Reimagining public services

After the heatwave last week, the one issue that was high on my list the unbearable heat on the buses.  A short journey from Hampton to Richmond was atrocious, no air and felt like we were travelling in a sauna.  Surely with the temperatures rises, something should be done for passengers travelling on public transport.  You make things difficult for people to drive into central London but nothing is being done to help people move around comfortably on the service that is being provided.  This needs to be improved on.

We also have a council that doesn’t consult its residents, just decides to close roads because councillors live on them and don’t want traffic going near their homes.  The councils need to tidy up the area, it’s appalling looking out and seeing rubbish dumped in streets and weeds growing a foot high.

My understanding of public services include travel services (include buses and trains) which in the area I live are atrocious and as the other alternative is car for elderly people and london council is making it impossible by having no suitable parking facilities at reasonable prices. The London councils are obsessed with cycling and have no regard for the elderly who cannot use cycling for every day needs. London especially need to wake up for the transport needs of elderly who are not classed as disabled.

Here in Ealing we had timetabled meetings with Councillors and Council staff.

Area Committes. Ward Forums and Surgeries. All have disappeared. We don't think our council or our officers listen and/or represent us. No consultation about local (some major some minor) issues. Feel disenfranchised. Made worse by not having a local newspaper to hold Council, members and officers to account and to keep tyhe public informed and involved.

I would like to see responsive and accessible health care -ending of corridor care -which is so awful to experience! also more support for voluntary organisations who harness volunteers' time and experience to provide crucial services at very little cost to the public purse. 

Can we have better mental health support services. A&E department in a hospital is not the best environment and the long wait to be seen means you are more likely to walk off. A&E is not mental health crisis support. 

It is sad that banks are closing branches, ignoring vulnerable customers needs. However, I put to one bank how I can deposit cash and this was answered...I can do this at a hub or post office. However, when I checked and this cannot be done at a hub and there is an annual limit how much cash you can deposit into your own account at the post office. So a service is lost and alternatives have limits. It is sad that these things are not made clear before services are lost. 

It would be helpful to have a local authority that works. One that answers email and letters and phone calls. One that does what is says it is going to do. It would be great if they did not threaten people. It would be great if they did not turn up unannounced for no reason. It would be great if they actually listened to residents. It would be really helpful if they produced accurate accounts. It would also be great if they stopped sending threatening letters when they are the ones who need to respond. It would be great if local authorities were are great places to work and people would not keep leaving so have to then start all over again. It would be helpful if they did not change a complaint into a service request because it helps their stats. It would be great if, when they change their computer system they uploaded all the data. It would be nice if when you attending an open day and speak with a member of staff if that  member of staff came back to you as they said they do. It would be great if local authorities understand the impact of repeating the same thing each and every year has on residents. Maybe I am asking for too much but I don't think I am...I work and I have to respond to people too. I cannot ignore something for years just because....how is it that local authorities can behave as a law onto themselves?

It is all very well throwing money at AI, technology,  What about basic needs of London?

 Potholes roads repaired. People dumping rubbish everywhere and getting pithy fines  businesses who dump rubbish should be closed or their owners removed from their jobs. 

Not only computers to contact services but an easy way to contact services without clicking too much and a phone number! 

I love to walk and use public transport. A walk to the bus stop will mean dodging dog mess, rubbish strewn on pavements, e-bikes casually left by inconsiderate riders, or worse dodging cyclists (of all kinds) on the pavement so by the time I get to the bus stop I am frazzled. I avoid local floating bus stops - one you have to stand in the cycle lanes to hail and board the bus or when getting off. And no, cyclists do not stop and will cycle through passengers. More inconsiderate actions. Once on a bus, you are lucky if you can hear your own thoughts with phone calls on loudspeaker, music turned up high, or food waste scattered around. On one bus I was getting off once I had descended the stairs I had stood on something, thought it might be a pebble, nope - a chicken bone...looking I saw a few more bones on the platform. I have seen what looked like cockroaches on one bus. Of course now that ebikes, escooters and mopeds are in larger numbers all other vehicles are slower. Sadly these weave through traffic and make journeys slower and I feel sorry for bus drivers. I enjoy when I travel outside of the UK as I can see transport systems that are clean, and not an assault on all the senses. In other countries people will put rubbish in bins or take it home they do not scatter it on the streets. In other countries cyclists are not on pavements. Having encouraged us all to walk it is such a shame that even that joy is ruined by inconsiderate people. 

