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Category: Essex

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NHS – ‘Have Your Say’ Health Forum

NE Essex CCG invite public to Health ForumThe NHS in North East Essex is inviting anyone interested to attend one of their local Health Forum meetings, one of which is taking place in Colchester.

The main themes for the April meetings include:

  • A manager from ColchesterHospital to discuss and take questions on the maternity units at Harwich and Clacton
  •  The CCGs Urgent Care Strategy: a request for people’s views

People attending are welcome to raise their own issues and will have a chance to directly question senior managers from the CCG on their actions and plans.   The Colchester Meeting will be on Monday 7 April, 2pm to 4pm.  Please come to the 2nd floor at the Primary Care Centre (upstairs from the Walk-in Centre) in Turner Road, ColchesterCO4 5JR.

Any member of the local public can join the Health Forum.  Join here to have your say as a member of NE Essex CCG public “Health Forum”:

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NHS Warn of Cancer Hoax

NE Essex CCG issue cancer hoax warningNE Essex CCG issue cancer hoax warning

At least two GP practices in NE Essex have had patients phone in worried about a hoax email. The email looks as if it has come from NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and people are advised not to open it, and not to click on any links.

NICE says the contents are likely to be distressing and has reported the hoax to the police.  It is not clear exactly how many people are affected, but based on the high number of calls to the organisation it is thought to number thousands nationally.

Sir Andrew Dillon, the chief executive of NICE, said:

A spam email purporting to come from NICE is being sent to members of the public regarding cancer test results.

This email is likely to cause distress to recipients since it advises that ‘test results’ indicate they may have cancer.

This malicious email is not from NICE and we are currently investigating its origin. We take this matter very seriously and have reported it to the police.

NICE is advising people who have received the email – the subject line of which is important blood analysis result – to delete it without opening it and not to click on any links.

The NHS national website has information, as does the NICE national website and Twitter feed.

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Are you living with slow Internet speeds?

Slow Internet?

Slow internet connection
Got this?
Fast internet connection
But want this?

Between them Essex County Council (ECC), HMG and BT are prepared to invest nearly £25m improving internet access speeds in those areas of Essex most needing it, their objective is to see minimum download speeds of 2Mbps.  To date only a small proportion or our village is connected to high speed broadband and the remaining residents are living life very much in the slow lane.  If you want to see a share of this £25m delivered to your door then you need to register your concerns because based on the current low-level of response (0.5% of West Bergholt households)  Superfast Essex will not reach us until at least 2016!

What you should do…

Take a speed test to see just how slow your ‘fast lane’ is – try this link – www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/diagnostics.

Superfast Broadband LogoNext register your interest in high-speed broadband on a special website set up by the ECC/BT Superfast Essex project at www.superfastessex.org.

You can also call or send an email to BT’s Regional Manager for East of England, Annette Thorpe, (contact 020 7778 5853 or [antibot mailto=”[email protected]”]), explaining why you feel West Bergholt should be a priority – you might want to make comment about how close we are to Colchester homes receiving much faster service and that incremental costs of adding West Bergholt should be relatively manageable for them under their BDUK contract.

Finally, you can also contact County Broadband, after all they came here when BT wouldn’t, and give them an incentive to consider further investment in upgrading the service we receive, by calling 0845 686 5000.

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Speedwatch – Surround a Town

Community Speedwatch targeting speeding in our community
Local Community Speedwatch volunteers were involved in the recent Surround a Town event.
Community Wheels Truck
The Community Wheels truck joined Speedwatch teams and others in raising speeding awareness

Essex Highways, Essex Police, Essex Fire & Rescue and local Speedwatch groups joined forces on  5th February with a crack down on speeding motorists.   The results saw a substantial number of interventions including:

  • Road Safety staff gave advice and showed education videos to 81 offenders at enforcement sites.
  • 400+ people on the “community wheels truck” outside the Town Hall with road safety staff and staff from the fire brigade giving advice.
  • 32 drivers were recorded travelling over 36 mph in Langenhoe, Peldon and West Bergolt by Community Speedwatch.
  • 13 speeding drivers spoken to by school children at a child speed watch event outside a school in Colchester.
Other activities included:
  • year six walks conducted by road safety staff to highlight the dangers on the road to year six students.
  • road safety staff in a college to engage with over 50 students about road safety issues.
  • the north Essex parking partnership were patrolling schools to raise awareness of the dangers arising from poor parking outside schools.
Look out for future similar events.
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Local Bus user – have your say!

Local bus in West BergholtIt’s not too late to have your say on the future of supported local bus services.

As you may be aware, in September the County Council began a major review of its support for local bus services in the County.   The public consultation seeks residents’ and passenger transport customers’ views on local bus services which are supported by the County Council, and their preferences and needs for services in the future.

The consultation has now been ‘live’ for 7 weeks. It’s clear that people care about the future of their individual bus services, however, the Council would like to encourage as many people as possible to take this opportunity to contribute towards the future of local bus services.  It is important the Council has a high level of response from the public so that decisions are made on robust evidence.

The consultation can be accessed online until 9 December 2013.  Paper copies of the consultation are also be available through libraries or by calling 0845 603 7631.

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New Church Road Traffic Safety Plan agreed by PC

New Church Road Traffic Safety
One of the plans to be viewed from the linked page                           (Click for larger image)

At a special meeting of the Parish Council held on 6th November, the plan designed to help alleviate some of the traffic problems in and around New Church Road, particularly around school times, was approved.

In brief the plan is to put restrictions on parking at the junctions along New Church Road, including the end junctions where inconsiderate parking can cause dangers at any time.

