GHD
Provides Social Distancing Solution to NHS Children's
Hospital
GHD company Movement
Strategies, the leading people movement and crowd dynamics
consultancy, has been commissioned to support Alder Hey
Children's NHS Foundation Trust in their planning of COVID-19
social distancing strategies for staff, patients and visitors.
GHD's Movement Strategies team has been working with staff at
the Hospital to identify ways to increase social distance while
minimising disruption to staff as they go about their essential
work. They have provided advice on the flow of people through
the Hospital and have assessed the operation of key areas,
including entrances and circulation spaces, changing facilities,
staff rest areas and catering areas.
This work has helped the Hospital to shape new processes and
reconfigure facilities to reduce person to person interaction
and increase social distancing.
Project lead Dr Aoife Hunt, Associate Director at Movement
Strategies, said:- "Implementing effective social
distancing measures is difficult in any public space, but
significantly more so in high risk environments such as
Hospitals, which face their own unique set of challenges as
additional consideration needs to be given to those who are
treating COVID-19 patients. Our main priority in this project
was to ensure that staff are able to carry out their vital work
as safely and efficiently as possible and all processes and
solutions were designed with this firmly in mind. Alder Hey
Children's Hospital's commitment to staff, patient and visitor
safety is exemplary and we would like to thank the team for
their extraordinary work at this difficult time."
Simon Light, Executive Managing Director for Europe, Middle East
and Africa at GHD, added:- "As key workers seek to support
the UK at this time of crisis, it's vital that the correct
safeguarding measures are put in place to protect them as they
serve communities and support the economy. We are delighted to
be able to use our experience and expertise to support Alder Hey
Children's Hospital in the fight against COVID-19 and help
minimise the spread of this horrific virus. As the UK starts to
consider when and how it can return to work, understanding how
to effectively implement social distancing within the workplace
will be key to ensuring that this can be achieved safely and
quickly. Our workspaces and routines need to undergo a
significant change and every business will need to be able to
demonstrate that it is putting its team's health 1st."
Movement Strategies was established to helps clients improve the
safety, efficiency and profitability of physical spaces,
combining expertise in the collection and analysis of movement,
behavioural and demographic data with a proven track record of
design and operations consultancy for the built environment. The
team has years of experience working across a broad range of
sectors, including healthcare, manufacturing, logistics and
construction, and has a deep understanding of their specific
assets, operations and issues. In the current COVID-19
environment, this specialist expertise leaves Movement
Strategies uniquely positioned to provide organisations with the
insights they need to plan their social distancing measures in
order to best protect the people and communities that use their
spaces. These techniques can be applied to sites that are
already operating, those that are planning to reopen, and those
in the design phase.
As the world starts to consider and move towards a recovery
phase, GHD has been working with a variety of businesses,
including motor manufacturers, retail outlets, supermarkets and
airports, to help them plan for the new working world post
COVID-19 and mitigate the risk of a 2nd wave.
Boohoo
withdrawing fake face masks a small step in the right direction;
Usdaw continues to call for their unsafe warehouse to close
USDAW, the trade union
for Boohoo workers, condemned the online retailer for selling
face masks as a fashion item and the company has withdrawn them.
The union continues to raise staff complaints about inadequate
personal protection equipment (PPE) and working practices that
don't ensure necessary social distancing at the Burnley
warehouse.
Usdaw Divisional Officer, Mike Aylward, says:- "Boohoo
have rightly u-turned on their highly inappropriate and useless
face masks, after healthcare workers and Usdaw expressed their
disgust at the attempt to profit from a national crisis. We now
need the company to u-turn on their opposition to staff being
represented by a trade union. We need to get round the table
with managers to sort out a long list of serious concerns from
our members about their health and safety during the Coronavirus
outbreak. They are terrified they may become infected with
Coronavirus and put their loved ones at risk. We also call on
the Government to review their advice to online non-essential
retailers. Their contradictory advice encourages online
retailers like Boohoo to carry on regardless, while telling
non-essential workers to stay at home. They have failed to
understand that online retailing has to be fulfilled by
thousands of warehouse workers and delivery drivers. We repeat
our call on Boohoo close the warehouse for the safety of their
employees and their families. Do the right thing by furloughing
workers, under the Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
and to top up the 80% grant so that staff continue to receive
their full wages as normal."
A big thumbs
up for Cheshire based entrepreneur supporting the NHS during the
COVID-19 crisis
ENTREPRENEUR Kate
Hughes, the creative force behind a successful keepsake business
Finger and Thumbs, is donating 100% of the profit from her
company's new handprint kits to the NHS. When the pandemic
broke, the creative force behind the artisan enterprise lost the
ability to provide 75% of her ranges overnight but has bounced
back by launching a new:- 'Stay Connected' range.
At a time when families are physically separated and adapting to
social distancing, Kate's kits will bring families closer and
create positive lasting memories through these worrying times
and profits raised from all sales will be donated to support the
NHS.
Kate said of the new line:- "in these unprecedented times,
I wanted to do my bit to support both the NHS and families who
are desperately missing their loved ones. Finger
and Thumbs specialises in keeping loved ones close to our hearts
through good times and bad. I make the full range of keepsakes
including bespoke fine silver handprint jewellery, detailed 3D
hand casts and ceramic imprints that last a lifetime and can be
treasured forever. As I can't do my hands on work at this time,
I developed the kits so people can create their own memories."
The easy to use kits, perfect for grandparents and their
grandchildren or parents and their little ones, provide a
cherished, lifelong keepsake. "I've put this kit together
for people to capture a little bit of them and send to a loved
one." said Kate.
