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Dear John,
Below is my latest update on the response to the Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic locally.
As of Friday, 523 people have been hospitalised with Covid-19 at Northwick Park Hospital (and sister trusts) and have been discharged since March 4th. Tragically, 364 people have passed away in the hospital. 250 people
are still being treated. These figures are a powerful reminder of the need to stick with the social distancing rules and stay at home. My thoughts continue to be with the loved ones of those who have sadly died, and with
those who have contracted the virus. I can only begin to imagine the sense of loss the families must feel. As a community, we are immensely grateful to all of our NHS staff, social care workers and all of our
key workers, who are working tirelessly to help us deal with this crisis. I hope readers continue to stay safe, stay indoors and regularly check in on loved ones.
I continue to update my website –
covering where to find support, keep safe and assist local people in Harrow. If you have anything you would like to me to feature in this update please send me an e-mail with the subject “Covid-19 newsletter” and be sure
to share this message with friends, family, neighbours and local businesses in order to strengthen our collective response to COVID-19. The response to Coronavirus is being directed by Government centrally working with
Public Health England, the Government’s advice is available here
. Government assistance specifically for businesses is available here
.
As always, if you ever need to get in touch about the issues covered here – or anything else – please contact my office on 0207 219 4243 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Please
bear with us, as we have received over 5 times our usual weekly amount of correspondence. My team and I are working hard to respond as promptly as possible. Although we have had to cancel face to face surgery appointments,
we are now scheduling regular Zoom surgeries and phone calls with Harrow West constituents.
Understanding the Harrow Picture webinar:
For those able to tune in this Friday morning, if you are currently working to help and support the local community in Harrow, either with young people, families or adults, you are invited to join this joint webinar. Speakers
from the NHS, Parliament and Harrow Council will be joining to get a picture of what is happening on the ground across Harrow:
Friday 24th of April 2020 from 10am to 11:30am
Book your place here
Part one will focus on Health Services:
- Dr Rachel Tennant (Consultant in Respiratory & Acute Medicine/Clinical Director for Acute Medicine at Northwick Park Hospital) will speak on how the hospital has reorganised services to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Dr Genevieve Small (GP and Chair of NHS Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group) will speak on health services outside of the hospital are supporting the Covid-19 response.
Part two will focus on National and Local Government responses, with myself and a Harrow Council representative, who will helping us to understand the local picture, plans and priorities.
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When I was sworn back into Parliament in December, I would never have imagined the House of Commons, with its antiquated and arcade rituals and customs moving into the 21st Century. But decades are taking place in
weeks and, this week, as Parliament returns from recess, a technological transformation is finally underway. My parliamentary colleagues and I are set to be able to quiz ministers via Zoom for the first time in the
House of Commons 700-year history.
Following agreement of the new measures, from Wednesday, 22 April, some MPs will be able to take part in Prime Minister’s Questions, any urgent questions and statements via video link for the first two hours of each
sitting day. A number of screens will be placed around the chamber to allow the Speaker and MPs present in the chamber to be able to see their ‘virtual’ colleagues.
Due to the magnitude of casework my office has picked up in recent weeks, there are a number of pressing matters I know to urgently raise with Ministers. If there are any specific questions you would like for me to raise,
please get in contact.
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The collaborative ‘Feeding Harrow’ operation – between Harrow Council, the Voluntary Community Sector (VCS), Harrow Community Transport (HCT), The Bridge, My Yard, The Breaking Bread Trust, Harrow School and others continues
to operate effectively.
4000 food deliveries have taken place across Harrow, VCS has now setup an online system combining food requests with available stocks at hubs and delivery allocation - www.helpharrow.org will take direct food requests from residents. All of
the Harrow Council and central government shielded list has already been referred for delivery.
If you can donate any food - Kind Café @ The Bridge, Wealdstone, Harrow HA3 5AB
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Do you have a medical condition that makes you vulnerable? Please register.
A reminder, if you think you fall into a category that makes you vulnerable to coronavirus – register with the Government here.
For example, you’ll be able to ask for help getting deliveries of essential supplies like food. The council has just started to receive this information and is working with local organisations to provide support to those
who apply.
If you’re not sure whether your medical condition makes you extremely vulnerable, register anyway. This service is free. You can register yourself, or on behalf of someone else.
