Liberal Democrats in Bury have welcomed the launch of the Liberal Democrats’ vision for Britain by Party Leader Nick Clegg MP. Called ‘Make it Happen’, the paper will be debated at the party’s conference in Bournemouth in September. In ‘Make it Happen’ the Liberal Democrats say: 

       ·         They will cut taxes for ordinary families

• If your local hospital can’t see you on time, they will pay for treatment elsewhere

• They will switch taxes from people to pollution - so it pays to go green

• To improve standards in education, they will fund extra help for those who need it most

• They will put Britain at the heart of Europe to make us a force for good in the world

• They will stop ID cards so we can keep control of our privacy

• They will change the voting system so everyone’s voice counts

• They will bring communities together with local people in charge

       ·         They will give communities a say in how offenders pay for their crimes 

Vic D’Albert, Bury South Parliamentary spokesperson said, “I am delighted to be able to back ‘Make it Happen’. It sets out how the Liberal Democrats will run Britain. “No resident of Bury has escaped the rising cost of food and fuel. The credit crunch is biting hard and local people are feeling the pinch. “Nick Clegg has set out how we can help ordinary people through cutting taxes on those on low and middle incomes. Thousands of people in Bury will benefit from this.  “We are taking the plans in ‘Make it Happen’ to the people of Bury during the summer to get their response.  And in September, we will be heading to the Liberal Democrats’ conference where we are looking forward to taking part in the debate.

” ‘Make it Happen’ is available at: http://www.libdems.org.uk/media/documents/policies/Make%20it%20Happen.pdf 

Last nights Town Hall meeting of the HCSC concentrated on presentations and reports covering aspects of delivering improved health and treatment facilities in the area of the next decade.

Three presentations: World Class Commissioning, Adult Commissioning Strategy 2008-2023 and Bury’s learning Disability Commission Strategy.

Focused on ways of ensuring improved health outcomes from NHS treatments/diagnostics and care. I won’t bore you with the minutae but ifthe NHS is your thing minutes will shortly be available from the council web site or I will be happy to share the information I have.

I think it’s fair to say there was concern amongst councillors that these aspirational documents would actually come to fruition and that there would be sufficient resources available to bring about the improvements we all want to see locally.

In addition I raised concerns about providing adequate services and meeting the needs of the very elderly in our communities. I said we need to ensure there is real choice for residents between being able to remain in their own home for as long as they can and then modern residential accomodation that meets their aspirations when they choose not to stay in their own home. I stressed the need to progress to providing access to a large section of the population not just the “lucky” few. “It’s no use providing a first class service to few its about numbers”.

There was also a report on Community Access Treatment centres being developed. These aim to bring diagnostic and assessment services nearer people - making services more accessable. One recently opened in Sunnybank. It is hoped that they will able to deliver a growing range of services as they develop.

I took the opportunity to raise concerns about the provision of dental services. In response to a question I was told that they would not be delivering general dentistry services. I think this is a great pity and a missed opportunity.

Any questions etc , please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Prestwich Local Area Partnership, which brings together your nine Liberal Democrat Councillors, together with representatives of partner bodies and community groups, have agreed a “Prestwich Community Plan” for 2008-2011. The plan sets out what the Partnership aims to achieve over the next three years to make Prestwich a better place to live and work.

There are three overall themes, and within this ten priority areas:

GREEN PRESTWICH
1 - Improve Parks and Leisure Facilities (play areas, parks, green spaces - including the Phillips Park development)
2 - Achieve a reduction in car useage in Prestwich (walk to school, community bus routes, cycle routes etc)
3 - Reduce air pollution in Prestwich (particularly addressing the M60)
4 - Improve the Prestwich environment by reducing litter and graffiti

THRIVING PRESTWICH
5 - Vision for the Redevelopment of Prestwich Village Centre (the URBED study)
6 - Support local Prestwich businesses
7 - Create better facilities for the most deprived areas of Prestwich

STRONG PRESTWICH
8 - Make Prestwich Healthier (working with the local PCT and others)
9 - Make Prestwich Safe (working with the Police and others to reduce crime and the fear of crime)
10 - Create a Prestwich for people of all ages (focus on young people and older people, and a sense of community pride).

The plan sets out an exciting vision for how we want Prestwich to develop over the coming years, people’s views and ideas are much appreciated.

You can download the full plan here: Prestwich Community Plan 2008-2011

Commenting on the news that nearly 1m people have lost their NHS dentist since the Government introduced a new contract for NHS dentists in March 2006, local Lib Dems accused the Government of “ignoring the plight of the low paid and building a dental health time-bomb.” 

