Keen Corsham cyclists embarking on a 100-mile ride this weekend have already raised £1,800 for their chosen charity. The seven friends teamed up to carry out the two-day adventure to the New Forest and back in a bid to raise money for Wiltshire Wishes, a charity helping local children suffering from disabilities and illnesses, and Cancer Research. The idea was the brainchild of Corsham couple Kerry and Triston Ward, of Prospect, who were inspired by the work of the two charities. Mr Ward, 34, a scaffolder, will be joined by friends Chris Hemmings, Justin Carr, Gene Gibbins, Steven Ward, Paul Cartwright and Darren Carr on Saturday morning when they leave Corsham. Mrs Ward, 32, who works at a local sandwich shop, said: “My husband’s mother June was diagnosed with breast cancer and it gave him the idea of raising money for the charity. “We were also quite moved by work that Wiltshire Wishes is doing. It seems like a really worthwhile local charity which we felt that we could support. “The team have been busy preparing. Triston has not done something like this before so it will be a good challenge.” In a bid to save money the team will be camping in the New Forest on Saturday night before making their return journey the next morning. They will be accompanied by friends who are unable to take part in the cycling, who will drive alongside with the camping equipment. A homecoming party will be held at the Great Western pub, on Prospect, where a barbecue and raffle will be held from 5pm on Sunday to boost funds further. Mrs Ward, who has three children, added: “A lot of local businesses in Corsham have really been very generous and donated prizes to us. They have been really supportive.” Jenny Edmonds, founder of Wiltshire Wishes, said: “They had been in touch to say they wanted to do the bike ride to raise money for us. It still amazes me how everyone is getting behind us with all the events they are planning. I really want to wish them the best of luck. We really appreciate what they are doing.”
The contract, valued at close to $10 million over its 3-year term, provides for 24/7 scaffolding support of the 2,000 acre Tata Steel plant in Scunthorpe, UK, a major location where Harsco Metals also provides onsite metal recovery and material handling services to Tata Steel’s steelmaking operations.
The award reinforces Harsco Infrastructure’s increasing global focus on the industrial maintenance and infrastructure sectors and also demonstrates the Company’s growing multi-discipline relationship with the Tata Group. Last week, Harsco announced similar industrial scaffolding orders in India totaling more than $8 million with Tata Steel, Tata Power and Tata Mines.
Harsco’s industrial maintenance expertise was seen as a principal factor in winning the award, as the Company identified key areas in which savings could be made through increased efficiencies and reduced waste. “Our decision to move to a new work-at-height contract provider was not one that was taken lightly,” said Dave Jones, Contracts Manager at Tata Steel in Scunthorpe.
Unlike traditional scaffolding arrangements in which scaffolding providers normally charge by the hour based on how many and how long their scaffolders were provided, Harsco Infrastructure proposed a solutions-focused approach built around each project requirement.
“The development of this solutions-focused approach will be a radical change but one that will save us a lot of money,” said Jones. “These savings along with Harsco’s best-in-industry operations standards give me confidence that benefits across the whole site will be felt quickly.” Harsco Infrastructure is one of the world’s largest and most complete providers of engineered scaffolding, shoring and forming systems for major construction and industrial maintenance projects.
Commenting on the award, Executive Vice President and Harsco Infrastructure Group CEO Ivor Harrington, said, “This order from one of the world’s largest blue chip organizations highlights the progress that we are making in increasing our presence in the key industrial and infrastructure sectors. Our combination of experience and expertise puts us in position to serve some of the biggest players in these important markets, and deliver the improved performance that our customers and shareholders expect.”
Harsco Corporation is one of the world’s leading diversified industrial services and engineered products companies. The Company serves industries that are fundamental to global infrastructure development and economic growth including metals, construction, railways and energy. Harsco’s common stock is a component of the S&P MidCap 400 Index and the Russell 1000 Index. Additional information can be found at 
Dean Winstone, 47, of Hailey, near Witney, tripped and fell from first-floor scaffolding while working on a house in Cornwall in 2007.
He has been paraplegic ever since and is confined to a wheelchair. His lawyers said he will never work again.
