Editorial

Well June certainly turned out a hot month! The weather held fair for both Towersey Open Gardens and the

Church Fete, both of which were well attended. More details on page 3.

Our thanks goes to Jenni Jones who has very kindly agreed to help us deliver the paper copies of the

newsletter to our lovely volunteer newspaper distributors. Your assistance is very much appreciated.

If you haven’t already done so, those of you who have access to a computer/tablet and use e mail could also

help us by signing up to receive the Newsletter by e mail. This reduces the cost of producing the newsletter,

eases the workload of our newsletter distributors and as a bonus you are able to receive the newsletter in

full colour. Sign up now at www.towerseyvillage.co.uk/news/subcriptions

Lisa Davis (t:217328) and Anne Barrow (t:215034)

Towersey Newsletter

July 2017

Towersey Parish Council

July 2017

All electors in the Parish are welcome to attend Parish Council meetings. If you wish to ask a question of the

Council email The Clerk joannewills@btinternet.com

Next Meeting Date:

All meetings in 2017 are being held in the War Memorial Hall and will commence at 7.30pm

Next meeting: 11th July 2017

Parish Councillors on the Council are:

Cllr Mark Davis (Chairman), Cllr Steve Nutley, Cllr Kerr Stephenson, Cllr Nikki Jackson and

Cllr Ashley Byrne (Vice Chairman).

District Councillors are: Cllr Lynn Lloyd, Cllr Ian White

County Councillor: Cllr Jeannette Matelot

Planning Permission granted by SODC:

P17/S0831/FUL Variation of condition 2 and 8 of P16/S1316 to alter part of the garage to a gym and shower

room – realignment of driveway at Elmhurst House, Manor Road.

P17/S1171/HH Demolition of existing outbuilding and conservatory and erection of part single storey and

part two storey rear extension at 19 Windmill Road.

Useful Contact Numbers:

Mrs Jo Wills - Towersey Parish Council Clerk – joannewills@btinternet.com

PCSO Natalie White – Thame Valley Police - 101

OCC Street Light faults - 0800 317802

OCC Highways issues – pot holes etc. 0345 3101111

Thame Citizens Advice Bureau 08444 111 444

C/Cllr Matelot 01844 213004 or email

jeannette.matelot@oxfordshire.gov.uk

The following two items were presented at the June Parish Council Meeting by Trinity Health and are

replicated in the newsletter in view of their relevance to residents.

Proposed Practice Merger We are delighted to announce that Wellington House Practice and Trinity Health are proposing to merge to form a larger ‘super-partnership’

I am sure that you are aware that over the past few years there have been increased pressures placed upon General Practice. The increasingly elderly population, the growth in long term conditions and the need to move more work from secondary care into the community means that General Practice needs to expand and innovate to absorb this increased workload. Whilst both practices are performing very well against all the national and local targets and have been rated ‘Good’ at recent CQC assessments, we have decided that the best way to continue to offer our patients an innovative, sustainable, quality service into the future is to seek to merge our practices.

Our two practices share the same commitment to quality and to patient care; by merging we would be able to share working arrangements and be more effective and efficient building on the skills and expertise of a broader pool of doctors, nurses and managers. We have begun to make arrangements for a merger which is planned for 1st October 2017. The first step in the process is for us to communicate our plans with you, our patients and seek your feedback on this proposal.

All of our doctors, our practice nurses and other staff would continue to be available to you under the new planned arrangements at Wellington House Practice and Trinity Health. There would be no changes in premises or phone numbers; but there would be greater flexibility in accessing healthcare and, over time, we would seek to make additional services available in the practice. Your registration would not be affected and you would be able to be seen by one of our doctors or nurses at either practice. In time we would change the name to reflect the fact that we would be a single practice but a new name has not yet been chosen.

We are proud of both of our practices and the quality of care we have maintained over the years and have always been touched by the positive feedback and support from our patients. This proposed merger would see our teams uniting as one like-minded team and would continue to provide care for you at our practices following a seamless and safe sharing of healthcare information and prescribing data.

We understand that you may have questions about the merger and we intend to address your concerns by a number of means.

We have tried to answer some of the questions we think you may have and these questions and answers can be found on our FAQ page, and the merger practice website: www.wellingtonhouse.nhs.uk. This includes information about how to register with another practice if you do not wish to remain at the proposed merged Wellington House Practice or Trinity Health in the future.

We have held some ‘drop in’ sessions at Wellington House Practice and Trinity Health for patients to have a look around and ask any questions about what a merged practice might mean.

We very much welcome your feedback on our plans. If you have any specific queries or concerns please contact Lesley Munro-Faure, Managing Partner at Wellington House Surgery or Emira Shepherd, Practice Manager at Trinity Health. Contact details are at the bottom of this communication.

The merger would be a time of change for all of us at Wellington House Practice and Trinity Health and whilst we would all work extremely hard to minimise any disruption, we would be grateful for your understanding throughout the proposed merger process.

We are excited to be planning on taking this important step to secure the long term future of General Practice and very much look forward to receiving your feedback on our proposal.

Please feedback to us either via letter or email to:

Lesley Munro-Faure Emira Shepherd Wellington House Practice Trinity Health Wades Field Brill Surgery Stratton Road 22 Thame Road Princes Risborough Brill HP27 9AX HP18 9SA wellington.house@nhs.net trinityhealth@nhs.net

Towersey Wives Club Following our June walk from Haddenham to Dinton, with dinner at the Seven Stars, on a perfect summer's evening, our next event is a visit to Thame Players' production of Honk on Tuesday, 11th July. This is a musical based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Ugly Duckling, and should be a great evening out A reminder too that our annual summer lunch takes place on Sunday, 30th July at Inverbroom, Manor Road.

Village Diary from July 2017

1st July 12.00 pm Dorothy Turner’s Memorial Service St Catherine’s Church 2nd July 1.00-3.00 pm Casting for Bugsy Malone Louise Clark’s Barn 11th July 7.30pm Parish Council Memorial Hall 16th& 17th August Football Coaching Playing Fields 26th Aug 6.00 – 10.00pm Night Before the Fringe Playing Fields 27th Aug 12.00pm The Fringe Playing Fields 16th September Towersey Bake Off Memorial Hall 17th November Wine Tasting Memorial Hall

Deadline for Articles for Next Newsletter is 28th July

Message from Daphne: “By the time most of you read this, after 40 years I will no longer be able to call Towersey my home. Although I am only moving a couple of miles into Thame, for me it will be a huge, huge change. Of course, I will be back in Towersey frequently but it'll be a strange feeling to come as a visitor, not as a resident. When Roy and I first viewed the field on which we built Time Peace, way back in the summer of 1976, little did we realise what a wonderful place we were coming to and how much it would come to mean to us. Both our sons, Gavin and Jamie, were born and brought up here and loved the freedom they could enjoy in the village, idyllic in every way. We've all made long lasting friendships here - and no matter where we subsequently live, Towersey will always be 'home' to us. Also there is a very special spot in the churchyard which will always draw us back! I know Towersey will welcome the new owners of Time Peace, Claire and Michael Wentworth- Fitzwilliam and their family, and I'm sure they will have many happy years living in this wonderful, vibrant community. I will still see many of you at village events, Wives Club, poetry reading, etc, so it is not a final goodbye. I feel very privileged to have spent so many years here as part of a much wider 'family' and such a caring community - I'll always treasure the memories I take with me. Thank you Towersey from the bottom of my heart for everything you have given to me and my family over so many years. Daphne Hazeldine"