MEDICAL and clinical staff battling COVID-19 in Edinburgh have booked 1,000 nights of free rooms and meals at the largest independent hotel in the city.

Ten Hill Place, owned by The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RSCEd), opened its doors to the city's hospital staff on Friday 27 March and has since accommodated more than 200 key workers, with bookings increasing daily.

Located three miles from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and less than a mile from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, the hotel is providing much-needed nearby accommodation and meals for key workers tackling the pandemic.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Hotelier says rural premises will not survive

This has proven invaluable to guests facing tiring commutes between expanding shifts or to help workers isolating from vulnerable family members.

Scott Mitchell, Managing Director at Surgeons Quarter, said: “The response to our decision to accommodate medical and clinical workers has been astounding, and we want to encourage more staff who are working at the city’s hospitals to get in touch with us to find out how we can help support them.

“It’s a privilege to play our part in helping make the lives of medical workers a little easier during one of the most difficult times the country has faced.”

Ten Hill Place has 129 bedrooms available for hospital staff, as well as packed continental breakfasts and complementary evening meals courtesy of its award-winning catering team.

Frontline workers have praised the hotel for its continued support during the pandemic.

A Tripadvisor user, “renaissanced”, posted: “I cannot explain how grateful I am to them. All social distancing respected and we are well looked after – not to have worries about cooking or cleaning plus a calm comfortable night’s sleep is great.

“This will be my top hotel in Edinburgh forever.”

The CBI has urged businesses in Scotland to join the push to produce protective equipment for the NHS and front-line workers.

The organisation has organised a webinar for companies and CBI Scotland Director Tracy Black has urged all those interested to sign-up.

READ MORE: Monday Interview: Covid-19 crisis ‘strengthens the case’ for ethical investment

The organisation are urging firms with the skills or expertise that could be harnessed to get involved, as well as those who have skills that could be useful for the fight, including the suppliers, lawyers, logistics and others needed to make this critical endeavour happen.

To coordinate this and make a collective action plan to respond to this challenge, we are convening a business call at 11.30am next Wednesday which you can register for via the CBI website.

The government are looking at ‘all options’ to increase the manufacture of protective equipment like aprons, gowns, face masks and hand sanitisers, including the potential re-opening of furloughed factories as part of the collective national effort.

In the past few weeks the NHS Supply Chain have delivered 397 million pieces of PPE equipment including, masks, surgical masks and other PPE equipment to NHS trusts and 58,000 healthcare settings including GPs, pharmacies and community providers, but more is critically needed.

The equipment challenge is not just targeted at the critical NHS and social care front line but will support all sorts of sectors like food and drink, but also deliveries, logistics and the manufacturing sector too where people have to be at work and have requirements for key protective equipment.

The CBI want to help businesses them keep their employees safe at work too.

Tracy Black, CBI Scotland Director, said: “Protecting NHS and social care staff on the frontline is vitally important.

"But it’s not just them, from people carrying out essential work in food manufacture or Post Offices and delivery drivers, key workers need protective gear and we are committed to helping to secure it for them.

"These people are the fifth emergency service in times like these. I believe that businesses and firms in Scotland could play a key role and I’m calling on anyone who thinks they could play a part, even a small part, to sign up to the webinar and see if you can.

“We are in a battle and many businesses who can are stepping up to the plate. We can all play our role and make a difference and this is another way we can protect those who are going above and beyond in this crisis.

“It is absolutely right that frontline staff have the appropriate protective equipment so they are safe and can have the confidence they need to do their jobs.”

Chinese hi-tech company Huawei has defended its role in the development of 5G in the UK.

The move comes after a Tory backbench attack on the company's involvement in the roll-out of the advanced system in the UK.

READ MORE: Guy Stenhouse: This crisis has highlighted the strength of proper union

The telecoms giant has said it would be a "disservice" to Britain if it was stopped from being involved in the new generation of data networks, according to reports.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson approved the Chinese company having a limited stake in the UK's 5G development in January.
The move caused tensions with the US administration of President Donald Trump, and raised concern among some Tory backbenchers, including former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.

The Chinese firm said it was keen to keep British people connected during the coronavirus outbreak.

In an open letter, Huawei's UK chief Victor Zhang said that there had been a 50% boost to home data use during the course of the virus outbreak in the UK.

The Government has stated that Huawei would be limited to a 35% involvement in the roll-out of 5G in the UK.
Some Tory MPs have raised concerns about security issues if the Chinese firm is involved in Britain's 5G roll-out.

Shops across Scotland are closing. Newspaper sales are falling. But we’ve chosen to keep our coverage of the coronavirus crisis free because it’s so important for the people of Scotland to stay informed during this difficult time.

However, producing The Herald's unrivalled analysis, insight and opinion on a daily basis still costs money, and we need your support to sustain our trusted, quality journalism.

To help us get through this, we’re asking readers to take a digital subscription to The Herald. You can sign up now for just £2 for two months.

If you choose to sign up, we’ll offer a faster loading, advert-light experience – and deliver a digital version of the print product to your device every day.

Click here to help The Herald.

Thank you, and stay safe.