Southfield Ward Forum update - including a sad Carlton Road day centre update

Despite the rain and the cold weather, it was a wonderful Southfield Ward Forum meeting in St Albans Church. Since the church was saved from being converted into a number of luxury flats we looked forward to using the venue for public meetings.

The meeting was kicked off by  Rev Mike Tufnell who updated residents of future events to be held in the large church. Although I am not religious, churches like St Albans are amazing places due to the arhitecture and the stained glass windows. The next Ward Panel meeting that will take place in the church we hope to be in the Summer.

St Albans Church before the meeting

There were a number of topics we discussed...

Closure of the Carlton Road Day Centre
I announced that in the Summer it is likely that the centre will close, although the exact timings is not known. This will be a sad end to a great service the Council runs very well. Despite a huge campaign last week the Labour run Ealing Council decided that they did not want to look at the alternatives which Liberal Democrat Councillors put forward.

These would have allowed the day centre to stay open. Labour Councillors who voted to close it should be ashamed of themselves. The users are the most vulnerable as they are severely physically disabled. When the day centre shuts the Council wishes to sell off the site probably to build expensive homes and not affordable units.

I pay tribute to the staff at the Day Centre who will shortly lose their jobs, and thank all those residents who tried in vain to stop Labour closing the day centre. Southfield Councillor Gary Busuttil has been active on this and so I give a special thanks to his hard work and dedication.

Thames Water Sewage problems continue
Don Tanswell, chair of the Southfield Park Triangle Residents' Association, updated the meeting about the ongoing issues due to the lack of effective emptying of the storage tanks near to Hatfield Road, when it rains.

It appears that lots of good evidence has been taken and Ealing Council might be in a position to take legal action to get Thames Water to either fix the issue or install roofs on the six tanks.

Ward Forum Budget
We agreed to...

• Plant 13 trees around the Beaconsfield Road area which will replace 13 that are to be felled due to problems they have caused residents in the area.
• Consider funding a couple of small arts events in Chiswick and Acton.
• Install an additional cycle rack near the 94 bus terminus.
• Improve the cycling facilities and improve Acton Green by installing a Brompton Cycle Hire unit near where the large bins near Turnham Green Station which had attracted lots of dumped waste. Also new cycle racks will be added near to the taxi rank and a section of the path will be converted into grass to improve the environment. Much of this work has come from the hard work by Councillor Andrew Steed.

The church's drum set!

Neighbourhood Watch
In Southfield we have 51 Neighbourhood Watch reps who help to reduce crime by informing their neighbours of crimes the police have informed them of. Some also check up on vulnerable residents in their area to see that they are fit and well. The reps do as much or as little as they can do - some take on ten houses and others a whole street. Some insurance companies offer discounts to home and contents insurance as a Neighbourhood Watch scheme often reduces crime!

The police want more people to help our and so please email me using gary.malcolm@ealing.gov.uk if you want to know more information or you want me to speak to the local police team so they can arrange for you to become a Neighbourhood Watch rep. At the meeting one person said she was interested!

Next Ward Forum meetings - put them in your diary!
The next four ward forums (venues to be confirmed) will start at 7.30 pm on these dates:

• Wed 10th June 2015
• Wed 9th September 2015
• Wed 9th December 2015
• Wed 9th March 2016

Mental health in Ealing should not be ignored or stigmatised

Research shows that one in four people will suffer from mental health problems at some point in their lives, however there is still stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health.

The Liberal Democrats believe that mental health should never be ignored or stigmatised. That's why we are committed to improving mental health services in Ealing, London and nationwide.

There are many reasons why people suffer short or long term incidences of mental health problems. These include a loss of their job, when family or social relationships change, developing a physical health condition.

Save Our Solace demo outside Town Hall

Not feeling you can talk about problems with someone, can mean we “bottle up” emotions which often intensifies our perception of a difficult issue.

Many voluntary groups organise and run groups which provide residents a chance to talk and take away people’s “load from their shoulders”. Many of these groups help reduce potential mental health problems without aiming to do so.

Labour’s national campaign about the NHS contrasts with the Labour party locally, who are more than prepared to close important local facilities.

Ealing Council over the past few years has closed a number of day centres, affecting many people’s mental health. Closing more facilities like Ealing’s Solace and the Carton Road Day Centre in the Acton area, will mean more users suffer.

Very recently one user of the Solace centre ended his life at Ealing Broadway station. While it is too early to know what may have led to the tragedy, this underlines the importance of ensuring that the Solace Centre and other similar centres are kept open to provide its 365-day a year support for local residents. One user said Ealing Council had played “Russian roulette with our lives.”
Services like Solace only cost a tiny expenditure in the overall Council budget. Labour cannot absolve responsibility.

Many users now do not believe what Labour say as they have closed so many centres and plan to close many more this year.

In Government the Liberal Democrats are using £400 million to help people with mental health problems get the right support early on, such as talking or psychological therapies.

We are also introducing waiting limits, so people will know for the first time how long they have to wait for mental health treatment.
Our new mental health action plan sets out our priorities for essential change in mental health, including:

• Investing over £400m to give thousands of people access to evidence-based psychological therapies.
• Children's mental health: Investing £54m in order to improve access to mental health care for children.
• Crisis Care Concordat: Making sure no one experiencing mental health crisis is ever turned away from services.
• Choice in Mental Health: Giving people the same choice for their mental healthcare as they do for their physical health.
• Liaison and Diversion: Committed £25m for a scheme that identifies health issues offenders when they enter the criminal justice system.
• Restraint: Investing £1.2m in staff training in order to reduce harmful restrictive practices.

The Liberal Democrats believe mental health should not be ignored or stigmatised. It should be taken as seriously as physical health.

Only the Liberal Democrats are making this issue a top priority.

Lib Dems against Council selling the Carlton Road Day Centre

Gary Busuttil and the Southfield Liberal Democrats are against the Council selling the Carlton Road Day Centre in Chiswick.

The Council papers that the the Southfield Liberal Democrats have seen show that the Labour-run Ealing Council want to see the Carlton Road day centre, which would leave many profoundly disabled users, with nowhere to receive care.

Gary Busuttil

Labour-run Ealing Council has voted to close three day centres despite opposition from vulnerable users and their carers. They now plan to close even more day centres.

Read the article about this as seen on ChiswickW4.com

The Liberal Democrats believe Ealing Council should treat the most vulnerable users with more respect.

Southfield candidate Gary Busuttil has been busy collecting signatures to show Ealing Council they should not sell of the Carlton Road day centre.

Please sign the petiton.