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Hello, Firstname

 

Following the recent survey circulated to members concerning the possible installation of air purifiers at Unit 13; Council have now had the chance to analyse the results. The following is a report on the results of the survey: 

 

It has been suggested that air purifiers are installed at Unit 13 to filter out the airborne Covid viruses that would/could circulate during meetings. The following is a brief summary of progress to date.

 

Survey of members to ascertain whether the installation of air purifiers would entice those who at present only watch meetings via Zoom, to attend meetings at the clubrooms.

All members were emailed and asked to complete a survey, to see if the installation of air purifiers would influence their decision as to whether they would attend meetings in person at Unit 13 or whether they would view the meetings via Zoom. The questions were:

 

1.     Do you already attend meetings at Unit 13 on a regular basis?

2.    If you already attend meetings, will the installation of air purifiers make you feel more comfortable?

 

If the answer to question 1 was No, members were taken straight to question 3

 

3.     Do you view most or all meetings via Zoom?

4.     If the Society install air purifiers in Unit 13, will you feel more inclined to attend meetings in person rather than via Zoom?

5.   What else do you feel the Society could do to persuade you to attend meetings at Unit13?

 

Of a total of 144 members were canvassed and 97 completed the survey (approx. 67%). BPS newsletters normally have and open rate of between 75% and 80%. A summary of the results is shown below:

 

In the light of the above findings, Council felt that there were too few benefits to be derived from the installation of air purifiers, especially now that we know that the Omicron variant is much less severe than at first thought. It was felt that there would be too small an increase in the weekly attendance at Unit 13 to justify the not inconsiderable financial investment and that the best plan of attack was to continue to push members to take sensible precautions, including wearing masks when moving about the room and for the seating to remain spaced in line with guidelines.

 

One thing that Council are acutely aware of is the concerns of those members who are clinically vulnerable and it is therefore likely that Zoom meetings will become the new norm and that we will continue running meetings in a hybrid form for the foreseeable future. However, we must leave the door open to enable this decision to be altered should the Covid situation change.

 

Below is a complete summary of the survey returns, complete with comments (in red) where applicable. Council would like to thank all those who took the time and trouble to complete the survey.

