The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has secured a mandate from its members to co-ordinate industrial action until May 2023. Following a ballot of members at 16 NHS organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside the RCN has confirmed that members at the following organisations plan to join strike action on both Thursday, December 15th and Tuesday, December 20th 2022:
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool Womenâs NHS Foundation Trust
Alder Hey Childrenâs NHS Foundation Trust
The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Health Education England
Separately, GMB, Unite, and Unison members of North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) plan to join strike action on Wednesday, December 21st, with GMB members also taking a further 24 hours of action on December 28th.
We have successfully opened the centres below but only at derogated numbers:
Old Swan Walk In Centre, 8am to 8pm
St Chads, Kirby Walk In Centre, 8am to 8pm
Smithdown Childrenâs Walk In Centre, 8am to 8pm
Our Silver Command is working hard to ensure the Walk In Centres return to usual operational business from Friday morning and is utilising resources from across the Trust.
We will continue to encourage everyone who thinks they need a Walk In Centre to contact NHS 111 online, their local pharmacy or GP practice and if it is felt to be an emergency then to attend the nearest A&E.
The NHS Walk In Centres operate at the following locations:
Over 120 business delegates attended last weekâs free InvestSefton Economic Forum and Growth Hub Marketplace at The Lake House, Crosby.
As well as having the chance to network and meet over 20 providers at the Growth Hub Marketplace, they also had the chance to hear from a range of speakers.
Investment
(L-R) Robin Tudor – Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Irina Shmakova – Export Academy, Mick Gallagher – St Helenâs Chamber, James Brayshaw AdaptiveComms Group, Geraldine Fuller – Business and IP Centre, Ken Clark – Bank of England. (Photo – Ray Farley Photography)
Liverpool John Lennon Airportâs Robin Tudor talked about the investment by Lufthansa into services to the airport while ken Clarke from the Bank of England provided an update on economic activity in the region.
Irina Shmakova from Export Academy âtalked about the support available for businesses exporting and Geraldine Fuller from the Business and IP Centre talked about intellectual property. Mick Gallagher from St Helenâs Chamber provided advice on the Capital Grant Fund.
James Brayshaw from Southport-based AdaptiveComms Group was the panel chair.
Impressed
Feedback from the event was once again positive with one delegate remarking how impressed they were with how well Sefton helps its businesses. Others described the event as informative and interesting, and complimented the guest speakers.
InvestSefton is Sefton Councilâs enterprise, business support and inward investment service. It offers free information and advice and access to a wide range of services. It is there to help any business, of any size, in any sector.
People wanting to find out more about how the InvestSefton can help support their business, can visit www.investsefton.com or contact the team on 0151 934 3452 or investsefton@sefton.gov.uk.
Popular and informative
After last weekâs event, Cllr Marion Atkinson, Sefton Councilâs Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, said: âOnce again, our InvestSefton team have put together a popular and informative event for the Boroughâs business community and I would like to thank everyone involved including our excellent guest speakers.
âI look forward to the next event but in the meantime would urge business across Sefton to visit www.investsefton.com or contact the team to see what we might be able to do to support them or help them expand and grow.â
How the refurbishment of Crosby’s Carnegie Library could look.
Crosby’s former Carnegie Library is to be carefully restored and renovated into an innovative flexible office space, digital hub and family restaurant.
Local restaurateurs Moose Coffee are to partner in this exciting project â returning home to Crosby with a new flagship eatery. A new digital hub is also proposed in the former library, providing accessible digital resources, meeting rooms and co-working desks.
Consultation
A public consultation event will take place in the library from 10am to 12pm, and 4pm to 6pm on Tuesday 20th December. Members of the public are invited to go along and view the plans, speak to the designers and comment on the scheme.
A planning application is being proposed by local businesses Cunard Construction and Moose Coffee. The transformation will carefully preserve the building’s existing architectural features while sensitively incorporating new contemporary office spaces, kitchen and bathroom welfare facilities alongside new energy-efficient mechanical and electrical systems.
Digital hub
New mezzanine floors will take advantage of the buildings high vaulted ceilings and provide visitors with an appreciation of the building from heights never experienced before. The library’s central space will be fully transformed into a new âdigital hubâ â blending the ethos of a traditional lending library with the modern facilities of a 21st century internet tech-hub.
Building on the success of their six existing eateries, Moose Coffee will be taking the south wing of the building providing a stunning new family restaurant split across two levels with additional outdoor eating areas.
The north wing of the building will be transformed into a stunning new flexible office space to provide key commercial workspace to support local businesses.
Valued asset
Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services, said: “Carnegie Library is a valued asset for both the Council and the local community and its heritage status is widely recognised.
