For, after paying to set-up the whole planning department, while continuing to pay all the running costs and everyone's salaries, we now have to pay - even more - just to talk to the council officers which we employ !

CENSORED's expecting us to cough-up £25 each time we make development enquiries;
£40 for a 'pre-developmental discussion' + £20 for each subsequent meeting;
his advice about trees, listed buildings or conservation areas will set us back - £30.

For Developers, he'll be charging £250 for up to 4 houses, up to £3,000 for projects of 200+ houses.

His "excuse" ?

• "An increasing number of local planning authorities have now introduced charges"
  And just because others have .. is that any reason to inflict them on US ?
• "A charging regime would also provide an additional income stream"
  Oh no it wouldn't. 
  Because WE HAVE PAID FOR IT ALL - ALREADY.
  [We've paid our taxes .. and now we want something for them .. SOMETHING IN RETURN !]
• And then we descend into 'burocratic gobble-de-gook'.
  "..a charging regime ... would provide a clear and time bound process for both customers and officers."

"Council Tax ought to rise by 2.9% - to bring-in another £27,000 over the next year.
This Council decide how much they are going to put up the council tax .. and then they make the figures fit that target"

It's "piecemeal politics" .. at its worst !"
ICHC Cllr. Howard Martin.

He also voiced his rejection of the policies about 'Dial-A-Ride' cuts .. and reductions in Parish Council aid.

Council Tax Bills this next year will vary across Wyre Forest .. 
from   Ribbesford (Band A) payment of £ 992.71 .. 
to      Chaddesley Corbett (Band H) payment of £ 3,037.61 ..

"Another complete non-story blown out of all proportion. Nicholas Winterton's comments were offensive only because of his attitude to other passengers, not because travelling first class itself is wrong.
I dare say Monsieur Garnier hasn't travelled on a train much at all since 1993, and certainly not while having useful work to do. If he is going to "organise my working life better so I would not need to cram in important work while travelling.”, then I suggest he would make the laziest MP ever, and question what he will do while travelling - stare gormlessly from train windows pointing out sheep to his fellow travellers perhaps, rather than using the opportunity to deliver effective representation of his constituents and address their concerns.
Lastly, Monsieur Garnier's claim that it is "our" MP, Richard Taylor, implies that he thinks he's a real Wyre Forest resident now. He has some way to go to convince the rest of us."
                                                                                    walkerno5, Kidderminster

If my memory serves me correctly, Richard Taylor is one of the thriftiest MPs in the land, untouched by the expenses scandal. His point about trying to work and therefore sitting in first class is entirely reasonable. The last time I travelled by train to London, I was charged over £100 for a return ticket, and couldn't even get a seat. Working while travelling seems a selfless thing to do, not a 'luxury'!
Mr. Garnier seems to think that cheap quips at Richard Taylor will undermine the general respect Wyre Forest has for a hard working and honest MP.
                                                                                  geanderson, kidderminster

Lord Digby Jones the guest of honour at the
Mayor's Lunch for the Business Community

With representatives of the Wyre Forest business community being entertained at Chaddesley Corbett's Brockencote Hall Hotel, the Mayor of Kidderminster's guest speaker was Digby Marritt (Lord) Jones, (styled) Baron Jones of Birmingham. 

The former Director of the CBI (2000–06) and Minister of State for Trade (2007–08), is currently a Business Ambassador at UK Trade & Investment, a role he takes very seriously - in addition to many other business and charity activities.

Although invited to join the government as a GOAT (Government Of All the Talents) he very much retained and relishes his independence, sitting as a Cross-bencher in the House of Lords.

Lord Jones said that he identified with Dr. Richard Taylor as a similar "independent voice" - without the ties and constraints which inhibit much of modern politics - 'where the politik-ing inhibits "good" government'.

Lord Jones spoke of the challenge presented to the UK from the future potential of China and of India when those countries convert from hand-to-mouth, agrarian economies to full-scale, 'western-style' cultures.
He advanced the theory of a 'progressive western expansion', citing the development of America in the C19th and Japan and Korea in the C20th - and the analogy of the present Chinese Pacific sea-board development being emulated by adjoining western provinces.
Firstly there are jobs providing infra-structure (construction); then factories (manufacturing); then facility jobs (banking & finances); and then support jobs (service industries).
Each of these phases follows the "frontier" across the country, as it marches westwards (as the 'wild west' crossed America from the Mississippi to California).

