Local MP Lynne Featherstone this week backed calls from her party for immediate international action to save the people of Darfur.

At the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton, Lynne Featherstone lent her support to the efforts of Susan Kramer, the Party’s International Development Spokesperson, who is highlighting the plight of the two million refugees in western Sudan.

Lynne Featherstone commented:

“Sunday’s Global Day for Darfur protests saw the world demand that the international community act where the Sudanese Government has not. The desperate humanitarian situation in the region is worsening daily.

“Now is the time for us to act decisively. We must not fail the people of Darfur as we failed the people of Rwanda nearly 12 years ago and turn our backs.”

Hornsey Liberal Democrat Councillors (Robert Gorrie, Errol Reid and Monica Whyte) met this morning with Council Neighbourhood Management and the police’s local Safer Neighbourhood representatives to discuss Friday night’s tragic scooter accident and fatality on Newlands Road.

After this terrible tragedy, all have agreed that in the short term, Haringey Council will provide a youth worker with counselling skills to work with the local young people on finding positive ways to respond to the tragic death of their friend.

The Council’s Neighbourhood Management team is currently investigating a location for this to take place. In addition, counselling for pupils and young people will be available in the local secondary schools and the Commercial Road Support Centre.

Councillor Robert Gorrie said:

“This tragedy highlights a number of long term challenges faced by the area, and we need this opportunity for local residents, parents and young people to get together and discuss these challenges.

“We need to make young people aware of how dangerous their scooter riding can be. We also need to persuade the Council to put in place increased resources to support the young people of Hornsey; provide facilities for them to use and things for them to do, or a similar tragedy may happen again.”

Cllr Wayne Hoban, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, has written to the Haringey Teaching Primary Care Trust (HTPCT) to seek an assurance that their recent decision to drop their plan to close the X-ray department at St. Ann’s Hospital in Tottenham has not been reversed.

Cllr Hoban, has been contacted by concerned users of the service who have expressed concern that the number of radiographers in the X-ray department has been reduced from three to one since the HTPCT’s recent decision to drop their plans to close the department. Concern has also been expressed that staff safety may have been compromised through lack of appropriate security measures following reduction of staffing in the department.

Cllr Hoban states:

“Despite the HTPCT’s recent decision to drop their plans to close the X-ray service at St Ann’s, the department is apparently being allowed to close by stealth. This is not acceptable.”

Lib Dem Health Spokesperson, Cllr Richard Wilson, adds:

“We need assurances from the Trust that all possible measures are being taken to ensure that the service is maintained to the level that existed prior to the decision to close the unit. Local residents and users who campaigned so strongly for this local service deserve nothing less.”

Liberal Democrat councillors in the London Borough of Haringey have expressed dismay that the Council is to press ahead with further consultation on ALL CPZ schemes that have caused such controversy in the borough. Lib Dem councillors were informed of the rough outline of Haringey Council’s plans at a meeting last night.

The Council has indicated that it will go ahead with further consultation on CPZ schemes in Bounds Green, Fortis Green, Hornsey and Harringay. Though the Lib Dems have been told that these will be reduced in size from that proposed in the original consultation, it is not yet clear by how much. The re-consultation on these schemes will take place from 25th September to 16th October.

Pay and display plans for Crouch End and Muswell Hill are also to go through another consultation, from 23rd November to 14th December.

Lib Dem Leader Neil Williams comments:

“I am extremely disappointed that in what has become an utterly flawed consultation process, the Council has not decided to scrap the schemes and start again from scratch, with a meaningful process that involved residents fully and properly researches parking problems, coming up with careful tailored solutions to address a real problem. The present ‘blanket’ approach is not working.”

Parking spokesperson Cllr Martin Newton adds:

“The Council has still not revealed its specific consultation proposals to Lib Dem councillors, and every move from the Council will be watched closely. We will be inspecting the returns from the first stage of the consultation, to check that the Council has any rational basis at all for pressing ahead.”

Ron Aitken, Haringey Lib Dem Crime Spokesperson, is backing Haringey police’s appeals for witnesses following an apparent homophobic attack on a resident on the 29 bus as it travelled north up Green Lanes.

The victim was subjected to a torrent of homophobic abuse as well as suffering cuts and bruises from the attack.Fortunately, he was saved from serious injury by the intervention of other passengers.

Police are looking for two women in their late teens who boarded the Number 29 at Manor House and are urging anyone with further information to come forward.

Cllr Ron Aitken comments:

“I would strong urge anyone with information to come forward.Underreporting of such incidents is a major issue, as was highlighted by recent research from Middlesex University.

“In the last few weeks, I have been working closely with the Police LGBT Liaison Team in Haringey to encourage people to report any such attack.However Haringey, unlike Camden, Southwark and Lambeth, is still without a dedicated Hate Crime reporting system, and this needs to be tackled.”

