The BPV Steering Group were extremely sorry to learn a few days ago of the sudden death of Brent Councillor Dan Filson. Although he had much experience of local affairs in another Borough he had only recently moved to Brent.
He was first elected to Brent Council in 2014 and quickly became known as an effective member of the Planning Committee. This led to his promotion to be Chair of the Scrutiny Committee in 2015. This little known committee plays an important role in holding other parts of the Council as well as local NHS commissioners and providers to account. Dan was a natural for this role with his sharp and inquisitive mind. We were hoping to get to know him and brief him on some key health issues when he was taken from us in such an untimely way. He had become a member of BPV and already asked us a series of pithy questions by email. He will be much missed.
BPV Steering Group
I had never met the late Cllr FIlson however we had corresponded when it transpired that Cllr Filson was as horrified as I by the inaccurate CCG / Council poster campaign poster saying that Accident and Emergency is for “life-threatening emergencies only”.
[A & E is actually for serious OR life- threatening conditions as per the NHS Urgent and Emergency Care Review.]
What was good about Cllr Filson was that he took the time to understand the issue and expressed his view on the matter without fear or favour.
This was a welcome change from the usual public sector nodding donkey behavioural model and Cllr Filson’s refreshing approach will be much missed.