Official message from the Sussex Health and Care Partnership

Please note that this announcement only applies to people needing a home visit for their inoculation, ie anyone who is officially “housebound”.

COVID-19 NHS Organised Home Visits

The NHS in Sussex is committed to the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccination and ensuring that all those in the first priority groups are offered the vaccination by mid-February.

Home visits for people who are eligible and considered housebound across Sussex are underway, and people who are registered housebound with their GP will be contacted.

Home visit appointments are being coordinated by the GP led vaccination services in each area, which could be your GP practice, a neighbouring GP practice as in many places they are working in groups, or a team supporting your GP practice.

They will always contact you before a visit is made to confirm the appointment and ensure you are in when they come. They will know your name, address and NHS number, and will only be contacting you to confirm an appointment and not ask for any personal details – and definitely not payment.

If you have a loved one or a neighbour that you know should be expecting a home visit, check whether they have been contacted by the NHS.

When the person arrives to do the vaccination they will either be from a GP service locally or Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust. Either way they will carry NHS ID, please ask to see it before you let them into your home.

The NHS will:

• NEVER ask you to press a button on your keypad or send a text to confirm you want the vaccine
• NEVER ask for payment or for your bank details
• If you receive a call you believe to be fraudulent, hang up. If you believe you have been the victim of fraud or identity theft you should report this directly to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. Where the victim is vulnerable, report it to Sussex Police online or by calling 101.

Some people who may be housebound are also receiving a letter from the national booking service inviting them to go online or call the national phone line to book an appointment at one of the vaccination services or pharmacy led services. We know this is causing some confusion but currently the national system cannot distinguish that someone is housebound and so these letters are being sent to all those who are eligible.

If you are housebound and are not able to attend a local vaccination service or centre, please ignore this letter. You are on the list with your GP led vaccination service team and they will contact you in the next two weeks – you do not need to call your GP practice or any other team to make an appointment. As soon as an appointment is available you will be contacted directly.

If you would like to know more about the vaccination programme or have a question please visit www.sussexhealthandcare.uk/get-my-jab for the latest information including a Frequently Asked Questions. If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact the vaccination programme team on sxccg.vaccineenquiries@nhs.net

Official information from East Sussex County Council:

Don’t miss out – get protected

In December’s Messenger Magazine, Nick Betts wrote about the need to keep the deer population under control by culling, and only last week I read in The Observer “Wild deer set to wreak havoc in UK woodlands as venison demand plunges”.  The article goes on “Unmanaged wild deer herds could soon pose a threat to woodlands and important wildlife habitats in Britain because the commercial market for venison has collapsed during the pandemic.

Many in the game industry as well as conservationists fear too few deer are being culled to keep the estimated two-million-strong wild herd, the largest for 1,000 years, at a sustainable size.”  The article quotes Mike Robinson, one of the country’s leading game chefs “About 80% of the wild deer harvested in the UK goes to restaurants or the hospitality trade. But that sector is really struggling right now and demand has fallen through the floor.”  Shooting has dropped because the shooters can’t get rid of the meat, and if not enough breeding females are shot in the winter, there will be a population explosion later in the year.  This is highly damaging to our woodland, not to mention the fact that they eat a lot of grass which could be eaten by sheep or cows – and growing crops.  There are impacts on bird populations too. The RSPB says “excessive deer populations had a detrimental impact on the habitats of many birds, including nightingales, warblers and willow tits.”  There are other problems too: there are around 74,000 traffic accidents and the RSPCA says that between 10 and 20 people are killed each year, all in accidents involving deer.

The deer are beautiful creatures and we are lucky to have them in our countryside.  I personally love to see them.  The problem is, now that we no longer have their natural predators (the brown bear, the lynx and the wolf) in this country, there are simple too many and it falls to us to manage them.  No-one wants to exterminate them; it is a question of numbers.

The solution, Robinson says is for the British to eat more venison “If the public eat more venison then this problem will naturally start to go away because the price will go up,” he said. “There will then be more incentive to shoot deer.”

So, why not treat yourself to a bit of this fantastic meat: naturally lean, tasty, and completely wild, not treated with hormones, antibiotics, or growth promoters and not fed on anything processed.  Entirely wild and natural.  And if you get it from a respectable source, you can be sure that it has been killed very quickly and humanely.  Nick Betts can be contacted on 07710 722294 and weald.deer@gmail.com. and another highly recommended source is the Quinns, who can be contacted on 01424 838528.  These are also the people to contact if you are a landowner looking to get them under control on your land.  If there are any other local shooters or suppliers who would like a mention in next month’s edition, please drop me a line (andrew@wedmore.com)

Message received Sarah Collyer at citizensonline.org.uk

I am working on a Digital Inclusion project across Sussex (funded by the National Lottery) to help reduce isolation in the community due to lack of digital skills.  We have just launched a new free helpline 0808 196 5883 and I wondered if you had anyone in your parish who would benefit from some 1:1 help remotely with digital skills?   If they phone the helpline and leave a brief message with details of the help they need, we will assign a friendly volunteer to call them back and assist them.  There is no charge for this service.

We all recognise how isolating the pandemic has been for many within our society.  Accessing our basic needs from ordering groceries, making doctors’ appointments and claiming benefits has all moved online.  Being online can also mean chatting with your loved ones and being lifted by the smile of familiar faces.  Once online you can also explore your hobbies and open up a whole new world in a safe environment.

