HAVE YOUR SAY ON NEW TRAUMA AND STROKE SERVICES

Healthcare for London is currently consulting on proposals for two new services. The consultation closes on May 8th 2009:

• new trauma networks based around three or four new major trauma centres



• new hyper-acute stroke units and transient ischaemic attack (TIA sometimes called mini stroke) services

The first proposal is for three or four networks centring around one hospital designated a major trauma centre, serving local hospitals designated trauma centres. The major trauma centre would provide 24/7 immediate treatment for the most serious injuries. Local trauma centres will treat people with less serious injuries.

TRAUMA OPTIONS

1. Four trauma networks - Major trauma centres at Royal London Hospital, King's College, St George's (all working by April 2010) and St Mary's (by April 2012). Northwick Park and Central Middlesex linked to St Mary's Paddington.

2. Four trauma networks - The first three as above and the fourth, the Royal Free, working by April 2012. Northwick Park and Central Middlesex would be linked to the Royal Free.

3. Three trauma networks- Just the first three with Northwick Park and Central Middlesex linked to the Royal London.

Option 1 is the preferred option as it would give wider coverage and St Mary's would deal with a small number of local hospitals. It is also closer to central London, Heathrow and Brent. Option 3 may be preferred as it would be quicker to set up. You can express an option preference.

STROKE OPTIONS

Healthcare are proposing:

1. 8 Hyper-acute stroke units - these will provide immediate response to a stroke for the first 72 hours or until the patient has stabilised.

2. 20 Stroke units - these will provide ongoing care once a patient is stabilised including multi-therapy rehabilitation

3. TIA Services - these Will provide rapid assessment and access to a specialist within 24 hours for high-risk patients or 7 days for low-risk patients.

Northwick Park is a preferred option for all three services.

Further details

Questionnaire

BY-ELECTION SOON IN WEMBLEY CENTRAL?

Brent Green Party is ready to fight a vigorous campaign to win the Wembley Central seat in the event of a by-election.

A by-election is possible following Cllr Vijay Shah's decision to plead guilty to 11 counts of financial fraud at St. Alban's Crown Court. Cllr Shah is currently an independent councillor having lost Liberal Democratic Party support when charges were first brought against him. The other two councillors in the ward are Liberal Democrats.

Cllr Shah will be sentenced on May13th and if sentenced to three months or more , without the option of a prison sentence, would automatically be disqualified from holding a council seat. According to Wembley and Kingsbury Times sources he is expected to get a prison sentence.

Now that Cllr Shah has admitted fraud reportedly totalling around £50,000, it would be best for the electorate if he stood down immediately to allow a by-election to take place. He should not remain in public office. The Wembley Central electorate facing all the problems of the recession need to be represented by a fully engaged councillor of good standing.

The 2006 Local Election was closely fought between the Lib Dems and Labour:

Daniel Bessong (LD) 1709, Valerie Brown (LD) 1738, Vijay Shah (LD) 1824

Dhirajlal Katana (Lab) 1619, Navaratnam Paramakumaran(Lab) 1443, Zaffer Van Kalwala (Lab) 1420

Candidates from other parties all polled less than 500 votes each but the political landscape has changed considerably since 2006 and it could be an open and exciting contest.

GREEN VICTORY ON ASDA HAZARD

Brent Green Party's success in forcing Wembley ASDA to act on concerns over pedestrian safety wins substantial local press coverage today.

Following a two year campaign ASDA has made changes to the access road to its Wembley depot that means lorries will no longer block the pedestrian road crossing. Brent Greens wrote to police, Brent Transportation Unit, local councillors and the ASDA CEO; gained publicity in local papers through letters and demonstrations and put photographic evidence of the danger on the party's website and YouTube channel. They put their case to the manager of the Wembley ASDA at a meeting in December 2008 and were promised action.

A new gate (see photograph) was finally completed on Sunday 5 April, with the specific intention of allowing pedestrians safe passage.

Shahrar Ali, Green Party candidate for the European Parliament and Brent Green Party spokesperson for environment and planning welcomed ASDA's action: "We are delighted that ASDA has finally taken action to remedy the dangerous parking of lorries outside their loading bay, which until today presented pedestrians with a serious obstacle to the safe crossing of a slip road. It is notable that no other official body that we impressed upon, from the council officials to the highway police, were instrumental in getting the result the pedestrians and other road users were demanding."

An ASDA spokeswoman told the Willesden and Brent Times, "We are pleased to say now that this problem has been brought to our attention, it has now been resolved and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused customers or local residents."

CONSUMING TO DESTRUCTION

Dr Shahrar Ali, Green Party candidate for the European Parliament London region said,"The government may be busy congratulating itself for facilitating consensus at the G20 summit. But there has been wanton disregard of the climate change emergency."

"By ignoring the systemic causes of financial instability and promoting economic growth at all costs, the G20 leaders unwittingly conspire to bring the devastating harms of climate change ever closer."

