Thieves steal £3,000 of Christmas presents from critically ill children at London hospital

Pic:St Mary’s hospital in Paddington
Crime reporter(wp/es):

More than £3,000 worth of Christmas presents intended for critically-ill children have been stolen from St Mary’s hospital in Paddington.

The 150 gifts, decorations and a Santa suit were taken from a disused ward where they were being stored ahead of an annual Christmas party and candlelight concert.

The theft was noticed last Tuesday.

Details emerged today as the Cosmic charity - Children of St Mary’s Intensive Care - launched a crowdfunding appeal to replace the gifts. 

The paediatric intensive care unit at St Mary’s treats children from across London, the Home Counties and beyond for conditions including meningitis, sepsis or trauma from an accident. 

Tina Halton, lead play specialist St Mary’s, said: “I was so sad when I heard that we may not have Santa this year. Everything we use at Christmas time is given to us and donated out of kindness for the children who so deserve to have a little fun at this time of year.

“Santa has always worn the same suit at our children’s party and for a jolly visit to the wards on Christmas Day. It never fails to bring a smile to a poorly child’s face when they get a chance to meet the real Mr Claus and get a specially selected gift. 

“We have been truly heartened by all the people who have already expressed their support and want to help make sure the kids have a Christmas we can remember for all of the right reasons.”

A Met Police spokesman said the force is appealing for witnesses following the incident at a store room between Monday October 3 and Thursday November 17.

Acting Detective Sergeant Tom Hirst said: "This is an awful crime at this time of year and heard to imagine what kind of person would steal gifts so clearly destined for sick children to make their lives a little brighter this festive season.

"We are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with information to please contact us as soon as possible."

Man knifed in neck after fight outside Primark on packed shopping street

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A man has been rushed to hospital after he was stabbed in the neck outside a Primark branch in a packed shopping street in east London.

Emergency services including police, ambulances and a London Air Ambulance raced to Exchange Street in Romford at around 2.15pm after reports of a violent fight between two men.

Horrified Christmas shoppers told how one man was stabbed in the neck in front of them as officers taped off a section of the street outside Primark.

A Met spokesman said one man was being treated for a stab wound to the neck and has been taken to hospital.

An update on the man’s condition was not immediately available.

Scotland Yard said no arrests had been made and enquiries continue.

George Mark, a radio apprentice at Time 107.5 FM, told the Standard around 10 police officers were stationed in the street when he arrived on Monday afternoon.

He said: "There were crowds of shoppers who had obviously seen the police cordoning the scene off as they walked past.

"It didn't seem as though anybody was scared although everybody there were trying to squeeze information out of the police at the scene.

Jill Hartwell posted on Facebook: "In Romford doing Christmas shopping and police everywhere someone has got stabbed just been airlifted by helicopter."

Another man tweeted: "So a man just got stabbed in the neck in front of me in Romford. What a town to live in."

Northwick Park and Royal London hospitals rated best for stroke care in UK

Pic:The Royal London is one of the two hospitals given the top score.
Health reporter(wp/es):

Two London hospitals are providing stroke patients with the best emergency care in the country, a national audit reveals.

Northwick Park in Harrow and the Royal London in Whitechapel were each awarded a maximum score of 10 by the Royal College of Physicians.

The annual study measures the quality of care, the provision of clot- busting drugs — a process known as thrombolysis — and the number of staff on duty on a 24/7 basis.

The two hospitals are part of a network of eight hyper-acute stroke units established in the capital in 2010 to ensure expert care was provided as quickly as possible after the “brain attack”.

Dr David Cohen, lead stroke consultant at Northwick Park Hospital, which treats about 1,500 stroke patients a year, said its “door-to-needle time” for administering thrombolysis was under 30 minutes — half the national average. He said all patients were seen by a therapist within 24 hours and clinical psychologists targeted the “unseen” brain injuries.

“This is particularly useful in pat- ients of working age, so we can help them to get back to work,” added Dr Cohen. “In general, a third of stroke patients die. A third will get back to complete independence and a third will be disabled in some way.

“We are gradually pushing these numbers towards the good side. Slightly fewer people are dying and slightly fewer are being disabled.”

The report found “remarkable”  nationwide improvements in stroke care over the last two decades but warned that 40 per cent of sites had a consultant vacancy.

The Royal London, which treated 766 patients in 2015/16, was able to discharge patients home in under four days, compared with the nat- ional average of almost 14 days.

Dr Patrick Gompertz, consultant stroke physician at the Royal London, said the stroke team “worked tirelessly” to deliver “fantastic care”.

