But, as long as there is an obsessive focus on better health outcomes for Staffordshire people and not on artificial Health organisational issues which could re-create many smaller PCTs in all but name, the opportunities will be greater.

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Full County Council on the road visiting Newcastle Borough Council

The key changes the proposals bring are moving health commissioning responsibility from existing Primary Care Trusts to GPs and moving the budget and responsibility around Public Health to Counties and Unitary local government.

It’s bigger than it sounds. There are currently three PCTs in Staffordshire, one for the southern six districts, one for the two northern districts and one for Stoke with a combined total spend of around £1.6billion.

The County has been working in earnest for ten months to bring together community NHS services with social care services across Staffordshire.

That will mean significant improvements, efficiency wise and, most importantly, to the parity and quality of healthcare services across the whole county and the work to do that is ongoing and will be completed in the next nine months.

The demise of the three PCTs by 2013 and the move of well over a billion pound health commissioning money to doctors in the community is huge. The County already has a successful Joint Commissioning Unit which brings together the NHS and Social Care commissioning to maximise efficiencies and align much better the provision of services.

Clearly, it is important that we continue the same principles under the new arrangements. How we do that and how we can support GPs in their new role whilst ensuring the joint approach between care and health deepens has been, and will be, the subject of dozens of hours of talks.

And why does greater collaboration matter? Well, because high quality social care services prevent many people going into high cost acute services (hospitals) and also get people out faster if they are in hospital.

It’s partly about money and partly about the quality of life and future prospects for individuals. In every aspect it makes sense.

I’ll be writing far more about this whole agenda as things move on and as negotiations take place over the summer. It’s hugely important for Staffordshire and the people who live and work here. I’ll also write about the Public Health changes which, again, will potentially enhance what we are already doing around things such as obesity and alcohol abuse.

So, a very busy time which is going to get even busyer. 

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Just amazing, particularly because under Government plans in 18 months time Staffordshire Police Authority will be scrapped completely.

And so the thick end of £100k annual salary for a brand new Police Authority Chief Exec seems extraordinary just as they are looking to cut front line services by disbanding the motorcycle police unit.

Non-elected independents & Liberal Democrats outvote Conservatives

This despite protests from Conservatives on the Police Authority. And the fact the CXO will only be around until the demise of Staffordshire Police Authority means they’ll likely be a second decent severance payout in due course.

Until a couple of years ago the Police Authority was administered, on a relative shoestring, by the County and the CXO then was the County’s Chief Officer on a very part time basis. Not so now, as recently the Police Authority has grown in admin and massively in costs.

The County even offered to have Staffordshire’s Chief Officer cover the interim for the Police Authority as in the past but no. This was debated by the County today and every Party but the Liberal Democrats were utterly appalled at the likely scrapping of the police motor cycles in favour of a new and expensive bureaucrat.

To be clear, this is public money being wasted by unelected Police Authority appointees despite Staffordshire as a whole being run by Conservatives. Nonsense.

Financial crisis… what crisis?

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And when I had that hour ’roundtable’ recently with a dozen or so individuals with severe disabilities and listened, with the help of their carers, to what they had to say about their lives, the basis of this post became very clear.

So when MENCAP Staffordshire asked me to actively back their campaign for specialist toilet facilities in each main town in the county I was very happy to do so. 

Most of us take completely for granted our flexibility when it comes to needing the loo but people with severe disabilities and mental health issues often do not have that flexibility.

And on top of that, normal public toilets are unsuitable for those with the greatest disabilities. Practically, they do need much more elaborate toilet changing facilities so their carers are able to help them with what we take for granted.

Changing Places facilities offer those extra features, space and special equipment to allow people with the greatest needs to have a little bit more of a normal life when it comes to going out and about with their carers.

The County development currently being built in Stafford town will have Changing Places facilities open for public use and I recently wrote to every district council in Staffordshire encouraging them to consider requiring new builds to include the specialist changing and toilet facilities under planning rules.

