A correspondent writes …

It seems that local elections might take place in May 2021.  Is it a coincidence that many DCC councillors rarely heard from are suddenly popping up with columns in newspapers all over Devon?  And is it coincidence that our (unimpressive, overpaid) Police and Crime Commissioner now promising more police?

Should councillors up for re-election (and the Police and Crime Commissioner) have their newspaper columns marked “This Councillor/PCC is up for re-election in May 2021 and any claims made in this column should be fact-checked/researched by readers/voters”?

Or, as with some US newspapers, given a “Pinnochio alert” of 1, 2 or 3 Pinnochios, depending on the “creativity” in the columns?

Owl reported yesterday Alison Hernandez “on manoeuvres”

Devon County Council is launching a community testing programme to identify asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus, people who show no symptoms, and is encouraging critical workers and others who are not already receiving regular testing, to start booking their appointments.

Health and Wellbeing Posted on: 3 February 2021 www.devonnewscentre.info 

The rapid lateral flow tests give results in around 30 minutes.

Around one in three people who have coronavirus do not show symptoms, so these tests are to identify those non-symptomatic carriers of the virus, to require them to self-isolate immediately to prevent them from transmitting it to others.

The first site has opened at County Hall, Exeter, with at least a further 13 community testing sites planned to open across Devon over coming weeks. Plymouth and Torbay authorities are organising their own rapid community testing in parallel.

The tests are specifically for critical workers and those in high-risk occupations who still have to attend work, such as taxi and bus drivers or retail workers.

They are also for people who are in contact with others who are vulnerable, such as carers, who do not currently display symptoms.

People with symptoms – high temperature; new and continuous cough; change in their usual sense of taste or smell – should self-isolate and arrange a test via the national NHS testing programme, using the GOV.UK website or by calling 119.

The County Hall community testing centre has capacity to process up to 300 tests per day, but potential to scale up to twice that number of tests each day if required.

Steve Brown, Director of Public Health Devon, said:

“Community testing is a quick way of identifying people who are likely to have the virus in order to prevent them from transmitting it to others.

“We’ve initially piloted the County Hall site in order to make sure staff are fully trained and that the testing process itself works smoothly.

“Individuals can choose to walk-through, or drive-through, two testing areas.

“Tests are being turned around quickly, with results back to the individual within the hour, via text and email.

“We’re now calling on people to take the test to help protect others and to stop the spread of coronavirus.

“We have opened up our booking system to larger numbers and are inviting critical workers whose jobs require them to work face to face with others, and people who care for others who are vulnerable.

“A negative test result will mean they’re able to carry on their essential business or caring role, however a positive test result in around half an hour will require them to self-isolate at home.

“It important to stress that taking the test, even if the result is negative, does not discount the need to continue following national guidance around social distancing, wearing a face covering, and washing your hands properly and regularly. These simple steps are still vital in preventing the transmission of the virus.

“The national advice is front line workers and people who have regular contact with the public during their working week, to be tested twice weekly. If you visit see the public less frequently, you may wish to test on the day of the visit or the day before.”

To book a test, visit Devon County Council’s website, http://devon.cc/testing

“We intend to roll community testing to at least 13 locations in Devon this month and next. Most of those will be fixed facilities, while some will be mobile units in order that we can reach rural communities and businesses. Some will be by appointment only, and we will be inviting people to book appointments at their closest venue.”

The exact locations for the sites are yet to be announced, however they will be in the following areas.

Barnstaple

Honiton

Newton Abbot

Tiverton

Exmouth

Tavistock

Sidmouth

Seaton

Axminster

Ottery St Mary

Okehampton

Ivybridge

Bideford

Cullompton

Kingsbridge

Exeter (x2)

Woolacombe

Ilfracombe

Lynmouth

Posted in: Community | DCC Homepage

Closing community hospitals in a pandemic – the CCG hasn’t learnt, and Health Scrutiny lets down another local community

Cllr Marin Shaw  seatonmatters.org Posted on January 27, 2021

Yesterday’s Devon Health Scrutiny Committee faced a decision on the Devon Clinical Commissioning Group’s proposals for Teignmouth and Dawlish. These involved 3 key proposals to move services from Teignmouth Community Hospital (TCH) to either Dawlish Community Hospital or a new health hub in Teignmouth which will include one of the GP practices. A 12-bed rehabilitation ward which the CCG previously promised for TCH would be scrapped. The plan would leave TCH empty and ripe for its owners, an NHS Trust, to re-develop the site.

