Coronavirus update – the latest news from Yorkshire businesses

Businesses from across Bradford have pulled together to help the district’s most vulnerable people to access food.

Bradford Council was asked at the last minute to help find a warehouse to receive food from central government, and local business Kashmir Crown Bakery stepped forward to provide warehouse space.

It has also offered support from its own staff to deal with the immediate need for putting together and distributing food parcels to the district’s most vulnerable residents during the outbreak.

The city’s Broadway shopping centre has offered its space as a central base for storing Bradford’s food for people in need as the crisis develops.

And Bradford M&S, Morrison’s and Bradford Council’s Markets Service have extended their current support for the district’s food banks.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said: “We are doing all we can to help stop the spread of the coronavirus in the district and help those who are most in need.

“I want to extend a big thank you to these businesses who, even though they are facing difficult and uncertain times, due to the impact of the coronavirus on them and their staff, have show the very best of Bradford.

“Over 600 of these parcels have already been delivered and over coming days we will be getting even more of these food parcels out to the most vulnerable.

“Without the support of these businesses and the wonderful volunteers, this would have been an even greater task.

“If any other businesses in the district are able to offer their help, this assistance would be most grateful. Businesses wanting to offer help can email parcelsbfd@bradford.gov.uk”

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Family-run bakery chain, Cooplands, has increased its bread production and started providing local deliveries to communities across Yorkshire and the North East, with the support of Lloyds Bank.

The 135-year old business operates a network of 172 bakery shops and cafes across the North, with more than two thirds of those that support residential communities remaining open during the national lockdown.

To ensure local residents can receive food items – including essential items not typically stocked by Cooplands – the business is now distributing food packages to customers within 10 to 15 miles of its three main production sites in Durham, Hull and Scarborough.

The business has been able to pivot its operations to better serve community need with the full support of Lloyds Bank after it secured a flexible funding facility from the lender.

It has also increased bread production at its three main production facilities to meet demand.

Belinda Youngs, chief executive at Cooplands, said: “We have a long history as a community-focused business, bringing local produce and baked goods to families across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the North East.

“Our ambition is to quite literally put bread and other staples on the table during these challenging times and it’s only possible for us to react to changing market conditions as quickly as we have with confidence in the support of our bank.

“The team at Lloyds Bank has been exceptionally fleet-footed in putting the conditions in place for our cashflow to remain in good health.

“In addition, while we have regrettably had to furlough some employees associated with our cafes, mobile food vans and city centre shops that don’t serve residential communities, the new funding will ultimately preserve those jobs in the long-term.”

Hannah Douglass, relationship director at Lloyds Bank, said: “We remain committed to being by the side of businesses, especially during this challenging and unprecedented period.

“As such, we’re working closely with government to provide the short and long-term funding needed by businesses both large and small.

“This includes setting aside £2bn of arrangement fee-free finance to help firms affected by COVID-19.”

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Leeds-based physiotherapy specialist Physio Med has launched a new Telehealth service in response to the pandemic, to enable patients to access physio support without leaving their houses.

And the service is also being made available to frontline staff at some NHS Trusts as they come under immense pressure during the crisis.

With the UK under lockdown due to the Coronavirus outbreak, access to face-to-face physiotherapy provision is severely restricted for anyone suffering with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as back ache.

After having to close its clinics in Leeds and Guiseley, Physio Med drew on its extensive experience of providing remote physiotherapy services across the UK to create the Telehealth service so patients could continue to access its senior physiotherapists.

Anyone suffering with an injury or MSD can contact Physio Med by phone or e-mail.

They are then contacted by one of Physio Med’s senior physiotherapists for a 30-minute initial assessment, which includes a series of questions and movements to help provide a diagnosis.

The patient is then advised on the best way to self-manage the condition through an exercise programme which can be communicated over the phone or through video exercise files that can be accessed via a computer, smartphone or tablet.

Physio Med has been able to launch the service quickly thanks to its 12 years of experience in providing its award-winning PAL (physiotherapy advice line) service to major national companies and NHS Trusts.

Mark Fletcher, clinical director at Physio Med, said: “Our new Telehealth service is transformative for anyone suffering with an injury or MSD, as they are currently unable to visit a physiotherapist and are being advised against visiting their GPs or local hospitals.

“By providing access to our senior physiotherapists, patients can receive the support and reassurance they need without putting additional strain on the NHS.

“Our national business clients, including the Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, are already switching to this service, so the frontline heroes who are working under intense pressure looking after patients suffering from the COVID-19 virus will be able to access the support they need as well.”