West Pilton – Page 22 – The NEN

Coronavirus: Key contact numbers for support in North Edinburgh

This factsheet has been produced by the North Edinburgh Covid-19 Foodshare Group:

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North Edinburgh community effort gets support to the vulnerable

North Edinburgh groups work together to support vulnerable residents

It started with a meeting called by local activist Willie Black at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre on 18 March. That initial discussion got the ball rolling, lit the fuse. From there, there were email from Spartans’ chief exec Douglas Samuel, quickly followed by another from local Lifelong Learning Development Officer Allan Hosey. A community campaign was building …

The idea? To coordinate a local community response to the unprecendented challenges posed to vulnerable people by the coronavirus.

Despite years of funding cuts, North Edinburgh retains a wealth of voluntary sector organisations able to adapt to changing circumstances, so who better to take on this major logistical challenge?

While individual community groups initially started their own support schemes for local folk through Muirhouse Millennium and Drylaw Neigbourhood Centres, pooling resources and sharing information offered a unique opportunity to devise and deliver a bespoke plan to ensure that North Edinburgh’s most vulnerable residents would not go hungry or be without basic essential supplies.

That was mid-March and three weeks later, following a regular series of Zoom meetings, hundreds of local people are seeing the benefit of local organisations working together in partnership.

A co-ordinated community response to the greatest public health emergency of our lives is now fully operational and is constantly being fine tuned as new information becomes available.

Hundreds of hot food, sandwiches and essential supplies pack deliveries are now being distributed from community hubs to all who need them on a daily basis, provided by project staff and a dedicated team of community volunteers.

Reflecting on progress so far, Spartans’ Dougie Samuel said: “It’s been great to be able to play our part in a wider community effort to help and support local families.

“The Academy has become a hub for the collection and redistribution of daily lunches and weekly food parcels for members of our community. In a true ‘bottom-up approach’ numerous community partners have come together to provide a co-ordinated support over these past few weeks.

“I’m super proud of the way in which numerous organisations, many of whom who did not have close day-to-day relationships previously, are pulling together as one.”

Among the community organisations involved in the sexily titled (!) North Edinburgh Cov-id 19 Foodshare Group are: Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, Drylaw Rainbow Club Daycare Centre, Fresh Start, Granton Community Gardeners, LIFT, Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre, North Edinburgh Arts, Pilton Community Health Project, Pilton Equalities Project (PEP), SCRAN Academy and The Spartans Community Football Academy. There may be more and apologies if I’ve missed you!

Local politicians and community councillors are also taking a leading role and community organisations like Granton Information Centre continue to provide advice and support for vulnerable people during these anxious times.

Willie Black, who continues to chair the foodshare group’s regular Zoom meetings, said: “Local People and organisations are working flat out and this has been a huge community effort.

“The biggest challenge facing us now is that of capacity. We need the politicians to get us the resources we need to keep the momentum going, because there’s no doubt the demand will increase in the days and weeks ahead.

“In particular we urgently need additional kitchen capacity and accessible community space for storage.

“News of additional government funding is very welcome and it’s key that this gets down to grassroots level as quickly as possible to enable this vital initiative to continue.”

The next Zoom meeting will take place on Thursday.

At the outset of the lockdown, social enterprise SCRAN Academy, based at Fet Lor Youth Club on Crewe Road South, launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise £12,000 to provide hot meals for those who need them.

Deliveries commenced on 20 March.

SCRAN’s John Loughton explained in the appeal: “We have had every bit of earned income and work cancelled since covid19 was announced, as well as having to sadly cancel supporting our young people face to face. This has been tough. But it’s right.

“Despite this, our charity staff and volunteers, working with others, responded in less than 24 hours and have now applied our catering and community experience into creating a supply chain where we are delivering a FREE, HEALTHY and SAFE meal every day to people across North Edinburgh and Leith (initially).

“We hope to help, love and support those most vulnerable to follow advice, reduce stress and stay home. Please help us support the OAPs, frail, struggling families, those with health conditions all access one wee crucial lifeline at this stage.

“Our direct partners include Prep Table Scotland, Pilton Equalities Project (PEP), Fet Lor Youth Club, Ryvoan Trust, Muirhouse Millenium Centre and many others including support from EdinburghCatering Co., ArtFe, EdinFoodSocial and many more locals.

“We’re delivering over 1,500 meals per week, your help will guarantee us at least £1000 a week over lockdown. Roughly £12 will feed 1 pensioner everyday for a week.

“The local community, MPs, MSPs, the NHS and others are supportive and we are taking stringent industry-level measures to maximise safety and hygiene.”

The total raised so far stands at £7500.

City says Thank You!

There’s been a great response from the people of Edinburgh to help the city get through the current coronavirus pandemic.

