£440,000 so far, and another £200,000 per year indefinately, which I presume the NHS would normally claim from the motor insurance policy, but in this case there was none, so I presume the NHS are trying to get it from the uninsured losses scheme? Either way, insurance will rise or tax will. Grrrr!
_______________
Trust faces £200,000 care bill for illegal immigrant

THE Government was urged yesterday to pick up a £200,000 annual hospital bill faced by an NHS trust in the region to care for an illegal Iraqi asylum seeker badly injured when the stolen car he was in crashed.
Health chiefs in North East Lincolnshire warned last night that services would suffer if they were forced to pay for the care of the man, who has not been named. He entered the country illegally and was living in Grimsby while his application for asylum was considered.
It was rejected in May 2002 and he faced deportation at the time of the accident a year ago near Boston, Lincolnshire.
He was left paralysed and his treatment at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham and ongoing care costs have so far totalled £440,000. Now the trust faces an "indefinite" £4,000-a-week bill for specialist care at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in Surrey, which specialises in brain-injured patients.
Health chiefs have been in discussions with the Department of Health and the Home Office but so far the Government has refused to pay for the round-the-clock treatment.
Peter Melton, chairman of North East Lincolnshire's executive committee, said a range of health developments could not be funded if the authority, with an annual budget of £160m, was saddled with the bill. "Doctors and nurses in the area feel frustrated because we feel this cost should not be borne by the people of North East Lincolnshire.
"We have a clear statutory responsibility not only to maintain financial balance but also to improve services and there is a lack of clarity in this case about whether we have a similar level of statutory responsibility."
Great Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell said the Department of Health should pay for the care, adding: "Unless we get help from central government it's going to exacerbate racist and anti-asylum-seeker feelings."
A central pot to pay for healthcare for foreign visitors had been distributed to local health services on the basis of historic payments. Grimsby had few foreign visitors and had received little of the money.
"I'm not disputing the fact he should receive treatment by the NHS but it's quite disproportionate for a comparatively small health authority which is already facing difficulties balan-
cing its budget. It's going to lead to cutbacks in other services."
A Department spokesman said it "does not hold special allocations for special cases or hold contingency funds". Money was allocated according to a form-ula weighted according to levels of deprivation and including provision for asylum seekers.
mike.waites@ypn.co.uk Read more

I'm not sure if this would count as a "technical" matter but I'm thinking of buying a 320D soon. The foot pedals are slightly offset to the right and while both I and my wife were impressed with the car, I'm worried that this might put strain on her back (she has a history of back problems) on a long journey. Are there any 320D owners who can give me their thoughts on this? Also, any other feedback on the car would be appreciated. Thanks. Read more

With 18,000 miles on the clock and just outside the warranty period, the Rear axle trailing arm bushes were so worn the car was not safe to drive. MB replaced these ( after some debate !) Having just reached 25,000 miles ( and 4yrs) the Front roll bar links now need replacing! I get the impression this is not uncommon.The key question is, can I reasonably expect MB to do this work free of charge or will I have to brace my self for a hefty bill ? Read more

I have a 92 citroen ax, i accidentally ran the battery flat today, figureing i\'d get help and jump start it later i locked it and left it.

when i returned later the central locking was dead. I have no key lock on the boot, only the front and passenger doors. I can\'t get into the car at all!!

I have had the rac out but they said there was nothing they could do. please please please help I don\'t really want to break in.

any suggestions welcome! Read more

Anyone tried a Focus C-MAX TDCI CVT?

I was just looking on the Ford website - www.ford.co.uk - at details of the Focus C-Max.

One of the variants listed is the "1.6 16V Duratorq TDCi, Durashift CVT" -- see www.fordconnection.com//FordEuropeMultimedia/GBR_E...l

A diesel with a CVT sounds to me like a very nice idea -- diesel economy, and a smooth automatic, without much of a dent on performance.

Comparing the "Fuel performance and emissions" figures of the automatic against data for the the manual, it looks resonably efficient:

* Fuel consumption up 16% (5.7 l/100km v 4.9)
* Top speed barely changed (112mph v 115)
* 0-62mph barely changed (11.6 sec v 11.3)
* 31-62 mph much better (7.9sec v 12.1) -- probably because the manual is done in 4th gear, rather than starting in third
* Emissions up 17%, from (129gm/km to 151)

That all suggests that the CVT should be little more expensive to run than the manual, and offer better real-world performance, while still being much more economical than a petrol automatic

However, none of the reviews I have read suggest than any of the journalists had driven one of these. Have any BackRoomers seen a review, or even driven one themselves?

A C-MAX would probly be bigger than I want, but if this combination is as good as it looks on paper, then it would be a really good setup in an "ordinary" version of the forthcoming new Focus

Claire Read more