In the three weeks since the Harrogate Scrubbers launched, the group has swelled to nearly 700 members, raised £16, 594 and delivered 445 scrubs to Harrogate District Hospital. In fact, such has been the success of the group, that it has found sourcing supplies and getting packs out to so many volunteers challenging.

Harrogate Scrubbers was set up by Fran Taylor, a maths teachers at St John Fisher High School in Harrogate after she heard about a national shortage of PPE. She said being a part of Harrogate Scrubbers has helped give people a sense of purpose:

“I never dreamed we would inspire the community so much, but the response has been truly amazing! We have people cutting out packs, sewing, delivering packs, there really is a role for anyone.

It isn’t just helping the NHS, it has given a lot of people a purpose and is helping their mental health in isolation. Everyone can chat on the group, ask for help and then showcase their work. It has become a little community and one I am proud to have started.”

PPE being delivered to Harrogate Hospital

A whole host of companies have become involved to help the Scrubbers out with some of their logistical problems. Architects Bowman Riley, printers Enid Taylor and interior designers Blue Sky Design in Boston Spa all helped printing patterns for the volunteers.

Bettys & Taylors Group, through their community recycling project the Cone Exchange, and Harrogate Cook Ltd sourced them 1,000 paper carrier bags on the day the request went out.

Reusable nappy makers Totsbots donated waterproof fabric, design company Standout Media provided the group with a new logo, which will be followed by a website and social media support, and finally Hotel Chocolat in Harrogate donated bags of chocolates to go out in the packs to thank volunteers.

For information on how to donate to Harrogate Scrubbers visit: https://tinyurl.com/harrogatescrubbers

Another patient has died at Harrogate District Hospital after being diagnosed with coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths under Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust to 48.

The hospital this week confirmed that it has treated and discharged 70 patients diagnosed with Covid-19.

The patient died yesterday, May 1st, according to details released today by NHS England, which confirmed 370 deaths across the country. It brings the total for England to 20,853.

Of those confirmed today to have died, 25 had no known underlying health conditions. All patients were aged between 38 and 100.

NHS England has this week begun releasing daily data for deaths where the patient did not have a confirmed diagnosis, but where Covid-19 was listed on the death certificate. The statistics are only available for deaths which have occurred since April 24th, and are only divided by region.

In the North East and Yorkshire, five patients have this week died with suspected Covid-19. The total number of deaths in the region since the outbreak is 2,839, but this does not include deaths outside hospitals, such as in care homes.

This week, for the first time, data was released to show the number of deaths in care homes and other areas of the community in patients with suspected Covid-19. In the Harrogate district, 22 people are reported to have died with symptoms of the virus up to April 17th.

Harrogate District Hospital has reported that one more of its patients who tested positive for coronavirus has died, taking the hospital’s total number up to 47.

The patient died yesterday and was announced with a further 352 in England’s hospitals, 40 in Scotland, 17 in Wales, and 18 in Northern Ireland.

This comes as the Office for National Statistics revealed that the mortality rate in poorer communities is higher than those in more affluent areas.

The study is “age-standardised” which means that it takes into account the size and age structure of the population.

Poorer areas have a death rate of 55.1 per 100,000 people but richer areas have a much lower rate of 25.3 per 100,000 people.

Harrogate, which is considered to be one of the least deprived areas, has a mortality rate of 23 per 100,000 people.

The local authorities with the highest rates were all London boroughs like Newham, Brent, and Hackney which all have rates above 127.

Nick Stripe, the head of health analysis at the Office for National Statistics, said:

“People living in more deprived areas have experienced COVID-19 mortality rates more than double those living in less deprived areas. General mortality rates are normally higher in more deprived areas, but so far COVID-19 appears to be taking them higher still.”

Harrogate District Hospital will start to restore vital health services like cancer care as the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK is now over the peak of the coronavirus outbreak.

