Uncategorized – Page 3 – The NEN

Patients with glaucoma in Edinburgh to access care in the community

PEOPLE living with glaucoma in Edinburgh will soon be able to access support within the community rather than travel to hospital, thanks to a ‘revolutionary’ NHS healthcare policy.

NHS Scotland’s Community Glaucoma Service, which was piloted in Glasgow last year, will soon be rolled out in the capital after a city-centre optician was selected to deliver the scheme.

Michael O’Kane, clinical director of Specsavers in Cameron Toll and Morningside, is one of a handful of opticians across the country who has successfully completed an SQA qualification in Glaucoma Management.

The certificate will allow him to treat people with lower risk glaucoma or treated ocular hypertension in his practices in the city, rather than in hospital as soon as NHS Lothian rolls out the scheme.

It’s hoped the initiative will help alleviate pressure on NHS services in the long-term.

Michael says: ‘After 300 hours of training, clinical placements and studying, I’m delighted to have gained this qualification which will allow me to deliver this revolutionary eyecare service to patients in our community.

‘This qualification means I’ll be able to manage patient’s medications and continue to provide hospital-level care to people in Morningside, Cameron Toll and beyond.

‘This scheme will be of huge benefit to hundreds – if not thousands – of people right across Edinburgh, giving them faster and easier access to treatments and check-ups. I’m delighted to be a part of that.’

The flagship healthcare policy is expected to support around 20,000 patients across Scotland as it is rolled out over the next year.

Speaking at the time of its launch, public health minister, Jenni Minto, said: ‘Scotland is regarded as a world leader in community eye care service provision.

‘We are the only country in the UK to provide free universal NHS-funded eye examinations, and our investment in community optometry services has helped reduce the burden on GPs and secondary care services.’

Michael’s qualification follows the recent relocation of his Morningside practice to 85 Morningside Road.

The new store has seen investment in the region of £750,000 and includes seven new testing rooms, including a fully wheelchair-accessible test room and diagnostics area, and two Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) machines, which allows optometrists to take a 3D image of the back of the eye to help spot serious eye conditions – including glaucoma – up to four years earlier.

The store also features two digital slit lamps and a host of state-of-the-art technology which allows opticians to identify the type of glaucoma a patient is living with.

Michael adds: ‘Timely diagnosis and treatment are essential and so our increased testing capacity and state-of-the-art diagnostic machines will allow our expert team to quickly identify any problems that may be detected.’

Specsavers Morningside, located at 85 Morningside Road, is open from 9am – 6:30pm Monday to Thursday, 9am – 6pm Friday and Saturday and 10am – 6pm every Sunday.

To book an appointment, call the store directly on 0131 446 9960 or visit:

www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/morningside.

Specsavers Cameron toll, located within Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, is open from 9am – 6pm every Monday to Wednesday and Friday to Saturday, 9am – 6:30pm every Thursday and 10am – 6pm every Sunday.

To book an appointment, call the store directly on 0131 672 9210 or visit:

www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/camerontoll

Islamic Relief UK distributes food this Ramadan

TODAY AT BLACKHALL MOSQUE

The charity, Islamic Relief UK, has launched its annual Ramadan food drive for 2024, to help the UK’s vulnerable communities who have been affected by rising poverty levels and the cost-of-living crisis.

The food distribution will take places across the UK, in cities such as London, Birmingham, Leicester, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Luton and Nottingham, as the need is widespread. Islamic Relief will be working in collaboration with 18 of its local partners, such as food banks, mosques, football clubs, and local charities.

According to research undertaken by Islamic Relief, and polling company Savanta (1), over half of people in the UK are struggling more with their bills and food prices than they were a year ago, and 30% of Brits are worried about having to use a food bank in the near future. The data points that almost all people in the UK, across all strata of society, have been negatively affected by the cost-of-living crisis and are concerned about the future.

Tufail Hussain, director of Islamic Relief UK, adds: “Poverty in the UK has been exacerbated by years of the cost-of-living crisis, and families are struggling more than ever to put food on the table. It is imperative more than ever to come together as a community and support one another.”

