Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

Publishing CORVID-19 information and statistics can be very difficult.
I only pass on from official communications or Government updates which I receive.
Councillors in other Fenland area’s are doing their best, with good intentions to keep their communities informed, but we have to be careful of where the information is coming from and one or two have got into hot water over it.

What I can tell you is that from the ‘Office of National Statistics’ – 1 person has died in PCH that lived in Whittlesey.
From the official source at PCH – there are currently 2 people on ventilators and 4 others in wards, that come from Whittlesey area, that was current as of Friday.

With National cases ‘appearing’ to be falling, I/we are getting reports that here in Whittlesey an increase in those who maybe have had CORVID-19 is coming to light.
Whittlesey has several residents in PCH and at least 2 are on a ventillator.
My reports are that there are still too many people going about.
The Police reports say otherwise – so maybe I am getting it wrong.
Our Care Homes, I understand now have reported cases of CORVID-19

Please stay at home unless you have something urgent to do,
that you cannot get help with.

I’ve spoken to a representative from the National Lottery this morning and she asked me to give you the following information regarding the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) and their response during Covid-19. Please see information provided below:

• The sole focus of NLCF resources is on responding to the Covid-19 crisis and priorities have now changed to:

• Organisations supporting people who are at high risk from COVID-19
• Organisations supporting communities most likely to face increased demand and challenges as a direct result of COVID-19
• Organisations with high potential to support communities with the direct and indirect impact of COVID-19

• Our larger (Reaching Communities) grants will be refocused on offering organisations up to 100k funding for up to 6 months – we won’t be offering multi-year funding at this stage
• The grant can cover delivery (crisis and recovery) and/or Core Costs
• The assessment and decision making process will be much quicker – its early days but confident it will be a few weeks as opposed to the standard RC timeframe
• Awards for All is open for Covid-19 related grants under £10k again for up to 6 months.  The turnaround time for decision-making has been significantly reduced.
• We have now updated our website –
  https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/reaching-communities-england
• We are being flexible with existing grants so grant holders have the ability to repurpose their funding to respond to the current climate and critical local needs or extending deadlines etc.  We have also been proactive in reaching out to grant holders to offer (subject to approval) uplifts in grants to respond to the crisis.

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me and I can point you in the right direction.
Kind regards,
Ash
Ash Godfrey
Senior Community Support Officer

The usual monthly WTC report will hopefully be coming tomorrow.

Planned roadworks subject to change…
Click on picture to enlarge.

Advice For People Helping Others During Lock Down
Many people across our communities are doing their bit to help others during the Coronavirus health emergency.
 
From supporting people who are self-isolating with food supplies, to picking up medical prescriptions, all of these efforts are helping to save lives and protect our NHS.
 
Below is some advice from Cambridgeshire police about what you should do if you are concerned about someone.
 
If you are keeping an eye on someone in your neighbourhood and are concerned for their welfare, for example, if you knock on someone’s door or try to reach them by telephone and they don’t respond, there are some simple steps you can take.
 
Have a quick check through windows to see if you can see the person involved (make sure you exercise social distancing and don’t touch any surfaces);
 
Check for signs that the person may not be at home or may need assistance, such as a build-up of post, milk on the doorstep or anything else that may suggest the occupant needs help;
 
Speak to neighbours, making sure you keep the 2 metre social distancing rule to see if they know of any close friends or relatives that may be able to help or know where the person might be; could you contact them to confirm their whereabouts?
 
If the person is home but does not wish to answer the door/telephone but requires food or medication, you can email communityCV@cambridgeshire.gov.uk who will be able to help;
 
If you are still concerned, call the police on 101 giving the person’s name, address and telephone number if possible; the police call handler will then go through a set of questions to establish if an officer should attend;
 
If you see someone whose life is in danger, for example, they are lying on the floor, always call 999 and request an ambulance.
 
