A hospital in Devon has declared a second critical incident following extreme pressures, as Covid-19 admissions in the region double, The Independent has learnt.

Rebecca Thomas www.independent.co.uk

North Devon Healthcare Trust declared a critical incident on Monday, after it declared another earlier this month it has confirmed.

The news comes as the number of people with Covid-19 across two hospitals in Devon has doubled in just two weeks.

As of Thursday, there were 292 Covid positive patients in across hospitals in Devon, with a further 37 awaiting test results.

According to a statement from healthcare leaders in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, as of Thursday there were almost 1,200 NHS staff off work due to Covid.

Meanwhile 183 care services, such as care homes and other social care providers, in the area have reported Covid outbreaks, making it harder to discharge patients, the leaders said.

NHS data published on Thursday showed there were 213 patients across three hospitals in Devon, waiting to be discharged.

Covid-19 infections are also continuing to rise across most of the UK, with levels in Scotland hitting another record high, new figures show.

Heather Brazier, for North Devon Healthcare Trust director of operations said in a statement to The Independent: “On Monday 14 March we declared an internal critical incident due to insufficient bed capacity to admit emergency admissions.

“There continue to be significant bed pressures at North Devon District Hospital and South Molton Community Hospital. This is due to challenges with discharging patients from hospital, particularly those with ongoing care needs, alongside sustained high levels of urgent care demand. Our emergency department is very busy and people attending the ED are experiencing long wait times.”

“While things remain challenging, we ask that our community do what they can to help their local NHS, including choosing the right healthcare services for their needs. If people need urgent care please call 111 and please support any loved ones you have at the hospital to get ready to go home as soon as they are able to leave hospital.”

The news comes as Covid-19 admissions surge across the country and infections have led staff absences to increase again, with more than 17,000 off with Covid related illness nationally.

In England, 2.7 million people had Covid this week, up to 12 March, compared to 2.1 million people in the week up to 5 March, according to the Office for National Statistics. In Wales, the estimate is up from 97,900 people, or one in 30, to 125,400 people, or one in 25.

In Scotland infection levels have increased for seven weeks in a row and have hit a new record high with 376,300 last week. The ONS described the trend in Northern Ireland as “uncertain”, with 130,600 people likely to have had Covid-19 last week.

In a statement, on behalf of hospitals across Devon on Thursday leaders said: “High Covid-19 numbers are having a very significant impact across Devon’s health and care system.”

“The last time Covid-19 numbers were this high was in January 2021, before most people had the benefit of Covid-19 vaccines.”

It added said many people have tested positive for Covid while in hospital which has led to patients who are already vulnerable, becoming more unwell and impacted on the ability to admit other patients.

Ian Currie, medical director for Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust said: “We currently have more patients with COVID-19 in our hospitals than almost any time during the pandemic. While it is encouraging that the majority of our patients who have tested positive for Covid are in hospital for other conditions and are asymptomatic or experiencing mild symptoms the impact that the presence of Covid has in our hospitals is really significant.”

“Under current infection prevention and control guidelines, one patient testing positive for Covid can result in the closure of the whole ward, meaning that beds are unavailable for emergency admissions and for planned operations. This means people waiting longer for treatment in the community and operations being cancelled or postponed and long waits in Emergency Departments for people needing a hospital bed.”

Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the ZOE Covid study, warned: “Covid cases are now at the highest levels the ZOE COVID study has ever recorded. Even more concerning is the rise in new cases in people aged over 75. This vulnerable group have had low case numbers for months.

“We will need to wait a few weeks to see the full impact on increased hospitalisation but numbers have already started to rise.”

1. They knew about it 24 hours before
2. They voted, on Boris’ instructions, against blocking this practice in October. Neil and Simon shame on you.

Economic background: Last October the Office Budget Responsibility (OBR) projected that average real wages in the UK will still be lower in 2026 than they were in 2008. Since then, things have got a lot worse with the inflationary spike caused by the invasion of Ukraine .

UK is likely to have to endure almost two decades of stagnant earnings. This action by P&O is a race to the bottom.

View the Tweet video here

Guardian comment:

Don’t let the Tories fool you, by condemning P&Q s firing of 800 British staff. They voted against protecting workers from this practice only in October. Liars, the lot of them.

Flashback: To when Govt blocked a new law aimed at curbing fire-and-rehire

By Redrow www.thelondoneconomic.com 

Reminders that the government blocked a new law to curb businesses’ ability to ‘fire-and-rehire’ have been making the rounds on social media following the controversial P&O debacle.

The ferry operator sparked outrage after sacking 800 seafarers and replacing them with cheaper agency workers.

Many of those fired were refusing to leave ships, leading to security guards with handcuffs being deployed to remove them.

The ferry operator, bought by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World in 2019, insisted the decision to cut jobs was “very difficult but necessary” as it was “not a viable business” in its current state.

