The COVID pandemic continues to present complex challenges as we seek to minimise infections while supporting the economy to recovery. As ever, the people and organisations of Bradford District have shown remarkable resilience, invention and community spirit in the face of the emergency and it was good to talk to Health Secretary Matt Hancock earlier this month about our progress, our plans for the future and the challenges we face. We were able to put him right that Keighley is not Kirklees following his previous confusion over the two and also to talk about how we work together with Government to keep people safe, services running and our economy in business. After the meeting we reiterated some of our areas of concern that we need Government to work with us on in a letter to Mr Hancock. Those issues include environmental health, test and trace, supporting low paid workers, care homes and timely information. Local authorities are best placed to understand the needs of their communities but we still need government to work in partnership with us and support us in order to meet them.  We need everyone with the District’s interests at heart to help us keep making the case.

Bradford Council is calling for Government action and investment in key areas of activity to support the local response to coronavirus. In a letter to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, Council leader Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe set out a plan for government, the Council and local agencies to work together to tackle the spread of infection and support economic recovery. The call comes after a meeting with Mr Hancock in which the District’s progress, plans and community focussed response were discussed. The council is seeking further detailed discussion on the following areas:

• Environmental Health. We have some brilliant Environmental Health officers in the Council but there is a strong and urgent case for additional investment in skills, training and recruitment to the profession nationally to help cope with the impact of COVID-19.
• Information and data. In order to respond quickly to emerging situations the council and its partners need access to accurate, real time data. Earlier notification of shifts in Government strategy are also important to our ability to plan and prepare at pace.
• Test and trace and additional testing. The national track and trace system is getting up and running but they don’t manage to contact everyone after a positive test result. We have offered to set up a system locally to ensure that those people coming through the test and trace system but who are not contacted nationally in the follow up process are identified and provided with the right advice locally. This is a significant additional challenge. Support to recruit and train new teams is essential. The Council has offered to work with Government to pilot new approaches to testing.
• Low income households. Low paid workers are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and outbreaks have occurred nationally in places with high numbers of low paid staff. There are concerns that the people affected may feel unable to support themselves and their families if they have to self isolate and the Council has asked to work with government on approaches to address this.
• Care homes. Some homes are experiencing low occupancy rates because of COVID-19 and there are concerns about their sustainability. Closures would be disastrous especially if there is a further spike in infection alongside the usual pressures associated with Winter. Greater flexibility for the sector in meeting additional costs is sought.

Action on these issues will make a big and cost effective difference to local efforts to contain the spread of Coronavirus and support the safe recovery of our economy.

Evidence from previous pandemics and economic crises suggests that an additional 4,000 people in Bradford District may develop new mental health problems as result of the social and health impact of coronavirus including incidents of post traumatic stress disorder among survivors and front line staff. New risks of mental health issues have emerged for frontline health workers, those shielding with their families or pushed into financial difficulty and across BAME groups and disadvantaged populations. These are among the findings of research and analysis into mental health needs undertaken by local public health services.

Other findings include:

Children and young people – anxiety and stress were among the common issues reported to Kooth (digital mental health service) after lockdown; others included uncertainty about the future, fear of contracting COVID-19, feeling overwhelmed by the media and household tensions. New Kooth registrations after lockdown from young females were four times higher than for males.

Working age adults. Key mental health issues centre around increased isolation, fear and anxiety, financial concerns, sleep problems and juggling a new home environment. There has been an increase in the complexity of adults cases presenting at crisis services. Local surveys show more people describing their mental health as poor since lockdown with the greatest risk among those facing financial hardship.

Older adults and carers. Some families report feeling abandoned with carers feeling the direct impact of the reduction or suspensions of respite and care home visits.

Community Mental health services provided through the voluntary and community sector reported reduced staffing capacity but an increase in demand between March and May 2020.

BAME communities are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and locally fear of going out, misinformation, the loss of social support networks, digital language barriers and lower access to health services all contribute to poorer health and well being.

The findings form part of a draft mental health needs assessment that will help to shape the responses of local services with an emphasis on early community based interventions.

Helping Bradford to cope with COVID

Nationally there has been a 37 per cent rise in the number of children aged 11 and under contacting Childline for mental health support during the coronavirus lockdown and the charity fears that the pandemic could spark the biggest mental health crisis for children and young people for years. Mental health problems also affect 25% of adults at some point in their lives yet the stigma around them means people often suffer in silence. In this current climate of uncertainty, it is even more difficult to keep a clear head. Myths and misinformation can leave people feeling more lost and isolated, so a special newspaper series by The Telegraph & Argus aims to separate fiction from fact and give practical help. A series of articles share the stories of real, local people and aim to get some self-help and resilience messaging out as well as signposting information to local services. The second Healthy Minds newspaper article looks at finance and wellbeing. Council worker Michelle shares her story on anxiety about money and how COVID-19 has had an impact on her income. 

Find information on how to manage financial stress, here. 

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between the University of Bradford and Rakusens Ltd, one of the region’s oldest and most respected independent food manufacturers has been shortlisted for a national award. The KTP Awards, celebrate outstanding impacts resulting from collaborative partnerships between higher education institutions and businesses. The project, worked to transform production lines. The company, was experiencing large variations in product quality, taste and texture, which made it impossible to have a flexible planning process that allowed it to achieve its full potential.

The project, rated outstanding by Innovate UK, transformed production knowledge into a smart manufacturing process using artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, cloud computing and ‘industrial internet of things’ to produce consistent quality food products.

This smart production approach transformed the company into a technology driven enterprise and allowed Rakusens to move over to the latest technology without the need to change its traditional machinery. By doing this, they preserved the manufacturing standards required of kosher tradition alongside expanding their production capacity.

The KTP partnership has been shortlisted in the Finalist for the Engineering Excellence Category. The Awards, hosted by KTN (Knowledge Transfer Network), will be held ‘virtually’ on September 9. It is very likely it will be a virtual one.

A report by Manchester University has highlighted the under-representation of ethnic minorities in local government. Researchers found that 7% of Councillors are from ethnic minority backgrounds compared to around 14% of the population.  The report also found that there is a lack of scrutiny of equal access to local government which potentially reinforces racial inequality and representation.  Here in Bradford 30 BAME Councillors make up 33% of Bradford District Councillors compared to around 36% of the population however men continue to make up the majority of the Council (60%) and around three quarters of BAME councillors.