Harrogate District Hospital has announced visitors will be allowed on maternity wards with immediate effect.

Previously, the coronavirus outbreak meant only birthing partners could be with women during the birth, with no other visitors allowed. However from this afternoon, delivery suites are allowing one birthing partner can stay during labour and delivery up until women are discharged or transferred from delivery suite.

Once the patient is transferred to the Pannal maternity ward, they will be allocated a time in the day for the birth partner to visit. This will be limited to one hour between either 11am-12pm or 3pm-4pm.

At present children are still not allowed on the wards.

Safety measures will remain in place, for example the 2 metre social distancing is expected during the visit and around the hospital. Anyone visiting the hospital can also expect to sanitise their hands on arrival and wear a mask, provided by the hospital.

The hospital is advising visitors to not touch their mask once applied or remove in the corridors, communal areas and when visiting on the ward.

The new visiting restrictions are likely to be greatly appreciated by patients and expectant parents in the district.

Read more: 

• Two Harrogate brothers ran a virtual marathon to support the hospital. 
• Harrogate NHS Nightingale has had its contract extended until end of July. 

There have been no changes to ultrasound appointments and women are still required to attend these alone – but this is under constant review by professionals.

There have been reports of scammers claiming to be from the NHS Test and Trace scheme. The North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is advising patients to be aware and seek the correct guidance.

The NHS Test and Trace scheme aims to limit the spread of coronavirus by encouraging patients with positive test results to share the details about the people they have recently been in contact with.

Yorkshire CCG has advised the public that any telephone call or text will come from a verified NHS number and it will provide you with a unique ID number. If you receive a text message, the CCG is advising to not click on any links within the text but instead go direct to the Test and Trace website.

Dr Charles Parker, Clinical Chair of NHS North Yorkshire CCG, said:

“People will usually be contacted within 72 hours after a test with the result. If you have not taken a test in the last 72 hours then the call or text will not be genuine. Please also be reassured that a genuine contact tracer will not ask you to provide any passwords, bank account details or pin numbers.

“Please do not let this stop you from taking a test, it is important that we do as much as we can to halt the spread of the virus and then we can start returning to a normal life.”

The NHS Test and Trace scheme aims to protect the public, but caution must be taken to prevent scamming.

Read more:

• Harrogate NHS Nightingale contract has been extended until the end of July. 
• District care homes have received tablets from the CCG to allow residents to have face-to-face GP appointments. 

NHS North Yorkshire CCG Lay Member for Patient and Public Involvement, Kate Kennady, said:

“The NHS Test and Trace scheme is an important part of the country’s strategy to suppress Covid-19 so we can move towards normality as soon as possible. It is important that people engage with the service because the better the uptake the more successful it will be. However there are some things to look out for to protect yourself from fraud.”

The Yorkshire CCG has warned the public to be aware and seek further guidance if they are concerned about a contact.

Production at Ripon-based company Network Medical, is going at full pace, seven days a week, after a vital contract was won to supply face visors for front line NHS workers.

The contract, which safeguards jobs at the company’s Kearsley Road headquarters, was awarded six days after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, accused the government of being  ‘slow on protective equipment and slow to take up’ offers of supply of PPE from British firms.

Network Medical refocused its operation on the manufacture of face visors in March and had been in discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

The company’s wait for a decision on its contract bid was featured on Channel 4 News on 22nd April, the day the Labour leader raised the PPE questions at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons.

On April 28th, Network Medical and a sister company based in Swansea – both part of the Innovia Medical group – received the order from the DHSC to supply 1.3 million face visors.

Because of the size of the order, production has been split between Ripon and Swansea and both sites are now at full capacity, with 100% of production being sent to the NHS.

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• Harrogate Hospital Trust projects £11m funding gap
• Volunteers in Ripon and Studley Roger use sewing skills to support health workers

Neil Mercer, chief executive officer of Network Medical said the company is pleased to have secured a contract to manufacture and supply the Innovia face visors to the NHS.

Mr Mercer, told The Stray Ferret:

“Due to the reduction in routine procedures  we have seen demand for our Ophthalmic and ENT products reduce over the last few months. The introduction of the Innovia Face Visor at our Ripon and sister site in Swansea has allowed us to help protect our NHS heroes  whilst keeping the business operating at full capacity during these challenging times.”

