<div class="editor-cover-image" data-dimensions="780:300" data-pmr-editor-image="" style="background-image: url(&quot;https://leaders-council-web.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/store/4a771edb43217ebd2aff623cf6e9e778.jpg&quot;);"></div>

 <div data-pmr-editable="" class="medium-editor-insert-plugin">NSF Health Sciences and the US <a href="https://www.neha.org/">National Environmental Health Association [NEHA]</a> are to co-host a virtual special session of the annual <a href="https://www.legionellaconference.org/">Legionella Conference</a>, which will focus on disease prevention from waterborne pathogens during a public health crisis.Originally scheduled to take place in January 2021 in Chicago, the special session entitled ‘Prevention of Disease and Injury from Waterborne Pathogens During an Emergent Health Crisis’ has been rescheduled as a virtual event to take place over March 9 and March 10, as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The annual Legionella Conference brings together hundreds of stakeholders to address issues and challenges around constructing water systems and explore how sectors such as the healthcare industry, water utilities, manufacturing and hospitality can better respond to water-related problems.NSF Health Sciences is an <a href="https://www.nsf.org/">NSF International</a> company. NSF International is a global public health organisation which has been supporting businesses as they develop, implement and maintain Covid-19 best practice. Throughout the pandemic, NSF Health Sciences and NEHA experts have responded through public outreach and thought leadership, outlined <a href="https://www.nsf.org/knowledge-library/covid-19-and-its-effect-on-your-building-water-health">risk management actions</a> to slow and prevent the spread of Legionella in water systems and compiled helpful <a href="https://emergency-neha.org/covid19/">information and resources</a> for environmental health professionals.Covid-19 has culminated in shutdowns of commercial and industrial facilities as well as educational institutions, leading to low occupancy rates in buildings. This poses the threat of Legionella growth and other significant impacts on water quality and operation within building water systems when the water is left stagnant due to lack of activity within. Legionella bacteria can cause Legionnaires’ disease and is able to thrive in the biofilm of water systems where flow rate is low or stagnant, where there are tepid water temperatures or where there is a depleted disinfectant residual.Several prominent speakers from across the globe will be taking part in the session, including names such as Dr. Susanne Surman-Lee from <a href="https://leegionella.co.uk/">Leegionella Ltd</a>, <a href="https://www.biolinea.com/">Biolinea’s</a> Dr. Sebastián Crespí and various speakers from the water industry and environmental health agencies, such as Dr. William J. Rhoads [<a href="https://www.eawag.ch/">Eawag Aquatic Research</a>], Steve Deem [<a href="https://www.doh.wa.gov/">Washington State Department of Health</a>], Kelley Dearing Smith [<a href="https://www.louisvillewater.com/">Louisville Water Company</a>] and Mandy Cawby [<a href="https://www.waterone.org/">Water One</a>]. Specific issues on the session’s agenda include technical risk management and sampling strategies for water systems, how to reopen buildings with full water access safely, and state-issued Covid-19 guidance relating to water management, emergency planning and resiliency strategies to resume normal operation while preventing further dangers to public health.The virtual session will make time for keynote addresses as well as breakout sessions, and those taking part will be able to participate in virtual booths to more closely engage with the speakers and other attendees.For those interested in participating in the conference, details and registration information can be found via the event website <a href="https://www.marchsession.legionellaconference.org/">here</a>, or information can be requested by email at info@legionellaconference.org.</div>

NSF Health Sciences and the US National Environmental Health Association [NEHA] are to co-host a virtual special session of the annual Legionella Conference, which will focus on disease prevention from waterborne pathogens during a public health crisis.

NSF Health Sciences to co-host virtual Legionella Conference in March

<div class="editor-cover-image" data-dimensions="780:300" data-pmr-editor-image="" style="background-image: url(&quot;https://leaders-council-web.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/store/c4ff1864c2155f2e89165bf144c1c93e.jpg&quot;);"></div>

