Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

I will comment on this in a day or so, but what  a ‘spin story’ – surprisingly Mr Ellworthy at The Cambs Times© must be getting a bit slack in his advancing years.
More to come – The Real Sums -?

Fenland Garden Waste - Update
Logo ©FDC

As meetings can not physically take place, in order to carry on business Whittlesey Town Council like many other organisations are moving to conduct ‘Virtual Meetings’ – in order for this to take place, the public still have the opportunity to listen and join in the public forum should they so wish.
If you would like to be at the ‘Virtual Meeting’ – you will have to register yourself and table any questions in writing/e-mail before hand with the town clerk.
clerk@whittleseytowncouncil.gov.uk
If there are any confidential items to be discussed – the members of the public will not be allowed to view/hear that part of the meeting (as in normal meetings)

As meetings can not physically take place, in order to carry on business Whittlesey Town Council like many other organisations are moving to conduct ‘Virtual Meetings’ – in order for this to take place, the public still have the opportunity to listen and join in the public forum should they so wish.
If you would like to be at the ‘Virtual Meeting’ – you will have to register yourself and table any questions inwriting/e-mail before hand with the town clerk.
clerk@whittleseytowncouncil.gov.uk
If there are any confidential items to be discussed – the members of the public not be allowed to view/hear this part of the meeting (as in normal meetings)

RG – These are factual figures and advice direct from The Cambs Clinical Commissioning Group – I receive these updates as I have been a member of The North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust for a number of years.

Dear Colleagues, we want to keep you all updated on the latest local health news without sending out large amounts of emails each day.
For the next few weeks, we will be collating all the latest updates and sending them together once a week.
The Figures

Nationally
As of 9am on 22 April 2020, a total of 559,935 test have been carried out, of which 1133,495 were confirmed positive.

As of 5pm on 21 April 2020, of those hospitalised in the UK, who tested positive for COVID-19, 18,100 have died.

(The figures for test results and for deaths are compiled from different sources. This is why the figures for deaths are reported from an earlier point in time than the figures for test results.)
These numbers are the latest figures available at the point this update was sent – for the most up to date figures please check on this page.

Locally – by Upper Tier Local Authority
Peterborough – 155 confirmed cases
Cambridgeshire – 569 confirmed cases

Don’t delay seeking medical treatment
NHS organisations across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are reminding local residents that they are still open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide urgent medical treatment and support healthcare concerns. 

The amount of people going to Emergency Departments has significantly reduced compared to last year, and clinicians are concerned that some patients are not seeking the urgent and emergency help they need for important conditions such as strokes, heart attacks, meningitis, sepsis and cancer.  Many GPs are also finding that fewer people are contacting them to flag early signs of cancer, which would need urgent investigations to take place, or to report deterioration in their long-term conditions, both physical and mental.

We want to remind the public that the NHS is still open for business and that the sooner we see you, the more we can help you.

The NHS is still open 24/7 to provide urgent medical treatment for everyone – it is important that you don’t ignore the signs of a potentially life-threatening condition such as a stroke, heart attack or cancer.

Your local GP surgery is still open and there to offer support. You can speak to your GP from the comfort and safety of your own home via the telephone or an online service. If the GP decides you need to be seen in person, you will be offered a face-to-face appointment, in safe environment for you and your GP or Practice Nurse.

If you are not sure where to go for medical support, we would recommend you visit https://111.nhs.uk/ in the first instance.

Advice for parents during coronavirus
Whilst coronavirus is infectious to children it is rarely serious. If your child is unwell it is likely to be a non-coronavirus illness, rather than coronavirus itself.
Whilst it is extremely important to follow Government advice to stay at home during this period, it can be confusing to know what to do when your child is unwell or injured.

Remember that NHS 111, GPs and hospitals are still providing the same safe care that they have always done. Here is some advice to help:

Testing or Swabbing of Key Staff
Testing or swabbing of key staff is an important part of the COVID-19 plans to ensure that staff can return to work as quickly as it is safe to do so.
Testing, or swabbing, is available to those who are away from the workplace through sickness themselves with symptoms of COVID-19, or are away from the workplace due to members of their household (over the age of five years) having symptoms of COVID-19.

Key people will only be swabbed between days 3-5 of the onset of symptoms. People will not be offered swabbing after day 5, as tests are proving inaccurate after this time. 
In terms of prioritised workers, these have been identified as the following: –

• Nursing and Residential Home staff
• Domiciliary Care Staff
• Prison Staff
• Local Authority Key workers
• Police
• Fire and Rescue Service.

Testing, or swabbing, is available for key worker staff at a number of sites across the region, including Stansted, Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, and the East of England Showground in Peterborough. Keyworker staff should check with the organisation they work for the process of booking tests at these sites.

Maternity services
Coronavirus advice and guidance for pregnant and postnatal women is available HERE

Please be aware of the changes to the visiting policies at all three local hospitals.

For Peterborough City Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital, https://www.nwangliaft.nhs.uk/about-us/trust-news/updated-visiting/

For The Rosie Hospital
https://www.cuh.nhs.uk/news/aaa/changes-our-visting-policy#top 

Every Mind Matters
Now more than ever, Every Mind Matters.

All over the country we are staying at home to protect the NHS and save lives. We will all be experiencing highs and lows and it is perfectly normal to miss loved ones, get frustrated, feel anxious or stressed. There are things we can all do to look after our mental wellbeing at this time. Every Mind Matters can help get you started with your NHS online plan, showing you simple steps to help deal with stress, boost your mood and feel on top of things.

The NHS Every Mind Matters website provides simple tips and advice for you to look after your mental wellbeing during this time – visit www.everymindmatters.co.uk to get your free online personal Mind Plan

We’re in this together.

Pharmacies

Just like everyone else, our pharmacists and pharmacy staff are working incredibly hard at the moment and need your support. Please remember the following when visiting a pharmacy:

• Please be patient and observe social distancing (stand 2m apart)
• Please only order what you need
• Please be kind to our staff
• Please help us so that everyone in your community gets the medicines they need, and we can help keep our staff and local community safe.
  You can find out the opening hours of your local pharmacy online HERECommunications and Engagement TeamCambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group
  Lockton House, Clarendon Road, Cambridge CB2 8FH

www.cambridgeshireandpeterboroughccg.nhs.uk 

capccg.contact@nhs.net  01223 725317

Several local groups have benifited from donations to Community Support Services, including several in the Fenland area.
Contact me – I will pass on your details.

https://www.chsgroup.org.uk/community-support-services-coronavirus-donations-needed/

My very good neighbour and friend for over 40 years – Colin Goodson is 90 years young today.  A local man who did his bit for National Service and went to the Malaya camapign during the early 1950’s. Married to Dot – who passed away last year – colin remains very possitive and independent under the current situation. Pity we couldn’t  have a party – maybe next year.

Yesterday Wednesday saw Deborah Slater’s ‘Feeding Whittlesey’ Group deliver 100+ cooked ‘Chicken Casserole’ to our identified groups – with more being added by the day.
This will carry on every week for the time being.
If you have someone who is on their own, elderly, or classed as being

A fantastic initiative – Well done and thank you to everyone.