Harrogate care homes deaths rise to 83 as hospital reports more deaths

Harrogate’s care homes have now reported 83 coronavirus deaths after recording another five fatalities in a week. It comes as Harrogate District Hospital adds another two deaths to its total.

The care home data is from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and only accounts for deaths up until June 5.

As well as care homes, the data also revealed that seven Harrogate people have also died in their homes, at a hospice, or in other communal establishments.

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Up to June 16, the hospital has reported 78 deaths. So, even with the lag in data of ten days, care homes have reported more deaths.

The two new hospital deaths happened yesterday and the day before. They were recorded with a total of 79 deaths across England’s hospitals today.

As of last Thursday, Harrogate District Hospital has also discharged 125 patients after treating them for coronavirus.

Henshaws to close homes service for disabled by October

Henshaws will close its supported living services for adults with learning difficulties in Harrogate by October.

The decision will affect about 21 residents, with a further three having already moved to different care providers. A further 16 people who are not residents receive support and those services will transition as well.

Henshaws has told the families of its intention to withdraw the service and the county council has also written to them to provide support.

Those houses enable people of all ages with sight loss and a range of disabilities to live more independently with 24-hour help from specialist workers.

North Yorkshire County Council also took the opportunity to say that it was disappointed that Henshaws will close its Arts and Crafts service in Knaresborough.

Henshaws had previously been running a fundraising appeal ‘Art is the Start’ to update the centre to suit the people who use it. But has now concluded the centre is no longer economically viable.

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In a statement to The Stray Ferret, Henshaws CEO Nick Marr said that the service had been on a “knife-edge financially before the virus.”

“Henshaws Home Support service was on a knife edge financially and the pressure on local authorities funding these and other places has increased. We are not able to sustain these services so we intend to transition out of providing them, at the latest, in October, to ensure the best continuity can be arranged for the service users. We will be consulting with staff in the service about the future of their roles.”

The latest financial account for Henshaws detailed how in the year up to August 2018 the charity was spending £12.3 million – which is £1 million more than its income.

Richard Webb, North Yorkshire County Council Director of Health and Adult Services said:

“We were surprised and disappointed to hear this news. Henshaws is much-valued by many people and, along with the other councils that fund people to use their services, we would have expected to have been involved in early discussions about this kind of momentous decision.”

Harrogate Lib Dems: Calls for climate emergency fall on deaf ears

Liberal Democrat councillors have renewed their calls for Harrogate Borough Council to declare a climate emergency and demanded that the process be more transparent.

Pat Marsh said she had written to the Conservative cabinet member for sustainable transport with her calls but has not received any kind of response.

She has now written to Councillor Phil Ireland for the third time:

“I’m becoming more and more concerned about the lack of transparency in this process. I fear that your lack of response is just yet another example of the local Conservatives’ and councils’ unwillingness to engage with those with differing views.”

The local Liberal Democrats have said that the council’s Climate Change Coalition should be replaced with a Citizen’s Assembly on the Climate Emergency.

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Council across the country have declared climate emergencies as an acknowledgment that they need to act on the causes and impacts of climate change.

They say this is the best way to attract the “fresh ideas and bold action” necessary to take on the challenge faced.

“To effectively play our part in addressing this environmental crisis, it is imperative that we declare a Climate Emergency and commit to becoming net zero carbon by 2030 at the very latest,” Pat Marsh added.

What has Harrogate Borough Council done?

Harrogate Borough Council has said that it will aim to have a net zero-carbon economy by 2038.

The council said it will make sure that its own operations will be clean and efficient while helping others in the district to achieve the same.

In its carbon footprint report, the council had seen a steady fall in recent years from 9,300 tonnes in 2016/2017 to 7,900 tonnes in 2018/2019.

Lowest coronavirus deaths since lockdown as Harrogate hospital reports one more

England’s hospitals have reported the lowest number of coronavirus deaths since before lockdown as Harrogate District Hospital records one more.

The Harrogate patient died yesterday and was among 28 coronavirus deaths in today’s NHS figures, the lowest since March.

It means that Harrogate District Hospital has now reported 76 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic.

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Hospitals across the North East and Yorkshire recorded five deaths today. The East of England did not report any coronavirus deaths.

The patients were aged between 59 and 100 years old. All patients had known underlying health conditions.

North Yorkshire County Council sets up highways company

North Yorkshire County Council has set up a limited company that will begin running its highways operations in June next year.

NY Highways Ltd will take over the current £40 million a year contract that the council currently has with Ringway to maintain North Yorkshire’s roads.

The council says that this new arrangement will give them greater flexibility and control and will also remove “contractual constraints”.

Not only will NY Highways Ltd repair and build roads for North Yorkshire but it also plans to expand to other local authorities and the private sector.

The council says that NY Highways has a revenue budget of £20 million and a capital budget of £35 million with an expected turnover of £60 million.

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Ross Bullerwell will join NY Highways Ltd in September next year.

New managing director for NY Highways Ltd

NY Highways Ltd has today announced it has appointed Ross Bullerwell as managing director. The council advertised the post for around £100,000 a year with flexible benefits.

Mr Bullerwell is currently the managing director of Rennicks Ltd, which supplies road traffic signs and technology. He will start work at NY Highways Ltd in September next year.

