Category: News

We have received the following from the South West London CCG of the NHS.

We are writing to update you on our progress in the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Croydon. 

All our Croydon GP led vaccination centres are now up and running, so that all our GP registered population is now covered. GP practices are working together at these sites in their Primary Care Networks to deliver the vaccine programme on top of their business-as-usual service caring for patients. This means the majority primary care sites are vaccinating 3 or 4 days a week.

You will have seen that this week the Government have asked us to add the over 70s to the groups of patients the NHS should prioritise.  Each GP site will add the over 70s to the list of patients they call for appointments.  The over 80s continue to be the first priority and because not all our vaccination sites went live at the same time, some over 80s have not yet been contacted. 

We expect the majority of over 80s to have been offered the vaccine by the end of January and those over 70 to have been offered the vaccine by 15 February 2021.  Those over 70 will be able to come forward and receive the vaccine throughout the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

The NHS will continue to contact people directly to invite them to receive the vaccine when it is their turn.  This may be via the phone, text message or letter from a Croydon GP practice.  We thank everyone who is waiting to be contacted by the NHS, the NHS is working flat out to offer it to as quickly and safely as we can. The NHS will let people know when it is their turn.

You can also find information about the Croydon covid-19 vaccination programme on our website at https://swlondonccg.nhs.uk/your-area/croydon/croydon-covid-19-vaccination-programme-update/  Please do refer to these pages which includes a full list of the practices which are covered by each GP led vaccination site.

Croydon University Hospital is now operating 7 days a week with a focus on vaccinating front line health and care workers and those over 70s who are visiting the hospital for outpatient appointments or in hospital and well enough to receive the vaccine who don’t already have a booking at their GP or a large vaccination centre.  

You will have seen the announcement in the national media about Large Vaccination Centres which are now operational, the first large vaccination centre in Croydon due to go live will be Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace’s ground from early next month.  We are pleased that some Croydon residents who are over 80 have received letters from the National Booking Services where they can book an appointment directly into one of these vaccination centres if they are available, our closest centre at the moment is Epsom Racecourse. Large vaccination sites will operate 7 days a week. As more large vaccination centres come on line there will be more choice for local people.  

We are also working hard to vaccinate care home residents and workers, and are working to ensure we have offered all care home residents and workers the vaccination by Sunday 24 January 2021.  We are also taking the vaccine to those patients who are housebound and would require a home visit.  If those people who are housebound are offered an appointment at a centre, they should talk to their GP at the point they are contacted.

Thank you for continuing to share our key messages with local people, for this week these are included below.  We have also attached our updated Q&A document and below are three of the most commonly asked questions (and answers) from this week.

Please do let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks very much,

Matthew Kershaw

Place Based Leader for Health for Croydon and Chief Executive

Dr Agnelo Fernandes

GP Borough Lead for Croydon

NHS South West London Clinical Commissioning Group

Members may be aware that, as part of the cost-saving exercise the Council has to undergo, library services have been under examination.

SPRA wishes to learn the views of local people about the threat to Shirley Library and, to this end, have launched a survey. We urge you to complete it at the following:-

SPRA weblink  https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SVYMYZ9

For the Council’s consultation, click on the link below for the announcement and then within the page for the survey itself.  There is also a specific page showing statistics for Shirley.

The consultation ends 7 March and we urge members to respond both to our survey and to the Council’s consultation.

Survey opens on Croydon’s future libraries service – Newsroom

We have been asked to ublicise the following

Members will need to know that the January SPRA Clean Up will NOT be taking place whilst at the same time we must give a warning that the February one may also be cancelled. This will depend on the Government’s review of the situation in mid February.

Watch this space …

Croydon Council is consulting resident about the priorities arising from the dire financial position in which it finds itself.

The consultation can be found here

https://news.croydon.gov.uk/croydonrenewalplan/?home=banner

and the deadline for responses is 24 January. SPRA does not have enough time to consult with its members on a “communal” response as there will be differing priorities – housing, education, adult social services, roads. waste collection, children’s services etc. – for different members.

We accordingly encourage members to read the Council’s proposals and to respond to the various questions in the consultation. Residents are always free, of course, to let their Ward Councillors know their views, especially if the questions in the consultation do not adequately allow for the comments they wish to make.

Members have been concerned that some pillar-boxes now have no collection timetable but bear a sticker claiming to be a “priority” box – a report has been received of some residents declining to use one such pillar-box as they were unsure whether it was still in use.

Rest assured, these are indeed still in use – they have been designated as “priority” because they will be cleared at the end of each day, the “priority” aspect being for delivery of samples etc. to the NHS and connected bodies, all arising as part of the response to Covid-19.

The change is a temporary one while the pandemic lasts.

