Harrogate creeps back up to third highest covid rate in North Yorkshire

The Harrogate district has creeped back up to the third highest covid rate in North Yorkshire.

It comes as the area records another 198 coronavirus cases today, according to the latest Public Health England figures.

That takes the seven-day coronavirus rate for the district up to 524 per 100,000, which is only lower than Craven and Ryedale in North Yorkshire respectively.

North Yorkshire’s average is 504 per 100,000 and England’s is 438.

Although daily cases remain relatively high, Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any further covid patient deaths today. It reamins at 93 covid deaths in total.

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The hospital was treating 19 covid patients as of Monday.

It was also announced this week that 12-15 year olds can now book their covid vaccines appointments.

As of today, a total of 130,616 first doses have been delivered and 122,087 second doses of the vaccine. No figures are currently available for boosters.

Harrogate hospital rebrands vehicles in organ donation campaign

Harrogate and District Foundation Trust has rebranded some vehicles with messages that encourage people to talk about donating their organs.

The trust began the campaign following a recent change in the law around organ donation.

Since May last year, all adults are now considered to have agreed to donate their organs when they die, unless they record a decision not to do so, are in one of the excluded groups, or have told their family that they don’t want to.

However, relatives are still consulted before organ donation and the trust believes opportunities to donate are being missed because families aren’t sure what to do.

The campaign therefore aims to get people talking about the subject and leave relatives certain of their wishes.

Dr Sarah Marsh, clinical lead for organ donation at the trust, said:

“Knowing what your relative wanted, helps families support their decision around organ donation at what is often a difficult time.

“We need more people to talk with their loved ones about organ donation to give them the certainty they need to support their organ donation decision. We hope seeing our organ donation branded vehicles will encourage people to have this conversation.

“Your loved ones will still always be consulted before organ donation goes ahead. Please don’t wait. Speak to your family about organ donation and let them know your decision today.”

To register your decision about organ donation click here.

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Ripon woman with gum problems unable to see NHS dentist for two years

A woman from Ripon suffering with gum problems has not been able to get treatment at a dentist for two years.

Rachael Kimberley is a single mother on a low income so she cannot afford to go private and relies on NHS dentistry.

Her experience comes after a Healthwatch North Yorkshire report found that there was just one NHS dentist practice per 10,000 people in the Harrogate district.

It also comes after an investigation by the Stray Ferret found patients in the district face a minimum wait of two and a half years to register for an NHS dentist.

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Ms Kimberley has been registered with the same practice on for the last 40 years but told the Stray Ferret that she has struggled since a private provider took over.

She added:

“The provider said that the NHS patients still registered would see no change when they took over the practice.

“I have been suffering with bleeding and receeding gums so I have been trying to go for a check up.

“When I ask to be seen they tell me that I will be seen in ‘due course’ but what does that mean?

“If the problem continues then I fear I will be stumped with a big bill in the hundreds or thousands that I just cannot afford.”

Her story shows the real suffering behind the statistics from the health watchdog. Healthwatch North Yorkshire received 176 calls from the public in the last year about NHS dentists. The vast majority — 84% — were negative.

The health watchdog called in its report for action on the problem and said coronavirus has only acted to exemplify a dental system already under enormous strain and challenge.

Watchdog report: Just one NHS dentist per 10,000 people in Harrogate district

A health watchdog has laid bare the shocking lack of provision of NHS dentists in the Harrogate district in a new report published today.

NHS Dentistry in North Yorkshire: A Review of Public Feedback 2020-2021 found there was just one NHS dentist practice per 10,000 people in the district.

The report, published by Healthwatch North Yorkshire, also revealed that no Harrogate district dental practices were currently taking on new patients.

With so few dentists and so many patients, the report said many patients faced either long waits or high bills through private treatment.

Healthwatch North Yorkshire also highlighted how confusing it can be for someone attempting to find an NHS dentist.

In most areas across the county there are dentists listed on the NHS Choices website which do not actually provide an NHS service.

Volunteers from Healthwatch North Yorkshire called all of the practices listed on the NHS website in the county to ask if they were taking on new patients.

Three of the 19 in the Harrogate district said they were not NHS practices.

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This means there are 16 NHS dentist practices in the Harrogate district for an estimated 160,500 people. None are taking on new patients.

Healthwatch North Yorkshire received 176 calls from the public in the last year about NHS dentists. The vast majority — 84% — were negative.

Some of the complaints from Harrogate residents:

Anonymous email, December 2020, Harrogate:

“I needed an emergency filling at the beginning of the first lockdown. I was offered a temporary DIY kit which worked for all of two days.

“Weeks go by. I finally got my appointment, only to find that they still can’t fix it because they can’t use all equipment without the correct PPE.