The services were paused nationwide so doctors and nurses could focus on coronavirus. The health secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this week that hospital trusts would determine the pace of restoration.

Health bosses at Harrogate Hospital have said that they are now reviewing the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic.

I can confirm that we are past the peak of this disease.

We are past the peak and we are on the downward slope.

And we have so many reasons to be hopeful for the long term.

But we can only defeat coronavirus by our collective discipline and working together.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 1, 2020

Robert Harrison, Chief Operating Officer and Accountable Emergency Officer at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“Focus is now turning to the medium term management of the impact of Coronavirus. This primarily covers sustainable care for patients with suspected and confirmed cases along with an approach to recovery and the delivery of services that have been significantly suspended during the past couple of months.

“We are prioritising the reintroduction of services based on clinical need, and ensuring we can do so safely as we continue to respond to Coronavirus. We are currently developing our plans and we’ll be directly in touch with patients over the coming weeks and months.

The hospital also highlighted that its Emergency Department is and has always been available despite the coronavirus outbreak.

“Thank you to patients, relatives and the general public for your understanding over the past few months. Your patience for the months to come while we recover and adjust back to providing a full range of services is also be much appreciated.

“Thank you as well to all my colleagues across our hospital and community services for their focus on patient care, dedication and positive attitude over what has been a very challenging time for the NHS.”

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths today – with 46 patients confirmed dead so far – and has now released 70 of its patients after treatment for COVID-19.

A further 391 people, who tested positive for the Coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 20,137.

Patients were aged between 15 and 101 years old. 15 of the 391 patients, who were aged between 49 and 97 years old, had no known underlying health conditions.

As of today, Thursday 30 April,
70 inpatients at Harrogate District Hospital have recovered from Covid-19 and been discharged. #thankyouNHS #coronavirus#NHSHereForYou pic.twitter.com/h3LoqM1jGv

— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) April 30, 2020

Hospitals in the North East and Yorkshire region reported 75 of today’s deaths. Their families have been informed.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), has revealed that up to April 17, there have been 22 Harrogate coronavirus deaths outside the hospital.

19 of those deaths outside hospital were recorded in care homes, one death was recorded at home and another two deaths happened in “other communal establishments.”

New figures on coronavirus deaths, which now includes statistics outside of hospitals, paint the clearest picture yet of the outbreak in the Harrogate district.

The government has released three different sets of data, which will be released on either a weekly or a daily basis.

The first set of data, released daily, is the number of deaths in hospitals and, with two more deaths reported today, Harrogate District Hospital has now reported 46 deaths.

The second set of data, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), has revealed that up to April 17, there have been 22 Harrogate coronavirus deaths outside the hospital.

19 of those deaths outside hospital were recorded in care homes, one death was recorded at home and another two deaths happened in “other communal establishments.”

The final set of figures is the number of care homes that have reported a coronavirus outbreak, which is the first time this data has been released.

Of Harrogate’s 71 care homes, 26 have so far reported outbreaks. That works out at 36.6% of the district’s care homes.

A further 552 people in England, who tested positive for coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 19,301.  87 of the latest deaths were in the Yorkshire and North East regions.

Harrogate hospital has so far reported that 44 of its patients who tested positive for coronavirus have died. This latest death was reported on Sunday 26th April.

The reported deaths today were aged between 31 and 99 years old. 38 had no known underlying health condition.

The NHS England figures released today do not account for those who have died of suspected coronavirus but were not tested, such as those in care homes.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths today, as hospitals in the UK record the lowest number for four weeks.

The number of deaths reported on Sundays and Mondays tends to be lower due to delays in reporting over the weekends, but today’s number is the lowest since March 30 when 180 died.

Harrogate hospital has so far reported that 43 of its patients who tested positive for coronavirus have died.

Each Thursday, the hospital releases figures showing the total number of patients who have been treated and discharged – that figure last Thursday was 58.

A further 329 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to 18,749.

