Investing in our young people

Today Rachel Reeves MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Department of Work & Pensions came to Church Hill.

I wanted her to see how a local school and businesses were investing in young people to help them train and gain qualifications to put them in good stead for their future.  With Redditch having higher levels of youth unemployment than the national or county average, more must be done to ensure young people are not left behind during this so called economic recovery.

First of all, I was delighted to take her to Cutting Edge to meet Zoe Gardner and her team.  Zoe has recently picked up a NEW College Award for training and development of her staff, which has certainly been well earned over the years.

It was good to see two Arrowvale pupils who had just completed work experience at Cutting Edge - something Zoe also offers to the college and a number of young people directly.  With work experience no longer being a compulsory element for schools, I was pleased to hear that Arrowvale still ensure year 10 do this.  As Zoe said, how will the young people know whether they want to work in a salon if they cannot experience it first.

Many of the Cutting Edge stylists choose an apprenticeship so that they can earn while they learn, including 'Little Laura' who has been with Zoe for a few years now, originally from Arrowvale, where they offer vocational courses along with the tradition subjects.  Laura left school on the Friday and started her apprenticeship on the Monday. 

After the salon, Rachel joined Hayward Wright, one of our local Accountants, Inkberrow Design Centre (IDC) - textiles training centre, Cutting Edge and Arrowvale at St Andrews to discuss their issues over a cup of tea.

These employers are just a small sample of best practice in Redditch.  Hayward Wright currently have three apprentices, one of whom came along and their work experience placement.  This local firm are very impressive, offering apprentices their AAT qualification and Danielle who manages the apprentices, already a qualified accountant at 22 years old.  IDC have a million and one projects at any one time, aiming to improve our town, yet today we were focusing on another Rachel, one of the young mums who has gained City & Guilds qualifications at IDC.  Arrowvale had their first apprentice who works at the school who has completed her Business Administration qualification and has now been employed at the school.

A common issue that came up for employers is the need for more funding, support and information for employers in regards to apprenticeships.  They were concerned about imminent government changes to apprenticeships which will see support pulled and believed it would put employers off taking apprentices in the future.

Finally Rachel joined us on the doorstep in Church Hill to support Nina Woodford the Labour candidate on the 17th July.  Redditch Borough Council have successfully worked in partnership with businesses to create 50 new apprenticeships in Redditch.  When people ask what are the differences between Labour and the Conservative Party, I remind them that Redditch Conservative Councillors voted against our apprenticeship scheme and an extra Labour Councillor will help prioritise youth employment rather than shy away from it.

Next year, if enough people vote Labour in the general election Labour will ensure long-term unemployed young people will have a job and this will be funded through a bankers bonus tax. 
I think Rachel more than got the message that in Redditch we have some perfect examples of employers taking on their responsibility, supported by a Labour Council.  We all want more for our
young people and I want a government that will do more too.

Delay Gives Time to Put Children First

Rebecca Blake, Labour's Parliamentary Candidate said "Thank goodness a pause has been afforded to Redditch schools, who have been thrown into chaos since Tudor Grange Academy Redditch (TGAR) unilaterally announced it was forging ahead with changing to a two tier system, despite concerns from just about everyone in the town".

"I have repeated my calls directly to the current Headteacher Mr Brownlow and to the soon to be Head of the Trust Clare Maclean in a meeting last week.  I believe they should work with all schools, parents, children and Worcestershire County Council to come up with a plan that the majority of the town can get behind and this pause will provide the time to do this".

"I believe the strength of feeling in the town was underestimated by TGAR and after the successful Redditch School Changes Facebook campaign and the 1800 name petition asking them to halt the consultation and work with others, along with many other representations. 

"I will continue to raise my concerns with Worcestershire County Council and the Department for Education.  The genie is out of the bottle with three other schools consulting on a change of age range and the absence of co-ordination will be to the detriment of our children's education.  Having no plan for the future of education in Redditch is as good as planning for failure".

Proposal would see the Alex lose out again to Worcester Royal

Let me be clear, I do not want cuts to the NHS but I would expect when cuts are made that the people of Redditch be treated no better and no worse than the people of Worcester.  However once again, Redditch loses out to Worcester. Who is fighting for Redditch?

For the last two years the Alex has been under threat.  It will therefore come as little surprise to most people that this causes staffing problems and now maintaining safe neonatal care is a problem due to staffing shortages.

