10 July (Part 1) - Public CabiNOT
I have missed three Council meetings in a row. Two because of events in
Newham and one because it coincided yet again with the local Traders’ meeting
which was held in the newly refurbished Abbey Arms.
Yesterday Newham Hospital decided to discharge my 99 year old aunt who has been
treated for a urinary infection. They kept her in for longer than
when she broke her leg in April and except that like all hospitals they just
dump patientsְ’ food in front of them and walk away with no regard for their
inability to eat, all was well. It obviously pays to become known as a
vociferous complainer if you don’t want to be neglected and ill-treated. My aunt
still has the bed sores they sent her home with in April which require District
Nurse attention twice a week.
I had to be in East Ham by 13:00 to await the homecoming and she turned up at
18:40. There never was a realistic chance that I’d be back home in time to get
to Public Cabinet and since the old lady refused to go to bed “until my wife gets
in” (fat chance!) I sat and watched the webcast instead. It was quite short,
about an hour and twenty minutes if I remember correctly, and unremarkable. I
don’t think I will be doing a formal report.
I think I heard Councillor Alex Sawyer say “our residents love Bexley” or
something similar - I’ll check when the recording goes on line - which I suspect
is a case of supreme optimism.
The meeting ended with the Leader thanking Children’s Director Jacky Tiotto
for her transformation of Children’s Services in the borough. It was her last
meeting before taking up a new appointment. Unfortunately someone pressed the
Stop audio button on the webcast system so I never got to hear how Councillors reacted.