More than 5,000 people waited longer than 24 hours in A&E in Oldham’s local hospitals.
More than 5,000 people waited longer than 24 hours in A&E in Oldham’s local hospitals last year. Half of those people were over the age of 65. Long waits in A&E can be fatal.
Health and Social Care is in crisis. The Labour Government must use next week’s Budget to save the NHS.
The Liberal Democrat plan to winterproof the NHS is clear. £1.5 billion over the next four years to build resilience in A&E departments, hospital wards, ambulance services and patient discharge. Ending the culture of last minute, emergency winter cash and giving the NHS the stability it needs to drive long-term improvements.
403 circular bus is it North Bound or South Bound on Market Street, Shaw?
Crompton Liberal Democrat Councillor Louie Hamblett has recently written to Transport for Greater Manchester’s Bee network after receiving a number of complaints regarding the 403 circular serving Shaw, Crompton and High Crompton.
In particular, the Market St. stop in Shaw where the bus uses the same stop for both directions, passengers are finding that the service is not adequately displaying whether the bus is going towards High Crompton or Oldham, causing confusion when passengers are boarding the vehicle. This has happened multiple times.
Cllr Hamblett said “It is very confusing, especially for elderly and disabled residents. I have used this service many times and witnessed passengers asking the bus driver which direction they were heading, either towards High Crompton or Oldham. This was really poor especially for a now wholly publicly owned service.”
Bee Network wrote back to Cllr Hamblett and said: “As the service from Oldham reaches Shaw, it operates in a loop through Shaw, Rushcroft, High Crompton, and returns via Shaw before continuing to Oldham. Consequently, the service vehicle generally displays “Oldham Circular” as its destination, irrespective of where the bus is in terms of the circular loop.
I can appreciate that the display, and the fact that the service serves Market Street and High Street using stops in the northbound direction for journeys traveling into as well as out of Oldham, would lead to confusion for passengers.
I’m sorry for the experience that they’ve been having on the network as a result.
My team has been reviewing service 403 in light of this feedback and are currently looking into improvements they can make to the journey. The goal is to ensure that the Market Street stop is served on opposite sides of the road depending on the direction of the journey, as this is where much of the confusion comes from. We’re also looking into the possibility of changing the destination display at a halfway point on the route to potentially clear up this confusion too.”
Cllr Hamblett came back and welcomed this and was happy with this response. He said hopefully this change will happen, the Bee Network will stick to their word to make this change for passengers so it makes sense for all.”
Balls to tennis players says Oldham Council as Dunwood Park Tennis Courts remain unfinished until spring
Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader and Shaw representative Howard Sykes MBE has blasted Oldham Council as tennis court saga at Dunwood Park in Shaw rumbles on.
The parks’ tennis courts were earmarked for a revamp costing thousands of pounds this summer. But punters were left exasperated as the courts were left unusable throughout the summer with no nets. After councillor Sykes raised the issue with council staff, assurances were given that the work would be completed, but the Dunwood courts remain virtually untouched since August.
Councillor Sykes said, “The work on the courts was supposed to be finished in time for the summer months when the park is busiest. But here we are in October with no nets on the courts and no new paint job. All the other tennis courts across Oldham Borough have been completed but no joy in Shaw. I’ve now been told that it’s been ’too wet, damp and shaded to attempt’ the work.”
As much as £19,000 was earmarked for the courts to be revamped, but the Council have failed to prioritise Shaw, even falsely claiming that the work had been completed. The work will now have to be done in spring 2025.
“Earlier in the year a team turned up, jet washed the courts, left them unpainted and without nets and marked the job as complete. The problem here is that the council never bothers to inspect the work of its contractors. This is not good enough. And the people who suffer are the users. This investment was supposed to encourage people to play tennis in Shaw when in fact it has done just to opposite.”
23 July 24 Oldham Council media release that says works complete and courts are open
Oldham Liberal Democrats back new RSPCA ‘Kind Sparks’ campaign to protect animals from harmful fireworks
Oldham Liberal Democrats are supporting the RSPCA’s new ‘Kind Sparks’ campaign aimed at protecting animals from the effects of harmful fireworks. According to RSPCA data, thousands of cats and dogs could be impacted by private firework displays across Oldham over the next few months. The animal welfare charity has stated that the loudest fireworks “cause immediate damage and pain” to animals.
Liberal Democrat Group Leader councillor Howard Sykes said, “The loudest fireworks now produce sounds that are as loud as a gun shot. Think about the damage that can do to cats and dogs, with hearing far more sensitive than our own.”
The RSPCA have produced a new ‘Kind Sparks’ guide to raise awareness about the effects of nuisance fireworks and to let people know how making a small change – like choosing to go to a public display instead of holding a private one – can make a big difference.
The guide also includes an interactive map which shows how many cats and dogs are estimated to live in your area.
Councillor Sykes, who represents Shaw, said, “A private display in you back garden in Shaw could impact over 10,000 pets. The RSPCA are doing fantastic work to bring attention to this issue.”
“We all want to enjoy bonfire night and New Year’s Eve. Whatever we’re celebrating it’s easy to make considerate choices. Low-noise fireworks are available.”
“I would like to see the government reduce the maximum permitted noise level for fireworks from 120 decibels to 90 decibels. It’s common sense and many other countries have already made that change.”
More on the RSPCA ‘Kind Sparks’ campaign can be found here
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) welcomes feedback on Bee Network bus services to support ongoing improvements in service provision, reliability, and punctuality.
Residents can access information by contacting TfGM via the Bee Network website under Help and Contact Us, which provides resources, service updates, and FAQs. Find out more here
Residents and constituents can contact hello@tfgm.com for general inquiries or to report issues, with responses managed by the Customer Contact team.
Additionally, passengers can use the Bee Network App’s ‘Rate Your Journey’ feature for real-time feedback, allowing TfGM to monitor and enhance the overall travel experience.
