Two further patients who tested positive for coronavirus have died at Harrogate District Hospital.
According to NHS England figures, the deaths were reported on January 13. It takes the death toll at the hospital since March up to 119.
Meanwhile, a further 84 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the Harrogate district.
Figures today from Public Health England show the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic has now increased up to 5,855.
Frontline Harrogate hospital staff ask for car parking refundsSome frontline staff at Harrogate District Hospital have requested £150 refunds for being asked to pay for car parking during the pandemic.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust suspended parking charges for staff and visitors during the first lockdown but reinstated them in September.
The trust then wrote to staff last month saying it had decided to donate staff parking fees to Harrogate Hospital & Community Charity, where they would be put towards a staff health and wellbeing fund.
The monthly parking charge is £50.50, which means staff paid £151.50 to park on site during the last quarter of 2020.
Employees have now been given the choice to opt out of this arrangement or continue contributing to the health and wellbeing fund.
Most have chosen the latter, but a number have opted out and some are seeking refunds for parking charges incurred in the final quarter of 2020.
One frontline worker, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Stray Ferret they felt it was unfair to be charged for parking after such a demanding year, particularly with the risk of covid, or to be pressured into paying into the hospital charity, however worthy the cause. They added:
“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.”
The person added £50.50 was a considerable monthly sum for low wage staff, including cleaners and porters, who paid for onsite parking to know their cars were secure when they worked overnight shifts rather than leave them on nearby streets, which can also annoy residents.
In a letter to staff last month, Jonathan Coulter, finance director of the trust, encouraged staff to continue contributing fees to the health and wellbeing fund but added:
“By necessity this needs to be optional for colleagues, and therefore you could simply opt out and park for free, but we would hope the vast majority of colleagues would like to continue this, given the positive impact that the money raised will have for all staff, and the fact that this will be at no cost over and above what you currently pay.”
Mr Coulter told staff last week that at the start of the year 13 of 300 staff the trust had written to had asked to opt out but he was aware more had done so since.
He added the issue would be kept under review.
A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesman told the Stray Ferret the car parking fees would be “specifically used to benefit colleague health and wellbeing all across the trust” and a staff group would decide where it is paid.
The spokesman declined to say whether staff would be offered refunds or why the trust had changed its parking policy again to offer the opt-out option.
Harrogate District Hospital has recorded a further two coronavirus deaths as cases stay high in the district.
The two deaths happened yesterday and take the hospital up to 113 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Harrogate district recorded a further 110 daily coronavirus cases today.
The number takes the total number of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic to 5,346, according to Public Health England figures.
Cases have been consistently high across the country since the Christmas break. The Harrogate district has seen rapid growth and the seven-day rate is now 474 people per 100,000.
It does, however, remain below the England average of 603 cases per 100,000.
Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating 24 patients who tested positive for coronavirus.
The number is an increase on the 16 which the trust reported last week.
700 Harrogate hospital staff to be vaccinated this weekHundreds of hospital staff in Harrogate have had their first doses of the coronavirus vaccine.
On Monday, Harrogate District Hospital began offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to its staff after the first batch was delivered.
Seven hundred staff have been booked in this week to be vaccinated and 266 had received the jab after the first two days of the programme.
A total of 820 staff from high risk categories were invited to be inoculated first.
“It was a necessity to have this vaccination because I have two auto-immune conditions and my husband is classed as vulnerable because he has an auto-immune condition.“I’ve got elderly parents and a young grandson. I’ve had this to protect myself, my family and the patients we deal with.”
It comes as public health officials in North Yorkshire said they expected the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine to arrive in the county by the end of the week.
It means more care home residents will be able to access the vaccine as it is easier to transport.
The government has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine, however just 530,000 were cleared for use earlier this week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday the NHS would begin to publish daily figures on the number of vaccinations from next week.
‘Long covid clinic’ opens at Harrogate District HospitalHarrogate will be one of almost 70 locations in the UK to operate a clinic for people suffering with long-term effects from coronavirus, the NHS announced today.
The long covid clinics will take referrals from GPs for people suffering from a wide range of symptoms, including breathlessness, fatigue, anxiety and depression, after they have recovered from the virus itself.
Hosted by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, the centre will offer specialist treatment from doctors and nurses as well as physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Physical and psychological assessments will be carried out before patients are directed to appropriate treatment and rehabilitation.
NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said:
“The NHS is taking practical action to help patients suffering ongoing health issues as a result of coronavirus. Bringing expert clinicians together in these clinics will deliver an integrated approach to support patients access vital rehabilitation, as well as helping develop a greater understanding of long covid and its debilitating symptoms.”
Research by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed one in five people with coronavirus went on to develop long-term symptoms. Around 186,000 people were affected for up to 12 weeks, according to the research.
The Harrogate District Hospital clinic is one of 18 similar operations which have been launched across the North East and Yorkshire. NHS England has provided £10 million of funding for the 69 sites across the country.
A new national covid taskforce has also been launched by the NHS, bringing patients, charities, researchers and clinicians together to lead the response to long covid, producing information and supporting materials for patients and healthcare professionals, and developing a wider understanding of the condition.
Are you suffering with long-term effects after having covid-19? What do you think of the plans for the new clinic? Get in touch to share your views and experiences: contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Harrogate needs mental health crisis team ‘at earliest opportunity’A mental health crisis team needs to return to Harrogate “at the earliest possible opportunity”, according to health bosses.
Inpatient mental health services transferred to York.
The adult and children crisis teams, which support people with mental health problems who may otherwise need to go to hospital and includes 29 staff, relocated to Ripon after officials were unable to identify alternative accommodation in Harrogate.
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health services for the Harrogate district, has conceded the move out of town “cannot be sustained in the long term”.
