Your independent community newspaper Free WALTHAM Oct 2018, No. 43 Email [email protected] Facebook /WalthamForestEcho Tweet @WFEcho FOREST ECHO Visit walthamforestecho.co.uk News Feature History Column Event Concerns over the fate Walthamstow singer- Author James Diamond The bespoke kitchen Trace your family history of one of borough's songwriter tackles issue explores the history of business that is in an event at Vestry busiest bus routes of domestic violence a quirky local tradition cooking up a storm House Museum P . 3 P . 7 P . 9 P . 11 P . 13 Waste not, want not solar-powered fridge found in a “funky” shelter is helping Leytonstone designed by local spatial designers, residents stop food Made With Volume. The fridge from being wasted. is located next to Café de Mont- A The Leytonstone Community martre and is open 12pm-3pm on Fridge allows people to donate weekdays, enabling residents and unopened packaged food within businesses to share surplus food. its use-by date, as well as raw fruit Diana Korchien, fridge co-ordi- and vegetables, enabling others to nator at Transition Leytonstone, pick it up for free. said: “Beyond simply reducing Environmental campaign group food waste, the fridge will play a Transition Leytonstone has been socially important role in strength- working for over a year to have the ening community ties; Transi- fridge installed in Church Road tion Leytonstone is anticipating and won support from North a steady growth in regular users. London Waste Authority to get it “To meet this need, we intend to launched last month. Support also increase our storage capacity by in- comes from environmental charity stalling a second fridge and freezer Hubbub, which runs the nation- powered entirely by solar energy al Community Fridge Network. and have already raised a good Unlike other community fridges proportion of the funds needed.” in London, which are usually To find out more: placed inside community centres, Leytonstone Community Fridge co-ordinator Diana Korchien takes in donations from local people the Leytonstone fridge can be Visit transitionleytonstone.org.uk Demands for inquiry into school transport 'chaos' taking vulnerable children to and straightforward, very easy,” Vicky was changing. The bus was 35 ensure this will never happen again.” by Russell Hargrave from school. Pupils using special- told the Echo, “but in this new minutes late that first morning And in an email seen by the Echo, ly-adapted buses for school travel term we discovered that we have and late again in the afternoon. sent to parents by Walthamstow ngry parents are de- had previously been collected to go to a pick-up point, which “After half-an-hour I was think- MP Stella Creasy, it was revealed manding that Waltham from their homes, but under the is two streets from where we live, ing: 'Where is my child?'” said that CT Plus received 1,500 calls Forest Council con- new scheme they use a series of and stand on the corner of the Samantha, adding that he'd been in the first week of term. ducts an inquiry into pick-up points in the borough. road and wait for a period of time left “agitated and distressed”. The Echo revealed in August Athe “chaos” of its new school trans- However, some families were not which is unknown. In a letter sent to council leaders that the new contract between port scheme for vulnerable children. told which pick-up points to use “It is just so unpredictable.” and CT Plus executives, dozens of the council and CT Plus targeted At the start of the new school until the last few days before the Vicky explained that her son’s worried parents have demanded savings of £1.2million from the term children with special edu- new term began, and some buses condition means that he strug- the council investigate what has budget over the next four years. cational needs were left on busy turned up late or did not arrive at gles to keep himself warm. “It’s so gone wrong. It says: “This Sep- Waltham Forest Council issued roads without lifts to school and all. One local mum, Vicky Kemp, worrying, they’re just not think- tember saw the school transport a statement on behalf of CT Plus, some have missed classes complete- described how worried she was ing about the children’s health.” system thrown into chaos, causing stating: “We apologise for this ly, in the latest controversy to hit about the effect on her son, who Samantha Halil, who lives in excessive stress to those involved. short notice [to changes] and the the assisted transport programme. uses a wheelchair and has been Chingford and whose five-year old “We are asking for an investiga- disruption to services for children The problems arose after picked up from his home by a son needs assisted transport, said tion into what has gone wrong as a but are committed to working changes introduced by CT Plus, minibus for the last ten years. that she got less than 72 hours’ matter of urgency and an ongoing with the council to resolving this the company responsible for The old system was “quite notice that the pick-up system plan of action to be put in place to in a timely and effective manner.” 