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Liverpool man
guilty of unlawfully practising dentistry
THE UK regulator of dental
practice, the General Dental Council (GDC), has successfully
prosecuted a man for unlawfully practising dentistry. By law all
dentists, dental nurses, dental technicians, clinical dental
technicians, dental hygienists and dental therapists and orthodontic
therapists must be registered with the GDC to work in the UK. This
is to ensure only appropriately qualified and skilled dental
professionals are part of the dental team looking after patients. On
17 April 2014 Frank Mullholland appeared at Liverpool Magistrates'
Court and pleaded guilty to unlawfully practising dentistry contrary
to Section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists Act 1984. Mr Mullholland
has never been registered with GDC. On 20 February 2014 the 75 year
old Frank Mullholland, who is the sole owner and operator of Frank
Mullholland Dental Laboratory, at 17 Prescot Street, Liverpool, was
seen holding himself out as being prepared to practice dentistry
illegally. Frank Mullholland had been working illegally for many
years as an un-registered Clinical Dental Technician from his Dental
Laboratory located opposite the Royal Liverpool Dental Hospital in
Liverpool, providing dentures and denture repairs to the local
community. Frank Mullholland was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay
£1,290.70 GDC costs and £200 victim surcharge.
FREE BUS TICKETS
AVAILABLE TO CELEBRATE CATCH THE BUS WEEK
PEOPLE in the North West
are being offered free tickets to try out the local bus services as
part of this year's Catch the Bus Week, which runs from Monday, 28
April to Sunday, 4 May 2014, by Arriva.
Arriva, which operates services across the North West, is providing
free day saver tickets as an incentive to people to experience the
bus and understand the benefits, ease and convenience that public
transport can offer.
Catch the Bus Week is organised by Greener Journeys, the sustainable
transport group, and aims to increase awareness of the benefits of
bus travel across the UK. Last year marked the launch of Catch the
Bus Week and in 2014 the campaign will be even bigger as operators
across the UK celebrate bus travel with a range of promotions and
activities.
Debra Heaton, marketing and communications manager of Arriva North
West, said:- "Catch the Bus Week is a fantastic idea by
Greener Journeys, and one which Arriva is proud to continue to
support. As the campaign aims to promote the bus as an option for
certain trips, we thought the best way to get involved was to offer
free travel on the bus so people can try it for themselves. We are
offering free day saver m-tickets to people in North West to
experience the buses that operate in their area. All people have to
do to take advantage of our offer is to register for the Arriva
m-ticketing service and use our Catch the Bus Week promotional code
– 4343, when purchasing an m-ticket between 28 April 2014 and 4 May
2014."
The objective of Catch the Bus Week is to prompt people to consider
using the bus as an alternative form of transport for selected
journeys, getting the public out of the car and onto the bus. It
will promote the many benefits of bus travel including convenience,
value for money and environmental benefits - reducing the carbon
footprint from transport and improving local air quality.
Debra added:- "Arriva is constantly investing in services and
technology as we look to evolve our offer to customers. Catch the
Bus Week will hopefully encourage people who have forgotten about
bus travel to review us as an option when travelling, and experience
developments, such as our m-ticketing service, which allows people
to use their mobile to purchase tickets wherever, whenever."
People looking to take up the Arriva free ticket offer and find out
more about the ervices should visit Arriva's
website. The free ticket offer
will end on Sunday, 4 May 2014.
Public
welcome at Hospital Trust board meeting
THE Southport and Ormskirk
Hospital NHS Trust will hold its next board meeting on Wednesday, 30
April 2014, at 9am. The meeting will be held in the Board Room in
the Corporate Management Office at Southport and Formby District
General Hospital. Members of the public are welcome to attend and
observe the meeting. Anyone with a special requirement should
contact the Trust in advance on:- 01704 704714. The agenda will be
available on the Trust website in advance of the meeting. Supporting
papers will be made available on the day.
