Broad beans and cabaret this afternoon

I popped down to my allotment yesterday afternoon to see what I could harvest in preparation for cooking a dish for this afternoon's Brent Stop the War/PSC fundraiser. Pretty dispiriting compared with last year when courgettes, french beans etc were available. This year the slugs have had them and much else beside. The combination of early drought and later heavy rain - and lack of warm sunshine - has been devastating.  I have been left with lots of broad beans and a few globe artichokes so I am having to use my imagination and creativity. Plenty of raspberries for summer pudding but sweet corn has barely moved for weeks.

All this has led to many conversations with fellow allottees, not just about climate change but also recognising that if we were small-holders relying on our crops to feed our families this year, they would probably starve. Which of course confronts you with the realities of farming in this country as well as subsistence farming abroad. Salutary

Anyway the sun is out so this afternoon's fund-raiser in a lovely garden in Willesden Green with wonderful food, live music (including a cabaret performance by Green Party member Deborah Fink) and bar should go well.  The garden party starts at 4pm so there is still time to book your ticket.

Cash bar. For more information or to reserve your ticket

ring / text 07951 084 101

Trolley queues at over-stretched Northwick Park A&E

Brent Green Party member, Pete Murry, was recently admitted to Northwick  Park Accident and Emergency ward. In the following Guest Blog Pete reflects on his experience which raises issues of concern for what the future holds if Central Middlesex and several other neighbouring A&Es close.

At about 7.30 pm on Monday 9^th July 2012, I was told by a member of the STARRS District Nurses, (based at Central Middlesex Hospital), that based on my blood tests, STARRS and my GP had decided to have me hospitalised by ambulance. I assume that this was because my mobility was very restricted at the time and that this was the quickest way to get me to hospital.

The ambulance arrived at my house in Dollis Hill at about 8pm.  I asked the ambulance crew if I would be going to Central Middlesex Hospital, as this was where I had gone when I had been hospitalised previously. I was told I could not go there as the Accident and Emergency Department CMH closed at 8.30pm. It was therefore decided to take me to Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow.

The ambulance arrived at Northwick Park Accident and Emergency at about 9pm. I was wheeled into the hospital lying prone on a stretcher accompanied by two ambulance men, the three of us immediately joined a queue of other potential A and E patients on stretchers or wheelchairs, each also accompanied by ambulance crews and sometimes also by friends and/or relatives. As far as I could make out in the queue in front of me consisted of about six or seven patients and others were frequently joining the queue after me.

I don’t recall any of the other patients in the queue shouting out, crying or giving any indication of being in great distress, so I have no idea if there was any procedure for emergencies to go to the front of the queue. If such procedure existed it would have made the wait of the “more routine” patients longer.

The restriction that was causing the queue seemed to be the number of available curtained –off A&E treatment areas available, until one became vacant, patients had to queue. When an earlier a patient was moved out of one of these treatment areas, a patient from the queue could be moved into it and also then be formally transferred from the care of the ambulance crew into that of the A and E Department.

I don’t know, but I assume that as well as arriving at Northwick Park A and E by ambulance, potential patients may have been arriving by other means.

By about 9.55pm, I was at the head of the queue, at this stage the member of A and E personnel in charge of handover ‘re-designated’ two Gynaecology rooms as being empty spaces available for A and E admissions.  I was wheeled into one of these rooms by about 9.58pm.

The ambulance crew who had had charge of me until then explained that if a patient was logged as waiting for one hour, this became logged as an “incident”, which apparently meant extra paperwork for both the ambulance crew and the A and E staff.

Within about 15 minutes I was moved from the Gynaecology room to one of the curtained –off A and ;E treatment areas and the use of the Gynaecology rooms seems to have been a temporary ad-hoc measure to deal with the queues of ambulance patients, but it was taking place at 9pm on a Monday night when there were no adverse conditions or unusual events adding to the number of potential A and E admissions.

After my wait in the queue, I was not fully tested and assessed in A and E and transferred to a ward until about 2am, but I think I was dealt with as promptly as possible by the A nd E staff. My concern is how much of the initial wait before I was assessed by Aand E was due to Northwick Park A and E having to deal with extra cases such as mine who might otherwise have gone to Central Middlesex Hospital.

