Category Archives: LBH

Michael Sobell hospice – 30 Oct public meeting

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We have been asked to publicise this:

There will be a public meeting at 6pm on Tuesday October 30th at the Uxbridge Civic Centre to discuss Hospice Care in the North of the Borough (i.e. Michael Sobell Hospice). The following is copied from the council’s website.

Following the closure of Michael Sobell House inpatient service, the Hillingdon Council External Services Select Committee is interested in establishing why the closure happened so quickly and what action is now being taken to ensure service provision within the North of the Borough.
Questions asked by Members of those present at the meeting may include the following:

1. Which organisation/s is/are responsible for ensuring a hospice provision?
2. How is MSH funded?
3. What is each organisation responsible for providing in relation to MSH?
4. Which organisation/s is/are responsible for reporting repairs, undertaking maintenance and funding this work in relation to the Hospice building?
5. Which organisation/s made the decision to close and why?
6. When did the need for repairs first become apparent?
7. What action was taken to address any estate repairs issues that had been highlighted before the decision was made to close?
8. Why were building improvement works/repairs not carried out before the decision was made to close?
9. Was a risk assessment undertaken regarding the closure of MSH (before and/or after)?
10. Was an equalities impact assessment undertaken?
11. What service level agreements are in place for the hospice service provision?
12. Why was the proposed closure of the inpatient unit not communicated to the External Services Select Committee in a timely manner (bearing in mind that there is a duty on relevant NHS bodies and health service providers to consult health scrutiny bodies on substantial reconfiguration proposals or on substantial variations in the provision of such services)?
13. What action was taken in relation to relocating patients and why? What will happen to them in the medium/long term?
14. Why were (cancer) Wards 10 and 11 at MVH deemed more appropriate than an inpatient hospice?
15. What action was taken in relation to relocating staff and why? What will happen to these staff in the medium/long term?
16. What action has been taken to support patients, families and staff since the MSH closure and how has the effectiveness of this action been measured?
17. What action has been taken to ensure that the care of MVH patients has not been impacted?
18. What works are needed to bring the building up to standard (and associated costings and timescales)?
19. If the MSH building is not repairable, what action is being taken to source alternative provision in the north of the Borough and where would the associated funding come from?
20. What are the timescales to recommence a hospice provision in the north of the Borough?
21. Going forward, how will residents be kept updated on progress in re-establishing a hospice provision?

The low-down on Ickenham’s boundary

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Here’s some solid information on the boundary issue. In short, we believe it makes sense for Ickenham’s ward boundary to match the village boundary and we’d like people who agree with this to make their views known.

All Association members on our mail list were given a detailed view yesterday. Here are some key extracts (plus two extra links):

We will try to expand the Ickenham Ward to reflect our true boundaries. This would match the boundaries as agreed by LBH for the Ickenham Neighbourhood Plan, including The Greenway, Ickenham Green, The Brackenbury estate and the Ickenham Marshes, which are all currently in other wards.

Chris Mountain provided a link to a brilliant interactive map of the village – it shows electoral and natural boundaries and green spaces.

We are asking all Ickenham residents to please send in their own comments, as numbers matter here, and just one letter from the Residents’ Association will not be sufficient to sway the review.

How to get involved (Local Government Boundary Commission for England)
This is a public consultation and we welcome views from individuals and organisations across Hillingdon on where they think new ward boundaries should be drawn.

In drawing up new electoral wards, we must balance three legal criteria, namely:
– to deliver electoral equality: where each councillor represents roughly the same number of electors as others across the borough;
– that the pattern of wards should, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities;
– that the electoral arrangements should provide for effective and convenient local government.

We will treat all submissions equally, and judge each case on its merits and against the legal criteria.

If you wish to put forward a view, we would also urge you to ensure that evidence supports your submission.

For example, if you wish to argue that two areas should be included in the same electoral ward, make sure you tell us why they should be together, providing evidence about community facilities, ties, organisations, and amenities, rather than simply asserting that they belong together.

There is more advice on our website about how you can get involved in the consultation.

Our website features technical guidance that explains the process and our policies, as well as guidance on how to take part in each part of the process.

We have also set up a webpage dedicated to the review of Hillingdon, where you can find all the relevant information.

You can also access interactive maps of the current ward boundaries across Hillingdon on our specialist consultation portal. The portal also allows you to draw your own boundaries, mark areas of interest on the map and upload documents directly to the site.

You can make a submission to the Hillingdon electoral review:
1. through our consultation area,
2. by e-mailing reviews@lgbce.org.uk, or
3. writing to the following address:
The Review Officer (Hillingdon), Local Government Boundary Commission for England, 1st Floor, Windsor House, 50 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL

PLEASE PLEASE DO MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN and feel free to share this post to anyone who is a resident of Ickenham.

Thank you in advance.