I was profoundly depressed to see that the Government’s own figures show that almost a third of boys from disadvantaged backgrounds cannot write their own name after a year at primary school. The increasing lack of social mobility in the UK is very concerning. These figures show that the gap between poorer children and the [...]
Entries from January 29th, 2010
Really interesting health discussion
January 23rd, 2010 · 2 Comments · SOS Herts NHS, Sandy's blog
It was a reflective and thought-provoking public meeting on Thursday night with Norman Lamb MP and Cllr Nick Hollinghurst talking about the current state of and future prognosis for our health services both locally and nationally. Marlborough Road Methodist Church was nicely full and the audience was treated to a grown-up discussion of the opportunities [...]
Tags:Herts NHS·Marlborough Road Methodist Church·Nick Hollinghurst·Norman Lamb·Sandy Walkington·St Albans
From cradle to grave?
January 19th, 2010 · No Comments · SOS Herts NHS, Sandy's blog
The NHS has always boasted of caring for people from cradle to grave – but cremation is clearly different. None of us is at our best at a time of bereavement – we’re certainly not looking at the small print. So I share LibDem MP Norman Lamb’s astonishment that doctors working in hospitals earned almost [...]
Tags:ash cash·norman lamb mp·Sandy Walkington·St Albans·West Herts Hospital Trust
“The NHS has left me” – local resident
January 18th, 2010 · 1 Comment · SOS Herts NHS, Sandy's blog
Issues round local NHS services are constantly raised on the doorstep and in letters to me. Of course people recognise there has been investment. But the lady who told me ‘The NHS has left me’ summed up a wide sense of loss as the delivery of NHS services becomes more distant for local people.
There have [...]
Tags:Herts NHS·Marlborough Road Methodist Church·Nick Hollinghurst·Norman Lamb·Sandy Walkington·St Albans·St Albans City Hospital·St Albans maternity services·St Albans Urgent Care Centre
Time to stop vulnerable people being imprisoned in their homes – we need a community approach to clearing pavements
January 11th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Sandy's blog
I confess that any initial pleasure in the snow is now wearing off. And as I have already discovered today, last night’s slight thaw and then freeze signals more problems for local people trying to get to school, work and the shops.
My car made some interesting manoeuvres when exiting our side road, but it is [...]
Tags:Herts County Council·Herts Highways·Oakwood School·road gritting·Sandy Walkington·St Albans