Crowley, his grandmother, was incarcerated in Holloway and even shared a cell with Christine Keeler. His mother, Corinna, was born in prison, something that Streeting has candidly discussed, and as a child, he made primary-school prison visits to see his grandfather. It was these experiences that shaped his views on law, order, and social justice.

Despite a tumultuous start, Streeting’s academic ability was spotted early, and with teacher support, he attended a Sutton Trust summer school and subsequently won a place to study history at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He became president of the Cambridge Students’ Union and later the National Union of Students.

Streeting came out as gay at university, describing it as liberating at Cambridge but frightening at home.

Before joining Parliament, he worked in the nonprofit sector, concentrating on education and inequality with organisations including Stonewall and the Helena Kennedy Foundation.

In 2010, he was elected as a Labour councillor. In 2015, he became MP for Ilford North. He served in multiple shadow roles before becoming Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in 2024, known for his direct communication style and readiness to criticise both the left and right of his party. By 2026, he emerged as a frontrunner to succeed Keir Starmer as Labour leader.

As Health Secretary, Streeting positioned himself as a reformer determined to ‘fix the NHS,’ drawing on his own experiences of poverty and reliance on public services. His approach included confronting long waiting lists and workforce shortages. Pushing for modernisation and accountability, and arguing that he is a ‘product of what happens when the state does things right,’ emphasising the role of public services in lifting families out of hardship.

Wes Streeting could be a capable prime minister in some respects, particularly in communication, strategic clarity, and the willingness to take political risks, but whether he would be a good prime minister depends on what one values in leadership.

Streeting is widely viewed as one of the strongest communicators and a highly effective political operator. He has never concealed his ambition and has been preparing for leadership for years.

He is known for being a ‘window-breaker’ rather than a careful manager, and he is someone who pushes change rather than glossing things over.

So, would he be a good Prime Minister? It depends on what you believe the UK needs, but his insight into ‘everyday people’ is something that the UK needs. The problem is that once they get into power, that power goes to their heads, and they end up being like any other prime minister before.

What I like about Streeting is that he has succeeded on his merits, and that’s what matters, regardless of his family background.

Would I vote for him? – No, because I would never vote for Labour, not now, not anytime in the future, because Starmer has tarnished the party from the inside out, and I don’t believe that many people will trust Labour again.

Bomb Found At Base Of Dam Holding City’s Drinking Water

At the base of a dam in Alabama that provides drinking water to the City of Mobile and the surrounding area, an explosive was found underwater.

The explosive was found on Wednesday by divers employed by the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS), who were surveying the Converse Reservoir dam in Mobile County for routine maintenance and repairs. 

The divers immediately reported the device, which MAWSS described as ‘a grenade-type IED (improvised explosive device).’

After notifying the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, a massive multi-agency reaction involving federal partners took place.

Those agencies included the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, FBI Bomb Squad, Mobile Police Department Explosive Ordnance Detail, ALEA Bomb Squad and the Daphne Search and Rescue Team.

The explosive was recovered and safely discharged on land away from the dam. No one was injured. 

‘Our top priority is keeping your drinking water safe,’ said MAWSS Director Bud McCrory in a public statement. 

‘This is an unprecedented threat, and we are fortunate that this device was discovered before it could cause serious damage to our water supply or harm to individuals,’ he continued.

‘We are grateful for the professionalism and competency of our law enforcement partners – as well as the quick thinking of our contractors and divers – in identifying this device and safely destroying it,’ McCrory concluded. 

The event was reported to the Department of Homeland Security because the Converse Reservoir dam and the water supply it contains in Big Creek Lake are classified as vital infrastructure by the federal government.

MAWSS promised to ‘work with relevant law enforcement agencies to enhance security at the reservoir and dam.’

It is unclear how the explosive made it to the bottom of the dam, but bomb experts told 1819News that the device was likely purposely built and placed there. 

MAWSS has not named a suspect for who may be responsible.

