Fall in number of Harrogate hospital covid patients

The Harrogate district has reported another 73 covid cases today, but the number of patients in hospital has fallen.

The district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 361 per 100,000 people, while the North Yorkshire average is 308 and the England rate is 287.

No further covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to latest NHS England figures.

It was revealed today that the number of covid patients at Harrogate hospital has fallen slightly.

As of yesterday, there were eight patients at the hospital – down from 11 at the same time last week. The fall has been mirrored across North Yorkshire where patient numbers have fallen by 10 to 122.

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The number of patients in intensive care, however, has gone up by six to 26.

The latest figures were provided by Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for the North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, who in an update to a meeting of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum today also said covid and flu vaccines would be key to minimising pressure on the NHS this winter.

She said: 

“Winter is always the NHS’s busiest time of year and we expect that to be the same this year.

“In addition, there are still covid patients in our hospitals, we are working together to address the waiting lists which have arisen due to the pandemic and we also still have full covid measures in place.

“The flu vaccination programme is one of the ways we can help protect hospital capacity this winter by helping people stay healthy and well and out of hospital.

“We would like to see as many people as possible get the flu vaccination this winter and will share information through the months ahead to support people with this.”

350 Harrogate hospital staff not fully vaccinated against covid

About 350 frontline staff at Harrogate hospital have not been fully vaccinated against covid, it has been revealed, as a consultation on whether to make the jabs mandatory gets underway.

That figure represents just under 10% of the 3,598 frontline staff at the hospital and was revealed by Dr Jacqueline Andrews, executive medical director at the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

She said the trust was urging all remaining staff to get doubled jabbed and that managers were speaking with those workers about their concerns.

Dr Andrews said: 

“It is vitally important that we all continue to do everything we can to minimise the risk of covid-19 transmission in hospital and in the community.

“We have encouraged and supported all our staff to be fully vaccinated against covid to keep themselves, their families, fellow colleagues and patients safe and improve our organisational resilience over what is likely to be a challenging winter.”

Government plans are already in place to make it a legal requirement for all care home workers to be fully vaccinated, while implementing the same rules for frontline NHS staff is currently being considered in a consultation.

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Across North Yorkshire, around 430 care home workers are not fully vaccinated and health officials have insisted they are making progress on reducing this number.

The date from which it will become a legal requirement for all care home staff in England to be double jabbed, unless medically exempt, is November 11.

Concern over mandatory vaccines

The move has sparked concerns that making the jabs mandatory could lead to thousands of job losses, which would only worsen the current staffing shortages in both sectors.

And there are now new warnings that employers could face legal action if they sack staff because they have not been fully vaccinated.

Ben Kirkham, regional organiser for the GMB union, said mandatory vaccines could open the door to claims of unfair dismissal if employers sacked staff without offering them redeployment into roles where vaccines were not required.

He said: 

“GMB is opposed to a mandatory requirement for NHS staff – or any other employees – to be vaccinated.

“If the government takes this course and an employer thinks that this gives them the green light to dismiss our members then they need to think again.

“Dismissing any employee because they have not been vaccinated still gives rise to the potential for a claim for unfair dismissal. That employer would still be obliged to look for alternative work for the employee to undertake.

“At one stage we were clapping on a Thursday to show our thanks for the work the NHS and social care staff did during the pandemic, now the government hopes we will get behind insisting they be vaccinated so they can continue to be employed – that simply cannot be right.”

‘We must protect patients’

The consultation on mandatory vaccines for NHS staff is seeking views on the proposals and any impact on staffing and safety such as reducing staff sickness absence.

Staff, healthcare providers, patients and their families are all being urged to have their say, with a final decision expected this winter.

Launching the consultation last week, health secretary Sajid Javid said: 

“Many patients being treated in hospitals and other clinical settings are most at risk of suffering serious consequences of covid-19, and we must do what we can to protect them.

“We will consider the responses to the consultation carefully but, whatever happens, I urge the small minority of NHS staff who have not yet been jabbed to consider getting vaccinated – for their own health as well as those around them.”

Could local MP be promoted in Prime Minister’s cabinet reshuffle?

There is speculation that local MP Nigel Adams could be promoted as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s reshuffle.

Reports on national newspaper websites say Mr Adams could be in line for a position at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

However, the government had yet to confirm any move at the time of publication.

The Prime Minister said he wanted a “strong and united team to build back better from the pandemic”.

Should Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes rural parts of the Harrogate district, including Spofforth and Follifoot, take on the brief, it will include overseeing a review of the Gambling Act.

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The Stray Ferret reported last month that Mr Adams accepted gifts from three companies for £6,038 worth of hospitality tickets to England’s Euro 2020 games.

Two of those firms, Entain and Power Leisure Bookmakers, were gambling companies, according to his register of interests.

Mr Adams, was criticised last week for telling anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray to “f**k off” outside the House of Commons.

He defended his outburst, which he claimed “no doubt reflected” the feelings of other MPs.

Ripon park closed due to rats

A playground in Ripon has closed due to the amount of rats eating leftover food.

