Inkberrow Design Centre Under Threat

Karen with Inkberrow Design Centre Director, Brenda Killigrew

Karen Lumley the Tories Parliamentary Spokesman for Redditch County yesterday visited the Inkberrow Design Centre to see for herself the amazing work they are doing there and met staff and students to see the great work they are producing. The centre runs many creative courses including fashion, textiles, pattern cutting and soft furnishings.

The students had just returned from a show at the NEC where they were exhibiting at the weekend.

The centre receives a large proportion of its funding from NEW College and under current proposals to raise fees, as Government cuts adult funding by up to 25%, there is great concern that courses at Inkberrow may have to be cut.

“I met many students and staff who were doing a great job” said Karen and had a very productive meeting with Brenda Killigrew the Design Centre Director to discuss the future.

One of the main concerns raised with me was that once again we in Redditch do not seem to be operating on a level playing field. If students want to do the same course in Warwickshire then they can do for over £100 less than here in Inkberrow which seems to me to be wrong.

This centre is doing a fantastic job and I hope very much that they can find a way to stay open and provide the services they are doing now for the students who really need them.” said Karen

Now Not The Time For Yet Another Health Reorganization
Candidates call for delay and consultation on big changes to local NHS

Worcestershire’s Conservative candidates have repeated their call for a delay to huge changes to the running of the local NHS in the run up to the general election and welcomed NHS Worcestershire’s announcement that public consultation will take place after the election.

Last month Conservative candidates met county hospital chiefs to discuss the planned changes, hearing from hospital managers their view of the plans and expressing the concerns felt by local communities and staff about the way they are being rushed through. In a joint statement after the meeting, they expressed their concern that profound changes were being rushed through in the run up to an election.

This week NHS Worcesterhire confirmed that its board had met and agreed proposals paving the way forward for the details to be submitted to the Department of Health and for formal public consultation on the proposal to take place after the General Election.

NHS Worcestershire is proposing:

To transfer some specialist nursing services (eg diabetes and COPD) to Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust.

To more closely integrate GP services with community nursing and therapy services, based around strengthening Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) in Worcestershire.

That an entirely new Community and Mental Health NHS Trust is established to manage all of the other Provider Arm services (including community hospitals) and the services that are currently provided by the Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.

Today the candidates restated their intention to engage with a proper consultation in due course, but their opposition to any rushed decisions or any attempt to force through changes before the election.

Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire), Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest), Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove), Peter Luff MP (Mid Worcestershire), Karen Lumley (Redditch) and Robin Walker (Worcester) issued a joint statement saying:
“The NHS has been re-organised too often in recent years. We are profoundly concerned about the ridiculously short timescale that was imposed on the Worcestershire NHS for such important decisions. We know there are a wide range of opinions about this within the local healthcare community and think it is vitally important that patients have their say. We therefore call on the government to delay the process it has imposed on Worcestershire and give a full year to allow possible changes to be worked through carefully.”

“We welcome NHS Worcestershire’s announcement that they agree there should be a full consultation on this after the election and reiterate that any consultation must pay real attention to the views of all our constituents who use or work in the NHS. We are particularly concerned that changes to the mental health trust should be carefully thought through for their impact on vulnerable people. The NHS, patients and staff are too important to be treated with contempt by the government and reorganizations imposed by Whitehall are not the answer to improving service.”

Shadow Home Secretary Visits Redditch Police

Cllr Brandon Clayton, Karen and Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling meet police in Redditch

Karen Lumley the Conservative Parlimentry Spokesman for Redditch County welcomed Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling to the town last week.

They visited the police station to listen to some of the initiatives the police are implementing.

“It was great to welcome Chris to Redditch again” said Karen, ” we had a good meeting with the police and Chris learnt about some of the things they are doing to make Redditch a safer place.”

Today Karen Lumley the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Redditch County signed up to Volunteering England’s volunteering pledge.

Karen signs up for the volunteering pledge

Volunteering England, the volunteering development charity, drew up the pledge as a way for MPs and candidates across the country to demonstrate their commitment to volunteering and their support for the efforts of voluntary workers in their constituencies.

Karen made the following pledge:
“I will work hard to support volunteers and organisations that involve volunteers, both in my constituency and across the country. I will do this by:

·        Recognising the value of volunteering in building a strong society
·        Promoting positive messages about volunteering
·        Encouraging more people to give their time by helping free volunteers from red-tape
·        Supporting the organisations who support volunteers”

Karen said:
“Volunteering has rarely played a more important role in society. Right now, in Redditch County, many people are giving their time to help others: Delivering meals to elderly residents, mentoring young people to help them secure a brighter future, providing much needed support in hospices and hospitals, and campaigning on local issues. Volunteers contribute in many ways; and being a volunteer contributes to people’s skills, confidence and employability.”

Candidates Unite to Urge Delay to Local NHS Plans

Sajid Javid, Karen Lumley, Robin Walker and Peter Luff outside Worcestershire Royal Hospital

Worcestershire’s Conservative candidates have met county hospital chiefs to discuss plans to change the way in which community health services are delivered in the county.

At the meeting held on Friday at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital , managers explained why they felt the best interests of patients and staff would be served by merging the community hospitals and a range of other services into the Acute Hospital Trust.

The Conservative candidates who attended the meeting – Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire), Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove), Peter Luff MP (Mid Worcestershire), Karen Lumley (Redditch) and Robin Walker (Worcester) – expressed the concerns felt by local communities and staff about the proposed changes.

In a joint statement after the meeting, together with Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest), who had been briefed previously, the six candidates said,

“The NHS has been reorganised too often in recent years. Any further reorganisation of the local NHS will inevitably distract managers and clinical staff from their real priority – the wellbeing of the patients they serve. At a time when NHS budgets are under great pressure, this is the height of irresponsibility. It also risks undermining the motivation of all the staff affected by the proposed changes.

“We are profoundly concerned about the ridiculously short timescale being imposed on the Worcestershire NHS for such important decisions. Over 2,700 staff are being forced to change their employer and scores of important services, ranging from sexual health to end-of-life care are affected and will be disrupted.

“To be given a few weeks to decide such important issues will inevitably mean that mistakes are made – and the result will either be that patient care suffers or that another reorganisation is needed, causing further disruption. We are also very concerned about the care of patients in the Mental Health Trust if there is a major reorganization involving their services too.

“We therefore call on the government to delay the process it has imposed on Worcestershire and give a full year to allow possible changes to be worked through carefully.

“We are particularly concerned that it is now being suggested that there will be no local consultation on the changes. Peter Luff will therefore be seeking categorical assurances from Health ministers that a full period of consultation will be provided.

“We are not saying that there can be no benefits from changing some of the current arrangements – the Acute Hospital Trust clearly believes there can be. But we cannot endorse any new pattern of service delivery that is put forward by the local primary care trust and agreed by the strategic health authority in such a great hurry.

“The NHS and its staff are too important to be treated with such contempt by the government.”