He added: “Stroke is a major cause of death and disability in the UK. We aim to provide the highest quality of care so everyone has the best chance possible of recovery and a good quality of life.”

Research has found that the faster people receive care the better their outcomes, reducing deaths and long-term disability.

Stroke is the second single most common cause of deaths in the world causing 6.7 million per year. In the UK, it will take a life every 13 minutes. 

The acute stroke units at the Royal London’s sister hospitals, Newham and Whipps Cross, scored 8/10, putting them within the top 15 per cent of units across the country.

Piccadilly line 'should be shut down

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Rail union bosses have called for the Piccadilly line to be temporarily shut down and its Night Tube launch delayed until an ongoing “shortage of trains” is resolved.

The RMT union demanded urgent discussions with transport bosses about a temporary closure of the line and for its Night Tube start date to be pushed back until the fleet of trains are fixed.

Around half the line’s trains were taken out of service on Friday due to “wet leaves on the track” and the situation has continued over the weekend and into Monday morning sparking huge queues at stations including King’s Cross.

Transport bosses said the slippery rails were causing wheels on the Tube trains to lock, leading to excessive wear and rendering them unsafe.

Transport for London said it was “working round the clock to repair the wheels” but has no estimate of when the problem will be fixed.

The RMT also urged London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the capital’s transport commissioner to call a summit meeting to draw up an action plan for the Piccadilly line - the fourth busiest line on the Underground which serves Heathrow Airport.

It added that problems on the line could “take weeks to fix” and that the Night Tube start date of December 16 should be postponed to “protect passenger and staff safety”.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: "The entire Piccadilly line fleet of trains has got a major engineering problem which has finally boiled over. It's nothing new and it is down to pressure on services and sheer managerial incompetence.” 

He added: "The sheer danger of massive delays and overcrowding means that the service on the Piccadilly Line is inherently unsafe and will get worse under Night Tube.  

"Our members are asking why will it be another 10 years before these 43-year-old trains are fully replaced when refurbishment clearly isn't working. 

“It is also becoming clear that the wheels themselves are at fault and they've only recently been replaced. The contract for that job needs to be forensically examined. 

"These issues have now all come together in a cumulative effect and are the reason why sections of the line were closed on Friday. RMT has been told the problem could take weeks to fix properly.

That's why consideration has to be given to the service being suspended until the trains are repaired and signed off as safe. 

"We will have health and safety reps out and about from this morning advising our member and we expect an urgent response from the Mayor and his officials which we have set out today."

Tony Matthews, General Manager for the Piccadilly line, said: "‎I sincerely apologise to Piccadilly line customers for the ongoing disruption to their journeys. 

"The safety of our customers and staff is our number one priority which is why we've had to continue taking some trains out of service to repair their wheels. 

"This means that we do not have a full fleet available to run a good service.  We will continue working around the clock to repair the wheels so that we can return to giving our customers the high level of service that they deserve as quickly as possible.‎"

A TfL spokesman said: "Night Tube services are currently planned to launch on the Piccadilly line on Friday December 16. 

"Night Tube services on the Piccadilly line will see a train every ten minutes between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5, so fewer trains will be needed compared to running a full service during the day on the entire line."

The 'Trellis' skyscraper gets the green light in London

Pic:Planning permission has been given for the "Trellis" tower to be built in the City 
Staff reporter(wp./es):

The City of London Corporation on Monday gave the green light for the City’s tallest tower, dubbed the “Trellis”, to be built.

At 304.9 metres, the 1 Undershaft 73-storey skyscraper will be the highest in the Square Mile although five metres shorter than the Shard at London Bridge. It will occupy the site of what is now the Aviva Tower.

It will comprise nearly 1.4 million square feet of office accommodation, as well as shops. An estimated 10,000 workers will work there.

At the top of the building will be a free public viewing gallery with a restaurant. The Museum of London has also had discussions with developer Aroland Holdings over opening a dedicated gallery there.

It was approved by the planning and transportation committee following their vote of 19-2 to approve the project.

Earlier plans by Singaporean property firm Aroland were scaled back in October to just below the height at which buildings are considered a danger to planes on the approach route to City Airport.

Chris Hayward, chairman of the planning and transportation committee, said: “This development shows the high levels of investor confidence in London’s status as a global city following our decision to leave the European Union.”

He added: “I believe this building will play an important part in increasing London’s attraction as the world’s leading financial centre.”

Meanwhile the architect Eric Parry said: "This is a really exciting opportunity for Londoners and the team behind 1 Undershaft are thrilled to get started on the next phase of the project."