Monica Allen, the public relations manager for the agency, told 1819News that there are cameras around the dam to monitor activity. 

She added that she is thankful no one was hurt because ‘our staff is on that dam, if not daily, every other day.’

‘And there are homes in that area, so you just don’t know. We live in a different kind of world now,’ Allen added.

The Converse Reservoir dam was built in 1952 and holds 17 billion gallons of water, supplying the City of Mobile and its surrounding area with drinkable water, according to MAWSS, which manages the infrastructure. 

The agency owns 9,000 acres of land surrounding the reservoir to act as a buffer to encroaching development and protect the critical drinking water supply.

The experts said the bomb was likely purposely built and placed there. Well, this adds gravity while stating the most forehead-slapping obvious thing imaginable.

A custom explosive device… …found at the base of a dam… …in a location that requires deliberate access… …and they think it was purposely put there? Groundbreaking deduction, Watson!

However, there are things like how someone accessed the submerged structure that would require a boat, diving gear, or inside access. Was it positioned recently or long ago? Because explosives underwater degrade differently depending on the type.

Was it a functional device or a decoy? Bomb squads frequently find improvised devices that are meant to be found.

Was there any surveillance, access logs, or maintainance records? Because dams are critical infrastructure – they’re supposed to be layered in security.

This was a good way to pad an article without supplying actual investigation details, and it was reported like a revelation, when it’s actually just… fluff.

So, what types of explosives can survive underwater? Quite a lot, but not in the Hollywood ‘blow up a dam with a grenade’ sense.

What actually survives underwater? Well, explosives that can function underwater tend to fall into three categories.

Military‑grade underwater explosives are designed for naval mines, demolition charges, and depth charges. These use waterproof casings and detonators that function under pressure.

Commercial blasting explosives are used in underwater construction, quarrying, and demolition. These include:

Emulsion explosives

ANFO variants modified for water resistance

Shaped charges for cutting steel or concrete

Improvised devices with waterproofing. A homemade IED can be waterproofed with resin, epoxy, sealed PVC, or a metal casing. But: waterproofing is the hard part, and most amateur devices fail underwater.

What cannot realistically survive underwater?

  • Standard hand grenades (unless sealed in a waterproof container)
  • Most consumer fireworks
  • Anything with exposed fuses or unsealed electronics

And this is why ‘grenade-type IED’ wording matters because it describes the style of fragmentation, not the size. It doesn’t mean a literal hand grenade stuck to a dam. It means a small, sealed, pressure-resistant device with a fragmentation casing.

Dams are categorised as critical infrastructure

This means they fall under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) oversight. They have risk‑based security plans, and they undergo periodic inspections by engineers, divers, and federal partners.

Typical security measures

  • Restricted access zones (fencing, gates, patrols)
  • Cameras (as the article notes)
  • Routine underwater inspections by contractors
  • Monitoring of water levels and structural integrity
  • Cybersecurity protections for control systems

What they don’t have

  • 24/7 underwater surveillance
  • Military‑grade anti‑sabotage systems
  • Divers that are constantly patrolling the reservoir

The US has over 90,000 dams. Only a small fraction has intensive security. Most rely on periodic inspections, which is precisely how this device was discovered.

Of course, stories like this get sensationalised, and this is a classic illustration of how a real incident becomes a fear-amplifying narrative.

A TV Producer Is Permanently Disabled By Wrong-Button Paramedics

A TV producer, Meg Fozzard, was left permanently disabled after London Ambulance Service paramedics pushed the wrong button on a LifePak defibrillator, causing an eight‑minute delay in delivering a life‑saving shock during her 2019 cardiac arrest.

In April 2019, in Walworth, South London, Meg, then 26, collapsed at home, struggling to breathe and fitting as she went into cardiac arrest.

Her partner called 999 and was instructed to begin CPR.

Despite the emergency call handler’s warning, the paramedics did not think she was in cardiac arrest when they arrived after having difficulty finding the flat.

