Every fortnight Kevin writes a "Kev's Column" for the Herald Express and you can read the latest edition (Published on Wednesday 8th December 2021) below:
NHS
Our NHS is under significant pressure as it approaches winter, not least from the need to catch up with a backlog of treatments and an unknown number where symptoms were not presented during the pandemic. This pressure was epitomised by the sight of many ambulances waiting outside Torbay Hospital’s Emergency Department.
Whilst the new Emergency Department currently under construction will help alleviate some of these issues over the coming years, there is a need for action to tackle the current issues. A few weeks ago, I met with a group of consultants at the hospital who candidly raised the range of challenges they are facing, not least the need for vacancies in social care to be filled so those who are ready to be discharged can leave hospital and the pressures on primary care, with local GP surgeries currently part of delivering two of the largest mass vaccination programmes in history.
I will be picking up again what can be done to relieve some of these pressures, but one thing we can all do is get our booster jab once eligible.
Displaced Talent
Last week I joined the Bishop of Durham for an event to mark the work of Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB).
The Bishop and I first spoke last year about the TBB initiative where skills audits, including English language ability, are undertaken of refugees in places like the Lebanon to identify those who have skills which are in short supply here in the UK and which can be recruited by employers via the Skilled Worker Visa. This may sound simple, but a Nurse or Engineer who has been displaced from their own country due to war may well struggle to prove their qualifications, especially if the institution concerned is controlled by a repressive regime.
Over the last year work has been done to overcome these issues, whilst ensuring all the relevant identity and security checks can be performed by the Home Office on any applicant. Given their need to recruit trained staff, work started with NHS employers, with Nurses now arriving in the UK under this scheme, with more healthcare professionals set to join them. Given they arrive with a job offer already secured, they can pay their own way and more quickly settle into life in the UK.
This scheme may not hit the headlines, but it is a great initiative which turns skilled worker shortages in the UK into lifechanging opportunities for those who have been displaced from their home countries, whilst also showing how our nation having left the European Union assesses people based on their skills and talent, not where their passport comes from.
Surgery Times
My next surgeries are on: Friday 10th December, 4pm till 5pm at The Windmill Centre, Pendennis Rd, Torquay TQ2 7QR and Saturday 18th December, 11am till 1pm at Torquay Library, Lymington Road, Torquay TQ1 3DT. Sadly, my surgeries must remain appointment only at this stage given the prevailing public health guidance.
For an appointment you can either email me at [email protected] or leave a message on 01803 214989. You can also drop into my office at 5-7 East St, Torquay, TQ2 5SD between 10am & 1pm Monday to Friday, please note you may have to wait outside if others attend at the same time