Delegates were then presented with the question as to how we, in Wyre Forest, are to take advantage of this knowledge.
It was an excellent lunch and a thought-provoking presentation .. and one which also made a sizeable contribution to the Mayor's sponsored charities.

Kidderminster Mayor Howard Martin said 
“We were all very honoured to have had such a lively and entertaining speaker as Lord Jones address us. 
The event was well received by those present and over £250 was raised for my Charities. 
I am extremely grateful to the business community for their generous support and to Brockencote Hall for their excellent food and service.”

29th January 2010

MP Meets Post Office Depot Campaigners

Dateline: Tuesday 26th January.

Today, Wyre Forest MP, Richard Taylor met with representatives of the campaign to save the Stourport Postal depot. 

UCW officers and activists are to visit the House of Commons to lobby ministers representing both the West Midlands and Postal Services and will also hold talks with Richard Taylor.

These meetings were arranged last week when ICHC leader 
Cllr. Howard Martin attended and addressed a meeting at the Wheatsheaf Pub in Stourport of all the Post Office staff affected by the threatened closure.

“Richard was already well aware of the threat” said Cllr Martin.

“He has been working quietly behind the scenes, as is his usual style, for some weeks now to make progress on this matter. 
Before Christmas he met with local senior Post Office Management and discussed the issues in detail. 
He has been promised a copy of the final business case when it becomes available. 
Local Union Representatives and all staff know they have his full support and that of all of us in ICHC over this matter.”

Cllr. Martin went on.. 
“It seems a little sad that it is widely reported that the Tory Prospective Parliamentary Candidate is now claiming he is leading the campaign. 
This is no more than fanciful electioneering on his part and is unworthy of someone who wants to be taken seriously as fit to represent this area. 

The Tories, despite being invited, were not present at last week’s important meeting. 

Now that this campaign obviously has massive public support they want to jump on the bandwagon for party purposes and claim leadership. 
The campaign is being superbly managed by the union guys and all political parties in the area should stand with them and support them in this fight. 

Donations link

Even the Midlands Air Ambulance - Charity Headquarters, 
Unit 16 Enterprise Trading Estate, Pedmore Road, Brierley Hill, W. Mids. DY5 1TX
is located there.

It was interesting, nay, stimulating, to read in the Worcester News of our very own 
Cllr. John Campion, former chairman of the overview and scrutiny committee - performance board (my, they really do love their titles, don't they ?) - that's the organisation intended to be a watchdog to protect the future of Worcestershire’s healthcare - and who, when the proposals to close Bransford Emergency Ambulance Operations Centre (nr. Worcester) were being finalised, was quoted as saying .. 
“You can’t have a dispatch centre on every corner.”

But, when you've been elected, 'You Know Better' .. and Tom Wells, the chairman of the meeting which took the decision to close Bransford (Dec. 2008) and move the staff to Brierley Hill in Dudley, came close to being taken for a Marie-Antoinette impersonator, when he said, ..
"I don’t care whether the control centre is in Huddersfield. 
The issue isn’t about where they were sent from. "

Cllr. Ken Pollock emerges rather well from this affair having noticed a dip in performance for 999 calls after the staff moved from Bransford to Brierley Hill in December 2008.
“That figure is the worst in this whole table and it’s worth drawing attention to. The figures for Worcestershire seem to be almost always worse than the West Midlands as a whole. That’s disturbing to me.”

Ambulance crews are supposed to get to 75 per cent of the most serious “category A” 999 calls (cardiac arrests, strokes and RTAs) within eight minutes of a call.
Statistics show that in December 2008, this figure fell to 56.9 per cent - well below target - and 14.5 per cent below the figure for the previous month - and "still falling" .. even according to Cllr. Wells.

This would seem to be just another 'spat' between Cllrs. 
           Nothing to worry about. 
                      "It's only to be expected".

