Staff proud to serve their country

SERVICEMEN working at Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals supported Armed Forces Day by wearing their Army, Navy and Air Force uniforms to work.

On Friday, 25 June 2010, Consultant Physician Dr John Horsley, Consultant Anaesthetist Dr Jim Hammond and Trust Decontamination Manager Robbie Cormie all showed their pride for the armed services.

Dr Horsley, who has worked at the Trust for 23 years, is a Surgeon Commander in the Royal Navy Reserves and was appointed as Medical Officer to HMS Eaglet in Liverpool four years ago. He has since helped to train military doctors and has worked as a locum at a military hospital in Gibraltar.

A member of the Territorial Army (TA), Dr Hammond has worked at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust for 13 years. During his time with the TA he has been involved in operations in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan and currently trains with 208 Field Hospital, based in Liverpool.

Pilot Officer Robbie Cormie first joined the RAF in 1987 as an Operating Department Practitioner and served in several hospitals across Europe before leaving the service in 1996 for a career in the NHS. He re-enlisted into the RAF reserves in 2001 and has completed 2 6-month tours of Iraq with 612 squadron, the RAF's Air Transportable Surgical Team, picking up wounded servicemen and women. He joined the Trust in May.

"We are extremely proud of our staff who bravely dedicate their time to serving our country," Trust spokesman Matthew King said.  "The Trust is pleased to be able to help support Armed Forces Day in this way and to highlight the important work of our servicemen and women."

Armed Forces Day, which fell on Saturday, 26 June 2010, is an annual opportunity for the nation to show its support for our troops and their families.

Central Station Development goes ahead!

MERSEYTRAVEL Chairman Cllr Mark Dowd has confirmed that the redevelopment of Liverpool Central Station can go ahead!

Network Rail have had their budget severely cut since the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition Government took control in Westminster, and it had been suggested that the scheme had been thrown out after Network Rail withdrew their share of the funding.

Network Rail had agreed to fund £6.3m of the project, from a scheme designed to provide better stations, but that fund, announced by Labour peer Lord Adonis, has been scrapped. However, Network Rail confirmed that £4m is available and that, together with funding from Merseytravel and the European Regional Development Fund, secures the project.

Cllr Dowd said:- “Liverpool Central is no longer fit for purpose and is approaching a situation where it will become dangerous to the travelling public.  Without this development, someone will be hurt, or worse. This isn’t about a shiny new facade, it is a health and safety priority. We can provide this upgrade with our funding partners.  The Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors on the Independent Transport Authority agreed with the Labour group that these improvements were a priority, but their leaders in Whitehall clearly have higher priorities than the safety of Merseyside’s travelling public.  I warned some weeks ago that there would be carnage under this administration, and that we in Merseyside are going to be hardest hit. This is what I was forecasting then, and it’s coming true now.”

Hoax device outside Tuebrook Police Station

ON 27 July 2010 Merseyside Police officers charged a 23 year old man and a 14 year old boy charged with placing a hoax device in a telephone kiosk and making a hoax call to the police. Colin Norman, aged 23, from West Derby Road, Tuebrook, will appeared at Liverpool City Magistrates Court on Monday, 28 July 2010. The 14 year old boy from Kensington will appeared at Liverpool Youth Court on 13 July 2010. A 17 year old boy and a 16 year old girl have been released on police bail.  Following the discovery of a device outside Tuebrook Police Station on Saturday, 26 June 200. Officers were alerted at 7.15pm by a member of the public. Specialist officers attended and the Army Ordinance Explosive Disposal Unit were called. The device was proved to be a hoax. Merseyside Police then arrested the four people. Det. Supt. Paul Richardson said:- "Officers reacted in the only way possible on the night, the safety of the public being their first priority. Clearly we will not tolerate this sort of mindless waste of police time and public inconvenience, we will always do all that we can to put those responsible for any such hoax calls before the courts."

Top team tackle fake goods

THE amount of illegal alcohol and tobacco on Liverpool’s streets has been drastically reduced thanks to the work of a new council hit squad.  It’s just one year since the city’s Alcohol and Tobacco Unit (ATU) was formed and they’ve had a massive impact on the amount of counterfeit and illegal goods being sold in the city.

An impressive £1,107,932 worth of contraband tobacco has been seized as well as nearly 7,000 pints of illicit alcohol.  In just one joint operation with HM Revenues & Customs and Merseyside Police, 4.5 million cigarettes were seized with a street value of over £1million.  The team has identified hotspots across the city selling counterfeit tobacco – which are being sold at as little as half the price of genuine tobacco products, making them affordable for children.

One of the main aims is to tackle underage sales, and working with undercover youngsters, the team has carried out:-

► 245 alcohol test purchases – with 36 retailers caught selling drink to minors.

► 34 tobacco test purchases – resulting in 25 illegal sales.

► 156 premises were monitored to see if any adults would buy alcohol for children – 4 adults were caught in the act and issued with £80 fixed penalty notices.

The team has uncovered various venues selling illegal tobacco and alcohol, from kebab shops and pubs right though to market stalls and mini-marts. 

In July, the team acted on a tip-off that a greengrocer in Tuebrook was selling counterfeit cigarettes to underage children. Following a successful undercover investigation, the owner of the shop, Neil Turner, was prosecuted and pleaded guilty - he was fined £550 plus £100 costs.

Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for the environment, Councillor Tim Moore, said:- “The sale of counterfeit cigarettes and alcohol is a serious issue and I’m delighted Liverpool’s ATU have had such a successful first year.  Research shows that fake tobacco can contain substances which make them even more dangerous than normal cigarettes, such as arsenic and rat droppings. Many have 60% more tar and 130% more carbon monoxide. And it’s not just the health risks – it’s a trade that funds organised crime and preys on the vulnerable. I’m sure that by continuing to work closely with our partners the team will continue to be hugely successful and make real strides in cracking down on this illicit trade.”

The ATU team is part of the city council’s trading standards service, and is funded by Liverpool’s Primary Care Trust (PCT) and supported by Merseyside Police.

Gideon Ben-Tovim, Chair of Liverpool Primary Care Trust said:- “Since the Alcohol and Tobacco Unit was set up last year it has undertaken a great deal of enforcement and educational work around the selling of illegal tobacco and alcohol and I am delighted that it has had such a significant impact in the first year.  The scale of the team’s success is a reflection of the sheer quantity of illegal goods that are entering the City and the massive effect they are having on the health of our population. This team brings back to the heart of the matter why we have laws protecting us from these dangerous products – to protect our health and prevent them from damaging the quality of our lives. We hope its success will continue to send out a clear message to other premises across the city that if you sell illegal tobacco or alcohol or are supplying underage people, you will be caught and held to account.”

The team hasn’t just been uncovering rogue traders. Echo Arena Liverpool has been praised by ATU officers following an undercover operation in which an underage person tried to buy alcohol four times. The youngster was asked for ID each time and then refused when they couldn’t produce any.

The Arena has also taken further measures including a new queuing system to prevent customers choosing who serves them and installing video screens which show a message asking young people to have ID ready for bar staff to inspect.

Tim Banfield, General Manager of the Echo Arena said:- “We take underage drinking very seriously at the Echo Arena and have a range of measures to make sure that it doesn’t happen.  We train our staff to be aware of the legal issues and to make sure that they always ID people when they are in doubt.  We are pleased with the ATU’s findings and work hard to make sure that the Echo Arena is a safe and fun venue to visit.”

Members of ATU also facilitate ‘Knock-Back’ training to give those working in pubs and off-licences the skills and confidence to ask people for ID.  More than 100 retailers have taken part in the training in the past year.