Ripon City Council officials shut Quarry Moor playground today over public health concerns caused by the rodents.

In a statement, the authority said the volume of waste at the park was “huge” and urged people to take their rubbish home.

It added that it collected a minimum of eight rubbish bags a day, which was “a constant food supply” to the rats.

A Ripon City Council statement said:

“We have today closed the playground at Quarry Moor due to the problem with rats on site.

“The rat problem is worse than ever this year and we have unfortunately had to take the decision to close the playground on the grounds of public health.

“We will work with our partners at Harrogate Borough Council to address the pest problem and will explore all options available, including the use of poison, with both HBC and Natural England.

“We will make changes to the way rubbish is death with on site, all bins will be removed and we encourage all visitors to take their waste home with them.

“The volume of waste collected on site is huge. We usually collect a minimum of eight bags of rubbish per day, which is a constant food supply for the ever growing rat population.

“We will trial a metal trade waste bin in the car park in the short term but ask everyone to take their rubbish home.”

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The city council announced a refurbishment of the park this year as part of its parish precept.

The park, just off the A61 on the southern approach to Ripon, was donated to the city in 1945 by Alderman Thomas Fowler Spence.

It has an activities centre for children as well as outdoor play equipment.

Number of Harrogate district councillors could be cut by two-thirds

The number of councillors representing the Harrogate district as a whole could be reduced by nearly two-thirds after devolution, under proposals for a new super council in North Yorkshire.

A working group led by North Yorkshire County Council’s former leader Cllr John Weighell has concluded 89 councillors should be elected to serve communities stretching from Skipton to Whitby.

Under the current two-tier system, 57 councillors are elected to serve the Harrogate district on the district and county councils. Forty are elected to Harrogate Borough Council, which is the district authority, and 17 are elected to North Yorkshire County Council. Some people serve as councillors on both councils.

Under plans for the unitary council, just 20 councillors would be elected to serve the Harrogate district on the new super council — a drop of nearly two-thirds.

The proposals would see wards such as Harrogate Stray merged with Harrogate Hookstone to create larger new wards on the unitary council.

Some of the wards proposed by North Yorkshire County Council for the new unitary authority.

Some of the wards proposed by North Yorkshire County Council for the new unitary authority.

6,000 voters per councillor

The 89 councillors proposed for the whole of North Yorkshire on the super council would be 17 more than are currently elected to North Yorkshire County Council.

Each councillor would represent around 6,000 voters, which is almost double the number some currently represent.

There are concerns over councillors’ workloads under the new unitary authority because they will be responsible for matters currently covered by the county and seven district authorities.

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The number of elected members who will make decisions on the unitary authority and the composition of the wards they will represent is expected to be laid before parliament in January, ahead of polls in May to elect councillors to run the county council for a year and then sit on the unitary authority for a further four years.

Westminster to have final say

Proposed wards for the unitary council have been shaped by using parliamentary constituencies, district council wards or county council divisions.

Cllr Carl Les, the leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“We will make a proposal, but it will be a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government decision. 

“I’m pleased to see there has been proposed a very small number of two-member wards and no three-member wards.”

Cllr Les added that government guidance setting a maximum of 90 councillors for the unitary authority reflected the county council’s local government reorganisation proposal and would enable residents to be well represented.

The authority’s Labour group leader, Cllr Eric Broadbent, said while the proposal was following government-imposed rules, every political group appeared to be looking after their own interests.

He said: 

“I hope that there is fairness all round. I’m keeping my eye on everything and if I get complaints from Labour members, I will propose changes.”

New Harrogate walking trail app launched

A new app showcasing walking trails of historic Harrogate locations has been launched.

Harrogate Civic Society started a website two years ago featuring walks around the brown heritage plaques of Harrogate.

Now a free app version, which includes trails for every brown heritage plaque in the town, is available.

It features seven walks, including the Starbeck trail, High Harrogate trail and the Montpellier trail.

Each one takes in a series of plaques across the town. They includes the Magnesia Well in Valley Gardens, the Tewit Well plaque at Cherry Tree Walk and the Southfield plaque, which commemorates Richard Ellis, former Mayor of Harrogate, at Station Parade.

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The app was developed by Simon Dicken, son of civic society treasurer Chris Dicken, who set up the Harrogate plaques website.

A spokesperson for the civic society said:

“It is hoped that visitors and local residents alike will use this new app to help them discover, through the plaques, the people, places and stories that are part of Harrogate’s rich spa history as well as looking at parts of the town with a new perspective.”

The app can be downloaded via the Google Play store on an Android phone for free.

Staff shortage at Harrogate council affects leisure and recycling

A shortage of staff at Harrogate Borough Council is causing delays to recycling collections and changes to timetables at leisure centres in the district.

The council, which employed 1,062 staff at the end of July, currently has 95 vacancies.

Most vacancies are in sport and leisure, however the council is also advertising jobs for receptionists, nursery nurses and lifeguards.

Last week, the authority was forced to delay recycling collections due to a shortage of drivers.

