Brent Health Matters - Time to Talk Meeting Wednesday 17th March 5.30pm - 7.30pm

 

 

From Brent Council

Brent residents are invited to join the council and NHS partners at an event where details about the Brent Health Matters programme to address health inequalities in the borough will be explained and workshops will be carried out to listen to communities. The event takes place on:

Brent Health Matters – Time to Talk Event

Wednesday 17 March 2021, 5:30 to 7:30pm

To register go to: https://timetotalkbhm.eventbrite.co.uk

 

The aim of this event is to set the current Covid and health inequalities context and then engage faith, community, voluntary groups and organisations, local residents and businesses across the borough in designing and delivering the Brent Health Matters programme that is being implemented to tackle local health inequality issues.

We want to gather feedback from the community on 

(a) their perceptions of local health inequality issues and

(b) what local action plans should include to address these issues.

This feedback will help develop work to improve the health for all the different communities that make up Brent. From April 2021, they will be able to further shape action plans and see how their feedback has developed into tangible work by the community, Council and NHS partners if they continue to follow the Brent Health Matters programme as a Community Champion or Community.

 

REMINDER: Brent and Camden Cladding Meeting Tonight 6-7 - L&Q apologise as window falls out on South Kilburn development

 

BOOK HERE

As MPs, councillors and campaigners prepared for the above meeting tonight there was a reminder that the issue with new build is not limited to cladding and the fire risk - it is the overall quality of the buildings that have included balconies that flood, failed heating and ill-fitting windows that are a cause for concern and culminated in a window falling out recently endangering pedestrians in the street below.

 

The fallen window

The void left by the fallen window

 

 L &Q Homes were forced to apologise when a window fell into the street from bourne Place, one of their South Kilburn new builds:

They told Inside Housing LINK :

 

“Thankfully nobody was hurt, but this was a shocking and worrying incident.

“The safety of our residents is L&Q’s number-one priority, and we are very sorry for the concern this has caused.

“Our surveying team attended the site immediately to make the window safe and begin a thorough investigation into why and how this happened.

“All residents in the block were sent a text message on Saturday afternoon, and we were able to check the windows in the homes where we were able to gain access over the weekend.

“Our surveyors have assessed that there is no further immediate risk but advised residents to keep windows shut while we urgently complete a full inspection this week.

“We will continue to keep residents informed and updated while we work to resolve all issues as quickly as possible.”

 

 

Boxpark advertising – public safety or profit? An update

 A Guest Post by Philip Grant

Last month, I wrote a guest blog about a planning application, which seeks to remove a condition from an existing planning consent. That condition was put there for public safety reasons. You can read the details in my earlier blog here.

 

The Olympic Way crossing on Fulton Road, and the LED screens (“JD WE’RE BACK”)

 

The condition prevents moving image adverts from being shown on large LED screens fixed to the Boxpark building in Olympic Way, when vehicles are using Fulton Road. It is designed to protect pedestrians on Olympic Way, as they use the busy crossing at Fulton Road, from drivers who may be distracted by the moving images.

 

After I submitted my objection to that planning application, the Planning Case Officer decided that the application was invalid, because ‘the proposals appear to be unclear in terms of which screens they are referring to and which screens the Highways Assessment appears to be relating to.'

 

Drawing from the planning application, noted to show where moving image adverts are proposed.

 

Now the application has been resubmitted, and has been validated, with the original planning application number, 21/0379. The new public consultation period on the application runs until 22 April 2021, so if, like me, you are concerned that it would be unsafe to remove that condition, you can make your objection on the Brent planning website for 21/0379. There is also a related advertisement consent application at 21/0427.

 

One of my original concerns was that only two people (one of which was Quintain) had been consulted on this application, and no local residents. Now letters about the application have been sent to a number of addresses in the Olympic Way area, although 16 of the 23 were to various parts of floors in the Olympic Office Centre (I wonder how the Covid-19 vaccination centre there will respond!).

 

An extra address has been added to the formal consultees, but this is “Environmental Health – Noise Team’ at the Civic Centre (although I think the proposal is for moving images, not movies to be shown on the screens). One of the specific points made in my February objection comments was:

 

‘When the original application was considered, both Brent's Public Safety Manager and the Metropolitan Police submitted comments on public safety matters. It is imperative that their comments should also be sought on this application.’

 

Why have they been omitted from the revised list of consultees? That is a question I will not just ask in this post!

Philip Grant.

A Just Transition for Aviation Workers - a Green Party Trade Union Group discussion

   

 

The contribution of flying to global warming has long been an issue for environmentalists with many activists refusing to fly, most notably Greta Thunberg, and others rationing themselves to flights only when there is no alternative - although of course some would argue that the alternative is to stop completely, although that is a fraught decision in communities such as ours when families have so many relatives oveseas.

