HT website is down, anyone else got the same thing?

Two things bother me more than anything about the care we show for The Whistleblower. Is there ever a good outcome for the Whistleblower and why, more than anything else, is the reaction from the hirearchy toward the Whistleblower, moreoften than not always a negative and aggressive one.

Take for example the recent revelations by the Paramedic for Worcestershire NHS. This chap, a Mr Stuart Gardner told it the way he saw it and what happens? The leader, a Mr Stewart Messer hurtles out of his office and bans the whistleblower from ever setting foot on their premises again. It's an odd trait that seems to affect a huge number of public service leaders.

Why this strange reaction? What is it that makes people like Mr Messer react so aggressively toward someone who clearly cares a great deal about outcomes once a patient gets out of the ambulance and gets wheeled into the A&E ward. God only knows!

And as for the outcome of those who decide to blow the whistle, I've read and read up on the stories of other whistleblowers, more notably Nigel Hobro, James Griffiths, Martin Moreton and our own Paul Cardin, and I can't find one example where the outcome and conclusion have had a happy ending for the whistleblower. In fact, as far as I can find, the ending for the poor soul is they become near on unemployable, they lose money fighting their corner, their health is badly affected and their home and family lives are forever blighted by the battle they were forced to fight because the hirearchy turned nasty like Mr Messer and created a theatre of open hostility and corporate warfare.

And what of the Hereford Council whistleblower? Here in Hereford, we haven't got a John Brace blog, a Wirral Leaks of a Wirral in it Together who actively support the whistleblower and help fight the corner. Our whistleblower only has Hereford Voice to support them and it's this lack of visible and written support which must make the Hereford Council whistleblower feel so isolated. I would imagine that this 'one of our own', must rue the day he ever decided to step forward and say, 'this ain't right'.

Whatsmore, Id guess that their health is in decline, they've become isolated, they feel friendless and they only have their catastrophising imagination to keep them going during these long winter days of wondering what will happen next.

Yep! Im convinced that blowing the whistle and expecting a fair measure of kindness from the Council is a foolish idea and the only outcome one can expect is a war of words, a battle within that lays the blame at your doorstep and the absolute final conclusion that you should have kept your mouth shut and turned a blind eye to bullying.

We have had some very strong winds hit our county recently and I noticed this tree leaning over in Belmont. It will not take much more for it to collapse, so they will need to be quick if they want to save it.

Can BB upright this tree and put some kind of support in place or is it already doomed?

Planned water mains renewal in the Penn Grove Road and surrounding areas of Hereford, HR1 1

Start: 01 Mar 08:00End: 19 Dec 17:30

The time has come for us to replace the water pipes in the Penn Grove Road and surrounding areas of Hereford.  We’re doing this to make sure that your water stays clean and safe for decades to come. 

We need to replace around 4.5 kilometres of water pipes.

We need to replace the water pipes on the following roads:

• Penn Grove Road

• Barr’s Court Road

We will have two separate teams in place to help us carry out the work as quickly as possible. 

Team one will be starting work on Penn Grove Road at the junction with College Road. 

Team two will start work on Barrs Court Road, opposite the Cooperative store.

The work will begin in the first week of March and will take around nine months to complete.

We’ve worked hard with Herefordshire Highways Department to minimise the disruption but for safety reasons, we will need to close the following roads while we are working on them:

Esmond Road, Horan Road, Link Road, Lingen Avenue, Moreland Avenue, Geoffrey Avenue, Bulmer Avenue and Frank Owen Court. We will write to customers in these streets again nearer to the time of closure with more information and signage will be put up in advance. 

We kindly ask residents not to park within our working areas as this will cause long delays to the work and we want to get it done as quickly as possible.

We will need to use two-way traffic lights when we carry out work on Barrs Court Road and Aylestone Hill and we will use give and take traffic management methods whilst we carry out work on any other roads.  We may need to carry out some work during the night on Aylestone Hill to minimise disruption to traffic when we get to the busiest section near the roundabout.

