Local agency secures £437,000 Big Lottery grant
People experiencing loneliness and isolation are amongst those benefitting from £2.5 million of National Lottery funding announced today – World Mental Health Day. It’s great news for North Edinburgh in particular, as respected local organisation North Edinburgh Drug & Alcohol Centre is to receive over £473,000 – the biggest grant of all. Continue reading Lottery lifeline for NEDAC
Patients experiencing mental health problems will be better supported – thanks to a half million pound increase in funding. NHS24 will use the development funding to improve the services it offers to people experiencing low mood, depression and anxiety, supporting those who need unscheduled care but do not require to contact emergency services. Continue reading Extra support announced on World Mental Health Day
Households given expert advice in bid to be energy smart
Scores of residents in and around Edinburgh are set to benefit from free insight and advice on their energy use, as part of a smart technology research initiative.
Sensor technology that helps consumers to use less gas and electricity – and potentially save on energy bills – has already been successfully installed in 100 homes under the research initiative from the University of Edinburgh and Changeworks.
Organisers are now seeking a further 150 households from Edinburgh and the Lothians to take part in the scheme, known as IDEAL – Intelligent Domestic Energy Advice Loop.
Participants have discreet sensors fitted throughout their homes, which track how much gas or electricity is used, as well as, room by room, the temperature and humidity.
The system gives feedback to help households find convenient ways to save energy, and participants are provided with a tablet to track their usage.
Scientists will use powerful computers to analyse large volumes of data from the study, to inform the development of sophisticated smart meters. These could track energy use in detail, offering personalised insights into how electricity and gas use might be reduced.
To participate, volunteers should live in Edinburgh or the Lothians in postcode areas EH1-EH55. They must have broadband, a combi boiler and mains gas supply.
Helen and Mark, from Leith, took part in an early trial of the project. Mark said: “We had a hand-sized sensor fitted in each room and soon forgot they were there. We were surprised by some of the findings. It was really interesting to see what pushed up our bills.”
Drew Murphy, IDEAL project manager from Changeworks, said: “Smart technology allows participating households to see, in pounds and pence, how much gas and electricity they are using. Project findings will inform how we can use technologies, such as smart meters, to enable households to make changes in how they use gas and electricity to lower their energy use and bills.”
Dr Martin Pullinger, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, said: “With support from volunteers across Edinburgh, we hope to inform the design of smart meters that could offer personalised, itemised details of gas and electricity use, helping to lower consumption, reduce household bills and cut carbon emissions.”
To find out more and become a participant, see changeworks.org.uk/projects/
A recent study by the independent Centre for Cities identified Edinburgh as likely to be the sixth worst Brexit-affected city in the UK. Aberdeen was identified as the city likely to be worst affected in the 62 city study Continue reading Think Again? Rally for Europe on Saturday
Yesterday marked the start of Operation Myriad in the North West of Edinburgh following a highly successful campaign in June 2017 which saw over 70 arrests, over 20 vehicles seized and some significant partnership work with The City of Edinburgh Council, The Scottish Ambulance Service and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Continue reading Operation Myriad: latest crackdown on motorcycle crime launched
A new report by Carnegie UK Trust addresses digital exclusion among vulnerable young people in our communities. The #NotWithoutMe pilot programme challenges the assumption that young people are ‘digital natives’ who have basic digital skills or access to learning opportunities. Continue reading Not Without Me: Challenging Perceptions Of The Digital Native Generation
Friday 13 October 10am – 2pm
Ferry Road Drive and Crewe Road Gardens
A coalition of more than 40 charities working to prevent baby deaths and pregnancy loss is today urging an end to the postcode lottery in bereavement care for parents.
Pregnancy and baby loss affects thousands of families each year across the UK and it is vital to offer bereavement care and support to anyone who has lost a child or pregnancy. However, the care offered to parents in hospital is worryingly inconsistent. It can depend on where parents live, at what stage of pregnancy or birth the loss occurs, and whether individual healthcare professionals know how to respond.
Currently, fewer than half (46%) of maternity units in the UK provide mandatory bereavement care training, while one in three Health Trusts and Boards have no dedicated bereavement rooms in each maternity unit they cover. And in neonatal units, 41% of services have no access to a trained mental health worker.
The charities are now calling for:
The call is timed to coincide with the start of Baby Loss Awareness Week (9-15 October) when bereaved parents, their families and friends, unite across the world to commemorate their babies’ lives.
Dr Clea Harmer, Chief Executive of Sands (Stillbirth and neonatal death charity), said: “It is long overdue that NHS Scotland makes the provision of excellent bereavement care mandatory across the country.
“Despite claims that it is a priority, there is still a shortage of dedicated bereavement rooms and too few health care professionals are getting the essential training they need to sensitively support grieving parents.
“Good bereavement care is rooted in simple acts of kindness and respect, giving a family whose world has fallen apart the time they need with their baby, and minimising anything that could add to their suffering. So it is very worrying that parents have told us they can hear the sounds of crying babies, and mothers and fathers congratulating each other on the birth of their healthy babies, while they grieve.
“We believe every parent should be offered the bereavement support they need, when they need it, for as long as they need it. In Scotland, one way to make this happen is for a National Bereavement Care Pathway6 to be mandated and monitored through a new set of guidelines, and to ensure a similar approach is taken across the UK. I urge all those responsible to make sure no parent is left to cope with the death of their baby alone.”
Baby Loss Awareness Week helps raise awareness of how pregnancy and baby loss affects thousands of families each year across the UK. It is a unique opportunity to help families remember their babies, whether it be in public or private, and feel less isolated and alone by giving them the opportunity to join with others.
The Week culminates in a global Wave of Light at 7pm on 15 October when candles will be lit across the world to remember all those babies who have died too soon. Landmark buildings will be lit up pink and blue – the colours of Baby Loss Awareness Week.
For further information on Baby Loss Awareness Week 2017 visit: www.babyloss-awareness.org
Winter’s coming as Scots race ahead in the official heating ‘switch on’
People in Scotland have already started to feel the autumn chill, with more than three-quarters turning on their heating during September – more than anywhere else in Britain. Continue reading Cauld tatties: Scots lead the race in central heating switch-on
Scottish charity Arts & Business Scotland has been officially accredited as a Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation and Scottish accreditation body, the Poverty Alliance, joining organisations in Scotland who have committed to paying their staff at least the Living Wage rate of £8.45 an hour. Continue reading Arts & Business Scotland becomes Living Wage employer
