A new pharmacy on Bromsgrove Road in Redditch has been officially opened by local MP Karen Lumley.

Kiran Patel, owner of Foxlydiate Chemist, relocated his pharmacy into the premises of Hillview Medical Centre earlier this year, reopening as Hillview Pharmacy. The pharmacy is open to all patients whether registered at Hillview or not, providing people who live locally access to a pharmacy on their doorstep.

Karen said: “I was very pleased to open Hillview Pharmacy. Kiran has been doing excellent work in Redditch for many years now, playing an important role in supplying prescriptions to the local community. Being in the same building as the Hillview Medical Centre will bring a number of advantages, first and foremost making it more convenient for patients to collect prescriptions.”

Kiran Patel said: “Working closely with the doctors and nurses at Hillview Medical Centre means we can provide an enhanced level of service to the patients of this surgery, whilst at the same time continuing to serve the pharmacy needs of the whole community, as I have done for the last 27 years.  We provide a free home delivery service in particular to housebound, infirm and elderly patients.  Hillview Pharmacy provides a full range of pharmacy services. We look forward to welcoming both old and new customers to our new premises.”

Karen is pictured with Dr Jonathan Wells and Kiran Patel

Karen celebrates a successful 2012 for disabled kids’ charity Whizz Kidz.

Redditch MP Karen Lumley joined disabled children’s charity Whizz-Kidz at their Christmas Reception in Parliament, to celebrate a year in which 2,000 disabled youngsters were provided vital wheelchairs to help lead full and active childhoods.

Karen met with young Ambassadors for Whizz-Kidz – all recipients of mobility equipment – and heard first-hand the impact receiving the right wheelchairs for their needs has made on their lives.  Nathan told Karen how attending the charity’s youth clubs and wheelchair skills training sessions has given him more confidence and independence – so much so, that he now represents other Ambassador’s on the charity’s ‘Kidz Board’.

Karen said: ‘Whizzkids does excellent work and it was a great honour to celebrate a successful year with them and see how they change the lives of youngsters who have received support.’

Rhiannon Hughes, Public Affairs and PR Officer for Whizz-Kidz said: ‘It’s been a fantastic year for Whizz-Kidz and we’re delighted that Karen was able to join us to celebrate.  We simply would not be able to transform the lives of so many disabled children and young people with mobility equipment and vital life skills without Whizz-Kidz supporters and fundraisers across the UK.  Karen has been an enthusiastic champion of Whizz-Kidz since becoming an MP and we’re grateful for all that she does to back Whizz-Kidz in Redditch and in Parliament.  Whizz-Kidz has provided 19 disabled children from Redditch with wheelchairs and also runs a kids club in Birmingham where the charity’s young Ambassadors regularly meet to play games, make friends and take part in life skills workshops.

For more information about Whizz-Kidz’s work providing disabled children and young people a chance of a childhood and the skills for a bright future, visit www.whizz-kidz.org.uk.

Karen welcomed Anthony Marsh, CEO of West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) to Westminster to discuss the performance of the Ambulance Service and the impact it has on people across the region. WMAS has recently been awarded NHS Ambulance service of the year 2012.

Karen said: “It was very good to welcome Anthony to Westminster and hear about how the West Midlands Ambulance Service is performing.  I was particularly pleased to hear the service is continuing to achieve all national and local performance targets and is progressing with its transformation programme.  In addition to the introduction of the Major Trauma Network in April, WMAS has been awarded NHS Ambulance Service of the Year 2012 for the sixth successive year. This is fantastic achievement and all credit must go to the hardworking, dedicated staff at WMAS who are providing a truly life-saving service”.

Karen is pleased to welcome the ‘Bus for Jobs scheme’, which will provide free travel on the bus services of participating companies for the month of January. Jobseekers (18 and over) who have been unemployed for between three months and one year will be eligible.

The scheme will cover holders of a JobCentre Plus Travel Discount Card. Those who are eligible for the card – available through JobCentre Plus – include people claiming: Jobseekers’ Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support and actively engaged with a Jobcentre Plus adviser in returning to employment. Operators including Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead, National Express, Stagecoach, Blackpool Transport, EYMS, Kinchbus, Cardiff Bus, Network Warrington and Trent Barton have agreed to support the joint initiative, meaning over 70% of the nation’s bus routes will give a helping hand to people who are actively hunting for work or training.

Within 24 hours of announcing the scheme, Bus for Jobs has gained strong coverage – from Sky News, 5 Live and extensive local radio to the Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Guardian, Independent, Times and at least 12 regional newspapers so far.

Bus for Jobs was also mentioned at the House of Commons – Mark Pawsey, Conservative MP for Rugby, said: “Getting to a job interview can sometimes be a challenge for people looking for work, so many jobseekers will be pleased to hear about a new scheme launched today called Bus for Jobs, which provides free travel, initially during January, for those seeking work.”

Further details of the scheme are available at the Bus for Us website (the bus industry’s new one stop shop aimed at young people): www.busforus.co.uk/busforjobs.

Karen said “We must continue to do all we can to help people who are out of work to find a job and this is an excellent initiative which will provide additional support to those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance. Unemployment in Redditch is below the national average and I know from the Jobs Fair I hosted in October that there are companies in Redditch who are looking to take on more staff. Helping to bring down unemployment is a priority for the Government and I am pleased that we are continuing to see more people find a job in Redditch and across the country.”

Ahead of his attendance at the Sun Millies Awards, the Prime Minister yesterday launched a much improved Government-led military discount scheme for all serving personnel, their families and veterans of our Armed Forces, which will for the first time include a Discount Card for use in many high street shops. He presented the first cards to three serving personnel at an event at No10 yesterday afternoon.

