Care home residents in the Harrogate district will be able to see their GP at a safe distance after North Yorkshire CCG invested in more than 200 mobile tablets.

All 51 GP practices in North Yorkshire are now hosting secure video consultations with patients. Clinical leaders believe the scheme has been a “huge success.”

The CCG says uptake of the AccuRx platform is high and continues to grow. It could become the standard, even after the coronavirus pandemic.

Read more on this story

• What Harrogate’s Hospital Trust blames for its £11 million shortfall
• How Harrogate District Hospital reached 70 coronavirus deaths
• How the Trust spent nearly half a million pounds on sick pay in the first month of lockdown

Dr Charles Parker, Clinical Chair for NHS North Yorkshire CCG, said that the technology will protect care home residents.

He said: “While there will always be occasions when there is no substitute for a face-to-face consultation, this technology is proving to be absolutely suitable for a great many GP appointments and patients have been terrific at adapting to these changes. This technology will help to keep residents safe and helps us to manage the risks associated with providing essential care during the Covid-19 pandemic and potentially beyond.”

Sandra Anderson, Registered Manager and Director at The Millings Care Home in Bedale, said:

She said: “On our first try we had a really good experience using the device, residents were really happy with how it worked and we found it a really efficient way to contact a healthcare professional. Other members of staff I have spoken to have said that it is easy to use and they have had no issues.”

Nidderdale Plus Community Hub organisation and North Yorkshire County Council both helped to distribute the tablets to care homes.

The county council is reintroducing parking fines in the Harrogate district from next Monday as more shops open to customers.

Since the start of the lockdown enforcement officers have only targeted dangerous and obtrusive parking but that will change on June 15.

The measures will come into force for both on-street and off-street parking and will not be welcome by many Harrogate retailers who are desperate to get shoppers back into the town centre.

However, NHS staff, health or social care workers, and NHS volunteer responders will still be eligible for free parking if they leave evidence in their windows like an NHS permit.

Read More:

• Independent Harrogate calls for cheaper parking to help stimulate town centre economy
• Harrogate BID calls for urgent review of car park signage

North Yorkshire County Council is urging people to exercise social distancing when parking and paying to park and encouraging contactless payment through the AppyParking app.

They have asked anyone needing to pay by cash to use hand sanitiser before and after using the parking machine.

In the run-up to 15 June, officers will issue warning notices to motorists with expired permits and those contravening the regulations.

North Yorkshire County Councillor Don Mackenzie, Executive Member for Access, said:

“At any time, parking enforcement is an essential tool in helping to manage traffic flow to provide ease of access for all road users. As our towns open up it is important to manage traffic and to support the emergency active travel measures implemented to enable pedestrians and cyclists to maintain social distancing.”

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has projected an £11 million hole in its funding this year.

A report from the Board of Directors seen by The Stray Ferret revealed how the Trust is trying to balance its books.

The Trust looked over its expenditure, top-up payments, and coronavirus funding before coming to the conclusion that it had a shortfall.

It will approach NHS centrally to ask for more money long term and, in the meantime, the Trust will request additional funds each month.

Read more on this story

• When health bosses welcomed the government’s decision to write off its £4.8 million debt
• How the Trust spent nearly half a million pounds on sick pay in the first month of lockdown

Financial directors at the Trust are looking at ways it can reduce its capital spending and the report says that they will have to reassess priorities over the next few weeks.

The report does not indicate what could be dropped but it does say that they have a June deadline for any proposals.

What has the Trust blamed for the expected shortfall?

The Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has not blamed coronavirus for the £11 million gap in its funding.

Here are some of the bigger sums from the report:

• £3 million – The Trust claims back money from the CCG for work it has done on its behalf. However, North Yorkshire CCG itself has projected a deficit of £18 million for this financial year.
• £2.9 million – The Trust is in ongoing discussion with the NHS around its depreciating assets. It could be beds, computers or buildings.
• £1 million – The Trust is no longer receiving income from another provider for the Briary Wing.
• £2 million – Staff who work for local authority and the Trust are in line for a pay increase. It is also partly down to savings needed for the contracts.

