Shropshire Liberal Democrats

Alan Johnson’s promise to make it easier for people to die at home has been criticised as an empty gimmick by local Liberal Democrats. “The essence of good care of the dying is a strong, local Primary Health Care team,” said Dr Charles West, chair of Ludlow Liberal Democrats. “Shropshire County PCT has just pulled district nurses out of the local Practices and they are steaming ahead with Alan Johnson’s plan to open Polyclinics and large Health Centres which will lead to the closure of small local Practices. Shropshire has had some of the best local healthcare teams in the country. The PCT has seriously damaged the teams by withdrawing district nurses, and Polyclinics will further damage local services. If Alan Johnson thinks that a new central initiative will undo the damage to local services he doesn’t understand the way healthcare works.”

“This is yet another initiative that ignores the needs of a rural county like Shropshire,” said local campaigner Heather Kidd. “If someone in my family were dying at home what they would want is a district nurse they know and a doctor they know. Now the district nurses are no longer based locally in the local Practice, and if the government has its way some of the local Practices will disappear altogether. It is time that we stand up for our local NHS: the doctors and nurses we know and trust. Any new money should be put into these vital services.”

Rural areas are entitled to good service too

Heather Kidd, Lib Dem Parliamentary Campaigner for Ludlow and Bridgnorth is to lobby the main mobile service providers in the area following the revelation that the rural areas of Shropshire may not have received the recent upgrade of the mobile network demanded by the Government in the 3G programme.

“I have been in consultation with the service providers for some time” said Heather “following a significant number of complaints from residents about reception black spots along major trunk roads such as the A49 and the A458, not to mention smaller roads which cover Ludlow and Bridgnorth Constituency”.

“Under the terms of the ‘3G’ licence issued to the five major service providers* they had to upgrade the system to a new, higher standard for 80% of the UKs population. OFFCOM confirmed this week that the last of these had met their obligation. The situation in parts of rural Shropshire remains just as bad however.

“The key word here it seems is ‘population’. Sources I have spoken to inside the industry think that rural Shropshire falls outside of the main population centres where this 80% live and the system here has probably had scant attention paid to it in recent years. At some point Government must realise that the rural areas are entitled to a good service too. In some ways sparsely populated rural areas need mobile phone system even more than the very urban ones.”

“Given that BT are now proposing to remove another tranche of rural phone boxes this is now becoming a real safety issue especially along our major roads. I will therefore be writing to our major service providers and asking pointing out the more serious black spots and asking if there are any plans to remedy these. I will also be asking if there are plans to upgrade our system to the same standards as most of the country enjoys”

Community campaigner Claude Bodenham has expressed delight at the agreement of West Midlands Rural Regeneration Zone (part of Advantage West Midlands) to back the upgrade of the Community Centre in Craven Arms with a range of new facilities.

“I’m delighted with this news” said Claude “We’ve worked very hard to try and secure the funds to give us a community centre we can be proud of. Work can now go ahead to provide the centre with a café, a new computer area, a new entrance along with a number of other improvements”.

The funds from the West Midlands Rural Regeneration Development Zone have been secured by a partnership between the community and regeneration officers from SSDC. Claude had lobbied hard at regional level over the last three years to secure this grant. Today (Tue 27th May) the endorsement of SSDC’s Executive Committee means that the project can proceed.

Cllr Heather Kidd, who was Council Leader at the time the bid was launched and who had also lobbied the region on its behalf said “I would like to congratulate the Council Officers and all in the community who worked so hard over the last few years to make this possible. The extra funding secured can make a real difference to the range of facilities available to the town.”

Worthen Ward District Councillor Dr Tim Watson has expressed delight at the Award today (Tue 27th May) of a £1500 grant to Stiperstones Shop and Post Office from South Shropshire District Councils Small Shop Grant Scheme.

“I’m delighted with this news” said Dr Watson “Stiperstones is one of the Post Offices threatened with closure and this grant will help keep the shop a viable going concern. I am also very pleased that we have secured the maximum available amount of £1500”.

Tim supported and recommended the submission by the Shop owner, John Sproson, to the Council.

Cllr Heather Kidd, who conceived the scheme and successfully proposed it to the council in March added “This is the first grant made from this scheme and I’m glad to say its being awarded to precisely the type village business its designed to help. Rural shops are under such pressure these days that they often lack the resources to modernize or adapt to changing circumstance. Hopefully this grant will help Stiperstones shop remain a valued service not only to the residents of Tim’s Ward but the many from my own who use it”.

Neville Stephens, Lib Dem District Councillor for Craven Arms, is to put further pressure on the three agencies concerned to complete the repairs to the rail bridge over Clun Road in the town.

Cllr Stephens explained “This work started last October and were due to finish last January but it is now late May and they are still not finished! I have been in contact with the County for some time over this pushing for a resolution. I have had a large number of residents contacting me on this issue, they were willing to put up with disruption for a while but this is taking far too long.”

The repairs to the railway bridge have narrowed the roadway on the busy Clun Road to what is effectively a single track and also restricted the footpath.

“I was told by the County that a meeting of the three parties (Network Rail, the contractor and the County) is imminent and I have impressed upon then the need for a speedy resolution of this work as residents patience is wearing a bit thin.

“I ‘ll be speaking again with the County immediately after the holiday to see if this meeting has occurred and press for an early date for completion”

It is clear that Shropshire will be forced to have a polyclinic whether it wants one or not, as Shropshire county PCT embarks on a sham consultation.

Health Ministers have repeatedly assured the public in the press, on radio and in conversations with senior doctors, that polyclinics are not compulsory. But the PCT believes that there is no choice. They have embarked on a consultation not on whether to have a polyclinic, but on where it should be.

“This idea was dreamt up to meet a situation in parts of London,” said Dr Charles West, chair of Ludlow Liberal Democrats. But even in London there are worries that the old, the young, the pregnant and the mentally ill will all miss out. These are the very people who need the NHS most of all. In a rural county like Shropshire a new large clinic in Shrewsbury is totally inappropriate. It is will offer nothing to those that live outside Shrewsbury. It is likely that at least one Shrewsbury Practice will become non-viable, and may close. And, perhaps worst of all, there is a risk to patients who may seek treatment at the new clinic without the doctor knowing their full medical history.”

Heather Kidd, LibDem Parliamentary Candidate for Ludlow and Bridgnorth, has called for a more co-ordinated approach to the issue of homelessness, following the release of figures showing a significant growth in the number of families in temporary accommodation in the County.“We have a serious and growing problem across Shropshire providing homes for many of our residents” said Heather Kidd “For years we have recognised that have had a problem with homeless young people. Now these figures show a growing problem with homeless families.”

Research figures published by the Liberal Democrats this week shows that the number of families living in temporary accommodation doubled to 86,000 in the period 1997 to 2007. Although the rise in Shropshire was not as severe, numbers still rose by 19% over the same period.

Heather continued “The big problem we have had up till now is the near invisible one of homeless young people – the sofa surfers. This is still a major problem with 166 new cases in Shropshire last year. However, a combination of high house prices and an economic downturn have caused many families to lose their homes.

“Although many of the factors causing this trend are national, with the new Unitary Authority we have the opportunity to be more proactive to tackle the problem. For too long the upper echelons of local authorities in Shropshire and elsewhere have brushed the problem under the carpet. This needs to have a much higher profile in the new authority and I know that the LibDems want to make it one of their priorities.