PATIENTS in Cleethorpes will receive improved care at a new medical centre which will officially open next week.

The Grimsby Telegraph was given exclusive access to the new Taylor's Avenue Medical Centre, which will house two different practices – Dr Sylvere Dijoux and partners and Dr Mushtaq Zaro and Dr Omar Qureshi.

Both practices have been trying to relocate and build new premises for ten years after their buildings became unfit for purpose.

Practice manager for Dr Dijoux, Debbie Landymore, said: "We have always provided a good standard of care but this means we are able to provide workable, comfortable care in a clean, fit for purpose building. This is bound to improve and increase the services. It is a much nicer environment for the patients and the staff to be in."

Each surgery has two GP rooms, a nurse practitioners and district nurses room and there is also a shared minor surgery treatment room.

There is a Spar shop and off-licence on site, which is a major concern for nearby Lynton Rise residents, who fear it will cause traffic and attract drinkers to the area late at night.

Plans originally included four surgeries but when this was reduced to two, developers added the shop, which opens on Friday, to make up for the loss in rent.

Debbie continued: "This is such an achievement, we have realised our dream and got what we have worked so hard for.

"We understand the Spar is controversial but without it the centre would not have been built."

The centre will open on Monday at 8am and already there has been an uptake in new patients.

Practice manager for Dr Zaro and Dr Qureshi, Jane Lond, added: "We are both very caring practices. We believe in good old fashioned values and we are looking forward to our future here."

The surgery will be open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm. To book an appointment with Dr Dijoux contact 01472 572424 and for Dr Zaro and Dr Quereshi contact 01472 572400.

MARY Queen Of Shops praised Market Rasen when she visited yesterday but said the council needs to "rip up the rule book" and remove red tape to help the high street turn itself around.

Retail guru Mary Portas visited shops and restaurants in the town to check on progress after it received £98,000 of Government cash to invest in improving the high street as part of the Portas Pilot Scheme.

Not-for-profit Market Rasen Business Interest Group (Mr Big) is in charge of the purse strings and has already spent more than £10,000 of the cash since receiving the grant last year, and two new shops have been opened as a result.

Mary charmed shoppers and praised the "unique" high street, which she said was in the top three she has visited out of 27 in the project.

However, she also said that West Lindsey District Council (WLDC) could do more to help Mr Big turn the town's fortunes around.

"The people here are working really hard to improve things but, from what I'm hearing, the council just needs to up it a notch and make things easier for them," said Mary.

"It needs to rip up the rule book and remove the red tape from the days when it held all the funds and responsibility, just as the high street has had to adapt over the years."

Grant Lockett, WLDC's head of service strategic growth, has promised it will rise to the challenge.

He said: "West Lindsey was fortunate enough to be one of the 27 Portas Pilots and we have supported the group from the start, even helping with the successful bid.

"It was great to meet Mary Portas who described the local scheme as 'innovative' and we are excited by the opportunities this offers.

"We will continue to work closely with the group and explore the different ways in which we can help and will be taking up Mary and her team's offer of assistance."

Mary, and a number of residents, said that the group's top priority should be filling the Square Bar, an empty premises owned by Co-op, in a prominent location.

John Matthew, one of the Mr Big directors, said: "I think filling premises is everyone's top priority, although a year ago, there were 24 empty fronts and two weeks ago, we counted only six.

"I'm not saying that this project is directly responsible for this all, but it shows progress is being made.

"The key now is to concentrate on sustainability so we can maintain this improvement – this was never intended to be a one-year scheme."

Mary didn't buy anything during yesterday's visit, but was given a hamper from Green's Of Lincolnshire – one of the new stores opened as part of the scheme, replacing a green-grocers which closed and was missed by the town.

"I'm going to eat it all and of course I would love to return to the town when I have the time to look around and shop," she added.

IN JUST a matter of days, the public has reported 120 perilous potholes on the streets of North East Lincolnshire.

The figure, collated since the beginning of this month, is three times what the council would normally receive in that period, and equates to about 10 calls a day.

Although the snow and ice may have cleared, it has left a trail of destruction – and concern for motorists – in its wake, and more reports of dangerous dips and hazardous holes are expected.