Health Scrutiny received strong representations against the plan from the local community in November, and in December held a Spotlight Review at which it was agreed that the CCG’s consultation – held during the pandemic – had been flawed. Even despite a skewed questionnaire, none of the 3 proposals to move services had majority support among respondents – most were opposed or unsure. Even on its own terms, the CCG had failed to convince the local community.

What is more, it had failed to produce evidence that community care was an adequate replacement for, rather than complement to, bedded intermediate care in community hospitals, evidence for whose benefits had been provided by Dr Helen Tucker, chair of the Community Hospitals Association, and others. The Committee’s Labour Vice-Chair, Cllr Hilary Ackland, strongly emphasised this point, and was the main author of a paper Health Scrutiny sent to the CCG explaining its reservations.

The CCG then met, but ignored the Committee’s views – the only point in its recommendations which addressed them was a plea for the district council to look into parking for the new hub, a serious issue (as anyone who’s driven around Teignmouth town centre will know), but a secondary one.

Health Scrutiny therefore had to decide whether to follow through and use its key statutory power to refer the proposals to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) which reports to the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock – who incidentally has said that he’s a fan of community hospitals. However 7 Tories including East Devon councillors Sara Randall-Johnson (Chair), Phil Twiss, Richard Scott and Jeff Trail, plus (disappointingly) Hilary Ackland, voted against my proposal to do this. I got the support of Independent Claire Wright (of course), Lib Dem Nick Way, and Tories Sylvia Russell (Teignmouth) and Andrew Saywell, so this was lost 8-5. (For Claire and me, this was all very deja vu.)

Instead the Committee voted to try to monitor the development and have informal discussions with the IRP. Given the advanced stage of these proposals and the CCG’s dismissal of the Committee’s views, I’m afraid this will be taken as a green light. I find it astounding that in the midst of a pandemic which has exposed the beds crisis in the NHS, in Devon as across the country, the CCG should continue mechanically with this pre-pandemic scheme and Health Scrutiny should fail to stand up for the need to keep our community hospitals – or at least insist on postponing a decision until we can look properly at what the needs will be – in the post-pandemic world.

CCG Chair Dr Paul Johnson even referred to Long Covid, believed to affect up many Covid sufferers, the full scale of which is very much unknown. Yet at a time when the NHS in Devon and elsewhere is turning patients out of hospitals and in many cases into care homes (which continue to suffer more outbreaks), a possible role for the rehabilitation ward in Teignmouth was dismissed out of hand.

Perhaps the most depressing thing about this meeting, indeed, was that Dr Johnson suggested that as soon as the pandemic declines, the extra money for the NHS will be turned off, and Devon NHS will be back in the world of endless cost-cutting in which it was a year ago, when the pandemic hit. Either he has learned nothing, or he’s expecting the Government to have learnt nothing, or both.

Enormous rocks have collapsed from a cliff face in Exmouth and have crashed onto a popular beach.

Chloe Parkman www.devonlive.com

The arches on a cliff at Orcombe Point – below the Eastern Steps – have tumbled onto the sand.

In a statement on Facebook, Exmouth NCI said: ”Huge new rockfall at Orcombe Point, Exmouth.

”Please stay away from the bases of the cliffs.

”Prolonged rain, big surf and spring tides continue to undermine the cliffs.”

Huge cliff fall in Exmouth (Image: Exmouth Coastguard and Rescue Team/Richard Bramwell)

In an additional warning to the public, Exmouth Coastguard Rescue Team said: ”Please keep well away from the area as the cliff is still very unstable and further collapses could still happen.”

The cliff collapse at Orcombe Point comes after research by Plymouth University on coastal change has predicted we will see more erosion than first thought

The study suggests parts of the coastline at Seaton, areas either side of Branscombe and East of the River Sid at Sidmouth may see more erosion than previously predicted.

Last year, Sidmouth saw a number of cliff falls – with three occurring in just 24-hours.

Photograph shows the cliff arches before the collapse (Image: Ben Griggs)

Following the research by Plymouth University, East Devon District Council’s strategic planning committee recommended that Cabinet consider the wider implications of this study beyond the setting of planning policy at their earliest opportunity, but with a note of caution that further work may need to be carried out to provide a fully informed paper.