They failed to activate the defibrillator’s automatic analysis mode, which determines whether a shock is required.

They then pressed the wrong button on the LifePak machine, adding an additional four‑minute delay. In total, eight minutes passed before she received the shock her heart urgently needed, and because her brain was starved of oxygen during this delay, Meg suffered a severe hypoxic brain injury.

Meg now lives with permanent disabilities, including speech difficulties, chronic fatigue, brain fog, reduced dexterity, involuntary limb spasms and reliance on a wheelchair for mobility.

She was unable to work for 14 months and had to rebuild her life with physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.

The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust admitted breaches of duty of care. Meg received an unknown settlement after legal action.

She has since returned to work part‑time as a freelance producer focusing on disability rights, but describes the emotional and physical impact as profound and ongoing.

This incident highlights systemic issues in emergency care, including failures to recognise cardiac arrest, improper use of specialist equipment, delays caused by navigation and communication errors, and the catastrophic consequences of even small mistakes in cardiac emergencies.

How are these people even working as paramedics? Ambulance trusts have been operating with severe shortages for years, and under pressure, organisations sometimes tolerate poor conduct or defer disciplinary action because they can’t afford to lose staff.

They’re allowed to work, not because they think it’s safe, but because the system is broken. The ambulance service culture is being described as toxic because there are deep-rooted, structural problems that harm staff and ultimately patient safety.

The toxicity isn’t about a few ‘bad apples’; it’s about systemic pressures and leadership failures, and extreme operational pressure creates a breeding ground for toxicity.

Ambulance services work under chronic understaffing, rising demand, unrealistic performance targets, and long waits and high public scrutiny.

However, no one is perfect, especially after doing a 12-hour night shift, and then, mistakes are made.

Of course, we will be told that lessons have been learned, as they are, until the next time it happens.

‘Coup Going On’ Inside Labour

Jeremy Corbyn appeared on Sky News, 14th May 2026, in an interview with presenter Wilfred Frost, where he made two headline points.

Corbyn accused Keir Starmer of having ‘a coup going on’ inside Labour, referring to the atmosphere of leadership manoeuvring and pressure on the Prime Minister.

He drew similarities between current tensions around a possible Labour leadership challenge and the pressure he himself met when Labour MPs tried to push him out in 2016.

He suggested Starmer is now experiencing the exact internal destabilisation: “There’s a coup going on.”

The interview was framed around the ‘strange atmosphere’ in Westminster, with speculation about Wes Streeting triggering a leadership contest.

Corbyn reminisced on how he was pressured to resign as Labour leader and implied that Starmer is now encountering similar forces.

The Express also covered the interview, noting that viewers described Corbyn as ‘snippy’ and highlighting that he refused to back Andy Burnham as a possible successor to Starmer.

However, Jeremy Corbyn being on Sky News was such an inspiring, decent, and fair stance on the mess that we are presently in, because while so many in Westminster are far too busy focusing on their own careers, Jeremy was straight onto the real problems, such as poverty, inequality, and peace.

He noted that the Greens aren’t a socialist party, and that we are already seeing the friction between their newer, younger members and the established wing.

People are feeling politically homeless right now, and what we actually need is a no-nonsense prime minister without all the theatrics.

We need a prime minister with a low ego and high principles. Issue-first rather than personality-first, and someone who is focused on structural issues rather than Westminster gossip.

The reality that the average person faces daily—such as housing, living expenses, disability rights, and public services—is becoming more and more distant from those who are active in politics.

We need a prime minister who is principled, humane, not materialistic, not obsessed with triangulation, and not allergic to talking about inequality.

Corbyn’s interview didn’t offer a blueprint, but it does remind us that politics doesn’t have to be cynical or managerial.

Michelle Obama Looks Alarmingly Thin

Michelle Obama was photographed looking noticeably slimmer during a Beverly Hills dinner with daughters Malia and Sasha, and Barack Obama’s absence at the outing has certainly fueled renewed online speculation about their marriage — but the available reporting reveals no documented evidence of a split, only public chatter and commentary.