 

It seems that the run down of Accident and Emergency  facilities at CMH, (let alone their total closure), may displace demand onto other facilities which may not have the capacity to deal with them promptly. Further more the reduction or closure of CMH Accident and Emergency  a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ in regard to ambulance admissions, because ambulance patients have to go where they are taken, which may not necessarily be the nearest or best source of treatment.

If an ambulance can’t take a patient to a closed facility does this show a lack of demand for the facility that has been closed?

Wembley Olympics - summer jams ahead?

With Lorraine King at the Kilburn Times managing to get Transport for London to admit that they have rephased traffic lights ahead of the Olympics LINK, resulting in tailbacks; road closures on Wednesday for the Torch procession, and Olympic lanes around venues, advice to residents not to use Wembley Park station, we can expect some confusion in the weeks ahead. 

The video below attempts to explain the restrictions.  It has collected a number of critical comments, including some suggesting that the arrangements are really for corporate sponsors, rather than athletes and officials as the video claims. 

Brent MPs under pressure to take up hospitals fight

Sarah Teather, Barry Gardiner, and Glenda Jackson have been targeted by campaigners against hospital closures and privatisation of the NHS in a petition launched this week. The petition reads:

To: NHS NW London, Sarah Teather MP, Glenda Jackson MP, Barry Gardiner MP,

NHS NW London is consulting on proposals which would mean the accident and emergency department at Central Middlesex Hospital, already closed at night, closing for ever. This could be the first step in the downgrading of the hospital, which serves some of the most deprived wards in Brent with the greatest health needs.

We the undersigned demand: 

· The reopening of A & E at Central Middlesex Hospital to provide a full 24 hour emergency service with all necessary back up.

· No cuts to community, mental health or other services. The government can find money for the banks, they should restore the £1billion they are cutting from NW London Health Services.

· An end to privatisation which provides an inferior service for patients and cuts in jobs, pay or worse working conditions for staff, creaming off profits for private companies.

Campaigning organisations will be collecting signatures over the summer and into the autumn. You can run off your own copy using the link below and collect signatures in your workplace or neighbourhood.

Exciting race to get Wembley Central ready for Olympics

Will it be ready for Wednesday?

The refurbishment of Wembley Central station has been dragging on for years and this blog has frequently called attention to its state of dilapidation and suggested it makes a poor Olympic gateway.

Last week suddenly scaffolding was erected on the exposed and rotting shed like structure above the station and it looked like something was happening.  Alas, yesterday afternoon  at 3pm when this photograph was taken, no work was going on.

It is possible that one of those pinkish-purplish Olympic banners that are going up all over Wembley will be strung across the façade to hide the sins beneath, or will a glossy new station sign be erected in time?

The torch procession will be coming along the High Road outside the station at 10.45am on Wednesday morning. It looks like an exciting finish - will Wembley Central station be ready in all its refurbished glory?

Persuade Brent Council to campaign on Central Middlesex A&E Closure

Could local hospitals cope with something similar after closures?

 Local resident Carol Foster has launched the e-petition below: Anyone of any age who lives or works in Brent can sign the petition. Follow this LINK

We, the undersigned, petition Brent Council to do all in its power to prevent the closure of the Accident and Emergency Department at Central Middlesex Hospital. This will include making the case against the closure and seeking support for this position on all appropriate bodies on which the council is represented.

SUPPORTING INFORMATION

•  North West London NHS is consulting on proposals in 'Shaping A Healthier Future' which would mean that Central Middlesex Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department, already closed overnight, will close for good. This is likely to be the first step in the complete down-grading of the hospital and its potential closure in the long term.
• The hospital serves some of the most deprived wards of South Brent which have poor transport links with Northwick Park Hospital, the likely alternative A & E.
•  The area is the location of major roads including the North Circular and the Harrow Road; railway lines including the Euston-Birmingham main line, Overground, Bakerloo, Chiltern, Metropolitan and Jubilee lines, a major industrial area in Park Royal; as well as waste management and other potentially pollution causing processing plants in the Neasden area. The area also includes the major venues at Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena.
•  All of the above are potential locations for major incidents necessitating ready access to an Accident and Emergency facility.
•  Ealing Council has already committed itself to actively fighting the proposals and Brent Council should do the same.