“The research we conducted spells a worrying outlook for the UK, with no community of social group spared from the tough reality of the cost-of-living crisis. But for the already vulnerable, the homeless, refugees and asylum seekers, the poor, it is catastrophic. Now more than ever we are so grateful for the outpouring of support that allows us to provide food distributions such as this one.”

Locations and dates for the food distributions are as follows:


	-ENDS-

D Mains Park incident: Man arrested and charged following Police appeal

POLICE have traced a man in connection with an incident in the Davidson’s Mains area of Edinburgh around 4.20pm on Tuesday, 17 October, 2023.

The 28-year-old was arrested and charged and is due to appear in court at a later date.

Detective Inspector Keith Taylor said: “I’d like to thank everyone who shared our appeal and came forward with information.”

UK Government saves six vital community spaces from closure in Scotland

Six vital community assets in Scotland have been saved from closure, thanks to £3.8m announced by the UK Government yesterday.

This investment from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Community Ownership Fund will ensure these beloved establishments are protected, ensuring they will be around for generations to come.

This funding will maintain more community spaces for people to enjoy, helping to bolster local economies as well as contributing to the government’s wider mission to grow the economy.

Across the United Kingdom, the Department announced £33.5m yesterday to save more than 80 projects in our communities. 

Projects receiving funding in Scotland include:

Crookfur House:

A revival of facilities in a supported living estate in East Renfrewshire to create a fit for purpose and needs led community hub. Thanks to this government cash boost, this group will be able to reap the rewards of a new café, community spaces and support staff offices.

Filmhouse:

Reopening of a new and improved cinema in Edinburgh that will be sustainable for generations to come. The venue will screen films that would not otherwise be accessible as well as host up and coming film festivals to be enjoyed by local people and visitors. 

Penicuik Youth Hub:

Transforming this community centre in Midlothian into a ‘Youth Hub for excellence’, providing dedicated spaces for young people to have more sporting and performing arts opportunities in their local area. 

Castlemilk Community Football Trust:

New money to create high-quality sporting facilities in Glasgow with the aim to increase community engagement in football and other grassroots sports. They will also provide fitness classes and community social events and activities.  

Jacob Young, Minister for Levelling Up, said:  “We know how much these vital community assets mean to people across the country.

“They are an important lifeline for people young and old, and they’re the beating heart of our towns, cities and villages. That’s why we’re stepping in to protect them with a major rescue package, so we stop these great establishments closing or being lost forever and ensure that they continue to sit at the heart of our beloved communities.”

UK Government Minister for Scotland Donald Cameron – Lord Cameron of Locheil – said: “Congratulations to the six Scottish projects receiving more than £3.8m in the latest round of the UK Government’s local asset saving Community Ownership Fund.

“It was a pleasure to visit Filmhouse, Edinburgh, and see first-hand just how much it meant for them to be awarded £1.54 million to help re-open this much cherished venue.

“The other winners – Macaulay College in the Western Isles, Castlemilk Community Football Trust in Glasgow and community centres in Penicuik, Kilmarnock and Newton Mearns – means that 47 community assets right across Scotland are sharing almost £17 million from the fund.

“I encourage community groups across Scotland to see if they might be eligible to apply for the next and final round. Overall the UK Government is now investing more than £3 billion into levelling up across Scotland.”

Among the projects receiving funding is the Edinburgh Filmhouse which opened in 1979 but became run down over time and had to close in 2022.

It will now receive £1.5million so that it can open its doors again, and the newly refurbished venue will screen the best new films from across the globe.

Ginnie Atkinson, Director, Filmhouse, Edinburgh said: “We are delighted that our bid for UK Government Community Ownership Fund investment has been successful.

“Many have dreamed of Filmhouse re-opening and this will make it possible not just to re-open but to create a fully refurbished cinema venue that meets modern audience expectations. It will also allow us to add a small, multi-use, fourth screen which will help optimise the diverse cultural programme of films and be available for education activities.”

