Latest news with #aspiration
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Open verdict recorded after 95-year-old nursing home resident found dead with duvet over head
An open verdict has been recorded in the case of a 95-year-old woman with advanced dementia and physical limitations who was found dead in her nursing home bed with a duvet over her head, having suffered from aspiration of vomit. Bridhaven Nursing Home in Mallow, Co Cork, apologised for the failings identified in the care of Marcella O'Sullivan who was found dead in her bedroom at the home shortly after 8pm on April 13th, 2022. An inquest in Mallow, Co Cork, on Wednesday heard from medical staff at the home that another patient, who also had severe dementia, was in the room when they entered at 8.03pm that night. Coroner Frank O'Connell was told that the other woman was a 'roamer' who entered the rooms of other patients and picked up items. CCTV footage analysed by gardaí indicated that she went to Mrs O'Sullivan's room more than 100 times on the day she died. The vast majority of her visits lasted a few seconds. The evidence was that the duvet was not over Mrs O'Sullivan's head when she was last seen by staff shortly after 5pm. Mr O'Connell said that it was accepted that Mrs O'Sullivan was physically unable to lift the duvet herself. Assistant State Pathologist Margaret Bolster carried out a postmortem on the deceased. She said the case was complex. Dr Bolster said it was her opinion, and those of her colleagues, that Mrs O'Sullivan died after her airways were covered by the duvet, leading to an aspiration of her gastric contents. She said that there was a history of dysphagia (difficulty of swallowing) which meant that the pensioner was on a liquid diet. Dr Bolster noted that the duvet cover was 'less breathable' as it was waterproofed. She said that the deceased had a bruise on her tongue. There was also a large amount of vomit. Mrs O'Sullivan had been fed by staff at about 5pm that day. She was comfortable, had her eyes open and the duvet was at her waist. She wasn't checked again by staff until 8.03pm when she was found dead. A decision was made to contact gardaí arising from the circumstances in which Mrs O'Sullivan was found dead. A file was prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Det Insp John O'Connell said that the woman who was in the room when Mrs O'Sullivan was found dead was assessed by an expert geriatrician. He deemed her not capable of recalling the evening on which Mrs O'Sullivan died. This woman has also since died. Det Insp O'Connell said the DPP directed that no criminal prosecution be made in the case. He said they were left with two possible explanations. The first scenario was that Mrs O'Sullivan vomited and died with the duvet then being placed over her head by the other patient. The second scenario involved the other dementia patient putting the duvet over Mrs O'Sullivan's head and her aspirating her gastric contents, and dying. Det Insp O'Connell said that there was 'no clear evidence' forensic or otherwise to suggest that the other woman intended to cause harm to Mrs O'Sullivan. He said that the other woman 'had no history of aggression.' The six person jury recorded an open verdict. The foreman said that they were all of the belief that a third party put the duvet over the head of Mrs O'Sullivan. However, they couldn't say who that person was or whether it occurred before or after she died. Coroner Frank O'Connell offered his heartfelt condolences to the family of Mrs O'Sullivan whom he said had passed 'on to her reward'. He thanked the O'Sullivan family for the enormous dignity they had shown during the inquest. Barrister Christian Douglas, BL, apologised to the family of Mrs O'Sullivan on behalf of Bridhaven nursing home. 'Bridhaven nursing home wishes to express our deepest and most sincere apologies ...(for) the failings identified. We understand the pain and distress this has caused.'
