Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust bucks the national trend in maintaining its level of recruitment of UK qualified medical staff between 2015 and 2021. Nationally the picture is different.

The share of homegrown doctors and nurses joining England’s NHS is at its lowest for seven years, BBC analysis of workforce data has found.

Some 58% of doctors joining the health service in 2021 came from the UK, with health bosses increasingly turning to international recruitment.

The British Medical Association told the BBC the NHS faced a “workforce crisis”. It “faced a challenge retaining staff from overseas, due to the “financial and bureaucratic barriers” they faced. Dr Amit Kochlar, its international committee deputy chair, said medical graduates were charged up to £2,400 to apply for indefinite leave to remain, with each of their dependents facing the same fee.

While overall numbers have been increasing, critics said declining domestic recruitment was unsustainable to keep pace with demand.

Patricia Marquis, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Director for England, said ministers must do more to reduce the “disproportionate reliance” on international recruits. “We are seeing a sharp increase in people leaving nursing, with more of our members saying they are considering alternative careers,” she said.

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said it was “high time for the government to commit to a fully-funded, long-term workforce plan for the NHS” to tackle “chronic workforce shortages”. He said “relentless demand” was affecting staff due to vacancies which stood at around 110,000 – “gaps which cannot and should not be filled through international recruitment alone”.

 A recent report by the cross-party Commons health and social care select committee concluded the large number of unfilled NHS job vacancies was posing a serious risk to patient safety.

The BBC analysed workforce data provided by NHS Digital from 2015 to 2021, to investigate if trends it previously reported following the Brexit referendum in June 2016 continued. The share of UK doctors joining the health service had fallen from 69% in 2015 to 58% last year.  Over the same period, the share of new UK nurses fell from 74% to 61%. Recruitment of doctors from the Rest of the World rose from 18% to 34% over the same period, and that share of international nurses rose from 7% to 34%.

In the Epsom and St Helier Trust the level of UK recruitment remained even though there was a 13.7% reduction in EU recruitment and a corresponding 13.7% increase in worldwide recruitment during the period analyzed.

News and data provided by the Local Democracy Service of the BBC in which Epsom and Ewell Times is a partner. For the full in-depth report CLICK HERE

The Epsom Refugee Network has succeeded in securing for 75 students of all young ages a six-week Summer school at St Johns in Leatherhead. With the generous support of the school, 25 teachers, 30 general volunteers and donors the school provides English lessons, playtime and opportunities for refugee children fleeing war zones and persecutions to be “children again” and make friendships. Afghani, Syrian and Ukrainian children mix happily as one together with English and refugee teachers and volunteers.

Chris Grayling, Epsom and Ewell’s MP, visited Tuesday 2nd August and said to Epsom and Ewell Times’ reporter: “Epsom Refugee Network is amazing in what it has done. The school is a fantastic achievement and is making a huge difference”.

Ukrainian volunteer Olha Zyatyk said “It is a great thing really. A huge number of children, 114 have been registered, giving them a possibility to find friends and not feel alone. We learn from each other to understand the cultural differences. All helps make a new life in a new country”.

Helping Ukrainian refugees access work

A group of Epsom & Ewell Refugee Network volunteers are supporting Ukrainian refugees to find suitable employment in the local area.  Many Ukrainian refugees have professional qualifications and significant experience in areas such as: accountancy, medicine & health care, teaching and construction.  In order to secure a job in the UK at the same level they have previously been working at, many have to convert their Ukrainian qualifications into the UK recognised equivalent, an ambition which is both costly and time consuming.     

The Epsom & Ewell Refugee Network work support group is looking for local employers who can utilise the extensive skills and experience that these refugees bring to us now; who can offer jobs that do not require UK professional qualifications as a prerequisite to carry out associated or similar work; recognising that work offered in the UK is unlikely to be at the same level than they have recently been operating at.

