Gritting Works aides local vacinations
Recognising that the local vaccination clinic was going to be receiving some of the worst winter weather whilst trying to vaccinate those who were elderly and at risk Gritting Works stepped in to make sure the centre remained open.
Liz West from Stort Valley Healthcare who was overseeing the vaccination clinic in Bishop's Stortford said;
Nick (the gritter) as he fondly became known, approached one of our GP’s at the start of the year to say he would be happy to offer his companies services to support the work of our GP Lead Covid Vaccination Clinic. I contacted him first in mid-January, when the forecast stated ice and freezing rain, as I was concerned we would not be able to run the clinic due to the weather conditions and one already slippery carpark. The team at Gritting Works could have not been more helpful, and the night before the clinic they sorted out the carpark so that over 1000 80 year olds could safely attend without the added worry of slipping and falling in and out of the clinic.
From then on whenever there was a weather warning, particularly when we had snow, we had no doubt that Gritting Works would be able to support us and they were always there at the right time and place to ensure that every clinic we had ran smoothly. In fact I think we were the only clinic in the area to run on the weekend of the heavy snow due to the fantastic job that they did of the carpark and surrounding approach roads.
We cannot thank Nick and his team enough for the help and support he gave us over the winter months, he certainly aided in our quest to deliver nearly 34,000 vaccines to the residents of Bishops Stortford. Thanks you from all the GP’ and their patients.
Gritting Works MD and Owner Nick Cox said
"Having spent most of the pandemic proudly supporting my wife who was working on the front line in the NHS myself and the team were only to happy to do our bit in aide of the vaccination drive.
Having the right tools for the job was essential and the fact we cleared the car park (132+ spaces) and immediate pathways of settled snow and treated it with salt within 35 minutes of arrival on one occasion speaks volumes of our capabilities.
Whilst we are still relatively new as gritting companies go we completed this work with no charges to Stort Valley Healthcare who the community were relying on to deliver this much needed service"