I do not want to see any cuts in the NHS, I want to see the government deliver their promise of no cuts to the NHS.  However, over the last four years we have had to watch as services have been cut in the NHS.  24 hour mental health assessments reduced to 9am – 5pm, patients too frequently waiting over 4 hours in A&E, people not getting GP appointments for 3 weeks.  The list goes on...

And so in this climate of NHS cuts I ask myself why when there are cuts made within Worcestershire it is Redditch that always cops for it?  Surely both the Alex and Worcester Royal would be made to take their share?  Not so.

A&E, maternity and paediatrics are under threat and it is Redditch not Worcester facing the cuts. 

A new midwifery led unit will be funded along-side a consultant led unit and it is Redditch that loses out while Worcester gets the government funding.

A new Radiotherapy Unit is planned for Worcestershire and it’s Redditch that loses out to Worcester.

And now there are staffing problems at both sites and it’s Redditch that faces losing neonatal care and not Worcester.

We need a government that believes in the NHS and an MP who will stand up and fight for services at the Alex.

I’ve written the following letter to Redditch & Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Unit and Worcestershire Acute Hospital’s Trust.

Neo-natal Care at the Alex

I would be grateful if you could explain to me and the people of Redditch, why, if there are staffing problems within neo-natal care at the Alex and Worcester Royal, that it is only the Alex potentially facing cuts? 

Let me be clear, I do not want cuts to the NHS but I would expect when cuts are made that the people of Redditch be treated no better and no worse than the people of Worcester.  However once again, Redditch loses out to Worcester.

Your proposals could mean women having a multiple birth, a high risk birth or giving birth between 34-37 weeks now have to go to Worcester.  How many of the current 2100 births each year would now have to travel to Worcester?  These are women at one of the most vulnerable times of their lives.  I know first-hand that public transport links to Worcester are dyer. 

If this does go ahead you state that maternity will remain consultant led at the Alex.  During the Joint Services Review I have repeatedly been told that 2100 births a year are low for a District General Hospital and that obstetric consultants couldn’t work across both Redditch and Worcester as they would not get enough experience to maintain their skill set.  I am now confused to read that this proposal, should it go ahead, with less births at the Alex would still be consultant led maternity.  If you can explain this I would be grateful.

To maintain rotas you have identified 5 measures for immediate implementation. 

•             Neo-natal practice development staff and the matron for neo-natal care have joined the neo-natal nursing rota to provide additional support and cover

•             Neo-natal outreach staff are providing additional cover to the two neo-natal units

•             The Trust is working with a specialist temporary staffing agency to find long-term agency neo-natal nurses to cover regular shifts

•             Nursing and medical staff are being given additional training to enhance their specialist skills

Four of these five measures concern me greatly.  When existing staff have to double up it is difficult to maintain the quality of care that is required to keep risks to patients to a minimum. 

Sadly, when I have received complaints about the Alex and Worcester Royal, a common problem has been agency staff, in terms of lack of continuity of care.  At best, the dynamics of the team are very different for staff when people are not used to working together and at worst, the quality of care is reduced. Either way this has a detrimental impact upon patients.  Will the skill set of the neo-natal practitioners be safe if non neo-natal staff have only recently been given additional training – are we asking them to be ‘jack of all trades, specialist of none’?

As it stands are you confident that these measures are providing safe care for mums?

•             The neo-natal unit is holding an open day on 10th July 2014 to encourage any nurse, midwife or student nurses/midwives who may be interested in a career in neo-natal nursing or want to know more about the service to come along and meet with staff and have a tour of the department.

Clearly this needs to be done.  I wish you all the success possible for the sake of the services I wish to see retained.  However, I fear until the reconfiguration review is complete, the uncertain future of the Alex will put off potential new staff coming to Worcestershire Acute Hospital Trust.

The long-term stability of women’s and children’s services at the Alexandra Hospital was one of the driving forces behind the current proposals to reconfigure some acute hospital services in Worcestershire and has been recognised by the CCGs and their predecessor organisations who have given the service additional financial support for a number of years. 

Could you please help me understand this paragraph?  I note the use of ‘was’.  “The long-term stability of women’s and children’s services at the Alexandra Hospital was…”  It is clear this is no longer the case now that the Independent Review has ruled that full time maternity and paediatrics should no longer take place at the Alex.  For me and I suspect for other local people, this paragraph is like a red rag to a bull.  I would suggest given where we are – facing so many cuts to services – this adds insult to injury.  And I would be very interested to know the additional financial support that the CCG has given to women’s and children’s services since its’ inception.