Harrogate District Hospital has reported one more coronavirus death, taking its total number of deaths up to 68.

This latest death at Harrogate hospital happened on June 3. It was announced as the NHS reports 123 in hospitals across England.

The hospital in Harrogate has discharged 118 patients who tested positive for coronavirus – an increase of nine on last week.

Read more:

• Nearly 1,000 Harrogate hospital staff absent in April due to coronavirus 
• Clock ticking to the end of NHS Nightingale contract in Harrogate

It also comes as the number of people who have died in the UK in all settings has now passed 40,000.

Over 2000 people have signed a petition to try and save local radio station Stray FM in just one week.

The campaign, launched by Liberal Democrats, calls for Bauer Media to reverse its decision to replace Stray FM with a national station.

Stray FM, a 26-year-old station based in Harrogate, is set to be replaced by Greatest Hits Radio with three hours a day of regional presenting covering Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson Judith Rogerson told The Stray Ferret:

“We understand that it’s not an easy challenge to get a private company to reverse a decision once it’s been made, but seeing the community rally together like this and seeing all the words of appreciation is incredibly heartening. Local journalism is about so much more than large profits — we sincerely hope that this petition shows Bauer just how much ‘Proper Local Radio’ means to our area.”

Read more on this story

• Why Stray FM could be coming off the air
• This is what the station means to locals

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has also written to Bauer Media to seek assurances over Stray FM’s future.

In a post on his website, he said he was “disappointed” that Bauer Media’s “winning formula is set to change.”

North Yorkshire County Council has revealed some of the plans it is considering to encourage more cycling and walking.

The government has allocated the council £1.3 million from its £225 million emergency active travel fund. The council can then bid for the full amount in two stages.

Initially, the council is bidding for £266,000 to spend on temporary measures such as coning off some on-street parking bays to widen footpaths.

Any projects funded in the first stage must be started within four weeks of the money being made available and completed within eight. It means that the council cannot tackle any major projects with that first pot of money.

Read more on this story:

• How temporary pavement widening reignited fierce opposition to pedestrianisation
• The agony of getting a single cycle route built in Harrogate

The authority will learn shortly how it will be able to bid for the remaining £1.1 million, but it is already drawing up plans of what to do with the rest of the money.

The council is considering:

• Converting traffic lanes into temporary cycle lanes
• Widening existing cycle lanes to help cyclists maintain distancing
• Using cones and barriers to widen footpaths in key areas
• Widening pedestrian refuge islands and crossings
• Encouraging cycling and walking to school
• Introducing pedestrian and cycle areas
• Providing more cycle parking facilities
• Changing junction designs to accommodate more cyclists

The Department for Transport is keen for local authorities to bring forward schemes that are already planned and that can be constructed relatively quickly. Cllr Don Mackenzie, NYCC’s executive member for access, said:

“We intend to take full advantage of this funding. The amount on offer and the requirement to spend it quickly mean that we will be looking to make small but effective improvements that offer the maximum benefit.

“It will not be practical to fund major projects. To give some context, if the £1.3m were to be spent solely on new permanent segregated cycle routes it would be sufficient to pay for about three kilometres, less than two miles, of cycle path.”

The county council is keen to hear suggestions for how it can spend the money. Click or tap here for more details.

A Harrogate pub that came under fire for breaching coronavirus lockdown rules could be closed down permanently.

The council has told the landlord of the Coach and Horses that a formal review of its licence is underway after it found 75 customers in the area drinking on Sunday.

Harrogate Borough Council sent its enforcement team to two pubs on Saturday and reported that people were breaking the rules. It gave advice to the licensees of both pubs and reminded them of the law.

The next day, the Coach and Horses opened again and followed the initial advice before, the council says it committed a further breach of regulations.

Police at the Coach and Horses on Tuesday.

Council officers issued a prohibition notice to the pub the same day and in doing so officers were subjected to verbal abuse from customers. One even followed the officers along Tower Street and back to their cars.

