Lee Green Local Assembly

A new way of working in which you and others will decide how to improve your area

Tuesday 10 June 2008, 7.00pm-9.00pm
Emmanuel Pentecostal Church Hall
374 Lee High Road, Lee
London SE12 8RS

For more information call 020 8314 6026 or visit www.lewisham.gov.uk/localassemblies

And Manor Park Needs You Too!

There's now a new User Group for Manor Park and we need your help to make the new group a success!

Following the recent renovation of the park by the Environment Agency things are looking good, but there’s still a lot to to do if we are going to get the Leahurst entrance and develop the building in the park.

The next meeting of the Manor Park User Group is on

Monday 2nd June 2008, 7:30pm
Parish Room of the Good Shepherd, Handen Road

and the User Group needs to set up a committee in order to continue the development of the park and work with the Council and Glendale to ensure it is properly maintained. This is a very exciting project so why not come along and join our committee? We’re looking for a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

You can get further details by emailing me , or calling me (Cllr Paul Bentley) on 020 8297 4849

The Triangle Nature Reserve Needs You!

The restoration of the nature reserve has now reached the point where you can get actively involved in the development and maintenance of this unique area. How do you get involved? By joining the Friends of Hither Green Station Nature Reserve!

Why not come along to our next meeting on

Wednesday 25th June 2008, 7:30pm
Parish Room of the Good Shepherd, Handen Road

And why not join our committee? We’re looking for a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity so why not come along and join us?

You can get further details by emailing me or calling me (Cllr Paul Bentley) on 020 8297 4849

Architecture & Building in London

If you're interested in London's architecture and the built environment you shouldn't miss these exhibitions:

Des Res

Des Res is an exhibition about the housing challenge facing London. It on until the 14th June at the Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London WC1E 7BT. This is a terrific exhibition and there's a fully illustrated, and very informative catalogue with pictures of all the featured buildings and schemes available in the in-store bookshop for £3. You can find further details on the New London Architecture website. Highly recommended.

London Festival of Architecture

This is billed as a "Citywide Exploration and Celebration of the Capital's Built Environment". It's on from the 20th June to the 20th July and you can get full details of the festival programme at the LFA2008 website.

Review of Empty and Under-Used Properties in the borough

The Sustainable Development Select Committee is due to carry out an in-depth review of Empty and Under-Used Properties in the borough, with a focus on identifying the extent of the problem, and looking at ways to reduce numbers.

The Committee would like to know about any problematic empty or under-used properties (either commercial or housing - this may also include lock-up garages) that you are aware of in Lee Green ward, particularly problematic examples (e.g. concerning noise or nuisance issues; environmental concerns; longstanding under-use or emptiness, etc.).

I'll pass on any replies I receive to the committee.

Lewisham Cyclist's City Slicker Ride

This Sunday the 18th May 2008

Meeting up at 11am at The Crown - top of Blackheath Village
and 11.30 at Cutty Sark Gardens

ROUTE
Thames Path to Tower Bridge, over then return along the north side to Greenwich Foot Tunnel.
Easy and flat.

All welcome, suitable for children age 7+ who are confident cyclists and new or returning cyclists.

Further details from Tom Crispin

What children's and teenage books would you like to see in Manor House Library when it re-opens?

Joanne Moulton, Lewisham's Children & Young Persons Librarian would like to hear what your favourite authors and books are, and what you'd like to see in Manor House Library when it re-opens either this December or January 2009. Now's your chance to email Joanne and nominate your favourite picture books, novels, graphic novels, manga and non-fiction books!

Last chance for thousands of young Londoners to sign-up for free travel

Lewisham Press Release:

Last chance for thousands of young Londoners to sign-up for free travel

Applications at Post Offices must be made by this Saturday 10th May for new Oyster photocards to be issued in time for the 1st June


Transport for London (TfL) is today (Thursday) issuing a final call to the families of up to 35,000 11 to 13 year olds in London to act before they lose their privilege of Free Travel on buses and trams this summer.

To continue to qualify for Free Travel 11-13-year-olds must apply for a concessionary Oyster photocard for the first time – by this Saturday, May 10th – in order to be sure of receiving their cards in time for the 1st June. Application forms are available at Post Offices across the capital.