Michelle Obama, 62, dined with Malia (27) and Sasha (24) at Funke, a celebrity‑frequented Beverly Hills restaurant. She appeared visibly thinner than in prior months, sporting an everyday trucker jacket, fitted Henley top, and light‑wash jeans. Barack Obama, 64, was not attending because he was in Austin, Texas, speaking at an event or campaigning, depending on the outlet.

Her slimmer appearance reignited speculation about Ozempic/GLP‑1, though no evidence supports those assertions.

The couple’s different schedules, combined with Barack’s recent remarks about “tension” at home, have heightened public speculation, not verified facts.

Recent reporting highlighted several factors: that Barack Obama told The New Yorker that Michelle wanted him to slow down and spend more time with her, acknowledging ‘genuine tension’ in their household.

Michelle has openly discussed difficult periods in their marriage before, saying that there were ten years when she couldn’t stand her husband, and Michelle missed two high-profile events Barack attended alone in January 2025, which the tabloids seized on. Of course, none of this constitutes proof of a separation; it only reflects public interpretation, not oK’d information.

No outlet reports a breakup, separation, or divorce. There is no medical or personal explanation for Michelle’s weight change that has been confirmed. There is no credible source that supports the Ozempic rumours, and there is no insider confirmation of any marital trouble beyond what the Obamas themselves have publicly admitted about normal long-term relationship strain.

The predictable, well-established language and narrative patterns used in tabloid coverage of celebrity weight fluctuations sexualise women, perpetuate weight stigma, and portray bodies as public property. This then shapes public perspectives and reinforces toxic norms.

Media coverage portrays weight as a personal failure or moral flaw, which it is not.

Weight framing is wrong. It’s socially constructed, politically convenient and scientifically illiterate.

Weight is not a personal virtue test. It’s influenced by dozens of factors outside individual control, including genetics, medication, disability and chronic illness, stress, trauma, and cortisol, and numerous other factors.

None of these is ‘willpower,’ but media narratives pretend it’s all about discipline because that story is simple, blame-heavy, and it sells.

Moral framing obscures the real structural problem – if weight is ‘your fault’, then governments don’t have to address food deserts. Employers don’t have to fix low wages or long hours. Councils don’t have to build safe parks or pavements. Healthcare doesn’t have to face bias, and the media doesn’t have to stop profiting from shame, so they blame the individual to protect the system.

And the cruel irony is that the people doing the shaming know better, but they still shame and judge ordinary people for simply existing in public.

Belfast Hospital Infections Resistant To Antibiotics

A contained but serious Carbapenemase‑Producing Organism (CPO) outbreak has been reported at Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, affecting a small number of patients in the Medical Specialities and Unscheduled Care Division.

A CPO is a class of bacteria that produces enzymes capable of breaking down carbapenems — antibiotics commonly used as a last line of defence. These organisms are among the most antibiotic‑resistant pathogens presently seen in hospitals.

Transmission is contact-based: contaminated hands, medical equipment, and surfaces in clinical areas.

This outbreak appears to be mostly a hospital infection-control issue, not a community threat.

Patients who have had extensive or repeated antibiotic treatment are more vulnerable because their normal microbial balance is disrupted, making it easier for resistant organisms to take hold. However, the Belfast Trust and Public Health Agency have implemented strict measures: isolation of all CPO-positive patients in single rooms with dedicated toilet facilities. Enhanced cleaning beyond standard protocols. Mandatory PPE, such as gloves, aprons/gowns for staff and close monitoring of affected wards.

As of yet, this specific strain has not been linked to any fatalities or severe illnesses. However, CPO outbreaks can be a warning sign of a wider global problem of antimicrobial resistance – when bacteria evolve to defeat even our strongest antibiotics. Hospitals must then act fast to prevent these organisms from becoming entrenched.

