THE LETTER
We wish to pay tribute to the thousands of staff working in all parts of our NHS and social care system and especially those working in care homes or domiciliary settings where there have been outbreaks, and in the hospitals, where we know hundreds of patients with Covid-19 are being cared for.
We are aware NHS staff have said they do not wish to be thought of as heroes.
Nonetheless, we are full of admiration for the long hours they work and the study time or annual leave they have sacrificed or postponed to put patients first.
The toll on mental and physical health is high, particularly when we think that frontline staff have been caring for dying patients, giving more of themselves in the unnatural circumstance of family separation.
As the third wave has reached its peak, some other care has unavoidably been put on hold.
There will be pressure to give patients who are waiting for non Covid-19 treatment the care they need but we hope that space can be created to allow staff to recover from physical exhaustion and emotional distress and that psychological support is available to them.
We hope, too, the government will give due regard to the pay freezes or relatively low pay rises which have marked the past decade for staff and will see fit to show its gratitude for their enormous contribution in the pandemic crisis through generous pay awards and additional funding for these sectors.
We are acutely aware we as members of the public must continue to observe the restrictions that have been placed on us in the interests of public health and that the best way we can show respect for these workers is by staying at home as much as possible and avoiding opportunities for transmission of the virus wherever we can.
AS we all continue to adapt to the changes brought on by Covid-19, police are asking that people pay attention to changes in behaviour of those they love and act early if they see signs of radicalisation.
This is the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extreme ideologies, often through grooming. The Home Office’s Prevent programme aims to avoid this happening.
Specially trained police Prevent officers, alongside professionals in health, education, local authorities and charities, as well as faith and community groups, seek to help vulnerable people move away from extremism. Together they put the right package of support in place to help them find a new direction.
The new ActEarly.uk website aims to explain the process, share people’s experiences and highlight the signs to look out for, in a bid to encourage more referrals from the community.
Inspector Alex Wood, from the East Midlands Prevent team, said: “As vulnerable people have been further isolated during this pandemic, we worry their susceptibility to negative influence, particularly online, may increase. At the same time, however, families who share the same household are spending much more time together. This offers an important opportunity to take note of anything untoward. “You are best placed to see when the behaviour of a loved one is changing; when something just doesn’t seem right with them. Are they spending a lot of time online? Do they seem guarded about their activities? Showing anger and displaying extreme views?
“Could they be
“It’s not a nice question to have to ask yourself, nor something anyone wants to be thinking about someone you care about, but it is vital that we all know the signs and being radicalised? act early if we suspect something is wrong.
“That way, they can get the support they need before the situation escalates into something more serious.
“You are not alone. Together we can help prevent them from becoming drawn into harmful activities or groups, and help them choose a different path.
“Receiving support is voluntary. We’ll need the person’s permission to help them. We won’t tell the person you’re worried about that you called us, unless you say we can.
“Visit ActEarly.uk for more information. You can also call the national Police Prevent Advice Line on 0800 011 3764, in confidence, where our specially trained Prevent officers will listen carefully to your concerns.”
As vulnerable people have been further isolated during this pandemic, we worry their susceptibility to negative influence, particularly online, may increase
MORE roadworks are coming up in Hinckley as water mains are installed along the A47 perimeter road near a new housing estate.
Fresh pipework is to be laid and existing mains reinforced, between the newly built roundabout for the Bloor Homes estate and the Stoke
Road roundabout, with a 30mph speed limit to be in place during the works. A section of Stoke Road will be closed to the north of the roundabout for up to three weeks, to coincide with the Easter holidays.
The works will take up to 18 weeks, starting on March 5. A 30mph limit is currently in place on the perimeter road as it goes past the site where Bloor is building the first 260 homes of an 850-home complex, near Triumph.
The first raft of properties will include a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom properties, including 52 affordable homes. A 315mm diameter sewage main has been installed along Roston Drive and under the perimeter road to serve the estate.
As part of the project, the developer will be improving footpath and cycle routes along the A47, as well as planting additional trees and hedgerows.
Leicestershire County Council is proposing to reduce the speed limit on the A47 between Stoke Road and Roston Drive, from 50mph to 40mph, to accommodate the new entrance to the Bloor estate.
STAFF at Leicestershire hospitals paid nearly £2 million to park at work last year.
Parking tickets, permits and fines for staff brought in £1.7 million at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in 2019/20.
That was a 14 per cent increase compared to the £1.5 million paid in 2018/19, according to figures from NHS Digital.
On top of this, patients and visitors paid £3.4 million to park last year - leaving a £3.6 million profit after the £1.6 million cost of parking services.
In March 2020, the UK Government announced financial support for all trusts to provide free car parking for staff during the coronavirus outbreak, while councils were encouraged to also provide free spaces.
But a union has claimed some trusts are charging for parking again.
Post-pandemic plans would require fewer people to pay for parking, but staff on some shift patterns could still be charged.
At the trust’s sites, staff paid 10p an hour on average in 2019/20, while patients paid £1.13 per hour on average.
Staff are more likely to have parking permits - so, for example, if they are paying £2.40 a day, that would equate to 10p per hour.
The cost of parking for both groups has dropped from 2018/19 down by 3p per hour for staff and £2.17 per hour for patients and visitors.
The trust also charged for disabled parking last year.
Across England, NHS trusts raked in £90 million from staff parking last year. That was up from £86 million in 2018/19.
Just over a quarter of NHS sites (353) charge staff to park. Most of these (302) are run by hospital trusts.
Just 15 hospital sites stopped charging staff to park last year.
A mental health unit in Suffolk was the most expensive place for staff to park at £2.50 per hour, while St George’s at Queen Mary’s Hospital, London, was the most expensive hospital for staff parking at £2 per hour.
Rachel Harrison, GMB National Officer, said: “Charging dedicated NHS staff to park at work is disgraceful at the best of times. In the middle of a pandemic it is sickening.
“Government cuts have inflicted a heavy toll on the NHS, but trusts should not be clawing that cash back by charging the people we rely on to keep us alive.
“GMB persuaded the Government to scrap parking charges for all health and social care staff at the start of the pandemic. But now many are charging once again.
“Ministers must now support our healthcare heroes by enforcing free hospital staff parking and scrapping plans to reintroduce charges once the pandemic ends.”
NHS Trusts also brought in £199 million from patient and visitor parking in 2019/20, up from £186 million a year before.
Overall, providing parking services cost trusts £70 million in 2019/20.
During a debate on free hospital parking during the pandemic last month, Zarah Sultana, the Labour MP for Coventry South, said: “As far back as June, parking charges were reintroduced for NHS staff at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.
“Ever since, staff have been made to pay for parking. Similar things have happened at NHS trusts across the country. Charges were brought back at the nearby University Hospitals Birmingham and at the South Warwickshire NHS Trust, as well as in places as far afield as the Harrogate
District Hospital and Wye Valley NHS Trust. Even now, as the second wave puts renewed pressure on NHS staff, charges are being reintroduced.”
Minister for Health Edward Argar responded by saying while parking policy was decided at trust-level, additional funding had been made available on the expectation free parking for staff would be provided.
On January 1, it became mandatory for hospital trusts to offer blue badge holders and frequent outpatients with long-term conditions free parking all day, as well as parents of sick children staying in hospital overnight and staff working night shifts.
However, because of the ongoing pandemic, and possible capacity issues for sites currently offering free parking to all staff, Mr Argar has said there would be flexibility in rolling this out.