The London Assembly’s Health and Public Services Committee published their report ‘The Future of the London Ambulance Service’ on the 15th December 2011. It is well worth a read, if only to get an insight into the way Boris Johnson (London Mayor) played with his toy cars as a child.
You can just imagine him, sprawled out upon the expensive carpet in one of the front rooms in his posh family house, servants out for the day, nanny down the off-licence, and little Boris, dressed in his favourite pair of Lederhosen, playing Emergencies with his Harrods toy car collection.
“Daddy! daddy! a poor person’s house is on fire, and look Papa, a dirty, lazy, street urchin has been hurt (serves him right for not having proper clothes and lots of money like me and my pals!). We need to call Boris’s London Emergency Services (BLES)!”
Boris dashes over to his wooden fire station, opens the little wooden doors, reaches in (knocking little wooden firefighters out of the way: “ugh! working people”!) and pushes out his little wooden fire engine.
Looking around the room and stamping his feet, Boris screams “Oh, where are those naughty wooden ambulances? Those frightful, beastly wooden ambulance people! They never do what they are told! Never! Ever!” Stamp stamp stamp!
“Right! I am going to throw away all their wooden ambulance stations (that are mainly in the right place on the carpet) and put the wooden ambulances in wooden fire stations with the wooden fire engines (that are normally not in the right place on the carpet), that’s what I am going to do. That will teach them. I will control them daddy, I will, I will!” Stamp stamp stamp!
Fast forward.
Lo and behold, when Boris grew up and became London Mayor with responsibility for the London Fire Brigade, he never forgot his childhood longing to control ambulances, or his childhood toy town dream of cramming them all into his wooden fire stations.
Yes, that old chestnut is back! What is described within ‘The Future of the London Ambulance Service’Â report as ‘shared station facilities’ but is given more meat on the bone as Recommendation 4, fools no one.
Recommendation 4 states; ‘The Mayor should commission a review of shared facilities and joint working between the London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade. The review should aim to generate efficiencies by making specific proposals for shared stations and control centres. The review should begin its work as soon as possible in the new Mayoral term, commencing in May 2012′
Recommendation 4 may talk about ‘shared station facilities’ and ‘joint working’, but these terms are code for ‘land grab’ and ‘LFB take over’!
We have heard it all before.
Beware blondes in Lederhosen carrying gifts of wooden fire stations this Christmas! There is a smash and grab coming our way!
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Pensions
The Coalition government gave the unions’ their final offer regarding pension reforms today (Tuesday 20th December 2011).
Read it here:Â
http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/B5773.pdfÂ
They have asked that the unions’ take these ‘Heads of Agreement’ back to their respective Executives.
UNISON will hold a special Health Executive on 10th January 2012 where this will be discussed.
I will fully update members and representatives after that meeting and will continue to send out any further information that I receive in the meantime.
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2011 has been a difficult year. I thank all members and representatives for your help and support throughout this time.
Have a good Christmas and a very healthy, happy and safe New Year.
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 Information of all issues can be found elsewhere on our website.
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If you are reading this, work for the London Ambulance Service or are eligible to join, and are not yet a member of UNISON Join Today!
 I Am Frontline You Are Frontline We Are All FrontlineÂ
We are stronger together.
Eric Roberts
Branch SecretaryÂ
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