We want the office to stay at home most

PPE store gets welcome change

ONE of Northern Ireland’s main PPE stores is adapting to changing demands as orders start to flow in from health services paused during the height of the pandemic.

The store on the grounds of the Belfast City Hospital site services all hospital and healthcare settings in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust area.

It currently has 1.5 million pieces of personal protective equipment in stock and processes 80 orders from different areas of the trust every day.

Stock includes FFP3 masks, gowns, gloves, scrubs, aprons, surgical masks and hand sanitiser.

At the peak of the first wave of coronavirus infections, there were 130 orders were going out the door every day.

Diane Stewart, a quality improvement manager in the Belfast Trust, said wards dealing with Covid-19 were no longer placing orders as frequently.

She added: “There’s been a decrease as a result of people maybe having more supplies within their own ward and community areas.

“However, you do see some new orders coming now as services perhaps think about starting to resume again in some kind of format.”

A new online booking system was developed at the outset of the pandemic and a digital infrastructure was installed.

NORTHERN Ireland people want to keep working from home once lockdown is lifted more than workers in any other part of the UK.

A survey shows that more than six in 10 people would like to avoid the office and stay put when the rules are eased.

And the main reason is the lack of commute to the office.

Robert Gordon, chief of Hitachi Capital which carried out the study, said: “Working from home has both its challenges and its triumphs and our research shows that it could definitely have a lasting impact on the habits of those living in Northern Ireland.”