Defend the NHS - act now

David Cameron has always said that the NHS is safe with the Tories but fewer and fewer people believe him as the Tory led Coalition Government’s plans to shake up the Health Service in this country become clear. Even the former chief of the NHS has called this bill a mistake and confused. This bill aims to privatise much of the NHS and is diverting billions of pounds away from patient care.

If the bill is passed in Parliament within the next two or three weeks the NHS as we know it will disappear and the profit motive will be introduced into the health service.

Already we can see the effects of the Tory Lib Dem Coalition Government's plans are having locally on our health provision. The new guidelines will force the local NHS to put aside £22.1million from their budget this year and next to pay for a costly NHS restructure that David Cameron repeatedly ruled out. In Wigan and Leigh 200 health jobs could be shed over the next year and 70 beds – three complete wards - could also be lost. From May 2010 to August 2011 there has been an increase of nearly 70% in the number of people in Wigan and Leigh who have to wait 18 weeks for treatment. This is despite Cameron's promise that the NHS is safe with the Tories.

Mr Cameron wants to legislate to turn our NHS into a free market. He needs to be reminded in no uncertain terms that he does not have the public's permission to do this. Nobody voted for this re-organisation and Mr Cameron promised it would not happen.

Most health professional bodies representing thousands of workers in the NHS are opposed to this bill. Here's what some of them say:

Faculty of Public Health

"Our latest survey of members found that 93% of those responding said that the Health and Social Care Bill, if passed, will damage the NHS and the health of people in England. Three quarters of our members called on FPH to demand the complete withdrawal of the Health Bill."

Royal College of GPs
'Competition, and the opening up our of health service to any qualified providers will lead not only to fragmentation of care, but also potentially to a 'two tier' system with access to care defined by a patient's ability to pay."

Royal College of Anaesthetists
"Unfettered competition is likely to harm the provision of comprehensive integrated care, affect clinically indicated changes to service provision, widen health inequalities and may impact adversely on the education and training of tomorrows doctors. The proposed changes are likely to be costly and will distract the NHS from meeting the proposed quality improvements for patients."

Royal College of Ophthalmologists

"The key areas for concern and risk are - unhealthy and unfair competition, conflicts of interest of key stakeholders, compromised education and training of doctors, fragmentation of care, a shift from patient-centred to organ-centred care and inequalities in health care."

Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health

"We've never supported this bill, but we have engaged with the government to try and make the best of it.

"But we're a membership organisation and paediatricians views have changed and hardened considerably. We've surveyed our membership and their view is that we should now call for withdrawal of the bill."

Royal College of Pathologists

"We are not convinced that there is enough operational detail in the current or in the proposed commissioning process.

"And we are extremely concerned about the current and future impact of the combination of the changes this bill brings, the current manner and pace of reconfiguration of services, including managerial, and the arbitrary removal of 20% from NHS spending on pathology services."

Royal College of Physicians of London
"We will continue to work with government, parliamentarians and all other stakeholders to improve the existing Health and Social Care Bill. We have remaining concerns with the reforms that the government must address."

Royal College of Psychiatrists
"The bill is fundamentally flawed and will not improve the health and care of people with mental illness.

"The college is therefore not able to support the bill as it currently stands."

Royal College of Radiologists

"Given our widespread concerns over many serious and as yet unresolved issues, we cannot support, and must continue to oppose, the passage of the bill in its current form."

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Oversees training and practice in obstetrics and gynaecology.
12,500

"We have been reassured by the amendments and the emphasis on competition being focused exclusively for improving the quality of women's healthcare.

"There are still outstanding issues such as the development of women's health networks and national leadership. "


If you want to tell David Cameron to Drop the Bill and stop the privatisation of our National Health Service you can join the many thousands of people who have already signed the online petition at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions /2670 or write to David Cameron directly.

News from the Police

Below is information I have copied from from a recent Newsletter issued from the local police.


Shoplifting, Ashton Town Centre.

There has been a recent increase in shoplifting in Ashton Town Centre. It appears that there are two main offenders that have been targeting the Town who have both been identified by the local PCSO’s. Both arrests are currently pending.

Counterfeit Notes.

PCSO’s have visited Shops in Ashton to make staff aware of an increase in counterfeit notes. These are both English and Scottish notes. Please be vigilant so they don’t end up in your hands!

You said we did

Youths were gathering and being rowdy outside KFC min Gerard Street.

We did

Whilst on patrol any youths seen gathering at the location were advised to move on

You said

People were riding scooters on footpaths between Bransdale Drive and Walford Road in the early morning

We did

Patrols attended the locality to catch the offenders.

