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Military drafted in to help North West Ambulance Service cope with COVID staff shortages

NWAS says around 25% of its workforce either has COVID-19 or is in self-isolation.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 7th January 2022

Around 150 military personnel have been drafted in to support the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) cope with rising staff shortages due to COVID.

The NWAS says the the military will be available to respond to patients whose need is not urgent, and who often have longer waits when the service is busy, to allow it to “make more efficient use” of its emergency resources, while helping out the wider NHS system.

The cohort of personnel will begin training on the 11 January, and will continue to work with the NWAS for a number of weeks.

The military personnel will receive NWAS training in driving ambulances, manual handling, kit familiarisation, and basic life support – which the Service says is similar to the standards of the trust’s patient transport staff, who have also been supporting the emergency service throughout the pandemic.

This new draft follows what the NWAS says was a “very successful partnership” last winter, when the military was deployed to more than 4,600 non-life-threatening 999 incidents, including assisting with transportation of patients between healthcare sites on a predicted 1,700 occasions.

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Feedback from those who worked with the military personnel was overwhelmingly positive, the NWAS revealed.

Around 150 military personnel have been drafted in to support the North West Ambulance Service / Credit: Facebook (NWAS Trust)

“It’s no secret that the ambulance service, along with the NHS as a whole, has been under extreme pressure for several months,” said Ged Blezard – Director of Operations at the NWAS.

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“Now we are also experiencing high numbers of staff absences due to confirmed COVID-19 cases and isolation, with around 25% of the workforce currently affected [and so] as part of our resilience planning, we can make a request to the military for support and feel now is the right time to put the arrangements in place.

“We worked alongside the military last February and March, and it allows us to have more of our vehicles on the road, getting people the treatment they need sooner.

“This frees up emergency ambulances to attend to urgent, life-threatening cases.”

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Ged added that taking this “timely intervention” to increase its resources now means the NWAS can carry on doing saving lives, while still providing extra support for its staff and patients during another “challenging period”.

Featured Image – North West Ambulance Service

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‘Please help’ – plea to save one of Manchester’s oldest theatres as beautiful building falls into disrepair

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

A fresh appeal and Crowdfunder has been launched to try and save one of Manchester’s oldest and most beautiful theatre buildings.

The Hulme Playhouse Theatre and the Nia Centre are at risk of closing down once again as both the list of repairs and the cost of living rise.

The venue, used now as a community hub and events space operated by NIAMOS, is in ‘desperate need of repair’ and they need to raise £50,000 for the urgent work.

Without it, it’s feared that the ‘cold and leaking’ building could be lost forever and ‘another cultural institution could be turned into flats’.

At present, the historic Grade II-listed building doesn’t have a heating system, and winter has brought new pressures.

NIAMOS, a group of local residents and community volunteers, say they want to ‘honour the important legacy of this renowned venue’.

NIAMOS have launched a Crowdfunder for the Nia Centre and Playhouse Theatre. Credit: NIAMOS

The beautiful building in Hulme was first opened in 1902 and is one of only two remaining W. H. Broadhead theatres.

At one time, Broadhead owned an empire of theatres, and designed the space to resemble a factory from the outside, hoping to help working class audiences in Manchester feel at home.

In 1956, the BBC took over and turned it into BBC Soundstage North, where The Beatles’ first-ever live radio performance was broadcast from.

Then the legendary Nina Simone opened it theas The Nia Centre in 1991, becoming the first African and Caribbean-led theatre in Europe.

The space is used for community events. Credit: NIAMOS

The cultural significance of this building really can’t be overstated, and the NIAMOS team are desperate to save it.

They said in their Crowdfunder: “Our mission is to preserve the heritage of the Nia Centre and Playhouse Theatre, by keeping the building and the Arts it facilitates accessible to all communities, all ages and capabilities.”

NIAMOS’ message continued: “We need help to be able to keep all the incredible projects that happen in the building going and make sure the space stays open as a hub for the Hulme community and beyond! We need to honour the important legacy of this renowned venue, still independent in the heart of Manchester, and not let another cultural institution be turned into flats.

“We want to make sure the building stays open as much as possible over winter and improve the equipment that local and young artists have access to through us, including music production, sound and lighting engineering, arts workshops, film and media production and acting classes.

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“The building is in desperate need of repair and a heating system which we currently do not have at all! Alongside all of this, the running costs of the building and the rising cost of living mean we are under pressure this winter.