 <div data-pmr-editable="" class="medium-editor-insert-plugin">In the latter part of 2019, <a href="https://www.who.int/campaigns/year-of-the-nurse-and-the-midwife-2020">The World Health Organization</a> planned to raise the profile of the nursing profession worldwide and increase the global workforce of nurses in honour of Florence Nightingale’s 200th anniversary, making 2020 the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. In December of that year, Covid-19 first appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan, before spreading to the rest of the world over the course of the following year.The crisis immediately alerted health leaders, governments and the general public worldwide. In the UK, the NHS response was to realign its services and redirect staff to tackle the anticipated swathes of acutely ill Covid patients. Nurses had to be redeployed or brought into the NHS workforce afresh and trained rapidly to meet the demand.Indeed, 2020 would become the Year of the Nurse. Third-year student nurses were being fast-tracked into the healthcare workforce and asked to volunteer with extended practice hours and a further <a href="https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/coronavirus/milestone-moment-as-10000-join-emergency-nmc-register-17-04-2020/">10,000 former nurses</a> were brought back into the health profession.As the health and social care sector battled away on the frontline, the NHS and care bodies received an incredible amount of goodwill and positive press from the public. As well as a host of commercial privileges such as priority shopping hours and discounts, health workers were also recognised by the weekly Clap for Carers which ran for a short period of time in the UK.Data provided by <a href="https://www.ucas.com/">UCAS</a> which was accurate as of September 2020 revealed that there was a 15 per cent increase in applications to nursing undergraduate courses compared to 2019 in the UK, with institutions in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/14199-more-nhs-nurses-and-nursing-student-acceptances-rise-by-23?utm_source=4cdad9dd-4920-41a0-93a1-94d99ec0eee8&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&amp;utm_content=daily">England</a> alone reporting an increase of 23 per cent.The <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-52640107">media</a> was also providing first-hand <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52345177">accounts</a> from nurses in various settings, including nursing and residential homes as well as intensive care wards, showing the public the realities of Covid-19 for the industry and presenting healthcare staff as bastions of compassion, professionalism and specialist knowledge.This up-close perspective of what went on inside hospital and care facilities during times of pressure had seldom been seen before and captured the attention of the public. It also differed enormously from previously negative media portrayals of nurses and care staff, which had reinforced a number of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2648.1990.tb01917.x">negative stereotypes</a>, including that they were subordinate to fully qualified doctors.While the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/nursing-courses-students-ucas-degrees-universities-shortages-applications-a9220566.html">number of qualified nurses</a> is on the up, maintaining this new positive standing of the vocation as a skilled profession and building on the reputation that has been so enhanced throughout the health crisis will become a priority for the government and <a href="https://www.health.org.uk/publications/long-reads/what-should-be-done-to-fix-the-crisis-in-social-care">reforms in the social care sector</a> will still be required. Yet, the support of the public and the changed perceptions of healthcare workers will prove hugely influential in helping make this a reality.Kyrsty Fairchild, managing director of Dorset-based registered care company Fairhope, is one figurehead who has found herself on the frontline of the crisis. <a href="https://www.theparliamentaryreview.co.uk/organisations/fairhope">Speaking before the pandemic hit in 2019</a>, she warned back then about the importance of care workers such as nurses in the health and social care system, and how perceptions of them and the industry needed to improve to guarantee a healthy sector workforce in future.Fairchild said: “Without care workers playing their important role in the health and care system, our societies would almost certainly collapse. As such, greater importance needs to be attached to the role of a care worker, and it should be integrated as part of the medical profession in addition to being recognised as art of an individual’s support team.“We would like to see a lot more positive press about the role, which we believe would make the profession more attractive to the younger generation.”While the media coverage of the profession has significantly improved since then as a result of the crisis in fulfilment of one of her hopes, Fairchild believes that there is still much to be done to create clearer pathways to progression for those in the industry, and more action from the government to incentivise youngsters to pursue careers in the sector.“There also needs to be a clear career pathway for those who wish to go on to higher-paid and senior positions. We would also like to see government-backed advertising and enhanced career opportunities for 16-year-olds at school. This could perhaps include a pilot scheme, working alongside the government, whereby companies such as ourselves gave talks to children in our local schools not just about apprenticeship schemes, but about job satisfaction, working flexibility and career options. We could offer work experience to coincide with pupils obtaining their healthcare certificate. Government schemes could also offer financial assistance towards driving lessons and taking the driving test. The incentives structure in this industry needs to change radically.“As a business working on the ground, we cannot control what happens in politics. What we can control, however, is our practices and our commitments – which are to provide the highest-quality care and to go the extra mile for those who need it. By remaining true to this ethos, we will have fulfilled our duty as carers – which, as society ages further, will only become more and more important as time goes on. All we ask in the meantime is that those working in the sector receive the appreciation they deserve.”Although the Year of the Nurse may have brought with it the appreciation and recognition that the sector has so desperately craved, it has also shone the spotlight on the vast levels of improvement required to help the health and social care sector going forward. One step forward must not be followed by two steps backward.&nbsp;</div>

