Travel today

Following the stormy weather conditions this morning (Monday 28 October) many public transport services are now resuming, but with delays - you are advised to monitor public transport and road updates, as they are continually changing:

www.tfl.gov.uk

www.c2c-online.co.uk

www.greateranglia.co.uk

Halloween

Ardleigh House Halloween Party,

 

31 October from 6pm - £5 adults £3 kids (under 5 free)

 

Free face painting for kids and a glass of ghoul (Free glass of alcoholic ghoul

for adults) Spooks & Ghosts in the grounds. Ride the ghost train, if you dare!

Apple bobbing - trick or treat with free kids activities. Bar open for adults.

Jacket spuds, hot dogs, Best costumes competition (for adults and kids (judged by age)) Plus

lots more - ALL ARE WELCOME

 

Autumn leaves

What to do with Autumn Leaves

It feels a little later than usual but autumn is now in full fall, and those with green fingers will lap up the opportunity to put the leaves to good use by composting them. With around 20,000 trees lining the borough Havering Council is encouraging residents to rake and collect the leaves that drift onto their property and then either compost them, put them in their green bins, or take them to the nearest refuse and recycling centre for composting. If residents aren’t able to dispose of the leaves, the Council offers a service to collect leaves blown in from the street and pick them up.

 

Residents should collect and bag their leaves during the autumn then call 01708 432563 to arrange a collection.

Peoples Inquiry into London's NHS

The first meeting is now in SW London, and we are keen to get contributions which go beyond concerns over hospitals and A&E (although these are important).
If you could pass on our request for people to submit written evidence to
http://www.peoplesinquiry.org/contactus.php
or to come along to one of the local hearings that would be great. Or if there are specific people we should contact, we now have some organising support to do this.
The questions we would like people to address include:


 *   Concerns (or congratulations) over mental health services, both from NHS providers, contracted non-NHS providers and services delivered through social care
 *   Care of older people: is there any evidence of an "integrated" or "seamless" service? Are adequate resources available from social care? Are local people being genuinely consulted and their views taken on board?
 *   Activities and policies of local Health & Wellbeing Boards, public health initiatives and preventive health
 *   Development of Healthwatch local organisation and issues of adequate accountability and voice
 *   Concerns over uneven quality of primary care and out of hours services


People are welcome to give verbal evidence to any of the public hearings of the Inquiry, five of which are more local, and two in central London addressing mainly London-wide issues. They need to contact us in advance, so we can organise the agenda at: http://www.peoplesinquiry.org/contactus.php

Public consultation on BHRUT

CQC’s new Chief Inspector of Hospitals asks local people to tell him about the care provided by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust

 

England's new Chief Inspector of Hospitals is inviting members of the public to tell his inspection panel what they think of the services provided by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. Their views and experiences will help inspectors decide what to look at when they inspect Queen’s Hospital in Romford and King George Hospital in Ilford in October.

 

The trust is one of the first wave of 18 hospital trusts to be inspected under radical changes being introduced by the Care Quality Commission. The formal inspection at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust will start on Tuesday 15 October.

 

The Chief Inspector, Professor Sir Mike Richards, announced in July that he will lead significantly larger inspection teams than before, headed up by clinical and other experts including trained members of the public.

 

To ensure the views of patients and the local community are properly heard, the inspectors will be holding a listening event (details below):

 

Tuesday 15 October, 6.30pm, Redbridge Town Hall, High Road, Ilford

 

Members of the public are being encouraged to attend the listening event to find out more about the inspection process, to tell the team about their experiences of care and to say where they would like to see improvements made in the future. 

 

Sir Mike said: "The new inspections are designed to provide people with a clear picture of the quality of the services in their local hospital, exposing poor or mediocre care as well as highlighting the many hospitals providing good and excellent care.

 

"We know there is too much variation in quality – these new in-depth inspections will allow us to get a much more detailed picture of care in hospitals than ever before.

 

"Of course we will be talking to doctors and nurses, hospital managers and patients in the hospital. But it is vital that we also hear the views of the people who have had care at either of the hospitals run by the trust, or anyone who wants to share information with us. This will help us plan our inspection, and so help us focus on the things that really matter to people who depend on this service.

 

“This is your opportunity to tell me and my team what you think, and make a difference to the NHS services in the local area.”

Sir Mike's inspection team is expected to look in detail at eight key service areas: A&E; medical care (including frail elderly); surgery; intensive/critical care; maternity; paediatrics/children’s care; end of life care; and outpatients.

A full report of the inspectors’ findings will be published by the Care Quality Commission later in the year. 

For media enquiries, call the CQC press office on 020 7448 9401 during office hours or out of hours on 07917 232 143.  

For general enquiries, call 03000 61 61 61.

Notes to editors

CQC is asking people who would like to attend the listening event to fill in an online form atwww.cqclisteningevents.org.uk or call 03000 61 61 61. This will help us with planning for the event, but people are free to turn up on the evening even if they haven’t registered. We’d appreciate it if you could include these details in any coverage as we are keen to reach as wide an audience as possible.

Anyone who is unable to attend the listening event but wishes to give their views to the inspection team can do this by email to cqclisteningevents@livegroup.co.uk.

Useful Contacts for older residents

Useful Telephone Numbers

Alzheimer’s Society- Havering 01708 739293

Alzheimer’s Society Helpline 0300 222 1122

Age Concern – Havering 01708 796600

Age Concern – Havering Dementia Services 01708 797700

Benefits 01708 433996

Public Advice and Service Centre 01708 433481

Bus (Freedom) Passes 01708 433997

Citizens Advice Bureaux 0844 826 969

Community Safety Team 01708 432028

Dial a Ride 0845 999 1999

Havering Housing & Council Tax 01708 757242

Havering Direct (Social Services) 01708 464974

Pension Service 0845 606026

Queen’s hospital 01708 435000

Community Dentist 0844 600 1201 ext 5074

Continence Advisory Service 01708 465142

Collaborative Care Team (Queens Hosp) 0300 555 1096

Older Adult Mental Health Team (Suttons House)
0300 555 1135

Carers Information Service 01708 722700 

Havering Parks

HAVERING PARKS

We are proud to report that Havering Council has maintained its status as having some of the best parks in the country after eight of them were awarded the prestigious Green Flag status for 2013/14.

 

The Green Flag Award is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the United Kingdom. The scheme was set up in 1996 to recognise and reward green spaces in England and Wales that met the laid down high standards.

 

The award, handed out by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, recognises and rewards the best parks and green spaces across the country. A Green Flag flying overhead is a sign to visitors that the space boasts the highest possible standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent facilities.

 

A panel of judges visited the parks and checked that they met the criteria of being welcoming, safe and secure, clean and well maintained, sustainable, that they support conservation and heritage, and encourage community involvement.

 

Parks and open spaces are one of the most frequently used public services in the borough, with more than 50 per cent of people visiting a park at least once a week and many using green spaces as an integral part of daily life. This is why the Council has maintained the high standards of its parks - as they are so highly valued by residents. The Council has secured the Green Flag awards for the following parks:

• Bedfords Park, Havering-atte-Bower

• Cottons Park, Romford

• Harold Wood Park, Harold Wood

• Hylands Park, Hornchurch

• Lawns Park, Collier Row