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Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter. We have just launched two very important campaigns - Keep Caring and Keeping on Track.
The Keep Caring campaign encourages everyone to take action to help us all return to a more normal life and provides information on how you can take care of yourself and others. The reason this campaign is important is because if we do not follow the guidance on keeping ourselves and others safe we could face further lockdown and this would have an adverse impact on our economy and create more financial hardship for people in our city. Further information is included in the newsletter.
Keeping on Track is our campaign to address some of the issues families are telling us they have been facing though the lockdown period. Last week we focused on mental health and this week's focus will be on sleeping. Further information is available here.
In addition, a new mobile testing facility has been established at Gladstone Park Community Centre and will be available until at least the end of the week to make it as easy as possible for people to get tested if they have coronavirus symptoms. Further information is provided in the newsletter.
I mentioned in my vlog, which you can watch below, the recently published Outbreak Plan which provides information for communities to help them understand what to do if someone tests positive for coronavirus and who to make aware. It is really important to try and contain local outbreaks as much as possible so I encourage you to please read the plan. You can find it on the council website.
Our newsletter also provides plenty of other information for families, particularly the Hope Programme and the launch of the Youth Inspired YouTube channel. I hope you find it as enjoyable as I have.
Watch my vlog here.
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Mobile testing site available
A mobile testing facility will be in place at Gladstone Park Community Centre until at least Sunday 19 July to make it as easy as possible for people to get tested if they have coronavirus symptoms. The unit will be available between 10am and 3pm each day.
Anyone with symptoms can book a test by visiting www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-COVID-19 or by calling 119.
Key workers can log on to the self-referral portal www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-test-essential-workers. They will be offered a drop-down list of local options for testing including nearby mobile units
People can also attend the mobile testing unit if they haven’t booked an appointment, although it is advisable to do so to avoid having to wait.
Dr Liz Robin, director of public health for Peterborough City Council, said: “The additional testing facility is just one part of a larger plan to reduce the rate of community transmission of COVID-19 in Peterborough, which we know is higher than other areas in the East of England.
“Please, if you have symptoms of coronavirus – a fever, new continuous cough or a loss or change in sense of smell or taste – please book an appointment for a test and self-isolate immediately. You will also have the option to attend the permanent testing site at Peterborough Showground.
“If you follow the rules and test and isolate if you have symptoms, the safer it will be for your family and friends and the better chance we have of avoiding a second stage of lockdown.”
The city council will also be looking at other locations around the city which might benefit from a mobile testing facility.
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Keep caring for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Residents across Peterborough are being urged by civic and community leaders to 'keep caring' for one another, as coronavirus hasn’t gone away. The campaign reinvigorates public health messages and reminds people that while lockdown restrictions are gradually being lifted – everyone needs to take action to help us all return to a more normal life.
With certain government restrictions relaxed from Saturday 4 July 2020, including being able to meet in groups of up to two households in any location - public or private, indoors or outdoors - it remains the case that even inside someone’s home you should continue to keep a safe distance from anyone not in your household or bubble.
The Keep Caring campaign led by Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council, and supported by its partners, outlines ways that people can take care of themselves and each other - for instance highlighting that:
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Caring is keeping your distance - inside or outside
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Caring is being responsible - staying isolated if you think you’ve got symptoms, or been close to someone who has
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Caring is covering your face - even with no symptoms you might still spread virus
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Caring is washing your hands - regularly, when you enter or leave a new place
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It also points out that:
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Caring is staying and buying local - to support local businesses and jobs
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Caring is being considerate - rubbish destroys our countryside, and puts those who clear it up at risk
Dr Liz Robin, Director of Public Health for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough said: “It is the public who have reduced the transmission of coronavirus so far. By taking care of themselves and each other, fatalities and infection rates in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have continued to fall.
“But our message is that this caring can’t stop now, as the most important thing we can continue to do is to stay alert, control the virus, and, in doing so, save more lives.