Edinburgh Partnership thanks the public and voluntary organisations for all their help so far pulling the city through this pandemic
People asked to ‘Think Local and Act Local’ and be good neighbours, where they can
To keep essential services running and look after vulnerable people Council constantly monitoring how it deploys its staff

We’d like to thank everyone who has been in touch with the voluntary and public sector to offer their skills and time. We know that many of you are keen to also ‘do your bit’ to contribute to this effort and we would like to thank those of you who are trying to find ways to help your communities.

Your kindness and generosity in these difficult times are a reflection of all that is best about the city we share and the people who call it home.

We need everyone to look out for each other now more than ever and being a good neighbour and taking care of those who need help in your building, street or immediate community is going to help get us through – Volunteer Edinburgh has advice and information on how you can help.

If you are part of an existing or newly formed community group please contact EVOC who have developed a directory and are connecting the amazing community responses across the city. EVOC is working hard to connect supply and demand of food at a very local and community level.

EVOC is asking people to complete this basic form or email info@evoc.org.uk for more information.

Council Leader, Adam McVey, said: “The voluntary sector is doing an amazing job pulling everyone together and making sure people can help out appropriately following government guidelines. If you are able to help others then please ‘Think Local and Act Local’.

“Where you can, offer support to your wider family, your friends and your neighbours to help ensure that they can receive the essential supplies and medicine that they may need.

“Volunteer Edinburgh has a range of information and guidance on how to be a good neighbour safely. At the moment the best thing that most people can do is still to stay at home, limit social contact and follow NHS guidelines. This really is the most important contribution that can be made to the safety and resilience of the city.”

Depute Leader, Cammy Day, said: “To keep essential services running and support those who are vulnerable, we’re constantly monitoring how we deploy our own staff as well. We’re working to identify where our services need help and at the moment we’re relying on our own internal capacity to meet those needs.

“We’ll be monitoring this over the weeks ahead and will work with Volunteer Edinburgh if we think we need the wider community to help us. In the meantime staying safe at home is the best thing people can do. If you can offer more then it really is a matter of thinking local and acting local.

“I want to make sure the local community organisations have a key contact to make sure we have a joined up approach and would urge people to make connect via the EVOC.”

Ella Simpson, Chief Officer of EVOC, said: “I am incredibly proud to be part of the voluntary sector in Edinburgh. They know their communities so well and have been absolutely amazing in their responses to Covid-19.

“As we continue to respond it is vital that we all work together – volunteers, voluntary sector and statutory agencies – to support the most vulnerable people in our communities.”

Paul Wilson, Chief Officer of Volunteer Edinburgh, said: “People’s response to the pandemic has been overwhelming. In every street in Edinburgh people are helping each other, looking out for their neighbours and supporting the vulnerable and those in self isolation.

“Never before has it been more important to give your time, if you are able to, be a good neighbour and look out for each other. More than any other city in Scotland Edinburgh has always been a city of volunteers, of people who helped and I am very proud to live here.

“Please everyone be safe, think and act locally, continue to support your community in the weeks to come and most of all be kind.”

North Edinburgh’s voluntary sector has rallied to the cause with community organisations pulling out all the stops to ensure the area’s most vulnerable residents get food and essential supplies.

Now three weeks into operation there’s a co-ordinated effort to pool community resources and expertise to get supplies to people in Muirhouse,Drylaw Telford, West Pilton, Granton and Royston Wardieburn.

Do you, or someone you know, need food, supplies or other support during this hugely difficult time?

An information sheet with key telephone contact numbers is currently being produced and should be available over the next day or two, but in the meatime please email me at northedinburghnews@gmail.com and I will pass on your details to the relevant area organisers.

Remember the key advice: STAY HOME UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY

GIC still providing support and advice

Due to the Coronavirus restrictions our office currently remains closed to the public – but Granton Information Centre is still operating!

Please call us Mon – Fri, 9.30am – 4pm on 0131 551 2459 or 0131 552 0458 if:

• You would like to arrange a telephone appointment to discuss money, benefits, housing or debt

• You wish to discuss an existing case

• You require a foodbank referral

All messages will be returned as long as you clearly leave a telephone number for us to reach you on.

Emails are being checked daily – our email address is info@gic.org.uk

GIC Covid19 advice

Granton Information Centre – here for you

Granton Information Centre: still here for you

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak our office is currently closed to the public – but GIC is still operating!

Call us Monday – Friday, 9.30am – 4pm on on 0131 551 2459 or 0131 552 0458 if:

•You would like to arrange a telephone appointment to discuss money, benefits, housing or debt

•You wish to discuss an existing case

•You require a foodbank referral

All messages will be returned as long as you leave a clear telephone number for us to reach you on.