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Risky hands free calls at
the wheel on the rise, as confusion about dangers persists
JUST over 10 years after hand held mobiles were banned at the
wheel, Brake is renewing its call to ban hands free kits, as a Brake
and Direct Line survey reveals that almost half (45%) of drivers
admit to chatting when driving. While the use of hand held phones by
drivers has dropped, hands free use has risen, likely to be linked
to the mistaken belief that it is a safe alternative. Brake and
Direct Line's survey reveals:-
► Almost half (45%) of drivers admit
to talking on a phone at the wheel, down from 54% in 2006.
► Hand held use has dropped to 1 in
8 (13%), from over a 3rd (36%) in 2006.
► Hands-free use has risen to nearly
4 in 10 (38%), from 1 in 5 (22%) in 2006.
For the past 10 years, Brake believes that the lack of a total ban
has left many drivers unaware that using a hands free mobile at the
wheel is just as risky as using a hand held. According to the
survey, 3 in 10 (32%) don't know that groups like Brake say that
the:- "fact is any type of phone use while driving is
dangerous."
In reality, it is the distraction of the conversation that causes
the danger. Studies have shown the risk of being in a crash that
causes injury is increased four times for drivers on both hand held
and hands free phones, with reactions 30% slower than driving at the
UK drink drive limit, and 50% slower than under normal conditions.
Brake and Direct Line's survey also found that texting at the wheel
is a widespread menace, with 3 in 10 of all drivers (30%) admitting
sending or reading messages while driving, and an even higher
proportion of young drivers (age 18 to 24); more than 4 in 10 (44%);
doing so. Smartphone apps are an additional threat, with 1 in 8
(12%) drivers using them at the wheel, up from less than 1 in 10
(9%) in 2006.
Brake calls for a total ban on mobile phone use at the wheel, to
prevent hundreds of senseless crashes, deaths and injuries every
year, and the prioritisation of traffic policing by government to
help enforce it. But are they correct? Many of our readers have
asked that are mobile phones just easy things to blame as logs of
calls show that a phone was used, where as say smoking a cigarette
is harder to prove that it was being smoked at the time. So to is a
driver increased in a radio program, or a tune being pumped out on
the MP3 player?
What are your views on Brake wanting to ban all ? Email our newsroom
to:-
news24@southportreporter.com
Let us know if you agree with Brake's advice to drivers:-
"remove the temptation by turning their phones to silent and putting
them in the boot, out of sight and reach?"
Liverpool's
Coroner's court set for move!
A report to the Council's
Cabinet meeting on Friday, 25 April 2014 is recommending that
Liverpool's Coroner's court moves to the former Community Justice
Centre on Boundary Street in Kirkdale. The proposal is partly a
result of the Hall's growing success as a venue for a wide range of
events including weddings, parties, corporate events and music
recitals, which is starting to impact on the Coroner's service. It
will also provide it with a modern court setting to better meet
growing casework demands.
Nick Kavanagh, Director of Regeneration, said:- "We are
conscious that attending hearings at the Coroner's Court is a
difficult and distressing time for people, and are sensitive to the
fact that the increasing number of events means that the Hall is
becoming much busier than it used to be. We have been looking for
some time at finding suitable, more modern accommodation which will
enable the service to be provided elsewhere, and the Community
Justice Centre meets the requirements. This move will also secure
the long-term future of the building in a key area of north
Liverpool when the current occupiers move out."
Liverpool Senior Coroner André Rebello added:- "I am pleased
that alternative accommodation has been found for the Coroner's
Court Service and our team will be working closely with the City
Council to make sure the transfer is as smooth as possible. The
Council is to be congratulated for responding promptly to the
legislative emphasis in the new Coroners Act around the need for
suitable accommodation. This modern facility will put bereaved
people at the centre of Coroner investigations."
The building, which is owned by the Archdiocese of Liverpool, is
considered appropriate as it was refurbished in 2006 when it opened
as a court and meeting rooms. There is also scope to share part of
the accommodation with other Council services and public bodies to
minimise the annual running costs. The Coroner's service has been
based at St George's Hall since 2011 after it relocated from the
Cotton Exchange on Old Hall Street. If approved, the service will
move in May 2014. |