“The government updated its plan for social distancing from 4 July, but the message remains strong that to continue to reduce the transmission of the virus, we should continue good hygiene rules, washing our hands and surfaces often, remain physically distant from people outside of our household, and keep your mouth and nose covered where you can’t be sure of staying apart.”
The council is posting social media messages daily to remind people of the rules. Please share these with your friends and family and help reach as many people as possible. Find out more here.
Help us share translations of NHS Test and Trace
People across the city are being asked to share translations of the important NHS Test and Trace messages, including where people can access help and support if they are isolating.
Currently there are 13 translations available and residents are being urged to share them far and wide using their own channels, so that as many people as possible understand the need to use Test and Trace. The translations also inform people how they can access help and support via the hub network and what steps they can take to limit the spread of the virus.
The translations are available on the council website with more languages being added all the time.
The network of support hubs is available to assist people who are having to isolate, either because they or someone they live with has symptoms ,or because they have been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace as they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus.
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Healthwatch update
Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has published a briefing and video with the initial results of its COVID-19 survey. Find out more here.
There's still time to send your messages and tell them what it's been like managing your health and care during these difficult times. It takes 10 minutes to complete the survey online. Please share your experiences and help our local health and care services continue to deliver good, safe care for everyone in the months to come. You can find a link to the survey here.
Healthwatch has also published its annual report for the financial year 2019-2020. You can read the report, including an Easy Read version and a video of introduction from their chair, Val Moore.
Healthwatch would also like to welcome you to its virtual annual general meeting to be held online on Wednesday 22 July at 2pm. If you would like to join the meeting please call 0330 355 1285, text 07520 635 176 or email enquiries@healthwatchcambspboro.co.uk
The next Peterborough Health and Care Forum will be held online on Thursday 23 July at 10am. Find out more here.
Youth Inspired launches new YouTube channel
Youth Inspired has launched an exciting new YouTube channel featuring more than 30 videos from Peterborough artists and professionals. The videos have been made to complement the free online sessions as featured on the Youth Inspired May and June timetables.
Videos include a variety of ‘how to’ clips on art and photography, a beginner’s guide to poetry and advice on looking after your mental wellbeing.
The channel will continue to grow, complementing the current timetable of free activities.
If you want to know how to draw a zombie in five minutes or some simple hints and tricks for taking the perfect phone photo then look no further!
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Government guidance for the safe use of multi-purpose community facilities
Community centres, village halls, and other multi-use community facilities support a wide range of local activities. However, their communal nature also makes them places that are vulnerable to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). The government has produced new guidance for those managing multi-use community facilities.
Managers of community facilities will have discretion over when they consider it safe to open for any activity permitted by legislation and may decide to remain closed if they are not able to safely follow the advice in the relevant guidance, to make the space COVID-19 secure.
Register now to access priority supermarket slots
People who have been encouraged to register as shielding are being urged to do so before the 17 July 2020 deadline, whether they need help at the moment or not. Although the shielding programme will be paused on 31 July 2020, people on the shielded list who register for support with essential supplies before 17 July will still be able to access priority supermarket delivery slots from this date.
In addition, the council will be keeping a record of everyone who is shielding, so that if there is a need for lockdown again, it has the details of everyone who might need support.
Adrian Chapman, Service Director: Communities and Partnerships for Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “If you’ve been contacted by the NHS and advised that you need to shield and have not yet registered, please think about doing so, whether you need help at the moment or not.
"Registering will allow us to keep in contact with you and provide support if there is a further lockdown and will allow you to access priority supermarket delivery slots, which may be useful to you in the coming weeks and months. To access these slots, please make sure you tick the box which asks for help with accessing essential supplies when you register.
“In addition, if you have registered and told us you don’t need help with accessing food, you won’t be able to access priority supermarket slots. If you would like to be able to, please contact the national shielding programme to change your preferences."
To register on the shielded list, or to amend your preferences, visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable or call 0800 028 8327.
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Peterborough mosques re-open
A number of Peterborough mosques have re-opened this week.
Keeping children safe online: SafeToNet gives away licences free for life
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the amount of time children are spending online.
