covid Archives - Page 8 of 51

Harrogate council HQ ‘like the Mary Celeste’, says councillor

A councillor has compared Harrogate Borough Council‘s headquarters at Knapping Mount to the abandoned ghost ship the Mary Celeste, due to the number of staff still working from home.

The multi-million-pound Civic Centre opened in 2017 and can accommodate up to 500 council workers. However, the council is still encouraging many staff to work from home despite lockdown restrictions being removed.

Nick Brown, the Conservative councillor for Bishop Monkton and Newby, told the Stray Ferret yesterday that he was unsatisfied with the response of Conservative council leader Richard Cooper to a question he asked at a council meeting last week.

Cllr Cooper said decisions about working practices should be made by senior officers rather than councillors.

Cllr Brown told the Stray Ferret:

“We councillors agreed to spend £13m on a new Civic Centre, opened in 2017, for officers to work in. Yet the leader now tells us that it is not members’ business to require council officers to work there.

“Prior to the covid pandemic, the Civic Centre was a busy place where I as a councillor could find the officers that I wished to speak to. Now it is like the Mary Celeste!”.

Cllr Brown believes ending the work from home policy would “benefit the local economy”.

He added:

“Our Conservative Prime Minister has given a clear message to end working from home in the public sector, in order to boost the economy.

“As a Conservative-led council, I believe we should get officers back at their desks and using the Civic Centre.”

The public sector workers union Unison said it “broadly supports” the council’s decision to allow staff to work from home.

David Houlgate, branch secretary for the Harrogate district, told the Stray Ferret council staff proved during the pandemic they can work from home effectively.

He added:

“We believe the government’s Living with Covid strategy to scrap all remaining covid rules in England was reckless.

“So we broadly support this cautious approach taken by Harrogate Borough Council about returning to the Civic Centre at this time.

“Staff have demonstrated over a two-year period that they can deliver vital public services whether or not they are in the office or working from home.

“We’re confident that that can continue, though poor pay does present an ever increasing risk.”

‘Agile working’

The Stray Ferret has asked the council for the number of staff currently working from home who would normally be in the Civic Centre.

A council spokesperson said:

“Following the updated guidance in relation to the end of Plan B measures, staff are permitted to work from the office should they wish to or are required to do so.

“The number of staff using said office(s) differs day-by-day so it would be difficult to provide a comprehensive figure. Staff also come and go from the office depending on their job role; housing and planning officers for example.

“And while covid has seen a significant increase in staff working from home – and rightly so – many staff were already doing so. The civic centre was designed in such a way that staff could hybrid work or ‘hot desk’ if they so wished.

“Agile working is something adopted by many local authorities and companies long before covid and is one of the many benefits of working for Harrogate Borough Council.”

Knaresborough artist presents lockdown portraits to key workers

Knaresborough artist Shirley Vine presented her lockdown portraits to key workers on Saturday.

Ms Vine started the project to pay tribute to people on the frontline during the darkest periods of the pandemic.

Her 15 subjects included a fireman, a care worker, nurses, teachers, a police officer, refuse collector, dentist, signalman, and foodbank volunteers.

The acrylic paintings have been on display in the Chain Lane vaccination centre in Knaresborough but have now been presented free of charge to the subjects at a reception Ms Vine organised on Saturday at COGS (Centre On Gracious Street).

Ms Vine said:

“Lockdown was fine at first, as it was the time when I usually finish my watercolour classes for the year and spend time sorting the house and garden.

“That was OK for a few weeks, but I soon realised that something more was going to be needed for the future unknown time of covid.

“Tom Croft, a professional portraitist appeared on BBC TV to galvanise any artists to paint their NHS heroes. I took to this and painted 15 local frontline key workers”.

Receiving the portraits brought back often difficult memories to the key workers who Ms Vine painted.

Deborah and Ian, from anti-food waste community group Resurrected Bites said,

“It has been a privilege and so good to be able to help when so many were desperate”.

Deborah and Ian with their portrait.

Gee, a care worker, said,

“As the residents couldn’t have visitors, we became their family, which was so important”.

Gee and her portrait.

Lesley, a dentist, said,

“Stunning Portraits. A poignant reminder of what we were doing and now feels like a lifetime ago”.