Finally, I will close as I started and ask for the same equal access to NHS services for the people in the north of the county as the south of the county.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca Blake

Labour Parliamentary Spokesperson for Redditch 

One in three NHS Trusts head into the red for the first time since General Election

Labour today accused the Government of losing control of NHS finances as reports indicate one in three Trusts will be in deficit this year for the first time since the General Election.

Rebecca Blake, Labour's Parliamentary Candidate says "Our own local Trust, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust has recorded £14.2 million deficit for the last financial year and predicted a deficit again for this year.  The Government pledged not to cut the NHS yet since 2010 the NHS has had real term government funding cuts".

A new analysis published by Labour shows that:

·         More than one in three acute Trusts (58) are currently in deficit for 2013-14 – compared to just one in ten (16) at the time of the last General Election.

·         There has been a marked worsening of NHS finances in the last year.

·         Two thirds of hospitals that have gone into the red since the election (27 out of 42) have done so in the last financial year.

The figures, obtained from Monitor, the Trust Development Authority and the House of Commons Library, show NHS finances have gone backwards in every English region since the General Election. The worst deterioration has been in the East of England, London, the East Midlands and the West Midlands.

Rebecca said "While we're all campaigning against cuts to services, the government, supported by the Redditch MP pushed through legislation that allows closure of hospitals in deficit. I'm concerned that starving our hospitals of funding will result in hospital closures.  This could pull the rug from under the Alex and all of the work that has been done to try and retain services at our local hospital".

Labour’s analysis comes as reports suggest Ministers are putting emergency money into an unprecedented summer crisis in A&E and to tackle the growing backlog of operations.

Labour has said “David Cameron promised that he would protect the NHS. Instead, his disastrous reorganisation has thrown the NHS into chaos.

“Patient care is going backwards as more people are forced to wait longer in A&E, cancelled operations are at their highest for a decade and waits for vital cancer tests and treatments are increasing too.

“We now know that the Government has also lost grip of the NHS’s finances. A third of hospitals are reporting deficits, putting patient care at even greater risk in future. The fact that Ministers are having to put more money in to tackle a summer crisis in A&E and the growing backlog of operations shows how desperate the situation now is.

“Forcing through a £3 billion back-room reorganisation when the NHS faces the biggest financial challenge of its life was David Cameron’s single biggest mistake on the NHS, and it is patients who are suffering as a result.”

Let's build on this for 2015

Last week's local election gave the people of Redditch a choice on the future of our town. 

Night after night, weekend after weekend, Labour candidates, councillors and volunteers knocked doors and delivered leaflets to let voters know what they could expect if they voted for a Labour run Redditch Borough Council.

Frequently people said on the doorstep, "What's the point in voting, you're all the same" or "As soon as your elected you won't stick to your promises".  I felt proud to let people know that Labour had delivered on our pledges last time we were voted in - re-instating free swimming and the pre-9.30 free bus pass after the previous Conservative led council had cut them.  Scrapping council car parking charges that the Conservatives had imposed and working with business to create apprenticeships - something they voted against.  And if they voted Labour this time we would concentrate on job creation in the town, work experience, frontline services and the mortgage rescue scheme.  Priories for Labour given all areas are under strain due to the Conservative coalition.

People did vote Labour and the results demonstrated that trust is increasingly coming back to Labour.  With national policies such as the energy price freeze, increased free childcare and rises in the minimum wage, people are starting to vote for the party with policies that will help them have a decent standard of living.

Historically Redditch voters have always made room for a third party and traditionally that has been the Liberal Democrats.  Currently this has emerged as UKIP.  I have watched over the years as the third party in British politics has had the luxury of making promises that they cannot deliver. 

As I type these words one of the two new Redditch UKIP councillors is facing a backlash for racist, sexist and homophobic views on Facebook.  There is no room for such views in today's society, a society that has made such tremendous strides for equality and one that continues to do so.

The job for Labour is have the best offer for Redditch and the country on 7th May 2015 and then to deliver it, we've done this locally, now we must do it nationally.

Rebecca Blake

 

#VoteBlake4MP

 

Too many people in Redditch are not feeling the effects of the recovery

It's not enough to simply be told the economy is recovering people want to feel it.  And I'm afraid too many people in Redditch are not feeling the effects of the recovery.

In Redditch there are 355 young unemployed people, 5,500 people in fuel poverty and hundreds feeling the effects of the desperate shortage of affordable housing.  Labour will not stand by and tolerate this. 

