Daily Archives: 10 Dec 2018

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10 Dec 2018

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Developers/ Development, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation, NHS (local), PegasusLife

“Doctors say a new retirement village in Torbay will put too much pressure on care services ‘close to breaking point’ ” – and Sidmouth?

“Doctors are objecting to plans for a retirement village in Torbay because of the pressure extra elderly residents will add to local health and care services “already close to breaking point.”

English Care Villages has submitted plans to Torbay Council for a 159-home “continuing care retirement community” at Sladnor Park, a former holiday park near the village of Maidencombe on the coast between Torquay and Shaldon.

Maidencombe Residents Association says the apartments would be too expensive for locals and the isolated site two and a half miles from the nearest urban centre at St Marychurch would bring in outsiders who would increase pressure on health and care services.

Objections to the plan include one from Torquay GP, Dr Roger Fearnley, who warned health services were already “close to breaking point” and said the Sladnor park development would attract people retiring from outside the local area.

He said in a comment on the planning application: “This influx of people would put significant further strains on health and social care services which are already close to breaking point.

“I am not aware of any meaningful conversations between the developers and local GP practices. There seems to be the assumption ‘we will cope.’ We may not.”

Retired GP Dr Vivienne Thorn, who lives at Maidencombe, objected to the plan mainly because of its impact on local care services, and also questioned whether its isolated site could turn it into a “rich person’s ghetto”. She said the impact on health and social care had not been properly assessed.

Dr Thorn wrote: “An additional 200 elderly people will place an intolerable strain on GP and Community services.”

Richard Whistance, of Sladnor Park Road, near the development site, said approving the scheme would ruin the natural environment of the land and open the door to developing other countryside areas. He said it would affect rare wildlife including legally protected bats, slow worms, badgers, cirl buntings and nesting buzzards.

He said: “This is not to be ignored; especially in these times of rapacious development and ecological destruction, Sladnor Park needs preserving as countryside.” …”

https://www.devonlive.com/news/doctors-say-new-retirement-village-2313490

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10 Dec 2018

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Misc

What’s our Local Enterprise Partnership up to these days?

You tell Owl. Here is their latest Newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/heartofswlep/june-newsletter-8h8kvgd0ac-1566865?e=fa5cdb1f18

What do YOU take from it? Owl takes …. nothing at all! LOTS of words, Lots of CAPITAL LETTERS, lots of lists … saying … not very much.

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10 Dec 2018

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Austerity cuts, Poverty, Universal Credit

“Civil Servants Spent £1,125 On Universal Credit Cakes For Staff After Northern Ireland Roll-Out”

Nuff said!

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/northern-ireland-government-buys-forty-cakes-for-staff-after-uc-rollout_uk_5c0e849ae4b0edf5a3a6ece1

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10 Dec 2018

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Accountability, Sidford Business Park, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury, Transport (local)

Could this happen in Sidbury?

Crashed lorry ‘holding up’ Breamore cottage:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-46499246

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10 Dec 2018

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Education (local), Inequality, Poverty

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“Grammar schools given £50m diversity bursary have 2 per cent of pupils from poorer backgrounds”

Colyton Grammar School will receive £490,000.
2.3% of its pupils have free school meals.
15.0% of Axe Valley Academy pupils have free school meals.
11.3% of Exmouth Community college pupils have free school meals.
The national average is 29.1%.
https://www.schoolguide.co.uk/schools/colyton-grammar-school-colyton

“The grammar schools awarded £50m of funding by the government classify just 2 per cent of their admissions as disadvantaged, according to research.

The sixteen schools, which have been given a share of a £50m investment awarded by the government to expand their institutions are said to have some of the worst diversity records in the country, according to the House of Commons library.

Altogether, the funding will create 4,000 more grammar school places from poorer backgrounds.

The pot, which the government said it would provide in May, was criticised for providing a “covert” way to annexe the schools, which were accused of limiting social mobility, reported The Independent.

In order to qualify for the fund, the institutions had to submit plans on how they would try to increase the proportion of poorer pupils, reported The Times.

0.4 per cent of pupils receiving free school meals

The schools applying for the cash had to submit plans on how they would try to increase the proportion of poorer pupils.

