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Letters to the
Editor:- "We did it! Community Action not Party Politics!"
"MANY thanks to all our
supporters and helpers with our campaign, without whom we would not
have been able to put a candidate forward, we won by over 500 votes
and FRAG now has a Councillor inside. We have proved if the
community stick together no matter what political beliefs they may
have you can win and make changes. Community Action and Not Party
Politics has proved to be a winning combination for FRAG and the
fact that we are non party political but represent the residents of
the community. Taking a seat from our Labour run council who are
voting all the housing through makes us feel even better. If you
want to know how we did it just ask us and we can let you know and
guide you to a success at your next election. You can do it as
well." You newly Elected councillor
for Ravenmeols, Maria Bennett for Community Action not Party
Politics -
fragoff.co.uk.
IDAHO Day 2014
RAINBOW flags have been
flown across Police Stations on Merseyside, over Friday, 16 May
2014, in support of the International Day Against Homophobia and
Transphobia (IDAHO).
For the 6th consecutive year,
Merseyside Police is flying the rainbow flag, which is sometimes
referred to as the 'freedom' flag and has been used as a symbol of
gay and lesbian pride since the 1970's.
On the 17 May 1990, the World
Health Organisation finally removed homosexuality from its official
list of mental disorders and IDAHO has been celebrated throughout
the world ever since.
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Darren Martland raised the flag
at Merseyside Police headquarters in Canning Place on Friday,
alongside partners from the Police and Crime Commissioner's office,
Navajo, trans groups, SING and Citysafe, with Police Stations with
flag poles following suit.
The ceremony sends out a strong message that the force will not
tolerate crimes motivated by hate and prejudice, and will also
champion Merseyside Police as being an equal opportunities employer.
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Darren Martland, said:-
"Flying the rainbow flag is a visible sign of our dedication to
eradicating homophobia and homophobic crime. This forms part of our
larger commitment to tackling hate crime in all its forms and we
want the message to be clear to victims and offenders that offences
involving disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or
transgender will not be tolerated by Merseyside Police."
Merseyside Police is continually striving to raise awareness of hate
crime in all of its forms. The force continues to encourage victims
and witnesses of hate crime to report it to its dedicated
'SIGMA' hate crime investigation unit who will investigate
each case with professionalism and sensitivity and provide ongoing
support as the case goes to court.
T/ACC Martland added:- "The rainbow flag signifies pride and
inclusivity. As we strive to be one of the best Police forces in the
country we must continue to recognise and embrace differences while
ensuring we treat all people fairly and equally. This will help to
highlight Merseyside Police as one of the top employers for LGBT
people and that we represent the diverse communities we serve on a
daily basis."
Merseyside Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy, said:- "Tackling
all forms of hate crime is one of my priorities. Flying the rainbow
flag at stations across the Force is a clear and visible sign that
we will not tolerate homophobia or transphobia here on Merseyside. I
am proud that Merseyside Police is committed to recognising the
specific needs, issues and barriers facing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgender people across Merseyside. This was recognised when
the Force was awarded the Navajo Chartermark last year. Nobody
should suffer abuse, fear or intimidation because of their sexual
orientation, transgender, disability, race or religion. As we raise
the flag to mark IDAHO day, I want to reassure all LGBT people to
know that here on Merseyside you will be listened to, supported and
helped if you come forward following an incident."
DC Tracy O'Hara Chair of Police's LGB and T network, said:-
"Showing our visible support for International day against
Homophobia Biphobia and Transphobia clearly demonstrates our
commitment to eradicate crimes perpetrated against Lesbian Gay
Bisexual and Transgender people. We take all forms of Hate Crime
seriously and our Sigma teams robustly investigate Hate Crimes in
all its facets. Hate Crime continues to be under reported across all
the strands and by flying our flag we are encouraging people to
report all crimes and incidents to us. I work in the hate crime
field and it is clear to me that by working with our partner
agencies the PCC community engagement teams and the CPS we can bring
offenders to justice we can provide support to victims and continue
our work in the field. This is the sixth year we have flown the
Rainbow flag and we do this to show our stance and to demonstrate
that we are an inclusive diverse workforce where we can all be
ourselves. I am proud to work for an organisation who has these
values. In a world where some countries still deem it illegal to be
perceived to be gay, IDAHO provides a platform for all of us to make
a powerful statement to demand improvements for quality of life and
human rights across the world in this international battle against
discrimination and persecution."
Did you know that:- The colours on the rainbow flag symbolise
diversity in the community with red representing life, orange
healing, yellow sunlight, green nature, blue serenity and violet
spirit. a |
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Hospital
pioneers use of scanner to spot Alzheimer's
AN innovative technique
that could prevent the misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is being
performed at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. On 1 May 2014,
the hospital became the 1st in the UK outside London to use a PET
scanner to look for signs of the disease in patients.
