Staff working on ward 29 at Scunthorpe General Hospital. Photo: NLaG
Hospitals in Grimsby and Scunthorpe have been picked to offer specialist support to patients suffering with long term symptoms of COVID-19.
New research has found that one in five people who test positive for the virus develop longer symptoms, with around 186,000 people nationally suffering problems for up to 12 weeks, according to the Office for National Statistics.
North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, which controls Scunthorpe General Hospital, Goole and District Hospital and Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, is one of just 69 trusts in England to be chosen.
The trusts will use assessment centres to take referrals from GPs for people experiencing breathlessness, fatigue, depression and other debilitating symptoms of coronavirus.
These centres will bring doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists together to offer both physical and psychological assessments to patients.
This allows for each patient to be referred to the treatment service relevant to their individual case.
Patients will only be able to access the services if they are referred by a GP or another healthcare professional.
NHS England provided £10 million for the network of clinics across the country, and they began opening last month.
A further 12 sites are set to be included in the project across England in January, though it is unsure if United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust will be a part of the next wave of trusts.
Shaun Stacey, Chief Operating Officer at the Trust, said: “For some patients having COVID-19 can impact them and their health for a long time beyond their initial recovery.
“So we have started to work with those patients who need our help beyond their stay in hospital using existing services to support them.
“ Our staff in many specialities, such as respiratory, cardiology and critical care, have been working with community nursing and other partners like GPs to put support in place to help these patients on their long road to getting well again.
“We want to build on this work and bring in other specialists too, mental health workers for example, to make sure we can provide the best possible care and treatments to help these patients make a full recovery from this terrible virus.”
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Marc Jones, the re-elected Conservative Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said that his work is not done, as he’s looking forward to a further three years in the role.
Mr Jones won with a 57.9% majority of the poll from the first round of counting, with 102,813 votes from a 31% turnout. A total of 177,528 votes were placed county-wide.
The nearest candidate was Labour’s Rosanne Kirk, with a 19% share of the votes, with Lincolnshire Independent David Williams securing the third spot with 10%.
The breakdown of the votes cast on Thursday, May 6, and counted on Saturday, may 8, was:
Marc Jones (Conservative) – 102,813
Rosanne Kirk (Labour) – 34,310
David Williams (Lincolnshire Independent) – 18,375
Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrats) – 10,172
Peter Escreet (Reform UK) – 6,101
Marc Jones: “More work to do”
“It’s very gratifying to have concluded today on the first count, that was a really positive thing for what I’ve delivered so far,” said Mr Jones.
“But I’m under no illusions having spoken to many around the county there’s an awful lot more work to do.”
He said he wanted to assure the public that “nothing was taken for granted”.
Rosie Kirk – Labour – 2nd place
Labour’s candidate Rosie Kirk said she was “thrilled for her party” across all three elections that had taken place in Lincolnshire this week.
“The votes that we got was incredible. Our message got through and to actually come second in a Conservative county is really great,” she said.
However, she added that there were “lots of questions that still need to be asked” and promised to keep up her scrutiny of Marc in his role.
Ross Pepper – Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrat candidate Ross Pepper said the result was not “entirely unexpected”.
However, he said he was proud of the three Liberal Democrat councillors that had won seats in the local elections at Lincolnshire County and City of Lincoln Councils.
“I’m ready to work with them for a better Lincolnshire and a better Lincoln,” he said.
“In a Conservative heavy county we did a really good job of getting the Liberal Democrat message out there… and we continue pushing that message through local campaigning in the future.”
David Williams – Lincolnshire Independents
David Williams, the Lincolnshire Independents PCC candidate congratulated Marc Jones on his victory but said it is “not a surprising outcome”.
“I’m really pleased to have run for the post, because if I hadn’t have had a go to do a job that I really would have relished then I would have looked back and regretted not having taking the opportunity.”
Peter Escreet – Reform UK
Peter Escreet, the Reform UK candidate also said the result “was as expected” but actually he was “pleasantly surprised,” saying that this is “just the start”.
“The real campaign is in three years’ time” where Mr Escreet wants to grow a majority.
Conservative Marc Jones has been re-elected to the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner role.
He won from the first round of counting with 102,813 votes from a 31% turnout.
The PCC oversees the strategy and finances of the force, and also hires and fires chief constables, who are responsible for the daily policing operations.
Mr Jones will be in the position for three years.
The breakdown of the results is:
Marc Jones (Conservative) – 102,813
Rosanne Kirk (Labour) – 34,310
Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrats) – 10,172
David Williams (Lincolnshire Independent) – 18,375
Peter Escreet (Reform UK) – 6,101
Here’s the live result announcement, the reactions and acceptance speech:
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