SafeToNet Foundation is giving away one million @SafeToNet software licenses to families in the UK for free.
Parenting newsletter: Issue 7
A new issue of the Parenting Newsletter is now out. This issue focuses on how playing with your children can benefit them. You can read the newsletter here.
Survey: Lockdown and the great outdoors
Natural Cambridgeshire is running a survey to find out the role of nature in supporting people through lockdown and how people’s attitudes to nature and green open space have been affected by lockdown.
The survey can be found here.
Parents returning to work after extended leave
People on paternity and maternity leave who return to work in the coming months will be eligible for the government’s furlough scheme. This will only apply where they work for an employer who has previously furloughed employees.
British Sign Language videos about benefit changes
The Department of Work and Pensions has produced a range of BSL videos on coronavirus and benefit changes.
These include new content for Universal Credit and Statutory Sick Pay. You can view these videos on the DWP YouTube Sign channel.
Videos about Access to Work, PIP, Carer’s Allowance and Child Maintenance will be added soon.
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Disabled Children's Partnership publishes report on life in lockdown
A report published by the Disabled Children's Partnership has found that 76% of parents who had previously received support for their disabled children had stopped receiving support altogether, leaving parent carers and siblings to take on full-time caring responsibilities.
Dame Christine Lenehan, director of the Council for Disabled Children, said: "Left in Lockdown lays bare the challenges for families of disabled children during the pandemic. There are some good initiatives but these get lost in the avalanche of unconnected responses to the complexity of families lives."
Caring Together update
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Carer care packs
Caring Together now has carer care packs, including personal protective equipment such as face masks, available if you are a carer looking after someone. You can find out more about this and other support available to you on the Caring Together website.
You can also call 0345 241 0954 or email hello@caringtogether.org for more information.
New course for parents of children with autism
A free online course for parents and carers of children with autism is being offered by Caring Together.
The Hope Programme is a six-week online group peer-support course based on positive psychology, mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy originally developed by Coventry University. It covers topics such as mindfulness, goal setting, anxiety, fatigue and stress management, healthy eating, physical activity and working with healthcare teams.
Caring Together can offer this free of charge to up to 100 parent carers across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Norfolk. This is part of a partnership led by Carers Trust Heart of England with Caring Together, Northamptonshire Carers and Hope For The Community CIC. Find out more here.
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Carers - planning in case of an emergency
When you are a carer, knowing that if an emergency happens, you already have a plan for how you will manage the situation can help to provide peace of mind and remove one of the many sources of stress. Caring Together is able to give advice on planning and if the person you look after is over 18 in Cambridgeshire or Peterborough you can register a ‘What If? Plan’ with them.
The What If? service operates 24-hours a day throughout the year. It can provide urgent support to the person you care for, in the event of you being unable to care.
Find out more about emergency planning and the What If? Plan here.
Cross Keys Homes extends opening hours for payment support
Cross Keys Homes (CKH) has extended its opening hours for customers who need to talk about payments.
The team is available from 8am until 5pm on weekdays, with advisers available until 7pm on Mondays and Thursdays, and 9am until 12noon on Saturdays. Customers can chat to an adviser online or contact the team via email for support. Full details of how to get in touch can be found on the Cross Keys Homes website at www.crosskeyshomes.co.uk.
Claire Higgins, chief executive of Cross Keys Homes, said: “As so many of our customers are juggling work, childcare and support for vulnerable family members, we want to offer more flexibility to get in touch with us at a convenient time. We know finances can cause a great deal of anxiety and stress so it’s important that our customers know we are here to offer advice and support.”
CKH has also added two free money management tools to its website which are available to everyone, not just CKH customers. Visit www.crosskeyshomes.co.uk to try a free budget assessment or complete a benefit calculation to see what you may be entitled to claim.
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School produces more than 10,000 visors for frontline staff
After becoming acutely aware of the shortage of personal protective equipment for frontline workers back in March, staff at Jack Hunt School, a specialist language and sports college in Peterborough, was keen to put their skills, experience and materials to the test.
