Extra Link articles
Articles we didn't have space for in November 2024 Link:
News from our Hospital
For all the doom and gloom currently in vogue, it is perhaps appropriate to mention our local hospital trust is the only one in the south east which is improving. Whilst productivity, which is also improving is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, this improvement is reflected in the particularly high level of elective work at present, starting to slowly eat into waiting lists, not easy when one recognises that demand is growing at 10% a year. The doom and gloom approach is also not helping with staff morale, despite giving their all, which is evidenced by some of the amazing patient feedback stories relating to how staff have gone way beyond expectations in their care and dedication.
Despite all the negative Government news about the new hospital programme, the team tasked with bringing a new hospital into being continues to work apace, currently adjusting the original plans in the light of the feedback from the public consultation earlier this year. This consultation highlighted concerns around transport, especially for some demographics, and the value of a dropdown facility, for those not requiring full hospital treatment. That a new hospital is required is beyond dispute, with building maintenance and energy costs rising rapidly, thereby adding to the unsustainable financial burden; growing issues of layout; and the rapidly changing nature of modern treatments. Thus, a new hospital locally is still very much on the cards, as the present is just not sustainable!
A new dropdown facility will help enormously with the ongoing issue that is widespread across all hospitals, namely bed blocking due to lack of social care. This is inevitably going to get worse as our population ages, and as has been recently reported HCC, like so many other County Councils, is in growing financial stress. Will we see this situation deteriorate even further this winter with this Government’s decision on pensioners’ winter fuel payments.
The public consultation, did also highlight a lack of understanding about the plans to create urgent treatment centres (UTC’s) and a central emergency department (ED). The plans are for the ED to handle ‘life threatening’ cases with a highly dedicated skilled and well-equipped team, giving faster response without having to draw resources from UTC work as is currently the case, thereby aiming at significant improvements to patient outcomes. Meanwhile, the aim is to establish UTC’s to handle the other work that currently coming into ED departments, including for example full fracture treatment facilities.
Keith Bunker
Governor for the Council of Governors for the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT)
Probus Hears About The Titanic And Her Times
By the 1890s Britain was losing its global position to both Germany and the USA. To maintain influence in the world soft power was used to replace gun boat diplomacy. One way was to have the biggest, most luxurious ocean-going liners to attract the world’s wealthiest people. Who better to build such leviathans but the most famous ship builders in the world, Harland & Wolff of Belfast.
This background was explained by speaker Dr Stephen Goss, an Ulsterman whose great grandfather was a painter on RMS Titanic in this famous shipyard.
It was the only place to build three ships for the White Star Line whose names became part of history, the Olympic, Titanic and the Britannic. At 46,000 tons the Titanic was the largest ship in the world and was fitted out to the most luxurious level. Its safety measures considerably exceeded the maritime regulations of the day. The Marconi Company was employed to relay ship to shore messages using the latest Morse Code system.
The sinking of the Titanic is well known but the wreck’s discovery was complicated as the Marconi operator gave an incorrect position. There had been several attempts to find the wreck, but Robert Ballard was financed by the US Navy to use the Titanic quest as a cover to search for two nuclear submarines lost in the 1960s. They did not want the Russians to be aware of this search or its result.
Locating the two submarines left twelve days of the contract to find the Titanic and, on 1 September 1985, they located a boiler in a debris field. The rest is history, culminating in June 2023 with Titan, the observation submersible, imploding with the loss of five lives.
The future of Harland & Wolff remains uncertain as of 16 September 2024 it was reported the company entered administrations for the second time in five years. The company is expected to continue operations normally while its non-core operations wind down.
See www.probusbasingstoke.club
Paul Flint
Articles we didn't have space for in September 2024 Link:
Know your rights: Appealing a parking ticket
Citizens Advice Basingstoke is a charity providing free and confidential advice on a wide range of issues including benefit eligibility, homelessness, employment and energy enquiries. Here, we are looking at rights around appealing a parking ticket. You can appeal a ticket if you think you were parked correctly. For example, if a parking attendant thinks you stayed too long when you were in fact within the time limit.