This outbreak, however, seems to be contained, but it highlights the fragility of hospital infection-control systems and the consequences of over-reliance on last-line antibiotics.

HealthLink BC states clearly that CPOs “usually pose little risk and rarely cause infections in healthy people,” and that they are mainly a concern in hospitals, and that even people who carry CPO in their gut can go about their normal life without restrictions, and there is no need to inform workplaces, schools, or childcare.

Community spread is possible but rare, and usually linked to healthcare exposure abroad or recent hospitalisation, and guidance explicitly says that household members of someone with CPO don’t need to be screened.

So, why do these outbreaks make headlines? It’s not because the public is at risk, but because CPOs are a marker of antimicrobial resistance. Hospitals must implement strict infection-control measures, and outbreaks can disrupt services and increase patient risk.

However, they do not behave like COVID, flu, norovirus, or airborne infections, and they don’t spread through casual contact, public spaces, or community settings.

The bottom line is that a CPO outbreak is serious for hospitals, but not a danger to the general public, and if you’re not an inpatient or receiving invasive medical care, your risk is virtually zero.

A Speech Given By The King

Nothing could be more of a mickey-take than a frail cadger wrapped in dead animal fur, dripping in jewels, sitting on a solid gold throne in a palace built on centuries of blood, slavery, war, famine, and theft, while lecturing the public about sacrifice, unity, and ‘the future of the nation’ while millions can hardly afford to put the heating on.

The King’s Speech is a theatre, and it’s nothing more than performative, and quite frankly, ridiculous. Here’s a grown man wearing a diamond-encrusted crown worth more than entire towns, reading words composed for him by unelected handlers, pretending this is modern civilisation instead of the rotting carcass of feudalism, dressed up with better cameras and cleaner propaganda.

Yes, I am furious, and of course, I’m venting because I’m diagnosing the theatre of British constitutional politics with transparency. After all, I’m calling out the contradiction between a hereditary monarch performing symbolic unity while sitting atop wealth extracted through empire, class hierarchy, and centuries of structural violence, and how surreal that looks in a country where millions can’t even heat their homes. That tension is real, historically grounded, and politically significant.

The spectacle is absurd, especially when you strip away all the PR gloss. Inherited power presented as national destiny. Colonial wealth is displayed as national heritage. Extreme inequality wrapped in ceremonial language about ‘shared sacrifice.’ Austerity Britain, being lectured on duty by someone who has never experienced material precarity, and then there is the political script, written by government advisers, delivered by a man who can’t be held democratically accountable for the words he reads.

You’re not imagining the contradiction — it’s baked into the constitutional design.

What I’m actually describing is the conflict between a 21st-century society dealing with poverty, housing crisis, disability injustice, and collapsing public services vs a medieval institution preserved through tradition, PR, and the notion that symbolism is somehow above politics.

The King’s Speech is the perfect example. It’s presented as a timeless constitutional ritual, but it’s actually a government policy announcement delivered by someone who didn’t write it, can’t change it, and can’t be voted out, and that’s why it feels like feudalism with better lighting.

I’m not just furious at the monarchy, I’m furious at the disconnect. People freezing in their homes. Disabled people fighting for basic support. Families are having to skip meals. Public services are collapsing – meanwhile, the state rolls out gold carriages, jewels, and pageantry to tell the public to ‘tighten belts.’

It’s the hypocrisy that stings.

Britain is the only major European democracy still centring hereditary power in its political rituals. The Crown Estate profits with Duchy wealth, and public subsidies contrast brutally with austerity, and our government is using the monarchy as a human shield for unwanted policies – this is the spectacle of an empire-era wealth in a post-imperial, economically struggling nation.

Superfan Dubbed ‘Union Jack Man’ By Queen Dies At 91

A royal super-fan who was dubbed ‘Union Jack man’ by the late Queen has died aged 91. 

Terry Hutt, of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, met Queen Elizabeth more times than any other member of the public and was famed for camping outside hospitals for several nights ahead of royal births.