Since the Grimsby Telegraph ran an appeal for residents to report any potholes they encounter, highways teams are working extended hours to repair the roads.

With weather conditions now improving, North East Lincolnshire Council inspectors are continually assessing the roads network to make a list of priorities for carrying out the necessary repair work.

Jason Longhurst, the council's head of development, said: "Since we publicised how to report potholes we have received more than 120 calls, which is triple what we would normally receive over this period of time.

"We would like to thank the public for taking the time to report the potholes they have observed on the network.

"Our teams are now busy responding to these reports and organising the appropriate response based on this and other information they have collected from their inspections."

Meanwhile, Lincolnshire County Council is also appealing for residents to report any potholes they see in East and West Lindsey.

Councillor William Webb, the executive member for highways and transportation, said: "We have ten teams who are dedicated to reactive repairs.

"We run an emergency repairs service that aims to fix particularly bad pot holes within 24 hours, although it can be very difficult to repair them in wet or cold weather.

"Over the next two years, we'll invest a further £6.5 million to renew, repair and extend the life of roads across Lincolnshire.

"The extra funding will enable us to carry out more preventative work on our roads, so we can fix potholes before they even appear. We will also aim to deliver more first-time fixes.

"We encourage the public to report potholes to us so we can prioritise and schedule them for repair."

To report a pothole in North East Lincolnshire, visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/AF/an/default.aspx/RenderForm/?F.Name=CdsPXWzGSj1 or call 01472 324500.

In Lincolnshire, call 01522 782070 or visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk

POTHOLES – a nightmare for all!

Motorists face big repair bills, or worse accidents, if they run over a particularly large one at any speed.

For cyclists or motorcyclists they pose a real danger to their safety.

And for councils across the land they are an unavoidable headache that they could well do without in such austere times.

But bigger they grow – like a force they cannot hold, they appear more prevalent than ever before. Look away, turn around again and another one is there!

They are filled in only for the weather to turn, more rain, hail, sleet and snow ... and there they are again.

It is not just holes either, but the general destruction of road surfaces that the continual bad weather causes.

The fact is many of our highways simply did not recover from the terrible conditions of a couple of years ago – repairs, whether temporary or otherwise, have just not held and we are back to square one.

You never know, if this carries on the Government may have to fund the introduction of more concrete surfaces – and then we will all have to buy earplugs!

Follow the editor on Twitter @michellelalor

HIGH street optician Vision Express broke industry rules by letting unqualified staff fit glasses and contact lenses – including at its Grimsby store.

The chain employed seven people as dispensing opticians, a role similar to that of a pharmacist, when they were not properly registered with their professional body, a hearing was told.

An eighth person, Savina Patel carried out eye tests on customers at the Freshney Place store by herself, despite being a student optometrist at the time who should only have been working under the supervision of a fully-qualified optician.

There is no evidence suggesting any customers were harmed, the General Optical Council (GOC) heard.

The allegations came to light after a whistleblower anonymously e-mailed the regulator in July 2010 about somebody who was working at a London branch.

It later uncovered a further seven cases following an internal inquiry – including the Grimsby one – admitting to the GOC that its checks "lacked robustness", and that there had been a "reliance on the probity of individual staff members".

"In each of these cases, there was indeed activity in breach of registration requirements," said David Bradly, for the GOC.

The whistleblower claimed unqualified Mehmood Jagani was working as a dispensing optician at the Brent Cross shopping centre branch, and said he was "allowed to work as a fully-fledged dispensing optician," adding: "he has been allowed to dispense to young children."

The panel heard Mr Jagani claimed he had forgotten to renew his registration as a dispensing optician, but a trawl of official databases revealed he had never been registered.

Another unregistered member of staff was found masquerading as a dispensing optician at the same branch, and others were breaking the rules at stores in Kingston and Croydon, Victoria Street in Westminster, in Brentwood, and Peterborough.

Vision Express later sacked Mr Jagani for gross misconduct, but he insisted he had "always been clear" he was unregistered.

Mr Bradly told the hearing: "This should never have been allowed to happen. It's avoidable, and avoidable by reasonable and proportionate steps.

"Vision Express is a very large organisation, with a large number of outlets.