Oh no it isn't. It could be a matter of life and death. And it could be YOUR life !

"We wish to voice our concern at the situation developing over the 'out-of-hours' Service (OOH) for medical emergencies commissioned by the Worcs. Primary Care Trust.

The service is provided by 'Take Care Now' (TCN) a firm set-up by a group of Suffolk GPs - which still provides a service for Suffolk. They are the concern who employed an incompetent doctor who caused the death of a patient - who happened to be the father of a Suffolk GP !

TCN now want to sell the contract to another firm and, because there are a further three years plus for the contract to run, it will be up to TCN to chose who receives it. They will not seek a rival bid.

The danger is that the successful firm will continue to employ the same staff - under the same contractual terms.

Although confidential, it is known that there can only be TWO Drs "on" for any one night TO COVER THE WHOLE OF WORCESTERSHIRE. Totally unacceptable.

We are regularly receiving bad reports about the existing TCN service. We would be committed to the same situation until the expiry of the contract.

It also blocks progress with the adjoining MIU and OOH services in the Treatment Centre at Kidderminster. - which the Acute Trust wants so desperately to resolve."

ICHC Cllrs. Dixon Sheppard, Jim Parish, John Thomas, & Dr. Howard Eeles.

'Heartlands' Hospitals Coded RED by Monitor

The Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield and Solihull Hospital is said to be in significant breach of its terms of authorisation.

The Trust has been coded red by Monitor, the organisation which polices foundation hospitals, as at governance risk - and could have board members removed if it does not improve - having failed to reach the target for keeping people waiting too long in its accident and emergency departments.

Monitor remains concerned about the trust's ability to make the cultural and behavioural changes necessary. Governance arrangements would seem not to be 'up-to-the-job' of dealing with_

• The repeated failure to deliver to target during winter periods
         There was a high number of unnecessary A&E visits because of patients
          lack of faith in GP out of hours services.

• Persistent poor performance at Heartlands and Good Hope despite the time of year
         Emergency patients stay 8.9 days on average - when the national average
         for 2008-9 is 5.7 days.
         The plan for 2010-12 will be to reduce this to 6.2 days and bring bed
          occupancy levels down.

• A delay in identifying long stays in hospital as a key issue

• Lack of evidence that non-executive directors challenge and hold the management team to account.

There will now have to be a monthly submission of performance data and action-plan updates.

"We will need to look together at our proposals for satisfying Monitor on our four-hour performance targets and agree a way forward. There is an expectation on the trust to improve its performance in quarter four and there is no time to lose ”
Medical director Ian Cunliffe

There was an urgent meeting at Solihull Hospital on Wednesday evening (03/02/10) which Governors and senior staff were expected to attend.

What's "Sauce for the Goose" .. ..
.. .. is not necessarily "Sauce for the Gander"

Faced with a budget situation which would give cause for company directors to consider insolvency, NHS Worcestershire has produced plans to merge five community hospitals in Worcestershire with the acute hospitals and mental health trusts.

Hospitals that could be affected are in Bromsgrove, Evesham, Pershore, Malvern and Tenbury.

Paul Bates, chief executive of NHS Worcestershire comments, assertively - 
"I hope it will affect patient care by making it better. 
That is the intention of this government initiative, which is about improving community health services across the country."

However, Dr Richard Taylor, Wyre Forest MP, and a man with a life-time's experience in working in local hospitals, said government plans to merge community and acute hospitals in Worcestershire could leave non-emergency patients worse off.

"Certainly if they combined trusts together it would save money, but it would not necessarily protect the services or be good for patients in the long run. 
If the acute trust was short of money for emergency services, there would be a real risk to the community services that it was having to pay for out of its budget."

Access the BBC Hereford & Worcester article on this subject
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hereford/worcs/8494642.stm

"My understanding is that so far, this is only a Government proposal to divest Primary Care Trusts from their providing role, so that they can concentrate on commissioning. 
It would probably be a disaster if the Community Hospitals were merged with the Acute Trust and I will have to make this clear during the consultation which - as far as I am aware - there will have to be."

Should the Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham be re-named 
“The South Stafford”?

The Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which runs both Heartlands and Sutton Coldfield’s Good Hope hospitals, has had six patients die following serious errors with medication since 2006.
BBC disclosure.

Four deaths have already been made public – and two further deaths have yet to receive publicity.
This information is contained in a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) into 27 "serious untoward issues" at the trust between March 2007 and June 2009.

The trust identified a cluster of serious, untoward incidents within the paediatric service and commissioned an external review by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

A number of recommendations following several serious, untoward incidents had not been signed off, despite the date of completion having lapsed; and in a seventh medical error, a baby was also over-medicated at Heartlands Hospital (fortunately the baby survived unharmed).

·        Eg. Stephen Parkin, died in May 2006, after having wrongly been given a muscle relaxant which was in the wrong box and should not have been on the ward.

·        Eg. Two patients, Paul Richards and Baljit Singh Sunner, died in 2007, after having they were given five times the recommended dose of a fungal treatment, amphotericin.

·        Eg. Rosemary Mcfarlane died in 2008 after receiving ten times the concentration of a phosphate solution poured into her lungs.

“We deeply regret that these incidents occurred and would again like to apologise to the patients and relatives of those affected ”         
Lisa Dunn, Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust

The CQC report states the trust now has robust governance arrangements in place and a clear mechanism to investigate and learn from the incidents that occur.       
"On the basis of the information provided, the commission does not have any immediate concerns relating to the safety of patients and will close the case."

"For several years after becoming MP, I received awful complaints about the quality of care some patients were receiving at the hospital in Worcester. My great frustration and disappointment was that despite passing these to the chief executive of the Acute Trust (and in some cases to the Healthcare Commission) improvements did not occur - as judged by the continued complaints which I received.

I then discovered that some GPs were so dissatisfied with the quality of care in Worcester that they were, out of choice, referring patients to Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley. With the then chairman of the local GPs association I talked to the chief executive and medical director of the Dudley Trust, with two objectives:
        1. to place a real challenge on our own trust to improve services..
        2. if improvements did not result, to investigate the possibility of Wyre forest
            patients regularly using Russells Hall
The chief executive of our trust knew of my discussions and my motives.

As a direct result of this (and the dire warnings of the 'Stafford disaster') the acute trust looked at the 'Safer Patient Initiative' (to which I drew the chief executive's attention - from the Health Select committee's report on 'Patient Safety') and appointed one of their consultants as "clinical director for safety".

So far, complaints to me have decreased in number (though not in significance).

So, as I believe quality and safety are improving at Worcester - and as our Acute Trust has recently scored more highly than the Dudley Trust, I am no longer looking for moves of patients towards Dudley .. as I thought I had made clear."

Dr. Richard Taylor MP

Nigel Knowles 'clings' to the 'Single Issue' issue 

Dr. Howard Eeles.
ICHC Cllr.
14th January 2010

Which option takes priority - in an emergency ?

Your "loyalty" to a hospital with the word 'Worcestershire'  in its name ?
or
Your need for the highest standards of surgery and medical care

ICHC Cllr. Howard Martin replies to a letter published in The Shuttle 07/01/10

Wow Fran - strong stuff. However, isn't the point that Worcs. Acute Trust is there to serve the community - not the other way round? 
And don't patients have a right to choose where they want to be treated and where they think they will get the best medical attention? 

Worcs. already sends heart patients to QE in B'ham or Walsgrave in Coventry and Cancer patients to New Cross and Gloucester because it can't be good at everything.

Centres of excellence are both government and opposition favoured options for patient choice. 
If I need hospital in-patient treatment I will opt for where I will get the best treatment and not for "loyalty" to Worcs! 

Doctors already have that choice and already opt for favoured options over Worcs. 
A recent high profile case indicates that Worcs is 'turnround' and 'performance' driven - 
rather then guided by obvious medical need - not very inspirational is it?

Also this attack on Richard Taylor is clearly politically motivated and unworthy. 

After all, isn't Jan Adams also a Tory Bewdley Town Councillor? [Link]

[And the 'Fran' in question might be Wyre Forest District Councillor for Offmore and Comberton, Liberal, Mrs. Fran Oborski [Link]-Ed]

Milbrook Appeal passed half-way point !