The rise of zoom conferencing during the pandemic may well  lead to an overall reduction in flying in the business sector and those not very healthy 'red eye' flights.

'Just Transition' refers to the demand that the transition to a low carbon economy is only viable if workers in the high-carbon sectors are offered alternative training and employment and not thrown into unemployment.  The importance of the Green Party engaging with trade unions over these issues was reiterated at our recent conference and a commitment made to emphasise work with trade unions and trade unionists in pursuit of a just transition.

 

 

PATIENTS REJECT USA TAKEOVER OF BRENT GP SURGERIES -- Accusations of Cronyism, Corruption and Cynicism, As American Corporation Makes A Grab For Two Brent GP Surgeries

Outraged patients are demanding that local NHS leaders reject a “Trojan horse” takeover of their GP surgeries by Operose Health, and start the public procurement process to find a new provider.  Brent CCG’s Primary Care Commissioning Committee is meeting on 17th March to discuss a regional NHS recommendation to approve the Operose takeover of AT Medics Ltd that previously ran the NHS contract for two GP surgeries, Burnley Medical Practice located in the Willesden Centre for Health and Care and The Wembley Practice based in the Wembley Centre for Health and Care.

 

Operose is a heavily loss-making subsidiary propped up by US based health insurer, Centene Corporation which is registered in Delaware, and has paid no UK tax.  Centene could pull the plug on Operose at any time forcing the the shut-down of a large number of GP practices.  Centene’s shareholders have accused it of financial cover-up and insider share dealing.

 

Operose Health’s publicity states openly that its market strategy is to exit NHS contracts that do not make a profit.  In one instance an Operose associate company pulled out of running Camden Road Surgery giving patients only 4 weeks to register elsewhere, to the fury of Camden councillors.

 

Patients argue that an open procurement process will guarantee patient safety and provide sustainable and transparent GP services, as opposed to Brent CCG rubber stamping a takeover where assurances by AT Medics have already been broken and Operose comes with a dubious financial future.

 

Nan Tewari, a patient of The Wembley Practice, accuses the NHS North West London region of wilfully misusing the pandemic as cover to bounce other local CCGs into rushing through approvals of the Centene/ Operose takeover bid.  Former Brent NHS non-executive director, Ms Tewari explained:  

 

It didn’t take much for our own basic internet research of Companies House records to uncover how Operose Health and MH Services are controlled and bankrolled by Centene to the tune of £tens of millions.  Then there is the little matter of Operose’s CEO and a director being former senior NHS executives.  Is it cronyism and corruption, or serial incompetence by greasy pole climbers, that led NHS NWL to withhold this vital information from the local CCGs?

 

On the one hand you have NHS region insisting Brent CCG has no choice but to agree the Operose takeover and on the other, it is advising that ultimate responsibility lies with Brent CCG as the legal decision-maker of the Brent GP surgeries’ future.  The breathtaking cynicism in this dishonourable ploy lies in NWL region knowing perfectly well that with Brent CCG soon to be abolished under national plans, patients will have no come-back if Centene decides to pull the financial plug on Operose and the surgeries close down.  Then, NHS region will shamelessly lament the late Brent CCG’s poor judgement and lack of prudence.  I’ve seen a similar scenario played out here in previous years.

 

She added: 

 

 NHS NWL says it’s satisfied by unenforceable ‘assurances’ that former GP surgery contract holders, AT Medics, would remain in control of the surgeries, yet in the space of a few short weeks since the Operose takeover, all the AT Medics directors have resigned or been sacked  It’s deplorable how NHS region gets away with continually palming off its sub-standard services and empty promises onto Brent patients.

 

Not that long ago, 3 reputable, UK tax-paying surgeries in Queens Park had wanted to merge and they were made to jump through a load of hoops and be grilled at length by Brent CCG’s Primary Care Commissioning Committee.  The double standard of NHS North West London practically instructing the CCG to push through the Centene/ Operose takeover under secrecy of ‘Chair’s Action’ and without any similar questioning, is a public scandal.

 

As with the Queens Park surgeries’ merger, the CCG must now fulfil its legal duty and moral obligation to Brent patients, and commission a reliable company through open public procurement rules, to run the two surgeries.

 

BRENT PATIENT VOICE RAISES KEY ISSUES OVER AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION, SCRUTINY, DUE DILIGENCE AND FINANCIAL STANDING

Click bottom right for full size document

 

UPDATED WITH COUNCIL STATEMENT: Disabled South Kilburn pensioner still has no PEEP despite applying to Brent Council 6 months ago

John Healy, a disabled pensioner on the South Kilburn Estate has been given the run-around by Brent Council in his attempts to get them to issue a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) to safeguard his life in the event of a fire. He contacted me in desperation after getting nowehere with councillors, housing officers and his MP:

I am grateful for anything that you might be able to help me with, including contacting the council on my behalf.   I sent my completed PEEP to the council last September but they have not contacted me about it.  Since them my mobility has got much worse and I am now housebound.