“God knows how many months later and I’ve still only got a temporary fix.”

Anonymous website feedback, April 2021, Harrogate:

“I have been trying to obtain an NHS dentist for my 10-year-old daughter, myself and my husband.

“One dentist in Knaresborough said they could add us to a list that had a three year wait for an appointment.

“Another told me that the only way that my daughter could be seen would be if myself and my husband took a private place at a cost of £75 for an initial consultation each.

“This is disgraceful and holding people ransom for their children to be able to access basic dental treatment.”

Anonymous telephone call, April 2021, Harrogate:

“Caller rang about their partner. They have a hole in their tooth. Rang 111 to arrange an emergency appointment because of the pain – it took a week and a half to get an appointment.

“The dentist charged £90, and gave antibiotics. Told them to come back two days later for further treatment, bill to be £1,600.

“I tried finding NHS dentists elsewhere, none anywhere. Partner can’t pay that as they have been unemployed for the past six months.”

What can be done to fix the problem?

Ashley Green, chief executive of Healthwatch North Yorkshire, said:

“The lack of access to and availability of NHS dentists has severely affected the health and wellbeing of people across North Yorkshire, from Scarborough to Selby, from Craven to Harrogate.

“The impact of coronavirus has only acted to exemplify a dental system already under enormous strain and challenge.

“We feel it is now time to act – and to use upcoming changes to NHS and social care reforms, specifically the emergence of integrated care systems to fuel this change.

“We hear on a weekly basis the struggles of people and families unable to be seen by an NHS dentist, but also the desire by NHS dentists to see and treat their patients more effectively.”

Harrogate hospital chief executive racially abused by England fan

The man in charge of Harrogate District Hospital has been racially abused by England fans on his way home tonight.

Steve Russell, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, tweeted about the incident shortly after England’s 2-0 win over Germany.

He said that a woman shouted “I’m proud to be white and British because we’re better than people like you”.

Mr Russell is in charge of more than 2,000 staff who have been at the forefront of the fight against covid in the district over the past 15 months.

He has spoken about racism encountered in previous interviews, saying he had been told to “get back in my banana boat” while at school.

He has also said BAME colleagues deserve to be treated better.

Mr Russell’s tweet to his almost 4,500 followers prompted an avalanche of supportive responses.

One said the comment was “utterly vile”, another said “awful and just plain old barbaric” while another person said he hoped Mr Russell pointed out that most of England’s goals have been scored by Jamaican-born Raheem Sterling.

Nice. Just walked home in Harrogate. People celebrating the #EnglandvGermany win and a woman slurred ‘I’m proud to be white and British because we’re better than people like you’ at me.

Charming.

— #hellomynameis Steve (he/him) 💙 (@steve_r76) June 29, 2021

 

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Harrogate porter’s hands feature on new NHS coronavirus pin

A porter at Harrogate District Hospital has had his hands honoured as part of a new NHS pin to thank staff for their efforts during the pandemic.

Faisal Yousaf, known as Faz, is one of just six people who have taken part in the project to support NHS charities.

TMB Art Metal has developed an initial run of 5,000 of the special fundraising pins. A total of £10 from the sale of each £25 pin will go to NHS Charities Together.

The pins, which are cast in metal from a 1939 Spitfire that flew in the Battle of Britain, are available exclusively by clicking or tapping here.

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Colleagues of Faisal put him forward for the project. He was on the frontline in the emergency department and the admissions unit taking patients to and from the intensive care unit.

He works all around the hospital transporting patients, blood supply and equipment, as well collecting items from nearby villages and Leeds.

Faisal said:

“I feel overwhelmed to be a part of this project. I’ve been here for around two years, and to me, my colleagues are not colleagues but friends and family.

“I was seeing first-hand the doctors and nurses who’d been in full PPE for 12, 13 hours coming out of intensive care, their expressions, body language and the scars the equipment made.

“Then in the days and weeks that followed it became a really proud achievement to have all my colleagues around me and to be a part of that team.”

Sammy Lambert, business development, charity and volunteer manager said:

“I am delighted that we are involved in such a monumental project. Faz is an incredible colleague and a real asset to #teamHDFT.

“All of our colleagues across the trust are so grateful to be part of such a lovely initiative to thank the NHS.

“I see first-hand the difference the monies raised through donations from projects such as this can make – thank you.”

‘Extremely urgent’ action required to tackle NHS dentist shortage

Health bosses have insisted they are doing everything possible to attract NHS dentists to set up in North Yorkshire after admitting there is a growing backlog of patients awaiting treatment.

After grilling NHS bosses responsible for dentistry across the region, North Yorkshire’s scrutiny of health committee concluded the health service needs to take “extremely urgent” action to address dire access to services.

