'Fantastic effort' to open Shrewsbury coronavirus assessment centre praised
Businesses, schools, seamstresses, and the the community have been thanked for their work in getting a coronavirus assessment site up and running in just over a week.
The 'hot-hub' appointment-only assessment site opened last week in the car park at Shrewsbury Town Football Club's Montgomery Waters Meadow.
The site is intended to take the pressure off GP surgeries in the area, and to reduce the risk of spreading the virus by directing patients to the assessment centre instead of practices where they might put doctors and vulnerable patients in danger.
The site was put together by Shrewsbury's Primary Care Network, and Shropdoc and Shropshire CCG, with the support of a host of organisations.
The team managing the site said they had been bowled over by the support shown by local businesses and organisations in helping to get it working – as well as the team effort from all GP practices in the Shrewsbury Primary Care Network, involving managers, admin teams and clinicians.
In a statement the management explained how organisations had pulled together to provide the equipment to get the site operational.
They said: "Special thanks go to Shrewsbury Town Football Club for allowing use of their car park, Carl and the team from Taylex for tirelessly building the site in a very short space of time, Montgomery Waters and Tuffins for providing refreshments, Salop Leisure, Shire Catering, Lidl, and Shropshire Council for help with signage, cones and furniture removal and delivery, West Mercia Police for their support, Meole Brace School for their loan of furniture for the site, LilleRacewear for a last minute scrubs order, Shrewsbury School and Whittingham Riddell Accountants for making protective visors and the members of the NHS Sewing for Shropshire Team for making hundreds of scrub hats, scrub wash bags, removable sleeves and long sleeve scrub gowns for the clinicians at the hub site.
"The latter was after a cry for help went out on Facebook due to the national shortage of Personal Protective Equipment, and a veritable army of local seamstresses responded.
"Particular mention needs to go to the local community of Shrewsbury, including teachers and staff from Meole Brace School and members of the election count team, who have responded in their droves as a plea for volunteer marshals went out for help directing traffic and manning the car park."
Tests for coronavirus do not take place at the site, but people who are suspected of having the virus are be assessed by a team of healthcare professionals from their vehicles or in temporary clinical rooms.
'Fantastic'
Dr Sarah Harwood, clinical director of Shrewsbury Primary Care Network, said: “The setting up of this new assessment centre has seen great, collaborative work by practices, as well as unexpected help from local organisations.
“It has been a great community effort and I thank everyone who has come forward to support the project either by donating their time or useful items to help us in our work.”
Dr Kieran McCormack, lead clinician for the 'hot-hub', said: “It is fantastic to get the centre up and running to provide care for patients with Covid and to relieve the pressure on local GP practices in the midst of tackling coronavirus.
“Colleagues have worked so hard to create this centre, which is effectively a temporary GP practice, within the space of just over a week.
“I would like to remind everyone that if you think you are showing symptoms of coronavirus then please contact NHS 111 online in the first instance.”
The centre will be operating Monday to Friday, including bank holidays, between 8am and 6pm (patients being seen between 9am and 6pm) and is strictly by appointment only.
For more information you can visit https://www.shrewsburypcn.co.uk/covid-19/hot-hub/