Councillor Don Mackenzie, the executive member for access, welcomed the news of his appointment and said:

“Having our own company gives us greater control and flexibility over our highways service delivery, while removing the contractual constraints that exist with the current arrangements. Through more direct accountability for the works on the ground we aim to deliver a ‘right first time’ service with the customer continuing to be at the heart of everything that we do.”

Councils across the country have set up limited companies to look after different sectors. Harrogate Borough Council will this week decide on plans to create a company to look after its leisure portfolio.

Unison spoke out about that decision and said it feared that jobs would be under threat in the leisure sector as the council looked to save around £400,000 a year.

Virtual Knaresborough Bed Race sets off this weekend

This year’s Great Knaresborough Bed Race will set off this weekend as a virtual, online event for the first time in its history.

Knaresborough Lions, the organisers, have set up a plan for the whole day on Saturday with treasure hunts and virtual parties as well as the race.

With coronavirus stopping the usual festivities, people have been invited to send in their own videos where they pretend to push their own beds.

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The organisers will edit together all of the videos and stream them online by Stray FM at 3pm.

Not only the Knaresborough Lions but numerous other charities are missing out on donations and publicity because of the changes to Bed Race this year.

Here is the plan for the day:

How to send in your videos

Videos need to be between 20 seconds to 60 seconds long. Get behind a bed headboard and pretend to push in a creative way.

Knaresborough Lions has asked people to position themselves in front of a single-colour background, preferably green or blue, and film in landscape.

When you have recorded your video then send them into the Knaresborough Lions by clicking or tapping here.

Harrogate District Hospital reports no coronavirus deaths

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any new coronavirus deaths.

It is the first time in four days that the hospital has not recorded at least one death.

So far, 73 people have died after testing positive at the hospital and 125 have recovered.

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Meanwhile, hospitals across England have recorded another 70 deaths today taking the total up to 27,860.

Patients were aged between 24 and 102 years old. Three patients, who were aged between 78 and 102, had no known underlying health conditions.

Harrogate Scrubbers gets £5000 boost for second phase

A volunteer group in Harrogate will be able to help community healthcare workers with a £5000 bost from the Freemasons.

Harrogate Scrubbers, led by teacher Fran Taylor, is a 750 strong team which has delivered more than 2000 scrubs to the hospital.

The group is now in its second phase. They now focus on community clinical settings like doctors’ surgeries, dentists, and hospices.

With a set of scrubs setting the team back by £25, the donations by the Freemasons should be able to help another 185 key workers.

Read more about the Harrogate Scrubbers

The Province of Yorkshire West Riding’s Provincial Grand Master’s Fund donated £2,500 and the Masonic Charitable Foundation matched it.

In addition, a number of Harrogate Masonic Lodges have already supported the Harrogate Scrubbers to the tune of £700.

David S Pratt, the Provincial Grandmaster of the Province of Yorkshire West Riding, said:

“At the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, we set up a special COVID-19 relief fund to help organisations responding to the crisis in their own communities. The Harrogate Scrubbers is a shining example of this.”

Fran Taylor, the leader of Harrogate Scrubbers, said:

“I’d like to thank the Freemasons for their incredible generosity, which means even more frontline care staff will receive the protective equipment they need and deserve. Since setting up this group just over two-months ago, the support I’ve had has been overwhelming.”

Bettys to reopen Harrogate and Harlow Carr shops

It may not be the traditional tea room experience, but Bettys will reopen its Harrogate and Harlow Carr shops later this month.

The flagship Bettys store in Harrogate will be one of the first to open on June 22, with the Harlow Carr shop following in its footsteps on June 29.

All of the Bettys cafes will remain closed until further notice.

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Both will offer a range of wrapped cakes, chocolates, biscuits, teas, coffees, gift boxes, hampers, and takeaway hot drinks. Freshly baked products on sale will include the famous Yorkshire fat rascals, as well as a selection of breads and pastries.

The Bettys management team will limit the number of people in its shops, provide hand sanitiser by the entrance and floor markers to guide people.

Masterchef finalist to open healthy cafe in Harrogate

Coronavirus may have delayed the plans but Masterchef Matt Healy will open his third healthy cafe in Harrogate next week.

Grön Kafé will open on Monday, June 15 at Cold Bath Clubhouse, 46 King’s Road with a pop up site to sell groceries.

The cafe will have a focus on “keeping it clean” by serving up vegan and allergy-friendly food and drinks as well as the regular favourites.

It will offer Buddha Bowls and ‘croissant-wiches’ along with coffee, freshly-baked pastries, and cakes.

The Grön Kafé will operate as takeaway only for the time being until the government lifts the restrictions on cafes and restaurants.

As well as the cafe, they will open up a pop-up greengrocer which they say was a huge hit at the Leeds site.

Some of the Grön Kafé Buddha Bowls.

The Grön Grocer will stock essentials like fruit and vegetable boxes, flour, milk, and bread.

Chef Patron Matt Healy and Masterchef finalist said he was looking forward to opening in Harrogate:

“We’ve been able to bring a little slice of normality with our Grön Grocer concept. Being able to grab a cracking flat white and a pastry has made people’s day, so we’re looking forward to bringing that to Harrogate. It’s been a tough but exciting journey adapting to the ‘new normal’. It’s been in the works for a long time, and whilst this isn’t how we expected to open, we can’t wait to get stuck in.”