Dundee-born astronomer with a lunar crater named in her honour

Marlyn Glen, is highlighting in this, the International Year of Astronomy ,the work of a Dundee-born astronomer who has a crater on the Moon named in honour of her work.

Ms. Glen is tabling a motion asking the Scottish Parliament to acclaim the work of Williamina Fleming, in the late 19th. and early 20th . century in the classification of stars.

Ms. Glen said,

" Williamina Fleming’s work has carried her to where no Dundonian has gone before - from pupil-teacher to the far side of the Moon.

" The prestigious recognition of having a lunar crater named in her honour acknowledges her exceptional achievements. "

Ms. Glen is tabling a motion in the Scottish Parliament in honour of her work which reads:
This Parliament celebrates in this, the International Year of Astronomy, the outstanding contribution made to the study of astronomy by Williamina Fleming, born in Dundee in 1857; notes her remarkable work in cataloguing over 10,000 stars, discovering 59 gaseous nebulae, over 310 variable stars, 10 novae; and notes with great pleasure that she shares the distinction of having the Fleming crater on the Moon named jointly after Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, and herself.
Ms. Glen added that she planned to highlight the work of other astronomers from Dundee during this International Year of Astronomy.

View larger image of Marlyn Glen with Williamina Fleming


Williamina Fleming's Wikipedia entry

Single rooms in all new hospitals : "No guarantee of new cash," says MSP

Marlyn Glen said today that she had received " no guarantee" from Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon that NHS Tayside would receive new additional money specifically for carrying out the SNP Government’s policy of providing single rooms in all new-build and in mostly refurbished hospitals.

In reply to a letter from Ms. Glen, Ms. Sturgeon said :

"All NHS Boards receive an annual allocation of funds.

"It is for each NHS Health Board to determine how best to utilise these funds to meet the needs of resident population, taking account of national and local priorities."

New hospitals are to have solely single rooms , and refurbished wards at least 50 per cent single beds.

Ms. Glen written to Ms. Sturgeon on the increased cost of the effect in the changes of design, the implications for increases in staffing costs, and the effect this would have on the budgets of health boards such as NHS Tayside.


Ms. Glen said,

"While the Minister admits to increases in costs, there is no corresponding commitment to increases in funding from the SNP Government to pay for them.

" The provision of single rooms in hospital will assist in helping to control the spread of infection.

" They are part of a larger prevention and control regime for tackling Healthcare Acquired Infection."

The DEC video that the BBC won't screen

Single click on the video below to view it

Poverty Pledge

Marlyn and Labour North of Scotland MSP colleague, Richard Baker, signed the Poverty Pledge in the Scottish Parliament (link to photographs )

The Pledge is part of the Get Fair Scotland campaign and reads :

The Poverty Pledge

GET FAIR Scotland 2009

As the leaders of the political parties represented in the Scottish Parliament and other elected representatives in Scotland:

We hold that the current number of people in Scotland living in poverty, 950,000 or nearly 1 in 5 of the population, is wholly unacceptable.
We believe that the reduction of poverty must be a shared key objective of Governments in London and Edinburgh.
We recognise that the current economic crisis threatens to push more Scots into poverty and acknowledge that Government responses must include specific measures to protect those most at risk.

We endorse the aims of GET FAIR and believe that an increase in income adequacy will be an essential part of the package of measures necessary to achieve a major reduction in poverty.

We undertake to use, or support the use of, all policy powers available to the Governments of Scotland and the UK to meet poverty reduction targets.

We reaffirm our commitment to end child poverty by 2020 and to end Fuel Poverty for all households by 2016.

