Cornwall Reports News Briefing

Cornwall Reports News Briefing

Tim who?

My thanks to Liberal Democrat councillor Sue James’s blog for reminding me of this, first published by Sue on 30^th January 2017:

“In a Cornish Times interview, Tim Farron gave this message to those concerned about the future of our NHS `A LibDem led council would not accept the Government’s Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) which is currently being consulted on.” He went on to say “This is a hugely important and largely misunderstood plan. It’s not about improving healthcare services, it’s about cuts of upto a quarter £billion. It’s unthinkable that a LibDem led Cornwall Council would give this plan support.’”

It's Sunday night and the results are in...

It turns out that only 46% of Austrians are Nazis.  Funny what counts as good news these days.

Jonathan Pie is right again

Are there really 500 vulnerable elderly people at risk of harm and neglect in Cornwall's residential care homes?

Just had a quick flick through the Care Quality Commission's online publication of inspection reports.  Filter by Cornwall and then search those rated as "requires improvement" and you can see just how many residential care homes have been given exactly the same rating as the Panorama'd Clinton House, St Austell.

I make it 16 homes, with an average of 30 residents each - so around 500 elderly, vulnerable people, just waiting for an undercover reporter with a hidden camera.  I'm happy to list those homes if anyone wants - one is run directly by Cornwall Council, another by its spawned charity Cornwall Care Ltd; the rest are completely private.

The CQC says there are 227 care homes for the elderly in Cornwall, and none is currently rated "inadequate."  But the lesson of the Clinton House case is that a rating of "requires improvement" is, a bit like the CQC itself, inadequate.

I have previously blogged about the risks of a long memory.  Does anyone else remember this speech in the House of Commons, from 1997?  The sound of chickens arriving home?

Coming soon - the new Jerusalem

Much relief at County Hall yesterday over the St Ives planning decision, in which the courts have ruled that councillors acted properly in allowing a ban on new-build second homes.  The implications for local development plans across Cornwall are immense.

Among those sharing the love was Rob Nolan, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Truro and Falmouth (or wherever the Boundary Commissioners decide) who took to BBC Radio Cornwall to denounce the development of green field sites.

Of course, it was only radio - but it sounded remarkably like the same Rob Nolan who chairs Cornwall Council's Strategic Planning Committee, and who recently, and enthusiastically, supported the 236-lodge Camel Creek holiday resort between Wadebridge and St Columb - which is, er, in the open countryside.