ambulance car SWANAGE Town councillor Debby Monkhouse says she, and others, still have their doubts about the reasons for a review into the town’s ambulance car service. She says that with almost 1,000 call outs to Swanage alone each year, many of which have resulted in saved lives, there are no grounds for a second look. More than 7,500 people have now signed a petition to save the ambulance car, which Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group says it intends to review – along with the level of double-crewed ambulances for the Purbeck area. The CCG said recently that there were no plans for the service.
major changes to Dorchester town centre as new homes planned DORCHESTER’S ‘townscape’ could soon be changing with proposals to convert more offices into homes. Town and unitary councillor for the county town, Andy Canning, says the trend, partly brought about by the pandemic, could have consequences for the town centre economy, parking and congestion. He is asking for changes in the Local Plan, currently being reviewed, to reflect this. Dorset Council-owned buildings could be converted to homes – the South Walks House headquarters and the South Annexe on the County Hall site, along with other privately-owned buildings in the area.
The defendant NHS Trust had breached s 242(1B)(b) and (c) of the National Health Service Act 2006 by failing to make arrangements which had secured that service users had been involved: (i) in the development and consideration of the proposals for the designation of the hospital as a ‘Green site’ (namely that there would be no Covid-19 related treatment on the site); and (ii) in the making of the decision itself. The Administrative Court, in allowing the claim in part and in construing the relevant section of the Act, held that, ultimately, the question was whether the arrangements, looked at as a whole, had secured the opportunity for meaningful involvement or participation in the specified matters, and that the relevant duty contemplated service user involvement before the event, and at the formative stage. The court held that, on the facts, it was just and convenient to grant the claimant service user declaratory relief.
CAMPAIGNERS hope that forthcoming talks with NHS bosses about the future of Purbeck s paramedic car will help safeguard its future. Last month concerned residents told Swanage Town Council about the importance of the ambulance car to the local area. Many residents believe it is set to be withdrawn from service, despite assurances from Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (DCCG) that no decision has been made to date. Now, Debby Monkhouse, Swanage town councillor and one of the campaigners pushing to secure the future of the service, says a joint reply – from the DCCG and South Western Ambulance Service Trust (SWAST) – has offered up an engagement event to look at possible options.