Big Changes for Patients and GP Surgeries in Digital Access to Healthcare

Surgeries in our area are expressing some concerns over the proposed Digital Access to Healthcare initiative that will likely be adopted not only for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough but also for eventually the rest of the country. Whilst the draft proposals (initially aired late last year) insist that patients will still be able to contact their local surgery or hospital by phone or in person many people already find such contact difficult. The proposals will ultimately mean you will not be able just to book a GP appointment or attend A&E as is the case at present but instead it is likely that you will be sent to a pharmacy or to an NHS website without any interaction with a nurse or doctor. Attached is a proposed insertion for your magazine simply to let your readers who are not aware of the proposals see and offer them an opportunity to complete the questionnaire to Healthwatch Cambridgeshire.
There will, of course, be those who see this move towards an NHS Digital age as a benefit and embrace the changes with optimism but we must not, at the same time, forget those elderly patients who are not IT savvy or those who through disability already find accessing modern technology difficult. The cost of the new system is estimated at around £10 million but one could be forgiven for taking a cynical view of this budget. The last time the NHS tried to introduce a major integrated IT system it cost many times this amount and still we have a situation where many hospitals cannot access their patients records. In January 2013 the BBC (amongst many others) reported on the ‘The NHS’s Troubled Relationship with Technology’ so any new proposals hardly fill one with a great deal of confidence.
Attached is a document called ‘Making Our Case for Retaining GP Practices’ and the purpose of this email is to ask if you would publish an article based on this (and perhaps the above) in your next edition of the magazine which I suspect would now be January 2025.
Bernard Kane, Barnack

Men’s Breakfast

We’ve had such an interesting series of talks at the men’s breakfasts since the relaunch of them last September.
Topics have included:
(i) help for the deveopment of hand surgery in Malawi:
(ii) running a business differently as a Christian; and
(iii) giving hope to the homeless in Peterborough.
The next one will be equally interesting, focussing on an amazing programme of support to children in south-western Uganda.
Please do come along if you can. Usual time (8am for 8.30am start) on Saturday January 11th, in the usual place (Barnack Village Hall).
Also, as usual, there will be great company and a delicious cooked breakfast! If you need more information, please contact Mike Mills on 07523312387.

The Buttercross Club

On Wednesday, December 4th, the Buttercross Club’s final meeting of 2024 was their annual Christmas Party. The Reading Room was splendidly decorated by the Committee, befitting this time of the year. It was also cosily warm on what was a very cold wet night. Members were invited to bring a guest.
We welcomed the Ukelele group who entertained us with music and songs, concluding their show with Christmas carols which we could all join in. The Buttercross members are particularly good at buffets! It therefore came as no surprise that two long tables covered with suitable seasonal tablecloths were heaving with delicious finger food. Mulled wine was served on arrival and throughout the evening. There was a quiz and a raffle with prizes donated by the Committee.
As always there is no meeting in January.
The next meeting, which begins at the usual time of 7pm, will be our AGM on Wednesday,February 5th. New members are most welcome. The club was set up in the 1980s to enable the women of the village of Bainton to meet together in friendship. Now our current membership includes ladies from Bainton and also from the surrounding villages. The majority of our regular Wednesday meetings are held in the Reading Room in Bainton but we do also endeavour to have an occasional visit elsewhere.

Keep Fit the fun way

On 10th January our local Keep Fit group meets again at 10.00am in Barnack Village Hall to start shedding the pounds put on over Christmas.
The group is open to all ages and meets fortnightly with a qualified Keep Fit instructor when we exercise to music, tax our brains to remember the sequences of exercises and laugh.
So don your trainers (definitely no lycra!) and come along for an enjoyable hour, it only costs £5 for the session and we would love to welcome more members.
If you want further information please contact Beryl Burrows on 01780 749554.

ARNACK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION ( BCA)

Hello 2025 – new team members, fun times ahead!
So if you’re feeling that excess of mince pie pastry or that one too many piggy-in-a- blanket – we now have a great choice of exercise classes for all ages and abilities at the Village Hall for 2025:
A brand new Pilates class starts Monday 6th January at 9.30 -10.30 am. Contact Nicola Burrell – nicolaburrellpilates@gmail.com or call 07826 113943
Barnack Circuit Training – every Monday evening at 6.30-7.30pm. All ages and abilities welcome. Contact our Sissons Close resident: Sean O’Sullivan for details: 07815 009524
Chair Yoga with Marleni – every Wednesday 12-12.45pm. Contact Marleni at yogawithmarleni@gmail.com or 07444 069677
Yoga – every Wednesday 6-7pm with Katy Plant. Contact Katy at katyplant1@gmail.com or call: 07595 203564
Friday Exercise Class – every 2 weeks – contact Judy Francis 01780 740300
Unfortunately, we have had to make the decision to increase the Hall hire rates – effective from Jan 2025. The Committee has deliberately kept the rates fixed for the last 6 years as our goal is always to try and ensure the hall remains an affordable hire option to all villagers, whilst still being able to maintain the building. Unsurprisingly though, utility rates have increased 100% over the last year, so we have had to increase the hire rates to cover these costs. All regular clubs have been informed and have agreed with the increase:
Regular, non-profit groups/clubs – £10.00 an hour (previously £7.50)
Regular, profit-making groups/clubs – £15.00 an hour (previously £10.00)
Ad-hoc private bookings for parties, meetings, family gatherings etc – £15.00 an hour (previously £10.00)
Keep your eye out for our provisional 2025 BCA event plan:
We are hoping to organise and host another Friday Lunch Social at the end of January/early Feb (date t.b.c and advertised) following the success of the fundraising lunch organised by Judy Francis in October 2024.
Friday March 14th–St Patricks Night celebration at the hall – details t.b.c
Saturday June 28th – Village Summer Social at Barnack Cricket Ground – details t.b.c

Completion of the Barnack Church Lady Chapel Roof Project

We now have a Lady Chapel at Barnack Church which is dry and waterproof! Over the last couple of months, workmen have replaced the lead and associated gutters and slating on the roof to ensure that we no longer have water leaking through and disrupting our services and activities or damaging the fabric below. By Christmas the scaffolding will be down and the view of the exterior of the Church will be back to normal!
The total cost of the project is about £67K, including professional and survey fees, insurance and the main contract. The funds have been successfully raised primarily from grants, sponsorships and fund-raising activities, although cash-flow has also been helped through the use of some church reserves and an interest-free loan. Special mention should be made of the following external support, for which we are extremely appreciative:
• A grant of £35,000 from Augean and the King’s Cliffe and Thornhaugh Environmental Associations (through the Augean Community Fund, managed by Grantscape)
• A grant of £11,000 from The Friends of Barnack Church
• A grant of £3,000 from the Jack PatstonTrust
• A grant of £2,500 and a loan of £20,000 from the CHCT, Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust (the loan will be paid back in the near future)
• A grant of £2,500 from the Earl Fitzwilliam Charitable Trust
• A grant of £1,000 from the Burghley House Preservation Trust
The fund-raising and sponsorships included providing refreshments and a book-stall at the Party-At-The-Pavillion; participating in the CHCT Ride and Stride;and organising the High Notes concert, a talk on Barnack Ragstone and a lunch in the Village Hall. It is hoped that it will also be possible in the near future to access a grant from the Listed Places of Worship Scheme for the VAT paid on the project.
Many people have contributed to making the project possible, and we are grateful to them all. Particularly with the recent storms and heavy rains, the timing of the project completion has been more than auspicious; and we are now fortunate to have a church where we can worship and carry out activities without being drenched or emptying buckets of water!