According to figures from the NHS Information Centre a total of 338,000 people lost their NHS dentistry in the last three months of 2007 - 3,674 people a day.In the North West the number of people treated plummeted by 61,000 in the 24 months to December 2007 , compared to the period up to March 2007.  4 out of 10 North West residents were not treated in the last 24 months.

Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson for Bury South commented.

“If evidence were needed that the new dental contract is failing then this surely is it.” “This Government is overseeing a crisis in NHS dentistry and as a result more and more people either don’t have a dentist, can’t find an NHS dentist or can’t afford the exorbitant cost of treatment. With dentists and hospitals treating more and more serious dental problems it’s now clear that the long term legacy of this Governments mishandling of NHS dentistry is a dental disease time-bomb.

” We need an urgent review into why reforms undertaken just two years ago have completely failed to improve access and action to get NHS dentistry back on track.”

Last night I had a meeting with the Chairman of the Creative Living Centre about their current financial plight.
The Centre has financial difficulties since lottery funding has ceased and has had to lay off staff in order to ensure this important local organisation can survive. They are now desperately seeking new funds to secure the future of the centre and its services.
The centre provides a range of support services and activities for people suffering from various mental health problems from depression upwards. Its contribution to peoples well being is incalculable.
I provided hopefully some useful advice on some potential avenues for funding to explore and have agreed to make some enquiries myself. In addition I have suggested that they may wish to apply for a small grant from the Area Partnership towards one of their projects.

Key items to report back on from last nights meeting are:

MIDWIFE LED UNITS
Members were briefed on a feasability study under way into the creation of Midwife led maternity Units. NHS Trust Officers confirmed that the outcome of the feasabilty study would be brought back to the next meeting and that if proposals get the go ahead there would be a public consultation exercise during the summer.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A HOME IMPROVEMENT AGENCY TO MANAGE HOME ADAPTATIONS
I had real problems with this report despite supporting the creation of such an agency- which is much needed. The Council wish to give the contract for this service to Six Town Housing. There was no case made (as far as I can see) for Six Town Housing to get the contract – and the Council don’t see the need to go out to tender. I told the committee that it all “smacks of deals being done”. I was assured that this wasn’t the case. In my opinion the report was inadequate to the extent that there was too much missing information – for instance no details of the contract to be offered, no details of targets and no details of the budget! I proposed that the matter be deferred pending the provision of appropriate information. This was supported by the committee.

HOME CARE REORGANISATION
This was a good news report. We received a presentation on changes to Home care provision. As a result of a review the department are now focusing on providing more flexible integrated services in an attempt to better meet needs and expectations. Changes already implemented have save significant funds which have been ploughed back into services. They now offer extended cover and can spend longer on site and all in all seem to be developing a more user led service.

IMPLEMENTING THE AGE OF OPPORTUNITIES INITIATIVE
This initiative , supported by all parties is now 8 months into a 3 year commitment. The aim is to develop projects and services that offer a “little bit of help” to the over 50’s as required. Promoting independence, health and well-being. Dozens of projects have been set up and are clearly having a beneficial impact. I raised the issue that the council needs to start looking shortly about how this success story can be maintained after its initial 3 year stint and that the management of the initiative will need to move towards monitoring the sustainability and on-going success of projects , especially if (as is planned) they are handed over to voluntary organizations and charities to run in the future.

MODERNISATION OF RESIDENTIAL SERVICES FOR OLDER PEOPLE
We were due to receive a report on proposals but the item was withdrawn on the night!

The meeting started at 7pm and finished at 9.55pm

Visitors to this year’s annual public meeting of the Pennine Acute Trust will be able to find out more about a range of initiatives underway in its hospitals.
 

The Trust runs Bury’s Fairfield General Hospital, North Manchester General Hospital, The Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary and also has services at Birch Hill
Hospital. The annual public meeting takes place at 6.30pm on Tuesday 25 September at North Manchester General Hospital Postgraduate Centre, Delaunays Road, Crumpsall,
M8 5RB. Doors will be open from 5.30pm, and it is expected that the meeting will have concluded by 8pm.The meeting is open to members of the general public, with many local patients, organisations and patients groups expected to attend.

A short formal meeting will be followed by a series of informal workshops, hosted by Trust Board members and clinical staff, who will be on hand to listen to participants’ views and suggestions.

Among the workshops are:
*       waiting list reduction work
*       infection prevention
*       good health during pregnancy and beyond
*       the results of the Healthy Futures/Making It Better consultations

For more details about the event, or if you wish to attend and have either access or particular requirements, then please contact Lesley Holland, communications manager, on tel: 0161 918 4283 or email: mailto:lesley.holland@pat.nhs.uk