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Southport's Hidden Rot
AS Lord Street
restoration is underway we have been asked by many locals what is
happening to the side roads and also more importantly the arcade
next to the town hall.
One business said:- "It is
dreadful, gaffe tie and worse still paint flaking, leaks and more...
The arcade is getting into a very bad way. We urgently need the
Council to repair and clean it up. It is putting off many people
from using the businesses off the main roads.
They seem to forget about the
arcade and the side roads and don't think visitors not only see the
fantastic work being conducted on the main roads, but also off them
as well. It is no wonder why many of the small shops on the side
roads and in the small arcades are failing.” |
Healthier hearts, longer lives
ON average,
64% of patients in England having a heart attack receive
clot-busting treatment with 60 minutes of calling for help.
Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust's patients fare far better
with an average of 87% getting the treatment within 60 minutes -
making us the 7th safest Hospital Trust in England. The
increase in performance is so impressive that the Royal College of
Physicians, who compile the report issued last week, have used our
work as a case study and an example of excellence in the report.
Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust has made an improvement in
the 60 minute call to needle target from 52% the previous year to
87% this year. This saves lives and contributes to the overall
decrease in deaths from heart attacks shown in this report.
Dramatic increase
"The reason we have seen such a dramatic increase this year, is simply
the hard work done by our staff and our colleagues in the Ambulance
Service. The disappointing MINAP data for the trust for 2005/2006
led to a scrutiny of practice. The Trust liaised closely with the
local ambulance Trust, North West Ambulance Service, to discuss ways
of improving this combined target of call to needle.
Monthly
meetings were arranged between the Trust and ambulance personnel
where problems were shared and the cause of missed targets
investigated, which often resulted in extra training and more
importantly lessons were learnt by reviewing these cases in a
supportive environment. Every patient was investigated if the target
was missed and action plans were formed to reduce the risks of the
same incidents reoccurring. The time spent at every stage of the
patient's journey was scrutinised and used as a training exercise
where possible.
All this has resulted in greatly improved patient care and has
been the result of extremely hard work of staff from both Ambulance
Trust and Acute Trust. The number of patients having pre-hospital
thrombolytic treatment in this area by the paramedics has increased
by 233% in the past year." explained Sarah
Groves, Matron for Critical Care
Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust is also above the average
for England in other areas reported in the MINAP, including patients
receiving thrombolytic treatment within 30 minutes of arrival in
hospital. Leading ambulance service
Kevin Mackway Jones, Medical Director for North West Ambulance
Service said:- "We are delighted with the news that we are one
of the leading ambulance services in managing heart attack patients.
These figures show that nearly 1000 patients have received
thrombolytic treatment within 60 minutes across the North West, over
the last year. The increased capabilities that paramedics have to
both diagnose heart attacks and administer thrombolytic treatment
before the patient arrives at hospital make a vital contribution to
these results.
The figures also highlight the commitment shown by our staff to
improve clinical care and really make a difference to the lives of
patients." |