Emails will be checked daily: our email address is info@gic.org.uk

Meeting to discuss community response to Coronavirus pandemic

North Edinburgh activists are to meet tomorrow to formulate a community response to tackling problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting will take place in West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre at 2.30pm.

Meeting organiser Willie Black said: “We have already seen communities coming together to do what they can to help their neighbours and our more vulnerable residents, and the purpose of tomorrow’s meeting is to co-ordinate this community response to make sure no person is being missed or left out.

“By working together and pooling our resources we can better respond to the challenges posed to our community by this pandemic.”

Local voluntary sector organisations, food banks, community centre representatives, council officers, community councils and local elected politicians have all been invited to attended.

What can you do to help? Why not attend the meeting and find out!

Dare you do the DARED Challenge?

A unique fundraising challenge event designed by school staff to support vulnerable children across Edinburgh and the Lothians is back for 2020.

A fundraising event that inspires school staff and individuals from across Edinburgh and the Lothians to lace up their running shoes in support of a leading children’s charity is back for 2020.

The DARED Challenge – Do A Run Every Day – encourages participants to complete either a 1 mile or 5km run every day throughout the month of June in support of West Pilton-based charity, Circle.

Devised in 2018 by Broughton High maths teacher, and keen runner, Mark Fletcher, the DARED Challenge has continued to grow and last year saw more than 150 school staff from across Edinburgh and further afield raise more than £14,000 for the charity.

This year, as well as again looking to school staff from across the region to support the event, Mark and his organising team are appealing for members of the public to get involved. Circle’s patrons, David Tennant and Arabella Weir, will be joining the campaign to recruit participants in the coming months.

David Tennant’s previous video statement can be seen here.

Alongside the fundraising element, the aim of the challenge is to encourage as many people as possible to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of daily exercise, as well as spending time with colleagues away from the desk and work. The choice of different distances enables both experienced and beginner runners to feel included and challenged.

Although the premise of the event was built on getting school staff and teachers exercising regularly, organiser Mark hopes that the health benefits that arise as a result of this type of challenge will inspire anyone – not just teachers – to get involved.

He said: “Incorporating exercise into our daily lives has countless benefits to our physical and mental health. If we can do this while raising money for an extremely deserving cause, everyone’s a winner.”

Funds raised through the DARED Challenge will go directly to supporting Circle in its aim of improving the lives of children by strengthening families. The charity works at the heart of deprived communities across central Scotland, supporting the most disadvantaged children and families to improve their lives, promote their healthy development and reach their potential.

Participation in the DARED Challenge will help strengthen the charity’s family outreach work, help children and their families communicate, repair relationships and develop skills that enable them to lead more fulfilling lives.

Social inequality and poverty lead to some of the many reasons that a family may need the support of Circle including alcohol and substance misuse, imprisonment and young or lone parenting.

Many of the pupils in participating schools from previous DARED Challenges are supported by Circle.

Mark Kennedy, Chief Executive of Circle, said: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who is taking part in The DARED Challenge as their dedication, passion and enthusiasm will directly enable Circle to continue our vital work supporting vulnerable children and families in Edinburgh and beyond.”

Early bird entry for the DARED Challenge is now open with participants able to choose to run one mile or 5km a day in June. Participation costs £10 per person. Participants are asked to fundraise a minimum of £50. Participants who do not wish to fundraise can pay an additional £20 to secure their position on the challenge.

Full details can be found here.

Muirhouse Medical Group CLOSED to walk in appointments

A MESSAGE from MUIRHOUSE MEDICAL GROUP

Due to the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Muirhouse Medical Group is now CLOSED to walk in appointments.

There will be NO open surgery each morning with immediate effect.

If you have a current booked appointment with a GP or Nurse, we are getting in touch to ask you about your condition. We will continue to see patients with no symptoms of the Coronavirus by arrangement. We will always tell you where that appointment is, and which entrance to use when you reach the surgery.

If you feel ill and need to be seen please telephone us on 0131 202 4444. In most cases a GP or Nurse will phone you back and will decide whether you can be seen and, if so, will make an appointment.

If you have any of the Corona Virus symptoms please follow the up to date Government advice. If you have developed a new cough or fever in the last 7 days you must self isolate at home for 7 days from when it developed.

You should contact us (or NHS24 when we are closed) only if your conditions worsen and you have shortness of breath or develop high temperatures – or if there has been no improvement after 7 days.

FOR PRESCRIPTIONS

For the moment repeat prescriptions can be taken over the telephone by using the enquiries line after 9 am. (0131 202 4444 option 4).
We will shortly set up a prescriptions email address where you can order your repeat prescriptions.

In the meantime if you cannot telephone your prescription in please put the requests in the box outside our main surgery rather than come into the surgery.

Prescriptions must be delivered to a pharmacy of your choice and will not be picked up from the surgery any more.