Previous beneficiaries of the scheme in Scotland include:  

Bailliefields Community Hub SCIO, Graham Thomson, Trustee said: “Receipt of the COF award was a significant milestone in the Phase 2 redevelopment of Bailliefields Community Hub.

“The award has allowed us to progress our project and appoint a building contractor. The contractor has commenced on site in early March 2024 with the project scheduled for completion by end of July 2024.

“Once completed then the building will provide a warm, welcoming and vibrant community space for various groups in our area including our dementia group, disability group, local schools and a local children’s nursery. This will be an interesting repurposing of an existing building.£

Gordon Rural Action’s Laura McNeil, funding and retail support, said: “The Community Ownership Fund, along with The MacRobert Trust, has allowed us to complete the purchase of the building housing our Bike Recycling project.

“The purchase will allow us to secure the future of the building, ensuring we can continue to stop bikes reaching landfill, help people access bikes and opportunities to exercise, while teaching people new skills and offering employment and volunteering options.

“The project employs 5 people, 2 of which are young people who we have employed in a traineeship to give them positive future outcomes. Last year we had 360 bikes donated and put 200 bikes back into the community.”

This is the third announcement of funding from the third round of the Community Ownership Fund, bringing the total spending from the pot to more than £103m with 333 projects rescued so far. 

Scottish projects in this round will be supported with £3.8 million of funding, with a further £2.8 million for Northern Ireland and £3.1 million for Wales. So far, the Community Ownership Fund has awarded a total £17 million for 47 projects in Scotland; £8.1 million for 31 projects in Northern Ireland and over £7 million for 24 projects in Wales. 

Since Round 1 of the Fund, Ministers have funded all bids which have passed the criteria for successful applications. This approach allows the Department to fund the maximum number of projects. In future windows ministers may choose to prioritise funding to underrepresented areas to help even out any regional imbalances.

The next round of the Community Ownership Fund, Round 4, is the final round. There will be two bidding windows in Round 4 to allocate remaining funding. The next bidding window, Round 4 Window 1, will open on 25 March 2024 and close on 10 April 2024.

Fair Work milestone reached

Record number of Real Living Wage employers in Scotland

The number of Scottish employers registered as paying the real Living Wage has hit a new high of 3,500.

The milestone was reached ahead of the tenth anniversary of Living Wage Scotland, a programme launched by Poverty Alliance with Scottish Government funding to encourage more firms to pay the real Living Wage. The rate is reviewed annually and currently stands at £12 an hour.

Proportionately, Scotland has around five times more accredited real Living Wage employers than the rest of the UK. Latest statistics also show nearly 90% of workers aged over 18 in Scotland are paid the real Living Wage or above – the highest percentage in the UK.

On a visit to one of the most recently accredited firms, Atlas Winch & Hoist Services in Biggar, South Lanarkshire, Wellbeing Economy Secretary Màiri McAllan thanked the growing number of employers committed to keeping pace with the real Living Wage.

Ms McAllan said: “Fair Work is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s ambition to move towards a wellbeing economy that benefits employees and the planet alongside traditional economic indicators.

“More than 64,000 workers have had a pay rise as a result of accreditation, making a real and ongoing impact for people in Scotland.

“All public sector grants in Scotland now include a requirement for recipients to pay the real Living Wage and provide appropriate channels for workers to raise concerns. We firmly oppose the inappropriate use of zero hours contracts and other types of employment that offer workers minimal job or financial security.

“While employment powers are reserved to the UK Government, we will continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across Scotland. Fair Work is good for workers, good for employers and good for the economy.

“Every firm which has declared its intention to be a real Living Wage employer provides peace of mind for its staff, particularly during the cost of living crisis. I thank all the 3,500 Scottish businesses that have now taken that step.”

Atlas Winch & Hoist Services director Conor Lavery said: “We have long paid at least the real Living Wage as it helps to attract and retain a motivated team. As a rural company it is very important to retain the right people and the real Living Wage helps support this.

