because we think we deserve a goodbye after everything we have done for them an we need to say our final goodbyes

The Editor's Code tries to protect the loved ones of a deceased person in grief and shock - but it doesn't go far enough. There is ambiguity about the use of social media by the press that needs to be rectified by clarity within the Code to stop stories being manipulated - and a death or illness exploited. My brother, Felix Schroer, died on 20th March 2020. He had worked for the soap Hollyoaks and his employers of 20 years, Lime Pictures, announced the closing of production at the same time as issuing a press release about my brother's death, which clearly stated that the family were not connecting the unexplained sudden death with Covid 19. We had no idea why my brother had suddenly died. Desperate for a celebrity Covid 19 story, my Twitter feed was mined by the press and comments I made in a tweet were taken completely out of context. The press misrepresented what I said to suggest that I had 'confirmed' my brother had died in 'fear of the virus' or suspected that he had it. In this way the death could be linked with the closure of the soap due to Covid 19, when in fact it was just coincidental. Felix had explained the soap would probably close to me the day before he died. As I explained on Twitter, anyone with a persistent cough would be concerned about Covid 19 in the pandemic - and on its own this was not a news story at all. We wanted answers about why my brother died and I hadn't confirmed anything. No one ever spoke to me to make sure they had understood the points I was trying to make. I am a health professional/health researcher and use Twitter for campaigning and raising awareness about political and social injustices - and I had every right, as a citizen, to question the government's policies on Covid 19 testing - asking why some people were getting tests and other's weren't. I had a right to ask questions about why my brother might have died - whilst also saying we must wait for answers, which I did. The day after the press reports, the coroner called me to say the post mortem we had been informed would take place might not happen - if Felix had died from a pre-existing condition there was no need for a post mortem. Even IPSO asked me if I had indeed tweeted a particular tweet before the post mortem. I had to point out the press coverage may have jeopardised the post mortem ever taking place. I wrote to the coroner. I explained that my brother had experienced what he felt was a very strange reaction to taking the antibiotic medication doxycycline, which was prescribed for a chest infection. The coroner agreed to conduct a post mortem after our conversation and a post mortem was done on 27th March. This examination revealed my brother had very clearly died of a heart attack - there was no respiratory infection at all. I then completed an MHRA (Medicines Health Regulation Authority) Yellow Card to report the Adverse Drug Reaction as a cardiac adverse reaction and I reported the drug was linked with a fatality. I informed my brother's employers about the heart attack on 27th March but still - two weeks after my brother's employers had learned the cause of death, the tabloids continued with the story relating the death to Covid 19. This happened after Felix's colleagues at Lime Pictures paid a tribute to him, (which he would have very much enjoyed), by wearing blue, the colour of the football team he supported. The story was again taken from social media. His work colleagues who wanted to honour Felix ended up feeling devastated they had caused upset to the family - who had been extremely distressed by the press coverage. But this was not their fault. Even though it was my twitter feed that had been used to create the false narrative, ever since March 31st, Felix's employers, Lime Pictures, ceased communication with me. The company stonewalls me and neither Felix's oldest and closest friend or I cannot get them to deal with the press to put things right - they just do not answer our emails. This is absolutely devastating for us as all this only happened because of Felix's connection to Hollyoaks as he is not a celebrity or famous person. This story should have been corrected immediately after the company learned my brother died of a heart attack. They should also have denied links made between the closure of the soap and the death of my brother. The argument I found myself confronted with, before communication with me ceased, was that there was no shame in dying of Covid 19. The real story was the missed illness in the pandemic - and the fact that so many more may die of heart disease when the symptoms are so similar to respiratory illness. Felix's respiratory symptoms resulted from pulmonary oedema - fluid on the lungs - because his heart was increasingly failing - not an infection. Patients with heart disease need to be carefully triaged in this pandemic or their illness will be missed - as my brother's was. I just wanted something positive to come out of my brother's death for others. I hope this petition will raise awareness - to help others with heart disease. The least my brother deserves after such a tragic and potentially preventable death is accurate reporting about why he died. This isn't about blaming anyone in the medical profession - it is about appreciating there may be uncertainties and challenges when people are ill and in death and relatives have every right to ask questions without fear they will be targeted to create false narratives. Anyone who has lost a brother or sister will know just how hard this is - especially when the death comes out of the blue like it did. I should not have had to deal with all this on top of his death. I would like IPSO to clarify the way that social media can be used by the press in illness and death so this doesn't happen again.

