Agenda and minutes

Members of the Township Forum are asked to consider whether they have an interest in any of the matters on the Agenda and if so, to formally declare that interest.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

It was agreed that the Minutes of the last meeting be approved subject to the following change:

RTNM.111 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME/OPEN FORUM

Mr Waddell asked what was happening with the 20mph scheme in Summerseat not Greenmount.

Attached report

Mr Waddell referred to the question that he had raised at the last meeting regarding the water that was always present on Turton Road close to the Affetside junction. He explained that the situation was still the same with the water on the road and that it should be fixed before winter and it started to freeze. Mr Waddell asked whether any response had been given from council officers in relation to the issue.

It was reported that the issue had been reported to officers within the relevant department but a response had not yet been received.

Councillor Wright stated that this was not acceptable and asked that a response be sought from the relevant officer as soon as possible.

A presentation will be given at the Meeting

Dr Cathy Fines and David Latham from Bury CCG attended the meeting to report on the consultation that was currently being undertaken in relation to how urgent care was provided across the borough.

Urgent Care Services were described as those that are designed to assist patients with an illness or injury that does not appear to be an emergency, but is considered too urgent to wait for routine care

It was explained that there were a number of different options open to Bury residents from A & E to Out of Hours GP services and walk in Centres.

It was felt that there was currently a lot of duplication in services across the Bury area and patients were unsure of where to go to receive treatment. The Urgent Care System today has evolved over a number of years.  Many patients attending A&E who are considered to have a primary care level of need. (National and Local issue)

Walk-In Centre attendances are recurrently reducing.

Current System pressures Nationally and Locally

A number of meetings had been held with stakeholders and other groups to review what the current offer was and to discuss how this could be updated to provide a better service to residents.

The vision was explained :

To realise an Integrated Urgent Care System with better connecting health and social care services which delivers the following principles:

•      Delivers the best possible outcomes for the patients of Bury.

•      Promotes self- care for patients where appropriate.

•      Builds on NHS 111 as a single point of access.

•      Reduce duplication and confusion for patients.

•      Develops the concept of the clinical hub for Bury as described in recent guidance.

It was explained that patients would always be advised to telephone the NHS111 number in all instances except where an A & E visit was required. The 111 number gives access to appropriate advice and referral if necessary to one to one treatment.

It was also explained that the CCG would be looking to provide new services which would further extend the offer available to patients. These included:-

Vulnerable Patient Service

A & E Front End Model

Wound Care Service

Ambulatory Care

It was explained that Bury already provided GP extended working hours and additional GP appointments. Children aged 0 -12 were offered urgent appointments on the same day and there was an enhanced level of support elderly and frail patients.

Statistics had been reviewed from the patients attending the two walk in centres in Bury and it was reported that 41% had received self care advice, 29% were non Bury residents, 17% had received wound care and 4% had been directed to A & E. It was also explained that where walk in centre provision had been removed up to 25% of attendees had not presented elsewhere.

The consultation was running for 8 weeks and those present were asked to take part in the consultation which could be accessed online, via telephone or through the post.

Questions and comments were invited and  ...  view the full minutes text for item RTNM.254

Nick Roberts and Sam Tysoe from Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority attended the meeting to answer questions in relation to public transport services across Ramsbottom, Tottington and North Manor.

It was explained that GMPTE were aware of a number of issues in relation to various services across the three wards. GMPTE were only able to advise on service provision that they subsidised but they were able to speak with operators about issues that were raised. The majority of services across Greater Manchester were run commercially in a for profit capacity. These services were not within the remit of GMPTE.

·         Mr Booth reported that the 481 service had been removed, the 472 and 474 services had been changed to 15 minute intervals, the 477 had been renamed the 478 and had been significantly reduced and the 483 had been removed.

Sam Tysoe explained that where a peak journey carries so few passengers that it can’t be justified the operators will consider reducing or removing a service. GMPTE will then decide whether to put the service out to tender and subsidise the journey. Sometimes this isn’t viable.

·         Councillor Daly explained that he had been in discussion with Rosso who had operated the 481 and he had been advised that GMPTE had received the statutory 56 days notice with regards to the service being withdrawn. No competitive tender had been invited and he asked why this was.

It was explained that where an alternative route was available as there was in this case with the 480, the need could not be justified and therefore could not be subsidised.

·         Mrs Taylor from Greenmount stated that she had attended the previous meeting of the Township Forum where she had suggested the possibility of extending the 468 and 469 services to travel into Greenmount. She asked whether this extension could be subsidised and run as for a short time as a trial.

