West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership (WY HCP) and West Yorkshire Prepared, the region's Local Resilience Forum, launched a joint campaign called 'Let's Keep West Yorkshire Going' on 20 January 2022, in response to the Omicron surge1. The campaign sets out three asks for people in the region: get vaccinated, wear a face covering, and work from home if you can1.
The announcement says the Omicron surge is having a significant impact on West Yorkshire. Alongside the risk to people's health, it describes increasing pressures on public services, business, industry, retail, hospitality and the economy, with high infection rates leading to significant staff shortages affecting service delivery and the area's economy1. The campaign is intended to encourage people to follow the three asks to keep services open1.
"In response to the Omicron surge, West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership (WY HCP) and West Yorkshire Prepared, the region's Local Resilience Forum (LRF), have joined forces to launch 'Let's Keep West Yorkshire Going', a new campaign to encourage people to follow three simple asks to keep services open."
Rob Webster CBE, CEO-Designate for WY HCP, said that while the Omicron variant has been reported as less severe for many people, more people are infected, leading to periods of staff sickness with a knock-on effect, and that following simple measures already in place is imperative to keep West Yorkshire going1. Deb Harkins, Public Health Director for Calderdale and an LRF member, said the impact of Omicron is big and the things people can all do are small1. Sarah Muckle, Public Health Director for Bradford City Council and a member of WY HCP Sector Leads, said the campaign is a reminder that COVID has not gone away, and that following the three asks together can prevent the spread of the virus and staff absence1. Dave Walton, Deputy Chief Fire Officer for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and co-Chair of West Yorkshire Prepared, said some simple steps can make a huge difference to the next few weeks1.
The announcement also says NHS, council, community and voluntary teams will continue to be out in local communities engaging with people, answering questions and offering advice where needed1. It directs people to gov.uk/coronavirus and nhs.uk/coronavirus for reliable, up to date information on COVID-191.
Why it matters for households
The campaign concerns households across West Yorkshire during the Omicron surge, at a point when the announcement says staff shortages are affecting service delivery and the local economy1. The three asks named by the two partnerships are vaccination, face coverings and working from home where possible1. The announcement states that NHS, council, community and voluntary teams will be out in local communities answering questions and offering advice where needed1. It also points to gov.uk/coronavirus and nhs.uk/coronavirus for reliable, up to date information1. The background to how the UK plans for pandemics and what households can do is set out in our guide to pandemics, part of the wider health emergencies section.
What happens next
No end date for the campaign is given in the announcement. It says the partnerships will spread the campaign messages under the hashtag #KeepWYGoing, and that people can follow West Yorkshire Prepared on Facebook (@WYPrepared) and Twitter (@WYRForum) and West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership on Twitter (@WYpartnership)1. Free campaign assets are offered for download1. The announcement does not set out any further scheduled steps. General information on how the UK prepares for emergencies is in our UK preparedness section.
Sources (1)
- ‘Let’s Keep West Yorkshire Going’ by following three simple asks, urges leading partnerships, West Yorkshire Prepared, westyorkshireprepared.org.uk
Pandemics and UK Household Plans
