Coronavirus update – the latest news from Yorkshire businesses

Silver Healthcare, a South Yorkshire elderly care provider, has restructured funding from HSBC UK to help provide its staff with a pay rise in light of the demands placed on them by the coronavirus pandemic.

All members of staff operating in the Rosebank and Leahyrst Silver Healthcare homes will see a pay rise of 21.8% for their continued efforts through this period following the restructure of a six-figure funding package from HSBC UK.

Silver Healthcare currently employs 61 staff across care homes in the Upperthorpe and Grimethorpe. areas of Sheffield, with roles ranging from carers, kitchen, laundry, domestic, maintenance and admin staff, all benefiting from the increase.

Roy Young, managing director of Silver Healthcare, said: “Our staff have done an incredible job to continue providing high quality care to some of the most vulnerable people in the community.

“Not only have they delivered this care against the backdrop of an international crisis, but they have done so with unrelenting enthusiasm and a smile.

“We’re delighted to make a gesture to show our acknowledgement, as well as the gratitude of our residents, for their significant efforts throughout this unprecedented time.”

David Leonard, corporate relationship director for HSBC UK, South Yorkshire added: “The dedication of key workers in healthcare throughout this difficult period has been monumental so when the opportunity came to show a sign of support, we were happy to facilitate.

“Silver Healthcare provides a valuable service for communities across the Sheffield area and we hope that it will continue to do so for many more years.”

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A Leeds-based print company is dedicating its time to create protective equipment to donate to front-line workers who are at most risk.

The team at Imageco has rallied round and begun testing various ways its equipment and material supplies can be reworked to create Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Using its Zund cutter and sewing facilities, the firm has been able to create masks, hand sanitising stations, social distancing Point of Sale (POS) and more.

Imageco has already donated 50 protective masks to the Neuro Acute Ward at Leeds General Infirmary and 20 to Bywater Hall and Lodge care home.

And it has pledged to prioritise the use of its machines for any NHS needs.

Alongside the donations to hospitals, Imageco has used its print expertise to create social distancing POS and graphics, hand sanitiser stations and anti-bacterial stickers to help supermarkets operate as safely as possible.

Nathan Swinson-Bullough, director of Imageco, said: “I wanted us to use our creativity and technology to assist in the crisis.

“It would be easy to sit back and do nothing. Our initial thoughts were ‘shall we fill our vans with toilet roll and deliver to the needy?’

“Then we sat down as a team and really thought about creative ways that would benefit others while being able to sustain our business. I saw balancing live work with product donations as a good path to choose.

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Ilkley-based NG Bailey is part of the team that has transformed Harrogate Convention Centre into an NHS Nightingale hospital to serve Yorkshire and Humberside.

The centre houses 500 hospital beds and is the first of the emergency ICU field hospitals created to help deal with the rising number of coronavirus cases, to operate outside a major city.

From a standing start, NG Bailey prototyped and produced a suite of solutions, which included 500 prefabricated bed-head power units, 440 pipework modules units and 70 prefabricated hot water modules.

The company used its offsite manufacturing expertise to construct key components for the hospital, which will be completed in less than two weeks.

The use of “Offsite Manufacture” has been critical to the success of the installation as it has enabled rapid production of equipment whilst maintaining safe social distancing measures.

There have also been 150 people working around the clock onsite installing the medical gas, pipework and power equipment.

NG Bailey has worked closely with the NHS, Ministry of Defence and BAM Construction.

David Hurcomb, chief executive of NG Bailey, said: “We are proud to be playing our part to help deliver this vital NHS Nightingale Hospital in Harrogate and support the response to coronavirus over such a short period of time.

“It’s a real collective team effort with all parties working in partnership to project manage, mobilise supply chains, associated materials and services, and deliver for the benefit of the nation.

“I’d like to thank our employees and our supply chain partners for their continued efforts and going above and beyond to deliver this at very short notice.”

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3D printing facilities at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC), at the University of Huddersfield, have been harnessed to produce parts for devices that will shield vital workers during the pandemic.

The printers are sited in a space normally used to aid a wide variety of businesses to develop and refine new products.

But currently, the four Ultimaker machines are dedicated to the production of head and chin restraints that will be fitted to shields designed to protect wearers against transmission of the virus.

The work is being carried out by Janine Downs, who is the 3M BIC’s technology project officer.

She volunteered to set up and run the 3D printing production line and aims to turn out 16 sets of the head and chin restraints every day.

These components are then sent to a central hub in Sheffield to be fitted to the transparent shields.

Although the finished devices are not kitemarked for medical use, they are deemed to be valuable protection for people staffing shops – including pharmacies – care homes and other environments.

Vital workers such as delivery drivers could also wear them.

Chief executive officer of the 3M BIC, Sue Cooke, said: “I am extremely proud of the work carried out by Janine and the support team here at 3M BIC to help the national effort to prevent transmission of Covid-19.”

She explained that the initiative got under way after registration with the 3D Crowd UK, which is organising The Big Print – a project to marshal the country’s 3D printing sector during the crisis.