With an anonymous donation of £20,000pushing the Millbrook Suite Appeal past £150,00 towards its £¼M. target Kidderminster Mayor, Howard Martin, reiterates his pledge that this appeal will remain part of his 'charity pledge' for his mayoral term.

"I have already told people that a proportion of any money that they give to the fund will go to the Millbrook Suite, and that I will carry-on supporting it.
I will talk to the League of Friends and the Millbrook Staff and see how they think the money should be spent.
This money will provide extras that may not have been available in the initial target."

"We are so grateful to the community for raising this money in such a short time.
We never expected it to be achieved this quickly !"
David Wase, League Chairman.

"It was amazing how quickly events were organised after the appeal started !
Sister Rachel Desogus.

Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC)

Last week I attended the County Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC). What a sham of a Committee!

Having given 24 hours notice that I wished to attend this committee as a member of the public I was (graciously) allowed to attend and speak, having submitted several questions, and indicated that I was a District Councillor. 
The reason that I wanted to attend was that the Acute Trust was presenting its strategy for Kidderminster Hospital.

The Chairwomen kindly acknowledged my presence (but failed to declare that I was a District Councillor, with some knowledge on the topic).

She asked me to read out the questions I presented before the Acute Trust's presentation but when I asked if I could follow up the responses from the Acute Trust to my questions I was refused to be allowed to speak again. (Many of these questions were meant to be openers to allow further in-depth probing)

I therefore had to sit through the remainder of the meeting totally frustrated. 
The trust failed to provide an answer to some of my questions .. .. and the vacuity of the questions from many of the members of that committee made the process a farcical waste-of-time.

The whole process of Scrutiny (both to my mind - and also officially) is to delve deeply into any issue and tease out any anomalies.
So what is the point of scrutiny if it proceeds to gag anyone who takes the time and trouble to attend, particularly as, having worked in the health service for almost 40 years, I do feel that I can speak with a little insight on the topic.

When I failed to win support for membership of this Committee I was derided for declaring - in a private note - that the Committee was a waste of time anyway !
Having now had first hand experience of the working of this committee I can openly repeat my comment publicly .. .. and add what a true farce it is.

Cllr Howard Eeles
Independent Community & Health Concern - Wyre Forest District Councillor
                                 ______________________________

FOR INFORMATION:
The committee consists of_

They have this remit_
Local authorities with a responsibility for social services have the power to scrutinise their local NHS.
Worcestershire County Council has established a Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee to carry out this role.  
It comprises eight County Councillors and six District Councillors.
Additionally local NHS bodies have a duty to consult the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee on any proposed substantial changes to local health services.

They are assisted by_
Overview and Scrutiny Manager:
Suzanne O'Leary (works Tuesday to Thursday) Tel: 01905 728673
Email: scrutiny@worcestershire.gov.uk

Overview and Scrutiny Officers:
Sandra Connolly  Tel: 01905 766606
Alyson Grice (works Thursday and Friday) Tel: 01905 766619
Samantha Morris (works Monday to Wednesday)  Tel: 01905 766619
Emma James (works Wednesday to Friday)  Tel: 01905 766627
Jo Weston (works Monday to Wednesday)  Tel: 01905 766627
Stella Wood  Tel: 01905 822873

The Second Battalion, the Mercian Regiment - formerly the 1st Battalion the Worcestershire and Sherwood Forresters - exercised their freedom of the town of Kidderminster with a march-past.
Lt. - Col. Colin Marks said, "We have been overwhelmed by the support by the people for their regiment. It is very heartening for the soldiers to see so many .. being so supportive."

L/Cpl. Kieron Hill  (20) Killed by an explosion	Pte. Robert Laws (18) Vehicle he was travelling in was hit by a rocket propelled grenade	Pte. Jason Williams (23) Killed following an IED explosion as he attempted to retrieve the body of a colleague	Pte. Gavin Elliott (19) Died en route to hospital after sustaining gunshot wound on foot patrol	Pte. Brian Tunnicliffe (33) Died during re-supply mission when Pinzgauer vehicle came off the road and overturned