At the start of March, Network Medical geared up to making face visors and during a four week planning stage, contacted existing UK customers, who include NHS Supply Chain, local NHS trusts and private hospital groups. In addition to contacting local and national government to let them know about the visors.

A total of 109 patients who tested positive for coronavirus have recovered and been discharged from Harrogate District Hospital – and increase of five since last week.

The latest news, announced this afternoon, comes as the hospital also reports no new deaths in patients with Covid-19, in today’s NHS figures.

It means the total number of deaths at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust remains at 64.

#teamHDFT #ThankYouNHS pic.twitter.com/tHE24r6oMU

— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) May 28, 2020

Meanwhile, the NHS has reported a further 185 patients in England who tested positive for Covid-19 have died in hospital. Patients were between 28 and 99 years old, and five of those who died had no known underlying health conditions.

The figures mean the number of deaths in hospitals nationally has increased to 26,234.

Figures today released by the NHS show one more patient who tested positive for coronavirus at Harrogate District Hospital has died. The death was recorded yesterday and brings the total number of hospital deaths in the district to 62.

A further 59 people, who tested positive for the covid-19 have died, according to the NHS. It brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 25,750.

However, the NHS warned that the Covid Patient Notification System did not operate between 0455 and 1500 yesterday due to “a connectivity issue experienced by an external supplier” which would affect the figures.

Patients were aged between 44 and 98 years old.  4 of the patients had no known underlying health condition.

Harrogate District Hospital has discharged a total of 104 patients after treatment for coronavirus since the start of the crisis. Outside the hospital, there have been 51 deaths from coronavirus in care homes in the district.

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Today’s 8pm tribute to the NHS workers has a colourful addition in one Ripon’s most prominent locations.

Red, white and blue bunting, consisting of flags and a message to the NHS reading ‘Big Thanks to our Amazing NHS Workers’ have been strung across  the bottom half of Kirkgate and fixed to the premises of shops and restaurants.

The street, one of the city’s prime shopping and leisure destinations, sweeps down from Market Place to Ripon Cathedral.

In addition to the bunting, numerous of the commercial premises, such as Pizzeria Ristorante Italiano (pictured above) have signs in their windows reading ‘Thank You NHS Heroes’ – this includes signs in businesses that have been temporarily closed because of the coronavirus crisis.

Marco Chessa, who has been running the pizzeria with his parents Mario and Maria, since the family moved to Ripon 16 years ago, told The Stray Ferret:

“It’s great to be flying the flag for the NHS and other front line workers, who put themselves in harm’s way every day to look after the rest of us. These are strange times indeed, but we should never lose sight of exactly what our healthcare workers are doing for us.”

The Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Eamon Parkin, who has a large sign paying tribute to NHS and frontline workers fixed to a wall at his pub, The Magdalens, from where has been hosting Thursday night tributes to key workers in his neighbourhood for the past seven weeks, said of the Kirkgate traders’ tribute:

“This is yet another example of the way in which our city, with its strong sense of community, is showing the kind of unity and support that will eventually see the end of this crisis.”

Taking part in a virtual choir tribute to NHS and key workers had an added poignancy for Ripon Grammar School student Rafaella Shiers.

Peter Hobson, the 92-year-old grandfather of sixth former Rafaella, who lives in Ripon, is currently in hospital recovering from coronavirus on the COVID-19 ward of a hospital in Lancashire and her mother, Kay, works in the NHS.

That meant that the virtual choral tribute by the Ripon Grammar School chamber choir, organised by the school’s director of music, Michael Barker, had a special significance for the 18-year-old who hopes to study history at Durham University.

Rafaella and 11 other talented singers from the school, who have been missing their weekly chamber choir rehearsals, got together on screen from their own homes for the virtual performance of Daniel Elder’s Ballade to the Moon, which Mr Barker edited and mixed together.

Video courtesy of Ripon Grammar School.

As she took part in the performance, arranged as a tribute to the front line healthcare workers, Rafaella thought about grandfather Peter, who she had been seeing on a regular basis before the coronavirus lockdown.

She said:

“I haven’t seen my grandpa since mid-March and I can’t wait to show him this tribute once I can visit him.”