Firstly we need prompts on navigating modern technology.

If we  travel in the London area we need safer pavements with Police stopping pavements being used by Cycles , E Bikes and E Scooters some of which are illegal anyway. Currently Police do little to make the pavements safe , despite the injuries regularily reported.

We need in our city more communication between citizens and council representatives. 

We need to talk with them about the streets cleaning. Because this is impacting a lot our mental health and our opinion about the city and the country.

If we know the council issues then we can help. 

Together we can do something for the city to look better, now, when we have trenches in many locations. 

I hope to have the opportunity to do more for this city in my off days .

I find transport inaccessible it is damgerosu for women genuinely scary and people with noisy phone or playing speaker phone conversations or music mean I am overwhelmed with sensory issues   I was born in London commuted for years but can't do it now even with earplugs 

Going out to wild parks and libraries is important to me. I do not like Parks being taken over by music events. We need our green spaces in London. I do not like them being managed and manicured too much. 

In London we have great public transport and access to it via the freedom pass. This is very important to me. 
It would be great if the buses could be speeded up and a review and extension of bus lanes would help as well as reducing space for car journeys. 

We are lucky to have many good or great public services in London, with so many good people working in them. I would mention especially our NHS hospitals and GP surgeries, the London Ambulance Service, the London Fire Brigade and our tube, bus etc services at TFL. I also appreciate our many beautiful libraries, parks and green spaces. 

It is also true that many services have been reduced or are now gone. There used to be hundreds of centres of various kinds in London eg youth clubs, day centres for the elderly, for people with disabilities of various kinds, mental health centres, children’s centres etc. The cuts which followed the bankers’ crash of 2008 swept them away, as councils struggled to maintain their statutory services. Charities have tried to fill some gaps, but they have never returned to where they were before. There are private options, for those with spare money.

It was Clement Atlee who said: Charity is a cold grey loveless thing. If a rich man wants to help the poor, he should pay his taxes gladly, not dole out money at a whim. 

We all need good public services. Without them we cannot have a strong, healthy, cohesive society. If we become weaker, more unhealthy and more fragmented, then people will look at today’s increase in “defence” spending and rightly ask - who or what are we defending? 

Love London, love our public services ❤️

Despite the apparent best efforts of Bromley Council, the roads continue to be a problem. I am 81 and I can remember when utility companies would send out a team to resolve any issues. The team would consist of individuals to trace the problem, others to prepare the ground for any work required, the work to be carried out and the surrounding area repaired and placed back into a reasonable condition. This meant that the problem could be solved immediately or, at the very least, quickly. These days, there are so many separate and unconnected parties involved, with differing priorities, so that repairs can take days or longer to put right which is unnecessary and time consuming for all involved particularly local residents.

Joined up thinking would be a considerable advantage all round and, more importantly, cost saving!

Repairing pot holes is a farce.  They only do one at a time even if there is another right next to it. A more holistic approach needs to be taken.  This would save money as there wouldn't be so many call outs.  The more call outs the more money it must cost.  Do as much as possible in one visit.

Teach all providers of public service at all levels from directors to those who engage with us to have (and show by their demeanour) respect for us.   For instance, always address us as sir or madam.   I'm not your mate.

Roads! The biggest problem I face. Grim expanding of road works delaying traffic. Bridge repairs taking forever. No one working. 
Blue badge parking-insufficient supply in central London. 
Cyclists-often reckless. Hire bikes dumped. Pavements difficult to navigate. No policing of cyclists. Surely someone -TfL? Should take responsibility? TfL seem unaccountable. 

I’m under care with three hospital groups and a GP practice. Each uses a different app or web interface. None relates to the others in terms of look-and-feel or information sharing.