From 1 June everyone aged 11 and over must touch in with a valid Oyster photocard when boarding a bus or at a tram stop to continue travelling for free.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: “It is very important for young people to realise they cannot use the bus without touching in first. Photocards for all young people over the age of 11 will be the first step in restoring civility on our buses.

“The need for all under 18s to carry an Oyster photocard will make enforcement of the Free Travel scheme easier and prepares the way for Payback London. Payback London will see those under-18s who have their bus passes withdrawn for breaking the young persons’ free travel Behaviour Code given the opportunity to earn them back by engaging in Community Service.

"For those 11 and over who are just getting their cards - my message to them is to treat it like the privilege it is and enjoy travelling around London for free".

Steve Burton, Director of Community Safety, Policing and Enforcement at TfL said: “There are just two days left for thousands of families to ensure their children continue to benefit from Free Travel from 1st June.

“We will do our best to process any late applications, but we will not be able to guarantee your Zip Oyster photocard by 1st June unless we receive your application by Saturday.”

Fourteen and fifteen year-olds have been using Oyster photocards to qualify for Free Travel since the scheme was first introduced in September 2005, and those who still hold valid passes do not need to apply for a replacement.

The new 11+ Zip Oyster photocard has been available since January. Since then, posters have been displayed on the bus network about the scheme and schools have been contacted to spread awareness of the changes to Free Travel regulations, which include mandatory validation of Oystercard on every journey.

In addition, London Buses Revenue Protection Inspectors (RPIs) have been issuing warning letters to thousands of young people travelling on the bus network without the relevant photocard in April and May.

Anyone without a concessionary Oyster photocard will have to pay the adult fare for their journey, and anyone found travelling without a valid pass or ticket for their journey may be liable for a £20 penalty fare.

Further details are available at www.tfl.gov.uk/zip

Supermarket Shakespeare!

Teatro Vivo, who have entertained us brilliantly in the past in Manor House Gardens, are now bringing Shakespeare to the Supermarket. This is really not to be missed and you can catch their performances this Sunday afternoon at Lee Green Sainsbury's at 3pm, or at 7pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. The Tannoy announcements are superb - Chris you're a lucky man! - and I don't think I've ever seen kids have so much fun in Sainsbury's before.

Fantastic fun - don't miss it!

New community notice board at Hither Green station

There is now a new community notice board up at Hither Green station. You'll find it alongside the FUSS board (which I'm sure you're all aware of) in the entrance tunnel to the station. The community board is open to anyone in the ward who has a ward meeting, AGM, event or entertainment to promote. All items are accepted up to A4 in size subject to space being available, and must be legal and non-political.

To get your item displayed you can either email it to me, or 'phone me on 020 8297 4849 for the address to drop your artwork into.

Hither Green is a popular and heavily used station so this is an ideal way to get your activities noticed!

First meeting of the Friends of Hither Green Triangle Nature Reserve on Wednesday the 30th April

The Triangle is one of the best kept secrets in the ward. It's a surprisingly quiet and peaceful area of land in a gully between platforms 4 & 5 on Hither Green station which had become derelict until my colleague Cllr Andrew Milton (Lewisham Central ward) and I kick started the restoration process by making funding available from the 2005 Locality Fund. Since 2005, working in partnership with Network Rail (who own the land and generously provided a new access staircase to the site), Southeastern (who operate the station), Envirowork Lewisham (who generously donated funding and the workforce to clear the site) and Lewisham Council, a lot of progress has been made towards restoring the site to its former glory. We are now at a stage in the restoration process where the local community can get involved and we made funding available in the 2008 Locality Fund to establish a Friends of Hither Green Triangle Nature Reserve to take the work forward and ensure the Triangle's long term survival.

The first meeting of the newly formed Friends of Hither Green Triangle Nature Reserve group will be on Wednesday the 30th April at 7.30pm in the Parish Room of the Good Shepherd Church in Handen Road, and this is the proposed agenda for the meeting:

1. Approval of the proposed constitution.
3. Election of a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, and any other officers as required by the groups constitution.
4. Amend or revise signatories to the Co-op Bank application if applicable.
5. Discuss the Friends agenda for the rest of 2008.
6. Arrange the date and venue of the next meeting.
7. AOB (Any Other Business)

At this meeting the Friends are looking to elect a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Would you like to join the group and take on one of these roles? The constitution only proposes 4 meetings a year so the work load shouldn't be too onerous and you'd be making a big contribution to our local community. If you'd like to discuss what you'd be expected to do please feel free to either email (preferred) or call me on: 020 8297 4849.

