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Letters, Thursday, April 17, 2008
Readers write to the Times & Citizen and Bedford Today.
Patient care is our utmost priority
SIR – In reply to your article 'PCT boss embarrassed by Queens Park clinic' (T&C, April 10.)
Queens Park Surgery is a long-standing GP practice that serves a diverse community of more than 8,000 patients. The practice has taken comfort in the massive support received from patients since the
publication of your article.
We do not have a quality care committee as stated, but do have a Patient Participation Group (PPG), which was informed that we are indeed looking at a new telephone system that should resolve the
problem of patients having to wait unduly to get through to a
receptionist.
This is not a problem unique to our surgery as all surgeries have times, usually first thing in the morning, when their telephone lines are busy. Our appointment system and the need to reduce non attendees has been discussed in detail.
The majority of our administrative and reception staff have worked at the surgery for many years and are well versed and experienced in dealing with people whatever their individual background or need. We would point out that we do not employ a language specialist at our surgery as stated in your newspaper.
It is stated that scenes outside our surgery look like something one would expect to see in a third world country. There is no queuing system at our surgery. Moreover, we open at 8am because it is our aim to provide the best access and service to our patients.
We agree the building is not ideal for our current needs and are in full support of moving from the premises in Carlisle, not Chester, Road as stated, as soon as possible.
We admit our patient satisfaction survey results were low, however, we would point out that many of the questions in this survey related to premises issues. Since the introduction of the quality and outcomes framework we have been in the top five local practices and our
appointment waiting time targets have always been met.
One of the main problems as a practice is the frequency of patients making appointments and then not attending. Changing our system and therefore seeing a reduction in the amount of people not attending has enabled more patients to be seen over the week.
We would also point out we do not operate a 'three strikes' policy where if a patient misses three appointments in a row they are struck off the care list. Our patients do receive a letter if they do not attend three appointments but it is a much longer procedure to actually remove them from our patient list.
We are an extremely hard-working practice and patient care is, and always will be, our utmost priority.
Drs Lotay, Khokher, Fayeye, Manjure and Shad
****
Residents helpless over relentless development
SIR – Following the announced inclusion of the Marston Vale as one of the sites shortlisted for an eco-town development (T&C, April 10), I wanted to comment as follows.
My concerns are:
** There is supposedly a 12-week consultation period before the 15 sites are reduced to ten, yet there is no information that we can find to advise residents how to engage at this stage of the proposals and the relevant MPs have been noticeable by their silence.
** The redundant Bedfordshire County Council 'welcomed' the development – really? On what basis did it welcome an additional 15,400 houses and destruction of existing village communities?
** The proposed 15,400 houses are in addition to the existing onerous
allocation for housing development in Bedfordshire, that currently includes the large-scale Wixams project and major developments already allocated to Marston Moretaine and Wootton, all within the Marston Vale. Why could the eco-town concept not be allocated to the Wixams rather than concrete over more fields in Bedfordshire?
** The coalescence of villages which will occur between Milton Keynes and Bedford will result in the loss of distinctive rural communities as Brogborough, Lidlington, Marston Moretaine and Stewartby all
disappear.
** There is existing local concern about expansion of Milton Keynes into Mid Bedfordshire up to Junction 13 of the M1 and with constant suggestions that it will cross the M1 and subsume Salford and Cranfield.
** There is a contradiction in terms that an eco-town implies. The
construction of an eco-town may be carbon-neutral (although this is arguable) but its ongoing environmental impact will not be. The additional minimum 31,000-plus inhabitants will place additional demands on infrastructure and strain transport systems already at the limits of capacity. Millbrook hamlet must be aware that vast numbers will in fact commute from this 'eco-town' to Flitwick for the trains to London.
These proposals, alongside those for Nirah, Center Parks, dualling the A421 and the proposed incinerator near Marston Moretaine, combine to create a sense of helplessness felt by local people that development of the Marston Vale is relentless and developer-led.
Admittedly the landscape in parts was despoiled as a result of the extensive clay extraction. However, the eco-town will undo the
environmental regeneration arising from the expansion of the Forest of Marston Vale. This whole area is not a single 'despoiled landscape'.