âAs often happens with projects of this size, there have been delays, however I am delighted that the development plans are now moving forward to create a flexible business hub for start-up and smaller businesses, and with confirmation of the presence of Moose Coffee in the south wing of the building within the heart of Crosby.
“The proposals put forward by Cunard Construction give us an exciting insight into how this much loved building will be given a new lease of life, bringing it back in to use serving our valued communitiesâ
Potential
Cunard Construction has appointed local architecture and design practice Unit3 to assist in the proposals – realising the full potential of the building – as well as managing the ongoing consultation process between stakeholders, councillors and the local community.
On Tuesday 20th December the building will be open to the public from 10am to 12pm, and 4pm to 6pm giving visitors the opportunity to view the plans and images of the proposal and provide an opportunity to give comments and ask the design team any questions.
Architect Martin Shutt said: “As a company we are very proud to be involved in the refurbishment and renovation of the Grade II Listed Carnegie Library and to have produced a design that provides such a unique blend of functionality.
“The standard of finishes and attention to detail permitted throughout the design is of such a high quality, it demonstrates the Cunardâs investment and commitment to supporting not only the future legacy of the library, but also the communities strong attachment that is associated with this well-loved building.”
Southport Pier will be closed to the public until further notice as a result of extreme cold weather damage and ice.
Freezing temperatures, which are forecast to impact the Sefton coast for at least another week, have caused significant and unavoidable damage to the pierâs decking boards.
Treacherous
A build up of ice from coastal winds has also made the surface treacherous underfoot.
Following repeated inspections by Sefton Council and its contractors over the last 48 hours, a decision has now been taken to temporarily close Southport Pier.
It will remain closed until further notice.
Ambitious project
Sefton Council announced earlier this year an ambitious project to replace more than 53 miles of decking boards along the iconic structure.
While the pier has undergone extensive repairs and refurbishments over the last 160 years, a ÂŁ3 million project to replace the wooden decking along its entire 1.1km length was revealed recently by Sefton Council.
Safety issue
A spokesperson for Sefton Council said: âCouncil officers and contractors had hoped to ensure the Pier remained open to the public during these works.
“However the current extremely cold weather, which has seen temperatures so low that the sea at Ainsdale and Birkdale froze in places, has caused additional damage to the decking.
âMoisture within the planks and joists has frozen causing the decking to lift away from its fixings and we are concerned this could present a safety issue to anyone attempting to walk down the pier.
âThe decking has also become incredibly slippery, meaning it is treacherous to walk on.
âWhile we do not take this decision lightly, the temporary closure of Southport Pier is wholly necessary to keep people safe.
âWe fully appreciate this may come as a blow to concessionaires on and around the pier however we are confident that they, like the council, would not want anyone to be put at risk of harm by venturing onto the pier in current conditions.â
Regular inspections
Southport Pier will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so. Regular inspections will take place and updates will be shared in due course.
Repairs to the Pier date back to as early as 1890 and during its long history it has fallen victim to incredibly powerful storm damage, boat crashes and numerous fires in the 19th and 20th century.
In 2018, extensive repairs and repainting works were carried out by Sefton Council to the Pierâs steelwork to combat corrosion from the sea.
Over the Christmas and New Year break, Sefton Council will be supporting more than 9,000 local families by providing them with meal vouchers, worth ÂŁ15 per child per week.
Local supermarkets
Vouchers can be used to buy food from local supermarkets, either in-store or online by eligible families who qualify for free school meals.
Accepted by supermarkets across Sefton, the half-term meals vouchers can only be spent on food and essentials and canât be used to purchase alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets, phone top-ups or stamps.
Bleak
Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Councilâs Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing said: âSadly, for a lot of families across Sefton and the UK, this Christmas is looking bleak because as people worry about fuel bills, inflation, interest rates and prices in the shops all of which have rocketed.
âBy providing around 9,000 Sefton families with these meal vouches for the school holiday period, we can hopefully help to ease some of their concerns and help to make Christmas a little happier and New Year a little brighter.â
Cost of living
Free school meals and how to apply for them is one of the areas covered in the special Cost of Living section that Sefton Council has set up on its website at www.sefton.gov.uk/costofliving.
Other areas include Welfare Benefits, help with rent and Council Tax, debt advice, health and wellbeing, foodbanks & food pantries and a link to the Sefton Support Hub.
Additionally, there are details of the Emergency Limited Assistance (ELAS) scheme, which can provide a one-off payment to Sefton residents experiencing severe hardship, a disaster or emergency.
Toy Appeal
Cllr Hardy added: âAnother way people can brighten up Christmas for children across our Borough is to donate to The Mayorâs Toy Appeal.
âEach year, we ask those who can donate toys and gifts for children and young people and every year we are bowled over by Seftonâs generosity.
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