They are only marginally more expensive than decent normal disability toilets and so the extra bit of expense, even in these difficult times, is well worth it when you account for the real difference it will make to lives.

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A significant investment, yes, but one that will help older and vulnerable people stay in their homes, in their communities, safely and for longer.

Chance for community groups to play a part in delivering support services

And because the services to support them could be locally delivered it means they would be entirely focussed on that local need… and, yes, of course it’s less expensive than people giving in and ending up in the institutionalised care system when, with some lighter touch support, they need not.

The money made available by Staffordshire Social Care and Health via the new Community Wellbeing Fund will be used to kick start new services or expand existing ones which support independent living and wellbeing.

It could be to start lunch clubs, offer befriending services, undertake home safety audits, local transport provision… in fact anything which contributes to safe, healthy and independent living. And if new services are successful and meet the need as expected they can then move to continued funding via the Department’s joint commissioning unit.

So this is all about expanding the voluntary sector in a managed way whilst providing parish councils and other local groups with an opportunity to further enhance the communities and people they serve.

Initial response has been exceptional with far more expressions of interest and formal funding applications than we could possibly have expected. So if you are involved with a local community group and have ideas about a service which will support older or more vulnerable people live safely in their community you can find out more here.

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It was actually a couple of years ago that, in opposition, I criticised in committee the then Labour Administration in Staffordshire for not properly recognising or promoting the role of volunteers.

That could be someone who does their bit for the scouts, or at a Sunday morning kids’ football match, or people that pay friendship visits to those in hospital or individuals that support bigger charities like Age UK or Mencap or many others.

In fact anyone that gives back to society, something for nothing. There are already millions of people across the country who volunteer and many of those don’t even think of it as volunteering… it’s just what they do.

And just before Christmas last year my colleague, Ben Adams, who is Staffordshire’s Cabinet Member for Communities kicked off work on the countywide campaign to highlight the good volunteering work which is ongoing and find better ways to support and get even more people actively involved.

That work has resulted in Volunteer Staffordshire.  It brings together information on thousands of volunteering opportunities, offers advice on where and how to get involved and will recognise formally those individuals or groups who who go that extra mile to give something back as well as celebrating everyone who volunteers, no matter how small or infrequently.

It will also be the conduit for a new Staffordshire Award which will be akin to the national Honours but specifically for individuals that have done something in the voluntary sector here which is unique and benefits people right across the county.

The latter Award will not be given easily and they will be few and far between recognising a uniquely important contribution to Staffordshire life. But whatever level of volunteering if you know someone who helps out for the good of others, even if it’s nowhere near the level required for the Staffordshire Award, you can nominate them for recognition here.

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It was last December when I made the decision that Staffordshire LINk wasn’t working and so a fresh start was needed.

The Staffordshire Local Involvement Network is a voluntary group, funded by the County, which monitors and advises on health and social care services. It’s work is important and should be valuable.

It was established, as part of nationwide legislation, under the previous County Administration and although the volunteers involved had worked tremendously hard the support contracted externally by the County was not working meaning the LINk was less effective than it should have been.

We brought the support for LINk back into my Department and delighted that since then it has literally been transformed beyond belief. Excellent work being undertaken and far greater and wider engagement with Staffordshire people and voluntary organisations means it’s time for the next step.

That next step is ensuring greater independence by developing a social enterprise meaning Staffordshire LINk will be an entity in its own right and free from any interference in the future.

That work is now underway and I’m pleased the decision I made in December, which was considered controversial by many back then, has turned out to be the right one.

You can learn more about Staffordshire LINk or get involved here.

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Tame community first responders were established about a year ago to cover the rural areas around Tamworth and the town itself.

A group of volunteers who are trained to very near paramedic standards, they are there to support the ambulance service and being community based can get to emergencies and incidents much faster than their fully qualified colleagues.

Fundraising firmly underway to pay for their specially kitted out vehicle

They are not in any way there to replace the main ambulance service but that faster response time can be crucial and life saving in some medical emergencies.

