Thursday, December 15, 2022
CHALLENGE FOR NEW FIRE CHIEF
Est. 1855 | Price £1.20
Brigade boss facing industrial action, budget and recruitment issues within service
MEGAN JONES
megan,jones@mnamedia.co.uk
Industrial action, budgets and recruitment to rural stations are among some of the issues facing Shropshire’s new Chief Fire Officer.
Simon Hardiman was announced as the new Chief Fire Officer (CFO) for Shropshire Fire and Rescue in November, following the retirement of outgoing CFO, Rod Hammerton. Amid a financial crisis, with Britain facing wide-ranging labour force shortage and industrial action on the horizon, it won’t be an easy first few months for the new chief. He is, however, excited for the new challenge, and is confident the service is in a good position. He said: “I’m really excited, it’s a huge privilege and honour to be taking on the position of Chief Officer. I do think I’m taking over at what could be a challenging time, but it’s a new challenge.” In addition to budget constraints, from now to January 30, firefighters and firefighter control staff are balloting on strike action. Outgoing chief Rod Hammerton said the service would be tested by industrial action, but was confident Mr Hardiman was up to the job of managing the challenge. Keeping the 20 stations staffed purely by on-call personnel running is high on the chief’s list of demands. Mr Hardiman said: “Our on-call staff are integral to our operating model. We are constantly recruiting to maintain the availability on those stations.”
GP surgeries being overwhelmed with worries over Strep A GP practices across the county have been facing a huge increase in demand with parents concerned about Strep A. With practices inundated with calls from concerned parents, some are having to temporarily halt routine appointments. Emma Pyrah, associate director of primary care at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said: “Practices across the county are currently experiencing a large influx in demand, with some practices having to adapt their provision to deliver additional appointment capacity.” She encouraged concerned parents to look at Strep A and Scarlet Fever advice on the NHS website before contacting their GP. “Advice at the moment is to firstly review symptoms online, speak to NHS 111 as your first port of call should you need further advice, or contact your community pharmacy,” she added.
Antibiotics in short supply but expected to be ‘short-term’
Moonstruck Astronaut artistic director Hannah with Jenny Osborne from Henshalls
Donation can help youngsters to tread boards Youngsters will get to take part in a local youth theatre project next year thanks to the support of a local company. Henshalls Insurance Brokers has donated £250 to the Moonstruck Astronaut Theatre Company – a not-for-profit community theatre group based in Newport.
The cash will help subsidise a number of children to join the project whose families would otherwise be unable to afford to pay for them to attend. Moonstruck Astronaut’s aim is to bring together the local community of Newport and the surrounding areas through theatre projects firstly
with children and then extending to all ages. Artistic director Hannah de Quincey said: “We’re extremely grateful to Henshalls for their support.” The company is looking for volunteers to support its sessions. See moonstruckastronaut.com
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Antibiotics in Shropshire are in short supply but it is expected to be a “short-term issue” in local pharmacies, say county health leaders. Pharmacies in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin say there has been a surge in demand for the liquid and solid forms of penicillin that are used to treat Strep A infections. Elizabeth Walker, deputy director of medicines management at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said: “We are aware of localised issues for pharmacies in obtaining some commonly used antibiotics and are providing GP practices with daily availability at the three main wholesalers to try to manage the situation. “Stock shortages are expected to be short-term. “Although Strep A is currently circulating at higher levels, it is worth noting not every child with a sore throat will require antibiotics for treatment of the infection.”