The work near Barrs Court School on Barrs Court Road will be carried out during the Easter break from 28^th March to 10^th April to minimise disruption to school traffic.

Your water supply may be affected for a very short time while we connect your supply to the new pipe but we will give you plenty of notice when we need to do this.

Want to know more?

You’d be welcome to join us at our information event, where we will explain what we’re doing in more detail.  If you’re worried about anything in particular, come and talk to us.

This event will be held on 17^th February between 2.30pm and 7pm in the hall at Barrs Court School and College, Barrs Court Road, Hereford, HR1 1EQ.

We know that our work can be inconvenient in the short-term.  But once we’re finished, the improvements will benefit the whole community. 

This scheme will be carried out by our contract partners, Eiran Civil Engineering Ltd.  Normal working hours will be 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Welsh Water

Sadly Glenda Powell is no longer a counciller she is missed by so many, has anyone seen seen there local representative on the streets talking to the people like Glenda or getting a knock on the door when she posted her regular newsletter her door was open to anyone at anytime. I have seen her with the highways people on the street making sure things get done and very swiftly done most of the time.Look what we have lost people she worked tirelessly on peoples behalf no problem was too small for her to act on our behalf. You do not realise what you have until it has gone and she is still helping people out now as i write ,Why because she cares about the community and the people in it and has worked many many unpaid hours for the community. The reason she still helps people today is she still has her website the notice board in her garden and because people have no connection with there local representatives because you only see them when it is election time and nothing else. You know with Glenda pick up the phone call around her home email her , you know some action will be taken and you got the feedback from her.There was Glenda most days seen on the streets of Newton farm first words out of her mouth how are you is everything alright .I do not see any of the above in the current elected bunch that is why Glenda is a peoples person not a Chamber sleeper.She was suffering from ill health but still kept going and still doing it for nothing now ,you deserve a medal many thanks Glenda for all the help over the years.

I am now at the point where as ward councillor, need to seek views of others on this item. I will be meeting with ASDA representatives shortly and they have been in discussions with planners and Highways England.

I understand there will be public consultation at ASDA by their representatives in the lead up to Christmas.

I understand that ASDA's consultants believe that there will be an increase in traffic movements on this junction of 40% at peak times. 48 vehicles an hour extra.

Would like to hear the views, not just of local people, but from anyone who regularly crosses the river either way and uses Ross Road or Belmont Road. I will not have a public view until I have consulted more widely, heard from ASDAs consultants, heard back from their in store consultations and talked to other interested people.

Herefordshire Housing - Oval Newsletter February 2016

Oval Newsletter February 2016.pdf

The depot in Ross is to close and voluntary redundancies have been asked for, we are not going to get what we have paid for . They cannot cope with what they have got so Herefordshire could be in for a rough ride when this goes ahead.which will be within the next 6 months.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LTP-Consultation

People you have until 31st December 2015 to complete this

Bill Tanner has left the building. I wish him good luck with his new path ...

During the president of Iran state visit to Italy recently famous nude statues were covered up! What gives? He is visiting Italy, well I am sorry Mr Rouhani, covering women in black head to toe, public executions and stoning I find offensive! 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/28/no-nudes-is-bad-news-for-italian-official-ridiculed-in-rouhani-statue-row

EU has gone PC mad!

WHY would Italy want to even consider hiding her heritage? 

Service to Civvy Street' booklet to help ex-Service personnel

Herefordshire Civilian Military Task Group is encouraging ex-Service personnel and their families to benefit from a new information booklet available throughout the county

‘Service to Civvy Street' is a booklet to help veterans of all ages and their families navigate healthcare, employment, housing, education and other support available in Herefordshire and was launched this week by Lady Darnley, the Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, at the Military Charities Helpdesk at Franklin House in Hereford.