Sam Tysoe stated that he would not be able to interfere with how the operators run their services but it may be possible to put this suggestion to both of the operators and see if it would be a possibility.

·         A local resident referred to the fact that the 481 travelling along Walshaw Road had been withdrawn but the 468 and 469 services travelling along Tottington Road were so frequent that there were often 3 buses at the terminus in Tottington at once. Would it be possible for some of these services to be diverted through Walshaw.

Nick Roberts stated that this suggestion would be forwarded to the operators.

·         A resident of Summerseat reported that the last 477 service to Bury left Summerseat at 1.37pm and the last return Journey left Bury at 2pm. It was felt that this was unacceptable as it meant that many passengers had no way of getting home from work or school in the early evenings.

Nick Roberts stated that he would ask if the service could be extended to further in the afternoon.

·         A Walshaw resident explained that  ...  view the full minutes text for item RTNM.255

Charli Headley from the Social Development Team at Bury Council attended the meeting to update those present on the Bury Directory. It was explained that the Directory was an online one stop information point that brings together a wide range of resources and holds many directories in one place.

Contents of the site could be shared on social media and was completely optimised for smart phones and tablets. There were drop down sections and a scrolling banner with information. There were apps to services such as living aid equipment, self care and dementia friendly businesses.

To be included on the directory, pages must answer ‘yes’ to one of the following questions:-

·         Is it a legal requirement?

·         Is it a specialist service or provision?

·         Does it support the local health and wellbeing, self care or prevention agendas?

·         Does it support Bury Council’s Corporate Debt Strategy?

It was explained that statistics were showing that hits to the directory were increasing with a projected forecast of 111,160 hits in 2016/2017.

It was explained that the next steps were going to be dedicated to support neighbourhoods and would include NHS Choices, consultation groups and You Tube ‘how to’ videos.

Community groups were welcome to join the directory and events being carried out locally could be promoted.

Charli stated that if anybody wanted to be included on the site, they could do this by contacting her or her colleagues within the Social Development Team.

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions and the following points were raised:-

·         Councillor Gartsdide asked if it was possible to see where the people accessing the directory were located.

It was reported that this information could be provided and would be reported back to the Forum.

Councillor Wright asked whether charities could be included.

It was explained that local charities were encouraged to join the site.

It was agreed:

That Charli be thanked for her presentation.

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions or make comments and the following points were raised:-

·         Mr Booth referred to the lack of lighting at Peel Tower and asked what was happening with it.

It was explained that the whole of the lighting system at the tower was completely saturated and needed a full overhaul.

·         Mr Booth also asked what was happening with the water being reinstated in the Urn in Ramsbottom.

Councillor Hodkinson explained that there had been issues with the pump and initial assessments looked like it would be too costly to repair. Some further assessments had been carried out and it looked like a solution which was affordable had been found. There was still some work to be carried out in relation to the filter and arrangements had to be agreed for maintenance and regular checks.

As it was late on in the year the Urn would usually be switched off for winter around this time but he was confident that it would be running in spring 2017.

·         Mr Booth referred to some tarmac work that had been undertaken on the pavement adjacent to Nuttall Park and asked why this had been carried out when there were so many potholes in need of repair.

·         Dr Binns referred to the engineering work that had been carried out on Bridge Street in Ramsbottom and stated that the yellow lines on the street looked very messy. She asked that this be investigated with a view to putting it right.

·         Dr Binns also referred to the issue of HGVs using Bridge Street which had been raised at previous meetings of the Forum. She explained that ex Councillor Luise Fitzwalter had been in discussions with the Council about this issue and asked whether anything had been resolved.

Dave Thomas stated that he would chase this up with the relevant officer.

·         Mr Booth referred to the library review which had been discussed at the previous Township Forum and asked that those involved have a look at what is being provided at libraries in Southport and Conway as they were providing an excellent service.

·         A resident of Walshaw asked if parking enforcement could be carried outside the off licence on Bank Street in Walshaw as there were always vehicles parked there.

·         A resident referred to the Spatial Framework item that had been discussed at the last forum and asked whether this would be coming back to the Forum.

Councillor Gartside explained the timescale of the consultation and suggested that the January Meeting of the Forum would most likely be the most appropriate meeting for the report to be discussed.

A report is attached for information

The forum received the most up to date funding report for information.

The next meeting of the Township Forum will be held on Tuesday 10 January 2017 at Tottington Methodist Church from 7pm.

It was reported that the next meeting of the Township Forum would be held on 10 January 2017 at 7pm at Tottington Methodist Church.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 6 July 2016 are attached.