Could Biggleswade Good Neighbours help you during coronavirus crisis?

On Monday evening (March 23), Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the government’s latest measures, which included instructions to only leave home in order to exercise once a day, to travel to and from work where “absolutely necessary”, for medical needs, or to shop for necessities.

Public Health England has confirmed that as of March 23 there were 22 confirmed cases of Coronavirus COVID-19 in Central Bedfordshire, while the Chief Medical Officer has warned that NHS services will come under pressure as the outbreak spreads more widely.

However, residents and councillors have realised that while people self-isolate, they are going to need the support of their town.

Central Bedfordshire Councillor, Dr Hayley Whitaker, said: “It’s amazing to see the community coming together to support each other.

“Help is primarily being offered in three key areas at present: getting shopping and provisions for those in need,collecting prescriptions and other medication and via befriending services – a friendly call, Skype or Facetime. This is going to be quite a long 12 weeks and the key thing is something sustainable.”

Luckily for the Biggleswade community, voluntary organisation Biggleswade Good Neighbours is already well established in the community, and is working hard to help those in need.

Chair of Biggleswade Good Neighbours, John Robertson, said: “We have been running for around five years and it’s a very simple idea. Essentially it’s anything you would do for your next door neighbour, except we support the whole town. This could be, for example, putting the bins out, shopping or hedge cutting.

“I think there will be a lot of people struggling and they will turn to us all the more over the next few weeks. A chap I took paracetamol to couldn’t have been more grateful.”

The kind volunteers will also be offering a befriending service over the coming weeks, with each of its 90 team members currently being paired up with three service users whom they will give regular telephone calls to.

Cllr Whitaker praised the Biggleswade Good Neighbours team and reminded everyone to stay safe in the coming weeks. She added: “I want to reinforce the message that it is important to look after yourself, so you are not placing any additional burden on the health system. Look after yourself and then help other people.”

Cllr Whitaker is also advising residents and resident groups to register with the Emergency Planning Volunteer organisation BLEVEC, while she praised the efforts of Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity, Community Action Bedfordshire and Community of Voluntary Organisations in Bedfordshire.

For those seeking help from Biggleswade Good Neighbours, call 07771 104255.

Members of the dedicated group have all been fully DBS checked and anyone wishing to join and help the cause will also have to be assessed. Alternatively, residents in need can fill out an online form to request help: https://forms.gle/VNWuTg6bcvhKjjps5.

Meanwhile, residents wishing to a volunteer can fill in this application document: https://forms.gle/sUZaYpmcgkPhhJLeA

John thanked his volunteers for all their hard work, and encouraged residents to reach out if they needed assistance.

He added: “They are a lovely bunch of people. I want to thank them for all the work they do – we couldn’t run the organisation without them.”