BuDS publishes some of our articles in EasyRead format. These articles are produced by our volunteers, and so our capacity is limited. Over time we will publish more EasyRead articles. Please be patient with us whilst we grow this project.
Read MorePosts
BuDS Joins Neurodiversity in Business (NiB)
Buckinghamshire Disability Service (BuDS) has become a Community Partner of Neurodiversity in Business (NiB), the voluntary industry forum supporting the participation of neurodivergent individuals in the workforce.
NiB draws on the cumulative knowledge of neurodivergency experts like BuDS and leading companies to share best practices and improve the employment and experience of neurodiverse people.
Neurodivergency is a term used to describe a range of neurological conditions including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia and Tourettes.
Read More
Mobile Phone Emergency Alert – 23 April 2023
On Sunday 23 April 2023 at 3pm, there will be a national test of the UK Emergency Alerts service. Many (but not all) mobile phones will make a loud siren-like sound, vibrate, and a test message will be read out to you. If your phone can receive alerts, you will still hear the test unless your mobile phone is completely turned off or is in flight mode. Compatible mobile phones set to silent will still receive the alert and make noise. Read on for more.
Read More
BuDS Fair4All Access & Inclusion Survey At Whiteleaf Cross
On Thursday 16th March, a group of disabled volunteers from BuDS visited the nature reserve at Whiteleaf Cross and Brush Hill, Princes Risborough, to carry out a Fair4All Access & Inclusion Survey on behalf of the Chiltern Conservation Board. This was a paid survey, but the conclusions made and recommendations given are entirely that of BuDS, and are not influenced in any way by the Chiltern Conservation Board.
To learn more about Fair4All Access & Inclusion Surveys from BuDS, click here.
Read More
Spring Covid-19 Booster Vaccination Campaign
The Government have today released details of the Spring 2023 Covid booster programme. This includes who is eligible for the booster, when people will be offered a dose, and future booster doses. Read on for more.
This article was updated on 11 April to include new information stating that clinically vulnerable children will be offered 2 doses of vaccine.
Read More
Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 10 April 2023
The risk of meeting a Covid-infected person in your everyday life this week is now Extremely High, as we pass the peak of the latest wave. Around 1 in every 45 people in Bucks have Covid.
As an example of the risk of catching Covid, a typical busy supermarket will have between 7 and 12 infected people breathing out virus which you could catch.
The current wave of infection has now passed its peak, and will probably continue to decline over the next few weeks. However, the risk of meeting a Covid-infected person will probably remain Extremely High for the rest of April.
BuDS continues to recommend that disabled and clinically vulnerable people avoid indoor spaces unless they are wearing a filter mask (FFP2/3). For more advice on how to avoid catching Covid, use this link.
This data is based on the Zoe Health Study for Covid-19, adjusted to take account of its limited coverage. To learn more about this, use this link.
For more Covid information and help, please contact BuDS and we will be happy to help.
Covid & How To Avoid Catching It
This page is under construction. Come back later for the finished version. (September 2025)
About Covid
Covid is a very infectious virus. If enough of the virus reaches your nose, mouth, and lungs, the virus will enter the body and cause an infection.
Covid spreads mainly in the air. Tiny particles of the virus float in the air like invisible smoke. If you breathe in enough of these tiny particles, you will catch the virus.
Covid gets into the air when it is breathed out by infected people.
Covid does not survive well in fresh, moving air. Even if an infected person breathes out Covid outdoors, the natural movement of the air will disperse the virus, and there is a very low risk that you will breathe in enough to get infected. Being outdoors is a safe place for not catching Covid.
Indoors, Covid can hang in the air for up to an hour. This means that if you go into a room where an infected person has been, you may still be able to breathe in enough virus to get infected, even though the infected person has left.
The way to make indoor air safer is to introduce fresh, moving air by opening windows and doors, or to filter the air using a HEPA filter which removes the virus from the air. When Covid infection levels are high (as they are now), it is safest to assume that all indoor places may contain infected air, unless they are well ventilated with fresh moving air and/or HEPA filters are being used.