Dr Ali continued, "The recent film Age of Stupid showed just how oblivious go-getting entrepreneurs could be to the unsustainability of their actions. Just see how the managing director of a low cost airline could have his supposed moral purpose coloured by the prospect of a fast buck."

"No, G20. Until or unless the cost to the earth is factored into the economic equation, through the promotion of sustainable green industry and a rejection of over consumption, there can be little cause for celebration."

The churchyard at Old St.Andrew's Church, Kingsbury has been undergoing a big clear-up recently. The work is being done under the Community Payback scheme where offenders do six hours a day unpaid work, rather than serving a prison sentence. Serious offenders are not eligible and most of those serving a community sentence have been found guilt of theft, traffic offences or public order offences. The scheme was recently in the news over proposals to make offenders wear high-visibility vests while at work. The scheme is run jointly by the Probation Service, Safer Neighbourhood Teams and the Local Authority.

St Andrew's Old Church dates from the 11th century and it is thought there has been a church on the site since Saxon times. It is Brent's only Grade 1 listed building and has suffered from vandalism. The church is owned by the Churches Conservation Trust but the graveyard is the responsibility of the Parochial Church Council of Kingsbury who have worked hard at clearing the churchyard in recent years.

Today in the Spring sunshine, paths had been cleared and there were masses of violets amongst the graves. The workers are constructing a hurdle type fence around the graveyard constructed from the trees and shrubs they have cut down. They explained that they hoped the ubiquitous ivy would climb over the hurdles and form a solid barrier. It was clear that the work had been done with sensitivity and perhaps even a little enthusiasm - surely better than languishing in a cell.

G20 A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Darren Johnson AM, Green Party spokesperson on trade and industry, reviewing the G20 Statement said Gordon Brown had delivered a “kick in the teeth for British industry and global sustainability.” He said Brown had “managed to pull off a global stimulus that includes less than seven per cent climate-friendly investment.”

He went on, “Britain’s over-reliance on financial services has been a spectacular failure. It’s time we re-built the real economy. There are a raft of emerging technologies waiting for government investment to kick-start the Green industrial revolution that will give us the economy of the future - a balanced economy that includes heavy industry and self-reliance on energy. We have a golden opportunity to beat the recession and the climate crisis in one - and we’re wasting it.”

He concluded, “Every time we see evidence of progress we also see evidence that governments are dragging their feet. They don’t seem to understand that the policies we need for tackling climate change will bring huge social and economic benefits. “We need more Greens in elected office, because we need to push parliaments and assemblies and local councils towards a better understanding and a better set of policies.”

Full Statement

LAST CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR SAY ON LONDON'S AIR QUALITY

A survey on air pollution in London closes tomorrow. The Environment Committee of the London Assembly is asking Londoners to say what air pollution is like where they live and work, and how air pollution has affected them.

About 1,000 premature deaths annually in London are attributed to poor air conditions and Brent has the busy North Circular Road running right through it. Boris Johnson's dropping of the low emissions zone and the Western Extension of the Congestion Zone means opportunities have been missed to improve air quality.

Have your say by filling in the short survey. Follow this link: Air Quality Survey

Brent MPs Criticise Omission of Climate Change From G20 Talks

Two of our local MPs spoke out in the House of Commons yesterday G20's failure to include the issue of climate change in their talks.

In the debate that followed the G20 statement, Barry Gardiner asked Alistair Darling, "Given that the world currently consumes each year the resources that the planet takes one year and four months to renew or replace, does my right hon. Friend agree that it is just as important that the G20 should have examined not only the credit bubble and fallout in the global economy, but the credit bubble in the global environment?"

Sarah Teather put the failings of the G20 more baldly in the Easter Adjournment Debate where she made an extended contribution. Reflecting on the Brent screenings of The Age of Stupid she said, "As the G20 meets today, having bumped climate change off the agenda, I cannot help but think that we almost certainly do live in the age of stupid. Not only has the G20 bumped climate change from the agenda, with the decision to look at it at the Copenhagen conference later this year, but it will have failed—at least I expect that it will have failed; we await the Chancellor's statement later this afternoon—to link the fiscal stimulus that so many countries are arguing for with the green economy. That most certainly is a very stupid thing indeed."

Later in the debate she said, "The G20 may have junked the environment this week, but we have time before Copenhagen in December to lay the groundwork for a serious climate deal that could make a huge difference. We need our Government to take a lead on that now, and to be at the forefront of climate negotiations. We must have a serious commitment to cut emissions by at least 30 per cent., not the 20 per cent. with time off for carbon trading that came with the European Union deal. We must also put developing countries' concerns at the heart of the climate change deal. We have grown rich in part by polluting. We must now repay that debt to the developing world by financing and sharing technology so that countries can access clean and green energy and develop in a sustainable way, and we must help developing countries to adapt to the damaging consequences of climate change that will, unfortunately, happen regardless of what we do."

Link to Barry Gardiner's Question and Darling's answer

Link to Sarah Teather's Contribution to Adjournment Debate 1

Link to Sarah Teather's Contribution 2