Young people leaving school need access to training and skills. That's why the Labour council's apprenticeship scheme was set up to help tackle youth unemployment which stands above the English and county average.  I am angry that local conservative councillors did not support this scheme.

Energy companies should not be allowed to hike up prices year after year for bill payers, throwing more people into fuel poverty.  I wrote to the Redditch Conservative MP Mrs Lumley asking her to support Labour's energy price freeze to help families afford to heat their homes.  Instead she voted against the price freeze - against measures to help people in fuel poverty in Redditch and voted in favour of increased profits for energy companies.

Last week there were 183 bids made by local people for just 8 available homes across the social housing providers.  We simply need more affordable homes as people are trapped unable to afford to buy and often paying too much in private rent. 

A labour government would build 200,000 homes each year of the next Parliament and wants to immediately reduce private rents.  Yet yesterday Mrs Lumley once again voted against helping her constituents, this time those who are renting, by not supporting measures to reduce private rents for people in Redditch.

I want everyone to be better off and while those who are doing their best still cannot afford the cost of living crisis I cannot be a cheer leader for the economic recovery.

Labour Call for Maternity Review

Andy Burnham MP, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary came to Redditch last Thursday ahead of the forthcoming Local & European elections to lend his support speaking to voters in Winyates and listening to their concerns about the cost of living crisis. 

Rebecca Blake, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Redditch especially wanted him to hear from local people about how recent proposals calling for maternity to be cut at the Alex and moved to Worcester would affect them.

Andy heard from local mums, NHS staff and points made by the Save the Alex campaign.  Andy said "I've heard from local mums that one of the problems for people in Redditch having to travel to Worcester Royal instead of the Alex is geography.  I've just come from Worcester and experienced the road works and delays for myself and I understand public transport between Redditch and Worcester is infrequent and takes too long.

"As Health Secretary I would want to know the implications for neighbouring hospitals if births were cut from the Alex.  Hospitals shouldn't be dealt with in isolation because changes to one have knock effects on neighbouring hospitals.  The people of Redditch and its neighbours deserve a detailed review of services across the wider health economy and to be properly consulted before any decisions are made".

Rebecca has written to NHS England requesting a review of maternity capacity.  Rebecca stated "If births are cut from the Alex women will go out of county to have their babies.  I have requested NHS England initiate a review of maternity capacity that extends Worcestershire Acute Trust and takes in all hospitals that would be effected by cutting births at the Alex.  I want to see in black and white just how 2100 births a year will be safely accommodated when neighbouring hospitals are already short on maternity beds".

Bincy mum of two, who had both babies at the Alex said "If the Alex maternity ward is cut it would not be fair and it's a big price for future mums in Redditch to have to pay".

Copy of my letter to NHS England

As you know I do not support the latest recommendation from the Independent Clinical Panel that maternity should be taken from the Alex in Redditch and move to Worcester Royal.

Maternity in Redditch, Worcester and Birmingham is already under pressure, with mums in Redditch and Worcester regularly being taken by ambulance to a hospital further away due to lack of beds.  This state of affairs is a strong reason for consultant led maternity to remain in Redditch.

It is universally agreed that currently there is not enough provision to absorb the 2100 births that take place each year at the Alex.  Any extra investment to rectify this would be better spent on going towards funding existing arrangements.

What underpins my concern about losing maternity in Redditch is that the travel times and distances to what would be the nearest consultant led maternity departments are too long & too far.  In addition as a principle I believe that a DGH such as the Alex that serves the populations of Redditch, Bromsgrove, South Birmingham and West Warwickshire, a population of approximately 225,000 people requires a CLU.

I would like to request that NHS England initiate a review of maternity capacity that extends Worcestershire Acute Trust and takes in all hospitals that would be effected by cutting births at the Alex.  Including Birmingham Women's, Solihull MLU & Heartlands and if mums from West Warwickshire would have used the Alex, the review may need to take in Warwick Hospital too. 

I consider this to be crucial knowledge that must be evidenced prior to any decisions to cut maternity services at the Alex. 

The current decision making process is missing the strategic overview that is necessary to serve the local health economy in terms of maternity and I fear grave consequences of these decisions made in isolation. 

In my view there is time for this work to take place, while the affordability of the Independent Clinical Panel's recommendations are worked up and given the consultation on them is still to be had.  Finally, if this has already taken place, the results must be put into the public domain.

I look forward to your reply.