Do you already attend meetings at Unit 13 on a regular basis?	If you already attend meetings, will the installation of air purifiers make you feel more comfortable?	Do you view most or all meetings via Zoom?	If the Society install air purifiers in Unit 13, will you feel more inclined to attend meetings in person rather than via Zoom?	What else do you feel the Society could do to persuade you to attend meetings at Unit13?
Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes			None. I am happy as things stand but would support any initiatives that make others feel it is safe to return.
Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes			Possible use of regular tests for a limited time.
Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes			Telephone around those using Zoom to ask why, rather than making assumptions about why they dont attend. Ten Council members could each phone 4 'zoom' members. No assumption has been made about members' non attendance, which is precisely why the final question was included in the survey. This gives all members freedom to express their own opinions and thoughts, all of which are shown in this summary of ALL comments made. Not sure where you get 10 council members making 4 calls each, there are over 140 members, the majority of who don't attend the clubrooms.
Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes			Other than asking everyone to complete a lateral flow test before attending the club i can think of nothing else.
Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes			Quite happy with current arrangements
Yes	Yes			No problem with the meeting carrying in as it is at present.  I’ll suffer the temperature conditions.  With Spring upon us and Summer approaching, temperatures should start to rise.
Yes	Yes			Limit the maximum numbers attending (if not already in place) At present the limit is 40. However, the purpose of this survey and installation of air purification equipment is to make it safe to increase that number.
Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes			I am comfortable at present, air changing kit should further enhance the situation.
Yes	Yes			Nothing more. I feel the society has done all it can to make the clubrooms as safe as practically possible
Yes	Yes			Invite members to have lateral flow tests before attending.
Yes	Yes
Yes	Yes			Would like to be able to attend face to face  meetings  rather than Zoom.
Yes	No			Warm the place up This was covered in the email, "to introduce air purifiers, which are claimed to remove 99.9% of all nasties from the air, this would also allow the use of the air conditioning to warm up the place in winter and cool it in the summer"
Yes	No			Ventilate the room with both entrances/exits open before meeting and at the break. Air purifiers should obviate the need to do this as they would be continually purifying the air throughout the meeting.
Yes	No			I already attend and happy to continue wearing a mask.
Yes	No
Yes	No			N/A
Yes	No			Air Purifiers will help to reduce but not eliminate the risk. If the majority feel it would make them feel more comfortable then I would support.
Yes	No
Yes	No
Yes	No			N/A
Yes	No
Yes	No
Yes	No			You are correct that it can be cold,  perhaps a couple electric heater that do not blow air would make a difference.
No		Yes	Yes	Continue to encourage mask wearing
No		Yes	Yes	Ask everyone to continue to wear masks and take a lateral flow test before attending
No		Yes	Yes
No		Yes	Yes	My decision is based on my own assessment of risk.  I was unwilling to attend whilst Omicron was at its peak.  Now that I am recovering from Covid, I am more likely now to attend in person.
No		Yes	Yes
No		Yes	Yes	Please note that I would still attend some zoom meetings because I love to chat to the likes of Barry, Colin Dixon and the others staying on zoom. As they come back to the Club Room I would attend regularly There's no accounting for taste, but If you want to have a multi-way chat with the likes of Barry and Colin, there's nothing to to stop you setting up your own Zoom meetings (not on a Wednesday, obviously!)
No		Yes	Yes	For me as vulnerable I would also want the infection rate to be much reduced before returning in person. The use of purifiers would make return a much safer situation to be in. We would certainly come back regularly but not  quite yet
No		Yes	Yes	I have two clinically vulnerable people at home and keep away from groups of people. I presume the air purifiers you're looking at can clean the air fast.   We appreciate the situation visa vis vulnerable people and would not wish to put them at risk.
No		Yes	Yes	Make the method easier to confirm wishing to attend at the Club House.  When this was introduced, I thought I had confirmed  I was attending but it had not worked and my name was not on the list. Whilst you cannot book (say) 4 people in on one booking, its no hassle for one person to click the link 4 times, entering a different name each time. One of the reasons for having the booking system is to satisfy the requirements of our insurers in that it provides evidence that we are showing due diligence with regard to Covid
No		Yes	Yes
No		Yes	Yes	I as mentioned I am mildly venerable, my wife also, I have a concern that it is unknown that an air purifier would take away the risk of transmission. If that was declared to be the case and there was enough cover for the whole clubhouse, then I would be pleased to return. Thank you for the consideration that the committee are showing in this matter.
No		Yes	Yes	Attending is really more to do with being able to drive over on a Wednesday.
No		Yes	Yes
No		Yes	Yes	I feel that the Council are doing all they can to cope with the Covid situation. It is right to assume that this situation will continue for some time.
No		Yes	Yes
No		Yes	Yes
No		Yes	Yes	Maybe the continued wearing of masks,  and still having seats a distance from each other. I think people won't start to re-attend until they feel safe which may take some time yet.
No		Yes	Yes	It is the programme which is the main factor in deciding whether to attend either by Zoom or in person. XXX is in the vulnerable category so we have to be selective in our attendance. Air purifiers would allow us to attend interesting meetings in person with more confidence. We are very likely to continue watching other meetings on Zoom if available.