Part of the plan is to raise awareness of the need to take extra care in the vicinity of a school and to achieve this the Parish Council will seek the imposition of a 20mph limit along the road.  Also the part the school can play in influencing drivers’ behaviour was discussed and so it is hoped that working with the Parish Council and local residents a campaign to impact on the problem will be launched as the above measures are put into place.

The full plan is now published on this web site [New Church Road Traffic Safety Plan].

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Village Traffic Safety Plan

traffic safety plan for West Bergholt
Overview of part of the new plans – see below for full size copies

In response to issues raised by village residents in the Parish Plan of 2009 the Parish Council spent nearly two years consulting various parties before producing last year a Traffic Safety Plan for the village.   The plan was endorsed by the Local Highways Panel and formed the basis for the funding for the projects under current consideration.

Early indications from the comments on the returned questionnaires from the whole village for the present Neighbourhood Plan are that the most pressing concerns of residents continue to centre on traffic issues, and in particular speeding and parking.  The particular dangers are perceived to be in the areas leading up to the school and the Co-op, both of which provide vital services to the village. Clearly many would support actions to address these dangers.

The Parish Council is now actively pursuing the implementation of this Traffic Safety Plan and is engaged with Essex County Council (ECC) engineers in drawing up plans for safety works in New Church Road.  These will inevitably involve some restrictions on the speed of traffic and parking.  The Council is committed to ensuring that the measures have a positive impact by meeting the aims of the plan whilst at the same time considering the views of village residents.  The intention is to create an environment where parents of older pupils at the school feel safe in allowing their children to walk, or even to cycle, to school unaccompanied thus removing the need to use their car.  This clearly does not exist at the moment and to do nothing will not improve safety.

Set out below are the proposed measures for adoption recommended by the Parish Council.  Any suggestions for changes will be considered before a final version is submitted to ECC Highways for the portfolio holder’s approval.  Once obtained formal notices of the works to be carried out will be published by ECC.

  1. No parking double yellow lines for 15m (the statutory length) at each junction with New Church Road.  This will enable enforcement to be carried out by the relevant authorities.
  2. A low level rectangular table at each end of New Church Road.  The aim is to check driver speeds and raise awareness of potential pedestrian presence ahead.  It is likely that low level lighting will be needed at these points – no specific plans are currently available.
  3. Time restricted parking (single yellow line) for about 20m spanning the footpath from Mumford Close into New Church Road together with minor works to improve the crossing point. This is considered essential at school journey times to give children a clear view down the road.
  4. Time restricted parking from the zig zags for 20m towards Lexden Road.  Designed to give a clear view around the dangerous bend in the road.
  5. Improved signage at the junctions of New Church Road with Chapel Road and  Lexden Road and of School Lane with Colchester Road.

A composite plan and detailed plans for each of these works are shown below.

In addition to these measures the Parish Council is considering making an application for a 20mph speed limit in New Church Road and School Lane. This application is more likely to succeed if the above measures are implemented first.  Please send your comments on the recommendation and the introduction of a 20mph speed limit to the Parish Clerk – Mrs Val Walsom, 17 Armoury Road, or preferably by email to [email protected].

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Ipswich Road/East Street Closure 17-21 June 2013

Essex County Council have notified us of a future road closure in Ipswich Road from the East Street junction in Colchester.  This will start at 08:00 on 17 June 2013 and last for 5 days.  The closure is required in order to “repair consequential damage”.

The road will be closed from its junction with East Street, in a generally north-easterly direction for a distance of approximately 50 metres.  The alternative route will be via Ipswich Road, A133, East Street and vice versa.

Access to properties for residents and emergency vehicles will be maintained during the closure but may be subject to delay whilst the works area is made safe.

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Essex Health and Social Care Signposting Service

crossroadsA new easy way to find details of local NHS and Social Care services

A new signposting service has been launched in Essex.

If you need to find details of an NHS or social care service and don’t know where to look, you can now call a new telephone helpline.

Essex Signposting is free and can give you details of all local NHS and social care services including dentists, GPs, opticians, pharmacies.

The service can be contacted on freephone 0300 0032125 or email [antibot mailto=”[email protected]”], Monday to Friday between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm.   (Note that calls to the 0300 number are normally free from both landlines and mobile phones although you should check your contract if you are concerned about this).

NHS & Social Care Reforms

The Essex Health and Social Care Signposting Service is run by NHS Central Eastern Commissioning Support Service on behalf of Essex County Council and Healthwatch Essex. It is a new service introduced in April 2013, following Government reforms to the NHS and social care which saw the introduction of a new local and independent consumer champion for users of health and social care, called Healthwatch. In some parts of the country, local authorities have commissioned their local Healthwatch organisation to provide a signposting service for users of health and social care. In Essex, the County Council has commissioned NHS Central Eastern Commissioning Support Service to provide the service in 2013-14.

Healthwatch Essex

Healthwatch Essex is the new local and independent consumer champion for users of health and social care. It will play a role at national and local level and will make sure that the views and experiences of the public and people who use NHS and social care services are heard and are taken into account when decisions about the design and delivery of those services are made.

More information about Healthwatch Essex can be found on their website at: www.healthwatchessex.org.uk

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Nick Alston visiting to seek views on police & crime

Nick Alston
Nick Alston CBE, PCC for Essex

On 15th April, the Police Crime Commissioner, Nick Alston will be visiting Colchester and holding a public meeting at the Council Chambers at the Town Hall, High street, Colchester CO1 1PJ from 4.30pm to 6.30pm.

Please come along to hear Mr Alston’s plans for Essex and give your views on local policing.