Mr Hutt battled sepsis, pneumonia, and heart failure before passing suddenly. At the age of four, he had a strong interest in royalty after receiving a souvenir mug from the King and Queen on their visit to his parents in London during the Blitz.

Since then, he was frequently pictured at notable royal events donning red, white and blue – with his devotion to the monarchy leading members of the Royal household to know him as the ‘Union Jack man’.

In 2011, he camped outside Westminster Abbey to ensure a prime viewing spot for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. 

Ahead of Prince George’s birth in 2013, he also spent nearly two weeks on a bench being fed porridge and given cups of tea by staff at the hospital.

Mr Hutt then spent 14 days on a red, white and blue decorated bench outside St Mary’s Hospital in London in anticipation of the birth of Princess Charlotte. 

He described his time on the ‘royal bench’ as demanding as a full-time job; however, he said he got a ‘thrill’ from seeing the royal lineage continue.

At the time, he said: ‘I have known William and the family for years, and I always get a thrill out of seeing the new babies.

‘We need babies to keep the family going as the more of them there are, the better it will be.’

Outside his devotion to the monarchy, Mr Hutt was described as a ‘tireless’ campaigner for the NHS and the restoration of Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare.

The pier has been closed for more than thirty years due to damage from storms.

Mr Hutt was also known to travel about his hometown on a scooter, collecting thousands of signatures. 

He is survived by his daughter, Tracey Joy, who said her father led a ‘life well lived’.

She said: ‘A life well lived, and as we are grieving, we look back at his fight for life, love for his family.

‘It has been very sad, but despite his many health ailments, he continued to do everything he loved.

‘To reach the age of 91 was a miracle, overcoming kidney cancer and multiple surgeries, each time he came out fighting, but heart failure, along with pneumonia and sepsis, took him in the end.’

Without a doubt, he proudly sported his Union Jack. He was indeed an elegant dresser.

He was harmless, but some might say strange at the same time. I wouldn’t say it was strange, but he was certainly patriotic. He was a marvellous character who loved his Queen and country; may he rest in peace.

Should Union Jack man be given a royal burial? Of course, there is no basis or constitutional mechanism for Terry Hutt to receive a royal burial, but there should be a meaningful conversation about it, after all, he was patriotic to his Queen and country for an extremely long time.

He was a royal superfan, not a royal servant or official. However, I do believe that he was a loyal servant because, at the end of the day, we are all servants to our monarchy. He also campaigned locally for the NHS and Birnbeck Pier.

He lived a long, full life and was undoubtedly adored by many, so come on, Charles, do the right thing for this lovely, devoted man.

‘I’m Not Going Anywhere’

It appears that Keir Starmer’s prospects of leading his party into the next election are dwindling due to growing calls for his resignation.

Additionally, social media users are responding to Sir Keir’s premiership collapsing by posting several humorous memes that mock the circumstance.

Some likened his situation to the Black Knight from Monty Python, a character who refuses to let King Arthur pass despite having all his limbs chopped off.

Others recalled the famous line ‘Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me’, spoken by Kenneth Williams as Julius Caesar in the 1964 comedy film Carry On Cleo.

There was a meme of Hugh Grant as the PM in Love Actually, captioned: ‘Centre Left Labour backbenchers reveal their choice to replace Starmer as Prime Minister.’

Another posted an image of Steve McClaren on Sky Sports News, quipping that the former England manager was saying ‘he doesn’t think the PM’s going anywhere’. 

In an address meant to set out Labour’s response to last week’s catastrophic local election results, Sir Keir promised to carry on and prove his doubters wrong.

But the address triggered an avalanche of Labour backbenchers publicly calling for the Prime Minister to go, including several junior ministerial aides who resigned in response.

A total of 80 Labour MPs are understood to have signed a letter from former minister Catherine West urging Sir Keir to set out a timetable for his resignation, with most of them having publicly expressed their loss of confidence in his leadership.

