March 28, 2013 10.06 am
This story is over 102 months old
‘No confidence vote’ for ambulance improved response times pledge
Not convinced: Lincolnshire people deserve, but are not receiving, the best response times from their ambulance service, the county’s health committee chair argues.
Lincolnshire people deserve, but are not receiving, the best response times from their ambulance service.
Over the last four years, we have continually heard how EMAS are not reaching their regional targets, and their performance for Lincolnshire, with its unique rural issues, is even worse.
EMAS have not met their response time targets for the last 21 months in Lincolnshire, and this isn’t good enough. Staff work very hard, but something needs to be done to improve the service.
Voluntary organisations in Lincolnshire, such as LIVES and other emergency services, make a valuable contribution to response times but it is not acceptable for them to prop up the ambulance service.
Without these organisations, the performance of EMAS would be even worse – not only do taxpayers end up paying twice, but every area in the East Midlands should receive the same level of service.
The public response to the initial changes put forward raised serious concerns, and the Health Scrutiny Committee expressed our own worries, including that they did not show how performance would be improved.
In fact, we were not convinced they would improve.
EMAS have now approved new proposals that are significantly different and, despite the goalposts changing and new options being introduced at the eleventh hour, EMAS plans still fail to explain how they will start meeting response time targets for our county.
The Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire has now written to the Secretary of State to review the EMAS consultation. We believe the consultation is flawed: key parties were not invited to comment; new options not consulted on; and both public and stakeholder events were poorly attended.
The Committee has no confidence that the EMAS pledge of ‘Being the Best’ will happen in Lincolnshire without considerable extra financing, and our ultimate goal is to return a dedicated ambulance service to the county.
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Councillor Christine Talbot is the Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire and Conservative County Council representative for Bracebridge Heath and Waddington.
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Close to 1,000 homes in Ruskington suffered a power cut on Wednesday morning.
Properties on Station Road, Winchelsea Road, Lime Close, Bellview Road, Hawthorn Close, Rectory Road and more were hit with the cut at around 9.40am on Wednesday.
A total of 979 houses were affected by the outage within the NG34 postcode area.
Engineers were on their way to address the issue at 9.50am. | Photo: Western Power Distribution
Western Power Distribution has said it is aware of the issue and hope to have the power restored by 11am on Wednesday morning, with engineers on their way to deal with it.
A spokesperson for WPD said: “We are aware of this power cut incident which was raised at 9:42am this morning and our engineers are working to get the power returned as quickly as possible. We are sorry for any inconvenience this is causing you.”
Former West Lindsey District Council Leader Giles McNeill has stepped down from the authority a month after admitting fraud offences, it has been confirmed.
Mr McNeill, who was kicked out of the Conservative Party, pleaded guilty to a number of offences totalling £31,000 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court at the end of September and is due to appear before Lincoln Crown Court for sentencing.
It is understood his appearance, due to be Thursday, October 28, has been delayed – though this has yet to be confirmed.
A statement from Chief Executive of West Lindsey District Council Ian Knowles said: “I have received the resignation of Councillor Giles McNeill and as such the council will now carry a vacancy.
“A Notice of Vacancy will be available on the website from today (Wednesday, 27 October).”
McNeill was leader of the council from May 2019 until announcing in September 2020 he was stepping back from the role for “personal reasons”.
He was also organising secretary and communications manager for Gainsborough Conservative Association and was employed in a similar role by the constituency MP Sir Edward Leigh. He stepped down from both positions last year.
McNeill became the council’s youngest member when he was first elected to represent the Nettleham ward at a by-election in September 2012, at the age of 30. After stepping down as leader he left the Conservative Group but continued to sit as an Independent councillor.
Councillor McNeill and the Conservative Party have been contacted for comment. Councillor McNeill also appears to have deleted his Twitter account.
An elevated property situated right next to the famous Lincoln Castle walls is up for sale for just shy of £1 million, boasting some of the finest views in the city.
The property on Drury Lane is overlooked by the walls of Lincoln Castle, and has been listed on the housing market by Savills for a guide price of £950,000. See the full listing here.
For your money, you not only get sensational views of the city’s most picturesque landmarks, but you also get five double bedrooms, a gym with a sauna, a gated driveway and an open fire in the spacious sitting room.
The house was built in the 1980s but has been brought into the modern world. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
Outside there is a veranda in the garden, which is floodlit throughout, and a large patio surrounding the house at ground level, with further space for garden furniture if required.
An outdoor space with endless potential. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
Roo Fisher, head of residential sales at Savills Lincoln, comments: “I especially love the spectacular views from 20 Drury Lane, overlooking the whole of Lincoln. Imagine waking up every morning with a coffee and seeing that.”
Let’s take a look inside:
Well, that’s not a bad view. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
The property has a gated parking area. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
Dinner with a view from this dining room. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
The sitting room has an open fire and a perfect gazing spot with a large window. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
| Photo: Savills Lincoln
The kitchen has been refurbished for modern living. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
The master bedroom, oozing with natural light. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
The house comes with an ensuite shower room as well three additional bathrooms. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
Rooms span across four floors. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
There’s even a library/study for you to kick back in. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
An ideal sun trap during summer months. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
Lincoln Cathedral peering round the corner of this wonderful property. | Photo: Savills Lincoln
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