Cllr Geoff Jung, portfolio holder for Coast, Country and Environment, said: “This is clearly an important piece of work to inform future planning policy and it is very much distinct from work that we are doing on coastal protection measures.

“We’re making great progress in developing beach management plans and coastal protection works. These will be designed to slow the rate of erosion in Seaton and Sidmouth and hopefully prevent the worst case scenarios identified in this study from occurring.”

The beach management scheme for the town, consists of adding a new rock groyne on East Beach, importing new shingle onto Sidmouth Beach, and East Beach, and raising the existing splash wall along the rear of the promenade.

It aims to maintain the 1990’s Sidmouth Coastal Defence Scheme Standard of Service and reduce the rate of beach and cliff erosion to the east of the River Sid, the scheme is now fully funded and is estimated to cost £8.7m – subject to the Environment Agency approving the submission of the council’s Outline Business Case.

Quite a list of achievements for barely eight months in power.

             State of the district council address – what we’ve done since taking over

A view from East Devon Council leader Paul Amott, as published in the Exmouth Journal this week.

I am indebted to former Conservative District Councillor Ann Liverton of Sidmouth for the structure of this week’s column.

Last week in the Sidmouth Herald she stated that all she wished to hear from me was matters of interest to the people of East Devon.

Perhaps mistakenly, I felt I had been doing that. My understanding of an ‘outstanding columnist’ was of someone who tried to write as best they could of relevant matters without merely rehashing press releases.

That would be an “outstanding propagandist”.

However, mindful of one’s duty to all readers, I will depart from my normal style for a week and provide Mrs Liverton with some ongoing highlights of the work of the administration I have been leading since June.

1) We have begun the Local Plan review, the consultation for which went live this week.

2) We have left the democratically-deficient GESP and as promised are engaging with the other districts under our duty to co-operate, no longer risking losing control of major developments to an upper-tier.

3) We have established a portfolio to ensure that Climate and Environmental issues will be of central concern and are funding a new officer to co-ordinate this.

4) We have entirely reconfigured the committee managing Exmouth seafront, with new officer roles to support this. We have deleted the “temporary car park” from the seafront and are making sure attractions are there for the summer.

5) With good anticipation of the financial problems which are now with us, we set up the new LED Monitoring Panel to cover its current financial crisis and the future relationship when the contract is due for renewal in the next year.

6) We commissioned external auditors to write a report regarding S106 and CIL, where members with direct experience briefed the auditor, as well as officers. This was a critical cultural change.

7) We have been unprecedentedly active in seeking to understand the Council’s Assets – previously opaque – some of which historically have passed to others well below their actual value. With courtesy and diligence, we are seeking information from officers and a more transparent approach is now emerging.

8) We resisted the “line of least resistance” urged by some to the issue of Cranbrook Town Centre and – over the course of three meetings and complex negotiations – a much better deal has been secured.

9) We have overseen and fully participated in the management, analysis and distribution of Covid funds from the government – a complex, evolving and time-consuming matter for officers and members alike.

10) We have overseen and managed the massive Covid challenges surrounding loos, play areas, licensing, public spaces, waste and recycling, seafront safety, and how to conduct public events safely, including decisions to allow or cancel them. All of this has been very time and decision intensive and our working relationship with officers has been exemplary; they deserve praise for coping so well in the crisis.

11) We have exercised hands-on management of the deficit created by Covid to ensure a secure financial base for the council itself.

12) We have ensured a major communications exercise about Covid-19 to keep East Devon informed and have engaged with food banks and local support groups across the district. We have also supported the Poverty Working Panel’s emerging work in line with our agenda to tackle poverty across the district.

13) In a process from September to January, we considered the mental health of both members and officers recognising the stresses to both – and will now appoint an officer to take initiatives on this

14) To recognise the importance of all these elements to our economy and well-being, last week we appointed a new Cabinet member for Leisure, Sport & Tourism.

15) Regionally, we have mounted a vigorous defence of the District Council against the threat of abolition, including from the two MPs, and for the time being, have prevailed.

[Owl recalls that Sasha Swire gave the Livertons a rather unfortunate sobriquet to describe how they were always popping up and down at meetings]