To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 5t April 2004.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 5^th April 2004 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.  (For copy see file of Minutes).

A representative of Spennymoor Police will attend the meeting to give a report on crime statistics and initiatives in the area.

Arrangements have been made for up to 12 members of the Forum / members of the public to visit the Call Centre at Bishop Auckland Police Station on the evening of Tuesday 29^th June 2004.  Anyone interested in visiting the Centre should complete the form that will be circulated at the meeting or contact Gillian Garrigan on Ext 4240.

Sergeant I. Rodgers and P.C. G. Coulson were present at the meeting to give details of crime figures for the area.

The crime statistics were as follows:

Specific reference was made to the beat surgeries that had recently been held in Asda and Co-op supermarkets, Spennymoor and the arrangements being made to hold a surgery in the foyer of the Borough Council Offices, Spennymoor.

Concern was expressed regarding the consumption of alcohol in public places.  It was reported that it was not an offence to consume alcohol within the Borough in a public place, unless the person drinking the alcohol was under the age of 18 years.

The Forum was informed that the Police had recently prepared lists of graffiti in the Tudhoe, Spennymoor and Middlestone Moor areas.  The lists, which identified the exact location, extent and content of graffiti, had been forwarded to the Borough Council to arrange removal.  It was agreed that an update would be given at the next meeting of the Forum regarding progress made.

Concern was expressed regarding the number of vehicles obstructing both the pavement and the road, in the Ridgeside/North Close area.  The Beat Officer for that area agreed to investigate the problem.

Specific reference was made to the speeding campaign that the Police, in conjunction with the Council’s Community Force, had recently undertaken in Tudhoe Village.

It was reported that arrangements had been made for up to 12 members of the Forum/members of the public to visit the call centre at Bishop Auckland Police Station on the evening of Tuesday 29^th June 2004.  Anyone interested in taking part, was asked to complete the form that would be circulated at the meeting or contact Mrs. Gillian Garrigan on Spennymoor 816166

A representative of Sedgefield Primary Care Trust will attend the meeting to give an update on local health matters and performance targets.

Melanie Fordham and Gloria Wills attended the meeting to give an update on recent performance figures and local health matters.

Mrs. Wills reported that she was currently acting chairman of the PCT following the death of Councillor Alan Gray.

Reference was made to a consultation exercise which had been undertaken in April/May 2004 in response to the Government paper, ‘Choosing Health’.  A report detailing the findings of the exercise was to be presented to the Sedgefield PCT Board at its meeting on Thursday 10^th June 2004.

Reference was also made to the report - ‘Achieving Patient Access Targets and Baseline Performance Requirements’, a copy of which would be forwarded to members of the Forum.

The targets with regard to access to a GP within two working days and a primary health care professional within one working day had continued to be met.

A target of 91.2% had been achieved in respect of patients waiting less than 4 hours in the Accident and Emergency Departments of the County Durham and Darlington Hospitals.

It was noted that no-one had waited more than 17 weeks for an outpatient appointment and three patients had been effected by delayed transfer of care.

With regard to the North East Ambulance Service, the target of responding to 75% of calls to life threatening emergencies in 8 minutes had not been achieved.  The actual performance was 65.6%.  It was noted that representatives of the North East Ambulance Service would be presenting details of their plans to improve the service to the PCT.

It was reported that the PCT had submitted details of its performance for the past year to the Department of Health and its star rating should be determined by 17^th July 2004.

With regard to the development to the out-of-hours service, six GPs had been recruited to man the Urgent Care Centre at Bishop Auckland Hospital and there were a number of GPs within the Borough, who were willing to cover some sessions of the out-of-hours rota. 

It was pointed out that from October 2004 the Accident and Emergency Department and the Urgent Care Centre at Bishop Auckland Hospital were to be combined.

Specific reference was made to the ‘Choice Initiative Programme’ for those people waiting for treatment for more than six months.  It was noted that fourteen people within Sedgefield Borough had been eligible to receive treatment elsewhere, however, in all cases they had decided to remain with their own consultant.

Concern was expressed regarding the ‘superbug’ that was effecting a number of hospitals and it was requested that information on the control of infection be presented to a future meeting of the Forum.

It was also requested that further information be provided at the next meeting regarding the development of Spennymoor Health Centre under the LIFT Programme.

A representative of the Countryside Team will attend the meeting to give a presentation on the benefits of walking to improve health and fitness.

Jim Nutt, member of the Countryside Team, Sedgefield Borough Council, attended the meeting to give a presentation on the benefits of walking to improve health and fitness.          

He explained that the Countryside Agency and the British Heart Foundation were encouraging more people to walk in their own communities to improve their health and Sedgefield Borough Council, Sedgefield Primary Care Trust, Spennymoor Town Council and the Countryside Agency were helping to develop ‘health’ walks in the towns and villages of the Borough. 

It was pointed out that walking could be enjoyed by almost everyone, of all ages and abilities and could help to manage or control some medical conditions, including coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, narrowing of the arteries in large leg muscles and diabetes.  Regular walking also improved muscle tone and skeletal bone density and helped to reduce the incidence of osteo-arthritis, low back pain, osteoporosis and risk of falls.

Walking also helped with weight loss and reducing obesity and was a recommended therapy to improve one’s outlook on life.  A healthy walk was a brisk walk.  Those people who had not exercised for some time were advised to seek medical advice before commencing. 

Specific reference was made to the aim to establish ten walking clubs within the Borough and to recruit more volunteers.

The Forum’s attention was also drawn to the proposed improvements to public footpaths and bridleways in the Whitworth Park area of the Bobby Shafto Estate under the Minerals Valley Project.      

To consider a report of the Chief Executive Officer.

Consideration was given to a report of the Chief Executive Officer regarding the above.  (For copy see file of Minutes).

It was agreed that Councillor A. Smith be appointed as the representative for Area 1 Forum on the LSP Board and Councillor Mrs. A.M. Armstrong as ‘Alternate’.

Councillor Andrew Smith, reported that Spennymoor had been awarded £2.1m of Single Programme Resources as part of the County Durham Economic Partnership’s Major Centres - Urban Programme which would enable the implementation of a comprehensive programme of improvement works within the town centre.  The total funding package for the Improvement Programme was in excess of £3.4m as contributions were to be made by the Borough Council, Durham County Council, Spennymoor Town Council and other property owners in the Centre.

It was explained that the funding would enable improvements to be made to the western and eastern gateways and High Street, CCTV installation and improvements to Festival Walk, subject to negotiation and agreement with the Precinct owners.

Scheduled to be held on 6^th September 2004 at Tudhoe Community Centre at 6.30 p.m.

Monday 6^th September, 2004 at Tudhoe Community Centre at             6.30 p.m.

Concern was expressed regarding the lack of play areas in Middlestone Moor.

It was agreed that an officer from Leisure Services Department be invited to attend a future meeting to give details of the proposed provision of play areas for the area covered by the Forum.

Concern was also expressed regarding the small amount of funding available from Durham County Council to support young athletes.  It was requested that information be provided for the next meeting regarding the sources of funding available to support young athletes.