Have the ‘Nightingales’ flown ?
Birmingham's ‘Nightingale’ can be opened in 72 hours if needed, it has been claimed. However, Ian Sharp, clinical lead for elective care at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB), says that even with hospitals in the region full … "… taking staff out of those organisations to open what is effectively a field hospital fills many of us with dread … and is therefore being treated as a ‘last resort’.” Meanwhile, as the Nightingale at Birmingham's NEC and the one in Sunderland stand empty but on standby _ • Manchester's is open for "non-Covid care" • Harrogate’s is being used as a "specialist diagnostics centre" • Bristol's is being deployed for "local NHS services" • Exeter’s has treated Covid patients since mid-November • the facility at London's Excel centre has been stripped of its beds and ventilators, barriers protecting the facility have been removed, partition boards which separated beds are stacked outside, signs directing ambulances lie on the floor, oxygen storage tanks have been removed off-site, and one security guard patrols the exterior. So the £220m Nightingale hospitals lie empty, with medics warning that, even if they are needed, they do not have the staff to open them. Yet .. the NHS has told trusts to start preparing to use these overflow facilities “in the coming weeks.” Reassuring, that !
From TUESDAY 5
th
JANUARY 2021, EVERYONE will be required to stay at home, except for a few very specific
purposes:
•
Essential shopping
•
For work, if you absolutely cannot work from home
•
Exercise
•
To seek medical assistance (including to get a Covid-19 test)
•
To escape domestic abuse
All primary and secondary schools and colleges must move to remote learning from 5
th
JAN, except for
vulnerable children and children of key workers, until at least February half term.
The government has allowed early years provision to remain open.
You should check with your provider for further details.
Shielding will resume for those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.
Those affected will be written to in the coming days by the government as to what this means to them.
Further information about the new national lockdown will be published by the Government and can be accessed
at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home
and will be updated as more details become available.
_______________________________________________________________
20/21 January 2021
Emergency
services
have
been
protecting
a
factory
involved
in
making
a
Covid-19
vaccine
from
being
deluged
as
Storm
Christoph
saw
thousands
of
people
including
entire
villages
evacuated
amid
widespread
flooding.
Teams
were
working
through
the
night
to
protect
the
site
at
Wrexham
Industrial
Estate
in
North
Wales,
which is involved in making the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine - which is also stored there.
Gullies
were
dug
and
retaining
banks
constructed
to
protect
the
crucial
site
at
Wrexham
Industrial
Estate
in
North Wales, which employs 400 people.
Wrexham council leader Mark Pritchard told BBC Radio Wales:
'We
had
an
incident
at
Wrexham
Industrial
Estate,
the
Oxford
vaccination
is
produced
there
and
the
warehouse
where
it
is
stored.
Obviously I can't tell you where it is
.” ………
It’s at the Industrial Estate, Mark !
The
fill-and-finish
stage
of
the
vaccine's
production
is
undertaken
at
the
facility,
which
was
visited
by
Prime
Minister
Boris
Johnson
in
November.
The
company
said
it
has
had
a
presence
in
Wrexham
for
over
two
decades
.
……….
Sorry,
Mark;
all
400 workers know where the plant is .. they work there .. even the Prime Minister’s pilot knows where it is, he flew there !
According
to
a
spokesman
for
Wockhardt
UK
-
'Last
night
at
approximately
4pm,
Wockhardt
UK
experienced
mild
flooding,
resulting
in
excess
water
surrounding
part
of
the
buildings
across
site,'
she
said.
'All
necessary
precautions
were
taken,
meaning
no
disruption
to
manufacturing
or
inlet
of
water
into
buildings.
The
site
is
now
secure
and
free
from
any
further
flood
damage
and
operating as normal.'
………
She probably knows where it is, too; Mark !
_____________________________________________________