Each kit costs ₤10 and includes a ₤10 gift voucher to use at a
later date towards having their handprint made into a fine
silver charm. Finger and Thumbs fine silver imprint range
captures impressive detail from the fine lines of a loved ones'
fingerprint and handprint, to a little one's 1st drawing or even
a little handwritten message of love.
"People are really
missing their loved ones terribly at this time. Grandparents
who are used to seeing their precious grandchildren
regularly love that this kit gives them just a little bit of
their loved ones to hold close." added Kate.
To order visit the website:-
FingerAndThumbs.com.
Kate will be donating the profits to:- NHS Charities
Together.
Community
legal programme helps vulnerable people during Covid-19 outbreak
A community legal
outreach collaboration led by Keele University is continuing to
ensure vulnerable people are supported during the Covid-19
pandemic.
The Community Legal Outreach Collaboration Keele (CLOCK) is a
collaboration led by Keele University in partnership with the
Courts, law firms and charitable services. The project has
trained Keele law students as Community Legal Companions to
support families in crisis to access legal and charitable
support, through signposting to the CLOCK partners, and
assisting directly in Court.
Although the current Government advice is to stay home in order
to stay safe, it is clear that home may not be a safe space for
all during the lockdown. The national domestic abuse helpline,
run by the charity Refuge, has reported a very substantial 700%
increase in calls to the helpline recently, and traffic to its
website and use of web chat facilities have increased.
During the pandemic, the
CLOCK service has received requests from Schools, children's
services, and direct requests from vulnerable persons
experiencing sexual or domestic violence. Adapting to social
distancing requirements, CLOCK is continuing to help people
by operating a signposting service to ensure vulnerable
people are able to access the help that they need via online
and phone services.
As part of the CLOCK response to the pandemic, Keele
students involved with the Law in Action scheme, a community
legal education module, have created a series of short
videos to raise awareness of the increased risks of the
lockdown such as sexting amongst children, the increased
risk of homelessness for those already sleeping rough or for
those seeking refuge, and the increased hardship of the
travel restrictions for asylum seekers, migrants and
international students. The videos also act as a signposting
tool to the CLOCK partner services available to support
those in need.
Dr Jane Krishnadas, Senior Lecturer in Law and Director of
CLOCK, said:- "Keele University founded CLOCK in 2013
and so has been very well placed to respond swiftly with
local community partners to the needs of families in crisis
as a result of the pandemic. Staff and students have been
able to help people in need to gain access to community
legal services and other support where otherwise they would
struggle to do so. We are always looking at how the
University can develop and improve this kind of support, and
this is currently focused on a potential increase in demand
from those seeking refuge during the lockdown period."
Nikki Taylor, Senior Training Manager from Savana, a sexual
abuse and violence charity and CLOCK partner, said:-
"We have over the years been involved with CLOCK and the Law
in Action students, and support the vast amount of work
undertaken. As a sexual violence service it is important for
us to raise awareness around the use of social media and
what that can mean for a child or young person. We would
like to encourage parents to be aware of who your child is
interacting with whilst using social media, have open
discussions, with lockdown measures in place at the moment
many more are turning to social media platforms and not all
will be who they seem."
Mickey Hemmings, New Era's acting head of service, a
domestic abuse charity based in Staffordshire and CLOCK
partner, said:- "We value the importance of the CLOCK
collaboration to create awareness of the support available
to local people experiencing domestic abuse and to signpost
those in need to our services. We're providing a wide range
of services, including:- emotional support, practical help,
as well as advice on how to stay safe and various coping
strategies. As usual, we're working with partner
organisations to ensure everyone gets the support they need,
including help to leave the family home if necessary."
To apply for assistance from CLOCK and the partner
organisations, please visit:-
Clock.UK.Net.
Total UK cases
COVID-19 cases - update for Liverpool City Region and
surroundings
IN the UK, the
total of new Laboratory confirmed Hospital COVID-19
fatalities was 759, bringing the total to 18,100 deaths
related to the virus. The number of laboratory confirmed
COVID-19 infections is now 4,451, bringing the overall
number to be confirmed to have been infected in the UK to
133,495, according to the Department of Health In England
there are a total of 99,137 laboratory confirmed cases.
Within the North West of England the total of confirmed
cases now stands at 15,209. Current confirmed cases within
the following Local Authorities in and around the Liverpool
Region are as follows:-
► Liverpool, 1,210 confirmed cases.
► Sefton, 690 confirmed cases.
► Wirral, 830 confirmed cases.
► St. Helens, 509 confirmed cases.
► Halton, 277 confirmed cases.
► Lancashire, 2,229 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire West and Chester, 608 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire East, 654 confirmed cases.
► Manchester, 894 confirmed cases.
► Stockport, 671 confirmed cases.
► Trafford, 486 confirmed cases.
► Wigan, 479 confirmed cases.
► Bolton, 601 confirmed cases.
► Rochdale, 344 confirmed cases.
► Bury, 354 confirmed cases.
► Tameside, 389 confirmed cases.
► Oldham, 495 confirmed cases.
► Blackburn with Darwen, 248 confirmed cases.
These stats are according to Public Health England as of
22/04/2020. Last updated 2:58pm GMT. UK total includes cases detected through:-
"Pillar 2" testing (tests carried out by
commercial partners) and therefore does not equate to the
sum of the 4 countries' counts, which only include:-
"Pillar 1" (tests carried out by NHS / PHE /
Devolved Administration Labs).