I’ve supported the group from my County Members’ funding scheme a couple of times because as well as doing an amazing job they actually pay for much of the equipment from their own pockets as they don’t get any financial help, only advice and training, from the ambulance service.

A dedicated bunch of people, as well as being at the heart of life and death situations they are on strict and regular rotas so there is cover the whole time but no chance of dodging a shift because they don’t fancy it.

But with that responsibility comes great satisfaction and enthusiasm for what they do. And they’ve recently forked out for a replacement vehicle which is far better fitted out than the first one that the group started with.

So fundraising is now well underway because it is the group members who have underwritten the cost. I’ll be actively looking for further funding to help them out because rural areas around Tamworth receive much faster emergency medical cover because of their dedication.

Just a few pounds will help so if you can support them with a small donation you can find out how here.

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It’s been going for a few years now as part of the growing number of events organised by a community group in the village known as the VEGs (village entertainment group).

Always busy, a combination of the nice weather and a growing show saw even more people turn out this year. The, now, traditional welly-wanging, Morris Dancers, loads of stalls, pigeon racing, animal displays and traditional rural activities were enjoyed by over a thousand people.

Excellent community spirit from Drayton Bassett people and valuable funds raised to help with future events and local organisations.

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And not just in Staffordshire. It would also cut a swathe through the green and pleasant land of England across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.

Drayton Bassett, Hints, Weeford, skirting Whittington and onto Lichfield

Up and down those counties people affected are organising themselves into campaigning groups against the proposals and the three County Councils are organising public meetings to inform communities of the details and to provide advice.

In Staffordshire, the County Council is currently doing the same and public meeting(s) will take place in the Lichfield and Tamworth area sometime over the next month.

Details will be publicised in southern Staffordshire media and I’ll also notify everyone registered for my HS2 email update ring.

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You may recall the efforts that went into persuading Birmingham City Council to grant a lease to a community group so they could restore and make sustainable use of the historic gardens at Elford.

Early days at Elford Hall Gardens with an enthusiastic community group

BCC hold, in trust, a very significant estate around parts of Lichfield and Tamworth. The situation regarding Woodhouse Farm is extraordinarily similar to that which I found at Elford.

It’s an unbelievable four and a half years ago since I started in earnest as a newly elected County Councillor to assist the group at Elford with their Birmingham issue. The Elford Hall Estate had fallen into serious disrepair under their trusteeship and there appeared to me to be a viable way forward in reversing that decline and making the Gardens sustainable as a community asset.

Community support at Woodhouse Farm could lead to something great

And it was some time before the City agreed with that point of view and allowed the community group in Elford to take on the project and grant a lease. The latter only happened in the last few months. The group had barely been able to get Birmingham to speak to them for the first eighteen months.

That said,  Birmingham City Council have more recently been exceptionally enthusiastic and helpful to the Elford group including granting substantial funding towards the restoration work. So a huge turnaround!

Woodhouse Community Farm, near to Fisherwick Lakes, is a longstanding family home which is also held in Trust by Birmingham along the same lines as Elford was.

About eighteen months ago the death of the principle tenant resulted in the City Council serving an eviction notice on the remaining family members. Just like the Elford Hall estate, Birmingham were keen to sell off the property to put cash into the Trust and were less than willing to speak about it.

A lovely setting which could be educational and recreational for everyone

But the Stone family at Woodhouse Farm fought back and over the last year or so have received massive support from local people in their efforts to encourage the City to take a more pragmatic stance.

To be honest, whilst lending moral support to the efforts at Woodhouse  Farm, I’ve been conscious not to jeopardise the progress at Elford. But that progress is now irreversible and solid so I’m very happy and willing to throw any influence I have behind the similar community efforts at Fisherwick.

I’ll be writing to Birmingham and assisting the group in a more proactive way to see if we can together replicate the sensational and motivational outcomes enjoyed at Elford.

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