If you have a vacancy that may be suitable for a Ukrainian refugee or want to know more please email: epsomrefugeenetwork@gmail.com 

For any further information on local initiatives to support refugees please visit Epsom & Ewell Refugee Networkwww.epsomrefugeenetwork.org 

Historic England has announced £9,988.00 in funding to the Friends of Horton Cemetery Charity in Epsom and Ewell as part of its ‘Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class History.’ [Photo: Aerial shot of Horton Cemetery taken in 1952.]

This grant will help the charity realise their heritage project titled ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’ which will amplify in-progress research by 50+ volunteers to reconstruct biographical histories of the thousands of men, women and children buried in ‘pauper graves’ within the largest abandoned hospital cemetery in the UK. Co-creation of 900 ceramic flowers to commemorate former psychiatric patients without memorialisation, an exhibition and crafting workshops.

 This announcement follows an open call earlier this year, inviting community or heritage organisations across the country to apply for grants of up to £25,000.00 in a bid to further the nation’s collective understanding of the past. Competition was intense with 57 successful bids being announced today out of 500 nation-wide applications. 

Historic England hope the grant will contribute positively to participants’ wellbeing, as well as providing innovative volunteering opportunities for young people or those facing loneliness and isolation. Local heritage also gives people a sense of pride in place, a cornerstone of the levelling up agenda, and they are excited to help it act as a powerful catalyst for increasing local opportunities and prosperity.

Dr Alana Harris, Director of Liberal Arts at King’s College London, local Epsom resident and expert consultant to the Friends of Horton Cemetery will direct the Project. She said “The support of Historic England is a ringing endorsement of the importance of Horton Cemetery as a heritage site of national importance and widespread interest. I am excited by the opportunities provided by this prestigious funding grant to involve more people in remembering these forgotten histories.”

Kevin McDonnell, who leads the volunteer research team, responded to the award of this grant: “Winning this grant is down to the skill, dedication and time generosity of the great team of volunteer researchers who are telling the stories of the forgotten people, mainly Londoners, buried in this cemetery as paupers, and bringing them “back to life”.

The Friends of Horton Cemetery are encouraging teams researching other psychiatric hospital cemeteries around London to use a similar model to theirs. Anyone interested in working on these projects should email hortoncemetery@gmail.com

Visit www.hortoncemetery.org for further information

 Epsom and St Helier and St George’s Hospital are holding a series of workshops starting this week and next for patients and the public to attend. The workshop will involve shaping the new joint strategy for St George’s and Epsom and St Helier Hospital. The workshops will be approximately 60-90mins long and facilitated by the hospital’s transformation and strategy team. Teas and coffees will be served on the night. A full break down of the events, dates and times can be found below. Epsom and Ewell’s will be held at the Premier Inn Dorking Road Epsom on Wednesday 10th August at 6.00pm RSVP via esth.sguh.strategy@nhs.net

Ukrainian refugee musicians delighted a packed audience in the Epsom Methodist Church Saturday 30th July. On behalf of the local community Mayor of Epsom and Ewell Cllr Clive Woodbridge extended a warm welcome to all Ukrainian refugees and thanked the sacrifices of local hosts who have taken them into their homes.

Organised by Lionel Blackman with Nina Kaye of Epsom Refugee Network and Surrey Stands With Ukraine, the evening was compered by Darina Dvorinchenko, a refugee from Odessa, who also conducted all the required interpretation.

In response to the Mayor professional pianist Natalia Zadorizhna expressed the deep gratitude to our community for all we are doing in standing with her country in the “evil time”. And that gratitude was demonstrated by fine performances also from her young daughter Diana, who played the piano and recited from memory and in English the Ukrainian poem “Love Ukraine” by Volodymyr Sosiura.

Young Liza Pryiemska played piano, recited the poem in Ukrainian and sang beautifully. 21 year old Tetiana Zheliba at short notice replacing an artist who fell sick, took to the fine grand piano at EMC for two compositions.