“We rely on volunteer support to run and host events for our community and our voluntary members have worked extremely hard to keep the building afloat, but our members cannot give as much of their time as we need and with the challenge of a cold and leaking building we are in need of help to save this space from closing down!!

“When the current directorship took over the running of the building they also took on significant debts, this has meant we have been two steps forward and one step back. Despite all the hard work of the people who have been running the space voluntarily we need help over the quieter winter months.

Credit: NIAMOS

“We need to stay open long enough to apply for further funding bids, including long term support from the Heritage Lottery fund, as we are a grade II listed building. We have an amazing programme of events and projects we want to put on this year that will build on sustaining us financially and provide opportunities for community artists and creatives.

“Keeping this building open and functional is of great importance for Hulme and the surrounding areas communities; we need your help! Developing heating solutions and doing necessary repairs in the building will enable us to stay open during the colder months and help us with our aim of making the building more conscious and sustainable.

“Please help!”

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You can read more and donate to NIAMOS’s Crowdfunder for Nia Centre and Playhouse Theatre here.

Featured image: NIAMOS

News

Tim Martin is blaming ‘people drinking at home’ for UK Wetherspoons closures

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

It’s no secret that times are hard for hospitality right now, with pubs and restaurants shutting left, right and centre – but when UK pub giant Wetherspoons starts closing its doors you have to wonder if anyone can survive in this climate.

In September last year, the budget pub chain began listing sites for sale with 32 boozers going up as part of what it described as a “commercial decision”.

Now, it has listed even more – and arch-Brexiteer Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin is apparently blaming people ‘drinking at home’ for the closures.

After the chain suffered a £30 million pound loss, CEO Tim Martin told PA news agency that people ‘have got into the habit of staying in’ ever since Covid and that that was why sales were down on 2019.

The Waterhouse

Read more: Government refuses to deny reports HS2 may not run from Manchester to central London

He also blamed lockdown restrictions brought in to stop the spread of Covid during the heigh of the pandemic for the pub’s losses,

He said: “The aftermath of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions have been far more difficult than anyone thought.

“That is the picture for the whole pub and restaurant industry. People thought that after lockdown there would be a boom in people suffering from cabin fever but, instead, it has almost become the opposite situation as people have got into the habit of staying in.

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“That’s the big thing that means sales are down on 2019. Things are improving now but it’s slow.”

The pub sales are being handled by CBRE and Savills. Toby Hall, senior director at CBRE, said: “The excellent mix of locations in this portfolio is rarely seen in the market.

“With more than half the portfolio located in London and the South East and other strong locations in the South West, Midlands and North we believe the pubs represent an excellent opportunity for existing pub operators and new entrants.”

Which JD Wetherspoon pubs are set for closure?

Pubs which have been sold:

  • Harvest Moon, Orpington
  • Alexander Bain, Wick
  • Chapel an Gansblydhen, Bodmin
  • Moon on the Square, Basildon
  • Coal Orchard, Taunton
  • Running Horse, Airside Doncaster Airport
  • Wild Rose, Bootle
  • Edmund Halley, Lee Green
  • The Willow Grove, Southport
  • Postal Order, Worcester
  • North and South Wales Bank, Wrexham

Pubs still up for sale:

  • The Butlers Bell, Stafford
  • Worlds Inn, Romford
  • Silkstone Inn, Barnsley
  • Wrong ‘Un, Bexleyheath
  • The Percy Shaw, Halifax
  • Jolly Sailor, Hanham
  • The Alfred Herring, Palmers Green
  • The Moon & Bell, Loughborough
  • The Widow Frost, Mansfield
  • Resolution, Middlesbrough
  • Foxley Hatch, Purley
  • The Rising Sun, Redditch
  • Sennockian, Sevenoaks
  • Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis, Southampton
  • The Colombia Press, Watford
  • The Malthouse, Willenhall
  • The John Masefield, New Ferry
  • The Crosse Keys, Peebles
  • Lord Arthur Lee, Fareham
  • The Saltoun Inn, Fraserburgh
  • General Sir Redvers Buller, Crediton
  • Plough & Harrow, Hammersmith
  • Thomas Leaper, Derby
  • Cliftonville, Hove
  • Tollgate, Turnpike Lane
  • Asparagus, Battersea
  • Millers Well, East Ham
  • Hudson Bay, Forest Gate
  • Angel, Islington
  • The Billiard Hall, West Bromwich
  • Capitol, Forest Hill
  • The Bankers Draft, Eltham
  • Moon on the Hill, Harrow
  • The Bank House, Cheltenham
  • Last Post, Loughton

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