Diagnosing Alzheimer's and ruling out other forms of dementia has
been a major challenge for doctors, as no conclusive test exists. A
recent study of US patients with an Alzheimer's diagnosis used
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans to find that about one in
five patients did not actually have the associated proteins in their
brains, called beta amyloid plaques, so did not have the disease.
Previous studies have also shown that one in five of those diagnosed
with Alzheimer's during life were found not to have the disease
during autopsy. This could mean those patients missed out on having
more appropriate medication which could have slowed the effects of
their disease.
The ability to see these plaques while the patient is alive has not
been possible in routine clinical practice; until now. Amyvid, a
radioactive drug developed by Eli Lilly given intravenously, allows
beta amyloid plaques to be seen in the living brain via a PET scan.
The process already has the backing of Prime Minister David Cameron
and on 1 May 2014, the Royal received its first patient to have the
procedure, Joan Downey, 78, a widow from Hunts Cross.
She said:- "If the scan it is shown to work well and helps
other people in the future I will be pleased. I've been doing
crosswords and word searches to keep my brain active. My family say
I haven't got any worse so the medication I am taking once a day
seems to be working. I can't remember something that happened last
week but I can remember things that happened 50 or 60 years ago.
There's something going on there and hopefully the scan will help
find out what."
Professor Sobhan Vinjamuri, consultant in nuclear medicine at the
Royal, said:- "Using Amyvid solution and a PET scanner cannot
be used to diagnose Alzheimer's alone, but it can reinforce a
clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's. We are delighted that patients in
the North West have access to this technology. Sometimes patients
and their families find it difficult to accept a diagnosis of
Alzheimer's. This test should help them to come to terms with that."
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting
500,000 people in the UK, and making up 62% of dementia cases. It is
believed only 45% of people with dementia in the UK have a
diagnosis. This figure is expected to increase as Alzheimer's
becomes an increasing problem for an ageing UK population.
Professor Mike Hutton, chief scientific officer for
neurodegenerative diseases at Lilly UK said:- "The
availability of Amyvid in the UK is an important step towards
helping patients. A negative scan can help rule out Alzheimer's
disease as a cause of cognitive impairment, which is an important
part of avoiding potentially inappropriate or even harmful
treatments."
The first patients to be referred for the scan at the Royal have
been recommended by 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Prof Vinjamuri and his team in nuclear medicine at the Royal will
get feedback from the team at 5 Boroughs three months after a
patient has been scanned to establish how useful it proved.
Ashley Baldwin, director of medical education and a consultant in
later life psychiatry at 5 Boroughs, said:- "The Trust is
committed to being at the forefront of the fight against Alzheimer's
Disease and has a long tradition of supporting the development of
preventative treatments. Equally critical is work that enables the
early diagnosis of this often debilitating and distressing condition
so that people can be supported to make choices about their future
care in order to live independently as possible. We are proud to be
working in partnership with Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen
University Hospitals NHS Trust to deliver this ground breaking new
test to patients in the heart of Merseyside."
Greens celebrate
local elections success across the region
THE North West Green Party
are celebrating after winning all of its target seats in the local
elections. The regional party gained council seats in Liverpool,
Wirral and Lancaster.
In Liverpool the Greens doubled their councillor numbers to four and
are now the official opposition on Liverpool City Council. In
Wirral, Pat Cleary gained the party's 1st council seat, in
Birkenhead and Tranmere, with 48% of the vote. In Lancaster the
Green Party gained 2 City council seats. New councillors, Abi Mills
and Jack Filmore, bring their total to 10 of the council's 60 seats.
In Liverpool, St Michael's ward is now represented by 3 Green
councillors. New councillor for St Michael's, Tom Crone, won with a
majority of 1052 votes. In Liverpool's Greenbank ward the Greens
gained their 1st seat with Lawrence Brown winning a majority of 367.
In Manchester the Green Party gained the 2nd highest City wide vote
share, making them the most popular opposition party. Green Party
candidates came 2nd in many wards. In Salford the Green Party vote
doubled.
Kendal Green Party, which has only been active for a few months,
gained a 20% share of the vote in its target ward of Kendal Fell.
The Party came second in three of the Kendal wards in South Lakeland
District Council.
North West Green Party's Regional Co-Ordinator, Emily Heath, said:-
"We're delighted that we won all of our targets in the North
West. It shows that when we target our resources, and engage with
people in those communities, they put their trust in us to represent
them. In Liverpool we have doubled our councillor numbers, with
large vote shares, and will now be the official opposition on the
council. We've been very close to winning in Birkenhead at previous
elections and it's fantastic that we made the breakthrough this
time. Across the region we've seen an increased level of support for
the Green Party."
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