Wembley's re-cycling graffiti wall ready for Olympics

Readers may be interested in this press release from Seneca, a subsidiary of Careys:

Waste management company Seneca has unveiled a 508-foot long recycling–inspired mural at its materials recycling facility (MRF) in Wembley, North West London, in a bid to tackle a graffiti problem at the site.

The company was approached by the Brent Graffiti Partnership, which includes Brent council, British Transport Police, Network Rail and the Brent Police, to address problems it had been having with vandals spray painting the side of its materials recycling facility (MRF), after it opened in May 2011.

A series of recycling-inspired images havebeen installed to tackle the graffiti problem at Seneca's Wembley MRF

The facility processes residual waste collected from the West London Waste Partnership, and produces refuse derived fuel that is exported to Europe.

Graffiti

On researching the issue Seneca discovered that graffiti artists consider it bad manners to tag or paint over someone else’s art, and so the idea of creating a street art mural was chosen as a suitable solution to the problem, with all the artwork created using spray paint and stencils.

Artists from across the globe as well as school children from from Harlesden Primary School, Barham Primary School, St. Robert Southwell Catholic Primary School, Roe Green Junior School, Gower House School and Vernon House School have contributed designs and artwork to the project, which includes a sculpture made entirely from material received at the MRF.

The mural overlooks the Jubilee and Metropolitan London underground lines running between Neasdon and Wembley Park and is created entirely from spray paint and recycled materials.

Unveiling the mural, Michael McLarnon, operations manager at the Seneca MRF, said: “The project was created after we had been approached by Brent council’s Graffiti Partnership. The MRF has been targeted by vandals and with the Wembley area highlighted because of the Olympics we thought it was appropriate to do something that engaged with the local community.

“We came up with the idea to create the mural and we are honoured to have artists come from all over the world to take part in this worthwhile project.”

Mural

The mural has taken over 6 months to create, and is thought to be one of the largest outdoor art installations in Europe.

Simon Egbor, Brent council community safety project officer and member of the Graffiti Partnership Board said: “Over three years ago graffiti crime was costing the council in excess of £400,000. This was a real problem and the formation of the Graffiti Partnership Board has managed to focus both council and external partners in not only cleaning graffiti but setting up operations to identify graffiti vandals and enforce action.

“We approached Seneca with this idea as the use of murals in graffiti hot spots has proven to be a successful deterrent. This is illustrated by past murals that we have commissioned including one on Harley Road, Harlesden.”

Gove to go in September? Will Truss take over?

Elizabeth Truss

I've been doing the round of end of terms concerts and graduation ceremonies at local schools and as usual have been impressed by the talent displayed by Brent children, their confidence and sheer zest for life.  Their teachers are by this time, in the helter skelter of report writing, open evenings, sports days, outings and productions are frazzled, just waiting for Friday.  I wish them all a wonderful summer holiday and the weekend change in the weather should raise their spirits,

Something else may also raise their spirits over the holiday if they have kept their eyes in the rumblings from Whitehall.  There are rumours that the cabinet reshuffle in September may see Michael Gove moved to the Home Office to replace Theresa May.

Initially, the tip off that in this public school educated cabinet, his successor may be a working class woman who was educated at a comprehensive school, may raise spirits even more but a closer look at Elizabeth Truss may make them pause for thought. She has lambasted her own comprehensive education and spoken against 'soft' A level subjects and modular assessment, Both her parents were public sector workers, left-wing and CND supporters and many of her teachers at her Leeds comprehensive were left-wing.

She rejected all this to become an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, completing a GCSE project on her downfall entitled 'End of an Era'.  Will it be the end of an era for some of Michael Gove's obsessions or will Truss take up his baton with relish?

Watch this space.

Thanks to the News Statesman for some of this information. See the full profile HERE