If you cannot make indoor air safer with ventilation and/or filtration, you need to prevent the virus entering your nose and mouth. You do this by wearing a tight fitting personal protective equipment (PPE) mask certified FFP2/FFP3. These masks are scientifically designed to prevent viruses and bacteria from passing through the mask, but they do not prevent normal breathing. Athletes regularly train wearing these masks without any problems.
The Covid virus also lives inside the tiny water droplets that people breathe out. These droplets very quickly dry up and the virus falls onto the ground and surfaces. However, scientific studies have conclusively proven that it is very rare for people to catch Covid by touching a surface and then putting their hand in their mouth. It is theoretically possible, but in practice hardly ever happens. It is important to wash your hands regularly for lots of reasons, but washing your hands or using hand sanitiser will not protect you from catching Covid. Covid is in the air, and only precautions that reduce the airborne risk are effective.
Get Vaccinated!
Being fully vaccinated and boosted is your best protection against death or serious illness. The autumn 2022 booster programme has now ended, but a very limited number of people may be able to get a spring 2023 booster. Learn more here.
Currently, adults and teenagers can still get free vaccination if you haven’t had your first three ‘primary’ doses. If this is you, please ask your GP or book a vaccination online through the NHS app now. The latest research suggests that having your three primary doses of vaccine reduces your risk of developing Long Covid.
Wear A Protective Mask!
Wearing a protective face mask which filters the virus out of the air you breathe is another of the best ways to protect yourself from Covid. Wearing an FFP2 or N95 filter mask means that the air in your lungs is clean, even if there is lots of Covid in the air around you. BuDS recommends Cambridge Masks Co. If you can’t afford a mask, please contact us and we will see if we can help.
Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 4 April 2023
The risk of meeting a Covid-infected person in your everyday life this week remains Critically High. Around 1 in every 23 people in Bucks has Covid.
As an example of the risk of catching Covid, a typical busy supermarket will have between 9 and 13 infected people breathing out virus which you could catch.
There are early signs that the current wave of infection has passed its peak, and will decline over the next few weeks. However, the risk of meeting a Covid-infected person will probably stay Extremely High for the rest of April.
BuDS continues to recommend that disabled and clinically vulnerable people avoid indoor spaces unless they are wearing a filter mask (FFP2/3). For more advice on how to avoid catching Covid, use this link.
This data is based on the Zoe Health Study for Covid-19, adjusted to take account of its limited coverage. To learn more about this, use this link.
For more Covid information and help, please contact BuDS and we will be happy to help.
The Thinking Behind The New BuDS Covid-19 Risk Assessment – April 2023
Introduction
BuDS have produced 141 weekly Covid-19 risk assessments using data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Covid-19 Infection Survey. However, the Government have withdrawn funding for the Infection Survey, and the last weekly data was published on 24 March, covering the period up to 13 March.
BuDS have carried out an options appraisal on what to do now, and have decided to continue to publish a short weekly risk assessment using the best available Covid-19 data. We will also publish a monthly Covid-19 bulletin with full weekly deaths, hospitalisations, and vaccinations data.
This paper explains how BuDS have decided to use the Zoe Study as the basis for our weekly Covid-19 risk assessments from April 2023 onwards. It also explains the mathematical methodology we use and how we present the data.
Read More
Fair4All Access & Inclusion Surveyors
BuDS is recruiting one or more Fair4All Accessibility & Inclusion Surveyors. A Fair4All Access & Inclusion survey is a comprehensive, holistic, assessment of how accessible and inclusive a business, site or service is for all disabled people. It includes but goes beyond those aspects of accessibility normally covered in a BS or DDA compliance access audit. To find out more about the surveys, click here.
We are open to Surveyors working as volunteers, as a self employed contractor, or on a zero-hours hourly contract depending on level of experience and your personal circumstances. This will be ad-hoc work as and when we receive interest from an organisation for a Fair4All Access & Inclusion survey.
Read More