30/10/2014 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Stay safe: Environmental wardens issue bonfire advice

Guy Fawkes Night can be a lot of fun, but the build up to the big night can all too often bring fear and misery to communities too. North Neighbourhood Environmental Wardens team leader MARK BANNON offers some seasonal advice:

Advice from the SFRS is to attend a safely organised bonfire and firework display.

However if you must have a bonfire at home make sure it is well away from buildings, vehicles, trees, hedges, fences, power lines, telecommunications equipment and sheds and you must ensure that smoke does not cause a nuisance to neighbours or flying embers endanger neighbouring property.

• Never drink alcohol if you are tending a bonfire or setting off fireworks – remember it is an offence to consume alcohol in a public place.

• To reduce the emission of harmful smoke and combustion products bonfires should comprise of untreated wood and paper based materials only.

• There is a danger of explosion from pressurised containers or sealed vessels amongst bonfire material or irresponsibly thrown on burning bonfires.

• Never throw fireworks on bonfires.

• Never use flammable liquids to ignite bonfires – use proprietary fire lighters.

• Smoke from bonfires must not pose a public nuisance, affect visibility on roads or otherwise inconvenience vehicular traffic.

• Sparks, flying embers or burning debris must not endanger nearby property.

• Never leave a burning/smouldering bonfire unsupervised – make sure it is completely extinguished.

Any bonfire failing to satisfy safety conditions or where people are behaving irresponsibly may be deemed dangerous and as such, subject to being either removed, extinguished or otherwise made safe.

If you are aware of a bonfire being built on public land, you should report it to North Local Office 0131 529 5066. All bonfires built on public land will be investigated .

Monday 3 November

Please do not present excess domestic waste in view of the potential outcomes during the forthcoming bonfire night. You are also ,likely to receive a penalty notice from the environmental wardens

Tuesday 4/Wednesday 5 November

Please remove all domestic wheeled bins back into the curtilage of your property.

Mark Bannon
Team Leader Environmental Wardens, Services for Communities
North Neighbourhood Office, 8 West Pilton Gardens

Mark.bannon@edinburgh.gov.uk
0131 529 7450

Transport Hub to transform patient travel

Patient transport in NHS Lothian has been transformed after the health board became the first in Scotland to create a dedicated Transport Hub. The unique system, which is expected to save an estimated £1 million, organises all non-emergency patient journeys and has been designed to boost efficiency and improve patient flow.

With a fleet of ambulances, mini-buses with carers, volunteer cars and taxis at its disposal, the Transport Hub provides a single point of contact for staff seeking to arrange patient transfers or to take the patient home.

It means that when a patient, who requires transport, is due to leave hospital, ward staff simply have to make one call to the hub, which is open 365 days per year.

Specially-trained staff at the end of the phone will then organise the right kind of vehicle, depending on the needs of the patient and their clinical requirements.

In the past, ward staff would have contacted The Scottish Ambulance Service to arrange a journey or would have booked a private ambulance company directly.

Jim Crombie, Director of Scheduled Care, NHS Lothian, said: “The Transport Hub is a completely unique concept and we are really proud to be the only health board in Scotland to have taken this approach to planned patient transport.

“The Transport Hub is a much more efficient way of working. It improves the overall patient experience while also freeing up ambulances to be used for emergency transfers.”

The Transport Hub, which is based at the Astley Ainslie Hospital in Edinburgh, has become a crucial link in the discharge process, ensuring a smoother, smarter and more efficient way of working.

The team handle around 400 calls a day, from 24 of NHS Lothian’s Acute and Primary Care sites and also offers a level of support to a number of care homes within our boundary. Using a Patient Needs Assessment (PNA), the call handlers gain information from ward staff which allows them to arrange the most appropriate transport and equipment for the individual needs of the patient. This is done in real time so that each journey can be planned and logged and the caller advised immediately as to the transport option available.

By ensuring the correct mode of transport is in place, the system helps reduce clinical risk, allowing the patient to be moved safely from hospital to home. It also means hospital beds become available for new and emergency patients in a more timely and organised fashion.

Strollers strive to stamp out sectarianism

Civil Service Strollers club secretary Keith Stewart writes about an initiative to tackle a problem that continues to blight our ‘beautiful game’:

Civil Service Strollers is the only football club in Edinburgh that has received funding from the Scottish Government’s Voluntary Action Fund to undertake workshops on understanding sectarianism and how it affects the community.

We recognise the problem sectarianism plays in dividing communities, particularly in relation to football allegiance, and have set out to work with players and the local community to participate in informal education workshops that help increase their understanding of the issue and the negative impact on everyday interactions.

The workshops will culminate into a public event, when a range of community stakeholders will be invited to witness the showcasing of Civil Service Strollers workshop participants journey on achieving its aim of non- tolerance to sectarian behaviours in their football community.

A club spokesman said: “It’s about football clubs taking a stance to address sectarian issues that exist by bringing everyone together to understand the impact of sectarian behaviours on day to day relationships.”

Anyone interested in taking part in weekly community workshops should contact Club Secretary Keith Stewart on 07402521912

Dead right: Edinburgh trio Young Fathers win Mercury Prize

Experimental Edinburgh hip-hop trio Young Fathers have scooped this year’s Mercury music prize.

The band, described as a ‘Liberian/Nigerian/Scottish psychedelic hip-hop electro boy band’, saw off competition from R&B artist FKA Twigs, former Blur frontman Damon Albarn’s first solo album and singer/ poet Kate Tempest to win the prestigious music prize for their album, Dead.

They formed in 2008, clocked up appearances at numerous festivals and have been described as a ‘psychedelic hip hop boy band’. The trio first met at an under-16s hip-hop night and have developed a reputation for making a unique blend of music, utilising diverse influences that reflect their different backgrounds.

Alloysius Massaquoi is from Liberia and Scots-born Kayus Bankole has Nigerian parents, while Graham ‘G’ Hastings’ origins are closer to home – he comes from Drylaw!

The winner of the £20,000 prize was announced by DJ Nick Grimshaw at north London’s Roundhouse.

Accepting the award, Alloysious Massaquoi said: “”We go out and do what we do. Thank you, we love you, we love you all.”

Graham ‘G’ Hastings told reporters: “We’ll take it in our stride. We always wanted to make something bigger than the city we were living in.””

The Young Fathers album Dead was acclaimed by judges as ‘a startlingly original take on hip-hop. Brimming with ideas, a potent mix of pop, rap, rhymes and rhythms. Ominous and exciting.’

Chair of this year’s judging panel Simon Frith said: “Young Fathers have a unique take on urban British music, brimming with ideas – forceful, unexpected and moving.”