A Harrogate woman has set an ambitious fundraising target after seeing first-hand the vital work done by NHS staff to treat patients with covid.

Victoria Read is hoping to raise £10,000 for Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity after her father contracted the virus and spent three months in hospital.

During that time, he was placed in an induced coma and on a ventilator for three weeks, and was so unwell at one stage in early December that his family were called into the hospital.

“They were incredible. We’ve never had to call on the NHS in that way before and to have it at such a horrible time and the scenario we were in was awful.

“We were in awe of their work and passion and patience and resilience. They never gave up on him, so he never gave up.”

Victoria’s dad was finally well enough to be moved onto a recovery ward on Boxing Day and came home last week. Though she said his road to full recovery will be long, she has already set to work on her aim of raising money for the hospital which saved his life.

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So far, she has shared her plans with friends, who have donated more than £1,000 in just a few days. Current restrictions mean she can’t hold a normal fundraising event, but to keep the campaign going and reach her target, she is working on a number of ideas.

The first is “say it without flowers”, asking people to consider donating the money they might usually spend on Valentine’s Day to the charity. With so many people affected by coronavirus, or relying on the NHS to continue supporting them in other ways despite the pandemic, she hopes support will flood in to recognise the dedication of NHS staff. She said:

“We wrote letters and left WhatsApp messages for my dad, and the nurses played them to him and read to him. Although it’s 24-hour nursing care, they aren’t just looking at oxygen levels and things – they’re also caring for him, washing him and brushing his hair and making sure his beard is trimmed. The dignity they gave him was incredible.”

She added:

“It takes something like this for you to really understand covid and respect it. Some people are being very cynical about it. I would never wish this on anyone, but I don’t think you can really understand it until you’ve been through it.”

Having been forced to cancel her wedding before her dad fell ill, Victoria said 2020 was “the worst year” for her family. She hopes starting an ambitious project will help to make 2021 more positive, even with lockdown restrictions.

To donate to Victoria’s campaign, click here.

The Harrogate district’s seven-day covid rate of infection has fallen below 200 people per 100,000 for the first time this year — but the hospital is now treating a record number of patients.

The infection rate now stands at 189 people per 100,000. It had not been below 200 since December 28.

But the number of patients being treated at Harrogate District Hospital has increased to 57.

The figure is an all-time high since the pandemic started although no further deaths have been reported today at the hospital.

David Mattinson, medical registrar on one of the hospital’s covid wards, tweeted today it had been “exceptionally busy” since Christmas and urged people to stay at home.

David Mattinson, medical registrar on one of the covid wards (centre of the photo), said the hospital has been “exceptionally busy” since Christmas. Picture: Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

Health bosses said yesterday hospitals across the county were treating more people than in the first wave.

A further 43 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Harrogate district today by Public Health England. It takes the total number of cases since March to 6,517.

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The government has awarded Harrogate District Hospital £14m to reduce its carbon footprint by 25 per cent.

The funding will be used for a series of initiatives: perhaps the most noticeable to visitors will be the installation of solar panels on the roof to provide more green energy.

An air source heat pump, which extracts heat from the air which can then be used to provide heating and hot water across the site, reducing the consumption of natural gas, will be bought.

Some of the site’s long-standing maintenance issues will also be fixed, including repairing and replacing flat roofs that leak and old windows.

It is hoped the measures will reduce the carbon footprint of the hospital site by 1,100 tonnes per year.

The works will be carried out by the hospital’s estates and facilities subsidiary company, Harrogate Integrated Facilities in partnership with Imtech and its specialist energy performance business, Breathe.

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Harrogate and District NHS Trust said in a statement today the funding would also benefit the local economy because local businesses will be involved.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy awarded the grant from its public sector decarbonisation scheme. Public sector organisations submit bids to the scheme.

Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate Integrated Facilities, said the grant was “brilliant news for us, everyone who works here and patients who access services here”. He added:

“We have a firm ambition to reduce the carbon footprint of Harrogate District Hospital by as much as possible, and as quickly as possible.”

The hospital already has a 25-year carbon reduction project with the Carbon Energy Fund and Imtech, which it says delivers energy savings of around £680,000 each year.

Gary Parke, managing director of Breathe, said:

“The new energy saving installations will enhance and accelerate the savings our team has delivered over the last few years.

“As well as ensuring further cost and carbon reduction benefits for the trust and a better environment for staff, patients and visitors to the hospital.”

Hospital admissions for people with coronavirus at Harrogate District Hospital have hit a record high.

Health bosses said today the hospital currently has 54 covid patients — 10 more than last week.

According to latest government hospital admissions data, which runs up to January 19, the previous high was 48 on January 13.