"This fundamental failure occurred in a number of them, in different parts of the country.

"Registration is there for the protection of the public.

"There must be the necessary qualifications, completion of the necessary training, and maintenance of standards of practice."

The eight employees worked at Vision Express from 2009 to 2010.

Some were registered only as students, while some had been fully registered previously, and others had never held either status.

The hearing continues and is due to conclude today.

Updates will appear on www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk.

COUNCILLORS hit the roads of North East Lincolnshire yesterday as part of their review of speed limits across the borough.

Chauffeured by Humberside Police casualty reduction officer PC Barry Gardner, members of the speed limit select committee were taken on a tour of the roads which could have their speed limits cut.

It included a trip along the A18 Barton Street between Laceby Top roundabout and the boundary with East Lindsey, near Ludborough, where the council is proposing to cut the limit from 60mph to 50mph.

Also on the itinerary was the section of the A180 between the Pyewipe and Lockhill roundabouts, where the speed limit could be reduced from 70mph to 50mph.

The other roads visited were:

Nooking Lane/Main Road, Aylesby (40mph to 30mph)

B1210 Healing (40mph to 30mph)

B1210 between Healing and Great Coates (60mph to 40 mph)

A1136 between Great Coates roundabout and Europarc

Non-strategic roads in the East Marsh ward (30mph to 20mph)

Non-strategic roads in the Sidney Sussex ward (30mph to 20mph)

For the past few weeks, the select committee has heard evidence from various motoring organisations, highways engineers, psychologists and ward councillors.

Chairman of the panel, Councillor Karl Wilson (Lab, Heneage) said: "We have heard the evidence and listened to people's opinions. This is our chance to actually see the roads for ourselves."

Councillor Philip Jackson (Con, Waltham), who has consistently questioned the effectiveness of a "blanket" speed limit, used the tour to suggest alternative measures of making the A18 safer to drive.

He said: "There should be more areas where it is clearly indicated that it is dangerous to overtake by having solid white lines in the middle of the road.

"This would also have the additional effect of making the road feel narrower, which tends to make drivers go a bit slower."

The select committee is due to meet again on Thursday, March 7.

A TEENAGER angrily smashed a student in the face – breaking his cheekbone – in a "drunken, loutish" attack.

He was wearing "ridiculous Harry Potter glasses" and took offence when the victim allegedly started taunting him and calling him names, a court heard.

Max Stockley, 19, of Austin Garth, Laceby, near Grimsby, admitted wounding Daniel Blow on June 16.

Laurinda Bower, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that student Mr Blow, now 19, was walking home at about 1.30am after a night out.

Stockley approached his group in Victoria Street, Grimsby, and suddenly, without warning and any provocation, punched Mr Blow in the face with such force that he fell to the ground. His vision was blurred and it was later discovered that he had a fractured cheekbone.

His friends chased after Stockley but could not catch him.

Mr Blow later needed an operation in Hull Royal Infirmary to fix a metal plate and screws in his cheekbone. He needed a plastic sheath under his eye and had been left with scars around his eye.

Mr Blow later said in a statement that he was "gutted" that he was unable to finish his college course because of his injuries, was unable to play sport and his plans to join a local team had been "ruined".

"I did nothing to provoke this lad attacking me," said Mr Blow. "I feel very depressed, angry and upset as I can't do anything about it."

Simon Hirst, mitigating, said Stockley had shown remorse and was tackling his drinking. He had no previous convictions but had a caution in September 2011 for threatening behaviour.

Stockley had been wearing "ridiculous Harry Potter glasses" and Mr Blow was allegedly being abusive and calling him names, said Mr Hirst.

He lost his temper and punched Mr Blow once.

It was an "appalling" incident but Stockley never meant to cause the serious injuries, said Mr Hirst.

Recorder Jeremy Hill-Baker told Stockley: "This is a piece of drunken, loutish behaviour.

"What you did was to strike a hard blow to the face of another person. It broke his cheekbone and knocked him to the ground. It could have killed him if he had banged his head on the kerb."

Stockley was given a one-year suspended prison sentence, 150 hours' unpaid work, a three-month 8pm to 6am curfew on Fridays and Saturdays, and was ordered to pay £900 compensation.