Malay Mail
16 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
OCBC Hong Kong Unveils New Brand Campaign
HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 23 July 2025 - OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) Limited ("OCBC Hong Kong") remains committed to supporting both businesses and individuals with comprehensive banking solutions. Over the years, the Bank has stood alongside countless enterprises and generations of Hong Kong people, helping them grow and thrive. Starting this month, OCBC is proudly launching a new brand campaign in key markets including Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In Hong Kong, the Bank is featuring, world champion and gold medalist in the Women's Individual BC3 Boccia event, in the brand campaign. Her inspiring journey of resilience and determination in overcoming adversity to pursue her aspiration embodies the Bank's commitment to uplifting individuals and communities in realising their the campaign, Yuen Kei shares: "I need to fill my glass with water before I can pour for others". Her words deeply resonate with OCBC Group's purpose — to enable people and communities to realise their aspirations — and serve as a compelling reminder for everyone to take the first step toward their order to deepen the interaction between the public and customers with the brand, thereby driving the realisation of aspirations, starting today, OCBC Hong Kong is launching the "Aspiration Leave" themed initiative on its official Instagram account @ocbc_hk. Participants who share their aspirations and plans for achieving them will have the chance to win exciting addition, OCBC Hong Kong recently partnered with selected local SMEs* to launch a collaborative initiative that encourages employees to take "Aspiration Leave" — empowering them to pursue personal aspirations and give greater meaning to their time. Participating SMEs receive funding and promotional opportunity from OCBC Hong Kong, while also fostering stronger communication and team spirit, contributing to a more positive and engaged workplace culture. The initiative attracted over a hundred employee applications within a short period, their aspiration stories will be shared on OCBC Hong Kong's social media channels, continuing to ignite motivation across the city., said: "Starting this month, OCBC Group is launching a new brand campaign across key markets, centered on the theme 'Purpose is about lifting others'. This embodies our 'One Group' commitment to help customers realise their aspirations. In Hong Kong, we feature a story that reflects the city's resilient spirit and the pursuit of aspirations amid adversity. Through this campaign, we aim to inspire individuals not only to pursue their own aspiration but also to uplift those around them. We are engaging the broader community and strengthening our support for SMEs via this initiative. As a vital pillar of Hong Kong's economy, SMEs are driven by passionate individuals who strive to make meaningful contributions to society. OCBC Hong Kong is proud to stand alongside them and support them in their journey toward realising their aspirations."Admazes LimitedBergner (HK) LimitedBrand Meditech (Asia) Company LimitedGrandasy Engineering Co LtdHobbyDigi LimitedKooly Shop LimitedLou PichounMak's NoodleMaple Bear Canadian International Kindergarten Hong KongU Park LimitedHashtag: #OCBCHongKong The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About OCBC OCBC is the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks, the oldest of which was founded in 1912. It is one of the world's most highly-rated banks, with Aa1 by Moody's and AA- by both Fitch and S&P. Recognised for its financial strength and stability, OCBC is consistently ranked among the World's Top 50 Safest Banks by Global Finance and has been named Best Managed Bank in Singapore by The Asian Banker. OCBC is the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets. The Group offers a broad array of commercial banking, specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services. OCBC's private banking services are provided by its wholly-owned subsidiary Bank of Singapore, which operates on a unique open-architecture product platform to source for the best-in-class products to meet its clients' goals. Its insurance subsidiary, Great Eastern Holdings, is the oldest and most established life insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia. Its asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors, is one of the leading asset management companies in Southeast Asia. Its brokerage subsidiary, OCBC Securities, is one of the leading securities firms in Singapore. The Group's key markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. It has over 400 branches and representative offices in 19 countries and regions. For more information, please visit to learn more about OCBC Hong Kong.