I keep ringing them and emailing the council and also my Kilburn Ward councillors  but no one replies. I escalated it by contacting my MP but she has not replied either, although she did sent me an automated email saying she had received my email and would get back to me sometime.

Inside Housing had a story last Friday, on how several disabled people died trapped in their homes in Grenfell tower and I could be facing the same situation in my block as no one can ever predict when a fire may break out.

 

I offered John Healy a chance to tell his own story on Wembley Matters. Here it is:

GUEST POST BY JOHN HEALY

I am a 70 year old male, living on my own in a South Kilburn high-rise, with a mobility issue and a hearing impairment (in both ears) I am registered with Brent Council as a disabled person but unfortunately I also caught the Covid  back in early March 2020 which has worsened my mobility issues and at the end of Feb. 2021 my legs felt they like they had lead attached to them and the result was I was unable to walk at all. I had been asking the council for a PEEP (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) for over 6 months but they will not issue me with one.

 

I need a PEEP urgently in case my high-rise needs an emergency evacuation e.g a severe fire and I would need the assistance of someone to help me evacuate my flat but without having a PEEP no one will be aware of my situation. I assume there will be many more disabled people in Brent needing a PEEP which the council needs to respond to immediately, as it could be a matter of life and death.

 

 

Currently Parliament is set to make it a legal requirement (Ref: The Fire Safety Bill) for all councils in England to issue a PEEP to all disabled people living in high rises who need one.  They will use a 'traffic light system' that will identify the risk level of every disabled person living in a high rise flat e.g. red for people with mobility issues and green for people with hearing impairments.

 

Although I am not a leaseholder myself, I am a member of the disabled leaseholders group who have been campaigning to get the government to pay for the removal of dangerous cladding from their own high rises but some of them also need a PEEP,  I have submitted a question to the panel at next week's cladding meeting on Zoom (see WM post below for details) where I have asked the panel, "Why does Brent Council refuse to issue me with a PEEP?" and hopefully both my MP's might give me a response.  I have previously sent three emails to my MP but she has not replied yet. That is ok as I know she is very busy dealing with other serious issues all of the time.

 

It appears that my high -rise has even fewer Fire Prevention measures than were in situ at Grenfell e.g we do not even have any fire alarms that could alert all our residents if a fire was to break out and help them to evacuate more quickly.  The council have also said it would be a waste of money to install sprinklers in my high-rise, as it is due to be demolished in 2026/27 as part of the South Kilburn Regeneration programme.

 

At Larkanal in 2009 everyone who died were not disabled but were families with children and they were told to remain in their 4th floor flats and wait for the fire service to come & rescue them - they were burnt alive. Some people might not think being on the 5th floor is high enough to be a threat but the Grenfell fire started on the 4th floor. But for me it is about evacuating myself down our only fire escape, unable to see in the smoke and with everyone non-disabled in a hurry to get out and I might be in their way due to my slow pace.

 

Several disabled people at Grenfell had this experience for real and they described being knocked over by others trying to escape

 

When I first moved into the block in 1993 the council had a policy saying no one with a disability should be housed above the 4th floor but they said 4^th  or 5^th - what's the difference?  But it could be difficult to escape if you cannot walk even if you are only one floor up.

 

Brent Council has not implemented any of the Fire Safety Risks – Means of Escape for Disabled People (2007) LINK  measures in my tower block and I assume in the other 37 high rises in Brent.  e.g. my block does not even have a Fire Alarm.

 

Finally, The London Fire Brigade believes that everyone will be safe if sprinklers are installed in every high rise across London and that every council should install them without delay.  But it seems the council do not consider that my life and my fellow residents are worth saving, as they have decided we are expendable.  But if the council were to issue me with a PEEP, at least it would increase my chances of surviving, unlike all the disabled residents who tragically lost their lives at The Grenfell Tower in 2017…

 

Disability Rights UK has  insisted that disabled people in high rise flats should have a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan. LINK  

 

Time for some action.

 

Today (March 17th) Brent Council responded to Wembley Matters with the statement below. Kilburn ward councillors have not  yet  reacted to an offer to publish their response:

 

A Brent Council spokesperson said: "Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEP) are essential for anyone who may need assistance in the unlikely event of being advised to leave a building because of fire. We're concerned that something seems to have gone wrong here and have contacted Mr Healy to put it right.

"Last year, we proactively reached out to all tenants, asking anyone who needed assistance to complete a PEEP. We don't seem to have received a PEEP from Mr Healy and will be investigating what has gone wrong here, along with Mr Healy's comments about not being able to reach us.

"If any Brent Council tenant, who does not already have a PEEP, and would require assistance in a fire evacuation, we urge them to contact HousingManagement@brent.gov.uk or call 020 8937 1234."