NEXT OF KIN APPEAL - PATRICK MARCANO

LIVERPOOL coroner's officer are trying to contact the next of kin of seventy three year old Patrick Marcano. Mr Marcano died at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Sunday, 14 February 2010. He had been living at Rodney House Nursing Home at 46 Canning Street in Toxteth since June 2003. He was originally from Trinidad. Anyone with any information about Mr Marcano's next of kin is asked to contact coroner's officer Karen Shaw on:- 0151 233 4705 or email her at:- karen.shaw2@liverpool.gov.uk.

Cancer patients in rural areas call for more local services

THE Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) has given cancer patients in rural areas the chance to comment on their experiences. A new report, titled:- "Insights from users and providers of cancer care in rural England",  highlights insights from patients, their families and from service providers and suggests that living in the countryside can affect the quality of cancer care.

There are particular challenges associated with running awareness campaigns and screening services in rural areas and difficult or costly journeys to hospital place extra strain on patients. The provision of care for discharged cancer patients remote from health services and with poor public transport is a further concern.

With 250,000 cancer cases every year in England, and survival rates lagging behind the rest of Europe, the CRC's research highlights that new ways of working are needed to improve health outcomes for cancer patients in rural areas. The CRC, Macmillan Cancer Support and the Department of Health are therefore bringing together key people in cancer care to develop solutions to the problems facing rural cancer patients.

Sarah McAdam, Chief Executive of the Commission for Rural Communities said:- "Rural cancer patients told us about the pain and discomfort of regular and lengthy journeys to remote treatment centres and about the considerably increased costs that they faced as a result. We are therefore supportive of any measures that enable cancer services to be delivered closer to people's homes."

Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support said:- "More people are surviving cancer and the NHS needs to focus more attention on meeting their long term needs. Blood clots, nerve damage, and depression are just some of the physical and emotional long-term problems that affect cancer survivors. However, people who have finished treatment for cancer are often overlooked by health and social care services. Those living in sparsely populated rural areas can suffer the greatest isolation and more needs to be done to help them."

Professor Sir Mike Richards, National Clinical Director for Cancer said:- "Cancer treatment in Britain has improved vastly in recent years and this is shown in the falling mortality rates and increasing survival rates. However we know that survival rates still vary across the country. At present, some GPs do not have direct access to the full range of diagnostic tests and, even where there is access patients can wait up to 6 weeks for the tests to be carried out.

That is why last year the Prime Minister pledged that patients in all parts of England will have access to tests which can confirm or exclude cancer within 1 week. We believe that improving early diagnosis through speedier access to diagnostic tests and raising awareness of cancer symptoms will save up to 10,000 lives a year."

Employers urged to work together to take on displaced apprentices

CONSTRUCTIONSKILLS, the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry will launch a pilot Group Training Association (GTA) project in Merseyside to help save apprentices and protect the future skillset of the industry. The initiative, known as ‘Constructing the Future Merseyside’, will be led by Liverpool Housing Trust and a number of Regional Clients.

Set up in direct response to the economic downturn, GTAs are a unique training model which allow employers to share the costs of apprentices in order to prevent skills shortages. The GTA removes the traditional barriers to apprentice recruitment and allows organisations to help spread the costs of training during difficult economic times.  Working with the national Apprentice Matching Service and regional providers in the Merseyside area, the GTA has identified displaced apprentices and will employ and support them with paid work for 52 weeks, enabling the trainee to complete their Level 2 or 3 NVQ. GTA project teams will also seek to secure employment opportunities for apprentices upon qualification.

ConstructionSkills’ GTA pilot in Merseyside aims to see 78 apprentices from the Merseyside region complete their current framework and find 27 qualified apprentices permanent jobs in the pilot phase through to July 2011. Employers signed up to the GTA will be expected to keep their contract, mentoring trainees whilst providing workplace opportunities and honouring their college commitments.

Mike Bialyj, Employer Services Director for ConstructionSkills said:- “The economic downturn has created huge challenges for the construction industry and when firms are cutting costs, young apprentices are often the first casualties. It is therefore essential that we support businesses in maintaining and taking on apprentices if we are to avoid future skills shortages – something the industry failed to do during the last recession, with dire consequences still felt today. The GTA in Merseyside is just one of a number of initiatives by ConstructionSkills to offer employment to previously displaced apprentices, with the wider Apprenticeship Matching Service now having secured employers for 448 trainees since its launch in 2009 with a further 106 apprentices being retained by their existing employers due to interventions.”

Roy Cavanagh – Training Manager, Seddon Group said:- “The GTA Scheme is a much needed stimulus to employing and, more importantly, qualifying young people in the NW Region. There are continual reports of skills shortages within construction in this country whilst the colleges are full of full time construction trainees unable to find a work placement opportunity. This worthwhile project will make the most of sub regional construction opportunities, removing the traditional barriers associated with apprentice recruitment for contractors. I wholly support this project and Seddon Group will be engaging across the NW region on this initiative.”

Julie Lawrenson, Project Manager for the North West GTA pilot project, said:- “GTAs are an innovative step forward in the way that we train our industry’s apprentices. We’ve been really encouraged by businesses’ enthusiasm to support the community and wider construction industry by training young people in this way.”

Constructing the Future Merseyside with the help of regional clients, providers and contractors aims to make a real positive difference to the people, homes and communities within the Merseyside region.  For more information on how you can get involved, please visit:- cskills.org or call:- 0844 875 0086