Harrow Talking Therapies -
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The coronavirus crisis is unlike anything many of us will have encountered before and will, at some point, take its toll on our own mental well-being and the well-being of those closest to us. For anyone who is struggling with their mental health at this current time - Harrow Talking Therapies is a FREE NHS service offering support to those who are finding the current situation difficult. They offer 1:1 support via telephone or Video call. They offer bereavement support, anxiety and worry management support, low mood support and also help if you are self-isolating, or feel isolated being on your own at this time amongst other support you might be needing at this time.
Please get in touch by calling 0208 515 5015 (lines are open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm) or emailing
[email protected]. You will be assessed very quickly and booked in for treatment quickly too.
Coronavirus Scams - The Government are advising the public to be extra vigilant and be wary of scams related to Covid-19, please read the Government's guidance here -
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/be-vigilant-against-coronavirus-scams
A COVID-19 Community Support group has been set-up, coordinating action within WhatsApp groups for every ward in Harrow in order to provide support to local residents – you are welcome to
join the Facebook group here and if you are not a Facebook member but would like to join your ward’s WhatsApp group – e-mail [email protected] with your postcode and the coordinators will add you to the correct group.
St Mary’s Church - If you are in need of support or company – a visit (where possible), a telephone call, help with shopping etc. St. Mary’s would like you to get in contact. You can do this in a
variety of ways via the Church Office. The Office is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9am – 2pm but the messages will be checked daily.
Email: [email protected], Tel: 020 8423 4014 (answerphone: leave your contact details)
Harrow Central Mosque – Harrow Mosque is providing a free food and essentials transport service to elderly and vulnerable people in Harrow who require assistance with medical collection or other essentials
– Call or SMS: 07874869484 E-mail: [email protected]
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Voluntary Action Harrow, Young Harrow foundation and Harrow Community Action continue to work with Harrow Council to help coordinate a Harrow wide response to the Coronavirus
outbreak and a database is being compiled of people who are willing to volunteer. Voluntary Action Harrow are using this database to inform people of organisations looking for volunteers. Please sign up here:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CoronavirusHarrow
Spare room?
My office have been able to match key workers with free rooms for those with family or housemates self-isolating. If you are able to temporarily offer a spare room to a key worker currently unable to be at home due to a
family member or a housemate self-isolating, please get in touch with my office by e-mailing [email protected] with subject “spare room”.
Trinity Bar
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The council has a webpage covering their own response, this is regularly being updated and is available here
.
Finding employment
The council have a new webpage featuring a number of job and voluntary opportunities here. From
delivery drivers, on-line assistants, stock room and sales assistants to cleaners, there are a number of supermarkets in Harrow and the surrounding areas (Ruislip, Watford, Uxbridge) recruiting extra temporary part/full
time staff to start immediately.
Coronavirus Hotline
The council have set up a hotline telephone number to support the most vulnerable people in Harrow, if you are in need of support due to the COVID-19 crisis please give the hotline a call - 0208 901 2698
Twenty London bus drivers have tragically lost their lives to Covid-19 over the past month. On Friday, I joined the Mayor and many across London in honouring their lives with a minute of silence.
From Monday, buses in London will temporarily become middle door only boarding. TFL are confident that the low number of people currently using the network can keep a safe distance when entering and exiting through the
same door. A reminder that travel on public transport is only for critical workers making absolutely essential journeys. This has seen the number of people on buses plummet by around 85 per cent. Please note that
during the period of these temporary arrangements where passengers enter through the middle-doors, they will not be required to touch in. Customers should not approach the card reader near the driver’s cab.
The new operation of buses builds on the enhanced social distancing measures already introduced including signage asking passengers not to sit in the seats near the driver’s cab, improvements to the protective screen
that shields drivers, and regular announcements to reinforce the need to keep a safe space from others. TFL are also exploring what more can be done to create a completely sealed partition between drivers and passengers
which allows for both communication and ventilation. A rigorous cleaning regime is now in place to kill the virus across services using new, anti-viral fluid in stations, depots, bus garages, trains and on buses, including
the driver’s cab.
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I appreciate that whilst this outbreak of Covid-19 is currently dominating a lot of our thoughts, other concerns and problems do not disappear. However, to help reduce the spread of infection, I am asking members of the
public who need to contact my office to do so by phone or email rather than in person and further, I will continue to hold surgery appointments exclusively by telephone and Zoom video conferencing. This is a temporary
measure and a sensible precaution to protect vulnerable people. Please be assured we continue to offer a full service of advice and support to members of the public who need it.
As always, my office can be contacted on [email protected] or by telephone on 0207 219 4243 (Monday-Friday).
Stay at home and save lives.
Best wishes,
Gareth
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