One of the schools receiving funds from the government has 0.4 per cent of its pupils receive free school meals.

At Kendrick School, a girls’ grammar in Reading, the figure was in comparison to 9.8 per cent of secondary school pupils receiving school meals across the local authority.

Just 1 per cent of pupils qualified for free school meals at Chelmsford County High School for Girls, in comparison to an Essex-wide figure of 9 per cent, reported The Times. …”

https://inews.co.uk/news/education/grammar-school-funding-diversity-50m/amp/

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10 Dec 2018

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Hinkley C, Local Enterprise Partnership, Sustainability

“UK’s nuclear plans in doubt after report Welsh plant may be axed” but too late for Hinkley C …

… which absorbs much of our regional funding via our Local Enterprise Partnership and its nuclear-benefitting business members.

“Fresh doubts have been raised over prospects for the UK’s new nuclear power programme after a report that Hitachi is considering axing plans for a plant in Wales.

The Japanese conglomerate’s mooted 2.9GW nuclear power station on Anglesey is next in line in the UK’s nuclear plans after EDF Energy’s 3.2GW Hinkley Point C scheme in Somerset.

However, Japan’s TV network Asahi reported that the Wylfa Newydd scheme may be scrapped, sending Hitachi’s shares up by almost 3%, before ending up by 1%.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/10/uk-nuclear-plant-hitachi-wylfa-anglesey

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10 Dec 2018

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, East Devon Tories, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local)

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“East Devon has one of the highest rates of excess winter deaths in the South West, official figures show” and stiil community beds close!Disgraceful!

“Around 26% more people died in winter than in summer on average, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Across the rest of the South West, that figure is 18%.

Every year, more people die in winter than in summer – due to colder temperatures, respiratory diseases and outbreaks of flu.

To measure the impact, the ONS compares the number of additional deaths between December and March to the rest of the year.

During the winter of 2016/17, the latest period figures are available, there were approximately 150 excess winter deaths in East Devon.

This meant 26% more people died during winter in East Devon, compared with the yearly average.

This was higher than in the previous year when there were 12% more deaths during winter.

According to the ONS, small population sizes can cause a significant amount of year-on-year variation at a local level.

Across the South West, winter was most deadly for people aged 85 and older.

Out of 3,130 excess winter deaths in the South West, 3,120 were older than 65, and 2,090 older than 85.

Across England and Wales, the rate of excess winter deaths varies from as low as 4% to as high as 51%.

Dr Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said that the data raised concerns ‘as to why there is such variation even between areas in a single region’.

He said: “This data must act as a prompt to those in power to look at these trends and recognise that the capacity of the health service is being stretched beyond all measures in winter.

“We have an older, frailer population with increasingly complex medical problems, a lack of funding across health and social care to meet demand, a recruitment crisis and persistently poor performance.”

Provisional data for England and Wales shows that excess winter deaths hit their highest level in more than 40 years during 2017/18.

There were an estimated 50,100 excess winter deaths, 45% higher than the previous year.

Health think tank the King’s Fund said it was concerned that this ‘could be the start of a trend of periodically high winter deaths’.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that the 2017/18 figures ‘were likely the result of a combination of flu and cold weather’.

A spokesman said: “We know flu is difficult to predict – that’s why this year we have a stronger vaccine for over-65s, and have made more vaccines available than ever before.”

https://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/east-devon-winter-deaths-nhs-figures-1-5812512

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10 Dec 2018

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Accountability, EDDC HQ, Outsourcing, Privatisation

EDDC HQ contractor’s shares plunge to 6p – in 2014 they were worth 700p!

Perhaps using local companies would have been less risky!

“The crisis surrounding outsourcing firm Interserve intensified on Monday as its shares lost more than 75% of their value, crashing to just 6p, as the government contractor battles to negotiate its second rescue deal this year.

The heavily indebted group, which has thousands of government contracts such as cleaning hospitals and serving school meals, said the rescue plan would mean substantial losses for shareholders as the banks that have lent Interserve more than £600m take control of the company. It hopes to wrap up a deal early next year.

Interserve’s shares plunged to 6p in early trading, giving it a market value of less than £9m. At its peak in 2014, the shares were worth more than 700p….”

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/10/interserve-shares-rescue-plan-carillion