The following was sent to SPRA following a telephone conversation on 10 December

“Further to our phone conversation this morning, I am now sending you the details of the incident that happened this morning. Please can you publish this letter, so that residents are aware and stay alert to the increasing vehicle theft in our neighbourhood.

“On Thursday 10th December 2020 at approximately 9.40am, I came out of my house turned left into Tideswell Road, where my car was parked. I witnessed a thief trying to get into my husband’s van. He was trying to get into the near side door. I startled him and he immediately ran and got into a car that was waiting in the middle of the road. The suspect was tall, thin, white, wearing a grey cap, grey joggers, grey hoody top and a mask.

“The car he got into was a dark grey Volkswagen Tiguan, with tinted rear windows. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the vehicle registration. My son informed the police and a crime reference number was issued.

“We have been targeted three times that we know of, as it was captured on our CCTV.

“The first time my husband’s tools were stolen.

“Please be vigilant, don’t make it easy for these criminals to get into your vans or cars and take your belongings. Please don’t leave any valuables in your vehicles overnight. “

Members will wish to be particularly careful as it is clear that thieves are active in the area.

Hello,  

My name is Alex Knight and I am a Surveying Masters student at Northumbria University. As part of my studies, I am currently undertaking a research study examining the steps that homes in England are taking to reduce their carbon footprint.  

Your residents’ association has been chosen at random from a database of associations within England to be part of the sample for this research. As such, I wondered whether you would be interested in taking part in a short survey and potentially sharing this email with any of your members who would be interested in participating.  

The survey will ask about the measures that your home currently has in place to lower carbon emissions, at what stage these measures were introduced and the motivations for introducing them. It will also ask you to explain the impact that these measures have had and ask about the EPC rating of your home. 

The survey will not ask for any personal details. All the questions relate only to the energy efficient measures that you have in your home and you will only be asked to provide the county your home is in, to allow for national comparison. All data that you do provide will be kept confidential and used only to develop an understanding of energy efficient installations in homes in England.   

If you are happy to complete the survey, which takes no more than five minutes to fill out, you can do so by clicking on this link – https://s.surveyplanet.com/kzqMq9UKj – and completing it online through Survey Planet.  

The first question will detail the terms of this study, ask you to confirm that you are comfortable with them and consent to taking part in this research. Please note that you are under no obligation to complete the survey and will be free to withdraw from participating at any time, without having to provide any reason for doing so.  

If you would like further details on any aspect of this research project before taking part, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this survey. 

Best regards,  

Alex Knight  

At this difficult time, the Shrublands Food Bank is needed more than ever.

The Food Bank will particularly need help 14-18 December to pack and/or distribute items. If anyone can assist please ring Beverly Warner (0203 441 7887) and she will give further details.

WHAT WE DO   |   EVENTS   |   SHOP   DONATE     Thank you for getting in touch regarding this year’s Poppy Pebble Project. As you may know Project Nova is an initiative that is delivered as a partnership between WWTW and RFEA. It supports disadvantaged veterans and veterans who have been arrested and enter Police Custody.   Project Nova started the Poppy Pebble Project to support their beneficiaries with social isolation and honour those who served. The project has received an overwhelming response, with people around the world taking part and sharing their stories. This year as part of the Poppy Pebble Project, we are calling on you to come together in supporting and remembering our veterans during thesedifficult times.   If you haven’t done so already please join us in painting a poppy on a pebble, place it on a war memorial or headstone to mark Remembrance Day, taking place on November 11th. The pebble can be used to commemorate anyone from friends, family members and even strangers. If you have already painted your pebbles there is still plenty of time to create your own story with your chosen person and share it with us by using the activity pack below.  The project is open until the end of February 2021 and your stories and images will be shared on our website. Send your photos and stories to us at viveca.johnstone@wwtw.org.uk. Download the activity pack here   Colin Back, Project Nova’s National Manager, commented, “The Poppy Pebble Project started off as a small idea on social media and it’s been quickly picked up on a global scale. We have had stories from people in the USA, Australia and beyond. It has resonated with so many people, which is remarkable. We’re asking everyone to get involved and share photos of their pebbles on Project Nova’s Facebook and Twitter pages. This project has brought people together and invited them to share stories of those who have served.” Following Remembrance Day, Project Nova will host an online exhibition, showcasing all of the shared Poppy Pebble images. Share photos of your pebbles on Project Nova’s social media channels Facebook @ProjectNovaUK, Twitter @ProjectNova.  Send us your photos and stories here   Our mailing address is: Walking With The Wounded, Stody Hall Barns, Stody, Melton Constable,Norfolk NR24 2ED Walking With The Wounded is registered as a charity in England and Wales (1153497) and Scotland (SC047760).

Regrettably, we have to cancel the clean-up scheduled for 14 November. We hope to resume in December but won’t know for certain until nearer the time.

Watch this space!