At the High Court in London on Monday he was compensated for his pain and suffering, lost earnings and the costs of the future care.
Experts say his medical support will need to increase as he gets older.
Mr Winstone spent more than a month in Derriford Hospital, near Plymouth, before being transferred to the specialist spinal injury unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury.
He spent more than a year and a half at the hospital as an in-patient.
Without admitting liability, lawyers for the scaffolding company, Gemini Riteway Scaffolding Ltd, which was sued by Mr Winstone, agreed to settle his case for a lump sum of £1.25m, as well as his legal costs.
Via: Oxfordnews.co.uk 
Charles and Lynn Lowden have launched legal action against Ashington’s Wansbeck General Hospital after an inquest heard how a team of doctors failed to spot their son Charlie had developed the potentially fatal condition.
The 20-year-old became seriously ill just 10 days after undergoing a routine hernia operation at a different hospital in November 2009.
He was rushed into the hospital’s accident and emergency department with agonising chest and back pain and had been vomiting blood.
But despite his horrendous symptoms, medical staff failed to investigate a possible pulmonary embolism – a blocked artery – and discharged him the next day, without further investigation.
Just two weeks later, Charlie, a scaffolder, collapsed at his home in Rosalind Avenue, Bedlington, and died on December 9 2009.
Postmortems found he had died from a huge blood clot which formed in his left leg and travelled to his heart.
During a two-day inquest this week, it emerged how doctors ruled out a blood clot – despite Mr Lowden having undergone recent surgery, having an abnormal blood test and heart scan.
Now, his anguished parents have instructed a solicitor to initiate civil proceedings against Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which manages Wansbeck General Hospital.
Lynn, 52, said: “Nothing has changed at that hospital at all since our Charles died.
“They haven’t learnt by their mistakes and by no means is this finished with as far as we are concerned.
“They have ruined our lives and somebody has got to be made accountable for it. It’s about getting justice for our Charles. The whole system in that hospital let him down.
“It was supposed to help him, but on that day, it collapsed and not one of them did their job properly.”
The Trust carried out its own investigation into Mr Lowden’s death and said it had since reviewed its admissions forms, but had yet to implement new patient discharge procedures.
Ben Gent, of Simpson Millar solicitors, in Gateshead, is representing the family.
He said: “It may be that Northumbria Healthcare Trust now feels that the time is right to accept responsibility for Charlie’s death.
“If not, Mr and Mrs Lowden have given a clear indication that they will be seeking accountability through the court system.”
Chief executive of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Jim Mackey, said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Mr Lowden.
“Mr Lowden died of a rare complication of surgery which we have fully investigated.
“The report of this investigation, which we shared with Mr Lowden’s family, highlighted areas of care where we felt we could improve and we have implemented new systems as a result of this.
“Furthermore we are going to include the NEWS (Northumbria Early Warning System) score on the discharge documentation which alerts staff to contact senior medical colleagues when the NEWS score is higher than anticipated for a patient going home.”
Via: www.chroniclelive.co.uk 
Osbaldwick-based Contract Services (Yorkshire) Limited (CSL), which has employed people in York for almost 40 years, is still taking on new business and will continue to trade for as long as it can, said founder Leslie Cullum.
But he said the economic situation and the decline in the construction industry meant that it was not worthwhile carrying the business on in the long term.
He said: “The result is that after 38 years, we are closing the business down in a controlled manner over the next three to four months and maybe longer.
“During that time every contract will be completed and everyone has been issued with redundancy notices. We will endeavour to extend those notices for as long as we find it viable to. We are still looking for business to keep these people employed as long as possible.”
The business, which employs 40 to 50 people, has provided scaffolding for small projects as well as high-profile work for commercial, industrial and heritage organisations, including York Minster’s East Window and the Sadlers Wells Theatre in London.
Mr Cullum said: “We have got some people who have been here for 30 years and the company has been at the forefront of the industry.
“We have given a lot of people a lot of jobs over the years and it’s very sad on my part that we find ourselves in this situation, but it’s the direct result of the economic situation.” 