Formby will be lit up this Christmas with some sparkling festive surprises on the way!

LOCAL lighting firm IllumiDex UK Ltd has just been awarded the contract to sprinkle its magic on the Town with planning already underway to bring smiles to the faces of local families and Christmas shoppers. IllumiDex UK Ltd has been earning an impressive reputation in the Region both for its lighting and for its festive decorations - which the firm manufactures as well as installing and maintaining. Its most famous work locally was completed earlier this year with the creation of the stunning:- 'boulevard of light' along both sides of the historic Lord Street shopping Street in Southport. Workers spent months installing 300,000 lights, nearly 20 miles of lighting, around 80 trees, within Southport Town Centre providing a huge boost to the seaside resort's night time economy. IllumiDex UK Ltd also provides festive decorations each year for places including:- Southport Town Centre, Ocean Plaza retail park in Southport and Central 12 retail park in Southport.

Director Steve Clayton said:- "We have won the contract to decorate Formby this Christmas, and we are delighted! We will install festive motif decorations on 28 lamp posts, in Formby Village, with a star and a ribbon tail. On the main roundabout, where the old ‘sail' decorations used to be, we will be putting up some beautiful large Christmas bauble motifs. The Formby Christmas tree was looking very scruffy, so we have plans to refurbish it with new garland, lights and a twinkling star at the top. Poor Frosty the Snowman, who always sits outside Formby Baths, has unfortunately faded a bit and is looking a little tired. We are sprucing him up, and making him look like new again. People in Formby will have some new things to look forward to this year, and more details about that will be revealed closer to the time."

Workers from IllumiDex UK Ltd have been busy over the past few weeks, providing festoon and roof lighting for several local businesses including:- Remedy, in Southport Town Centre and Bistrot Verite, in Birkdale. They have also been making plans for festive lighting and Christmas decorations both inside and outside of:- restaurants, bars, shops, hotels and homes around the Region. They have also been making trees sparkle by wrapping LED lights around them.

Steve Clayton said:- "Now is the time to really start thinking about Christmas! We manufacture decorations ourselves so we can produce ones which are custom made. We can provide that wow factor this Christmas with stunning festive decorations and lighting for your business, home, village centre or retail park. We are able to arrive, install whatever is needed, and then take them down and store them ready for the following year. It gives a great impression for customers or family members without the hassle of having to do everything yourself."
 

Study highlights 'vital 30 day window' for Hospital inpatients to get Covid19 jab

A new study that has just been published has highlighted a:- "30 day window" for Hospital inpatients to be vaccinated against Covid19 to help reduce their risk of dying. A Cardiff University led team analysed 2,508 Hospital patients across 18 sites during the 1st wave of the Pandemic to assess the impact of being infected with Covid19 in Hospital on risk of death. They found the risk of dying from Covid19 was far greater for patients who catch it while already in Hospital than it is for those who get the virus in the community, reflecting the vulnerable nature of these individuals. The findings highlight a month long window for vaccination between admission to Hospital and SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study, the largest of its kind to date, is published today in the BMJ journal Thorax. The early findings were shared with the Welsh Government in January of this year; and helped contribute to a change in vaccination policy in Wales to prioritise some of the most vulnerable patients during the 2nd wave. Prior to this it was not policy to vaccinate Covid19 negative inpatients.

Dr Mark Ponsford, a clinician scientist from Cardiff University's School of Medicine and lead author on the paper, said:- "During the 1st wave of the Pandemic I was 1st struck by the high rate of death among individuals who likely caught Covid19 during their time in Hospital, and secondly by how closely this group resembled care and nursing home residents. We also found that more than half of patients had been admitted for at least 30 days before they caught Covid19, highlighting a window for vaccination or other infection control measures that we felt could help to reduce this risk."

Study co-author Professor Stephen Jolles, a consultant immunologist and lead for the Immunodeficiency Centre for Wales, presented the early research findings to the Welsh Government in the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and Vaccination Clinical Advisory and Prioritisation group (COVID-VCAP) in January and February 2021. This formed part of the evidence used in formulating Government policy on enhanced vaccination of inpatients.

The analysis, carried out by specialists in respiratory medicine, immunology and public health from across Wales, also lays bare the high rate of mortality from Hospital acquired Covid19.

The study that you can read by clicking here to access the PDF copy suggests the risk of death in Hospital acquired Covid19 is greater than previously suggested in the other published studies.

Professor Ian Humphreys, who leads infection research at Cardiff University's Systems Immunity University Research Institute, said:- "It is increasingly clear that in Hospital transmission of Covid19 can be an important contributor to adverse outcomes. It also highlights how important it is to understand how effective vaccination is within the more vulnerable patient groups. We are now addressing this question."

Senior author Dr Simon Barry, a consultant respiratory physician from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said:- "We need to remember that those who are admitted to Hospitals are at their most vulnerable and continue to look at ways to help reduce the risk of Hospital acquired infection in general."

The research included patients from:- Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, Betsi Cadwalladr Health Board, Cardiff and Vale Health Board, Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board, Hywel Dda Health Board and Swansea Bay Health Board. It was funded by the Welsh Government, UKRI/NIHR through the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium, Cardiff University and the Association of Clinical Pathologists.

The researchers said further work was needed to explore if there were patient groups who might be particularly vulnerable to Hospital acquired Covid19, and to understand how effective vaccination proves to be in breaking the link between infection and death in this Hospital acquired setting.

Rhys Jefferies, from the Respiratory Health Implementation Group and Swansea University, who coordinated data collection, said:- "This really shows the value of a national approach in Wales, enabling us to rapidly collect data from across the country to understand and help address this problem. We continue to respond quickly by supporting the NHS and Government during the Covid19 Pandemic."