Agenda and minutes

Cllr Peter Bernards, Chair of the Forest Hill Assembly welcomed everyone to the

meeting and introduced Cllr Paul Upex and Cllr Maja Hilton.

Local groups and organisations held stalls for assembly attendees to visit and find

out more about them

The contractors were sent the email with the information inviting them to attend this assembly. However, there has been further issues regarding the contractor meeting the required deadlines and obtaining the appropriate approvals to commence the work. 

The council are currently considering the way forward and have requested an urgent meeting with the senior management of the organisation.

They will endeavour to provide more information at the next assembly meeting, but will keep the councillors updated in the interim.

Evidence on the crisis in NHS and Government Plans - some facts and figures

The NHS Federation http://nhsfunding.info/  including:

• list of failed contracts with private health companies, and the resulting consequences
• info on closed A&E's and 40% of Maternity Units due to hospitals being overcrowded 
• list of Royal Colleges, Patient Groups, Unions, Think Tanks, Associations, Select Committee's, Unions & the Government's own task force on mental health - who have repeatedly warned the Government of the dangers of it's deliberate policy of under-funding the NHS and Social Care
• record breaking figures –  five-fold rise in just two years, of patients waiting more than 2 hours to be transferred from ambulance to hospital: lowest income rise for NHS since 1950's: unprecedented staff and GP shortages, highest published figures of patients delayed in hospital 
• a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in Feb - linking an unprecedented rise in mortality in England and Wales to cuts to the NHS and social care

CHPI – Centre for Health and the Public Interest - an independent non-party think tank https://chpi.org.uk/  including:

• the Sustainability and Transformation Plans - a critical assessment of the Government's current plan to reorganise the NHS: reduce funding by £22b by 2020, create 44 areas in England with no regard for how existing organisations work together ie hospitals, clinics etc and the enforced sell off of NHS buildings and land  
• Patient Safety in Private Hospitals – with the underfunding/ overcrowding of NHS hospitals, business is booming for Private Hospitals. The NHS pays a premium for each patient sent, 28% of patients in private hospitals are now NHS, but 6000 patients a year are admitted to NHS hospitals from private hospitals. Data on patient care is not collected by an independent body and is officially rated 'poor' by the CQC.  Private hospitals don't employ medical staff, but use Bank staff so post operative care is left to a Resident Medical Officer, typically a Junior Dr, who will usually be monitoring over 40 beds, with no on site Specialist to turn to, and usually no access to intensive care beds if a patient's condition deteriorates

Full list of MPs with connections to Private Health Companies http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/selling-nhs-profit-full-list-4646154

Health Campaigns Together – umbrella organisation for most of the Health Campaigns in England, for up to date News and information http://www.healthcampaignstogether.com/  

Professor Allyson Pollock, co-author of the NHS Reinstatement Bill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz5dl9fhj7o  TED talk on the abolition of NHS with latest figures from American Institute of medicine re fraud, unnecessary admin costs, overpricing

Report on the myth that people living longer are causing the NHS to be unsustainable https://www.sochealth.co.uk/2016/11/14/myth-demographic-time-bomb/

Keep Our NHS Public https://keepournhspublic.com/ a wealth of information, KONP are briefing Cllrs and other bodies on the Governments Plans

http://www.savelewishamhospital.com/ Our local campaign, working together with KONP, The NHS Reinstatement Bill Campaign and many others – also briefing Cllrs, attending Local Authority Health Scrutiny Meetings, Trust and CCG Board meetings

Gillian Lewis (SLHC steering Group) please email for concise notes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Regarding Burglary; Unfortunately there has been a noticeable increase in the number of reported residential burglaries. These have affected the areas of the ward bordering Sydenham and Southwark. Our Neighbourhood Tasking Team have been tasked to patrol these areas and this will be done in both unmarked vehicles and marked carriers. If anyone needs any advice on suitable locks or crime prevention in general, they can contact us and this can be arranged.

Motor vehicle crime; There has been an increase in Motor vehicle crime on our ward. The Neighbourhood Tasking Team have again been tasked to do patrols in the Forest Hill area for the next month to target Motor Vehicle Crime.

Regarding Violence against the person; The number of reported crimes involving violence towards people over the last three months is again down compared to the previous reporting period.

Regarding Millennium Gardens and the Town Centre; The SNT has received no complaints regarding Millennium Gardens since the last LA meeting. We have even received emails from residents thanking us for addressing this problem. If of course you have any concerns then please let us know. We have though received complaints from residents in nearby Redberry Grove and have had a meeting with colleagues from Lewisham Council as to the availability of covert cameras.  I must stress though this would not be on a permanent basis, if indeed possible. We will though update residents on this subject.

Regarding ASB by begging in the Town Centre, as stated previously, we are aware of different individuals frequenting the town centre from those previously dealt with. These people are being spoken to when found in the town centre and should they be found committing offences they will issued with a Community Protection Notice Warning. If anyone has any concerns over ASB in their area, please make contact with us either by ringing 020 8721 2723 or by e-mail at ForestHill.SNT@met.police.uk. Your call or e-mail will be dealt with in strictest confidence or alternatively, the public can contact us through either online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling 0800 555 111

Our ward panel members have set our promises for the next three months. These are Crime Prevention around motor vehicle offences following our most recent complaints in Dartmouth Road, Sydenham Park, Sydenham Park Road and Longfield Crescent. ASB in the Town Centre has been retained to allow us to monitor those suspected to be begging and ASB by motorists. Following several complaints from residents living near to Manor Mount, this road will be the focus of our activity around this promise.

On the subject of Motor Vehicles, a joint initiative between Transport for London and The Metropolitan Police has begun which is designed to address community concerns of speeding vehicles in the local area. The initiative, The Lewisham Community Road watch scheme allows volunteers from the community to work alongside the police using speed monitoring equipment to identify and educate drivers found exceeding the speed limit. If you wish to take  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Feedback forms - agenda items next meeting

Cllr Bernards highlighted the importance of completing the feedback forms and invited members to join the coordinating group which plans the assembly and discusses local issues and updates. If you would like to join contact maya.onyett@lewisham.gov.uk for further information.

·         The 20 mph scheme is operating across all of Lewisham,

Cllr Upex would like to hear from anyone who would like to

Volunteer to help monitoring speeding in hotspot areas or has

an interest in the subject. Details on the scheme can be found

here: http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/transport/road-safety/Pages/20mph-borough-speed-limit.aspx

·         Community events taking place at the Honor Oak Christian

Fellowship Centre, for more information go to;

http://www.hocfc.co.uk/meetings.htm

·         The Forest Hill Society has helped to support the Forest Hill

Community library to keep it running for 66 hours per week on

a volunteer basis. They are raising money by setting up a

second hand bookshop and events.

For more information on the Forest Hill Society go to; http://www.foresthillsociety.com/

·         Friends of Baxter Field are holding their AGM on 29^th March,

8-10pm in the Library and their main event coming up, Spring

Big Dig is on 20^th May 11- 2pm. Contact

friendsofbaxterfield@gmail.com for more information.

·         The Parents Network South East London organise regular

                                meetings and workshops across South East London. For more

                           information go to https://separentsnetwork.wordpress.com/

 Close 

Cllr Bernards thanked everyone for attending.