Tag Archives: Government

Dispicable blood ban must be lifted in Northern Ireland

Health Minister urges people to give blood

The DUP Health Minister urging as many as possible to give blood within a month of taking office. Photo from DUP Flickr page

Once again, Northern Ireland lags behind progress in the rest of the United Kingdom. The health minister at Stormont, Edwin Poots MLA of the DUP has said that he will not be rushed on lifting the ban on gay men giving blood. Last October, he was quizzed by the health committee in the Northern Ireland Assembly and told them,

I am not going to be rushed, pushed or harassed on an issue that is about public safety

The Minister continued to state his position:

We are not west Brits here: we are Northern Ireland, and we are a devolved Administration. We receive advice, and we have civil servants and others to give us advice. I am not some direct rule Minister. I am in charge here, and I make the decisions. I will seek to do that within the law, I will seek to do what is right for the population that I serve and I will give due consideration to everything.

The Minister, may be doing everything he can within the law, but does his reasoning actually stand up to tests? Stephen Glenn of the NI Liberal Democrats argues otherwise. Even before the Minister gave evidence to the health committee, Stephen said:

If the Minister is still contemplating his decision after his rather final words in Spetember (sic) we should applaud him for doing so. But like too much LGBT legislation in Northern Ireland we don’t want the devolved powers to kick it into the long grass hoping that people will forget about it, only for central government to force it through. Let’s have some action after all the Belfast Agreement says that all policy should be tested against LGBT criteria among others.

Now, I am a gay man who is not able to give blood. For a very simple reason: I am living with HIV. However, while I may not give blood and for a very, very good reason, I see no reason why Northern Ireland should be lagging behind the rest of the UK on this issue.

The advice given by NHS Blood and Transplant (for England & North Wales) says:

You should never give blood if:
* You have ever had syphilis, HTLV (Human T – lymphotropic virus), HIV or hepatitis C.
* You’ve ever worked as a prostitute.
* You’ve ever injected yourself with drugs – even once.

You should not give blood for 12 months after sex with:
* A man (if you’re a male). Men who have had anal or oral sex with another man (with or without a condom) are deferred from blood donation for 12 months.
* A man who has had sex with another man (if you’re a female).
* A prostitute.
* Anyone who has ever injected themselves with drugs.
* Anyone with haemophilia or a related blood clotting disorder who has received clotting factor concentrates.
* Anyone of any race who has been sexually active in parts of the world where AIDS/HIV is very common. This includes countries in Africa.

Here in Northern Ireland, it is difficult to find any advice on the NI Blood Transfusion Service website. Certainly, I have not been able to find any… Perhaps the NIBTS is as embarrassed by the Minister’s stance as I am.

National Union of Students-Union of Students i...

National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This week, Northern Ireland’s students are being asked to come on board with putting more pressure on Edwin Poots to live this ban. Many of us know that NUS-USI campaigns on many issues, not just student-related ones. The organisation articulates the views of students on many issues including delivering fairness and equality in society. Speaking ahead of this year’s conference, President of NUS-USI Adrianne Peltz has said:

For a ban to exist on gay men giving blood is an absolute disgrace as it flies in the face of equality and fairness. Think of the appalling message that this ban sends out. The fact that this blood donation ban is being lifted elsewhere but still exists here brings shame on Northern Ireland.

For government to fail to lift the ban would be scandalous. As well as this being a key equality issue, we also need more blood donors here and this is literally a matter of life and death for a significant number of people in Northern Ireland.

NUS-USI LGBT Officer, Chris Geddis, said:

We need to see this ban overturned immediately and we will keep the pressure on the Minister until he delivers fairness on this issue. Government must reflect on what having this ban says to the rest of the world about Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland simply must be a society that has equality and respect for everyone, and this ban must be removed as a matter of urgency.

Anyone who wants to put pressure on the Minister, should write to:

Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Room C5.10
Castle Buildings
Stormont Estate
Belfast
BT4 3SQ

You can telephone the Minister’s Private Secretary on 028 9052 0643
Alternatively you can email the Private Office at private.office@dhsspsni.gov.uk
Related articles
Leave a Comment

April 16, 2012 0 Comments Short URL , , , , , , , , , Blogging, blood ban, Health, LGBT

from a secret edge to a memorial for living…

I have quite a lot of reading to do for the study that I have begun. For those that don’t know, I’ve started a Law course with The Open University. Today, I submitted the second assignment, but I am digressing…


However, A Secret Edge is not part of the required reading for my law course, it is a short novel written by Robin Reardon. At only 19 chapters and 258 pages for me it was easy to read in a morning, well an evening in bed and a morning after finishing the assignment.

I’m not going to spoil the story so to read it you will have to buy it, as what hit me about it was the dedication.

For Jody Thomas 1951–1993

Robin goes on to explain who Jody was.

In 1983, across a table at a New York City sidewalk café, my friend Jody Thomas told me in hushed tones about the “gay plague.” I’d never heard of it before. Neither of us knew then that within ten years it would claim him.