Lesley with her portrait.

Sam from Noah’s Ark Pre-school said:

“It was hard work but rewarding, cocooned within Noah’s Ark. Shirley has captured how children’s learning continued throughout and how parents valued the setting and all of the staff.”

Sam and her portrait.

Covid rate falls from 1,300 to 344 in Harrogate district over last month

Latest figures reveal how dramatically the covid rate of infection has fallen in the Harrogate district over the past month.

Data published by North Yorkshire County Council shows the seven-day rate of infection was 344 per 100,000 people on March 1.

On February 1, when the Omicron variant was rampant, the rate was 1,300 per 100,000 people.

Although the rate continues to fall, there have still been covid-related deaths reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

NHS England figures show that one death was recorded on February 28 and another on February 25.

There have been 232 covid-related deaths at the hospital since the pandemic started almost two years ago.

From Tuesday, the rules for people visiting patients in Harrogate and Ripon’s hospitals will be relaxed.

Since December 23, visitors have only been allowed for patients on end-of-life care, patients with a learning disability or severe cognitive impairment such as dementia. Visits to parents or carers of children and birthing partners are also permitted.

But from Tuesday, patients can have one visitor, by appointment, between 2pm-4pm for 30 minutes. Only two visitors will be allowed in each bay at any one time.

Harrogate hospital currently ‘very full’, say health officials

Harrogate hospital managers warned yesterday that “high numbers of very sick patients” is causing long waiting times.

They added that people with less urgent issues are experiencing long waits.

The news comes weeks after Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust reported that it had reached maximum bed capacity at the start of February due to covid and winter pressures.

In a post on its social media, the trust urged people to call the NHS on 111 unless they had a life-threatening or severe illness or injury.

It said:

“During this week at Harrogate District Hospital we are experiencing high numbers of very sick patients, and due to this the hospital is very full. As a result, patients with less urgent issues may experience longer waiting times than usual.

“This isn’t ideal and we will endeavour to keep waiting times as short as possible. We know that patients can be in pain, stressed or scared, and our dedicated team with do everything they can to help.

“Your health is our utmost priority and all we ask for in return is our staff are treated respectfully and do not have to face verbal or physical abuse as they try to do their job.

“Unless you have a life-threatening or severe illness or injury, we would ask you to contact NHS 111 first.”

Knaresborough woman who refused to wear face mask unfairly dismissed, tribunal rules

An employment tribunal has ruled that a Knaresborough woman was unfairly treated when she was dismissed from her job for refusing to wear a face mask.

Laura Convery worked at the Volkswagen dealership in Knaresborough from July 2019 until October 2020.

Staff at the dealership were sent an email in May 2020 by British Street Fourth Investments Ltd, which owns the dealership, about a return to work and to follow a covid policy in which they were asked to wear masks and social distance.

The tribunal, which was held in Leeds, heard that Ms Convery had refused to wear a face mask because it gave her “panic attacks” and anxiety.

She said she had tried to wear a face covering in supermarkets when the government made them mandatory, but it caused her “severe distress”.

The company offered her the chance to wear a visor instead, but she declined. This led her line manager, Matt Brodgen, to suspend her.

Ms Convery later told Mr Brogden, in a text message in September 2020:

“I physically cannot wear one [a face covering], I have tried on more than one occasion since July 24 and I just can’t do it.

“It creates severe distress for a number of reasons. The main one being that I have a complete aversion to anything covering my face, which stems back from my teenage years I believe.

“I wasn’t aware that this was even a problem until I have tried to wear a face covering in recent months, but it transpires that it is a huge problem for me.”

Ms Convery was invited to a disciplinary meeting the following October, but said she did not attend after increased stress and anxiety had led to her to being signed off work by her GP.

The dealership terminated her employment with immediate effect on October 15.

Anxiety impairment

However, the tribunal found that Ms Convery had been unfairly treated in her dismissal because “of something arising in consequence of her disability in contravention of section 15 of the Equality Act 2010”.

A judgement published by the tribunal concluded that she was “unable to wear a face covering because of her anxiety impairment”.

The tribunal also found that the company could not have known about Ms Convery’s disability before her text message in September.