THE teenage victim of a "nasty attack" at the hands of her former boyfriend is urging others not to suffer in silence.

Amy Jones, 17, has waived her right to anonymity to let others know that help is available.

James Peter Butler, 22, admitted assaulting Amy, causing actual bodily harm, in Cleethorpes on November 26. It happened after an argument between them, and Butler became "out of control", a court heard.

Because of Amy's age, an order was placed banning the publication of her identity.

But she and her family were so keen to tell her story, that district judge Daniel Curtis lifted it.

She said: "I am giving up my right to anonymity because I want other people to know they can come forward, that they should contact police straight away and not be scared.

"I am thankful for him admitting this and not dragging it through the system. I feel like justice has been served because the district judge portrayed how serious it was."

Amy said the pair were together for four years, living in Tiverton Street for 18 months.

It was there Butler turned on her. "Nothing led to it," she explained, "it just happened because he'd had a bad day."

Grimsby Magistrates' Court heard how Butler, of Ludney, near Conisholme, grabbed Amy's wrists, throat, neck and hair as the argument developed. Strands of hair fell out.

"It was quite a nasty, violent attack," said Brendan Woodward, prosecuting. "He was out of control."

Nick Furman, mitigating, said Butler had no previous convictions and admitted he had been heartless and selfish. He wanted to put the incident behind him and there had been no further contact between them.

He accepted there was no future for them and his behaviour was entirely inappropriate, said Mr Furman.

District judge Daniel Curtis branded the attack "extremely unpleasant" and "violent" and said it had caused Amy considerable distress.

Unemployed Butler was given an 18-month supervision order and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a Government-imposed £60 victims' surcharge.

Amy, who is with her family in North Somercotes, said: "I do think he is resentful. I blamed myself, but I realised I wasn't in the wrong."

Her mum, Sarah, added: "I am upset that my daughter has had to go through this, but I am happy she is home and now I can sleep at night."

A WOMAN who spent two weeks in Grimsby's hospital claims she came out worse then when she went in.

The 31-year-old of Grimsby, who did not want to be named, came forward with her story as it emerged that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – a body which regulates care in the UK – inspected Diana, Princess Of Wales hospital on Tuesday.

The results of the inspection will be released over the next few weeks, as part of an aim to tackle the higher than average mortality rates across Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG)– which manages DPOW.

Further investigation, which comes off the back of the report into Stafford Hospital, will also be carried out within the next few months by Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of the NHS Commissioning Board.

The woman was admitted to DPOW in September last year, after she claims her GP prescribed her with too much paracetamol for stomach pains.

She claims that not only did the "overdose" damage her nervous system, leaving her with a life-long condition and registered disabled – but following her experience of care at DPOW, "something has to change".

The woman says she was moved to three different wards during the two weeks she spent in the Grimsby Road facility.

She said: "On one ward I saw nurses rushing around trying to manage more than one thing at once, they seemed understaffed and this affected their care to patients.

"Some had the attitude that they just could not be bothered.

"I also developed a urine infection while in the hospital and was put on tablets for it.

"One of the most upsetting parts was a nurse totally breaking patient confidentiality and telling my nanna everything about my medical records without asking my permission to do so.

"On another ward, a consultant came to assess my arm, which I could hardly move at the time, and lifted it straight up causing me agony. He only apologised to me the following day.

"You go to hospital expecting to feel safe and looked after, not the total opposite.

"I have only high praise for the last ward I was admitted on to. The staff and consultants were fantastic – I could not believe I was in the same hospital.

"I think the care does differ from ward to ward for some reason, and this needs to be tackled quickly.

"I am glad that this investigation will now take place, as anything that will try to improve the Trust and patient care has to be a good thing. Something must be done soon.

"I have made complaints to the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and I am now trying to seek compensation from both my GP and the hospital."

Wendy Booth, Trust director of clinical and quality assurance, said: "We have received a formal complaint from this lady which we have fully investigated and we will respond directly to her."

Further issues were raised by a 42-year-old woman, who claims she was so concerned about her 66-year-old father while he was in hospital, she slept on a camp bed next to him.