There are national inconsistencies about how people can access mental health services. For physical health we have the 111 option. We are petitioning to have an option 2 when ringing 111 for the caller to access their local mental health services. Through COVID19 planning, every mental health service nationally have had to develop a 24 hour crisis service. Therefore, the option 2 can link to the callers local crisis care centre to access the mental health support they need. This has already been implemented in Cambridge; all other areas need to be supported to follow suit. We must demand parity for mental health access.

We understand that the Swanage based Ambulance Car could be withdrawn in June. We were shocked to hear that there were plans to withdraw the Car on April 1st. Following Councillors meeting with the Ambulance Trust and lobbying Dorset Council Health Scrutiny, and the Town Council writing to the Ambulance Trust and the Clinical Commissioning Group, we were told the car would remain for two months, and the situation would be reviewed in June. We had previously understood that under the Clinical Services Review ambulance resources allocated to Swanage would actually be increased. We must keep the Swanage Ambulance Car and our excellent Paramedics. The Car is a Rapid Response Vehicle - a fast car - based at Swanage, and covering Purbeck. Unlike the regular Swanage Ambulance, which can be outside Purbeck all day, the Car does not take patients to hospital, and the agreement was that the Car would remain in Purbeck, unless there was a major emergency. Therefore, as well being part of our Ambulance resources, this fast Car is much more likely to get to us quickly in an emergency. The Car supports the health of Swanage and Purbeck residents, and, crucially, helps save our lives. We’ve been told that Ambulance resources at Wareham have increased. However, there may not be an Ambulance in Wareham (or in Purbeck) at the time one is needed in Swanage and villages, and, in any case, it’s impossible to get from Wareham to Swanage in 8 minutes, which is the target time for a category 1 (imminent danger of death) emergency. The Ambulance Car was first allocated to Swanage as compensation for the overnight closure of the Swanage Cottage Hospital Minor Injuries Unit, back in 2008. There was recognition at that time that it was a long way to Poole from Swanage, and there needed to be overnight support here. Under the Clinical Services Review, emergency care will no longer be provided at Poole, and we will have even further to travel to access A&E, Maternity and Children’s care. The Swanage and Purbeck Ambulance Car + Paramedic: i) provides a rapid response (as nearer and faster) to save life in emergency pending arrival of the ambulance Ii) treats the 50% of patients who do not need to go to hospital at the scene, avoiding unnecessary journeys to Poole, and protecting hospital resources Iii) provides a replacement service when the Swanage Minor Injuries Unit is closed (8pm - 8am). iv) supports Purbeck GP home visits, helping to ensure that these are covered. Indeed we believe that the Purbeck GP’s are open to looking at making a contribution towards retaining the Ambulance Car. It is a matter of life and death for us to retain this essential service. /Users/Mel1/Desktop/Swange Amb Car.jpg

Almost a fifth of UK homes with children are going hungry in lockdown. Families who usually get free schools have been promised government help while schools are closed but the reality is a litany of missed payments and problems with vouchers. It’s not good enough. As a single parent who uses the voucher scheme I have personally experienced the issues with the food voucher system. Multiple times I've been waiting for sometimes an hour or more just for the voucher website to crash. We only received the first voucher 5 weeks into lockdown, that's 5 weeks of struggling to give my child decent food. My child is just one of 1.3million who rely on these vouchers and it's just not fair. With the pandemic, it's harder to get out and shop, harder to get to a food bank if you need to, so these vouchers are a lifeline for families that need them. Experts like the Food Foundation are calling out the government for not doing enough. Children deserve to have food on the table. Together we can make sure no child goes hungry during this crisis.

The UK Government’s draft plans to reopen our workplaces safely after the lockdown are being criticised for not going far enough. The Government are planning to issue guidelines to employers, but more needs to be done. In particular: 1. Forcing business to make risk assessments of workplaces public 2. Properly holding businesses to account to protect staff There isn’t long before the Government will set their plans in stone. Add your name to the petition now to ensure we can return to work confident that we will be kept safe.

