Coronavirus Doncaster: Update
Introduction
Hi, my name is Dr Rupert Suckling and I am the Director of Public Health in Doncaster.
A huge thank you to Doncaster's carers as we mark National Carers Week (8-14 June) – Carers Week raises awareness of caring and recognises the valuable contribution carers make to families and communities.
For many, looking after someone is ‘just something you do’. However, not recognising you are in a caring role can be a real barrier to accessing support. It is vital that carers know that advice and information is out there and are clear on how to access it.
Throughout this pandemic, we have seen just how valuable the role of a carer is, however informal, whether it be collecting shopping and medicine or cooking meals.
You can read more about Carers Week and the support available to carers of all ages further on in this newsletter.
Non-essential retail shops will be able to reopen from Monday (15 June), provided they follow government guidelines to keep staff and customers as safe as possible. If you are planning on coming into the town centre next week, please continue to follow physical distancing and other public safety measures.
There will be signage around Doncaster town centre and in other town centres across the borough to highlight physical distancing and we have created pedestrian routes by asking people to use the left hand side of the busy streets. The main parts of the town centre will be pedestrian friendly with traffic restrictions in place. We'll also have town centre ambassadors to help and advise people.
Dr Rupert Suckling
Director of Public Health
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 Doncaster schools will start to reopen their doors to more pupils from this Monday (15 June) following advice from Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones and Director of Public Health Dr Rupert Suckling.
Primary schools, Secondary schools and Special schools will start to extend their offer.
Each school will need to follow all government guidance on physical distancing, which means that their plans could differ depending on the available capacity of the school. Schools will be contacting parents directly to discuss their individual plans.
Mayor Jones and Dr Suckling feel that the areas of concern they outlined last month have now been addressed enough to progress to the next stage. Both have been particularly impressed with the efforts of schools across the borough to prepare to safely welcome back more children.
Parents will have the choice as to whether they want their children to go back to school yet or not. There will be no penalty fines issued for non-attendance.
For more information, visit schools reopening plans
Doncaster’s green bin collections to resume
 Green bin (garden waste) collections will soon be starting again on a temporary, monthly basis across Doncaster.
Earlier this year, green bin collections were suspended due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, to enable prioritisation of the collection of black and blue bins.
Green bin (garden waste) collections will be starting again with a temporary, revised schedule from 23 June meaning each household will have their green bins collected once every four weeks. The first round of collections will take until mid-July to complete.
Residents will receive a letter through their door next week notifying them of the date their collection is set to resume. Residents should read this letter – or check the Doncaster Council website – to find details of their revised collection dates and present bins on the kerbside at 7am on the appropriate collection. Visit www.doncaster.gov.uk/recycling where details of collection days will be available by the end of next week.
Cabinet member for Communities, Voluntary Sector and the Environment, Cllr Chris McGuinness said: “Thank you to residents for bearing with us at this difficult time and for keeping their green waste at home or composting it.
“I’d also like to thank bin collection crews who are key workers and have been working with a reduced workforce due to self-isolation and shielding and staff and vehicles that would normally collect green waste have been collecting black and blue bins to keep these collections going."
For further information - Doncaster green bin collections
Recognising Doncaster's carers
 Carers Week (from the 8 -14 June), is a national annual campaign run by the Carers Trust. This year’s theme is ‘Making Caring Visible’ which has added poignancy this year given the battles with Coronavirus. There are over 33,000 carers in Doncaster with 724 children and young people providing care and support to family members.
Many carers are currently dealing with more challenges than ever before in these unprecedented times. It is vital that carers know how to look after their own health and wellbeing, and that we all recognise the contribution that carers make.
It's time to ‘Make Caring Visible’ to ensure that carers get vital information and support. It is also an opportunity to shine a light on the amazing caregiving done by local people across our communities in Doncaster.
‘Making Space’ is a commissioned service provider who support adult carers of adults. Making Space can support people in a caring role, helping to enable carers to be connected in their community and give balance to aid people in their caring roles. Contact 01302 986900 or email DoncasterCarers@makingspace.co.uk
Doncaster Council’s Young Carers Service supports young carers to be recognised in their role and to have the same opportunities as other children and young people of a similar age. If you think you are a young carer or you know someone who is and would benefit from support, please visit Young Carers information
If you are a carer or know someone who cares for a loved one, there's lots of information at www.yourlifedoncaster.co.uk.
Dr David Crichton, Chair of NHS Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group, pays tribute to Doncaster's carers in his blog this week - Supporting and recognising our Doncaster Carers during Carers Week
Face coverings in public
Following Government guidance, from Monday (15 June) local people must wear a suitable face covering when visiting or attending a hospital or community health service run by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH) or Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH).
All hospital visitors and outpatients will have to wear face coverings, and all staff will have to wear surgical masks at all times, in all areas from Monday 15 June. Face coverings will also be mandatory on public transport from that date.
This follows established advice which recommends the use of these items in some enclosed spaces when physical distancing isn't possible.
If you are going to either Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Bassetlaw Hospital or Montagu Hospital due to an emergency or for urgent treatment, face coverings will be provided by reception colleagues.
For local residents, the Government is recommending the use of simple, double-ply coverings which can be easily made at home, or purchased from a number of trusted retailers. Colleagues within the NHS and other care settings will continue to make use of fluid repellent masks (also known as surgical masks).
Develop your skills – for free!
These are new and uncertain times that will affect each of us in different ways and, right now, many of us are not able to work as normal. Some of you may feel that you’re busier than ever or you may feel that you have more time on your hands. You may also be wondering how you can boost your wellbeing.