Medscape
a day ago
- Health
- Medscape
Remembering Dr Atul Butte, a Medical Hero
'Like Mike. If I could be like Mike.' On August 8, 1991, Gatorade launched one of the most successful advertising campaigns in history. "Be Like Mike" featured children and adults of all backgrounds emulating basketball great Michael Jordan's moves while the famous jingle played: "Sometimes I dream / That he is me / You've got to see that's how I dream to be." (The rest will play in your head. You're welcome). The campaign tapped into our primal need for role models. Atul Butte, MD, PhD The ad's genius lay not in selling sugar water but in commodifying aspiration. Here was the divine Jordan, tongue out, defying gravity, and a simple message: You too can transcend earthly limitations. We all knew better. And yet, I had my own Mike-like space-creating move to a fadeaway that worked (once). I'm sure I pumped my fist like Mike when it dropped. Heroes like Jordan are harder to find in medicine, but we can still seek them out among the diagnostic savants, the surgical virtuosos, the masterful presenters. Dr Atul Butte, a pediatric endocrinologist turned data evangelist, was one of those heroes. Like with Jordan, I never met Dr Butte but knew him from afar. His talks were inspiring, not just for his comedic, down-to-earth style, but also for the work that they represented. Butte trained as a pediatric endocrinologist. Early in his career, he recognized that while we doctors generate massive amounts of data — from research, electronic medical records, genomics — we weren't making full use of it. Hidden in those gigabytes were insights that could improve diagnosis and treatment and prevent disease. So, Butte pivoted. He immersed himself in data science. He collaborated across disciplines. And he refused to let traditional career paths define him. Over time, he became a leader in computational health, founded multiple biotech startups, and directed informatics for all of the University of California Health Systems. His mission was to transform messy data into actionable knowledge that helps patients. What I find inspiring about Butte isn't just the scale of his success; it was his curiosity. His refusal to accept 'this is the way we do things.' His optimism. And his remarkable generosity. He was as enthusiastic about sharing as he was about discovering. The crush of conference goers would always be six deep to the dais when lights came up. There's something moving about this commitment to sharing knowledge and tools, especially in an era when information is hoarded as intellectual property. Butte's students — now scattered across universities and hospitals and technology companies — carry forward not just his methods but his approach to problems: curious, collaborative, persistently optimistic about the possibility of reducing human suffering through better understanding. Watching highlight reels of Dr Butte's career, we can see what separates the GOATs from the rest of us. He showed us that we should value connection as much as we value expertise. To see that in a world drowning in information, the ability to make meaningful connections across different domains of knowledge is essential for excellence. His core philosophy, summed up as "unfreezing" biomedical data, was a vision for the future of medicine. His genius was in asking simple, yet audacious questions: "What if we could spot patterns across millions of patients, not just the few in our own clinics?' This wasn't idle curiosity; it was a pragmatic, mischievous drive to build the teams and tools to make it happen. In one striking example, Butte's team analyzed data to discover that cimetidine showed promise in treating lung adenocarcinoma. Here was a drug sitting on shelves for decades and hidden there was something that might help patients with cancer. His virtuoso was to play effortlessly between medicine, computer science, and engineering. After his untimely death at the age of 55 in June, tributes to him poured into LinkedIn. Colleagues remembered him not just as a visionary, but as a "big bear of a man with a huge smile and love for everyone." He was described as having "energy that could power a room" and a unique ability to "elevate people around him." His advocacy and his dedication to mentoring "hundreds if not thousands" of students and researchers — making them feel supported and seen — speak volumes. He believed in "scalable privilege," that data insights should be accessible to all, and he lived that belief by empowering those around him. Dr Atul Butte showed us new, creative moves, and perhaps just as important, the same encouraging, radiant Jordan-like smile that made us believe we could actually play like him. By nurturing that curiosity — and channeling a bit of that infectious optimism — we can discover new tools and techniques to advance the practice of medicine. We should all wanna be like him. Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA, is chief of dermatology at Kaiser Permanente San Diego. The opinions expressed in this column are his own and do not represent those of Kaiser Permanente. Dr Benabio is @Dermdoc on X.
