Agenda and minutes

Cllr Jonathon Seed was re-elected as Chairman.

Cllr Rod Eaton was re-elected as Vice-Chairman.

Brian Warwick – Melksham 55+ Group, welcomed everybody and thanked the Melksham area board for organising the meeting.

The Chairman then welcomed everyone to the Riverside club and the first older persons themed area board meeting.

The Chairman then introduced the Wiltshire councillors who made up the area board, supporting Wiltshire Council officers and Cllr Keith Humphries (Cabinet member for Public Health & Protection), who was attending the meeting.

The Chairman thanked the various stake holders and parish representatives in attendance.

The following Chairman’s announcements contained in the pack were noted:

Update on Melksham Community Campus

Cllr Jonathon Seed advised that contracts had now been exchanged between Wiltshire and Cooper Avon Tyres paving the way for a single site community campus on land at Melksham House.

Town Hall road enhancements

Cllr Jonathon Seed advised that no work would be carried out due to the community campus location being decided at Melksham House. It was thought that some patching of pot holes would be carried out as a short term measure, with a new traffic scheme put in to place when the campus was built.

Update from event on 28 June to discuss future of services for 13 – 19 year olds

The event was held on 28 June to get people’s input into the strategy, a consultation was still open until 5 August. 

The purpose of the commissioning strategy is to achieve better outcomes for young people aged 13-19 by:

·         Ensuring a good range of high quality services for all young people.

·         Providing an early integrated response when young people are vulnerable or at risk, as soon as problems or issues arise.

·         Ensuring cost effective services by improved co-ordination and reducing any overlaps and duplication.

New Waste and Recycling Collection Service

As a result of Wiltshire Council becoming a Unitary Authority in April 2009, there had been four different waste and recycling collection services available to residents, depending on where you lived. This costed different amounts, had differing recycling levels and was not a fair service for residents.

From October the council would be rolling out service changes so that everyone receives the same level of service, beginning with fortnightly plastic bottles and cardboard recycling collections using blue-lidded bins in the north, west and east. This service was already in place in the south.

For further information residents can: visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/waste, call 0300 456 0102 or look out for further information coming in due course.

End of Life Care

End of life care ensures that people live well until they die, this is typically care provided to people in the last year of their life.

But it can by difficult to predict when this ‘last year’ starts. Death and dying had become remote from our society, this had become medicalised and so not something that in our society and culture we are used to talking about.

Annually about 4000 people die in Wiltshire. If your GP is full time about 20 of their patients will die in a year. About  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Apologies were received from Cllrs Jon Hubbard and Steve Petty.

Agenda Item No.14 Community Area Grant – Alzheimers Support.

Cllr Rod Eaton – Personal interest, had been lobbied by the applicant, would view the application with an open mind when this application was discussed and voted on.

Agenda Item No.14 Community Area Grant – Alzheimers Support.

Cllr Mark Griffiths – Personal interest, had been lobbied by the applicant, would view the application with an open mind when this application was discussed and voted on.

Decision

That the minutes of the meeting on 12 May 2011 were approved and signed as a correct record.

Community Area Partnership Representative.

There was no update to report.

Wiltshire Police

The written update distributed with the agenda was noted, Inspector David Cullop advised that Sgt Mel Rolph was to start a new job with the Wiltshire Police and would be leaving her role at Melksham. Insp Cullop thanked Sgt Rolph for the work that she had carried out as part of her neighbour policing role within the Melksham community area, this was echoed by the Wiltshire, town and parish council representatives in attendance.

Melksham CAYPIG

There was no update to report.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The written update distributed with the agenda was noted.

NHS Wiltshire

The written update distributed with the agenda was noted.

Melksham Town Council

Cllr Richard Wiltshire advised that the town council had concerns that Wiltshire Council car park ticket machines were now not giving the double ticket which local retailers were using to refund parking charges to shoppers.

Cllr Seed advised that double ticket would be reinstated as soon as possible in the Melksham car park payment machines.