If you have served in the Armed Forces or are the partner, spouse or family member of someone who has served in the Armed Forces then this booklet is for you.

Councillor Peter McCaull, the vice chairman of Herefordshire Council said ‘we hope this booklet will make it easier for ex-service personnel and their families to find the services and support they need in order to help them settle into civilian life in the county’

The booklet was funded by the Ministry of Defence’s Community Covenant Grant Scheme and developed by Herefordshire Civilian Military Task Group in partnership with Worcestershire Council

Copies are available at various venues across the County but regular supplies will be held at the Military Charities Helpdesk. The helpdesk is open Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am to 2pm at the Franklin House Customer Service Centre on Blue School Street, Hereford.

The booklet is also available online at www.herefordshire.gov.uk/civvystreet

Tesco Belmont Hereford is to cease opening 24 hours, instead they will open 6am-midnight. 

Tesco is ending 24-hour shopping at 76 of its stores - around one in five of those currently open around the clock.

The company says the growth of online shopping means that certain shops had few customers during the night.

Normal night time activities - such as refilling shelves - will continue in the supermarkets so Tesco says the impact on employees will be "minimal".

The move is Tesco's latest effort to turn around its business which has been hit by challenges on several fronts.

The outlets affected will close between midnight and 6am and four hundred staff will be "affected".

Tesco says it will do its best to make sure all staff affected are "found a new position either in their existing store or stores local to them".

The outlets include those in Mickleover Superstore, Derbyshire, Flitwick Superstore in Bedfordshire and Dereham Extra in Norfolk.

There are currently about 400 Tesco stores open 24 hours a day.

"It makes much more sense for colleagues at those stores to focus on replenishing the shelves instead and making sure they're fully stocked when they open their doors at 6am," said Tesco retail director Tony Hoggett.

This is the latest step in chief executive Dave Lewis' shake-up of the supermarket's business. Since he joined the company in September 2014 he has put Tesco's focus on price cuts and putting more staff in stores in an attempt to revive the company's fortunes

Source

 

Taken from Hereford Times today (29.1.16)

TAURUS EXTENDS IT STAY IN HEREFORDSHIRE.

A SERVICE providing urgent care services has extended its stay in Herefordshire.

Taurus healthcare Ltd, part of the Prime ministers Access Fund Pilot, has been based in Hereford, Leominster and Ross-on-Wye. It was set up as part of an national pilot to extend GP services into weekends and evenings. Bosses have told the Hereford Times this afternoon that it has secured funding from NHS England to "remain operational" for a short period past March 31. When the Prime Minister Access Fund pilot is due to come to an end.

"Taurus Healthcare Ltd, the GP federation and the CCG are working actively with colleagues in NHS England, to secure ongoing funding for this very popular and successful service", said Taurus in a statement. To continue to deliver services whilst these discussions continue,additional funding has been secured for a further period which will enable the service to remain operational whilst these discussions are completed.

"the CCG has an ongoing programme of patient and public engagement on the urgent Care Pathway . The continuation of this process will seek further the view of local people and the wider community".

As reported by the hereford Times yesterday, CCG bosses say they are considering closing the GP walk-in centre in Hereford and minor injury units in Leominster, Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury and Kington. In their place the CCG bosses says this current working with GPs and NHS England to take forward the "development and implementation of seven-day GP services".

END

Tesco Cafe opening February 3rd at Tesco Belmont. Cafe was in desperate need of an upgrade. Managed to grab these couple of photo's while the window was uncovered today.

Placing the wording on the windows.

Holme Lacy Road is to undergo extensive improvement works from mid-February 2016. The improvements, which are designed to make pedestrian and cyclist access easier will take around fourteen weeks to complete.

Their application for a 2 AM Licence was kicked into the 'long grass' on 02 December 2015 by The Council ...

It had already been adjourned once ....

The application is now going to be heard on 22 January .... Which, by my maths, means they miss the extra Christmas/New Year trade ... 

Link