NHS Cambridgeshire Constitution: New Patient Rights

The NHS is currently having a consultation in the inclusion of two new rights into the NHS Constitution.

These are a new right in respect of waiting times and whether this right should include the current standard for treatment (within 18 weeks), and/or the current standard for urgent referrals for suspected cancer (2 weeks).

Also should GP's provide specified information to patients on their rights around a two-week referral?

And finally do people agree that a right to a NHS Health Check every five years for those aged 40-74 should be established.

If you have a view you can submit it into the consultation here (the actual form to submit an opinion is here).

Guided Busway Secrecy and Delays

Workmen have discovered a structural threat to a crucial part of the Guided Busway network.

Cambridgeshire County Council were informed that rainwater pouring off the raised section of track on the viaduct could damage the structure and lead to it crumbling in future years. They dealt with this information by trying to keep the newly found problem a secret.

Unfortunately for them the secrecy didn't last very long.

It's disappointing to have to say this once again but the Conservative County Councils' instinct for secret meetings and back room deals is keeping the tax-paying public in the dark about exactly what their money is being spent on.

Smartwater Rollout in KH

As part of an anti-crime campaign and to generally raise awareness of the technology your local police service have been introducing Smartwater to residents in the north of King's Hedges.

When an item is marked with this technology (which is just a simple 5 second job) if the item ever turns up as part of lost or stolen property then the police will be able to "read" the tag in the water and return the item to it's original owner.

As part of a program supported by the Fire Service and the City Council Smartwater was given away free to householders in the area around Buchan Street last weekend - this program will eventually continue across the ward.

Cambridgeshire County Council Recycling Bus Launch

Today at King's Hedges Primary School the County Council launched their new Recycling Buses. This is part of a programme of waste education and campaigning undertaken by the County in schools and local communities across Cambridgeshire and also coincides with the European Week for Waste Reduction.

The purpose of these new buses is to tour the County visiting schools and introducing children to the ideas of Recycling and Reuse.

The buses were officially launched by Barbara Follett MP (Minister for the East of England). Joining her at the launch were myself, Belinda Brooks-Gordon (County Councillor for Castle), Tony Orgee (Cabinet member for Economy and the Environment), and Bernard Warr (Head of Waste Management at the County Council).

Cambridgeshire has actually done pretty well when it comes to recycling achieving a rate of 44% for household recycling. Hopefully the newly introduced blue-bins we've been seeing rolled out in the city will increase the recycling rate here.

Sleeping rough in Cambridge News

The online edition of the Cambridge News has a story about the sponsored sleepout.

If you'd like to sponsor me go to my just giving page or drop me a line.

Another councillor: The Deputy Mayor Sheila Stuart will be joining us as well.

Sleeping out at the end of November

This is a slightly different post as I'm asking you to support a very good cause.

I am taking part in the Streetbite Sleepout to raise money for Wintercomfort for the Homeless here in Cambridge.

Wintercomfort does a lot of work supporting those who are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The work it does helps many take vital steps back to housing, providing access to support services.

You can sponsor me online at justgiving, or email me or call me (see left) if you'd rather do it the old fashioned way. Also I'd be grateful if you think it is a good cause if you could pass on the details to anyone else who might support us!

It will be cold. It might well be wet. It'll be less miserable if I know I'm making a difference!

I am doing this alongside Cllr Clare Blair and Cllr Julie Smith and many others. Please sponsor us!

Cllr McGovern in the news

The project to improve Campkin Road shop forecourt has made the Cambridge News includes a quote from Neil. It has a nice picture of him looking very serious!

Please come along tomorrow to Manor School at 7.30pm (6.30pm for planning) if you have strong views on this project. If you can't make it, please let the team know.

What's going on?

Usually these posts bring you news; this one just asks a fairly simple question: what is going on with the Guided Busway?

The Guided Busway was supposed to be ready for driver training at the start of November so that the first paying customers could start using this much-delayed service a month later. On Tuesday of this week I was surprised to see that the contractors had blocked the Busway in both directions near the Cambridge Regional College - clearly no training is going to be happening and the timetable for this project looks likely to slip again.

What puzzles me is what exactly is going on. Due to the veil of secrecy the Conservative controlled County Council has thrown over the whole project nobody, least of all the taxpayers who have actually paid for the Busway, have any clue about what's going on. The County Council seems to be locked in a financial dispute with contractors BAM Nuttall and maybe this is in some way connected with their blocking of the guideway.

It's high time the County Council came forward and let the tax payers of this County know what's going on.

North Area Committee next week

The next North Area committee is on Thursday 12 November at Manor School on Arbury Road.

The meeting starts at 6.30pm for planning decisions (none in King's Hedges, but a few in neighbouring wards).

The main meeting starts at 7.30pm.

The big items for King's Hedges are the regular policing report, which is your chance to feed into the priorities for the police in the North of the City, and the decision on the Campkin Piazza.

The consultation on balance favoured option 2, replacing the trees. The decision will be made at committee, and you can still let us know your views in advance of the meeting (by phone or email) or at it if you can make it. I'll post a bit more over the weekend, but more information is in the report.

Alongside these two there is also the open forum, your chance to ask the local councillors anything you like, and formal agenda items on...

1. S106 projects (planning moneys for local infrastructure)
2. Other environmental improvement projects
3. Recycling champions: can you help boost recycling in your street?
4. Community development grants

The full agenda can be found at the city council website (PDF).

The next meeting after this will be on January 7 2010.

New tree works

There's a couple more trees due for works in King's Hedges, this time outside numbers 7 and 11 Tribune Court.
The two Norway Maples there are to be trimmed back to 3 metres, and pruned away from the property. They're also due to have dead wood removed.

Let us know if you have any concerns or comments.

David Howarth to step down

The whole team in King's Hedges were saddened at the announcement that David Howarth, our MP, has decided not to stand at the next election and will instead return to his self-confessed "other life" in academia.

The announcement can be found on the local party web site, David Howarths Website, and has been reported by the Cambridge News (amongst other places).

David has done a lot of excellent work for Cambridge, first as a ward Councillor, then leader of the City Council, a key member of our Federal Policy Committee and since 2005 as our MP. He led the fight to allow councils to push for higher environmental standards in buildings, fought to protect the right of people to protest legally, and also fought a battle against the innocent-sounding "Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill" the effect of which would have given the Prime Minister the power to change law by decree.

Just last week he achieved a fairer deal for Cambridge in the funding of Concessionary fairs by Central Government (although still some way short of the true cost!).

Nick Clegg said it best; "Academia's gain is very much politics' loss."

Gritting Cycleways Across The City

Whilst (hopefully!) the first hard frost in the city is still some way away preparations for dealing with severe weather are something the County Council needs to take very seriously.

Following on from complaints during last years severe weather (not to mention a number of accidents) the Liberal Democrats on the County Council raised this issue and we are pleased to announce that we have had some success: there will be some very limited gritting of Cycleways across the city for the first time this year, and rather than waiting 5 days and then gritting secondary routes, the routes will be gritted when a 5-day period of bad weather is being forecast.

However, despite a specially adapted gritter being commissioned for the new Guided Busway, the cycle-path right next to it will be left completely untreated.

It's disappointing that the Conservative-controlled County Council is doing the absolute bare minimum to support cyclists across the city - especially at a time when the City Council, County Council and even the Labour Government nationally are trying to get people out of their cars!