CORONAVIRUS: Boston front-line NHS worker hits out at decision to re-open Central Park

Bev Pember, an emergency support worker at A&E at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital, has just returned to work after falling victim herself to Coronavirus, and she was left appalled by the decision to open the park.

She said: “It’s just wrong, and I haven’t spoken to anyone who disagrees with me yet.”

Boston Council reopened the park on Monday after comments by Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick at the weekend,who said both parks and cemeteries should be kept open.

Boston’s Central Park was shut after consultation between the council and Lincolnshire Police on 24 March.

Although other parks in the district remained open, it was thought that people were breaching social distancing rules and gathering in groups in Central Park.

But the decision was reversed after Mr Jerrick’s comments – a decision that was widely criticised on social media.

And Bev decided to contact the Standard to raise her concerns.

“The news really riled me up. There’s a lot of reasons not to open Central Park,” she said.

Bev said she was concerned about people using it as a place to meet and socialise.

“We know the situation with gangs of people gathering in town, drinking and socialising. This is only going to make it worse.”

As well as concerns about the effect of ignoring social isolation in terms of increasing the chances of infection from the virus, Bev said there was also a real issue relating to adding to pressures on ambulance and A&E staff.

“Our ambulance service, like all of us, is on standby for the surge that is expected. We don’t want them to have to start bringing in the usual people who are intoxicated.

“We live in a rural area. There’s plenty of places to exercise or to walk the dog. They don’t need that park. People will use that park for unnecessary reasons. They’ll be bringing them in drunk or whatever because they are unconscious, that’s pressure on EMAS, pressure on A&E, pressure that we don’t need.

“It’s just wrong and haven’t found anybody yet who disagrees with me.”

Boston independent councillor Neil John Hastie has raised the issue with Council leader Coun Paul Skinner, asking him to look at closing the park gates again.

“I have many concerns over the park bring unlocked as with the weather getting hotter I feel that groups of people will congregate in the park drinking like they used to do pre-lockdown and if this happens it could effect all the hard work people have done in Boston to tackle the spread of the virus and protect the safety of front line staff at the Pilgrim.

“I understand that locking the park will have a negative effect on the vast majority of people who follow the self-distancing rules, but there are plenty of open spaces that can be used. All services are over-stretched at this time and with the enforcement officers being put on furlough, this would just increase the work load to front line services which is not needed at this time.”