“We recently decided to seek real Living Wage accreditation to signal our ongoing commitment to our staff, some of whom have been with us for more than 20 years. We want to do as much as we can to support our workforce and try to be as flexible as we can, understanding life’s challenges outside of work.”

Poverty Alliance director Peter Kelly said: “The Poverty Alliance believes in a wellbeing economy beyond the injustice of in-work poverty.

“Thanks to the leadership of more than 3,500 accredited Living Wage employers in Scotland we are now able to celebrate a decade of incredible impact. The real Living Wage provides a stronger foundation for workers to build better lives for themselves and their households, and a better Scotland for all of us.

“We commend every employer that has chosen to join the Living Wage movement: they are paving the way to a new kind of economy, where more workers earn what they need to thrive, and we encourage employers not yet accredited to get in touch.”

Fashion legend Jeff Banks makes surprise visit to Edinburgh to open new community opticians

LEGENDARY fashion mogul, Jeff Banks made a surprise appearance in Edinburgh at the weekend (Saturday 16 March) as he officially opened a brand-new, £750,000 opticians and audiologists in the capital.

The designer was invited to cut the ribbon at the recently relocated Specsavers Morningside store at 85 Morningside Road, alongside retail director Joe Alubaid, clinical director Michael O’Kane and audiology partner Jonathan Bell.

As well as running a week-long competition and giveaway on local radio station Forth One to celebrate the occasion, one lucky customer was also surprised with a Jeff Banks designer bundle in-store on the day.

It comes as Specsavers marks 15 years of helping people in Morningside with their eye and hearing care needs.

Joe Alubaid, retail director of Specsavers Morningside, says: ‘We were thrilled to welcome Jeff to officially open our new home at 85 Morningside Road, just as we pass our milestone 15-year anniversary.

‘This was a truly monumental moment for our team and our fantastic customers, and we can’t wait to share our new space with them for years to come.’

The store is a significant step-up from its previous home at 302 Morningside Road, with the number of testing rooms increased to seven in response to increased customer demand.

Positioned across two floors, the new offering includes a dedicated audiology room and a brand-new contact lens space.

State-of-the-art equipment has been installed throughout, including two Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) machines, as well as bigger, more spacious waiting areas and a reception to welcome customers ahead of their appointments.

Michael O’Kane, clinical director at Specsavers in Morningside, says: ‘Everything we have introduced in the new store has been in response to the needs of our growing customer base and the local community.

‘There is an ageing, yet independent and healthy population, in the south of Edinburgh, however age-related conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and hearing loss are all becoming more common.

‘What’s more, myopia (short sightedness) is also becoming more prevalent in children within the UK. That is why we have designed our new store specifically to address these emerging needs of our local community.

‘Timely diagnosis and treatment are essential, and so our increased testing capacity and state-of-the-art diagnostic machines will allow our expert team to quickly identify any problems that may be detected.

‘‘So many of our customers also come to us because of our extensive contact lens offering, including myopia control lens options at Specsavers’s prices.

‘Our new store will allow us to expand our contact lens support with the introduction of two new dedicated contact lens teaching areas, while we also have plans to introduce a dedicated contact lens optician into our practice alongside our experienced optometrists to provide our customers with even more support.’

Specsavers Morningside, located at 85 Morningside Road, is open from 9am – 6:30pm Monday to Thursday, 9am – 6pm Friday and Saturday and 10am – 6pm every Sunday.

To book an appointment, call the store directly on 0131 446 9960 for eye health specialists or 0131 672 9218 for hearing specialist, or visit:

www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/morningside.

Specsavers is celebrating 40 years of care this year and is now the largest privately-owned eye care and audiology company in the world with more than 2,500 businesses in 11 countries.

The company is committed to changing lives through better sight and hearing by making expert care accessible and affordable for everyone, and also offers a Home Visits service for those unable to travel to one of its 1,000 locally owned stores.