Cambridgeshire Constabulary have pulled together a list of responses to commonly-asked questions during the coronavirus lock down. For more details visit: https://www.cambs.police.uk/information-and-services/Coronavirus-COVID-19/Coronavirus-COVID-19-FAQs2

Deborah Slater’s Group – Helping Whittlesey have put out 5,000 flyers advicing help they can give.

Tonight being Wednesday  – The 3rd week A Free Hot Meal +++ Dessert will be delivered to some 150 residents later today.

Tonight’s delight – Sausage & !!!!
 

A few residents have asked me – Can they still go to New Queen Street Surgery to do their own Blood Pressure check on the machine in the waiting room.
I have spoken with the surgery and the answer is NO
If you require to have your Blood Pressure checked you will have to phone the surgery and speak to the receptionist.

The information below is a national bullitin – initiatives contained may not be available at NQS

eBulletin Issue 149 April 2020

2. Shielding Letters to ‘At Risk’ patients
   Over a million patients have been informed that they are extremely vulnerable and fall into the shielded category requiring such people to remain at home for 12 weeks. These people have been identified from the GP records forwarded to NHS digital. NHS is in the process of identifying many more such patients. 
   Unfortunately there has been some confusion about whose responsibility – GP or hospital – to identify and notify NHS digital about which patients are vulnerable and whose condition(s) do not fall in the official list. This will include, for example, some rare conditions where patients are cared for in hospital. GPs are not expected to be familiar with all conditions. Many hospitals have assumed that GPs are responsible for notifying NHS digital about patients with rarer conditions, while GPs have assumed that it is the responsibility of the hospital. The enclosed information makes it very clear where responsibility lies. It is very important that everyone knows what they should be doing in relation to corona virus and are supported appropriately. More info here
3. Reducing the burden of fit notes during Covid-19
   Individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 or those having to self-isolate due to residing with someone with COVID-19 symptoms can obtain an Isolation Note in line with current guidance. More info here

3A. Understanding people’s concerns about the mental health impacts of the COVID-19   
       pandemic The Academy of Medical Sciences, together with the research charity MQ:
       Transforming Mental Health, is working with researchers and those with lived
       experience to ensure that mental health is at the heart of research into the impacts of
       Covid-19. This report describes the findings of a consultation undertaken in late March
2020, the week that the prime minister announced the UK lockdown in response to
the Covid-19 pandemic. There is also some guidance on supporting children and young
people’s mental health and wellbeing here

4. Ways in which PPGs are helping support their GP Practice in the current crisis

• PPGs are successfully using Zoom (or similar) to hold virtual PPG meetings. (Zoom offers a free 40 minutes time limit on meetings, other video conferencing apps are available also)
• In some cases, Practice Managers are contacting all local pharmacies to find out which ones are delivering medication and recommend sources of help where there are no deliveries. PPGs are then assisting by co-ordinating volunteers
• Sending out weekly updates to patients on various aspects of their service at this unusual time.
• One PPG has set up a small group of volunteers to check the language being used in updates before these are sent to suggest alternatives to any jargon and to simplify where appropriate.
• At the request of one practice, the PPG is setting up a small group to come together (virtually) with a couple of lead doctors to share ideas about how the doctors might approach seriously ill patients to consider their choices should their condition deteriorate.

5. Patients now able to nominate pharmacy using the NHS App
   New functionality has been added to the NHS App allowing patients across England to use it to choose a pharmacy to have their repeat prescriptions sent to directly. More info here

6. On demand remote BSL Interpreting Service launches for UK’s deaf community
   The Deaf Health Charity, SignHealth and online interpreting company InterpreterNow, have launched ‘BSLHealthAccess’ which enables the provision of immediate, on demand access to British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters for communication with deaf people in health settings free of charge during the current coronavirus situation. More info here
7. Returning to pharmacy or volunteering
   The Royal Pharmaceutical Society have provided advice on roles or activities for volunteers or those who may wish to return temporarily to the register, based on their skills and experience. More info here
   The national voice for patient participation in primary care 
   eBulletin 149 April 2020  
   www.napp.org.uk