Cllr Wiltshire requested on behalf of Melksham town council that a period of one hour free parking be authorised to encourage shoppers back into central Melksham, Cllr Seed advised that the costs involved in doing this, not just in Melksham but across Wiltshire would amount to around two million pounds needed to be found by Wiltshire Council. The council were however looking to introduce a new scheme whereby independent traders could refund parking costs from shoppers and then be reinbursted by Wiltshire Council.

Cllr Wiltshire asked if S106 funds set aside for an Asda shuttle bus were now being used as part of the general bus fund. Cllr Seed advised that the original S106 document made no mention of a special bus service, however, Wiltshire Council were planning to introduce a Melksham bus service that would cover all of the central Melksham area, and would be free to bus pass holders and disabled users.

It was agreed that Melksham town council were happy with the new campus location in the centre of the town.

Parish Council Nominated Representatives

Cllr Mike Mills advised that Melksham Without parish council had concerns re the apparent unannounced closure of the Christie Miller golf course and any further leisure services closing before the community campus was opened. Cllr Mills felt that the golf course could have remained open as staff who administered it were still based at Christie Miller, and Wiltshire Council were still cutting the grass.

Melksham Without parish council requested that the Area Board support them, in that no further leisure services were closed before the community campus was opened. Cllr Roy While advised that Wiltshire Council would try to keep the Christie Miller leisure centre open until the community campus was opened.

Melksham Chamber of Commerce

There was no update to report.

Shadow Community Operations Board

Cllr Roy While advised that the final member to be appointed to the Shadow Community Operations Board would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Presentation by James Cawley – Service Director, Strategy & Commissioning, Wiltshire Council.

James Cawley advised that Wiltshire Council had talked to older people and had asked the question “what was important to them as they got older”.

Points made by James Cawley included:

·         Older people felt that they had little choice about remaining in their own homes and keeping their independence when their health became an issue in later life.

·         Older people wanted one point of contact from Wiltshire Council to deal with them.

·         Older people don’t want to stay on hospital for long periods, Wiltshire Council were looking to establish a “crisis response service” to help avoid this issue.

·         Older people don’t want to go into residential care homes, if they do they would prefer better modern facilities than were available at the present.

·         Wiltshire Council in partnership with the Order of St John were planning to build a new purpose built residential care home in Melksham that would replace the Brookside care home.

·         Wiltshire Council were keen that the Melksham Area Board feed into a working group to decide which developer would be appointed to build the new care home.

·         A new care home and extra care housing scheme was to be built at Semington by the Order of St John.

The Chairman thanked James Cawley for his presentation.

Kevin McNamara – Great Western Hospital, Swindon gave a presentation that outlined how NHS community services would be changing with the abolition of the Primary Care Trusts.

Points made by Kevin McNamara included:

·         Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GWH) currently provides hospital services to approximately 340,000 people in Swindon, parts of Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and West Berkshire.

·         The Trust employs 3,300 staff and has an annual turnover of £200m per annum. Each year over 400,000 people are seen or treated at the hospital and in clinics in the local community.

·         The services provided by GWH are commissioned primarily by NHS Swindon and NHS Wiltshire.

·         NHS Wiltshire has a budget of £664m per annum and spends £48.3m of that with GWH.

·         As an existing provider GWH chose to bid to run all of the services currently provided by Wiltshire Community Health Services (WCHS) – the provider arm of NHS Wiltshire.

·         Following a competitive process, in November 2010 the Trust was selected as the preferred bidder for the following services:

Maternity – which includes community maternity services across Wiltshire and parts of Bath and North East Somerset plus hospital maternity services at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

Children’s & Young Peoples services.

Adult services (which includes primary health care teams and community hospitals).

·         The main focus of GWH is ensuring the safe transfer of these services and to ensure staff are transferred smoothly under the management of the GWH. Patients will not notice changes to services when the merger takes place as there is no intention to move services or change where staff work – patients will still receive treatment in the current locations.