A total of 504 patients are being treated for covid across North Yorkshire’s hospitals in Harrogate, York, Scarborough and South Tees. Sixty-one are in intensive care.

By comparison, the same hospitals had 302 covid patients at the peak of the first lockdown last year.

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• Harrogate district on track to achieve February 15 vaccine deadline

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, revealed the numbers at a press briefing today by North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which represents organisations fighting covid.

She said the numbers in hospital were “the highest they have ever been”.

Ms Bloor said the latest figures, including the UK reaching 100,000 covid deaths yesterday, should be a reminder of what the virus can do to communities. She added:

“How much more of a stark message do we need around North Yorkshire and York around the seriousness of the virus and the consequence that it can reek on our communities and our residents.

“Surely those facts alone, if nothing else, should focus everybody’s behaviour now on complying with the guidance.”

Harrogate hospital has suspended some non-emergency surgeries in an effort to free up bed space and staff to deal with patients.

Hospitals across the county have surge plans in place to deal with an increase in covid patients.

A trust spokesperson said the admissions figure given today was down on a few days ago.

Another patient who tested positive for coronavirus has died at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England figures today.

The death, which was reported on Sunday, takes the covid death toll at the hospital to 123.

It comes as more than 100,000 people have died nationally after a further 1,631 were recorded across the UK in today’s daily figures.

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Today also saw a further 29 cases of covid confirmed in the Harrogate district by Public Health England.

It takes the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 6,421

The district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen again to 228 people per 100,000.

The county-wide average stands at 208, while the England rate is 369.

A further 53 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district today.

It brings the total diagnosed with the virus to 6,321 since the start of the pandemic.

The seven-day average rate of infection for the district has risen slightly to 292.9 per 100,000, compared to 284 yesterday.

Meanwhile, the seven-day average for the whole of North Yorkshire is now 273.3. Craven and Selby remain the districts with the highest rate in the county, each at just over 300.

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No further deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital in today’s figures from Public Health England.

The latest figures show the hospital is currently treating 44 inpatients with covid.

A further 45 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

It takes the number of cases since the start of the pandemic up to 6,268.

One more death from a patient who tested positive for coronavirus has been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

The death was recorded on January 20, according to NHS England figures, and takes the total number since March up to 122.

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Meanwhile, the seven-day covid rate in the district has fallen to 284 cases per 100,000 people.

The county-wide rate is 257 and the national average 434.

A photo of a radiographer at Harrogate District Hospital, accompanied by a message urging people to follow lockdown rules and get vaccinated, has gone viral.

Dr Jon Sharpe, a consultant musculoskeletal radiologist, posted the simple but powerful image of radiographer Jo Huddart on his Facebook page on Saturday.

Since then it has received 13,000 shares, 12,000 reactions and 1,800 comments.

Annie Garlick took the image of fellow radiographer Jo Huddart on Ms Huddart’s phone.

Dr Sharpe’s post says the NHS faces its toughest fortnight in history and then explains the extraordinary lengths these “unsung heroes” go to daily.

Every patient with covid or suspected covid meets a radiographer for scans so they are on the front line, at significant personal risk. He adds:

“They wear PPE that is hot and uncomfortable for most of their shift. They do this day after day, shift after shift. Twenty four hours a day.

“Some of them have been doing this job for decades. Some of them are fresh out of university. I doubt any of them ever thought radiography would look like this.

“They are unsung heroes and I am immensely proud of each and every one of my colleagues.

“The clapping was nice, the odd free pizza was appreciated and the pictures of rainbows that children drew for us made us smile – but all we ask of you now is this:

“Please stay at home. Please follow the rules and please, please – get vaccinated when you are offered an appointment.”

‘Superb outcome’

Dr Sharpe told the Stray Ferret he only expected the post to be of passing interest to friends but he was pleased it had raised awareness of the value of radiographers. He added:

“If even just one more person elects to receive the vaccine because of this then it will have been a superb outcome.”

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Asked why the post had been shared so many times, he said it was due to a combination of factors:

“Jo is wearing so much PPE that even though I’ve worked with her daily for the last 9 years, she’s not instantly recognisable — the fact that my colleagues are having to go to such lengths just to be able to perform their daily duties with a modicum of safety is immensely sobering.

“The inclusion of the CT scanner, prepped and ready to receive the next patient also increased the impact of the image, minutes after this image was taken another patient would have been lying on the scanner prior to their examination.

“The picture of Jo and the scanner ready for the next patient emphasised the fact that this is not a unique situation, but just part of the daily work of the radiography staff — there will be another patient going on that scanner shortly.

“Maybe if people stayed at home and accepted the vaccine then that patient won’t be them or somebody they care about.”

