Following the award of beacon status to 43 councils earlier in the month, themes have been announced for the third wave of the beacon scheme. Applications from councils that want to become exemplars in their chosen theme must be submitted by May and the results will be announced early next year. The 50 councils that achieve beacon status in the third wave will then open their doors to colleagues to demonstrate how they are meeting the various challenges.Crime reduction in rural areas features among the themes. Although evidence from the British Crime Survey shows that levels of general crime, and the levels of fear of crime,are significantly lower in rural than in urban areas, the threat of crime felt by rural communities is still very real. Councils wishing to achieve beacon status in this field will have to show that their strategies are dealing effectively with burglaries, thefts of and from cars, violence and drug offences, as well as crimes peculiar to the countryside, such as thefts of livestock and farm equipment, wildlife crime and mass trespass.
The Prime Minister has outlined the Government’s plans for a new type of hospital for the NHS. Speaking at the Central Middlesex hospital in London he revealed plans for a hospital that will focus exclusively on diagnostic tests and operations, and will work longer hours including weekends, giving patients the chance to be back in their homes to recover.The hospital will focuses exclusively on a wide range of conditions such as cataract, hernias and cancer. Because it will operate separately from the Accident and Emergency Department, it means that extra pressures do not result in cancelled operations. Other features include: one-stop tests and diagnosis; same day results and procedures carried out as day cases rather then requiring overnight stays. Patient will be assessed before operations to reduce the risk of cancellations.