In October of last year, new laws preventing businesses from laying off staff and taking them back on with different – often worse – pay and terms were rejected by the government.

Labour’s Barry Gardiner said the government was “cowardly” for using Parliamentary tactics to stop his bill in its tracks.

But No 10 said it wanted new guidance for companies, rather than a law.

A spokesman for Boris Johnson said at the time: “Using threats of firing and rehiring is completely unacceptable as a negotiating tactic. We expect companies to treat their employees fairly.

“However, there is insufficient evidence to show legislation will stop the practice or will be effective.”

Instead, the government says it will ask the arbitration service Acas to “produce more comprehensive clearer guidance to help all employers explore all the options before considering fire and rehire”.

“Bullying” bosses

The government ordered Conservative MPs to oppose the legislation.

But union chiefs said that amounted to siding with “bad” and “bullying” bosses.

The Labour Party ordered its MPs to support the bill, even though the party has said it would go further if it won power and ban fire-and-rehire completely.

Before voting on the bill itself, MPs voted on a closure motion – essentially a vote on whether to vote on the bill – and due to the government’s opposition, it failed to get enough support by 188 votes to 251.

The government knew of P&O Ferries’ mass sackings in advance but ‘didn’t tell anyone’

by: Evie Breese www.bigissue.com 

Union RMT has called the move “​​one of the most shameful acts in the history of British industrial relations.”

The government knew of P&O Ferries’ plan to fire its entire 800 person crew with no notice and replace them with contractors but “didn’t tell anyone”, a union boss has revealed.

Peanuts and most of it is not “new money” [£5.3m of investment which has been already delivered and a further £4.5m which is a combination of accelerated spending, alongside new investment to support “nature-based solutions” which aim to reduce nutrient pollution in the area] – Owl

Context:

Water companies have collectively cut investment in wastewater and sewage networks by almost a fifth in the 30 years since they were privatised. They have collectively paid out more than £15 billion in dividends to shareholders since 2010 and their bosses have been paid more than £65 million in the past five years.

Remember that both Simon Jupp and Neil Parish dutifully voted last October against the Lords amendment imposing legal duties on water companies to clean up their act. 

Susan Davy, chief executive of Pennon, the parent company of South West Water, was paid £1.7 million, including £1.2 million in bonuses in 2020/2021

Owl notes that the claimed “commitment” is “almost” £10m of which only £4.5m is new money little more than twice Susan Davy’s pay for last year and we don’t know over how many years this “commitment” is spread.

Coincidentally South West Water attended a special virtual EDDC scrutiny meeting on Thursday to answer questions about water pollution in East Devon. Recording can be found on EDDC YouTube channel here.

Latest Pennon Group financial report

South West Water to spend £10m on anti-pollution drive

William Telford www.business-live.co.uk

Utilities giant South West Water has committed almost £10m to helping offset the impact of future housing development on two rivers just months after the Environment Agency found it had missed pollution targets for the 10th year running.

The Exeter-based company, part of Pennon Group, will now splash the cash on the Rivers Axe and Camel catchments. It includes £5.3m of investment which has been already delivered and a further £4.5m which is a combination of accelerated spending, alongside new investment to support “nature-based solutions” which aim to reduce nutrient pollution in the area.

The company said that while development unlocks jobs and homes, it also has an environmental impact that the nature-based solutions it will deliver through this funding will support more sustainable development to progress.

Investment includes funding to improve treatment works, alongside building on South West Water’s existing Up Stream Thinking catchment management programme which works with partners to protect and enhance land and natural habitats.

Work in this area will create up to 100 hectares of new woodland and wetlands, which will form natural buffers to improve river water quality and also improve habitats and help ecosystems thrive.

South West Water said will also continue to work closely with developers to promote nature-based drainage solutions for new developments and make sure that networks have sufficient capacity when new homes are built.

The announcement comes just months after the Environment Agency hit South West Water with the lowest environmental rating of the nine large privatised sewage and water companies in England and Wales.

In 2021, the regulator singled out the regional monopoly for its poor record, and said its 2020 performance had been “consistently unacceptable” for the 10th year running. Stock Exchange listed Pennon, which was recently given approval to take over Bristol Water, has been criticised for slashing capital expenditure in the past.

And in 2021, campaign group Surfers Against Sewage annual Water Quality report – which said water companies spilled raw sewage into coastal waters 5,517 times during a 12-month period – criticised discharges near beaches in the South West Water region during the bathing season and called out a “notably poor performance for the third consecutive year”.

Susan Davy, chief executive of Pennon Group, said the new spending will, however, do much to benefit the environment, and said: “We have a track record of working with partners across our region to restore, protect and enhance around 100,000 hectares of land through our catchment management programme. This investment will help unlock more sustainable housing development through the planting of trees and the creation of wetlands in the catchment through continued partnership work. We recognise the importance of doing what we can to help unlock the region’s shared levelling up ambitions.”