Every resident and care home worker offered Covid-19 test
Released: Friday 22 May, 2020

Every resident in care homes across the Black Country has either been tested for coronavirus or will be tested in the coming days after proactive swabbing began a few weeks ago.

Health partners in the region have led the way in rolling out proactive swabbing in local care homes whether or not individuals have symptoms of Covid-19, such as a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.

Proactive swabbing of residents got underway in the most ‘high risk’ settings late last month before being rolled out to all local care homes a short time later. All staff members have been offered the test.

In total around 7,500 people living in 274 care homes across Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall are being tested. Proactive testing will be repeated on a routine basis going forward.

Speaking on behalf of the four Black Country Directors of Public Health, Lisa McNally from Sandwell, Bal Kaur from Dudley, and Stephen Gunther from Walsall, Wolverhampton’s Director of Public Health John Denley said: “People living in our care homes are among the most vulnerable members of society and we want to do all we can to protect them – and the care staff who are working tirelessly to keep them safe – during this national emergency.

“Proactive swabbing in our region’s care homes is playing an important part in our drive to identify and treat cases of coronavirus at an earlier stage and is helping reduce the risk of outbreaks in our care homes as much as possible.

“Through this work, we’ve been able to identify a number of cases and to support care providers to manage them more appropriately. What is perhaps worth noting is that Covid-19 does not seem to be as endemic in our region’s care homes as may otherwise have been perceived, and that’s testament to the hard work of care staff and the stringent infection control measures our homes have put in place to help prevent the spread of the virus.”

Sally Roberts, Chief Nurse for the Black Country and West Birmingham CCGs, said: “Our teams across the NHS are pleased to be working with care homes and our local authorities to identify cases of coronavirus.

“It is important that we do all we can to protect those most vulnerable in our communities and supporting care homes with proactive testing is the latest way we are doing that. Once cases are identified we can better ensure the safety of others in the care home setting.”

Mr Denley added: “Proactive swabbing and testing forms part of a broader package of help offered by the four Black Country councils and the local clinical commissioning groups and NHS trusts, including support and guidance to prevent outbreaks occurring and ensuring the right personal protective equipment is available to frontline staff.

“This work continues, and in the meantime, we all continue to have a role to play in preventing the spread of coronavirus, and that’s why it’s crucial that everyone follows the Government’s social distancing measures and stays at home unless absolutely necessary.”

ENDS

Following complaints by residents in Parry Road,the new owner of the Parry Road garages is clearing the site, presumably, to get ready for submitting a planning application
for the site.

The owners can demolish the garages without consent and make a site clearance.When the site has been cleared the owner will then its assumed make a bid for Planning Permission for the site.

The setting of fires and the nuisance this has caused to local neighbours is however not acceptable. City of Wolverhampton Environmental Health team made a visit this morning.

The Environmental Health officials have informed the owner, that he has been committing a nuisance, he has been served a Community Protection Order this morning.

Hopefully the owner will now desist, or he will leave himself open for further action which may include Court actions.
I hope that this information will be seen to be helpful to the neighbourhood.Please contact your Local Councillors if there is any further objections.

Yesterday Saturday 16th May 2020 – I wrote a short note asking for Readers on my Social Media sites
to tell me what they felt with regards to the Governments proposals to request children to return
to school on the 1st of June.

This is the second such straw Poll I have undertaken in the last few weeks,the last one on the 5th of May
was also quite vehement in tone.
In that one I had 22 readers respond to the article, and at that time 18 of the readers felt that the Government
was moving too fast towards leaving the Lockdown arrangements.

On Saturday my readers surprised me again. It was the continued strength of the replies to this latest request
dated the 16th May. That did it for me.
The 33 responses – I received only led to just one positive indication that one family had discussed the situation
and after this consultation their child would be returning to full time education in school on the 1st of June.

As a Local Councillor these responses have helped me with regards to gauging that strength of feeling in our community
which of course is important.

If the Government are going to reduce our community anxiety, it needs to shift considerably more peoples views, than
is the case at the moment.
The soundings I am taking from my Ward suggests that my community thinks the Government are operating too quickly.

The 1st June will be on us like an Express train, Parents and families are going to have to be in a much more confident
mood than they currently are, if pupils are to return to school in considerable numbers.

I will be writing to the Chairman of Education, and the Leader of the City of Wolverhampton to advise them of the strength
of feeling that abounds here in Wednesfield North, with regards to this topic.

In my Councillor Phil Bateman Archives there is this little piece of information that kind of jumps out at you….

At the end of April this item caught my attention in my Archives of 2008 –

In those days Ashmore Park had its own Police Liaison Committee……Here is what the Archives recorded…
“Back on the 22 April 2008 – At that nights Police Liaison Committee on Ashmore Park the police informed the residents who attended that they had already crushed 6 nuisance motorbikes which had been zooming around the estate and along the canal tow-paths.

There was much support given by residents to this news. It was clear that there was a real effort being made by Wednesfield Police to protect pedestrians and others from these bad motorcyclists, who really do not care too much about others.”

Now that is a big statistic for crushed Motorbikes! I think I may ask the Police what the statistic was for 2019! Hopefully there is more people complying with the law now? Though I have to inform you I have had some photographs sent me of two such bikes on the Wyrley and Essington Canal at Castlebridge Gardens only this last week. Which I have sent to the Police…..

I am sorry to announce but there are another two events that I was part of the planning for that will now NOT happen this year.

The first of these events that are now cancelled is the #Stuff4Steph event at Ashmore Park Shopping Parade planned for the 4th July 2020

This now falls into line with the now cancelled Wednesfield in Bloom Inspection on Friday 3rd July. Both these events are due to Covid-19
Virus issues.

Also cancelled is the Wednesfield Canal Festival pencilled in for August 2020 at Bentley Bridge. Also falling to Corona Virus.

This is a sad message, but one that just cannot be dodged.

But I do hope that you will stay with us, understand the difficult position we are in, and support us in 2021 when all our community groups will want to resurrect

Wednesfield in Bloom
#Stuff4Steph
Wednesfield Canal Festival

Stay with us folks please!