2 No. 43 OCTOBER 2018 WALTHAM FOREST ECHO COMMENT Hospitals should not be hostile The co-chair of Waltham Forest Save Our NHS speaks out over 'hostile environment' policies FELLOWSHIP IS LIFE gent treatment. It is the Home OCTOBER 2018 – No. 43 Office that has dealt terrible injus- Waltham Forest Echo is an tices to thousands of members of independent community newspaper. the 'Windrush' generation, many We publish monthly and distribute of whom came to build the NHS 12,500 free copies of each issue to libraries, cafés, pubs, and other in the 1950s and 60s. places around Waltham Forest. The impact of the hostile en- Publisher vironment policy is threefold; it David Floyd puts many vulnerable people off seeking healthcare, makes many Editor people delay seeking treatment, and James Cracknell it forces doctors to decide whether Designer someone’s need for care is urgent or Jonathan Duncan not – distracting them from their Manager real job of providing care. Penny Dampier It is time for us all to stand up and call for an NHS which meets Contributors Russell Hargrave, Terry Day, the standards Nye Bevan set for us. Jon Seymour, David O'Driscoll, More than 600 people and 50 or- Sandra Forson, Dave Knight, ganisations recently signed an open Lorena Perez, James Diamond, Helen Bigham, Jo Sealy, letter to Barts Health on this issue. Mark Carroll, Michelle Edwards, The trust has, as a result, taken down Eva Turner, Daniel Edelstyn A protest held last month outside Mile End Hospital, during the annual general meeting of Barts Health NHS Trust threatening posters, which were Members instilling fear and putting people Adam Pike, Chris Lemin, British citizens to carry means an individual being “ordinarily off seeking healthcare. They have Darrel Hunneybell, David Gardiner, by Terry Day of identification everywhere to resident in the UK” such that if stopped asking women seeking ma- David Hamilton, David O'Driscoll, prove that they are not visitors? you moved here to live, work, or ternity care in Newham for their Dexter Coles, Graham Millington, Jean Duggleby, Melanie Strickland, he government has Happily, this is one of those oc- study, you would be entitled to passports. And they've also agreed Michael Grimshaw, Roland Karthaus, relentlessly highlight- casions when generosity and con- free NHS care. to review the information they ask Sanjoy Kumar, Sarah Jones, Keith ed the so-called abuse venience march together.” That changed when Theresa May, patients to provide. Magnum, Renetta Neal, Graham of the National Health Bevan calculated the cost of as Home Secretary, brought in However, Barts Health has not Larkbey, Paul Schneider, Megan Lucero, Andrew Sharp, Deri Jones, ServiceT by “health tourists” to dis- health tourism at the time to be her “hostile environment” policy yet agreed to stop sending patients’ Scott Davies, Abigail Woodman, tract us from chronic under-fund- approximately 0.4 percent of toward migrants in 2014. Hospi- details to the Home Office. While Pat Stannard, Lee Mitchell, Ian ing and under-staffing. the overall NHS budget. Today tals became the frontline for im- they continue to do that, many vul- Cadogan, Madeleine Munday, NHS founder Nye Bevan himself that figure stands at 0.3 percent migration enforcement. nerable people will be scared away Paul Scaife, Irena Souroup addressed the issue of whether – around £300million. Compare Our own local Barts Health NHS – either for fear of debt or for fear The member organisations or not to charge visitors for care. that with the whopping £2billion Trust, which runs Whipps Cross of being detained and deported. of WFWellComm CIC are: He wrote: “It would be unwise spent each year in exorbitant in- University Hospital, sends up to Community Transport Waltham 100 patients’ details to the Home Forest, Social Spider CIC, HEET. as well as mean to withhold the terest and repayments thanks to For more information: free service from the visitor to Private Finance Initiatives (PFI). Office every week – their way of Email [email protected] WFWellComm CIC Britain. How do we distinguish Since the 1980s, eligibility for checking if that patient must pay Facebook /SaveWalthamForestNHS Management Board: a visitor from anybody else? Are free NHS care has been based on in advance of receiving any non-ur- David Floyd (Social Spider CIC) Tom Ruxton (HEET) Helen Tredoux (Community Transport WF) Waltham Forest Echo We need to know what's gone wrong The Mill, 7 - 11 Coppermill Lane, E17 7HA E [email protected] T 020 8521 7956 An introduction from Waltham Forest Echo editor James Cracknell Advertising Enquiries ello and welcome to new council policies, this one was month, David O'Driscoll talks Contact Ben Cawthra: Issue 43 of Waltham brought in as part of efforts to about out how football is benefit- E [email protected] Forest Echo.