Despite the prohibition notice, the council said the pub continued to trade in the same way. In his report, council officer Gareth Bentley said officers returned to the pub on Monday, after the notice was issued:

“On arrival they noticed two ladies drinking in open plastic cups at the front of The Coach and Horses. Additionally people were sitting outside, on the opposite side of the road to the pubs’ side door on Tower Street drinking from open plastic pint cups.”

Council officers and police officers returned to the premises yesterday to serve notice of the licence review, which could mean a permanent closure.

Read more on this story:

• What happened on Saturday afternoon?
• Harrogate pub owners said they followed government guidelines
• Why did the council serve The Coach and Horses with a prohibition notice?

The council, accompanied by North Yorkshire Police, said it will continue to monitor the situation over the weekend.

Councillor Mike Chambers, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing and safer communities, said:

“Even after officers visited the Coach and Horses pub, and advised the landlord of their responsibilities, they still felt the need to continue breaching coronavirus regulations. Sadly, this has now resulted in the review of the pub’s licence. These regulation are there to protect our communities. “

Nearly 1000 staff at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust were absent from work because of coronavirus in the first month of lockdown.

The vast majority of the 974 took time off to self-isolate with coronavirus symptoms for an average of nine days – the rest will shield themselves until the end of June.

It means that one in five of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust’s staff have taken time off and it has come at a major cost.

In the first month of the financial year, from April 6, the Trust paid out £478,000 for sickness at full pay. The figures come from a report from the Trust’s Board of Directors seen by The Stray Ferret which details its finances.

What has Harrogate District Hospital Trust spent coronavirus money on?

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spent just over £1 million on its coronavirus response in the same period – which was in line with other Trusts in the region. The report says the Trust received money from the NHS centrally to cover it.

Most of the money was spent on sick pay but the report also highlights what else the Trust has spent its money on:

• £216,000 to help set up the NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber
• £145,000 on other costs
• £101,000 on expanding the Trust’s medical, nursing and other workforces
• £40,000 on additional shifts for the existing workforce
• £34,000 on the segregation of patient pathways
• £22,000 on increasing capacity in the Intensive Treatment Unit
• £17,000 on coronavirus testing in NHS laboratories

Read more on this story:

• Why the clock is ticking on the NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths in today’s figures from the NHS.

The number of deaths at the hospital stands at 66. The hospital reported two coronavirus deaths yesterday.

Read more on this story

• Watch how Harrogate thanked its carers during the coronavirus lockdown
• The last time Harrogate hospital reported coronavirus deaths

A further 179 people, who tested positive for coronavirus, have died in England’s hospitals. It brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths to 27,044.

Patients were aged between 12 and 97 years old. Four of the 179 patients, who were aged between 78 and 93, had no known underlying health conditions.

NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber will offer CT scans to some patients from June 4.

The temporary hospital has been on standby since its launch in April. This will be the first time that the facility will offer appointments.

It is equipped with clinical imaging equipment, which means it can also support the NHS in its recovery phase. When it opens, the hospital will provide outpatient appointments seven days a week for patients with radiology referrals.

The service is for patients who are well and mobile and it will provide a combination of diagnostic scans and surveillance scans, which are used to monitor patients with a prior diagnosis of a medical condition.

Read more on this story

• What happened when the NHS Nightingale officially opened
• Why the NHS is not paying rent to use the HCC
• Watch how the NHS Nightingale was built in a few short weeks

Steve Russell, Chief Executive of NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber and Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“A number of NHS services have been significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as hospitals have had to prioritise the care of patients with the virus. The measures taken to introduce social distancing and manage hospital demand have meant that we’ve not yet needed to use the NHS Nightingale Hospital for its original intended purpose. We’ve therefore taken the decision to utilise the equipment and begin offering CT scans at the facility so that we can get patients seen quickly.”

Every patient who attends the facility will be screened before their appointment to check that they don’t have the symptoms of Covid-19 and appointments will only be offered to those who are neither isolating, nor shielding.

Patients with additional needs, such as those who require interpreting services or patient transport, will continue to be seen at their local hospital to guarantee their specific needs can be met.