NHS To Buy Up Care Beds To Clear Wards
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Sunday Times.
I can remember, when my late wife had her appendix out in 1967 in Barnet General Hospital, that there were two bed-blockers on the ward, where she was being treated. One had serious dementia.Has it really taken nearly sixty years to sort out this problem?
Another Renewable Power Idea From Sweden
I have posted some ideas from Sweden on this blog including.
- H2 Green Steel – H2 Green Steel Plans 800 MW Hydrogen Plant In Sweden
- HYBRIT – Sweden’s Grand Plan To Make Zero-Carbon Steel
- Minesto – Is This The World’s Best Renewable Energy Video?
- TwinHub – Hexicon Wins UK’s First Ever CfD Auction For Floating Offshore Wind
And now there’s the SEATWIRL, which the company says is the future of offshore wind.
In the Areas Of Use, there is a section with a heading of SeaTwirl For Niche Markets, where this is said.
SeaTwirl has now identified markets where wind turbines of the size of 1 MW can meet a clear market demand and sees a possibility to build a business aimed at these niche markets in parallel with its main target. That can mean revenues for the company sooner than was originally planned.
The niche markets that have been identified are islands and remote seaside villages, fish farms and desalination plants. These are business and places that today are run mainly on electricity from diesel generators, which is both expensive and emits CO2.
One of the places I would use these turbines, is on the apex of four-beam steel portal frame buildings. The original concept for these buildings had been developed at Cambridge University during World War Two and one of the team, had set up a business in Warwickshire, constructing these buildings for barns, factory units and other purposes.
He had programmed a simple computer program, which he ran on a time-shared computer system. I was hired to improve the computer program.
What surprised me was the strength of these buildings and I believe they could support vertical turbines like SeaTwirl along the apex.
I feel there are many other applications, especially if they are designed to be part pf a bigger system.
Conclusion
I like the concept of SeaTwirl.
Should There Be Limits To The Type Of Vehicles Allowed In The Blackwall And Silvertown Tunnels?
When the Silvertown Tunnel opens in 2025, the tunnel and the nearby Blackwall Tunnel will be tolled.
But will there be any restrictions on the vehicles that can use the tunnels, other than those that apply to the Blackwall Tunnel at the present time, which are detailed in Wikipedia.
The tunnels are no longer open to pedestrians, cyclists or other non-motorised traffic, and the northbound tunnel has a 4.0-metre (13.1 ft) height limit.
Note.
- I suspect that pedestrians, cyclists or other non-motorised traffic will also be banned from the Silverton Tunnel.
- But the height limit will be relaxed for the Silverton Tunnel to allow large trucks and double-deck buses to use the tunnel.
According to this web page, which is entitled the Silvertown Tunnel Bus Network Proposals, the planned buses through the tunnel include.
- 108 – As now, with a minor route change.
- 129 – As now, but extended from North Greenwich station to Great Eastern Quay.
- X329 – An express bus from Grove Park station to Canary Wharf, which runs non-stop through the Silvertown Tunnel.
Note.
- The 108 goes through Blackwall and is a single decker bus.
- The 129 and the X329 will go through Silvertown and could be double decker buses.
- There appears to be no mention of any provision for cycles.
- I would assume wheelchairs, buggies and cases will be accommodated as they are on current London buses.
I also think, that the buses must be zero-carbon, which would mean battery-electric or hydrogen.
In Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles And Trains In Tunnels, I looked at the feasibility of running hydrogen buses through the tunnel and came to this conclusion.
I am confident, that we will achieve a safety regime, that allows hydrogen-powered vehicles and trains to be certified to pass through tunnels.
The great advantage of hydrogen buses on the three routes would be that they would probably only need to be filled up once a day, but electric buses might need constant charging.
Provision For Cycles
I think it is essential to have provision for cycles across the river.
- Folded cycles can be taken almost anywhere on London’s transport system.
- Non-folding cycles can be taken most places on London’s transport system, but the hours are restricted.
- There’s always the Woolwich Ferry.
- Given that the 108 bus seems to weave its way through the East End, I suspect that this bus couldn’t be longer to carry cycles.
I have seen double-deck buses, with provision for cycles at the back of the lower deck in Europe.
- Perhaps buses like these, could be used on the 129 and X329 routes.
- A search of the Internet found some buses in East Yorkshire with provision for two standard cycles.
- The 129 bus could ferry bikes between North Greenwich station and a convenient stop on the North side of the river.
- The X329 bus could ferry bikes over the non-stop section of the route between the Sun in the Sands and Leamouth roundabouts.
There could be shorter routes adding extra capacity between the stops, where bikes are loaded and unloaded.
Large Trucks Through The Tunnel
If buses become zero-carbon through the Blackwall and Silverton Tunnels, then why shouldn’t large trucks be zero-carbon?
I think this could be the carrot combined with free passage for zero-carbon vehicles that could clean up Central London’s polluted air.
Smaller Vehicles
Why not gradually reduce the size of vehicles going through the tunnels that must be zero-carbon?
Conclusion
The Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnels can be used as the drivers to clean up Central London’s air.
Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles And Trains In Tunnels
In writing about the Silvertown Tunnel, I started to wonder, if hydrogen vehicles will be allowed in the tunnel.
Consider.
- I don’t think diesel-powered trains are allowed in the Channel Tunnel and the tunnels of the link to London.
- Some tunnels don’t seem to allow hydrogen-powered vehicles.
- In a few years, hydrogen-powered buses, cars, locomotives, trains, trucks and vans will be more common, than they are today.
But help is at hand, with a co-operation between UK and EU agencies called HyTunnel-CS.
It is over fifty years now, since I worked as an instrument engineer in an ICI hydrogen factory at Runcorn. Truckloads of hydrogen were filled and despatched all over the UK. I may be wrong, but in all those intervening years, I can’t remember a hydrogen emergency on the UK’s roads.
I am confident, that we will achieve a safety regime, that allows hydrogen-powered vehicles and trains to be certified to pass through tunnels.
The Anonymous Widower 