Young 16 year old Nika Vlasova played Schubert’s “The Bee” solo on violin.

Like a winged harp carrying angel Yulia Komyshan, recently arrived from Ukraine, had heard about the event on a social network and simply turned up unannounced, Bandura in hand. She crowned the night with the audience standing to the national song and included in her performance was a remarkable rendition of a blues number. She certainly blew the blues away. The audience all rose to their feet in a sustained ovation for these remarkably talented and brave Ukrainians.

Last week, as part of a national ASB Awareness Week, Surrey Police‘s safer neighbourhood teams (SNTs) joined forces with partners to shine a spotlight on anti-social behaviour (ASB) across Surrey including Epsom and Ewell, and to raise awareness of the many different ways in which they can tackle ASB within communities and provide help and support to those affected.

Epsom and Ewell Beat were out on Longmead Estate raising awareness of ASB issues with the local council and Rosebery Housing.

On social media, they spent the week sharing advice and guidance on anti-social behaviour and where to report instances in your local area. The posts touched on criminal damage such as graffiti, neighbour disputes, the Community Trigger, fly-tipping, and vehicle nuisance.

ASB is not low level and can have a huge impact on the lives of individuals and communities. Jo Grimshaw, who leads on tackling ASB for the Force said: “Our teams work hard to deal with anti-social behaviour on a daily basis – it’s part of Surrey Police’s core business. The national week of action gives us the opportunity to highlight the work they do to protect people and communities from those who think it’s acceptable to behave in a threatening, aggressive or anti-social manner. We work closely with Surrey Police’s partners to ensure that ASB victims can be referred to the appropriate agency if they are better placed to offer support and get the right outcome. If a civil resolution cannot be reached, there are a range of enforcement options available, including warning letters, closure orders, criminal behaviour orders and criminal prosecution.”

If you have reported an incident three or more times in six months and feel you are not being listened to or that the issues are still happening or escalating, you are entitled to ask for a review of your case. This is called the Community Trigger, and you can activate it through your Local Authority: 

https://asbhelp.co.uk/community-trigger/community-trigger-directory/

In the last year Surrey Police have issued across the County:

· 47 Closure Orders
· 9 Criminal Behaviour Orders
· 57 Reactive Dispersal Orders
· Over 300 warning letters.
·
These orders are proving very effective in reducing the behaviour of those committing ASB, as well as giving some respite to residents and the community.
It can be really confusing for victims to work out which agency is responsible for tackling each of the different types of ASB.
If you are a victim of ASB or know someone who is being exploited in your area, please let Surrey Police know so they can take action. For more information on the reporting options available to you visit:

www.healthysurrey.org.uk/your-health/community-safety/asb

Roadside verges in Surrey will be cut less frequently to foster biodiversity, according to Highway Authority, Surrey County Council. In a move to ease the pressure on native nature from human activity, around 700 species of wildflower will be left unmown, and plants and wildlife in the area restored. “It’s time to redefine our ideas about what well-managed public spaces look like,” said Andrew Jamieson, Projects Director at Surrey Wildlife Trust. “It’s an essential part of our joint plan to restore and support Surrey’s plants and wildlife and take a first step towards a greener future for the neighbourhood.”