The area from Marston Moretaine to Lidlington is beautiful, with well-managed and successful agriculture farmland.
Mr Long
Station Road, Marston Moretaine
****
At odds over suitability of wind farm site
SIR – You quote (T&C, April 10) a spokesman for Nuon Renewables as stating: "Airfield Farm is an excellent location for a wind farm ... Nuon Renewables is currently drawing up plans for a revised scheme." This is most interesting.
Ludo van Halderen, chairman of the board of Nuon, has recently stated: "Wind energy should be developed where it makes sense instead of seeing wind farms receiving substantial national subsidies where they run for barely a fifth of the year." The managing director of Nuon's technical and project development division, Herbert Jost, confirmed last month that this meant that at many locations load factors of 23 per cent or less are achieved, and wind farms in such locations do not make sense.
Airfield Farm would, on the basis of the Government's official wind speed database and, as confirmed to me by a senior British wind industry figure, achieve a load factor of around 20 per cent.
Therefore, two very senior Nuon people reject the contention of the Nuon spokesman you quoted.
Prof Michael Jefferson
Woodside House, Melchbourne
****
Waiting for accident to happen is a scandal
SIR – I have the greatest sympathy for Ms Jenkins (Opinions, April 10).
I am also a frequent correspondent with the county council's highways department on behalf of local residents and, as with Ms Jenkins, the vast majority of my requests fall on very deaf ears.
I have also suggested safety improvements at the junction that concerns her, the staggered crossroads of Kimbolton Road, Polhill Avenue and Park Avenue, and these were given medium priority, which in practice means not in the next five years.
The root of the problem is that highways focus their attention (and prioritise their spending) on serious accidents and fatalities that have happened, not those that every road user can see are waiting to happen.
It is scandalous that our local residents in Bedford have to be killed or seriously injured before the authority is prepared to spend any money.
Coun David Sawyer
(Lib Dem, De Parys)
Bedford Borough Council
****
Not a very good idea
SIR – Right, so you run a leading article about Bedford station's CCTV footage being posted on the internet, and lots of important people being up in arms about it, and then effectively condone the action by posting the video on your very own website.
Did nobody point out that that possibly wasn't a very good idea? In amused disbelief.
JE Morris
by email
****
Why repeat sickening video?
SIR – Re: rail station's CCTV film posted on internet (T&C, April 10). If the person who posted this video on YouTube is "an internet sicko", why did you then publish it on your own website? Are you also an internet sicko?
Gordon Waller
by email
Editor's note: Posting the video on our website was not to condone it – it was already in the public domain.
****
Surely officers work for greater good of people?
SIR – I'm not sure if your other readers are getting slightly bored with the same old stories coming out of County Hall but it seems every time I pick up your paper there is another story about how our
'responsible' leaders have found another way of wasting our hard- earned money.
Not only did we have the incredibly wasteful (in both cash and time) judicial review on the unitary decision, but it now seems the only way senior officers at County Hall are likely to stay and do the jobs that they already receive a very good wage for is if more money is thrown at them.
Perhaps if the county had accepted that the best council had won the unitary battle in the first place, then morale of their staff would have stayed high enough for the officers to feel proud that they were helping to take local government forward into a more efficient service.
Sadly, due to Madeline Russell's personal crusade to throw her toys out of her pram when she didn't get her own way, her officers understandably feel dejected after being used as pawns in the whole sorry process and so can't get away from her quickly enough.
I'm just sorry it's once again at the cost to the taxpayer.
So a quick message to any officers who are toying with the idea of
leaving the county council; go ahead and leave if you wish, the people of Bedfordshire understand why. But, if you stay, hold your head up high and tell your bosses where they can shove their golden handcuff!
Shout proudly at the top of your lungs, "I'm a county council officer, and I work for the greater good of the people of Bedfordshire and not because I'll get a nice bonus at the end of it."
You do, don't you? Surely I'm not that nave? Oh, perhaps I am.
Name and address supplied
****
Losing patience over appointments system
SIR – Re: 'PCT boss embarrassed by Queens Park clinic' (T&C, April 10). I have been a patient of that surgery for 22 years and very rarely bother them, until the last two weeks when I have been trying to get an
appointment.