In the latter part of 2019, The World Health Organization planned to raise the profile of the nursing profession worldwide and increase the global workforce of nurses in honour of Florence Nightingale’s 200th anniversary, making 2020 the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. In December of that year, Covid-19 first appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan, before spreading to the rest of the world over the course of the following year.

Changing perceptions: a look back on how Covid-19 has raised the profile of the NHS and social care and a reflection on what more must be done

<div class="editor-cover-image" data-dimensions="780:300" data-pmr-editor-image="" style="background-image: url(&quot;https://leaders-council-web.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/store/9051338bd885c27c19955ec08089c4c5.jpg&quot;);"></div>

 <div data-pmr-editable="" class="medium-editor-insert-plugin">In another tumultuous start to the week for the government response to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, there is good news as businesses step up to the plate by providing aid to disadvantaged families and hospital capacity to the stretched NHS.&nbsp;<a href="https://driverrequire.co.uk/news/item/donation-of-laptops-to-local-schools">Driver Require </a>donate to students in the local area Kieran Smith, Managing Director of Driver Require, has come to the aid of local families struggling with home schooling through lack of available technology by donating 15 laptops to the local schools in Stevenage. The laptops will be a welcome boost for students as the row over school re-opening continues across the UK in face of the covid-19 pandemic. The donation has been made to People for People Stevenage a local charitable organisation that has been helping those in need for the past 5 years set up by local businessman Kenny Arnold, owner of Kenny Arnolds Hairdressing. Hotel quarantine being considered by ministers After the government cancelled all travel corridors on Monday 18th January 2021 in a bid to reduce the impact of new more contagious variants of Covid-19, it seems that the prime minister, Boris Johnson, is set to announce a 10-day period of isolation for all travellers into the UK. As the government looks to protect the vaccination programme from being side-stepped by any new variants of the virus. The UK may be following the example of Australia in requiring all travellers entering the country to be put up in a hotel, at the travellers expense, to lower the chance of new spikes of the virus, helping the UK get out of the national lockdown. <a href="https://www.lhg.co.uk/">London Hotel Group </a>urge the Home Office to use their network Hospitality groups across the UK have been hard hit by the frequent closures and interruptions to business but some like London Hotel Group (LHG) have been able to help the government to house asylum seekers and the homeless throughout this pandemic and over the winter. The LHG are clinical patients and can provide a minimum of 6000 bed spaces around London. LHG have been encouraging the Home Office to open up the tendering process to move away from intermediaries and deal directly with the larger hospitality groups in order to save costs and improve efficiency. 







































The group is confident it can provide accommodation, through its network, across the UK to provide safe, monitored and catered services to help keep any new imports of Covid-19 from spreading across the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>

In another tumultuous start to the week for the government response to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, there is good news as businesses step up to the plate by providing aid to disadvantaged families and hospital capacity to the stretched NHS. 

Leadership in focus: Driver Require provide support, London Hotel Group calls for transparency, Australian style quarantine may be introduced 

<div class="editor-cover-image" data-dimensions="780:300" data-pmr-editor-image="" style="background-image: url(&quot;https://leaders-council-web.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/store/35d5bee2559fe6b7b8bf48e2ab2007cd.jpg&quot;);"></div>