It comes as the Stray Ferret revealed in March that just two NHS dentists in the Harrogate district were accepting new patients — and both have a waiting time of at least two-and-a-half years.

At the time, Cllr John Ennis, chair of the health scrutiny committee for North Yorkshire, described the findings as “shocking”.

‘Residents demand explanations’

The health committee meeting heard that over the past 12 months, practices in North Yorkshire had started handing back NHS contracts and others had been terminated for failing to provide contracted services.

Of the 100 remaining dentistry NHS contracts in the county, some only take children as NHS patients if their parents pay for private treatment and others that do take adult NHS patients report waiting lists of more than 8,000 patients.

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Cllr Tony Randerson told the meeting that residents were demanding explanations as to why parents were having to take children as young as six to places such as Middlesbrough and face bills of £100 for check-ups.

He called on the county council to put pressure on the government to improve access to NHS dentistry.

Cllr Randerson said:

“The government has got a responsibility to look after not only the small few that can afford private treatment, but everybody. It is a duty of care.

“It’s absolutely criminal that these people are having to travel as far away as Hull or Leeds if they are fortunate enough to get an appointment, and not necessarily NHS appointments. This cannot be allowed to go on.”

The meeting heard access to NHS dentistry had been grave in some areas for many years.

NHS dentistry commissioner Debbie Pattinson said that due to nationally imposed pandemic restrictions practices were continuing to operate at about 60 per cent capacity. 

She emphasised practices had been asked to prioritise those in need of urgent care.

Ms Pattinson said: 

“We’ve got a growing backlog, a growing number of people who want a regular check up and cant get one.

“It is unprecedented. We’ve not known anything like it in North Yorkshire with the contracts coming back.”

Managing perceptions

However, she added NHS bosses were working to manage “public perceptions”. 

She said: 

“Dentistry isn’t free. It is a subsidised service.”

Ms Pattinson said finding replacement practices was proving difficult as due to covid restrictions “nobody wants to take on more activity”.

Nevertheless, she said the NHS hoped to have commissioned some out of hours urgent care appointments on Saturdays at a number of different clinics in bigger towns across North Yorkshire by the beginning of October.

To target inequality, North Yorkshire and Humber Local Dental Network chairman Simon Hearnshaw said the NHS was looking at introducing a dentistry programme for children linking a practice to a school, supporting supervised brushing, increasing fluoride, and supporting access to care.

He added the NHS was “trying extremely hard” to improve provision, which included examining incentivising practices to set up in areas of county with no NHS dental cover.

First covid death at Harrogate hospital in nearly two weeks

Harrogate District Hospital has reported its first covid death in nearly two weeks.

The death was reported on April 11, according to NHS England figures.

It’s the first death since March 29 of a patient who tested positive for covid.

It takes the total deaths at the hospital since the start of the pandemic to 179.

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Meanwhile, 11 covid cases have been recorded in the Harrogate district according to latest Public Health England statistics.

The number takes the total number of cases since last March to 7,596.

According to the government dashboard, the only areas to have had any infections in the last seven days are Killinghall and Hampsthwaite, Harrogate east and Hookstone.

WATCH: NHS takes down Nightingale hospital in Harrogate

Staff working on behalf of NHS England have dismantled large parts of the former Nightingale hospital in Harrogate, including the oxygen tanks that have loomed over the town for a year.

Construction workers started the job at 4am today, almost a year to the day since the temporary hospital started to take shape.

The stretch of Ripon Road immediately outside the Royal Hall and Harrogate Convention Centre was closed to traffic while cranes operated.

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We understand the CT scanners will also be removed later today.

The NHS confirmed last month it will dismantle all seven of the Nightingale hospitals across the country.

NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber, which was the Harrogate Nightingale’s full name, which never treated any coronavirus patients.

But it was used to provide CT scans to non-coronavirus patients.

Cranes in place to remove Nightingale oxygen tanks in Harrogate

Cranes are now in place ready to remove the oxygen tanks from the former Nightingale hospital in Harrogate.

Workers arrived at around 4am this morning to prepare the site and started by removing the concrete blocks.

Ripon Road immediately outside the Royal Hall and Harrogate Convention Centre is now closed to traffic heading towards the town centre. Crescent Road is being used as a diversion.

Construction workers have told the Stray Ferret that the oxygen tanks are set to be removed at around 7am to 8am this morning.

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We also understand that the CT scanners will also be removed from the former Nightingale hospital later today.

The NHS confirmed last month that it will dismantle all seven of the Nightingale hospitals across the country.

NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber never treated coronavirus patients. Staff did use it to provide CT scans to none coronavirus patients.