Friday, 18/02/2022 – UPDATE – Paul Winspear, CEO 

Good morning all,

We are now into the RED warning period. Clearly the storm has not hit us yet, and it therefore seems likely the RED warning period may be extended beyond 12 noon. Please don’t be lulled into any complacency and please continue to plan for a disrupted day.

All the measures announced below remain in force, and if the RED warning period is extended beyond 12 noon then so too are our precautionary measures by default.

Initial Storm Eustice Direction, 17/02/2022 – Paul Winspear, CEO

As some of you will have seen, the Met Office have issued a rare RED weather warning for the south-west of England related to Storm Eunice, particularly along the coastline, Bristol  Channel and including Weston-super-Mare, between the hours of 0700 & 1200 tomorrow, Friday 18^th February.

An AMBER warning is in force for the hours of 0500 till 2100 tomorrow. These timings are likely to change as the forecasters update their models, so please click on the following link for updates: UK weather warnings – Met Office

Please find attached our Severe Weather Contingency Plan which now comes into effect. The following measures will apply:

• No-one is to travel while the RED warning if in force, unless critical and unavoidable. Please discuss with your Line Manager if in doubt, and seek Head of Department sign-off.
• Once the weather warning turns from RED to AMBER, essential travel will be permitted.
• Note: it is highly likely that all schools will be closed tomorrow.
• All our shops and hub will remain closed tomorrow until after the RED warning has passed. Please refer to updates from the Director of Retail.
• The grand opening of our new Superstore and Donation Centre scheduled for tomorrow morning has been postponed until further notice, and our Superstore will open for first trading on Saturday, assuming Storm Eunice has passed by then.
• Discussions will be held with our clinicians and medics regarding 24/7 care in the IPU. Support services including kitchen and house-keeping may be subject to altered hours to avoid travel during the RED window, and discussions will continue this afternoon to finalise those plans.
• Community visits should be postponed until the RED weather warning has passed, or switched to virtual.
• All volunteers will be stood down until the RED weather warning has passed.
• Storm Eunice is forecast to be intense but relatively short duration. Therefore, everyone should err on the side of caution, take no risks, and resume duties only when it is safe to do so.
• All hospice premises – JBH, Shops and Hub – are asked to carry out external house-keeping this afternoon, remove any loose items and tie down whatever cannot be removed or placed inside.
• Everyone able to work from home (most of us) should do so. As PER35 says, “Should the Hospice decide to close your place of work due to severe weather conditions or due to other extraordinary circumstances, and it deems that you are unable to carry out work at alternative places, it will pay you your normal working hours” regardless of whether you can work from home or not.

Hopefully, the storm will not be as severe as forecast and these precautions will prove to have been unnecessary, but please be in no doubt that if the conditions are as bad as currently predicted there will be significant damage and quite possibly loss of life too. It is recommended to take sensible precautions at home, tidy away any loose items around your house or garden, and stay inside until the worst has passed. Anyone needing to leave slightly early today to make such preparations in daylight is authorised to do so, with the prior agreement of your Line Manager.

You should direct any questions to your Line Manager or Head of Department, or you may contact me directly if need be.

Please stay safe.