The quote is contained in a report due before North Yorkshire County Council’s health scrutiny panel this week.
The report also says the trust “fully acknowledged” that the service should be moved back to Harrogate “at the earliest possible opportunity”.
About 300 people a month use the crisis team for advice, support and assessment.
Naomi Lonergan, TEWV director of operations for North Yorkshire and York told the Stray Ferret:
“A lot of work was carried out to find new accommodation for the crisis teams in Harrogate. Unfortunately at the time there weren’t suitable premises that could accommodate both teams and allow them to work together in providing interventions.
“As a short term solution we transferred the team to a suitable space at our existing trust premises at The Orchards, Ripon. However work is underway to identify potential sites and explore all possible solutions to accommodate crisis teams to enable them to deliver a service across Harrogate and rural district.
“Whilst the team base is in Ripon, our priority is always to maintain face-to-face contact and see people who need crisis interventions in their homes or as close to home as possible. Most people accessing our crisis services continue to be seen in the Harrogate area.
“We have identified rooms in the Harrogate community bases to enable face-to-face contact, as well as using increased community investment in team members to enable more home visits where needed. Where clinically appropriate we are also offering attend anywhere virtual consultations too.”
North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys medical services for the county, said the transfer of inpatient beds “released £500,000”, which could be invested in community mental health services.
Have you been affected by this change in mental health services? Get in touch at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Two further covid deaths confirmed at Harrogate HospitalTwo more patients have died at Harrogate District Hospital after being diagnosed with covid-19.
Both deaths occurred on Thursday, December 10, and are confirmed in figures released today by NHS England.
It brings the total number of covid-19 deaths at the hospital to 106 since the pandemic began. The last deaths to be confirmed there were more than a week ago, with one on December 3, two on December 4 and one on December 5
Meanwhile, 17 more people have tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours across the Harrogate district. Today’s figures from Public Health England show the new cases bring the total number diagnosed to 3,822 since the start of the pandemic.
The seven-day average rate of cases for the district has dropped to 90.2 per 100,000 people, from 95.1 yesterday. For North Yorkshire, the number has fallen to 102.4 from 104.5 yesterday. It stands at 148 per 100,000 across Yorkshire and the Humber.
Harrogate hospital set for £800,000 maintenance upgrades
Harrogate and District Foundation Trust has been allocated £800,000 for hospital maintenance in a funding announcement from the government.
The Department of Health and Social Care has awarded £600 million across 174 health trusts aimed at tackling critical improvements for hospitals.
It comes as part of a wider £1.5 billion fund announced earlier this year, which also includes plans to modernise mental health facilities, expand A&E capacity and improve infection control ahead of winter.
A total of 1,800 projects have been funded, with six granted funding in Harrogate.
The trust said the funds will help to tackle backlog maintenance work, including upgrades to the hospital’s water and fire systems.
Harrogate Integrated Facilities (HIF), a subsidiary of the trust which deals with the hospital’s estates, will carry out the work.
Jonathan Coulter, deputy chief executive and director of finance at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and chief executive of HIF, said:
“We’re really pleased to have received these additional funds. They allow us to invest in backlog maintenance and improve the Harrogate District Hospital environment. It is much needed, and very welcome.
“The money is going towards vital upgrades to water systems, fire systems and lifts as well as the resurfacing of the goods yard.”
Matt Hancock, secretary of state for health and social care, said:
“Alongside delivering on our manifesto commitment to build 40 new hospitals and 20 major hospital upgrades across the country, this investment will help our NHS build back better.
“These crucial maintenance projects will deliver immediate benefits and provide NHS staff with the facilities they need to provide world-class care to their patients this winter, helping ensure the NHS is always there for you when you need it.”
In August, the trust also received £527,000 to help increase capacity at Harrogate hospital’s accident and emergency department.
Harrogate district ready for coronavirus vaccine rolloutHealth bosses for the Harrogate district have welcomed news of a coronavirus vaccine and say they are ready to roll it out locally.
The UK is the first western nation to approve a vaccine, which was developed by Pfizer-Biontech and is up to 95% effective.
It poses a major logistical challenge, not only because of the sheer numbers that need the vaccine but also as it needs to be kept at minus 70 degrees Centigrade.
Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for the three North Yorkshire clinical commissioning groups, which commission health products, said at a coronavirus press briefing this morning:
“We are working across the system and planning in real time to take stock of the vaccine as it become available next week.
“I think we should be optimistic and are right to be delighted. We will work through the plans that we have put in place over the last few weeks.
“There are a lot of logistics around it in terms of moving the vaccine around, getting it where it needs to be and then getting people in the right place.”
The briefing did not provide details of how the programme would be administered in the district but the first vaccines are likely to be injected in the main hospitals before Nightingale hospitals and GPs also get involved.
Care homes residents and care home staff are top of the list, followed by people aged over 80 and other healthcare staff.
A total of 800,000 doses are expected to be distributed next week but it is unclear how many will be awarded to each local area.
Ms Bloor spoke at a weekly media briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which is a partnership of organisations that tackle emergencies in the county.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine after a process known as a “rolling review”.
Scientists reviewed the data as it became available in order to approve it as soon as possible.
Dr June Raine, chief executive at the MHRA, said:
31 new positive coronavirus cases in Harrogate district“Vaccines are the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases. They save millions of lives worldwide.”
Thirty one new people have tested positive for coronavirus in the district. It brings the total number of people who’ve had covid in the district to 3,381 since the start of the pandemic.
There have been no further reported deaths of patients who tested positive for covid-19 at Harrogate District Hospital.
Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day rate continues to track below the national average.
Currently, it stands at 203 per 100,000 people compared with the England average of 248.
The weekly covid rate fell below the England average this week for the first time since October.