County Council Update - 6th April 2020
Published: 06 April 2020
Additional donations of vital Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to NHS frontline staff
A donation of additional PPE, including visors and thousands of protective masks, is being given to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough hospitals to help frontline staff stay safe during the fight against coronavirus, from two entirely difference sources.
Schools across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are using their Design and Technology Departments to make basic facial PPE visors for NHS staff.
Jack Hunt School and Arthur Mellows schools have already started making and delivering more than 650 protective visors to assist key workers and emergency services as they take to the frontline in hospitals, GP surgeries and care homes. The visors are already in use in Peterborough Hospital.
And a further 12,000 masks are being donated from China this week, as a result of contacts made by Cambridgeshire County Council leader Cllr Steve Count, who over the past few years has been working to build links between foreign investors in China and businesses in the county.
Cllr Count, and County Council chief executive Gillian Beasley have been working closely with Martin Garrett of Cambridge Cleantech and Dr Chenguang Sun from UK Cambridge Education Centre to develop a strategic agreement which encourages local companies and investors to collaborate with Chinese companies and investors and vice versa – boosting economic opportunities for Cambridgeshire. And it was thanks to Dr Sun’s direct intervention that the additional donation is being made to help the county’s battle against the disease.
The donations from China - which are most useful in clinical settings - are being passed onto Addenbrooke’s Hospital. They will then be distributed to frontline staff and medical professionals battling Covid-19.
Cllr Steve Count, Leader at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “I am extremely grateful and thankful to our Chinese partners - and particularly Dr Chenguang Sun for his support in sourcing and donating 12,000 masks which will help to protect our incredible staff and NHS workers.
“The masks will be a welcome addition to those already being used across our health and social care system, and we are making sure they get to the services that need them as quickly as possible.”
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Local doctors advise residents to stay in this Easter
Local medical and health experts have joined forces to tell the public that we can beat coronavirus if we stick to the battle plan. With Easter just round the corner and summer on its way, many people may want to start seeing family and friends again.
But to successfully tackle the virus, the doctors say we must continue following advice by staying at home and practicing social distancing.
Feature versions
• CUH – Cambridge, East Cambs and South Cambs click here
• Hinchingbrooke – Hunts and Fenland click here
• Peterborough City Hospital - click here
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Schools helping ensure our vulnerable children can continue learning
Cavalry Primary School in March and William de Yaxley Church of England Academy in Yaxley have been going above and beyond to ensure some of our most vulnerable children can still attend school.
Staff at Cavalry Primary School have worked with the local authority to continue supporting pupils who are particularly vulnerable, whilst the option of moving them to a more specialist setting is explored.
William de Yaxley Church of England Academy, part of the Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust, have also opened their doors to support vulnerable students who don’t currently attend the school. With the agreement of the Academy Trust, staff offered to educate students who would otherwise be supported at a school entirely unfamiliar to them during the outbreak, to ensure that they could keep on learning in a place that is familiar.
Graeme Hull, SEN Casework Officer at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “It’s so important that vulnerable children and those with additional needs are not forgotten. Cavalry Primary and William de Yaxley have shown what can be achieved if we work together at what is a challenging time for all of us. The Statutory Assessment Team is really proud of the support that they, and all the local authority schools, are providing to children with additional needs. I have to pay credit to these schools, and others who are thinking outside the box to ensure our children have a level of continuity during these difficult times.”