Feature photo: credit Jon Hawkins – Surrey Hills Photography

The decision builds on the Climate Change Delivery Plan published in 2020 to respond to Surrey County Council’s climate emergency declaration and set a target for Surrey to be net zero by the half of the century. Supporting and increasing biodiversity will contribute to become a carbon free county by 2050, said Matt Furniss, Conservative Cabinet Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Economy, in the press release. “Vegetation has fantastic benefits for both Surrey’s wildflowers and wildlife.”
According to research, over 97 per cent of UK wildflower meadows, equal to 3 million hectares (7.5 million acres), have been lost since the 1930s and replaced with monocultures with a lower ability to store carbon.Emissions relating to the consumption of goods and services by Surrey residents and businesses are estimated to be more than twice greater than those measured as part of the net zero targets.
According to the Climate Change Delivery Plan, land can naturally reduce the county’s carbon emissions by 3%. Not surprisingly, the strategy includes the Growing Back Greener programme, through the facilitation of planting, the reduction of flooding and the support to native biodiversity, as one of the main goals to achieve. Surrey itself aims at growing 1.2 million trees over the next decade.
Although nature and its safeguard are known to lead to multiple accomplishments, mixed concerns among residents were stirred after the measure was announced. “Many people fear a tick population explosion because of ‘wild’ grassland: where you have wild mammals, you have ticks,” said Kim Spickett of Epsom and Ewell based Surrey Wildflowering Project, a community-led initiative to promote and celebrate the borough’s diverse environments. “But ticks frequent parks and gardens too, not just countryside. Our nature reserves have safe paths that you can use to walk safely with dogs and children.”

Roadside verges, that tend to thrive on the sides of highways, might also cause safety issues if left untilled as sightlines might be affected. “A sightline for traffic can be cut and the rest left to bloom,” said Spickett. “That said, wiping out or “scalping” makes no sense. Mowing blades can have the height adjusted to “top” the grass and leave shorter flowers intact.” Echoing Spickett, SCC acknowledged the risk to sightlines and promised to ensure safety while pushing to keep the verges intact. “Highway safety remains paramount, and sightlines will be kept clear,” said Furniss. “Any issues with vegetation impairing visibility can be reported via our website.”

Advice on ticks and tick bites can be found on the NHS website.

A five-point plan sets out to improve the lives of Surrey residents with dementia and their families.

A joint health and social care dementia strategy of Surrey County Council and Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership, outlines an ambition for everyone with dementia and their carers to live in dementia-friendly communities and be able to live well at home for as long as possible.

Research suggests that approximately 17,700 people in Surrey are currently living with dementia. Between 2020 and 2030 it’s projected that this figure will rise by more than a quarter to 22,600.

The five-year plan, which includes direct input from people living with dementia and their carers, sets out how the county council and the wider Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership, that includes the Surrey Downs Health and Care Partnership that covers Epsom and Ewell, will work with other organisations to support people with dementia, their families and carers so that those diagnosed can maintain their independence and enjoy a good quality of life.

The new joint health and social care dementia strategy will focus on:

• Preventing well – raising awareness of dementia and preventative actions people can take
• Diagnosing well – making sure people have equal access to dementia care by addressing inequalities and gaps
• Living well – making sure everyone has the opportunity to live life to the full following diagnosis
• Supporting well – engaging with communities and faith groups to ensure we reach out to people with dementia and their carers

The work will create dementia-friendly communities and help to deliver the county council’s ambition and tackle inequality to ensure no-one is left behind in Surrey.

The strategy has been created in partnership and collaboration with people with dementia and their carers and other organisations, including Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia UK, Healthwatch Surrey and district and borough councils.

Sinead Mooney, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, said: 

“Dementia is already an important health issue and the number of people living with dementia in Surrey is expected to increase significantly in the future. Our new dementia strategy is crucial in setting out how we will build on the good work we already do, and continue to improve outcomes for residents across Surrey.

“The new strategy has a much wider focus, encouraging organisations and services to become more dementia-friendly and therefore making a real difference to dementia care in Surrey.”

Dr Sophie Norris, GP and Dementia Clinical Lead for Guilford and Waverley, said:

“The strategy sets out the collective ambitions we want to achieve across Surrey to improve the dementia care pathway. In developing this strategy, we have worked with organisations that support people with dementia, their staff, the local voluntary sector and other partners. The strategy provides the chance to reaffirm Surrey’s commitment and determination to help people with dementia, and their unpaid carers to continue caring if they are willing and able, and to support their health and wellbeing by achieving outcomes they have identified matter most to them. The jointly held vision is for all people with dementia and their carers to live in dementia friendly communities. They will know where to go to seek information, advice and help. They will have access to the care and support that enables them to live well at home for as long as possible and to die with dignity in their place of choice.”

