The efforts of some of our local heroes during the corona virus pandemic have been recognised in this months Queens Birthday Honours list.
Malcolm Healey, was the co-ordinator of the widespread #PPE4NHS campaign which saw a number of local business people get together to collect and deliver much needed PPE to NHS staff during the start of the corona virus crisis.
The idea initially started with the thought that hundreds of businesses, that had been forced to close due to lockdown, would have PPE just sitting in storehouses not being used. An appeal was lauched initially in the Ashfield and Mansfield area that soon spread to cover the east midlands and beyond. The team collected and delivered over 100,000 items in a couple of months and the staff were very grateful!
Malcolm was recognised for his efforts in the queens birthday honours and has been awarded an M.B.E.
Malcolm said “It dominated my life for around three months.”It was a very hectic time – but it was fantastic to see just how many donations we had.
I want to say a big thank you to the business community for their generosity, as well as private individuals and local organisations who made donations. It’s been a massive collective effort and I can’t thank everyone enough.”
Malcolm wanted to give special thanks to Martin Rigley, who helped spearhead the campaign, Gary Jordan of the Mansfield & Ashfield 2020 Business Network, Sue Harris from Institute of Materials, Debbie Whitehead of Clear Quality Ltd, Tony Bilbie of EARD Advisory Services and Pippa Spriggs of Lindhurst Engineering.
Dr Carter Singh, a general practitioner from Sutton-in-Ashfield, has also received an MBE for his work during the pandemic – helping members of the BAME community along with people with learning difficulties.
Dr Carter Singh, 39, is a partner at Willowbrook Medical Centre, Sutton. He runs CIMA Care Consortium, which provides care in residential homes for complex learning disability patients.
When the pandemic broke out, Dr Singh took the decision to support staff at residential care homes, drafting up diet plans, daily activity planners and infection control measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their lives.
He said he was honoured and humbled to be awarded an MBE. “It’s a privilege to serve alongside my colleagues on the NHS frontline. I accept this honour on behalf of all those who have tragically lost loved ones to Covid-19. Thank you.”