·         During the summer the Trust will be talking to stakeholders about how services should look in the future so that local people continue to receive the best possible service within the funding available.

What does this mean for local people?

•         Safe transfer of patients and services.

•         Patients are not to be expected to travel to Swindon to be treated.

•         Staff continue to work in their present locations in teams.

•         No immediate changes are planned.

•         Stakeholder engagement will continue.

•         Care will increasingly shift from acute hospitals into the community.

Questions and points raised from the floor included:

·         Will the Melksham community hospital current contract remain the same?

  Yes, the current contract would remain the same.

·         Would radiology services return to Melksham hospital?

The radiology services at Melksham are currently suspended as the x ray machinery was broken, this would be repaired and radiology services would resume.

·         Could the NHS try to communicate better with the community, some people were unaware that transport is available to take them to the RUH for treatment.

·         Concerns were raised over doctors surgeries using expensive 0844 numbers to make appointments, this seemed unfair for people on low incomes etc.

GPs and the PCT were being encouraged to lose these expensive numbers.

The Chairman thanked Kevin McNamara for his presentation.

It was agreed that in order to keep the agenda on track, and to try not to let the meeting over-run, the interactive discussion item would be dropped. It was felt that there had been good debate on all topics that had been discussed and presented.

Issues raised about running down of services for older people at Melksham community hospital – covered under the community services presentation.

Highways need to improve consultation and take into account needs of older and disabled people – an invitation was extended to the 55+ group to attend future Highways meetings.

It was agreed that an area board sponsored meeting between the Police, Highways dept and the 55+ group would be arranged before the next area board meeting in September.

People parking in front of older people’s bungalows and blocking dropped kerbs (eg Orchard Gardens) – Highways dept, Wiltshire Council had looked into this issue and had found no evidence of excessive parking.

Request for information on RUH foundation hospital application – a document detailing this was tabled at the meeting.

The Area Board agreed with the recommendations of the Melksham Community Area Transport Group, (as per page 19 of the agenda pack).

Decision

·         That the Melksham Area Board agree with the funding priorities set down at the meeting of 27 June 2011, and will fund accordingly.

There were none.

The Wiltshire Councillors considered three applications seeking 2011/2012 Community Area Grant Funding:

Decision

Keevil Parish Council awarded £885 towards the renovation of the village war memorial.

Reason

The renovated war memorial will provide a renewed focus for village Armistice services.

Decision

Melksham & District Young Farmers club awarded £544 to provide an outdoor education trip for five 12-16 year old from rural backgrounds.

Reason

This application demonstrates a link to the Melksham community plan in terms of ‘providing a greater variety of activities’ for young people.

Decision

Alzheimers Support have applied for £1358 to start up a ‘Movement for the Mind’ project in Melksham.

Reason

This application demonstrates a link to the Melksham community plan:  support for older people.

Cllr Keith Humphries - cabinet member for public health and protection (including trading standards) gave a brief overview of his portfolio.

Points made included:

·         As portfolio holder, Cllr Humphries works closely with the NHS.

·         Under the new government, public health will revert back to local authority control.

·         Wiltshire Council were keen to stop rogue traders and door step scammers from operating in Wiltshire, and were pushing its “Door stop safety campaign”.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Humphries and  agreed that he would be invited back to a future meeting and given more time to discuss his portfolio.

Wiltshire Councillor appointments to outside bodies were as follows:

• Melksham Community Area Partnership – Cllr Roy While.

• Melksham Youth Issues (CAYPIG) – Cllr Jon Hubbard.

• Viridor Credits Panel – Cllr Roy While.

Tues 20 September 2011 – Aleoric Primary School.

Weds 26 October 2011 – Seend Community Centre.

Attendees were invited to give feedback using the pink evaluation sheets.

The Chairman thanked Brian Warwick for his hard work in helping to organise the meeting and to everybody for attending the meeting.