To learn more, visit: www.specsavers.co.uk

SILENT SLAUGHTER: £60 MILLION slashed from Edinburgh’s health and social care services

TWO CITY CARE HOMES TO CLOSE
THIRD SECTOR PROJECTS HIT WITH £1.4 MILLION CUT

TWO council-run care homes – Clovenstone and Ford’s Road – will close and third sector projects will see their funding cut by 10 per cent – £1.4 million – following yesterday’s Edinburgh Integration Joint Board meeting.

Board members were faced with a stark choice – accept the swingeing package of cuts tabled or leave the officers to do it themselves. The meeting heard there was no realistic alternative – no Plan B.

UNISON City of Edinburgh branch secretary David Harrold told EIJB board members: “Each and every one of you is presiding over the silent slaughter of Edinburgh’s essential care services. Yet each and every one of you has the ability to stop this by speaking out.”

But despite impassioned pleas from a succession of delegations urging a rethink, board members voted without dissent to accept officer recommendations to slash costs by almost £60 MILLION in an attempt to balance their books.

As ever, it’s the most vulnerable that will suffer most – the poorest communities, carers, older people … all will feel the effects of cuts of this magnitude.

The cuts will see projects cutting back the services they currently provide and in some cases will make redundancies inevitable.

Cuts to core funding will also limit match funding opportunities, and voluntary boards and management committees now face some dreadful decisions with the start of the new financial year less than two weeks away.

Other health and social care partnerships across the country are facing the same financial challenges:

EIJB-Savings-and-Recovery-Programme-202425-1-1 Download

Nancy’s House: Exhibition by Megan Rudden at HUBCAP Gallery

hubCAP Gallery is delighted to present “Nancy’s House,” a new thought-provoking exhibition by artist Megan Rudden.

The show features work produced during and after Megan’s tenure as an artist in residence at Edinburgh College’s Granton Campus, exploring the intersection of site-specific art, spiritualism, and metaphysical research.

Megan’s deep engagement with the location of the college, built on the grounds where her great grandparents once lived and worked, has resulted in a unique and collaborative body of work which reflects not only on the physical site, but delves into the realms of the unseen. Many of the works in this exhibition have been made in collaboration, with Megan’s family, with her peers in psychic training at Glasgow Spiritual Centre and with the spirit of her great gran Nancy.

During this residency, Megan immersed herself in the history and atmosphere of her great-grandparents’ home. From conducting a séance in a meeting room to contacting spirits in the college library, she utilised a variety of methods to connect with the past. The exhibition showcases a range of works, including sculptures, drawings, film and writing, which together navigate the tangible and intangible aspects of the place.

Megan Rudden is an artist, writer and psychic medium in training. Through an interdisciplinary practice her work attempts to create non-linear, trans-historical narratives that use place as a focal point to connect stories across time. With a background in sculpture, Megan is interested in how language can evoke materiality, resulting in a captivating and immersive experience for the audience.

The public is invited to the opening event on Thursday, 21st March, from 5pm to 8pm at hubCAP Gallery. The exhibition will be open to the public from Monday to Friday, 11 am to 4 pm, until 27th March.

Join us in experiencing “Nancy’s House,” where art, history, and the metaphysical converge in a captivating exploration of past and present.

Event Details:

Exhibition Dates: Monday – Friday, 11 am – 4 pm, until 27th March

Hop to it – save on Easter childcare costs with Tax-Free Childcare

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding working families to save money on their childcare costs in time for the school holidays

With the Easter break just weeks away, families yet to sign up for Tax-Free Childcare could be missing out on annual savings of up to £2,000 per child, or £4,000 if their child is disabled.

Tax-Free Childcare can help pay for approved childcare for children aged 11 or under, or up to 16 if the child has a disability. Parents can receive up to £500 (or £1,000 if their child is disabled) every 3 months, which means for every £8 paid into their online account, they will automatically receive an additional £2 top up from the UK Government.

It takes just 20 minutes to apply online for a Tax-Free Childcare account and can be used to help pay for a child’s nursery, childminder, breakfast or after school club or holiday activity club.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “Springtime is a good opportunity to take a fresh look at family finances.