Thank you for your co-operation. We are trying to ensure our patients continue to receive medical attention.

REMEMBER – DO NOT TURN UP AT THE SURGERY WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT – YOU WILL BE SENT AWAY

Coronavirus: City daycare services to cease TOMORROW

The UK government intimated yesterday that Britain’s over-70s will ‘soon’ be told to self-isolate for four months to stop the spread of coronavirus. Things are moving at breakneck speed, though, and that ‘soon’ is NOW – and hundreds of older people across the city will find themselves without much-appreciated daycare centres TOMORROW.

Older people’s organisations were advised this morning that their daycare services should be ‘stepped down’ from TOMORROW. Local services affected include Pilton Equalities Project and Drylaw Rainbow Club Daycare Centre in Drylaw Church, who have been asked to devise alternative ‘social distancing’ provision.

Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership contacted organisations in receipt of grants at 11.30 this morning. It said:

‘I am writing to you as recipients of grants and as organisations that currently run activity based services for older people in Edinburgh. I wanted to share with you that today we wrote out to all providers of day care opportunities for older people to confirm a difficult decision that we have taken as a Partnership, which I’m sure will not come as a surprise, in light of the recent Scottish Government guidance published last week (attached for your reference).

It has been recommended that long term care facilities be subject to ‘social distancing’ to reduce the risk of infecting residents and their carers. This includes social isolation in rooms and removing communal mealtimes wherever this is possible. This will be a difficult time for many people and these are not decisions taken lightly but ones to reduce the risk of mortality in this particularly vulnerable group.

We have therefore decided to suspend all our own day centres and step down commissioned day opportunities until further notice.

We have advised providers that Monday arrangements should continue as planned with service users, carers and families informed that this will be the last day of service for the foreseeable, as in the current evolving circumstances, we are struggling to justify bringing vulnerable people together.

We of course acknowledge that there is significant therapeutic and social value but we cannot in good faith increase the potential risk of harm to people that we support. For this reason, I am certain that you will understand and agree that this is the right decision to be taking just now, based on what we currently know.

We would strongly recommend that you do the same, and stand down your current grant funded activities. Where possible, we would also ask that you activate your business continuity plans and ensure that you can provide alternative provision, targeted at those that need it most to remain independent and safe at home.

Those for whom attendance at your services provides an alternative to a contact which would otherwise be homecare, we would ask you to look at in relation to essential visits and telephone contact arrangements, where possible. If this creates additional demands that cannot be met you should contact Social Care Direct in the first instance so that any additional needs can be considered accordingly.

We will be reviewing the risk profile of all our services and endeavour to return to ‘business as usual’ as soon as, on balance, it is the right and reasonable thing to do. I cannot hand on heart tell you when this might be, the next period is somewhat unprecedented. We’re therefore going to need to be resilient and support each other.’

An attached letter from Judith Proctor, Edinburgh Health & Social Care’s Chief Officer, said:

‘I am writing to confirm a difficult decision that we have taken as the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership which affects either you personally, a family member, or someone you care for.

I want to reassure you that we are taking all available measures to ensure the health and wellbeing of our service users and our carers. At this current time, based on what is known of COVID-19 and other similar respiratory viruses, it is likely that older people and those with chronic medical conditions may be more vulnerable.

Recent Scottish Government guidance recommended that long term care facilities be subject to ‘social distancing’ to reduce the risk of infecting residents and their carers. This includes social isolation in rooms and removing communal mealtimes wherever this is possible.

We have therefore decided to suspend all our own day centres and step down commissioned day opportunities until further notice.

This means that as of 17th March 2020, if you, or someone you care for, regularly attends a day centre, this will no longer continue. We will of course review this decision regularly, as we learn more.

This will be a difficult time for many people and these are not decisions taken lightly however in the current evolving circumstances, we are struggling to justify bringing vulnerable people together. We cannot in good faith increase the potential risk of harm to you or your loved ones.

For this reason, I am certain that you will understand and agree that this is the right decision to be taking just now, based on what we currently know.

Alternative arrangements are being made to ensure that you personally, or someone you care for, continues to receive the support needed to remain at home and they will be contacted to confirm what these arrangements are.

This may include home visits, telephone contact arrangements or alternative arrangements to meet individual needs.

Staff at PEP have spent the day reorganising the service they can provide to their clients, many of whom are frail and elderly.

PEP Manager Helen Tait said: “We are planning to identify the most vulnerable and provide meals, and things like shopping – if there is anything left on the shelves, of course! All staff will be supporting our service users where needed.”

A spokesperson for Drylaw’s Rainblow Club Daycare Centre said: “The Centre will still be staffed and are open for anyone that requires care at home, shopping or meals. If you know of anyone requiring our services please call us on 0131 343 6643.

“These are difficult times – lets all pull together and keep safe.”