To support the group we've also set up a Yahoo Group for the Friends which is open to all members. Yahoo Groups are essentially mailing lists (but with a lot of additional features), and the idea of it is to improve communication and reduce the number of meetings everyone will need to attend. How the group works is very simple; every email you send to the group goes to all members, and issues and ideas can be discussed between meetings. It is also a useful place on the Internet to store files relating to the Triangle and allows you to only download what you need/want to read.

This is a very exciting opportunity to bring a unique and once derelict piece of land back into community use. Why not come along to the meeting on the 30th and be a part of restoring the Triangle to its former glory?

First meeting of the Manor Park User Group on Monday the 28th April

The first meeting of the newly formed Manor Park User Group will be on Monday the 28th April at 7.30pm in the Parish Room of the Good Shepherd Church in Handen Road.

This is the proposed agenda for the meeting:

1. Approval of the proposed constitution.
3. Election of a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, and any other officers as required by the groups constitution.
4. Amend or revise signatories to the Co-op Bank application if applicable.
5. Discuss the MPUG agenda for the rest of 2008.
6. Arrange the date and venue of the next meeting.
7. AOB (Any Other Business)

At this meeting MPUG are looking to elect a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Would you like to join the group and take on one of these roles? The constitution only proposes 4 meetings a year so the work load shouldn't be too onerous and you'd be making a big contribution to our local community. If you'd like to discuss what you'd be expected to do please feel free to either email (preferred) or call me on: 020 8297 4849.

To support the group we've also set up an MPUG Yahoo Group which is open to all MPUG members. Yahoo Groups are essentially mailing lists (but with a lot of additional features), and the idea of it is to improve communication and reduce the number of meetings everyone will need to attend. How the group works is very simple; every email you send to the group goes to all members, and issues and ideas can be discussed between meetings. It is also a useful place on the Internet to store files relating to MPUG and allows you to only download what you need/want to read.

Why not come along to the meeting on the 28th and be a part of improving Manor Park?

Lewisham Council Liberal Democrat Group response to the 'A Picture of Health' consultation

This is our group response to the 'A Picture of Health' consultation:

-----

Lewisham Council Liberal Democrat Group

Group Leader: Cllr Mark Morris

c/o Liberal Democrat Office
London Borough of Lewisham
Town Hall
Catford,
London SE6 4RU

A Picture of Health Consultation

7th April 2008

Dear Sirs

I am writing this response on behalf of the 17 Lib Dem members of Lewisham Council. As a member of the Joint Overview Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) I have been involved in scrutiny of A Picture of Health (APOH) and have taken evidence from various sources. We have then discussed the issue and this letter has the support on my colleagues.

There are many issues and concerns raised by the consultation and business case.
It should be noted that many residents contact us to say they either did not received the consultation document or that they found the format and presentation so difficult it discouraged them from responding. However, I think it is easier for us to concentrate our concerns into three areas. Each area raises concerns about the viability of A Picture of Health and we formally ask the JPCT to reject the 3 options presented and reconsider the shape of our local health services.

APOH will lead to insufficient capacity to meet the demand for services

Our main concern is health care for the residents that we represent in Lewisham. We are therefore particularly concerned about the impact on A&E Services, Maternity and Paediatrics services. There is evidence that the current levels of provision struggle to meet the existing demand. We know that our area faces demographic changes, the official figure is that the borough of Lewisham has a population of 250,000, which we believe is an under-estimation and there is a number of people living locally and needing health services but are “hidden” from official data.  If the GLA prediction of growth by 35,000 is correct, there will be growth of over 15%, again we are concerned that this is an under-estimation of the actual population growth.   In local authority terms this population increase will lead to between 2 to 3 wards being added to the borough, in health service terms it will clearly place an extra pressure on local services.