The PM also gave an update on the progress this Government has made on delivering the Military Covenant. Of the 100 original commitments made in 2011, more than 60 have now been delivered.

Karen said: “People across Redditch will be delighted to see members of the Armed Forces receiving the very first Defence Discount cards just in time for Christmas. We owe a huge debt to the members of the Armed Forces and these new cards are a token of the huge appreciation that we all have for them.”

Local MP Karen Lumley joined women affected by ovarian cancer from across the country, to call for local action to address variations in the quality of ovarian cancer services. New local profiles launched today by the ovarian cancer charity Ovacome bring together a range of information about the quality of ovarian cancer services across England to help drive  improvements where they are needed the most.  The profiles are designed to highlight examples of good practice, and identify areas where more work is needed to improve the outcomes and experiences of everyone affected by the disease.

Despite recent progress, the outcomes of ovarian cancer patients living in the UK are still poorer than in comparable countries .  As the fifth most common cancer among women in the UK , and one of the harder cancers to detect, more effort is required by policy makers and those within the NHS to improve the care and support available to patients.  One of the key priorities remains increasing awareness and understanding of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer amongst women and clinicians to help tackle late diagnosis.

The key findings of the quality profiles, include:
•    There is over a 15% difference in one-year survival for ovarian cancer between the best and worst performing areas of the country
•    37% of ovarian cancer patients had to see their GP more than twice about their symptoms before being referred for diagnostic tests
•    Almost 30% of ovarian cancer patients in England were diagnosed following an emergency admission to hospital
•    Less than a quarter of ovarian cancer patients are offered a written assessment and care plan – this equates to approximately 4,100 patients each year
•    Over 40% of ovarian cancer patients were not given written information about their cancer
•    One in three women with ovarian cancer felt that their views were not taken into account by doctors and nurses discussing treatment
•    Although 91% of ovarian cancer patients were given the name of the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in charge of their care, only 68% said that their CNS was easy to contact

As well as early diagnosis and effective care and support, access to effective treatments can also play an important role in improving outcomes for women with ovarian cancer.  With a number of new treatments becoming  available for ovarian cancer which can extend survival for patients whose cancer has already spread, the introduction of the Cancer Drugs Fund  has been a welcome development.  Positively, recent research has shown  that new ovarian cancer drugs are now routinely available in eight out of ten strategic authority areas through the Cancer Drugs Fund .  This allows more clinicians to prescribe the drugs which they feel could benefit their patients.

At the launch of the quality profiles in Parliament, Karen Lumley met with representatives from Ovacome and women affected by ovarian cancer to discuss their personal experiences of living with the disease.

Karen Lumley MP has today welcomed the announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has awarded a new seven year contract to the Post Office to provide DVLA’s services from their post office network. DVLA-related services at the Post Office will expand to include services currently only offered through DVLA local offices. There is also scope for the provision of other Government services through the post office network.

Patrick McLoughlin commented: ‘I congratulate the Post Office and am confident they will deliver an excellent service to motorists throughout the country. This contract also provides value for money for the taxpayer, resulting in savings of between £13 million and £15 million a year and demonstrates how serious we are about making savings within Government.’

Welcoming the decision, Karen Lumley MP said: ‘This announcement is great news. Local post offices sit at the heart of community life, and this decision will make life easier for everyone who drives in Redditch ’

Redditch MP Karen Lumley welcomes the news that net migration has fallen to the lowest levels since 2004. Net migration – the balance between the number of people who come to live in the UK for the long-term and the number who are leaving – fell from 242,000 to 183,000 in the year to March.

Karen said: “The Government pledged to bring net migration down from the completely unsustainable figures which we saw during the previous Government. I welcome this decrease, although there is still more work to be done to bring net migration down further. Immigration was an issue which was almost abandoned during the Labour years and speaking to people on the doorstep, it is an issue which features regularly. Since we came into Government we have reversed the trend of net migration spiralling out of control more and more every year”.

As part of the Children’s Commissioner ‘Takeover Day’, Karen (pictured with student Alex and Organiser Laura Corrall) was shadowed by Alex Fryer, a student at Arrow Vale RSA Academy.

Takeover Day sees senior figures across the country being shadowed for a day, giving young people the chance to work with adults and be involved in decision-making. Children benefit from the opportunity to experience the world of work and make their voices heard, while adults and organisations gain a fresh perspective on what they do.

The aim of Takeover Day is to help break down barriers between generations and encourage a student’s active involvement in their communities. In Worcestershire, a 150 students were able to shadow various figures across a range of industries.

Karen said “I very much enjoyed Alex’s company throughout the day and it was pleasure showing Alex a day in the life of the MP for Redditch. Alex was very attentive and showed a keen interest in what the life of an MP entails. I hope that he is inspired by the day to go and to achieve many things and after working with him, I have no doubt that he will.”

Laura Corrall who helped organise Takeover Day said ”Alex found the day to be very informative. He enjoyed learning about the work Karen does and developed a greater interest in the political process. It is important that young people gain an insight into the life of different professionals and we are delighted that the day went very successfully.”

Karen last week visited Matchborough First School to speak to Year 4 students as part of National Parliament Week.

Parliament Week offers the chance for young people to get involved in the democratic process by questioning elected officials on a variety of issues which affect them.

Karen said “Parliament week is an excellent initiative and I was very pleased to get involved talking to pupils at Matchborough First School. I have said several times before that I feel it is very important we engage with young people more regularly and Parliament week offers a good opportunity to do this. The pupils quizzed me on a variety of matters about what the life of an MP entails and I very much enjoyed engaging with them. I have this week written to all schools in Redditch asking them to come to the House of Commons to take advantage of the excellent educational programme here and learn more about democracy.”

Karen is pictured with Head Teacher Jackie Harris.