In a sign that he could be planning to dig in, Downing Street announced the appointment of six new ministerial aides last night to replace those who had resigned.

But while some backbenchers came out to back the Prime Minister, reports suggested Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had privately spoken with Sir Keir and advised him to consider his position.

Other senior ministers are said to have spoken with the Prime Minister about his fate before a scheduled Cabinet meeting this morning, intended to focus on the situation in the Middle East.

At least, if nothing else, we can have a laugh because we haven’t been able to have a laugh since this delusional despot, who seems to believe his own lies and stupidity, arrived, and has been such a daily disaster ever since.

The memes were amusing, but the real joke is that the world is laughing at us, not with us. Sadly, his replacement won’t be laughing either because all the harm that Keir Starmer has done will be paid forward to the next sitting government.

Nobody in Labour actually has any idea about real life, and what it actually means to be working class. I hate to point this out to them, but to be working class, you have to actually do some work, you know, hard graft – get your fingers at least a little bit dirty. The only thing these people know about is sipping Champagne and scratching their backsides; that’s the only dirt they will get under their fingernails.

I will definitely be delighted to see the back of Starmer, but when I think about the bunch of incompetents waiting to take over, my heart sinks. Talk about ‘out of the frying pan into the fire’, there’s not a single trustworthy person amongst them, and it mangles my mind that the people who voted for them truly believed that they were capable of running a country.

In the immortal words of Gloria Gaynor: “Go on now, go, walk out the door Just turn around now, ’cause you’re not welcome anymore.’

An Update On Bonnie Tyler’s Condition In A Coma

Bonnie Tyler had to be ‘resuscitated after going into cardiac arrest’ when doctors tried to bring her out of an induced coma at an Algarve hospital.

The medical emergency led to the worsening of the singer’s health condition late last week following life-saving surgery for a burst appendix, respected Portuguese daily Correio da Manha has reported.

The Welsh singer, 74, will remain in an induced coma in an intensive care unit at Faro Hospital until doctors manage to control the ‘serious infection’ she is suffering, caused by a perforated intestine, the paper said.

Her long-term friend Liberto Mealha said overnight, doctors are ‘positive’ she can make a full recovery despite the ongoing uncertainty about how things will evolve.

More details have emerged of Bonnie’s health woes, which are said to have led to her emergency bowel surgery and the removal of her appendix.

Mr Mealha, who first met The Total Eclipse of the Heart singer when he opened a well-known Albufeira nightclub in the Eighties near the artist’s holiday home, said last week: ‘She started feeling unwell during a concert in London and went to a doctor for tests, but they didn’t detect anything there.

‘She decided to travel to the Algarve, where she began to feel severe abdominal pain.

‘Two days later, she went to a private hospital, which urgently moved her to the hospital in Faro because her appendix had burst and she needed emergency surgery.’

Overnight, it was reported that Ms Tyler, believed to have first started feeling unwell around a month ago, had been bedridden for two days at her Algarve home before her worried husband, Robert Sullivan, took her to the private hospital she was seen at before being transferred to Faro.

A spokesman for the singer said late last Thursday she had been put in a coma to ‘aid her recovery’ after reports she had suffered a burst appendix.

A day earlier, when her health woes first emerged, the spokesman had said: ‘We are very sorry to announce that Bonnie has been admitted to hospital in Faro, Portugal, where she has a home, for emergency intestinal surgery.

‘The surgery went well, and she is now recuperating.

‘We know that all of her family, friends and fans will be concerned about this news and will be wishing her well for a full and swift recovery.’

Ms Tyler, who has had numerous hits in her lengthy career and competed at the Eurovision Song Contest representing the UK in 2013, is believed to have been rushed to the hospital on April 30.

She was said to have been ‘stable’ in an intermediate care unit at Faro Hospital before an apparent worsening of her health led to her being moved to intensive care.

Sources say she had been maintaining her professional activity in the run-up to being taken to the hospital, despite complaining of persistent pain for several weeks.