Humanitarian crisis in Gaza : donate through the DEC

You can donate to the appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee ( http://www.dec.org.uk/ )


through this link : http://www.dec.org.uk/donate_now







The terrible situation in Gaza is described at :

http://www.dec.org.uk/item/200

and at Oxfam's Gaza blog :

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/applications/blogs/pressoffice/?tag=gazablog



Online photographic collections of living conditions can be viewed at :

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/emergencies/gaza_gallery.html


and on the DEC collection on Flickr :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/disastersemergencycommittee/sets/72157612866135964/

The www.White House

Barack Obama entered the White House this week, having already stated that he would be using using online communication to govern in the same way as he used it to win the US Presidential election. ( single click on the video below to view it )

The online network of supporters that he built up during the campaign remains intact .

His election campaign produced over 1,100 videos which had a combined total number of viewings of 52 million.

Here's a few that caught the eye :
30-minute video/TV ad American stories (single click on the video below to view it)

A fun one, magnificent electronic trickery as John McCain’s Republican convention is interrupted by the appearance of Obama on the back screen dancing to Rick Astley’s 1980s "Never Gonna Give You Up" (single click on the video below to watch it)







So well organised were the Obama campaign that in remote rural areas they had supporters who went out to canvass for Obama on horseback. (single click on the video below to watch it)



It’s no exaggeration to say that his use of the Internet and online communication has changed the face of American election campaigning .

It’s no exaggeration to say that it’ll be coming here sooner rather than later.

Jim Murphy's visit to Dundee

Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy's blog records his visit to Dundee yesterday ( Friday).

As ever, he's an enthusiastic spokesperson for the city's skills and expertise :

http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/secretary-of-state-blog/?p=116

Barack Obama's inauguration speech

Watch Barack Obama's inaugural speech

Scrap Hospital Car Parking Charges - Paul Martin's Bill

12th. January 2009

Marlyn Glen is offering her full support to Paul Martin's Bill that, if passed, would see an end to the car parking charges at Ninewells Hospital that the SNP Government refused to remove.

Download the papers for his consultation on his Bill to scrap the charges

Marlyn Glen is supporting this Bill that would scrap car parking charges at Ninewells hospitals

MSP praises NHS Tayside staff for reduction in superbug count

15 January 2009

Marlyn Glen today praised the work of NHS Tayside’s infection control team in reducing the current level of incidence of the superbug MRSA in hospitals to its lowest level since January 2003.

The number of instances recorded of MRSA in the July-September quarter was 8.

In the comparable quarter last year, the figure was 25, and it has fallen in every successive quarter since.

Offering her congratulations, Ms. Glen said,

" The NHS staff have displayed the true spirit of public service in what Health Protection
Scotland are calling ‘a significant reduction’ in the NHS Tayside figures in the latest quarter."

The number of C difficile associated disease cases (CDAD) in July-September last year , 123, was the lowest figure found for any quarter in the 12-month period ending in that September.

The number of cases of CDAD fell from 580 in 2006/07 to 542 in 2007/08.

The rate of CDAD fell from 1.46 to 1.33 per 1000 total occupied bed days (OBDs) in the same period for those aged 65 and over.

Ms. Glen is also backing Labour plans which aim to cut the number of C difficile infections by half by March 2011.

These include :

Crash programme to provide isolation facilities for all C difficile and MRSA patients.

The provision of quality hand sensor -operated hand- washing facilities.

Superbug analysis at ward level to help track the spread of infection.

Sterile hygiene system for staff uniforms.

Facilities for steam cleaning of beds, curtains etc to be available in every hospital.

Budget for future increases in the levels of MRSA screening activity.

MSP calls for monthly online publication of NHS superbug figures

13 January 2009

Marlyn Glen is urging NHS Tayside to consider making reports available online on how effectively individual hospitals are performing against hospital acquired infection(HAI) on a monthly basis rather than through Health Board reports every two months.

New national guidelines just introduced mean that reporting on the rates of C difficile, MRSA, hand hygiene and cleaning will now be formally reported to the Health Board on a hospital-by-hospital basis every two months.

Ms. Glen said,

" I welcome the move that will allow patients and the public to see how successful individual hospitals such as Ninewells are in controlling HAI.

" The Health Board can now make these figures publicly available every two months.