The woman, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: "He had a horrible experience there. It got so bad I had to sleep there to make sure he was looked after properly.

"He wasn't able to bear weight, yet he only had one nurse to help him to the toilet – he was dropped twice.

"His catheter wasn't inserted properly. The area swelled so badly he almost needed surgery.

"They ran out of medication for him when he was on the high dependency unit, so I had to go home to get his tablets. They ran out of Sudocrem, so I had to buy some from a supermarket.

"He couldn't grip anything but they put food in front of him and expected him to feed himself. When the nurses fed him, they would feed him too quickly so he would end up choking.

"The care he received was disgusting."

Wendy Booth said: "We would ask this lady, if she hasn't already done so, to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service so that we can discuss her concerns with her."

PEOPLE with learning disabilities could be offered work opportunities as a way into full-time jobs.

A scheme has been mooted to give people litter-picking jobs in Grimsby's Park Ward for a minimum wage to improve employment chances.

Job descriptions would be community litter-pickers and they would work 16 hours a week for £8,500 a year – meaning they would still be entitled to benefits.

The initiative, which would be run by the Care Plus Group's employability scheme, has been unanimously approved by Park Ward Neighbourhood Watch, and needs a majority approval by Park Ward Action Group before it can go ahead.

But some residents and Park Ward councillor Matthew Barrow are concerned vulnerable people could be "exploited and exposed to ridicule".

Mr Barrow, who has learning difficulties, said: "There would need to be some overseeing of the scheme so exploitation doesn't happen.

"We do not want vulnerable people being seen as cheap labour."

Another resident has an autistic grandchild and does not approve.

She said: "I don't think it is right and I don't believe in vulnerable people cleaning up other people's filth.

"It should be left to offenders doing community service. Why should it be the innocent that have to do this job?"

Secretary of the Park Ward Action Group, Brenda Dixon, is keen for it to go ahead, believing it a cost-effective way to clean the streets and get people into work.

She assured residents that only people with "mild" learning disabilities would be involved, for example, someone who cannot read and write and, as a result, cannot work.

She told a meeting of Park Ward Action Group: "I understand people have concerns but, personally, I have been a cleaner and I didn't feel disempowered doing it.

"I agree people who are on probation should work too, but this is different to what they are doing.

"The idea is that people with mild learning disabilities will work 16 hours a week cleaning the litter, which will allow them to keep their benefits and take them a huge step forward in getting a better job.

"In return, the streets in our area will be kept clean."

What do you think? Comment on this story online at www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk or send letters to viewpoint@grimsbytelegraph.co.uk

COUNCIL tax in North East Lincolnshire is set to be frozen for a fourth successive year.

North East Lincolnshire Council is still proposing a zero per cent increase in its budget for 2013-14, despite further budget cuts.

However, the freeze does not include the precepts levied by the police, fire service and parish councils, so residents could still see their overall bills increase.

As previously outlined, the council is being hit by an 8.3 per cent reduction in central government funding from £95.62 million to £87.695 million.

But council leader Chris Shaw said that after "a lot of soul-searching" the Labour administration had decided not to impose an increase on residents.

NELC will receive a £600,000 grant in return for freezing council tax, but this falls far short of covering the cost of aborting the three per cent increase originally planned, meaning further savings will have to be made.

Councillor Shaw said: "We don't feel it would be right to put the burden on the rate payers, but that means we are having to take more of the pain ourselves.

"These are difficult times for local authorities. At the moment North East Lincolnshire Council is doing fairly well.

"We have been one of the hardest hit authorities in the UK in terms of funding cuts but due to good financial management we have managed to stave off major reductions in our services. But if we carry on getting these reductions from central government I cannot guarantee that we will continue to do so."

However, Councillor Shaw pledged there would not be cuts in opening hours to libraries or children's centres, as there had been in last year's budget.

He added that there had been no major revisions to the draft budget which went out to consultation last month, despite concerns being raised about plans to increase charges of meals on wheels and to cut trading standards staff.

"At the scrutiny meetings one or two members said they were unhappy with certain things but they didn't offer any alternatives."

The budget will go before cabinet on Tuesday and will be set by full council on Thursday.

Cllr Shaw states his intentions over car parking in Viewpoint, page 14.