An easy read version of the joint health and social care dementia strategy is also available.

To find out more about support for dementia in Surrey visit the Surrey County Council website.

Harris came to the volunteers at Epsom and Ewell’s Foodbank for help at the end of last year. Epsom and Ewell Foodbank is operated by registered Charity The Good Company (Surrey) and is directed by local hero Jonathan Lees. Over the past two years, Harris has recovered from a major heart operation and a stroke. This completely changed his life as previously he had loved running and being active. The stroke also really knocked his confidence and so he had become withdrawn.

Photo shows Jonathan Lees (left) and Harris (right) with other Epsom Pantry volunteers at its opening.

The charity started to offer him opportunities to participate in focus groups, which he enjoyed being part of. They supported him in a back-to-work interview, liaising with agencies (including the Council, Citizens Advice and his GP). They supported him with his Personal Independence Payment (PIP) application to the Department of Work and Pensions, which has recently been awarded.

Harris was recently introduced to The Epsom Pantry and he has started to volunteer there. The staff say he is a real asset there. He is also a very calming presence for customers and Harris absolutely loves it as it has given him a new purpose.

Harris said “I thought of committing suicide before I met Alison (one of the support workers) but she gave me food, help and hope that things could be better, I couldn’t have gone on without her. I am born again. I don’t know how I would manage if it wasn’t for her, the Foodbank and The Pantry, (these) guys are like family, greatly appreciated. Blessed Love.”

For more information on Epsom Pantry please contact Bex pantry@goodcompany.org.uk

The Foodbank has two vacancies at the moment:

Vacancy – Pantry Coordinator

An exciting vacancy for our new project – Epsom Pantry. Now officially open, our Pantry is a members-only shop.

For £5 members will be able to purchase a weekly food shop including fresh fruit and vegetables and family favourites to stock up the cupboard and fridge.

We are recruiting a Pantry Coordinator to work with our Pantry Manager on this exciting new initiative.

For more details and to apply, please click here.

Closing date is 24 July 2022 at 23:59

Vacancy – Foodbank Manager

An exciting opportunity to join our team. We are recruiting for a Foodbank Manager. Interested? More info and application details here.

Closing date is 30 July 2022 at 23:30

Undaunted by the 4500 miles distance between Epsom and Chilaweni in Malawi, local resident Ruth Markus heads a charity founded in her son’s name. “Alex’s Medical & Educational Clinic in Africa” (AMECA). Before he died at the age of 23 Alex was a junior doctor, a British Army officer and a qualified paratrooper. AMECA is committed to healthcare delivery, training healthcare professionals and to healthcare education in sub-Saharan African countries, through sustainable initiatives.

Feature photo is Alex providing medical care. His passion and vocation.

The AMECA Primary Healthcare Clinic at Chilaweni in Malawi opened in May 2017 and is dedicated to the memory of Alex. The Clinic currently serves 38,000 people in 23 villages. It sees on average, 4,000 outpatients each month. These communities had no prior access to any accessible healthcare facilities.

AMECA supports surgical training at district hospitals in Malawi through Links in Africa for Surgical Training (LAST). Led by AMECA’s Clinical Director, Consultant Surgeon Paul Thomas, LAST is committed to providing surgical training to improve sustainable surgical healthcare in Africa.

On August 7th at 10am at St Martin’s Church, Church Street, Epsom Ruth Markus will speak about the work of the charity and update on the Maternity Unit built at Chilaweni Village. The illustrated talk will celebrate the success of the maternity unit and maternity mentorship programme, implemented to raise standards of clinical care for mothers and babies and to deliver respectful and inclusive treatment to mothers.

More information can be obtained from the website AMECA | Alex`s Medical & Educational Clinic in Africa