Councillor Paula Winchcombe
Member Champion for Community Health, Safety &
Well Being
Community Safety
As reported in the previous Members’ Bulletin, the Neighbourhood Police Teams are now becoming established with Beat Managers recruited for the continuing roll out of the teams and funding gap for Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) now resolved through the Wiltshire Police Authority.
The Wiltshire Criminal Justice Board (WCJB) held an event in the Corn Exchange in Devizes to explore how partnerships can work more closely together in tackling crime, particularly anti-social behaviour. The subject of a DVD shown on the day was thought provoking as it reconstructed events leading up to the death on release of a prisoner who had breached his Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) many times, and was based on an actual recent case.
Members were able to hear for themselves the current position on Wiltshire Police reorganisation at a presentation in the Council Chamber in November which was led by Bertie Woolnough, Chairman of Wiltshire Police Authority.
The review of the Crime and Disorder Act culminated in receiving Royal Assent on November 8th as part of the Police and Justice Bill. The Local Government White Paper “Stronger and Prosperous Communities” also has strong references to Crime and Disorder, and the continuing role of Crime and Disorder Partnerships (CDRP’s).
Recreation, Arts and Leisure
The summer has been particularly busy with many events organised or supported by Kennet Leisure and Development Services, including: T2A Club summer trips to Cheddar Gorge and Cotswold Water Park; Inaugural Football and Netball Primary School Cluster Festivals; District Primary School Football and Netball Festivals and I was pleased to present prizes on November 27th to the winning netball teams from Southbroom and Wansdyke Schools both from Devizes.
The London 2012 Olympic “Lighting the Flame” presentation was well attended in Devizes, and provided an opportunity to explore what role (if any) Kennet could play with promoting the event and also with pre-training camps. More will be reported as the details emerge.
Participatory Arts Workshops (PAWS) continue to provide arts opportunities for young people across Kennet, particularly Bromham Brownies; Southbroom Junior School, Devizes; St Peter’s Junior School, Devizes and Great Bedwyn Primary School.
In addition to the many culture and arts activities currently available across the Kennet District, the inaugural meeting of the Devizes Branch of the National Association of Decorative Fine Arts Society (NADFAS) was held in the Town Hall, Devizes and was full to capacity to hear guest speaker Lars Tharp talk about the life of William Hogarth. The society launched itself with 150 members and already has a waiting list of more than 30.
Health
When preparing for the last Member Champions’ report, it was envisaged that by the time of writing for this edition the outcome of the consultation on the strategic review of health services “Pathways for Change” (P4C) which was embarked upon in April by the boards of Kennet & North Wiltshire and West Wiltshire Primary Care Trusts (PCT’s) would be known. I am disappointed to report that despite assurances to the contrary, instead of the outgoing PCTs making any decisions based on the consultation they instigated, the decision has now been passed over to the successor organisation – the Wiltshire NHS Primary Care Trust – which came into being on 1st October (for information about the new Wiltshire Primary Care Trust visit http://www.wiltshirepct.nhs.uk. This new PCT has yet to establish itself and to get to grips with its inherited financial position, and although a Chief Executive has now been appointed (Jeff James) the Trust has an interim Chairman until a permanent appointment is made, and has yet to finalise Director appointments. So we must now wait until January 16th 2007 for a decision affecting the whole of Kennet, particularly Savernake and Devizes community hospitals who face closure under the proposals. The delay in decision making also has an effect on the parallel consultation “Mainstreaming Mental Health” which has shared site and community team issues. The Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP) has tackled this by taking a phased approach and implementing part of the changes in Stage One, and will implement more when the PCT announces the decisions. Meanwhile other changes to health services such as GP commissioning have taken effect from October, and the planning application for the Independent Sector Treatment Centre announced in July for Devizes is now going through its consultation phase. This treatment centre does not form part of the recent P4C consultation and will not replace any services already provided by the PCT in the Kennet area.
I attend Primary Care Trust (PCT) Board meetings on behalf of the Council and have Observer status which enables me to keep Members informed, as I receive all Board papers. I also represent the Council on the County Health Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) which as well as having an annual workplan of reviews has also had task groups specifically reviewing the PCT’s Pathways for Change process and AWP’s Mainstreaming Mental Health consultation. Due to the deferred decision making, HOSC has not had the opportunity to make comment on the outcomes of the consultations, but has responded to the processes involved.
Environmental Health Services continue with the excellent promotional work done to date. I was pleased to be able to support Anna Manning with a Food Safety stall at the Devizes Food Festival and Peter Nobes, who continued energy conservation work by taking part in an information day at St Peter’s School in Devizes. Kennet Leisure Services also took part in that event and promoted awareness of fitness and healthy lifestyles, and provided blood pressure monitoring on the day. I also attended the Mind and Body Fair held in October and sampled some of the treatments showcased for both mental and physical wellbeing, including reflexology – which I highly recommend.
I am indebted to the excellent officers and staff at Kennet who endeavour to make sure I am aware of events and activities, emerging strategies or consultations which have a cross-over with the wide remit I have to champion, and I value the meetings and briefings held to further my own knowledge of their subjects.