By law, a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) or Excess Charge Notice (ECN) from the council – issued on public land, such as a high street – must be cancelled if you didn’t break the parking rules. You can check these rules on GOV.UK or on signs near where you parked.
When you park on private land, such as a supermarket car park, the parking rules (the terms and conditions of using the car park) should be made clear on nearby signs. If you’re given a Parking Charge Notice and can prove you stuck to these rules, your ticket should be cancelled. This is because the parking company can’t argue that you didn’t stick to their terms and conditions.
For more information on appealing a parking ticket, please go to www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/parking-tickets/appealing-a-parking-ticket/
If you would like to speak to an adviser, please call the Citizens Advice Basingstoke Adviceline free on 0808 278 7829, Monday to Friday, 9-5pm. We are here to help.
Hampshire County Councillor Update Candovers Oakley and Overton Division
Cllr Juliet Henderson
Hampshire Childrens Services rated ‘Outstanding’
As chairman of the select committee for Children and Young People I am absolutely delighted to see that our Children’s services continue to be rated as outstanding by Ofsted
Supporting children and young people to get the best possible start in life and protecting those who are most vulnerable is one of our top priorities, so we’re pleased to share that our Children’s Services have once again been rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted – the second time in a row.
Hampshire children and families who need extra help and protection continue to be supported by one of the few authorities in the country with outstanding rated Children’s Services. Our dedicated staff continue to make a positive difference, despite the backdrop of growing demand and complexity in the needs of children.
Learn more at https://www.hants.gov.uk/.../20240723outstandingofstedresult
Highways Information
Road Repair Update
Hampshire County Council has been hard at work fixing potholes and road defects!
From April 2023 to April 2024, they delivered a whopping 180,909 repairs – a 37% increase from the previous year.
Potholes impact daily journeys for residents, whether commuting to work, heading to school, running a business, or exploring our beautiful county.
Thanks to an additional £22.5 million investment over two years, our highways service and main contractor, Milestone, have been able to deploy more resources to tackle these road issues promptly.
And Hampshire isn’t alone – colder, wetter winters take a toll on roads everywhere. Plus, inflation means it now costs taxpayers around 44% more to repair a pothole.
But fear not! Summer’s here, bringing drier, warmer days. Our highways teams are on it, fixing potholes, smoothing surfaces, and maintaining roads across the county.
Reporting Highway Problems
Links to report road issues are here:
Potholes: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/roadproblems/potholes
Tree/hedge problems:
https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/roadproblems/treehedge
Flooding/drainage issues:
https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/roadproblems/flooding
Pavement problems:
https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/roadproblems/paving
Problems with rights of way:
https://www.hants.gov.uk/landplanningandenvironment/rightsofway/reportaproblem
When reporting an issue, you’ll be sent an email confirming a reference number for the report. If you would like me to follow this up for you then do please forward that message to me and I will chase for you
Hampshire Country Parks this Summer
With the school holidays upon us there is loads to do at Hampshire County Council country parks and farms.
From bug hunts at Staunton and Queen Elizabeth Country Parks, to a Film Festival at Royal Victoria Country Park and a Seashore Safari at Lepe there are dozens of things to do, most particularly to keep your little ones occupied.
The general link to the country park and farm site is here: https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/countryparks/
Hampshire Archives Talks
There's another fantastic event coming up from Archives - Hampshire County Council and Archives in a few weeks time.
Entitled 'The Women's Institute at War' this online talk is given by local historian Phoebe Merrick who will talk about how the WI contributed to the war effort in the villages of southern Test Valley.
The talk is on Monday 2nd September, from 6-7pm. It costs £6 per person and you can register for it here: https://www.hants.gov.uk/.../womens-institute-at-war-090924