However, it added:

“The respondent, the tribunal concludes, ought reasonably to have made further enquiries whether through its occupational health service provider or directly to the claimants own GP from which it is likely it would have become aware of the claimant’s disabling condition.”

Harrogate and Ripon vaccination sites hit 200,000 jab milestone

The GP-run vaccination sites in Harrogate and Ripon administered their 200,000th covid jab in the last week.

The figure applies to vaccines given at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate and Ripon Races, which are operated by the Yorkshire Health Network, which is a federation of the 17 GP practices in the Harrogate district

When pharmacy vaccines are also included, the total number of jabs in the Harrogate district since the start of the pandemic comes to 374,994.

Ripon Races held its final vaccination clinic on Sunday. The Great Yorkshire Showground is due to close in March.

The information comes as the number of covid infections in the district continues to fall rapidly.

The latest daily UK Health Security Agency figures show that 100 covid cases have been reported in the last 24 hours.

Currently the district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 531 per 100,000 people.

It remains above the county-wide average 412 and the England rate of 417.

NHS England figures show the number of deaths from patients who tested positive for covid at Harrogate District Hospital stands at 228.

County council could face £600,000 black hole over concessionary bus fares

North Yorkshire County Council could be left facing nearly £600,000 of financial pressure if concessionary bus passenger volumes return to pre-pandemic levels, it has emerged.

Leading North Yorkshire councillors have pushed forward proposals for a new North Yorkshire and York English National Concessionary Travel Scheme, under which a host of local bus service operators will be paid for the fares of elderly and disabled people until April 2024.

Under the national mandated scheme bus pass holders can travel free on all local buses anywhere in England from 9.30am until 11pm on weekdays and all day at weekends and on bank holidays.

In North Yorkshire, the council covers bus pass fares from 9am to 6am, and concessions are accepted on certain morning rush hour journeys, particularly from rural areas.

Such exemptions are considered on a case by case basis and granted for cases such as where a passenger is not likely to reach their service centre, GP, hospital before 11am on a direct service without the exemption.

A council officer’s report states the overall financial impact of the proposed changes to the scheme is that forecast expenditure is expected to increase by £216,000 in the coming year based on last year’s passenger numbers.

It states:

“If passenger numbers increase to pre-pandemic levels based on 2018/19 passenger numbers then expenditure could increase by up to £581,000.”

‘More people visit us’

Cllr Don Mackenzie, the authority’s executive member for access, said the reason council could face financial pressures was because it had made “small savings against budget” over the past 24 months.

He said:

“We simply did not foresee a marked decrease in the number of people using buses. We did continue to pay bus operators far beyond what they should have been given based purely on passenger numbers because we wanted lots of bus operators to still be around and financially viable after covid was over.

“Any increase back up to pre-covid levels will have an impact on the budget because we have pared the budget by relatively small amounts due to reduced usage by bus pass holders.

“It is a pressure, but would be a relatively small percentage of what the bus concessionary fare scheme costs us, about £7 million a year.

“Concessionary fares have always cost North Yorkshire more than we get from government because it is an attractive place to visit and use their bus passes and we pick up the bill for that.

“Clearly, some of our residents go to other parts of the country and use their bus passes, but we do have more people visiting us than most parts of the country simply because it is a very beautiful county.”

When asked if the funding of concessionary fares would be fairer if it was calculated by the number of concessionary fares used in an area, Cllr Mackenzie replied:

“I think the system’s pretty fair. We have in the past lobbied for additional funding because of this surplus of bus passes.

“It does give older and disabled folk an incentive not to use their cars and to get out and about, which is good for public health, it’s good for mental health and it’s very good for the environment too.”

Harrogate covid vaccination centre set to close in March

Harrogate’s covid vaccination centre at the Great Yorkshire Showground is set to close next month.

The site, along with the vaccination centre at Ripon Races, is run by Yorkshire Health Network, a federation of the 17 GP practices in the Harrogate district.

The final jabs will be administered at Ripon Races tomorrow. The clinic will be open to people aged 12 and over and walk-ins will be accepted between 8.30am-12.30pm and 1.30-5pm.

The showground site will continue until March 12.

The site first opened in December 2020 to support the first vaccination rollout and administered 117,000 jabs in its first six months of operation.

It reopened in December 2021 as part of the covid booster campaign.