 <div data-pmr-editable="" class="medium-editor-insert-plugin">During the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for power protection has become even more vital. Such protection is crucial for education institutions in their bid to provide safe online learning for students, amid a wholesale push toward the digital education approach to ensure learning can continue from home and remove the need for pupils to physically mix and risk spreading the disease. Distance learning is mostly carried out via virtual classrooms. These are online spaces where teachers and pupils communicate, interact and collaborate. These spaces also provide wide-ranging access to relevant learning modules and other educational resources. For educational institutions, teachers and students, maintaining these spaces means that reliance on technology increases, and there is a need to constantly have the right digital tools at one’s disposal. Both the technology and the digital tools require a continuous and quality supply of power if they are to run effectively.One major requirement in this is a reliable and stable internet connection, but on top of this, remote learning is dependent on an array of electronic equipment, devices and applications. Laptops, smartphones, tablets, scanning and printing devices, and digital classroom applications such as videoconferencing and audio functions are just the tip of the iceberg.With all of these elements necessary to maintain online learning, power failures may be catastrophic, particularly if they occur during an online exam or test. Furthermore, a loss of power may result in some files being lost or corrupted, rendering them inaccessible. A sudden cut-off of power may also damage some of the devices in use at the time, rendering them useless and requiring further cost to replace.However, <a href="https://www.constantpowerservices.com/">Constant Power Services</a>, a wholly owned subsidiary of Riello Electronic Group, has both recommended and developed ways of avoiding such a scenario.<a href="https://www.constantpowerservices.com/news/13289-distance-learning-depends-on-reliable-electricity">Writing on the company’s website</a>, managing director <a href="https://www.leaderscouncil.co.uk/members/kevin-wilson">Kevin Wilson</a> explained that issues associated with power failure can be avoided if educational institutions make use of uninterruptible power supplies [UPS].Wilson said: "Distance learning depends on reliable electricity. A UPS protects critical devices from major power problems, including total power failure, fluctuations, spikes and dips. Having a UPS allows you to power the devices connected to it so that you can turn them off correctly and safely, completing the most urgent activities that were taking place."As it turns out, Riello has been developing its own range of UPS devices to help schools and other institutions tackle these issues during this time.Wilson added: "With our own Riello UPS iPlug and iDialog ranges, schools, students, and teachers can protect themselves in their distance learning activities."Although thought of as a temporary solution while Covid-19 remains a present danger to life, digital learning is a method which brings about <a href="https://admin.leaderscouncil.co.uk/admin/articles/www.leaderscouncil.co.uk/news/making-remote-learning-work-ascentis-shares-six-top-tips-for-supporting-learners-at-home">numerous benefits</a>. Online education between teachers and smaller groups can make learning a much more personal experience compared to that which goes on in physical classroom spaces, and they can open new channels and methods of communication between teachers and students which can improve engagement.With use of online resources poised to comprise more of the UK educational curriculum in future, Wilson explains that Riello UPS will continue its strategy of investing in new technology which will help teachers educate the next generation and those beyond, and prove more environmentally friendly in a world that is more conscious of climate change than ever."Riello UPS continuously invests in new technologies to improve the performance and efficiency of its products. The social commitment of Riello UPS aims to help the present and above all positively affect the future, combining the inevitable need for energy with the protection of the environment."Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@lucaslaw__">lucas law</a>&nbsp;on Unsplash</div>

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for power protection has become even more vital. Such protection is crucial for education institutions in their bid to provide safe online learning for students, amid a wholesale push toward the digital education approach to ensure learning can continue from home and remove the need for pupils to physically mix and risk spreading the disease.

Constant Power Services aim to be at the forefront of keeping remote learning running through the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond

Mike Newell is the sales director at Isumo Ltd, a company which designs, builds and supports complex network infrastructures that deliver the security, scalability, and availability that clients and their users demand.

Leadership Matters: Mike Newell

Nick Hampton is the CEO of Tale & Lyle PLC, a B2B food and drink ingredients supplier, specialising in solutions that lower sugar, fat and calories, increase fibre, and add texture.

In Conversation: Nick Hampton

Dan Williams is managing director at Orean Personal Care, a contract manufacturer which also offers product development and technical support.

In Conversation: Dan Williams

Shaz Memon is the founder and creative director of Digimax Dental, a marketing and advertising company based in London with a specialism for the dental industry.

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Latest News

NSF Health Sciences to co-host virtual Legionella Conference in March

Changing perceptions: a look back on how Covid-19 has raised the profile of the NHS and social care and a reflection on what more must be done

Leadership in focus: Driver Require provide support, London Hotel Group calls for transparency, Australian style quarantine may be introduced

Constant Power Services aim to be at the forefront of keeping remote learning running through the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond

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