We would like to draw your attention to a reliable local source of additional information about the vaccine, issued by Sussex Health and Care Partnership. This easy to read information can be found at https://www.sussexhealthandcare.uk/keepsussexsafe/sussex-covid-19-vaccination-programme/faqs-about-the-covid-19-vaccine/ .

The main areas it covers are:
Section 1: Receiving the vaccine
Section 2: About the vaccines
Section 3: Specific patient groups and the COVID-19 vaccine
Section 4: Misinformation and the COVID-19 vaccine
Section 5: COVID-19 vaccine and the flu vaccine
Section 6: Contacts for further information.

Section 4.3 provides additional information about scams.

Caroline Croft writes:

It is with sadness I write to say Anne Holman passed away on Sunday 10th January 2021, at the age of 81. Many of you will know Anne, who lived with her husband Mike in Bramble Cottage (or 1 Longhouses).

She had lived in Brightling for around 29 years before moving to Broad Oak. When Mike died she went to Temple Grove Care Home in Herons Gyhll.

Anne died from multiple sclerosis. Many of you will know she suffered from this illness and that it didn’t deter her from living life. She was involved in many of Brightling’s events, and was one of the co-founders of Brightling Market. She was also a keen member of the WI when Brightling had one.

One of her passions was writing and she belonged to Battle Writers Group. It inspired her to research Brightling’s history and with Pauline Sondheim they wrote two books. Anne had recently written one on Brightling, An Old and Ancient Place.

She also liked painting and was very keen on watching Countdown, as I found out when I visited her in the home. You had to visit before or after the programme.

When at Longhouses her garden was immaculate and she loved to potter in her greenhouse. She was very involved with her children and grandchildren’s lives.

Our condolences go to her family and friends.

• If you would like to buy one of Anne’s books, I have copies, £10.00 plus £2.99 p&p. I can deliver locally. croft-caroline@sky.com or 01424 838278.

The following is an updated version of the article that appears in the Messenger Magazine for February 2021

We discussed this subject at the Parish Council meeting on 13th January, and decided to invite Mr Tom Miles of UK Power networks, to an on-line meeting to discuss the current problems, the planned improvements and when we can expect a change.

I am pleased to report that Mr Miles has now agreed to talk to the parish at an on-line meeting as part of the Brightling Annual Village meeting, on Wednesday 14 April.  Details of how to attend the meeting will be circulated in due course.

Readers who don’t have the benefit of their own private power supply will be only too well aware that there have been several power cuts in Brightling recently: one lasted a number of hours and there were quite a few short ones, not to mention planned interruptions. 

We definitely know that there are upgrades taking place right now, aimed at improving the reliability of the supply.  We also spotted a recent planning application for two new telegraph poles in the area around Darwell Hole car park.  These will be new poles on the existing power line route that comes down through the woods from the direction of Netherfield.  The details of the application reveal that the poles are to be fitted with “Nulec re-closers” – devices which enable the electricity supply to be switched by remote control.  The idea is that if there is a break in the supply, they will often be able to turn it back on immediately from their control centre, rather than having to send someone out.  Spies have also reported new equipment being attached to existing poles elsewhere in the village. 

As we discussed this, we realized that we don’t have a very good idea of the extent of the work being done, or what to expect when it is complete.  That is when we decided to invite Mr Tom Miles of UK Power Networks, who was extremely helpful and informative when he came and talked to us (and interested members of the public) last March just before lockdown, to come back and talk to us again.

One concern that I have heard is with many more people working from home, even a very short power cut can be quite disruptive.  If you are video-conferencing, and the power goes down for a second or two, then your router will lose its internet connection, which takes some time to re-establish.  Meanwhile your video-conference will have frozen or crashed completely.  Not everyone is aware that you can buy a simple device to get round that problem.  It is called a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply).  It will keep your internet connection and WiFi going during a shortish power cut, and assuming that you are working off a device such as a laptop or tablet which has its own battery, you will sail through.  Probably not worth it for the casual user, but if your working life depends on a reliable internet / WiFi connection, it could be worth looking into. I’d be happy to provide more detailed advice to anyone who is interested; just email me at andrew@wedmore.com

Before our most recent update acctually appeared on the website, it had in fact been overtaken by events.

The good news is that the government has been persuaded to shelve the controversial algorithm which would have seen Rother District Council threatened with a much greater house-building target.

However, the Parish Council will be keeping an eye on potentially more damaging proposals in a second consultation paper which, if successful, would see a move away from the present system where local councils and communities have considerable powers of scrutiny and decision-making, towards a more centralised planning system, thus potentially reducing levels of protection currently enjoyed in our area against insensitive and inappropriate building.

Judy Petty

Brightling Parish Council

Sussex Lund grants – an announcement from the High Weald AONB unit

Sussex Lund is a grants programme of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. It supports small-scale, practical projects that improve the landscape of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Applications for Sussex Lund 2021 are now being accepted with a deadline of 2pm on Monday 8 March; if you think you may have a potential project, please read all the information below and get in touch.

What projects do we support?

Sussex Lund will consider supporting any project that makes tangible improvements to the High Weald’s landscape.

Read the rest of the article, which includes details of how to apply