“A quick check online and you can find out how Tax-Free Childcare can help cut the cost of your childcare bills. Every bit of financial support helps – I would urge families to ’hop to it’ and search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK to find out how you could be better off and open your account today.”

Once an account is opened, parents can deposit money immediately, so it is ready to be used whenever it is needed; and unused money in the account can be withdrawn at any time.

Families could be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare if they:   

have a child or children aged 11 or under. They stop being eligible on 1 September after their 11^th birthday. If their child has a disability, they may get up to £4,000 a year until 1 September after their 16^th birthday 
earn, or expect to earn, at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week, on average 
each earn no more than £100,000 per annum 
do not receive tax credits, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers

A full list of the eligibility criteria is available on GOV.UK.

Families can learn more about the childcare offers available to them and what could fit their family by visiting Childcare Choices.

The UK Government is offering help for households. Check GOV.UK to find out what cost of living support, including help with childcare costs, families could be eligible for.

People with learning disabilities call for urgent changes to resuscitation decisions about their lives

Today the British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) releases a new report produced with people with learning disabilities, their loved ones and supporters, detailing the need for big changes to the way do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions are made in healthcare.

The report, published alongside England’s Health Ombudsman’s review, spotlights how these decisions are being made without people’s involvement, sometimes fuelled by discriminatory attitudes about disabled people rather than medical factors.

People with learning disabilities call for significant and urgent changes to DNACPR decision making, so that they and their loved ones can make informed decisions, where medical professionals meet their duties to uphold people’s human rights.

A Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation notice (commonly abbreviated to DNACPR) is a notice placed on a patient’s file saying that if their heart or breathing stops, doctors will not try to restart it.

As Rebecca, shares in BIHR’s report: “This is a sensitive and emotional subject that needs to be discussed openly. These honest conversations are important to us, we should always be involved in any conversation about our lives and should have our voices heard. We all have a right to make decisions about ourselves.’

The report was commissioned by England’s Health Ombudsman and sits alongside its review of end-of-life care, which was also released today and calls for improved DNACPR conversations for everyone.

The Ombudsman’s report notes that whilst DNACPR discussions are positive when done correctly, this is not always happening, and in some cases, doctors breached people’s human rights by not even informing them or their family that a DNCAPR notice was made.

Shaunie, a member of user-led advocacy organisation My Life My Choice, who contributed to BIHR’s report, shares his experiences supporting peers, saying that: “this always gets brought up as being wrong on so many different levels because doctors don’t consult with parents.

“Parents are then on the back foot and have to fight. The process is so bad, it really is.”

Similar experiences are echoed by family members and support workers, such as Certitude Care Manager Anthony. Anthony discusses the challenges of making complaints as a service provider and highlights that DNACPR decisions can be left off the NHS’s most widely used database system.

BIHR’s research report, published today, sets out clear recommendations from people with learning disabilities and those who support them, including that there is an urgent need for healthcare professionals, services and systems to provide accessible information on the decision-making process and to make it clear that people can challenge DNACPRs.

Alongside the written report, BIHR has produced a series of videos explaining the research and featuring commentary from participants, together with Easy Read translations, all available on BIHR’s website and YouTube channel.

BIHR’s CEO, Sanchita Hosali, says: “Poor decision-making around the use of DNACPR risks breaching people’s legally protected human rights.

“Whilst the Covid pandemic threw a spotlight onto the discriminatory and disproportionate use of DNACRP decisions for many groups, this is a long-standing human rights risk faced by many people with learning disabilities.

“Today’s report is directly driven by the experiences of people with learning disabilities, their loved ones and supporters. People have shared powerful stories of their experiences, and their fears should they ever need resuscitation.

“We should all stop, listen and take action on the recommendations, to ensure people with learning disabilities have equal respect for their human rights in healthcare, particularly when critical decisions like DNACRP are being made.

“As Lara, who took part in our research says “I just don’t want this to be something that gets shoved on a shelf and forgotten about.””