Picking up on the growing shortage of protective visors for NHS and care workers across the country, staff from the school’s design technology department quickly began working up prototypes, unaware they were starting a process that would see them manufacturing over 10,000 pieces for frontline workers right across our region.
Word quickly spread, and the visors are now being used in four hospitals, including one in Nottingham, a number of doctors surgeries and in 173 care homes across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Children’s community nurses and local ambulance crews are among other recipients of the safe and comfortable PPE.
Pamela Kilbey, headteacher at the school, said: “I can’t thank my staff enough for the ingenuity, effort and determination they have shown in helping those who have been supporting our country on the frontline. There have been a number of schools locally and nationally who have supported the NHS in various ways, and we are delighted to have also been able to play our part in making a difference.”
Adrian Hargreaves, a design technology teacher, pictured above, added: “The philosophy at Jack Hunt has always been about caring and helping others, so we were only too pleased to have a go and do our bit. We wanted to create equipment that was safe and reusable, and as the word spread we knew we weren’t stopping at 1000 or even 2000 units! It has taken some long days and weekends, but it’s worth every second if it helps protect the keyworkers who have been working so hard for all of us.
“This pandemic as bad as it is, has brought the caring side out of more people. Let’s hope this continues long after this pandemic leaves us.”
Jonathan Lewis, director of education for Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council, said: “The staff at Jack Hunt have been excellent throughout the pandemic, and this is a great example of how our teachers and school staff across the region have just kept going regardless. Whether supporting in-school teaching or home learning, manufacturing PPE or helping their communities with things like food deliveries, they haven’t stopped, and I hope when this is all over they can look back and be proud everything they have done to help.”
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Two city businesses donate to support the community during health crisis
Two Peterborough-based businesses have donated thousands of pounds to support people who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
O&H Land and the BGL group have both made donations to the Peterborough Coordination Hub. O&H Land’s donation of £25,000 will benefit the following charities which have been supporting residents in response to the COVID-19 emergency: Disability Peterborough, Age UK, PAB (Peterborough Association for the Blind), Cambridgeshire Deaf Association, City College Foundation, Food for Nought and Peterborough Council for Voluntary Service (PCVS).
PCVS will further distribute some of its funding to smaller groups to benefit even more of the community.
Tobin Rickets, director for O&H Land, said: "O&H has been an important part of Peterborough's story over the last 25 years, with 6000 houses now occupied at Hampton. We have always maintained an excellent working relationship with the City Council and the wider Peterborough Community and we wanted to support some of the charities in most need of help during this current crisis."
Financial services company, BGL Group, donated £3,700 to pay for ICT equipment for local care homes as part of its £1.5 million ‘Empower, Pledge, Donate’ community campaign which aims to support community causes impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
Eleven iPads with stands have been purchased and will be delivered to priority care homes in order to allow their residents to Facetime their families. It will also allow for virtual meetings via ‘Teams’ with the adult social care staff. This donation by BGL group will have an impact on these care home residents as many have been struggling with the self-isolation measures which have suspended visits from family and friends.
Caroline Raines, Director of Communications at BGL Group, said: “We’re only too pleased to be able to support our care homes at this time by keeping elderly and vulnerable residents in touch with their loved ones.
“Our charitable work is a key part of BGL and it’s important to our colleagues to be able to support people in their own communities. We’re pleased to have been in a position to support more than 100 organisations through our Empower, Pledge, Donate campaign, and we’d like to add our thanks to the many charities supporting those in need at this time.”
Wendi Ogle-Welbourn, Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of People & Communities, said: “On behalf of Peterborough Community Resource Group (hub), I would like to say big thank you to both O&H Land and BGL Group for their kind donations in support of the work of the hub. The hub is made up of over sixty voluntary, community, faith and public sector services and these donations will go a long way to support them to meet the needs of all our vulnerable residents.
“These donations will make a massively positive impact on our communities and those struggling as a result of the current crisis. It is so heart-warming to see local businesses displaying so much compassion for our residents by making such thoughtful donations to support the local community during these difficult times. It is yet another incredible example of the city coming together to support each other.”
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