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust is one of 10 NHS trusts in England consistently reporting critical care beds at full capacity, according to the latest figures.

NHS data from December 31 until January 10 shows Harrogate District Hospital’s critical care ward is full.

The hospital’s base critical care capacity is seven beds but this can ‘flex’ to 10 and beyond, trust chief executive Steve Russell told the Stray Ferret in November.

It utilised 11 beds on January 6 and January 9 and although the number has fluctuated it has not dropped below eight this year.

The number of critical care beds in Harrogate is nowhere near as high as it is for many hospitals in larger towns and cities.

Nevertheless, the analysis by the BBC names it as one of 10 trusts out of 140 with consistently full critical care beds.

An NHS spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“Critical care services in the NHS are under unprecedented pressure, which is why we’ve increased capacity significantly to continue to provide care.

“Hospitals continue to work to increase their capacity to help patients with covid and other conditions but ultimately it is essential the public continues to follow the ‘hands, face, space’ guidance to prevent the spread of coronavirus, reduce the number of people who need hospital care and ultimately save lives.”

The total number of available critical care beds in England on January 10 was 5,503, with 4,632 occupied.

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Harrogate District Hospital reported it had 47 coronavirus patients on January 14.

The increase in coronavirus patients prompted the hospital to announce last week it had decided to postpone some non-emergency surgeries to free up space and staff.

Tim Gold, the chief operating officer at the trust, said:

“Clearly, this past week has seen a very significant increase of people needing inpatient care.

“This is placing a significant strain on services at the trust.

“In response to rising numbers we are increasing the number of beds available for patients with covid on wards and in critical care.

“We will be continuing to provide urgent and cancer care during this time.”

Pressure is mounting for NHS staff to be offered free parking after North Yorkshire County Council wrote to the chief executive of Harrogate District Hospital.

NYCC chairman Jim Clark wrote to Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT) to ask it to “actively consider” reinstating free parking for staff.

The hospital had previously allowed staff to park for free between late March and September, in recognition of the challenges they faced in the early months of the pandemic. The lost income was supplemented by the government as part of a national scheme.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret about the letter, which he had also sent to other trusts across the county, Cllr Clark said:

“It’s a cross-party issue with unanimous support and it was right, as chairman of the council, that I sent the letter.

“It shows how much the people of not only Harrogate but of North Yorkshire are very grateful for all the NHS does. To charge them to park is a bit of an anomaly.”

The letter also asked the trust to look at options for sustainable travel to help reduce its carbon footprint. Cllr Clark offered NYCC’s help in introducing schemes which would support staff to use environmentally friendly methods of travel.

It took almost five months for the wording of the letter to be agreed, after first being proposed in July by Cllr Geoff Webber, the leader of the Liberal Democrats on NYCC.

He called for councillors to ask all hospital trusts in North Yorkshire to offer free parking, but an amendment was proposed by Cllr Richard Cooper, who represents Harrogate Central for the Conservatives, to remove references to free parking and instead support and encourage “measures which enable staff to travel to and from work sustainably”.

The final version of the letter, which was drafted through the county council’s scrutiny process, includes both the call for free parking and support for sustainable travel. It received the backing of all councillors in November before it was signed and sent by Cllr Clark this month.

Cllr Webber said:

“Many hospital staff put their lives at risk for the community every working day and to charge them over £50 per month to park on site at the hospital, particularly when we are all discouraged from using public transport, is disgraceful.

“The cancellation of parking charges for staff would be a small gesture to show the gratitude of the management and the community.”

Read more:

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• Coronavirus surge forces Harrogate hospital to postpone surgeries

After reinstating parking charges in September, HDFT told staff in December it would donate the £50.50 per month from each staff member to Harrogate Hospital & Community Charity, to be used for a staff health and wellbeing fund.

However, some staff were unhappy about the charges and asked to opt out of the scheme. One frontline worker, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Stray Ferret:

“It feels like a kick in the teeth after all we’ve been through in 2020. We were busy before Christmas but right now it’s manic and we feel we deserve this money back.”

In response, a spokesperson for the hospital trust said:

“Parking charges were suspended in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic when regular services were completely cancelled. The Trust made the difficult decision to reintroduce charges when normal services resumed in order to protect the very limited space available, and ensure parking was as stress free as possible for patients using our services.

“We do understand the challenges for staff but we believe it would be unfair for the benefit of free car parking to be limited to those with a car parking pass. This is why we have made the commitment that monies raised from staff car parking will be reinvested into the staff welfare fund. This will be specifically used to benefit colleague health and wellbeing all across the Trust. Where it is invested is being decided by a staff group.”

The Stray Ferret contacted HDFT this week about the letter from NYCC. The trust said it had nothing to add to its previous statement.