No		Yes	Yes	I do not have a problem in attending but have to be very careful as my wife has had a series of operations for cancer
No		Yes	Yes	I have only stopped attending meetings due to Covid situation and my 'vulnerable person' status.  I look forward to resuming my attendance at meetings and this installation coupled with existing measures will assist in that.
No		Yes	Yes	Have the heating on?
No		Yes	Yes	I have been to some meetings in the room this season but with the surge in Covid cases over the last 4 or 5 weeks I am reluctant to do so. Besides this, when we have a meeting where the presenter or judge is on Zoom there is little motivation to visit the clubroom, a 45 minute drive each way, during the winter. My choice then is to watch on Zoom.
No		Yes	No	suggest members attending take lateral flow test; insist that masks be worn when not sitting; continue with distancing of chairs.
No		Yes	No	I can’t drive at the moment so zoom is essential for me. It also gives the club chance to create an online membership to possible global photographers and presenters  No answer to that!
No		Yes	No
No		Yes	No	Keep the numbers in the club room down until another six months or so until Omicron is confirmed less potent The reason for this survey was to see if we could increase the number of members in the clubrooms. The use of air purifiers would mean that the air is continually being purified throughout the meeting
No		Yes	No	Wait till this virus thing burns it’s self out.
No		Yes	No
No		Yes	No	Not much, as I live overseas.  It seems to me prudent to wait until Covid-19 becomes endemic after the pandemic ends. No answer to that!
No		Yes	No	The reason I use zoom is that I live in XXXX and being in my 70’s it’s more convenient in the wintertime. Does this mean that we'll see you in the summer?
No		Yes	No	Prefer zoom as unable to drive, at 88, in the dark Looking forward to the longer days then!
No		Yes	No	No suggestions, but thanks to those who make Zoom meetings possible - a highlight of my week.
No		Yes	No
No		Yes	No	Merely distance for me, otherwise I would definitely attend face to face
No		Yes	No	I’m not concerned about Covid- I attend via zoom because it is more convenient, less travel, better use of time etc. I work so that is important to me. Also is there any published evidence that the purifiers make a difference? Where did your 99.9% come from?  The 99.9% comes from published data. It is one reason that the Government are providing air purifiers to huge numbers of classrooms across the country - they certainly wouldn't be wasting money (honest!) if these things didn't work.
No		Yes	No	Happy to attend in the current situation without further precautions.
No		Yes	No	It is more convenient to us zoom,  ie no parking/driving/winter conditions to deal with, also good to choose whatever appeals subjectwise.   I much appreciate having the choice and also the time taken by everyone providing this for us both in Club and zoom..... with the time taken on our behalf in preparation and everything involved.
No		Yes	No	Not comfortable being in a small room with large number of people at present - happy to continue attending on zoom
No		Yes	No	Time will resolve this. If we all get used to covid and it continues to be mild people will drift back, but if it mutates into a nasty form again purifiers won’t reassure people - so my feeling is they will have little effect on behaviour/attendance.
No		No	Yes
No		No	Yes	Although expensive the air purifiers will be useful in the long term as Covid and many other bugs are endemic
No		No	Yes	Open earlier and serve a decent latte and a muffin (mobile coffee shop on the drive?) We did ask for sensible suggestions, but I'd prefer a cappuccino!
No		No	Yes	Allow people who wish to travel together to book meetings as a group You can add as many names/email addresses as you wish when making a booking. Just click on Add another name
No		No	Yes	Although we haven't attended meetings at the club rooms for sometime we do intend to start attending again.
No		No	Yes	Already a very good venue with parking so can't think of anything else.
No		No	Yes	Wear masks
No		No	Yes
No		No	No
No		No	No	I will be more keen when covid rates are lower.  At that point, the air purifiers would make a difference to my decision.  I really like zoom as it is so much safer.  Even when things are back to normal I would probably use zoom sometimes and come in sometimes as it is quite a long drive and a rush for me to get there.
No		No	No
No		No	No	Nothing in my case.  Too far.
No		No	No	Absence not to do with unit 13.  It’s a health/mobility issue
No		No	No	I am suffering from lack of motivation in a number of directions. I seriously have not taken my camera out of the bag for two years. I have not down my drone for two years either. I have signed up for a masterclass with my drone in March and are hoping that will help to fire interest again.Fingers crossed
No		No	No
No		No	No
No		No	No	I am currently a member of two clubs (!). I am mixing and matching and attending the topics which interest me most from both clubs. (=mainly natural history images)
No		No	No	I am happy to continue entering comps, and keep following progress of B.P.S. through the newsletter looking forward to normal service resuming as and when, very happy.
No		No	No
No		No	No	My emails seem to go to junk mail, and so miss a few newsletters (my fault not yours) and also have kids so getting on zoom becomes a problem as its the time there getting into bed, all my fault and need to be more organised, I need to get my husband to be home early enough for me to come and attend. You may organise last minute, but if you do plan these talks in advance, maybe a list of dates, persons details and about the talk would be great in advance in one letter, then can note down ones I would like to attend, and organise myself.
No		No	No	I am happy to attend meetings in person when I am available and the topic is of interest with the current setup.
No		No	No	No changes to the current layout - chairs in small groups, some single chairs. We need to treat covid like we treat the flu or a cold - if you have it stay away until you’re better.
No		No	No	Help me to walk better!!! Sorry to say, I don't have divine gifts, so can't help with this one.
No		No	No	There is nothing the society can do as my none attendance is due to difficulty in driving at night and other health issues