" Reporting on a monthly basis online rather than through two-monthly health board reports will raise public awareness and help strengthen public confidence in the infection control regime"

Ms Glen said that NHS Tayside had provided her with information last August giving a breakdown of the number of instances that C difficile had been recorded in Ninewells and every other NHS Tayside hospital individually in the then seven month period since the start of the year.

198 instances of C difficile were reported at Ninewells.

A further 23 were recorded at the Royal Victoria Hospital, 41 at Perth Royal Infirmary and 23 in total at Arbroath, Stracathro , Liff and Whitehills.

Marlyn Glen queries Minister on Dundee nursery education provision

12 December 2008

MSP queries Minister on Dundee nursery education provision

Marlyn Glen is questioning SNP Minister Adam Ingram on how many more nursery teachers Dundee needs to meet the Scottish Government’s commitment to meet its promise on nursery provision in the city last year.

This follows a letter from Children’s Minister Adam to Ms. Glen saying,

"The Scottish Government expects all local authorities will deliver the commitment to a teacher for all pre-school children on the basis of local needs and circumstances, and that the overall level of teacher involvement in pre-school education will increase."

Ms. Glen said,

" The SNP’s position has shifted significantly on this issue.

"The ill-defined ‘access to a fully-qualified nursery teacher for every nursery-age child‘ in Dundee has been watered down to the equally vague ‘ a teacher for all pre-school children on the basis of local needs and circumstances.’

" Being taught full-time by a teacher and ‘having access to one’ or ‘a teacher for all pre-school chidlren’ are not all the same thing.

" I am asking the SNP Government how many whole time equivalent GTC Scotland registered teachers they say are currently employed providing pre-school education in Dundee, and how that number compares the number needed to meet their election commitment last year on nursery education in Dundee."

NHS Tayside indicative budget to rise by less than 1 per cent

30 November 2008

NHS Tayside Health Budget indicative budget to rise by less than 1 per cent in real terms.

Marlyn Glen revealed today that the indicative allocation from the SNP Government to NHS Tayside for its revenue budget in the next financial year shows an increase in real terms of only £2 million.

This is equivalent to an increase of less than half of one per cent of the allocation in real terms.
Ms. Glen said,

"These preliminary figures, even at this early stage, are a source of concern for their impact upon frontline services in the health service in Tayside.

" The real terms increase of less than one per cent will not keep up with impact on cost such as the needs of a growing ageing population and advances in medical science and technology."

Figures released to Ms. Glen by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) show that the 2008-09 budget for NHS Tayside was £566.4 million.

Next year’s draft budget is set at £568.5 million in real terms, representing an increase of £2.1 million or 0.4 per cent.

Ms. Glen commented,

"The Board may receive funding from other budget headings next year.

"However, the new NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee ( NRAC ) is to be introduced by the SNP Government then.

"This new formula will be phased in , but if it had reached its final stage of the phase-in next year , NHS Tayside would be losing the equivalent of over £10 million a year."

No extra money to tackle C difficile

13 November 2008

No extra money to tackle C difficile

Marlyn Glen has been informed by Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon that NHS Tayside will receive no new money for the new campaign to reduce rates of C difficile by 30 per cent by 2011.

In addition, she told Ms. Glen that the share of the £54 million for tackling Health Acquired Infection that is to be spent on programmes within NHS Tayside over the next three years cannot be specifically identified.

Questioned by Ms. Glen about whether health boards such as NHS Tayside would receive additional money outwith the £54 million already allocated to reduce C difficile rates, Nicola Sturgeon said that additional funding to support the new target of up to £2 million was being made available to NHS Boards "from within the resources provided to tackle Healthcare Associated Infection in Scotland."

Ms. Glen said,

" C difficile is a major new problem that the NHS faces.

"This requires more new money, and not money that may now have to diverted from other resources.

" The £54 million already invested on tackling HAI has been welcomed on all sides, but it remains to be seen if it is sufficient for the task ahead."