Re: Your views on immigration
 

Thanks Claire that is really interesting! I will keep that link.

I don't know for certain but I wonder if the reason they are not using it is that individual GPs have to pay eventually - atm RAD supplies Interpreters and AFAIK I think the local PCT pays the bill. I shall of course be fowarding that link to her GP surgery :mrgreen:

As there is such a shortage I looked into to becoming a qualified BSL interpreter - years of complex training and very costly too! I'd be at retirement age before I qualified :rolleyes:

Re: Your views on immigration
 

Personally... I reckon that most of the problems we call "immigrant problems" aren't really immigrant problems. Speedyclaire points up the unfairness of immigrants sometimes getting access to services that needy natives don't, which is bang out of order- but that's not an immigrant issue, that's a social policy issue. And there's no reason at all we should be choosing between helping one group of people or helping another- instead of saying "Why do these immigrants get better than british people, let's take it away from them", what's so hard about saying "lets give the british people more"? Even now, we can afford it. The first reaction is always to drag people down to the same level instead of hauling other people up.

Likewise, "stealing our jobs"- the NHS in most of the country is completely dependant on importing labour... NOT an immigrant problem. But, where it goes wrong is that instead of training people to fill the roles, we import people to fill the roles, because it fills the hole now- but you end up using a temporary fix forever, and never filling the hole yourself.

Up until the downturn started, the FMB were *****ing bricks about the prospect of polish builders being lured somewhere else- again, overdependance on immigrants. Which is OK today, since the job needs done today not in 2 years when someone finishes their apprentice, but it gives you a permanent skill gap.

But again, not an immigrant problem, they're not creating the skills and labour gaps, they're just making it possible for us to not fix them properly.

And of course there's the social problems of immigrant communities... Ghettoisation and cultural seperatism really are a problem, everyone knows this, even multiculturalists like me. Just look at ex-pat communities in spain or turkey, they're all mental. Or northern irish protestants in scotland, where you see the classic polarisation of belief and intolerance. Or british oil workers in saudi. They all have more or less the same problems as pakistanis in bradford frexample. And they're big problems.

But... There are ways of dealing with it. Diversity is IMO, on the whole, a good thing, you get a broader cultural pool, a wider scope of opinion and culture and art and restaurants- I like curry- and innovation and approach. But diversity and seperatism and balkanism are all very close together, and it's hard to get it right. And it's hard to respect difference without being ruled by difference, and we don't get that right enough either. But that doesn't mean you give up, and throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The bottom line is that up til now, immigration's been financially good for us. This caused a bit of upset last time I said it, but immigration doesn't cost us a penny, it's a net gain for the UK. I could give you figures from the government or Glover or the Economist or from Phillippe Legrain or similiar but naturally, skeptics would dismiss them so instead, i'll give you figures from Immigration Watch, who're a far-right, BNP-affiliated anti-immigration pressure group. Even THEY admit that Britain profits from immigration. When even the enemies of something admit it has benefits, then that's pretty much case proven.

But that doesn't mean there's not problems, I just don't think they're ever insurmountable "immigrant problems", they're smaller individual problems which can be tackled, if we want. Treating it like a huge unsolvable issue, or trying to solve UK citizens' issues by punishing other people, is IMO not helpful or productive.

Anyway. I'm a known argumentative internet addict, and I don't want to get drawn into the same arguments AGAIN :mrgreen: So, the question is "what are your views on migration", there they are. It brings benefits we can use and problems we can fix.

Re: Your views on immigration
 

Firstly good on you for wanting to take an active role and become an interpreter. Secondly yes the PCT should and will be expected to fund the cost of a BSL interpreter. Under the Disability Discrimination Act NHS Trusts are required to demonstrate that they are actively supporting The Disability Equality Duty (DED) the DED covers the full range of what public sector organisations do – including services that are delivered to the public.

It basically means that our NHS trusts and local PCT`s are required by law to ensure that disabled people do not come across discrimination when, for example, using a service.

It took 2 months and a lot of manpower to find an interpreter for my lady requiring an assessment. The reason it took so long is that her particular chinese dialect was an extremely old and rarely used dialect. However the PCT found one.... I would put it to your PCT that if one PCT could take 2 months to find this interpreter and fund the costs in order to carry out a thorough and precise assessment on a lady with communication problems then you expect and demand that they fund the cost of a BSL interpreter and if you don`t gain satisfaction that you will be making a complaint citing the Disability Discrimination Act.

Re: Your views on immigration
 

Yep. I'm just disappointed that noone seems to have read the Daily Mash article I posted :(

Re: Your views on immigration
 

Hi Claire, I wont be doing it because the job involves a lot of countrywide travel which I cannot do due to my health, and also I could never afford the training which is extensive and expensive. (Im already doing an OU degree)

You have to jump through hoops to get what you are entitled to and I ran out of steam years ago (she is 23) but I plod on and gradually get things sorted - (we're practically on first name terms with our MP ;) ) - if only I could get back pay for the hours I've put in I'd be a wealthy woman ;)