Frustratingly, unless patients phone at 8am, they are not given one. I did try, calling every day from 8am since April 2, but the phone is
permanently engaged, so had to give up after an hour or so as I had to go to work. Finally, on April 10, I left the phone to ring and got through at 9.20am after dialling the number at least 40 times. Guess what, I was told, "sorry, all the appointments have gone, try again tomorrow". So I still have not seen a doctor.
Lesley Wildman
by email
****
Do your homework ...
SIR – May I suggest that maybe the Labour candidate who wrote last week attacking Nadine Dorries, our Mids Beds MP, should do his homework first?
I will admit that, along with lots of people in my local church and the Bedfordshire church network, I am a member of a pro-life group.
It is interesting that the only person who has attacked Nadine's article on the hand of hope is a lone journalist and a member of the
pro-abortion lobby.
Not one official pro-abortion group has attacked it because they know it is real and can be verified and that the only thing they would achieve is to give a very real reason to cut the upper limit more publicity.
Andrea Wheeler, by email
****
Stop this game of post office pretence
SIR – Surely it is about time all political parties and individual politicians stopped pretending they can do anything to stop post office closures.
Our post offices are controlled by the EU under Directives 97/67/EC and 202/E39/EC that allow any EU company to compete with the Royal Mail. This allows the Dutch TNT and German DHL to cherry-pick the profitable British mail and leave the unprofitable to the Royal Mail, which is classified as a 'Universal Service Provider' and so must accept all mail.
This forces the Royal Mail to operate at a loss. About 14,000 post offices have been subsidised, but the EU Amsterdam Treaty forbids this without its permission.
In November 2007 the EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes wrote to our Government telling it to close down 2,500 post offices otherwise permission to continue the subsidies for the remainder could be withheld. Our Government promptly agreed and, surprise, surprise, the EU granted permission for more subsidies – it's a done deal!
Successive British governments have taken us into political union with Europe but, when they appreciate how this adversely affects so many aspects of our lives (post office closures are one of dozens), politicians (and most of the media) keep desperately trying to hide the fact from the public.
We are in the midst of a huge campaign of deceit and
misinformation.
Mark Adkin
Putnoe Lane, Bedford
****
Fed up with broken politicians' promises
SIR – It was with deepest regret that I read the Brickhill Tory councillor's letter attacking Liberal Democrats over post office closures.
Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors made a public agreement at a Brickhill Parish Council meeting in March that we would work together to try and keep our post office open. We promised Mr Chambers, the postmaster of Brickhill Drive post office, that we would put party politics aside and work to support him.
Councillor McConnell has disgraced himself and should hang his head in shame. Residents are fed up with politicians who break promises, lie and play party politics over important local issues which affect our community.
Coun Charles Royden
(Lib Dem, Brickhill)
Bedford Borough Council
****
School visit was highlight of our trip
SIR – Last week 30 children and 12 staff members from my New York City Community School had the distinct honour and pleasure to visit Beauchamp Middle School in Bedford.
First, the extraordinary and talented headteacher, Ms Sally Ellis, arranged for us to tour your beautiful town. Next, we were treated to lunch at the school and the children from both countries ate together, played together and formed new friendships. Later, we toured the school, observed classes and spoke with children and staff.
I need to confirm what I am sure you already know – Beauchamp School is a beacon of light and learning and nurturing. Ms Ellis has
extraordinary skills and is the linchpin to Beauchamp's success. I thank her for making our visit the highlight of a week-long school trip to England and I salute the community for selecting Ms Ellis as the
headteacher of Beauchamp Middle School.
Sheldon Benardo
Principal
****
Don't be floored ...
SIR – I've recently had a new carpet and the fitters informed me my old one would just be put in the skip. I thought, what a waste, and wasn't there some place that could make use of it?
I contacted a local animal rescue centre who told me it would be much appreciated by their dogs waiting to be rehomed, and they came and collected it. Perhaps some of your readers would consider doing something similar in future?
Peggy Simmons
Falcon Avenue, Bedford
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Monday 06 February 2012
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