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Wednesday 24 September 2014

EX RBKC OFFICER ON THAMESBROOK

Every so often" Worked at RBKC" writes a commentary on topics the Hornet's Nest has written about.

Only the likes of Matthew Palmer could ever say they were not balanced and fair. 
Sometimes WARBKC will round on the Dame if he/she think she is being unfair so this latest comment deserves to be taken as being pretty balanced......


It's a pity that Thamesbrook has been closed, it used to offer excellent care and was a very well managed home with an excellent staff team.

Not long after she was appointed to RBKC I had the misfortune to meet Stella Baillie. In conversation I said something about the portfolio of services for older people she had inherited and how good they were. She looked at me in horror and said she would be closing them all as soon as possible. I was shocked and asked why you would want to close something that was good, had an excellent reputation and performed well and her response was that councils didn't provide services, they were too much trouble for someone like her and she would be getting rid of them. 

Over some years I watched her do just that, picking them off one at a time, day centres, homes, supported housing, home care and then there was only Thamesbrook which was the jewel in the crown left. 

She let that fall in to a state of decay, failed to appoint an appropriate manager when a long standing one left and standards fell. She then brought back the manager who had closed Edenham for her with a remit to close Thamesbrook, that failed and the manager left RBKC saying there were no grounds to close an excellent home.

Finally the legionella lie as it should be known was invented. Legionella in drinking water?? Did they not do their research properly? It only occurs in stored water and any drinking supply is mains fed. Even it it is in stored water it is only a hazard in vapour in for example a shower as any hotel manager will tell you. If the shower is used regularly and the system cleaned it is not a hazard at all. 

If there was legionella in the drinking water in Dovehouse Street it was a worldwide first and surely Dovehouse Street residents and the Royal Brompton would have been affected too? Surely this new threat to well being could not have been only confined to Thamesbrook which conveniently Stella Baillie had a long term ambition to close? In any event, as before legionella does not occur in mains water supplies which are too cold for it to survive in so the 'legionella lie' is exactly what it was. 

At least one head should roll but surely too should those of the councillors stupid enough to be taken in by this, have they forgotten their responsibility to question and scrutinise? Or did they not have the intelligence to do that?

It's very sad that a public body can lie so blatently and no doubt they will continue to get away with it. I'm more glad every day that I'm not there any more.



11 comments:

  1. So if Ms Baillie was appointed to run services which she has closed down, does she have a job left? No doubt the next scandal will be her bonus for succeeding followed by a gold plated early retirement package. You really couldn't make it up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder if dear Stella will finish up working as a 'Senior' Consultant within Bradley's "Shameworks4Shamen" set up - just like the "Flexible, Curious & Welcoming" Jullia Patton ?

      I wonder how team Bradley would attempt to describe Stella Baillie's attributes - "Obdurate, Opportunistic and Ice Cold ??

      Will it all lead to a gold plated early retirement package from RBK&C, along with a 'Golden Leg-up' from some property developer or compassion guru.

      You really couldn't make it up !

      Delete
  2. she was appointed to close the services. Get real!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RBKC Cpuncil Tax Payer25 September 2014 at 17:47

      Do I detect a trade union official supporting the closure of services and the loss of jobs? How very bizarre to find support but of course RBKC has also always allowed excessive facility time where tax payers pay for trade union staff to do union work instead of their jobs.

      Presumably Baillie funds your post from savings from closure of services?

      Hypocrisy, again.

      Delete
    2. Matthew, don't be so silly - unionman was being ironic.

      Delete
  3. This legionella diversion is a joke. A very bad joke.

    Kensington is full of 100 year old Mansion Blaocks with central water supply systems. Every year the water systems need to be tested for legionella (simple test). In the rare instance when contamination is found it is easily and quickly eradicated by a simple and inexpensive chemical treatment (30 minutes).

    Find me one Mansion Block in Kensington inhabited by well off bankers and the wealthy that has been vacated because of legionella........

    This is a pathetic diversion by Baillie and her ilk to shroud an utterly dishonest and devious strategy. The Conservatives have much to answer for - they have killed democracy in the Royal Borough and built an edifice of corrupt robber Barons in the pockets of property developers,

    ReplyDelete
  4. Social care in Kensington and Chelsea is fast becoming the 'Rackman' of the Social care world.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your blog gets bigger and much better every posts.

    Tenders in South Africa & Online Tenders south Africa

    ReplyDelete
  6. In this article we get some truth about the severity of the legionella problem indicating it was a lie:

    http://www.kcwtoday.co.uk/news/local-news/13v1qarqac.html

    "Dr Jane Tinkler, MD of Advance Environmental Ltd, a water management company for many major central London hospitals and care homes, believes the closure seems drastic. ’This seems very unusual,’ she said, ‘in the eighteen years I’ve been managing outbreaks of Legionella in health care facilities, I’ve never had to close a care home or hospital. The Health and Safety Executive provide very clear guidance in their L8 document."

    We also learn more about the inhumanity with which the closure was carried out and people who lived there were parcelled off to other accomodation without a second thought or any element of choice.

    One day we will all be old, God help us.

    I wonder how many of those people who were forcibly moved out are still alive. I doubt a FOI request would get us anywhere.

    Councillor Dent-Coad, if you're reading this, can you get any answers?


    ReplyDelete
  7. Private care homes are cheaper because they have ridiculously low staffing levels and only pay minimum wage

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks WorkedatRBK&C.

    The press release is absolutely staggering.... the bare faced lie-mongering of a lowly PR Team just shows how deep the canker has spread within Hornton Street.

    It seems all who work within the Town Hall are now being debased, corrupted or expected to be 'economical with the truth' - is there no one within the structure who will stand-up to such an abuse of power, rank, money or privilege ?

    K&C really clearly fast becoming the 'Rackman' of Local Government & Services and I am reminded of the old adage - the fish always rots from the head downward.

    I fear the stench of rotting fish coming from OUR Town Hall has become overpowering - It's time to call it a day dear Councillors & Officers, the game is up.

    ReplyDelete

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