Tim Yarrow, operations manager at Yorkshire Health Network, confirmed that the site would close on March 12. He said:

“After March 12 we will be offering a scaled back service on more of an ad-hoc basis, hopefully still at the showground.”

Vaccinations at the site will continue until March, with walk-in appointments available.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Health Network added:

“Vaccination clinics are due to be held at the Yorkshire Event Centre until at least the middle of March,

“However, with some adults and vulnerable children likely to still require access to the covid vaccine, the Yorkshire Health Network is currently looking at future provision beyond this date, with arrangements to be confirmed soon.

“If patients still require first, second or booster doses, they can book appointments via the NHS Booking Service online or call 119, or visit the NHS website to see local arrangements for walk-in clinic.”

788 Harrogate hospital patients were sent back to care homes without covid test

Almost 800 Harrogate District Hospital patients were allowed to return to their care homes without being tested for covid, it has been revealed.

Figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service provide the clearest picture yet on how patients were moved between the hospital and care homes – a practice which is believed to have fuelled infections amongst the most vulnerable.

The figures show a total of 788 patients were discharged into care homes without being tested between March 2020 and November 2021.

But the hospital says it has followed national guidance on when to carry out tests and that “patient health and safety is our primary concern”.

It also said the figures will include patients who were tested before arriving at the hospital, although it added “we do not record this information”.

Russell Nightingale, chief operating officer at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“During the covid pandemic, steps were taken to ensure patients could continue to be looked after in a safe environment – this was especially important for vulnerable and elderly people.

“A policy was introduced on April 15, 2020, requiring inpatients who were being discharged from hospital to a care home to have a covid test.

“Only patients who had received a negative covid test were discharged.

“If they tested positive, infection prevention measures were put in place for the individual to prevent the virus from spreading and so that the patient could be treated appropriately.

“They would remain in hospital for the required period before they were discharged.”

However, this approach did not apply to patients attending appointments or the emergency department who were allowed to return to their care homes without being tested.

And crucially, the testing of inpatients was only introduced by the government in April 2020 – almost three months after the first covid case was detected in England and when there was no protection from vaccines.

It is thought covid was transmitting at a much quicker rate than was known at these early stages in the pandemic, and once inside a care home it often spread to residents with devastating consequences.

410 care home deaths in North Yorkshire

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 410 covid deaths have been reported by North Yorkshire care homes which have had to deal with PPE and testing shortages, as well as ever changing government guidance on visiting restrictions.

Harrogate hospital said it was not impacted by the testing shortages.

But Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones said the government did recognise there were “challenges” with testing as he also praised staff at the hospital for their efforts during the pandemic.

Mr Jones said:

“It seems clear to me that the staff at Harrogate hospital sought to deal with patients in the safest and most practical way during the pandemic.

“This must have been extremely difficult for them particularly in the early days of the pandemic when the world was fighting against something new and about which medical science knew little but could see it was deadly for many.

“There were also challenges with protective equipment supply, testing capability was still limited and hospitalisation rates were high.

“The description they have given about their testing regime would seem to most people to be practical and credible with patient safety at its heart.

“I want to again put on record my thanks to the clinical staff and also to the non-clinical support staff for ensuring the highest standards of patient care in unprecedented circumstances.”

Harrogate district covid rate continues rapid fall

The Harrogate district’s covid rate is continuing to fall rapidly and now stands at 756 cases per 100,000 people.

It’s the lowest the rate has been since December 20. At the peak of the Omicron wave in early January, the rate had risen to almost 2,000 cases per 100,000 people.

A total of 132 more positive covid cases were reported today in the district, according to UK Health Security Agency data.

Meanwhile, the number of positive patients with covid who have died at Harrogate District Hospital since March 2020 remains at 221.

The latest death was reported on February 5, according to NHS England figures.

The Stray Ferret reported yesterday that Harrogate District Hospital reached maximum bed occupancy this month, with all 292 beds filled.

Figures published by NHS England show that on February 4 the hospital was at maximum capacity although the situation has improved slightly since.

The hospital is currently operating at 90% bed occupancy, as it battles covid and winter pressures, say trust managers.

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‘Agile working’

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Anxiety impairment

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‘More people visit us’

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410 care home deaths in North Yorkshire

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