Unfortunately, due to driver shortages, we won’t be able to collect all recycling due to be collected this week.

If we haven’t collected yours by the end of the week, or if you have already received a text from us, please return your recycling to your property.

— Harrogate Borough Council (@Harrogatebc) September 6, 2021

Staff shortages in leisure facilities have also seen timetables change for gyms and swim sessions.

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A council spokesman said: 

“Like many organisations across the country – in both the private and public sector – there are numerous services that are trying hard to fulfil specific roles.

“We are not immune to this and currently have around 95 jobs available across all council services that are either currently being advertised or are in the process of being filled.

“A number of these roles are available in our sport and leisure services and we are doing what we can to fill these so that all facilities can return to normal as soon as possible. We also have a smaller number of vacancies in our waste and recycling service but are optimistic that these will be filled in the coming weeks.

“As well as great colleagues, we offer competitive salaries, flexible working and a range of other benefits.”

Harrogate law firm leads legal challenge over child vaccines

A Harrogate law firm is to lead a legal challenge against the government’s decision to recommend covid vaccines for 12 to 15-year-olds.

Truth Legal has been instructed by Consent, a Gloucestershire-based healthcare charity, to challenge the government and stop children getting vaccinated without fully informed consent from their parents.

Professor Chris Witty, the government’s chief medical officer, today recommended administering a single vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds after concluding it would have wider benefits for mental health and education.

Ministers will now decide on whether to accept the recommendation.

However, Consent is set to launch a legal challenge after raising concerns that experts still have mixed views over the decision.

Andrew Gray, founder and solicitor at Truth Legal, which is representing the charity, said: 

“We are representing Consent in their quest of investigating what protocol the government is intending to follow to guarantee the safety of our children and ensure that parental consent is a key element of consideration. 

“We have written to the Department of Health, Public Health England and NHS England to demand their policy on the vaccination of children. We still await their reply.”

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises the government on immunisation, previously recommended against vaccinating children because the “individual health benefits” were small.

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However, Professor Whitty said a single dose of a vaccine would “make a material difference”.

Oliver Müller, a trustee for Consent, said: 

“We are very concerned that children will be able to consent to a medical treatment, which even experts are divided over and which may not be in the child’s best interest.

“Even parents may not have enough information to make a fully informed and therefore legally valid consent decision. We are prepared to go to court and have retained leading counsel and solicitors at Truth Legal.”

Truth Legal, whose head office is on Victoria Avenue, also has offices in Leeds.

Harrogate hospital reports another covid death

Harrogate District Hospital has recorded another covid death, according to NHS England figures.

The death was reported on Friday and takes the amount of people to have lost their lives to a covid-related illness at the hospital since March last year to 186 .

Seven have died in the last three weeks.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate district has reported 72 covid infections according to today’s Pubic Health England figures.

The district’s weekly infection rate now stands at 403 per 100,000 people, while the North Yorkshire rate is 334 and the England average stands at 300.

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The hospital is currently treating 11 patients for covid according to the latest government figures,

Elsewhere, 127,393 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 118,654 have had a second dose.

Council to debate petition to lift Harrogate’s Beech Grove closure

A 770-signature petition calling for Harrogate’s first low traffic neighbourhood to be removed is to be debated by councillors this week.

Members of North Yorkshire County Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee will meet on Thursday to discuss the traffic restrictions.

They were introduced in February and have proved popular with pedestrians and cyclists but caused complaints from some locals.

The trial restrictions have seen planters placed on Beech Grove to stop through traffic and create quieter streets where residents feel safer walking and cycling.

It has made getting around the area by car more difficult and that is the idea behind it – to decrease car use.

David Pickering is one of the 770 residents who have signed the petition against the restrictions, which he said have only made traffic worse on surrounding streets.

He said: 

“I continue to be surprised by the enthusiasm of North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council to spend taxpayers’ money on projects which are universally unpopular with local residents.

“It is all very well for public sector employees to sit around examining ways of maintaining budgets and tinkering with local roads to divert traffic when it has no material impact whatsoever on their personal lives.

“But on the ground it will concentrate traffic down certain roads.

“Anyone with a modicum of common sense would be able to work out that it will just concentrate traffic on Cold Bath Road and Queens Road.

“I just don’t see the point of the initiative.”

The low traffic neighbourhood was introduced by highways authority North Yorkshire County Council and received the strong backing of Harrogate Borough Council.

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Last month, the county council ended a public consultation on the restrictions ahead of a decision on whether to extend the 18-month trial, make the road changes permanent or scrap them altogether.

Barriers on Victoria Road

Last month the county council also announced plans to introduce a one-way traffic filter on nearby Victoria Road in another trial to improve road safety and encourage cycling and walking.

These restrictions will be trialled from this month and involve erecting a barrier to prevent vehicles from leaving to join Otley Road.

Mr Pickering said many residents were also against these plans, which he fears will make traffic “unbearable” on nearby Queens Road and Cold Bath Road.

The county council was contacted for comment but did not respond by the time of publication.