NHS Tayside and Perth and Kinross Council staff praised for their dedication during Storm Babet

dailyrecord.co.uk:

It has emerged some Perth and Kinross Council, NHS Tayside and health and social care staff took "extraordinary measures to get to work" during Storm Babet.Some stayed overnight and some volunteered to work at an alternative workplace closer to home due to roads being blocked or flooded.The extraordinary lengths taken by staff was raised by Cllr Sheila McCole at an NHS Tayside board meeting on Thursday, October 26.Storm Babet caused devastating destruction as it swept across Perth and Kinross and other parts of the UK last week.

A rare red weather warning was issued by the Met Office for Perth and Kinross for the dangerous weather which caused seven deaths across the UK.Cllr McCole represents Perth and Kinross Council's elected members on the NHS Tayside board.

The SNP councillor said she had heard stories of both council and NHS workers going to extraordinary lengths to get to work.At Thursday's meeting, she told the board: "I have become aware that a number of staff were unable to get home or get to work because of flooded or blocked roads."The Perth City South councillor sought assurance there were steps taken to "ensure members of staff do not take risks to get to and from their workplace".Cllr McCole added: "I'm hearing anecdotally of people taking extraordinary measures to get to work."As flooding events happen more regularly, she suggested they "maybe need a weather resilience plan as well as a winter resilience plan".The SNP councillor said: "We are probably going to get more of them.

In my own ward they are becoming an annual event in the autumn."Director of Finance Stuart Lyall - who was deputising for the chief executive at Thursday's meeting - said: "We would not encourage staff or patients to take any