Background The pandemic is costing the Government billions. Do we really need to spend possibly another £100 billion on a project that has already been overtaken? When taking his February decision on HS2 the Prime Minister was, advised by both his Senior Adviser and his Transport Adviser to cancel the project but the then Chancellor of the Exchequer said it could be afforded. It was said to be justified by the cost to benefit ratio. Yet some say that ratio is being distorted by writing off much expenditure already incurred. Certainly the benefit will be eroded by the new procedures we are now being forced to learn. There is already less reliance on big meetings round a table usually in London. At the same time electric powered transport is being developed not only for cars and small buses but even for aeroplanes. The focus will be on journey times from home, now often the office, to venues for many fewer physical meetings likely to be held in out of town venues or close to small regional airports. Inter City connections will not give any time saving for such journeys. Much as the mid 20th Century saw the decline of railways as we took to the Motorways, so the 21st will see the decline of InterCity as we take to InterNet. The Future Politicians of all parties aspire to leave a legacy. That of the present generation is currently set to be a transport system mismatched with the needs of a post Coronavirus society. The cost would be: * a massive increase in debt at a time when debt will already be almost overwhelming; * the destruction of ancient woodland and desecration of nature; * the risk of increasing the spread of Covid-19 from workers arriving on site for HS2 in close knit groups as has already been reported. * the risk of jeopardising the improvement of rail links in the North of England in the event of an overspend on the current HS2 budget. Planning should start for the infrastucture needed in the world to which we are now moving. This should include major improvements to local or regional rail links in the North of England but it will not include the HS2 project which should now be cancelled or at the very least deferred.

We deserve it we put our lives on the line and family at ridk

GMB Grassroots Left* is launching this petition to demand an investigation into the allegations and events surrounding the General Secretary’s recent resignation. The inept handling and reporting of the allegations testify that the GMB is not capable of conducting an investigation into its own organisation. In order to guarantee the probity of such an investigation, it must be conducted by an independent external agency to ensure no vested interest can influence the necessary action with the central objective of establishing the facts of the allegations, the events surrounding the former General Secretary’s decision and the subsequent actions of the union Executive. The terms of reference of such an investigation must include providing investigating agency with the authority to follow whatever direction it deems necessary to meet the above objectives. Central to the success of the investigation will be to provide staff affected by or privy to knowledge of the events a safe space to come forward and provide input to the investigation without fear of reprisal or victimisation. In order to guarantee transparency and the independence of the investigation, we also demand that any agency or committee to which the investigation reports includes lay membership representation. As an association of lay members, GMB Grassroots Left requests membership of such an agency or committee. The events of this issue call into question credibility and integrity of the GMB. The patent and suspicious mishandling undermines the standing of the whole trade union movement and affects all those activists ad members who adhere to and value the union movement. Therefore, we call on all GMB and trade union members and activists to sign, support and share this petition and support the call for a robust and transparent investigation to : • deliver practical recommendations • identify any wrongdoing that has occurred • acknowledge failures in managing allegations • attribute responsibility • deliver workplace justice and • provide recommendations to mitigate against future undermining of trade union ethics and principles. * GMB Grassroots Left is a rank and file organisation committed to transform the union from being a top-down institution, run like a business, into a member led bottom-up organisation, where members decide and the union apparatus provides the service it is employed to provide.

Devon County Council should issue environmental guidance for all towns, parishes and landowners to stop the constant mowing, strimming, flailing and pesticide spraying carried out all over the county in the name of 'tidiness'. Devon County Council should ensure that all Devon hedges, banks and verges are treated as wildlife and wildplant havens and cared for as a precious environmental resource. At first glance, Devon looks green and thriving but the hedges are flailed to extinction, the fields are monocultures of grass, the verges cut indiscriminately. Devon is a largely rural county and has a huge role to play in increasing environmental diversity and preventing the decline and destruction of nature. Most individuals and organisations that own or manage the natural landscape in Devon do so for reasons other than to care for nature. We urgently need strong policy and guidance from the County Council to to prevent the ongoing decline and disappearance of native species. We need strong leadership and sanctions to give nature a chance. The way the natural environment is managed can be so much better, if only we had proper guidance from those who have the power to make this change.

BA has announced plans to lay off up to 12,000 employees, despite already having suspended more than 22,000 under the UK Government's furlough scheme. This affects a huge number of long term staff. Trade unions have described the redundancies as "an act of smash and grab opportunism", "a huge blow" and "irresponsible, dangerous and destructive". If everyone reading this signs the petition then we can show BA that now is not the time to lay off loyal staff or make the remaining ones sign inferior contracts

This requirement can prevent children, pedestrians, wheelchair users, cyclists and others from being able to move around safely in their local area due to a lack of infrastructure. Essential path upgrades and new paths cannot be constructed as only 50% of the cost is provided by the funder. The remaining 50% must be match funded and has to be found by other means which are often unavailable or don’t exist at all. This is a massive obstacle to enabling sustainable travel in Scotland.