Wayne Hoban, Alexandra ward councillor, has asked Haringey Council to arrange an urgent public meeting to discuss increasing concerns from both local residents and traders over the apparent lack of effective action to tackle anti-social behaviour which is blighting the area.

Cllr Hoban first contacted Haringey Council and the Safer Neighbourhood police team in early summer to express concern over the fact that the library wall was being dismantled brick by brick; local traders had confirmed that gangs of youths were responsible, often congregating in the area late in the evening, up to 3am in the morning, and indulging in anti-social behaviour including drinking and allegedly drugs.

Cllr Hoban met with the library manager over the weekend to discuss the problem and was informed that an action plan had been agreed by Haringey Council, the ASBO team and the police, but it was confirmed that progress had been hampered through lack of good quality evidence to aid apprehension and conviction of the suspects.

Cllr Hoban states:

“I am increasingly concerned that effective action has not been taken to address this problem.Local residents and traders, and also library staff, are entitled to protection from the terrible effects of anti social behaviour. I want the public meeting to be held, preferably at the library, at the earliest possible opportunity to allow the local community to be involved in identifying a an effective solution. My personal view is that there is a clear need for good quality CCTV surveillance at this spot, which is also a dangerous traffic junction. Installation of CCTV would help deter both bad behaviour and improve traffic management in the area.”

Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, congratulates all the winners and all those that participated in this year’s Golf Course Allotments Awards ceremony that took place on Sunday.

Presenting prizes for the winners, Ms. Featherstone comments:

“I would like to congratulate everyone on their fabulous fruit, flowers and vegetables; it really was a veritable harvest feast. There were lots of fantastic entries and I can now proudly say I know how to pick out a prize-winning green bean after the tips I picked up.

“It is a shame that Haringey Council is putting up rents by 50% making harder for residents to enjoy what is a such a healthy and rewarding pastime.”

Steve Webb MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, joined local Lib Dem MP, Lynne Featherstone, and Councillor Richard Wilson this week on a visit to the Hornsey Central Hospital site ahead of the Haringey TPCT public meeting on 13th September at 18:00 at the Methodist Church Hall, Middle Lane.

Mr Webb, Ms Featherstone and Cllr Wilson met with concerned residents to discuss the fate of the empty hospital and effect of the serious cuts Haringey’s Trust faces. The cuts have already led to less sexual health clinics and reductions in rehabilitation beds for older people.

Mr Webb is strongly supporting local Lib Dems calls for action now from Haringey health chiefs to urgently bring the site back into use as a local community health hospital.

Steve Webb MP says:

“I am shocked and appalled that this hospital has remained derelict for so many years.

“This site should be playing a major role in providing community care for the people of Hornsey & Wood Green.Labour’s mismanagement of health budgets cannot be allowed jeopardise the urgent redevelopment of Hornsey Hospital.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“After years and years of empty promises residents deserve better community health service.The message is simple: we demand action now.”

Cllr Richard Wilson, Haringey Lib Dem spokesperson for Health, comments:

“I hope as many people as possible are able to come to the public meeting on 13th September to show the health bosses that enough is enough – they deserve answers as to why nothing has happened for 5 years.”

Watch Hornsey Central Hospital film

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=2225932933616005261

Figures obtained by Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, reveal an increase in the number of patients who failed to attend their NHS appointments from 2004/5. A total of 82,383 missed appointments were registered in 2005/2006 in England alone.

Commenting Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“Appointment systems must be designed around the needs of patients, not government targets.”

“The Government needs to investigate how to make the appointment system more effective in order for it to work. A lack of co-ordination means that resources are wasted and additional appointments are needed. This could easily be improved upon with some imagination. Why not remind patients by the mean of texts or email for example?

“Obviously, individual responsibility of patients is sometimes at fault but patients are not always to blame. Inflexible government targets have led to inconvenient appointment systems and patients being unable to get through to the surgery to cancel an appointment.

Notes:

The figures were obtained by a parliamentary question (837311) asked by Lynne Featherstone MP.

They show the number of patients failing to attend for inpatients admission to be up from 79444 in 2004/2005 to 82383 in 2005/2006, i.e. 3.7%.

The 10 worst NHS trust in 2005/2006 are:

Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital NHS Trust: 3512
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust: 2740
Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust: 2046
Central Manchester & Manchester Children’s University NHS trust: 2004
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust: 1778
North West London Hospitals NHS trust: 1654
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust: 1652
Barnet & Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust: 1401
Barts and London NHS Trust: 1383
Northern Lincolnshire & Goole Hospitals NHS Trust: 1274

The 10 best NHS trust in 2005/2006 are:

Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust: 8
Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust: 15
SW London & St Georges NHS Trust: 17
East Somerset NHS Trust: 18
Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust: 27
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS trust: 29
Bradford Hospiotals NHS Trust: 41
Milton Keynes General NHS Trust: 42
Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Trust: 50
Birmingham Women’s Healthcare Trust: 53