Jody made me believe that, for him, gay pride was not pride in being gay but pride in being himself.

Jody, this is my square in the quilt for you.

As I lay in bed, next to my husband, I started to cry. I think I was wondering what would be the square in the quilt for those others, positive like me, who have lived and continue to live with HIV in Northern Ireland.

A simple book, that I bought off Amazon, as a bit of light reading, has started me thinking. There is no memorial to those who have lived with HIV in Northern Ireland. At least, not one in a public place where anyone can go. There is The HIV Support Centre, without which many of us would not have lived. But there is no public memorial, nowhere for us and our friends to be remembered as part of the community.

In my head, it is a simple stone in a public park, which can have the full capacity of life being celebrated and lived around it. Anyone else think the same as me? Anyone else think we can achieve this? Anyone else want to work with me to make an Memorial to those who have lived with HIV in Northern Ireland a reality? If you do… please leave a comment, and I will contact you.

originally posted on positive hivblogger.

Leave a Comment

March 23, 2012 0 Comments Short URL , , , , , , , Blogging, Books, HIV, Northern Ireland

It really would try the patience of a saint…

60-pounds

It’s has happened again. What? I hear you ask. Nothing simpler than another occasion in which those in Lib Dem HQ in London forget about us in Northern Ireland.

It is often said to me that the Lib Dems don’t make policy on issues affecting Northern Ireland only – that is on issues devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Last time I looked, taxation was not one of them. It may be in the future, but at present it is not.

So why, does Tim Gordon’s great new website asking us what we would do with £60 extra in every month, not allow people from Northern Ireland to answer? (more…)

Leave a Comment

March 14, 2012 0 Comments Short URL , , , , , , Lib Dems

Is the Executive so tight that they cannot find £5000?

Logo of the Northern Ireland Executive

Can the Executive not find £5000? Image via Wikipedia

I was interested to notice that cancer patients in Northern Ireland are among those benefiting from a payment from the Northern Ireland Executive of a one-off winter fuel payment. Apparently this is because their immune systems are somewhat suppressed and they need to stay warm.

£5000 is not much in the overall budget of the Northern Ireland Executive. At least you would not think that it is. Yet this relatively small amount of money is all that it would take to extend the payment of the winter fuel payment to one group of people who could really benefit from it.

This group of people is made up of people who, like the cancer patients who are receiving the winter fuel payment, have suppressed or compromised immune systems. Yet, the cause of their immunosuppression is not one that seems very popular. We’re only just over a week from the Health Minister championing their cause, yet the Executive has ignored them in this payment.

I am sure that there are many fewer people living with HIV and receiving care in Northern Ireland than those receiving cancer treatment. According to latest statistics, it is suggested that the number is just under 500. Surely the Northern Ireland Executive could find £5,000 to pay the one-off winter fuel payment to these people as well.

All this takes is a bit of joined up thinking from those on the hill in Stormont. Is £5,000 really too much to ask?

Leave a Comment

December 12, 2011 0 Comments Short URL , , , , , , APNI, Belfast, DUP, HIV, news, Northern Ireland life, politics, poverty, SDLP, Sinn Féin, UUP

Bikeability – when will we get it in Northern Ireland?

It’s not a difficult thing to follow – the Highway Code – it is easily available from booksellers up and down the country, and even on the Internet nowadays. But it seems that many, many people are totally ignorant of its contents.

In the last number of weeks I have heard of, and not just heard, nay I have observed many breaches of its contents. I wish that it were not just the drivers of motor vehicles that were at fault, but it is those who curse our pavements with their presence: the cyclists.

I feel sure that there really is some need for a real test of proficiency before cyclists are allowed out on the public roads. In the past, many people took the Cycle Proficiency Test when at school. However, that test has been superseded by the new Bikeability awards run in England and Wales, and also in Scotland. However, as far as I am aware, there is no such test being run in Northern Ireland.

My personal main gripe is seeing cyclists cycling on a pavement. I understand that there are some pavements which are shared by pedestrians and cyclists: this is not the general rule. Cyclists should normally be on the roadway, sharing the space with other vehicles. All too often many cyclists are cycling on a pavement, neither with lights nor reflective gear. This is truly hazardous.

Cycling is helpful to all of us in our society, when due care and attention is taken. The health benefits are clear, it will help to reduce the number of motor vehicles on our roads, and this would help to ensure our city and town centres move more freely. But we desperately need investment from cycling organisations, as well as the Northern Ireland Executive in schemes that promote safe cycling. I therefore ask, what are we doing about introducing Bikeability to Northern Ireland? Will the Minister for Regional Development, Danny Kennedy MLA, please consult with his counterparts in Great Britain? Perhaps there could be partnership with the Department of Education as well?

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Leave a Comment

December 5, 2011 1 Comment Short URL , , , , , , , , Blogging, Health, Northern Ireland life, politics, UUP

Older Entries