A Lincoln toddler who underwent major open heart surgery just a year ago will be commemorating the operation this week.
Logan Whiteley (pictured), who will be two in May, was diagnosed with Fallots Tetralogy at six weeks old, and underwent surgery just before his first birthday.
Along with staff and other pupils at The Old Station Nursery on South Waterside, he will raise money for children’s heart charity Keep the Beat by holding a Red Day.
On April 21, children will wear red as well as heart and red themed activities, such as decorating red hearts and red cakes, pass the heart games and hunt the heart.
As well as raising awareness and money for the charity, Logan’s family hope the funds will help Glenfield Hospital, which deals with children’s heart problems.
Glenfield Hospital serves patients with heart defects in Lincolnshire, and is the hospital was where Logan received his operation a year ago.
However, it could be closed down due to funding cuts on the NHS, which sees 11 of the heart centres in the country cut to six or seven.
The Whiteley family (from left) Logan, mum Stacey, dad Mick and baby Darcie.
Logan’s mum Stacey Whiteley said: “We wanted to mark the anniversary of Logan’s operation with a day of fun and fund-raising.
“To know Keep the Beat provides hope, support and information to families like ours means everything and we have full belief in Keep the Beat and its future aims.
“We’re so proud of Logan and he’s come on in leaps and bounds since his operation last April; he still faces the possibility of surgery in the future but he is a happy, active and chatty toddler who enjoys his time at nursery.
“He became a big brother to his baby sister Darcie at the end of last year and loves drawing and painting so will certainly have lots of fun decorating hearts ready for the fund-raising day!”
She added: “We never dreamt of needing a facility like this for our child.
“For the sake of our region and all the heart children past, present and future, please back the campaign and choose Glenfield Option A in the NHS public consultation for the future of children’s heart surgery in England and Wales.
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A shopping centre on Grantham High Street sold at auction for £1,010,000, but it’s unclear who or what the new owners’ plans are for the building.
The George Centre, part of a Grade II listed building, was sold just three years ago, but was put back on the market before going under the hammer on November 26 at an auction organised by SDL Property Auctions.
There are 40 retail units, six office suites, 41 car parking spaces and one storage unit within The George Centre.
The centre, which retains the Georgian facade of the former George Hotel, had a guide price of £950,000. It sold for more, despite the centre seeing a third change of ownership in under five years.
It used to be home to businesses such as Pizza Express and Feelgood Fitness, but both closed their doors during the COVID-19 lockdown earlier this year.
The three-storey centre is steeped in history, incorporating the old George Hotel which was built in 1780. The property was significantly remodelled in the 1990s when it was converted into a shopping centre.
Lincolnshire received 20,000 lateral flow (rapid) tests for mass or community testing along with protective and IT equipment, local health bosses confirmed.
The county can get tests for up to 10% of the population (around 75,000 kits) but it doesn’t yet have the capacity or staff to do so.
Professor Derek Ward, Director of Public Health at Lincolnshire County Council, said the current allocation was “plenty for the short term”.
His team will look at where to focus the testing at an outbreak management board meeting next week.
These include “specific geographies, or population groups where we’re seeing a lot of cases and we don’t know why,” he said.
“So that might be a very small group of streets where we’re seeing lots of positives, but we don’t understand and we’d want to get in there […] and test [everyone] to see if any of them are asymptomatic.”
Other locations include “high consequence” settings such as children’s care homes, emergency services such as fire and rescue teams, and health and care settings.
Professor Ward, however, said the delivery would depend on capacity.
“We’ve got a finite number of nurses and a lot of the time those are helping with care home outbreaks,” but he added that if infection rates came down, those nurses could be redeployed.
People can also do the tests themselves.
Professor Ward also welcomed the vaccine news this week, but warned that initially they will be stored through United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust for now, because it is the only place with cold enough storage for the Pfizer Biotech vaccine (at -70℃).
He said further details were still expected on how mobile the vaccine can be delivered, though it’s hoped the upcoming Oxford vaccine would be easier to move around and supply to, for instance, GP practices and pharmacists.
“It’s really important that we don’t waste them, so if we’ve got vaccines in the hospital, it should be used first to vaccinate our hospital staff and people in hospital and then, when we can move it around, we start to vaccinate our residents.”
Professor Ward said now is the time to double down on following guidelines during the “tough winter” while the vaccine is handed out.
Infection rate up to Dec 3. | Data: GOV UK / Table: The Lincolnite
Yet health bosses are currently concerned about infection rates at a district level. They said lower population numbers can mean small outbreaks will have a dramatic effect and those outbreaks can remain on the books for a long time while as people self-isolate.
But their own numbers, are were more up to date than the public government dashboard, also show lower figures.
Care home outbreaks from 10 days ago are still on Boston’s figures for instance, similar with Lincoln — which will mean those districts could drop again next week if no further outbreaks occur.
There were 486 new coronavirus cases and 18 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday.
Boston has the second highest infection rate in the county with 547.2 cases per 100,000 of the population, a large spike since Wednesday’s rate of 501.6.
Lincoln came in ninth in the country with an increase from 371.6 Wednesday, to 385.7 Thursday.
Professor Ward said the general trend at a county level is still downwards, but not decreasing as quickly as it went up.
“Let’s not throw it away over the next few weeks and over Christmas. Let’s keep doing what we’re doing, rollout the vaccine, get better testing models and it could work.
“I know our figures are coming down quite quickly now, which is great, so it’s all good news, but it could all change if we if we throw it away — so let’s stick with our messages.”
He added that deaths will remain high until at least next week because of the lag from the latest peak of the virus in terms of those worst affected.
East Midlands Deputy Chief Constable Chris Haward has been chosen as Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones’ preferred candidate for the county’s new chief constable.
If the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Panel approve the choice next Thursday, Mr Haward will be offered a £161,115 yearly salary — 12.7% higher than the advertised £142,896.
The decision is a change from Mr Jones’ previous preferred candidate, Assistant Chief Constable of Derbyshire Police Paul Gibson.
The process of searching for a new chief constable was restarted in October following “procedural complications”.
The previously chosen replacement for Bill Skelly, who retires this month, was blocked by “issues relating to the probable disclosure of candidates’ information” to the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Panel, which was meant to approve the new chief.
After taking legal advice it became clear that it would be complicated, costly and potentially lengthy to address, the PCC said.
In a report before councillors set to meet next week, Mr Jones outlines how he, and his chief executive worked with independent members to choose Mr Haward.
There were five initial applicants for the role, of which four were shortlisted but one candidate did not complete a psychometric test in time and the list was narrowed down further to three.
Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones.
“Given the extensive and thorough nature of the selection and assessment process, the PCC is satisfied that Chris Haward is eminently suitable as the next Chief Constable for Lincolnshire Police,” said the report.
“Accordingly, the PCC proposes to the PCP that Chris Haward be appointed as the next Chief Constable for Lincolnshire Police.”
As well as being East Midlands DCC, Mr Haward is also counter-terrorism lead for the East Midlands.
Proposed terms and conditions indicate the contract will be for the current maximum of five years, and that Mr Haward will buy a property close to Lincolnshire Police’s Nettleham HQ.
Mr Jones will also pay relocation costs and a vehicle for Mr Haward.
The discussion will see the press and public excluded from the meeting while talks are ongoing.
A spokesman for Marc Jones said he would not comment until after the panel make their decision.
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