Reports that she required resuscitation have not yet been addressed by her representatives.

A medical emergency known as cardiac arrest occurs when the heart abruptly and unexpectedly stops pumping blood, stopping its beating and interfering with the body’s and brain’s ability to get oxygen.

It causes instant unconsciousness and collapse. Prompt action involving starting CPR and using a defibrillator, where available, is essential to prevent death.

An appendix rupture is a serious medical emergency that calls for quick surgery and medications to avoid deadly infections.

When an infected appendix bursts, it leaves a hole that allows germs and faeces to enter the abdominal cavity.

Mr Mealha, whose daughter is Bonnie’s goddaughter, said last week the singer’s husband was spending his days by her hospital bedside and only leaving to sleep at home at nighttime.

He added: ‘He’s very grateful to the doctors and nurses at the Faro hospital and believes that if Bonnie had stayed in the United Kingdom, she would no longer be here.’

On social media, well-wishers have shown their support.

Sara Hadfield wrote: ‘My husband spent 10 days eight years ago in an induced coma in the ICU in Faro Hospital.

‘They cared for him very well. I hope they do the same for Bonnie.’

Jenny Edwards added: ‘Come on, Bonnie girl. Us Welshies don’t give up. Here is to a full recovery.’

And Portuguese national Maria Joao Raposo Fonseca said: ‘Speedy recovery for Bonnie.

‘She is such a lovely lady. I lived close to her in Albufeira and used to see her all the time at my hairdresser’s salon, doing her tanning and then driving her little red convertible.’

So, Bonnie went to the doctors in London, but they missed appendicitis; our NHS health system is apparently the best in the world. I guess it’s so easy for doctors to overlook, particularly when our basic healthcare is rationed this much.

It’s also easy to detect, by doing a physical examination, and if still not certain, laboratory testing and imaging (CT scan and ultrasound), but of course, that commands money, so it’s more affordable overall to ignore patients who exhibit the early symptoms, leaving it until the Appendicitis becomes critical. This means more patients will die, but hey, don’t worry about that if it saves the system money.

The overall death rate from non-traumatic medical comas is significant, although the outcome differs greatly depending on why the coma occurred, how long it lasted, and the patient’s baseline health.

A mortality rate of 63 per cent and only 10 per cent “good recovery” is consistent with several large cohort studies of medically induced or medically caused comas due to severe infection, such as sepsis, meningitis, encephalitis, metabolic crises, hypoxic injury, multi-organ failure, prolonged ICU sedation, and stroke or intracranial haemorrhage (non-traumatic).

These groups are particularly heterogeneous, and numerous patients in those datasets were already critically ill before the coma. In other words:

The coma isn’t the cause of the poor outcome — the underlying illness is.

There are a few factors that dramatically shift the odds.

There are a few factors that dramatically shift the odds, and some causes have a far better outcome than others, such as drug-induced or sedation-related comas, which are usually reversible. With metabolic comas, such as diabetic or hepatic, there is usually a good recovery if rectified quickly.

Then there is infectious encephalitis, this is variable, but a patient can recover well with rapid treatment. Also, hypoxic brain injury has a much poorer prognosis.

Shorter comas (hours-days) have a far better outcome than lengthy ones (weeks).

Younger, healthier patients recuperate disproportionately better, and early antibiotics, antivirals, seizure control, ventilation, and neuro-monitoring all matter.

So, why is ‘good recovery’ only in the 10 per cent in numerous studies? Well, most studies in the Glasgow Outcome Scale were ‘good recovery’, which means independent living, returning to work or normal activities, and minimal cognitive impairment, but many survivors fell into this category where there was moderate disability, meaning needing some support, along with severe disability, meaning dependent but conscious, so the 10 per cent figure doesn’t mean only 10 per cent wake up, it means only 10 per cent return to near-normal functioning.

A tiny percentage of patients recover far better than the average indicates, and recovery is neither linear, predictable, nor uniformly distributed.

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