Saturday, March 12, 2005

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Friday, February 17, 2012

A fatal accident inquiry concluded three patients who underwent keyhole surgery to remove their gall bladders died as a result of mistakes during, and after, the operations. Agnes Nicol, George Johnstone, and Andrew Ritchie died within a three-month period in 2006 whilst in the care of NHS Lanarkshire in Scotland.

Later expanded to look at all three deaths, the inquiry initially established to look into the case of Nicol, 50, who received surgery in late 2005. A surgeon at Wishaw General Hospital mistakenly cut her bile duct and her right hepatic artery. Whilst suturing her portal vein, her liver was left with 20% of its normal blood supply; the errors were not discovered until her transfer to liver specialists at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary.

By then, her liver was seriously damaged. She developed septicaemia, dying from multiple organ failure in March 2006.

Johnstone, 54, underwent the same procedure at Monklands District General Hospital on May 9, 2006. A consultant surgeon accidentally damaged, possibly severing, his bile duct. He died two days later in intensive care from the combined effects of multiple organ failure and a heart ailment.

Ritchie, 62, died in intensive care a week after an operation in June 2006. He died from intra abdominal haemorrhage caused by errors during the surgery.

Different surgeons were involved each time and the inquiry, under Sheriff Robert Dickson, found no evidence of poor training or inadequate experience. Dickson noted that in each case there was lack of action on a “growing body of evidence that there was something fundamentally wrong with the patient” and surgeons failed to contemplate their own actions as potentially responsible. He agreed with two professors that it may have been possible to save their lives “had the post-operative care been to the standard which they expected, and had there been a proper management plan which staff could have worked to” and noted that all the patients suffered from a lack of adequate medical notes being available after their surgery. He described the care as having “clear faults”.

NHS Lanarkshire has issued an apology, saying they “did fall below the high standards of care we aim to maintain in these cases and this has been extremely distressing for the patients’ families. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to them.” The health board added improvements had been made regarding “these types of cases” as well as with document management.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Erica Powell OBE, who was the Private Secretary to Kwame Nkrumah, President of Ghana and later to Siaka Stevens, President of Sierra Leone, died last month at the age of 86. She died at Peterborough on June 5, 2007. She was made an MBE in 1958 and OBE in 1960.

Erica was born on March 15, 1921 at Brighton in Sussex England into a middle class family. She trained as a secretary and then as a teacher. She worked with Barclays Bank during World War II. She was the top candidate in the 1940 London Chamber of Commerce Shorthand and Typewriting exams.

In February 1952, the Crown Agents for the Colonies offered her the position of “Private Secretary (Female)/Gold Coast” which later became the title of her autobiography. She ended up working as the Private Secretary to the Governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Charles Arden-Clarke. While working for the Governor, she became a close friend and confidant of Kwame Nkrumah, then bidding for Ghana’s independence from the United Kingdom. Her closeness to Nkrumah led to her being dismissed in 1954 and being sent back to the UK.

Powell returned in January 1955 to work for Kwame Nkrumah, a position she held till 1965, a year before his overthrow. Her close relationship and loyalty to Nkrumah bred a lot of rumours both in Ghana and the UK. It also brought a lot of resentment from various quarters. She kept in contact with Nkrumah while he was in exile in Guinea until his death in April, 1972.

She later worked for Siaka Stevens as his private secretary from 1970 to 1979. She attended Nkrumah’s funeral in 1972 as part of the official Sierra Leone delegation.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Buffalo, New York —12 firefighters in Buffalo, New York, United States have been taken to the hospital where they are being treated for smoke and chemical inhalation after a massive fire broke out at a warehouse on Buffalo’s west side, early Monday morning. At least three fire companies started battling the blaze, which engulfed the entire warehouse, sending a plume of smoke into the air which could be seen for several miles, at one point darkening the sky. All 12 firefighters are being treated at Erie County Medical Center, but their conditions are not known. At least 80 firefighters were reported to be on scene along with a total of nine of the 19 fire companies in Buffalo. Firefighters were still on scene as of 9:15 a.m. EDT (UTC-4) today, nearly 24 hours after the fire started.

