 The
Skegness & District Seniors’ Forum held the AGM on Monday 18th
April 2005 at Pensioners Hall Grantham Drive Skegness with guest speakers
Cllr Mark Anderson and Mark Simmonds, MP.
Cllr Mark Anderson – Mayor of Skegness
gave a brief overview of the NHS health services available to the residents
of Skegness, in particular the delivery and type of care from the United
Lincolnshire Hospitals and the East Lincolnshire PCT. He went on to emphasis
that in the next decade, health is the going to be the biggest industry
in Skegness, even surpassing tourism. He identified the general lack of
sufficiently trained staff and encouraged the training and development
of individuals, especially the young, for work in the health service.
Mark Simmonds MP
continued with the theme on health, stating that quality services must
be maintained as locally as possible, especially in Skegness. He was fully
aware of the difficulties faced within the Coastal Action Zone. In particular,
the transient nature of the population affects the quality and delivery
of education. Pupil aspirations were low and as many as 50% of the population
have no formal qualifications. Therefore, skill development was needed
for all ages.
He went on to acknowledge the excellence of Skegness as a spot for retirement
but that the infrastructure must be able to support the older population.
Funding from Central Government does not take into account ruralilty and
this has a detrimental effect on providing enough good quality services.
The relatively large percentage of older people only exacerbates the problem.
and stressed that Skegness is successful because of the strong economy
and acknowledged that the private and public sector work very well together.
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