Telegraph
13-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Donald Trump Jnr's gunmaker accuses Labour of punishing entrepreneurs
Labour is punishing successful entrepreneurs with tax rises and should show more 'gratitude', the boss of Britain's oldest gunmaker has warned. Marc Newton, the managing director of 250-year-old London gunmaker John Rigby & Co, whose clientele includes Donald Trump Jnr, said Rachel Reeves's 'punitive' tax rises are hurting aspiration. He said: 'I should really be a Labour poster boy. I grew up in a council house, from a broken family. I went to state school. I didn't go to university, I got an apprenticeship. I started a company 12 years ago that now employs 35 people, and we export all around the world. 'So why is it now that we're being punished so much? My children do go to a private school locally. VAT on those school fees, the NI [National Insurance] charges … There doesn't appear to be much gratitude. It feels very much punitive.' Mr Newton became the boss of Rigby after the company's German buyer, L&O Holding, returned its headquarters to London in 2013 after decades under American ownership. Mr Newton has been credited with its turnaround. However, he warned that Donald Trump's tariffs posed a risk to the business. Mr Trump's eldest son was among the attendees at Rigby's 250th anniversary in Portsmouth in May, alongside Nigel Farage and Middle Eastern sheikhs. However, pleas to exempt Britain's gun trade from US tariffs of 10pc have proved fruitless. Mr Newton said: 'I made sure I took a few moments to speak to [Trump Jnr] about it and say 'does British gunmaking really represent a trade threat to the US?' Probably not. 'The thing I say to Americans is 'this is coming out of your pocket. I'm not paying it'. He's aware of that. He's been a fantastic supporter. Hopefully, reason will prevail.' Rigby relies almost exclusively on exporting its high-end hunting rifles and guns, with the US and the Middle East the largest markets. The gunmaker also warned that the Chancellor's £25bn National Insurance tax raid undermines its ability to train young people and risks hurting the industry for years to come. Steven Monteith, Rigby's director of operations, said: 'Where it's going to impact us or other gunmakers is the junior people coming in, the apprentices starting with us. When you're bringing somebody in directly from school, they've got no training at all. 'It takes two to three years to train them up to start making money for the company. You're investing a lot of time, effort, and money in them. 'The time to train is quite exceptional in gunmaking. If that [prevents] even half a dozen people from starting in the trade, then that impact will be felt for years to come.'
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
ALEX BRUMMER: The folly of Labour wealth taxes
During the run-up to Labour's election a year ago, I had a bruising on-the-air encounter with an LBC radio interviewer. My suggestion was that plans by Rachel Reeves to target wealth would undermine the energy, entrepreneurship and enterprise needed to drive UK growth. The interlocutor insisted it was time we rid ourselves of rich free loaders with little interest in the broader population. The pay gap between those at the top in business and working people has been widening for decades. Tesco boss Ken Murphy picked up £10m last year, which is 431 times that earned by the average worker in the group. As boss of a top FTSE 100 company, everything about Murphy's remuneration is known and explained in ferocious detail in the company's annual report. Research by the London School of Economics shows that the top 1 per cent of taxpayers living in Britain account for 30 per cent of the nation's total income tax take. The targeting of aspiration by Labour is proving an own goal. The outflow of the rich from the UK, some 16,500 people on the last count, harms spending and investment. The elimination of non-domicile privileges began under the Tories. The Chancellor hammered in the last nail. The change is calculated to add £4.2billion to the tax take of the Exchequer in 2026-27 and more in the subsequent two years. She will be fortunate. Rather than stay in the UK and wait for their privileges to vanish, many non-doms already have fled. The current preferred destination is Milan. For the price of £145,000, or equivalent fee to the Italian government, it is possible to circumvent taxes on worldwide income. As wealthy residents depart, property prices in smart central London and sales of luxury goods and services have been punished. The willingness to invest in start-ups, real estate deals, partnerships and trading in Britain is diminished. The City survived Brexit because UK wholesale markets and derivatives trading remained the first choice for European and American dealers. The number of jobs heading towards Europe was far smaller than predicted. When the vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs, Richard Gnodde, was driven offshore this year, one recognised how serious the exits were becoming. Milan, Dubai, Singapore are each growing rich on exiles from investment banks, private equity, and hedge funds. Private plane leasing firm NetJets is doing a roaring trade from billionaires swooping in for a couple of days to complete transactions but leaving before their feet touch the ground. And we wonder why UK posh firms such as Burberry, Smythson and others are having a torrid time. As alluring as soak the rich taxes are to the Angela Rayner wing of the Labour Party, they will not resolve the nation's fiscal problems. Every penny may count in difficult times, but the extra income generated by inheritance tax reforms will be paltry. The dial is going to be shifted by the torrent of wealth, accumulated by baby boomers, as it is released to the next generations. Unfairness in the tax system such as the 'carried interest' loophole exploited by private equity barons should be removed. But the Chancellor and Treasury would do well to recall that there is no group more mobile than the super-rich. Ask Sir Jim Ratcliffe, retailer Sir Philip Green, F1 star Sir Lewis Hamilton et al. They voted with their feet long ago.