The fire started at the Leisure Living Pool Supplies warehouse at 1130 Niagara street between West Ferry and Albany streets behind the Rich Products building at around 10:30 a.m. Monday and was not brought under control until 6:30 a.m. today. The warehouse is three floors tall. Firefighters had the fire under control just before 12:00 p.m. Monday, but wind off Lake Erie reignited the fire at around 3:00 p.m. At around 7:00 p.m., most of the blaze was under control, but smoke could still be seen coming from the building. All employees from both Rich’s and the chemical company have been sent home for the day and made it out safely. The building is owned by PoolSupplies.com which is a division of Leisure Living, selling supplies, recreation and chemicals for swimming pools. Leisure Living is a company of Island Pools.

At 9:00 p.m., firefighters reported that most of the fire was contained under the collapsed portions of the building, but around 10:00 p.m. firefighters reported that more thick black smoke started to rise from the building. Black smoke usually indicates burning, whereas white smoke often indicates water putting out a fire. Firefighters are using a helicopter, courtesy of the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, that is equipped with infrared cameras in order to see the areas of the building which still contain a significant amount of heat or fire.

After having fought the fire for over 24 hours, fire officials stated that the fire was mostly extinguished and ordered fire companies to start shutting down the hoses and pack up their equipment. Just before 1:00 p.m. the fire command post stated that fire investigators were on scene and that “they can call us (firefighters) back if they need anything.”

Officials have urged all residents near the blaze to stay indoors and to shut all windows and doors due to the smoke which has been blowing close to the ground. At least one civilian who was inside a park at the foot of Ferry was also taken to the hospital for smoke and chemical inhalation. Officials were able to evacuate the park and no other injuries were reported. At one point, the sun was blocked by the black smoke rising from the building.

“The fire reignited again sometime this afternoon. It appears it reignited due to the earlier collapse of the roof and the winds off the lake. Right now, one thing fire officials would like to get out and stress is anyone in and around the Niagara and Ferry area, if you could please go indoors, and shut your doors,” stated Michael DeGeorge, a spokesman for the Buffalo Police Department, to reporters. DeGeorge also stated that no residents have been evacuated.

The northbound lane of the I-190 expressway, which lies just to the west of the warehouse, was closed at the Porter Street exit at the Peace Bridge to the exit leading to the 198 expressway for several hours. At 11:15 p.m., firefighters stated they would begin to reopen the lane. Niagara street from Albany to West Ferry reopened to normal traffic in the late morning hours of Tuesday.

Throughout Monday afternoon and early evening, employees of Marco’s Restaurant on Niagara and Albany were providing ice and beverages to firefighters and police officers who were on scene. Temperatures were quite warm, in the upper 70’s (F), with winds gusting to nearly 15-20 MPH, coming out of the southwest. Although the wind assisted in reigniting the fire, it also assisted firefighters by quickly clearing the area of smoke.

The warehouse is a storage and distribution facility for pool chemicals, especially chlorine. Chemical drops could be felt flying through the air, which also had the smell of bleach. According to a source who spoke to Wikinews on condition of anonymity, the warehouse contained over US$8 million in supplies and chemicals.

Earlier tests performed on the air by firefighters and Haz-mat officials had shown that the smoke and fumes rising from the fire are not dangerous or toxic. Further tests were performed, but those results are not yet known and officials don’t believe there was any danger to the air. Officials will testing the water runoff from fire hoses to make sure that it is not contaminated as it is emptying into the Niagara River. The warehouse is located just down stream from a drinking water pumping station with several more scattered along the River from Buffalo to Niagara Falls.

The cause of the fire is not known and is under investigation. Last year, on May 14, 2007, at least five buildings that were part of a warehouse complex about 1/3 of a mile from Leisure caught fire, and required nearly 130 firefighters to battle the blaze. Smoke from that fire was seen over 40 miles away.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Supreme Court in Lausanne, Switzerland has ruled that Texas hold ’em poker is a game of luck, rather than a game of skill. As a result, only casinos can host poker tournaments in Switzerland. Private games with friends, even where money is at stake, are still permitted under the ruling.

Poker tournaments had been growing in popularity in the country, with many events held in hotels and bars. Such venues do not have to pay the 50% tax on profits levied on licensed casinos, nor comply with regulations combating money laundering and gambling addiction. Poker is now categorised alongside roulette and slot machines, which as games of luck can only be played inside casinos. Mathematics, strategy, and bluffing were less important in determining the result than chance, said the judges, overturning a lower court ruling to the opposite effect, and disagreeing with the stance of the country’s Federal Gaming Commission.

Before the ruling, it had been estimated by the Swiss Federation of Casinos that there were about 100 unlicensed poker tournaments every weekend. A Swiss poker website, SwissPokerTour.ch, has described the result as “a black day for all amateur poker players in Switzerland.”