Praise for the 'astonishing and excellent' forgotten health heroes of the pandemic

It came as NHS Tees Valley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) bosses gave an update on the Covid-19 response to date and moving forward.

Jean Golightly, director of nursing and quality, said although hospitals in particular have received heavy praise, staff from right across the sector have ‘stepped up’ in difficult times.

Speaking at the Primary Care Commissioning Committee, she said: “It’s a good opportunity to comment in terms of the agility of the response by primary care colleagues right across the patch.

“We’ve heard a lot about the NHS and often people think about hospitals because that’s a lot of the visuals that we’ve seen.

“But actually the agility of primary care colleagues has been really impressive, everybody has stepped up to the plate, and the flexibility. It’s been very, very impressive.”

Caroline Gitsham, lay member who chaired the meeting, said the response has been ‘astonishing and excellent’.

Recent work carried out in the area includes being selected as a national pilot site for the Covid-19 virtual ward programme.

This will see those who have tested positive or displayed symptoms of Covid-19 be admitted to a virtual ward to be actively monitored over 14 days remotely.

Health officers noted the service could roll out nationally prior to winter depending on the outcome of the pilot programme.

Karen Hawkins, director of commissioning, strategy and development, said it is positive for the Tees Valley they have been selected for the pilot project.

She said: “It is really good news for our area that we are one of the areas that have been selected to undertake the vanguard and to learn and to make sure we are able to prepare for winter for our patients.”

The CCG has also allocated ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ Covid-19 clinics across the Tees Valley to provide the best care for patients during the pandemic.

Reviews will be carried out of the services in early September to monitor demand and see if any changes are needed.

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