Learning a new skill or brushing up on your existing skills can be a great way to keep busy and boost your wellbeing, as well as supporting you when you return to work, or offering the chance to explore a career change.
Doncaster’s Advance Service is here to help, and has highlighted some current and FREE training opportunities that are available right now and will also look great on your CV!
You might also want to take a look at the Government’s advice for furloughed workers, and view the Skills Toolkit from the National Career’s Service to see what additional FREE resources are available there.
Change a child's life and become a foster carer
 Trust Fostering is holding a live information session giving people in Doncaster the opportunity to find out how they can become foster carers.
The team, which is part of Doncaster Children’s Service Trust, will be online to answer your questions about the fostering process as well as the support offered by the team and the Trust. You will also get a chance to talk to Trust Fostering carers.
The online event will take place using Microsoft Teams on Wednesday 17 June, from 7pm- 8pm.
Katie Fisher, Team Manager for Trust Fostering, said: “We know that everything’s a little strange right now, but we are still here working hard to find loving foster families and carers for Doncaster children. Our foster carers come from all backgrounds. We have single carers, same-sex couples, people with disabilities, all ethnic backgrounds and ages. The one thing all our carers have in common is they are great listeners and have endless care and love to support our children and young people.”
Please book your place in advance to be sent your login details. To do this, contact the fostering team on 0808 129 2600 or complete an enquiry form at www.trustfostering.co.uk. Once they’ve received your request, you will be sent a link to the join the information event.
Doncaster College opens its doors to support Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals
Despite the current COVID-19 challenges, new staff at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH) are able to receive induction training to equip them with the skills for their roles with the help of Doncaster College.
The college are providing large training premises at The Hub to enable vital DBTH inductions to take place during the pandemic. The campus was an ideal space to be able to adhere to the physical distancing measures to deliver the induction training, to meet the needs of the number of people wanting to join Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospital.
Alasdair Strachan, Director of Education and Research at DBTH, said: ''Inductions are vital for ensuring that all members of Team DBTH are equipped with the right skills and appropriate knowledge they need to perform their duties. Even during this period of great hardship, it is still important that we are able to deliver our robust education programme, so that new colleagues can safely provide excellent care. We are extremely grateful for this timely support, as it will make a huge difference to our workforce levels by helping us get more colleagues ready for the front-line.''
Kathryn Dixon, Director of Health and Creative at Doncaster College and University Centre, said: “It has been a privilege as a partner governor to support DBTH during the COVID-19 crisis and to ensure Health Care Assistants have been trained to deal head on with Coronavirus using our college resources to support them."
Thousands of people in Doncaster supported to stay active at home
Doncaster residents are being supported to stay physically active at home thanks to Sport England funding and Get Doncaster Moving.
The Staying Strong at Home booklet, created by Get Doncaster Moving, aims to empower and support people to be more active at home by giving some simple examples of exercises that can be done without needing any equipment, access to the internet or open outdoor space.
The booklet, which contains a mixture of chair-based exercises and standing exercises, as well as advice on looking after overall wellbeing, will be posted out to over 17,000 households in Doncaster within the coming weeks, to residents living with long-term health conditions and/or are unable to access the internet.
It is also available online at https://getdoncastermoving.org/being-active-at-home Additional paper copies of the booklet are available on request for local community groups who might like to distribute them within their own networks. Contact hannah.wild@doncaster.gov.uk
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Sharing is caring
Don’t forget to share the messages in this newsletter with people who may not be online, whilst following government guidance on physical distancing.
Suspended Services
Here are all the council services affected or suspended due to Coronavirus
And finally…
Dean hits the right notes for St John’s Hospice
 A Doncaster man’s impromptu X Factor performance on VE Day hit the right notes for a local hospice.
Dean Mychajluk, 49, lead singer with Scunthorpe soft rock band Dog Day Afternoon, decided to entertain residents on his street with a selection of his favourite hits. He set up a microphone, speaker and backing music playing outside his front door and started belting out the hits in a two and a half hours long vocal session.
Dean’s audience – all physical distancing outside their own homes in Bentley – liked his performance so much that they had a whip-round and raised over £111, which he generously donated to Balby’s St John’s Hospice.
Dean, currently furloughed from his sports job at Adwick Leisure Centre, said: “It was a lovely warm day and people were sat outside so I thought I would do a bit of singing and the people on my street were really appreciative.
“A good friend of mine was cared for at the hospice and after he died, I spent two years there as a volunteer, so I know what a fantastic job they do. I plan to go back when the pandemic is over. It’s all about giving something back as far as I am concerned.”
The grandson of a Ukrainian national, Dean’s love of singing started at school and saw him featured on TV in the 2010 X Factor series, singing the Jackson's hit Blame it on The Boogie at Manchester Arena. Judge Nicole Scherzinger enjoyed his rendition but sadly it wasn’t enough to earn him a place in the next stage of the competition.
And, though Dog Day Afternoon have had to cancel their current gigs, Dean has found a new way of singing to live audiences every week - by live streaming on facebook from his living room.
Lindsey Richards, from St John’s Hospice, said: “Dean is a great friend of ours and we are grateful for his generous donation, which will help benefit the patients we care for.”
St John’s Hospice is run by Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH).To find out about becoming a sponsor or to fundraise by holding an event, please contact the fundraising team on 01302 796662 or 01302 798391. To donate, visit St John's Hospice
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