Currently there are four A&E departments within the area; their average rate of breaches of the 4 hour standard exceeds the London wide average. Options 1 & 3 in APOH suggests the closure of University Hospital Lewisham, the busiest A&E department within the cohort, whilst keeping Princess Royal Hospital which has breached 34 weeks out of the last 52 (between March 2007 & March 2008) and Queen Elizabeth Hospital which has breached 9 weeks out of 16 weeks this winter (18th Nov 2007 -2nd March 2008). The Government tells us that patients should not have to wait more than four hours before being seen at an A&E department, our local hospitals are consistently failing to achieve this. There should not be any closures of A&E departments until hospitals can demonstrate they can cope with present workloads.

APOH argues that visits to the A&E departments can be dramatically cut, although various strategies over the last decade to achieve this have failed (It is interesting to note, for example the NHS Direct aims to reduce visits to GPs and A&E departments yet often the advice is to “do this….then go to A&E to be on the safe side”) There is insufficient evidence to suggest that public will be well enough educated to achieve the reduction in attendances in the timescale set by APOH. It states that it would speed up the journey through A&E for those with more serious conditions, implying those with less serious conditions will not be treated within the 4 hour standard. Few sites for A&E departments does not equate with greater efficiency and with the greater travelling times, many patients will find they have a longer period between an incident and treatment. We are not convinced that closing two A&E departments, including the busiest (currently getting 18,000 attendances per week); even with the additional capital investment (set at £10 million for the implementation for the whole of the APOH) will leave the area with sufficient capacity. It is noted that Kings College Hospital has predicted it will have considerable extra A&E attendances, which have not been factored into APOH.

Changes in the way that London Ambulance Services will deal with emergency calls have emerged during the period of consultation for APOH. It is difficult to have confidence in the accuracy of figures for reducing A&E attendances when so many different proposals are being considered separately but at the same time. At present LAS do not have the capacity to implement APOH, they will need to invest in additional vehicles and their paramedics will have to undergo extra training. It is therefore a serious concern as to whether they can rise to the challenge set by APOH. It is a grave cause of alarm to us that journey times from most parts of Lewisham to an A&E department, if options 1 & 3 are pursued will be far longer. These longer journey times will inevitably lead to a deterioration in patient care and may risk the lives of some patients.

The same pressures of capacity for A&E services exist for maternity services within the borough of Lewisham. The projected population growth will put extra pressure on fertility rates locally; Lewisham already has amongst the highest fertility rates in the UK. London is has experienced the fastest increase in birth rates in England since 2000 and the evidence suggests this trend will continue in Lewisham. Closure of maternity services at University Hospital Lewisham will leave about 4,000 mothers each year looking for access to alternative maternity facilities.

There is an assumption in APOH that homebirths will increase to 7%, we do not believe this achievable in Lewisham (currently homebirths account for less than 2% of Lewisham births). National maternity statistics indicate that around 50% of pregnant women will require some form of medical care during delivery and there must be adequate provision available in Lewisham to meet these needs. APOH has failed to identify the impact on services to the North of the borough. As with A&E services Kings College Hospital have predicted an extra impact on their maternity facilities and Guys/St Thomas will also be affected. The APOH team do not appear to have undertaken sufficient work or research in this area prior the consultation.

APOH fails to address the impact on health inequalities

The APOH project team has failed to produce their integrated impact assessment during the consultation period, this suggests that absolutely no consideration has been given to the impact on existing health inequalities and how these are should be addressed. Indeed several options will exacerbate the headline facts – people do not live as long in the north part of the Outer South East London( OSEL) sub region and peri-natal and incidents of still births are higher in the north part. Each PCT within the OSEL area includes addressing health inequalities among their priorities and there is no evidence that it is a priority within APOH. There are areas of greater deprivation in Lewisham than in the other parts of the area covered by APOH, this in many cases leads to greater need for hospital services. This will be reflected in the case load of Lewisham A&E – more manual work leading to accidents, for example. It might also be reflected in number of responses to the APOH consultation, fewer people from an area of higher deprivation will be in a position to respond.

The loss of a consultant led maternity unit will have a direct negative impact of addressing this issue. Deprivation is a factor in increased mortality and morbidity rates. The high number of teenage pregnancies and late presentations in Lewisham
and the diverse population are factors affecting use of these services. Over 50% of expectant mothers in Lewisham were themselves born outside of England, which suggests they do not have the natural extended family locally to support them in child birth. The caesarean section rate in Lewisham in 2006/07 was 31% against a national average of 23.5%. The Lewisham figure is considerably higher than in the southern part of the APOH area, it would suggest that any centralisation of obstetric and neonatal services should be near the area of greater need rather than moving it away.

