Ruth Hunt

Freelance features journalist with an interest in social policy and social justice.

Apr. 1, 2020

Lack of PPE for homecare staff is indicative of their lack of protection as workers

SINCE becoming seriously disabled with spinal cord injuries, my heroes are the armies of care workers who visit my home and the homes of many other people who are frailer than me, the elderly and those suffering from conditions like dementia or…

Feb. 12, 2020

Marketisation of universities has led to an education crisis

× SINCE 2010, higher education has been subjected to increased marketisation. The University and College Union (UCU) has highlighted how some highly qualified academics who would normally have a job “for life” might find their remuneration has been…

Jan. 17, 2020

Tory cuts are causing a mental-healthcare crisis

× THE Tories’ tinkering with the Mental Health Act won’t solve the many problems in the disintegrating mental-health system. The chronic underinvestment in mental healthcare is evident when in just one month last year 745 patients had to travel out…

Dec. 16, 2019

It’s Brexit that has won, but it will be the Tories who will let the voters down

× THE general election result is catastrophic for all those who were clinging on to hope. It’s a kick in the stomach for people who have lost loved ones due to austerity. For those living in poverty, those with severe disabilities and/or long-term…

Dec. 1, 2019

Threats to NHS patients at home and away

× JEREMY CORBYN has alerted us to the existential threats to the NHS coming from initial trade talks with the US. Closer to home, however, there’s also the constant reminder of the pressure the NHS is under. For example, the measures which have…

Oct. 27, 2019

Getting Orkambi on the NHS is a bittersweet victory, but the fight goes on

× AFTER a long and fraught four years, an agreement between Pharma company Vertex and the NHS has finally resulted in Orkambi and Symkevi, the “game-changing” cystic fibrosis drugs, being made available on the NHS. Vertex were originally asking…

Oct. 15, 2019

Vicious new laws attack the homeless

× AN important motion was passed at Labour Party conference, which didn’t get the airtime or column inches it deserved. This motion committed the party to ending all powers to criminalise begging and rough sleeping. This would repeal many of the…

Sep. 26, 2019

The domino effect: The traumatic knock-on impact when claiming benefits

× ACROSS Britain, people in genuine need, are opting to go without benefits, or not undertaking an appeal due to a previous traumatic experience with the welfare system. It can even extend to non-attendance at reviews unconnected with benefits,…

Sep. 17, 2019

Boxed-in: the treatment of those with physical health and mental health conditions

× WE ARE a long way off from achieving parity of esteem between psychiatric patients and general patients in terms of availability of treatment, waiting times and the quality of treatment. With different funding streams, priorities and targets, it…

Aug. 27, 2019

How the DWP is silencing dissent

× WITH austerity wreaking havoc in the lives of Britain’s most vulnerable, it is now more important than ever that the remaining advice centres are not simply able to provide comprehensive advice — but also challenge the government, the Department of…

Aug. 8, 2019

The ‘power threat meaning framework’ – an alternative to diagnosis?

× WHEN the programme Being Bipolar, with psychotherapist Philippa Perry, was first aired on Channel 4 in 2015, the audience got a taste of anti-psychiatry in practice. Prior to meeting any patients, Perry spoke about her doubts as to the validity of…

Aug. 1, 2019

Legal aid is crucial in austerity Britain

× AS the legal aid scheme turns 70 this year, it’s time to reflect on what has recently been a deeply damaging and tumultuous period. The government’s own figures show that in the past six years, half of all law centres and not-for-profit legal…

Jun. 28, 2019

Self-harm patients need better care

× RECENT figures released by The Lancet reveal self-harm is on the rise for both sexes and all age groups. It has long been recognised this is a huge problem among young people, and as such some services have been set up for this age group, though…

Jun. 23, 2019

The traumatic power struggle within mental health

× ONE of the most vitriolic power struggles between professional groups is happening now and goes to the very essence of what is, or is not, mental illness. Squaring off against each other are those who believe in a biomedical or genetic basis to…

Jun. 7, 2019

‘As a disabled journalist, I wanted disabled people’s voices to be heard’

× JOURNALIST Frances Ryan, recently longlisted on the Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils, has for the past seven years reported for the Guardian on what is really happening to disabled people due to austerity. In doing so, she has…

May. 21, 2019

Book Review Theory of the Has#tag by Andreas Bernard

× IN THIS slim but weighty book on the hashtag, Andreas Bernard examines a symbol that has become so immersed in our culture that it has broken away from the computer screen into areas such as fiction, fashion and graffiti. He charts its remarkable…

May. 13, 2019

Book Review Books, Artists, Beats by Jim Burns

× THIS 10th compendium of essays and reviews, cleverly curated by poet Jim Burns, uses texts, art, music and film as springboards for discussion of different periods of cultural upheaval, reflecting change which has benefited writers and artists but…

May. 12, 2019

The degradation and cruelty of constantly having to ‘prove’ you’re disabled

× THE announcement came through on April 23 that Stephen Smith, 64, had died. The story about Smith had first been broken by Liam Thorpe of the Liverpool Echo, back in February, when he had been found fit for work despite having chronic obstructive…

Apr. 25, 2019

Book Review The Sex Factor: How Women Made the West Rich by Victoria Bateman

× IN THIS book, Victoria Bateman peels away the layers of traditional economics to reveal her answers to some pressing issues of our time and in the process argues that we all must revaluate the role of women historically and today in terms of how…

Apr. 15, 2019

Book Review The Knowledge Economy by Roberto Mangabeira Unger

× ACCORDING to Roberto Mangabeira Unger, the “insular vanguards” of the knowledge economy exist on the sidelines of all areas of production. But their practices and wealth haven't filtered down, bearing in mind the fact that traditional mass…