Patients were aged between 29 and 100 years old. Twenty-two of the 329 patients, who were aged between 29 and 89 years old, had no known underlying health conditions.

Scotland reported 13 deaths, Wales reported eight and Northern Ireland has not yet released its figures.

The statistics, released each day, do not account for those who have died of suspected coronavirus but were not tested, such as those in care homes.

Four more patients have died after being treated for coronavirus at Harrogate District Hospital, bringing the total to 42.

Released today, the latest report shows two patients died yesterday (Friday) while another died on Thursday. A fourth death was confirmed to have taken place on April 6th.

The statistics, released by NHS England, show that there have been 711 deaths confirmed across England in the last 24 hours, in patients were aged between 34 and 100. Of those, 87 had no known underlying health conditions.

The total number of covid-19 deaths across NHS England now stands at more than 18,000. These do not include patients who died elsewhere, such as in care homes.

On Thursday, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust confirmed it had treated and discharged 58 patients since the beginning of the crisis.

The Briary Unit at Harrogate District Hospital has this week closed its doors for the final time as inpatient mental health services transfer to York. 

The hospital wing, which offered specialist inpatient care for people suffering with mental health problems, is now sitting empty, as services are provided in the newly-built Foss Park Hospital on the north side of the city. 

A spokesman for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which is not responsible for mental health provision, said it was now considering how best to use the space.

Naomi Lonergan, director of operations for North Yorkshire and York at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS Foundation Trust which runs mental health services for the Harrogate district, said: 

“Over the last few weeks our services have been transferring from the Briary Wing at Harrogate District Hospital as planned in phased approach. All services will have vacated by the end of this week and we have been working with services users, carers and partners to keep them updated on these changes.” 

The Briary Wing is now unoccupied

Alongside TEWV, the decision to close the Briary Unit last year was made by Harrogate and Rural District Clinical Commissioning Group (HaRD CCG), which has since been merged with two others to form North Yorkshire CCG. 

A spokesman for the new CCG said:

“Relocating the inpatient beds for Harrogate patients to York has released £500k which we are investing to expand and improve community mental health services which includes crisis. This is in line with one of our key principles which is to keep and treat people at home. The mental health transformation project is expected to reduce admissions, and when people do need to be admitted to reduce their length of stay.  

“We are conscious of the impact on families and carers and this was picked up as part of the engagement exercise. TEWV and the CCG are looking at volunteer drivers to help but also recognise that this is a difficult time.” 

Growing demand

With the full impact of the coronavirus crisis on mental health still to become clear, concerns have been raised that the new arrangements will not meet growing demand over the coming months. 

Cllr Geoff Webber, pictured left, who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge on North Yorkshire County Council, last year criticised the decision to close the Briary Unit, saying the district’s residents had “been screwed” by TEWV and HaRD CCG, which made the decision. 

This week he said: “My concern remains that when there is pressure on the facility in York – as I’m sure there will be with the fall out from the pandemic – then Harrogate patients will be come second in the queue and possibly referred to Middlesborough or even further away. Community-based services will be unable to cope in the current situation.” 

The CCG spokesman said their modelling suggested the 72 beds in York would be sufficient, especially with an increase in community-based services, but there was always the possibility that patients would have to be treated further afield. Meanwhile, services have been adapted during the coronavirus crisis.

Ms Lonergan said: 

“We continue to deliver our services. We have introduced phone and video contacts for community appointments, where it is appropriate, and this has worked well. During this time we are also trying to maintain a level of contact with all patients, supplemented by more frequent contact by volunteers or other staff where appropriate. In the community, where it is identified that people do require face-to-face support, Trust staff can still visit people at home and they are taking the necessary precautions when doing this.”  

She added that the crisis service, offering 24-hour support, was continuing to operate and directed people to the website for more information.

Read more: From building a new hospital to moving all services to York – how did we get here?

Are you or a family member affected by this story and want to share your concerns? Please get in touch  – contact@thestrayferret.co.uk