Neighbourhood officers hold surgeries on a regular basis.Here you can discuss any concerns, meet local officers and find out what is being done to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in your area. The next surgery in Ashton is as follows:

Date: 28th February 2012
Times: 11.00am – 12.00pm


There is also the Ashton Police Post in Ashton Library
Mon: 9.30am – 5.30pm
Tues: 9.30am – 5.30pm
Wed: 9.30am – 5.30pm
Thurs: Closed
Fri: 9.30am – 5.30pm
Sat: 9.00am – 12.30pm
Sun: Closed
Bank Holidays: Closed
Disabled Access: No
Enquiry Desk: 01942 728114


And finally useful numbers:

Hindley Neighborhood Policing Team Tel: 0161 856 7436

To find out who your local officers are go to gmp.police.uk/hindley

For non-emergency calls or to report a crime call 101 or
Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Use 999 only in emergencies where there is a threat to life or
crime in progress.

Fire Stoppers: 0800 923 9999

Environmental Services Helpline (to report anti-social behaviour):
01942 404021

Wigan Council main switchboard: 01942 244991

Areas cleaned by Beat It Team

1 The alley between Hampson Close and Flora Street. Litter picked and area tidied

2 The market steps. Litter picked and area tidied.

3 The spare land behind Bartons Off licence in North Street. Litter picked the area tidied and fly tipping removed

Please let me know if you know of any other area that needs cleaning and tidying.

The Beat it Team

The Beat it team is coming to Ashton next week. This team will clean up litter and sort out other grot spots in the Ashton ward.

If you know of any areas that need cleaning up please let me know by contacting me on this blog or phone me on 736216.

New Police number - dial 101

The police now have a new non emergency number - it is 101.
For genuine emergencies you can still dial 999

Signs of the times

I learnt the disappointing news last week that the Ashton Branch of Argos is due to close in January when their lease expires

I also read that Peacocks, the ailing fashion retailer, is considering closing up to 200 stores, as it seeks to reduce its debt burden. The group, which has 611 Peacocks stores and 394 Bonmarché shops, has debts of £240m with a syndicate of banks, including Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland. A Peacocks spokesman said: "We continue to progress our restructuring discussions and plans, with no decisions taken at this point.Peacocks faces a huge rent bill on 25 December. Hopefully the Ashton store will stay open.

At the same time Amazon sold 3 million items in 'Cyber Monday' frenzy last Monday making it the firm’s busiest day ever and John Lewis, recorded sales of £113.6 million in the week to December 3, a 9.6 per cent increase on the same week last year and a 15.1 per cent rise on the previous week.

I would welcome readers comments about what is happening and will happen to shops on the high streets, especially in small towns such as Ashton.

Frequently asked questions

Having listened to residents' comments about the proposed Community Health Centre there seem to be common questions which I try to answer here. I am happy to answer other questions about the proposed centre as I have been doing since Monday both on the phone and at the consultation meetings.

1. Why is the PCT looking at the Town Hall site?

The PCT, through Foundation for Life (FfL), Wigan’s LIFT Company, wishes to have the new facility in Ashton town centre. The Council are prepared to consider selling the Town Hall site which would make it more affordable for the PCT as well as using an existing publicly owned site.

2. What criteria are used to decide on a particular site?

The PCT must meet a range of criteria for a new scheme to be approved. These are mainly determined by the Department of Health and include:
• The development must be affordable for the PCT
• The site must be accessible to all
• The development must offer facilities for local community use as well as for health services
• Where possible, existing public sector assets should be used

3.What other sites have been considered?

A range of sites have been considered within Ashton town centre and surrounding areas over the past 5 years. The reasons for not considering them or why the development did not progress include:
• The site did not meet the accessible criteria
• Land conditions made the scheme unaffordable eg contaminated land, flood plain
• Land price made the site unaffordable – this was mainly when the site was in private ownership

4.Why is the PCT not developing the existing Ashton Clinic site?

The site is too small for the development and would require taking part of the George V playing fields which is not appropriate.It is likely that Queens Road would not be deemed fit to take the extra traffic attracted by the new centre. In addition, it does not meet the criteria for allowing appropriate access for a range of community services. It is also less accessible for people without cars as very few buses run down Wigan Road. The cost of providing temporary accommodation for the clinic whilst the new facility was being built would make the scheme unaffordable for the PCT.

5.What parking arrangements will there be with the new centre?

Once it is clear that the Town Hall site is the preferred option, FfL will work with the Planning and Highway departments to agree a Travel Plan for the development. In the meantime, FfL have commissioned a full traffic survey of the area.
The Planning process will identify the number of car park spaces we will have to provide as part of the development. The PCT recognise that this is a major concern but until a site and the draft design of the centre have been agreed, it is difficult to be more specific at this stage

6.Will the field and bowling green behind the Town Hall be used for parking?

Neither of these facilities has been considered as part of the development.

7.Will St Oswald School be moved to another location?

No. This has never been considered as part of the development and it is not within our remit to consider it.