The loss of maternity services in Lewisham will result in a denial of choice. This will most affect those who are less articulate and more vulnerable who will not necessarily question the decisions taken on their behalf by the medical practitioners. For those in living in poorer housing conditions the option for home births will not be seen as viable. Many of the current policy drivers in healthcare are about patient choice this will not exist for many Lewisham residents.

The options outlined in APOH place a greater reliance on travel for patients and their carers/visitors, this will have the greatest adverse impact on Lewisham residents with a lower car ownership and greater high levels of deprivation.
The demographics of Lewisham, a high transient population, a more diverse population, the sudden increase in population expected and the higher deprivation makes us apprehensive that the take up of community services and primary care will be sufficient to deliver conditions required for APOH. If the changes go ahead in the hospital provision and the improvement in community services are not accessed by residents, the safe being of these more vulnerable Lewisham residents will be jeopardised.

APOH will lead to an increase in the carbon foot print and will have a detrimental environmental impact.

Each PCT and government at every level claim to have regard towards the environment. They should have full and proper regard to the environmental impact of all their activities, policies and planning. There should be an Environmental Impact Study included as part of the public consultation. The premise of APOH is that fewer sites, separating planned and emergency care on to different sites and larger more specialist teams will provide improved health care and address the budget constraints facing the Trusts with PFI debts. The corollary of this is that patients will have to travel further for care. The ambulance service will be used more to transfer patients around South East London and carers and visitors will need to travel around the area. Public transport in South East London is deficient, it lacks an underground system and most links run north south and not east west making some journeys very difficult and the reliance on the car greater.

There will be greater pressure on the already congested road network. The congestion can often result in gridlock, whether caused by an incident such as the closure of the Blackwall Tunnel, a road traffic accident or road works in a strategic position or Christmas shoppers making the A21 impassable through Bromley in December. This problem will be considered normal urban living by many residents, they in return would expect health services to be closer geographically and able to meet metropolitan standards. The travelling time between Lewisham Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital will be unacceptable and may put some patients at risk.

The APOH states that there will be more investment in the Ambulance service to take account of the reduced number of A&E departments. If ambulances are travelling further crews will be occupied longer, in addition to this there will be a greater need for transport and would appear to create another capacity concern. It is not clear to the lay person whether APOH envisages transfers between hospitals for patients with multiple health problems; this will place further strain on the ambulance service and on the road network.

As local councillors we are concerned about the interface between a Council’s Social Services department and with a hospital. Currently a close working relationship exists with Lewisham Council social workers based in University Hospital Lewisham doing joint assessments for discharge, ensuring the correct support exists in the community or at home for a patient. It is not clear whether the Council will need social workers travelling around four hospitals in the sub-region. Or whether social workers based several miles away in another borough will visits homes for assessments. Each local authority has different support available in the community, different criteria for assessments and devotes a variable amount of resources to these services. We would object to one policy across the area and think this would be impossible to achieve. There is a danger of vulnerable people being discharged into an environment unknown to the hospital and without appropriate support.

In conclusion, may we add our concern about the future of The Children’s Hospital, Lewisham. It is our understanding that when the future of the famous Sydenham Children’s Hospital was previously threatened it was agreed to transfer the services to Lewisham Hospital. Since then a centre of excellence has been developed for General Paediatric Surgery and Rhesus Disease, the hospital treats children from as far afield as Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The Children’s Hospital is not just the buildings, it is the team of staff that have worked to create the national reputation for excellence to move or break up this team will lead to a deterioration of care. We would deplore any moves to destroy this.

Yours faithfully,

Chris Maines

Cllr Chris Maines
On behalf of Lewisham Council Liberal Democrat Group.

Sponsor Mark's Marathon Effort!

The leader of our Liberal Democrat group on Lewisham Council, Cllr Mark Morris, is once again running in the London Marathon to raise funds for the Mayor's charity, the Lavender Trust. If you'd like to support Mark you can donate online here.