Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust failed to secure any points in the recent table published about hospitals - a really worrying situation for those of us who rely on their services. There is clearly a huge amount to be done in terms of both service provision and service improvement - we say that downgrading the A&E dept at the Princess Royal is not a good way to start.
Janice Henwood, member of the Fair Trade Steering Group writes: "You may be aware of the attempt to attain Fair Trade Fair Trade status for Burgess Hill. Serena Tierney and the Lib Dems fully support this initiative." See http://www.fairtradeburgesshill.ik.com - this is the local campaign website
When the 'black bag' system of waste collection was introduced by the District Council, Liberal Democrats opposed it as wasteful, inefficient and unhygienic. The government has set far higher recycling targets than we are currently achieving and the black bag route is not the way to reach them. The District Council has now accepted Lib Dem argument that if we are to improve our recycling levels we must look, not just for cost savings, but at totally restructuring our waste collection system.
Liberal Democrats on West Sussex County Council are calling for a long-term answer to the issue of water shortage - before any commitments to even considering additional housing are made. "Water usage per person has doubled in the last 25 years. People's lifestyles have changed and the government and local planning bodies like SEERA need to recognise that fact. We cannot continue to build more and more homes without addressing the water supply issue properly" says Sue Knight, Liberal Democrat member of the County Council.
A new Youth Group in Croydon, Surrey will offer gay, lesbian and bisexual young people a new place to get advice on issues from safer sex to coming out and coping at school.
Thousands of patients are stuck on hidden waiting lists hanging on for months, or even years, before they get a diagnosis and get on the official list. The Liberal Democrats have said "The Government has an awfully long way to go before waiting times are at acceptable levels." In the first quarter of the financial year starting in April 15,648 patients had their operations cancelled at short notice. This is a 6.6% increase on the same quarter in the previous year.
