APRIL ILKESTON INQUIRER

ILKESTON INQUIRER
3
Mothballed ward set to reopen as lockdown town battles pandemic
OOD, THE BEDS
& THE UGLY
By JED DYSON, LARRY HARRIS, MIKE
SMYTHE, AMANDA PEUME and JOEL HATTON
TOWNSFOLK rallied to help neighbours
amid the coronavirus lockdown
- as it emerged beds axed just
months ago at Ilkeston’s hospital
could be pressed back into service.
An entire mothballed ward – which furious
locals last year battled in vain to save – is on
standby if cases of the killer bug soar as expected.
Reopening it would double capacity at Ilkeston
Community Hospital from 16 beds to the previous
total of 32. Derby and Derbyshire
Clinical Commissioning Group
confirmed when quizzed by the Inquirer:
“The NHS, social care and
all other organisations are working
together to maximise any capacity
across the system at this time of
unprecedented demand.”
A spokesman said the aim
was “to make sure we’re doing
everything possible to keep intensive
care and ventilators available
as outlined in the national
response to Covid-19.”
Erewash’s Conservative MP
Maggie Throup told us: “Ilkeston
Community Hospital will play a
central role in the fight against this
virus as the situation develops.
“A decision about bed numbers
will be made at the appropriate
time and will be doctor-led,
because it is they, not politicians,
who are best placed to make these
calls.
“The overriding objective of the
Government is to protect life. Ministers
have made it crystal clear
that our NHS will get whatever it
needs to achieve this.”
The revelation came as locals
took to Facebook to slam panicbuyers
who left store shelves empty.
Frantic mums begged for baby
milk. The pleas saw one new mother
in Ilkeston even offer to act as
wet nurse to strangers’ tots.
The willingness of locals to help
those in need saw an avalanche
of tributes paid to Ilkeston’s community
spirit. But there were also
shocking examples of greed and
idiocy. On Nicholas Close a mum
with young children including a
Locals rally Hospital may
to help needy double capacity
SUN TRAP
LOCALS stranded abroad included a big-hearted Ilkeston Town footie
fan stuck in Spain ahead of a charity bike marathon.
A supporters’ group Facebook post paid tribute to Miller Coy.
He was said to be “in lockdown in Benidorm”
– where he had jetted before
taking part in the 266-mile ride from
Holyhead to Mablethorpe.
Miller was featured on ITN before
eventually making it safely back to
the UK. The bike ride in June will raise
funds for Ben’s Den – the charity set
up in memory of 13-year-old leukaemia
victim Ben Parker. It maintains holiday
Stranded in Spain . . . Miller
baby was horrified to find milk
looted from her doorstep.
She raged: “Not only are
Aldi, where shelves were swiftly emptied amid a panic-buying frenzy
caravans for sick children and their
families.
people bulk buying and leaving
people in my situation hard to
get what we need you are now
stealing from my home.”
An Ilkeston nurse also woke to
find her car had been vandalised.
An online appeal to help
the victim – identified only as
“Nurse Vicky” – saw money pour
in to get her back on the road.
Organiser Helen Brown reminded
the “mindless” vandals: “She
is putting herself out there for
our loved ones!” NHS staff were
hailed online as heroes – as were
hardworking shop assistants and
benefits office employees.
Even young children were
determined to do their bit amid a
nationwide schools shutdown to
combat the contagion.
One heartwarming post on
Facebook read: “I’d like to say a
massive thankyou to the eightyear-old
who dropped toilet roll
off and a few teabags to my parents
on Lime Tree Rise and all the
other bungalows along that row.
“He even wrapped the toilet
roll in a bow and wrote a letter
saying, ‘I hope this helps with
what’s happening’. My parents
were overwhelmed. You’re an
incredible kid.”
At least two victims of Covid-19
were diagnosed in Erewash
before changes were made to how
cases are logged. The Inquirer is
aware of two more since - both
in Ilkeston. But this is likely to be
the tip of the iceberg.
Officials refused to say exactly
where the cases were, citing
patient confidentiality. Their
stats no longer reveal totals for
HEROES & VILLAINS: CENTRE PAGES
the borough - only county-wide
numbers. As the Inquirer went
to press cases across Derbyshire
had surged to more than 300
- and these were just those who
had been tested. Four had died.
The tally was mirrored in Notts,
where 15 deaths were recorded.
Very many more were self-isolating.
The blunt official advice
was: DON’T GO OUT! Shut pubs
and eateries that began offering
deliveries of hot food included
the Newdigate Arms in West Hallam
and the posh Morley Hayes
Milk looted
from doorstep
Taking no chances . . . jokey Facebook snap before order was issued for people to stay safe indoors
hotel and golf club. The Newdigate
had to abandon the service
because of new rules that people
must stay two metres apart. Kitchen
staff would have been too close
to each other. The Seven Oaks
Inn at Stanton even launched a
drive-through carvery - but it
too had to abandon the scheme
for safety reasons.
DOWN IN DUMPS
ILKESTON’S tip has been closed until further notice as councils battle
to keep bin rounds going - and consider bringing in the ARMY.
The dump on Manners Avenue locked its gates as County Hall
ordered all ten of its recycling centres to shut.
A spokesman said: “The safety of customers and staff is the council’s
No1 priority.” The council warned that dumping waste at the
gates would be deemed flytipping - meaning hefty fines.