Rafaella, added:

“Seeing the work and perseverance of the NHS during the crisis has been incredible and my mother, who works in community mental health, really appreciated our singing and loved the dedication to the NHS in the video.”

The Ripon Grammar School chamber choir includes sopranos, altos, basses and tenors and Mr Barker said that in putting together the virtual performance, he was also mindful of the students from years 11 and 13, whose time at the school was brought to an abrupt end because of the enforced early close down.

He said:

“I hope it provides a lasting memory for those student leavers who didn’t get a chance to finish the year properly or have a last school concert. Singing is a fantastic way to bring everyone together.”

Production of much-needed PPE for health workers in Harrogate and Ripon forms a common thread that links Eileen Jordan, Janet Collins, Caroline Lodge and numerous other people across the Harrogate district.

All have responded to urgent appeals made through social media, for people to either provide material, or use their sewing skills to support the NHS and staff working in care homes.

Hundreds of items, vital to the protection of healthcare workers in both the public and private sectors,  including full sets of scrubs, masks, scrubs bags and head bands, have been produced and distributed, with support from family, friends, neighbours and businesses.

Eileen (pictured above) who lives in Ripon has, with the help of husband Martin, produced almost 200 masks and is now turning her attention to making scrubs bags, with material donated by people such as Caroline Lodge, whose Rosie and Clover home furnishings shop in Westgate, Ripon, is closed because of the coronavirus crisis.

Eileen, whose husband is a retired Staff Sergeant who served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, told The Stray Ferret: “I saw a FaceBook post calling for sewers to lend a hand in producing masks and decided to volunteer. I was put in contact with Janet, my ‘sewing buddy’ and it is great to be working with her.

She added:

“When I turned to making bags for scrubs, Martin was very helpful and a 15 metre length of parachute chord that he had in the garage, has come in very handy to act as ties for them.”

Janet, who is Australian, called on the help of friends and neighbours in Studley Roger and said: “I asked if they had spare sheets and duvet covers, that I could use as the material for making scrubs and was amazed by the number of items donated. My husband David is kept busy cutting out the patterns, while I do the sewing. The finished items are then sent to be laundered at 60 degrees before they are distributed to health workers.”

She added:

“We were due to visit Australia at the end of March, but our flights were cancelled. I suppose if we had been allowed to travel, I would have been making sets of scrubs for Australian healthcare workers.”

In addition to working with Eileen, Janet has been joined by two neighbours in Studley Roger, who are also putting their sewing skills to good use and both women would like to encourage anybody with a sewing machine and time to spare, to join the PPE production line, by contacting a group such as Harrogate Sewers for Face Masks, whose details can be found on FaceBook.

The 99-year-old war veteran who has raised over £27 million pounds for the NHS, appeared via video link to officially open the new Nightingale hospital in Harrogate today.

Capt Tom Moore, a Yorkshireman himself,  raised the money by completing 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday later this month.

During the opening ceremony, Capt Tom Moore said there was ‘no better place than Yorkshire’, he went on to thank all of the NHS staff  for working with ‘such determination during such a difficult time.’

It has taken just under 3 weeks to convert the Harrogate Convention Centre into the NHS Nightingale hospital Yorkshire and the Humber.

A virtual ceremony was held to open the 500-bed facility at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Residents and businesses across the borough have donated 8,000 chocolate eggs and sweets to children, whose parents are working on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus this Easter.

The idea was started by a group called ‘Supplies for key workers in and around Harrogate.’ It was set up to help key workers get access to the supplies they need during coronavirus.

Fiona Ryan who runs the group told the Stray Ferret:

“Children of key workers are also emotionally affected, many having to temporarily live apart from their mum or dad who is on the frontline of this pandemic, so we wanted to try and make sure Easter was still special for them,”

Sweets for the ‘Key Worker Mini Hero’s.’

They have delivered the packages to the hospital, police force, care homes, schools, GP surgeries, pharmacies, community midwives and district nurses across the borough, so parents had one less thing to think about over Easter.

“Some parents have said they wouldn’t of had time to go out and get Easter Eggs for their children which has made them quite sad, but they are so humble and commited to their jobs.”

People from the district have been posting pictures of their children on social media with their Easter treat using the caption ‘I’m a key worker mini hero.’

Maddie and Max Deely from Harrogate. Mum, Sophie Deely is a pharmacy dispenser.