Day: February 10, 2020

New befriending service for physically disabled young people

We believe young people are the experts in their own lives. We also believe young people can play an active role in our communities.

Ecas has a new service for physically disabled young people ages 18 to 30 living in Edinburgh and Lothian.

We will work with you to identify goals and plans based on your unique circumstances. By meeting at a pace that suits you, we will support you to identify your own solutions, navigate opportunities available, and realise your potential.

How it works:

  • You enquire about the service or make a referral
  • You have an initial meeting with the Outreach Officer so you can get to know more about the service and we can get to know you
  • We will plan together at a pace that works for you
  • We’ll have regular meetings to develop your actions and mark progress
  • You will move on from the service when you’re ready

More detail is available in this overview.

Enquire and make a referral:

  • If you or someone you know is interested in finding out more, please contact our Outreach Officer Megan.
  • If you’re ready to participate or make a referral, please fill out an application form.

Family Nurse Partnerships celebrate tenth anniversary

The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme celebrated it’s 10th birthday last week with special guest Nicola Sturgeon.

The First Minister, who initially helped launch the programme in Scotland ten years ago, attended the event in the Edinburgh Corn Exchange to meet many of the mothers and staff who she first met back then.

The First Minister said: “The Family Nurse Partnership is really close to my heart. We know that for any woman becoming a mum is a life changing experience but for young, first time, mums it can present particular challenges and the whole point of the Family Nursing Partnership is about helping young mums to overcome those challenges.

“It really helps mums and dads to give their children the best start in life and in my opinion it’s probably the best investment we can make as a society.”

FNP focuses on helping young, first time, mothers and their families to provide responsive, sensitive and positive parenting. It also helps them to develop self-efficacy to both identify and achieve their future goals.

Laura Wilson, 26, from Edinburgh, who was one of the first mothers to join the programme back in 2010 said: “Pam, my first Family Nurse, was willing to let me take things at my own pace and encouraged me to bond with the baby.

“Shortly after Caitlin was born I changed Family Nurses to Trudy, but honestly she was so nice and couldn’t have done a better job.

“She helped me to have the confidence to get out of an unhealthy relationship, which allowed me to be happier and to be a better parent.

“She also saw potential in me to help other parents in the community to breast feed. I received training and that allowed me to apply for my first job in the NHS as a clinical support worker and I’ve been there for six years now and I’m currently studying towards a HNC in care.”

In 2010 NHS Lothian became the first health board to provide this service in Scotland. In March 2015, Nicola Sturgeon announced Edinburgh city (as part of NHS Lothian) had been formally recognised as the first city in the world to have achieved delivery of a concurrent FNP service to all eligible clients. Since then the service has expanded to cover all of Lothian.

Val Alexander, the original FNP Supervisor for NHS Lothian, said: “Our first clients showed us that they wanted to become the best mums they could be for their children. Last night they evidenced that they had achieved their goal.  The first children of FNP now age 8-9 years presented as happy, confident and inspiring to all who attended.”

The programme was first developed 40 years ago in the United States of America by Professor David Olds and the University of Colorado. It has shown to improve pregnancy and health behaviours, reduce child abuse and neglect, increase maternal employment and economic self-sufficiency and reduce closely spaced subsequent pregnancies.

Since the initial introduction in Scotland the programme has continued to grow; for example the service was initially offered to mothers 19 years of age and younger where now it supports mothers from 21 years of age and younger. From 2015 NHS Lothian has supported NHS Borders to implement the FNP programme and in 2019 similar arrangements were put in place to include NHS Dumfries & Galloway.

Dorothy-Ann Timoney, FNP Supervisor, said: “We remain proud of our FNP programme in Lothian and as we strengthen and focus on quality improvement for our service we continue to value the ongoing feedback from the staff, clients and their families.”

Just the ticket!

ScotRail All-Aboard for MND Scotland 

The ScotRail Alliance has announced it will be continuing its journey to a cure for Motor Neurone Disease (MND), by supporting charity MND Scotland for another two years. 

The partnership, which was set to end in March 2020, has been a huge success, with staff and customers raising £255,000 since 2017, smashing their target of £150,000. 

Going above and beyond for the past three years, funds have been raised through staff fundraising, customer donations and gifts in kind, such as advertising on trains and in stations. 

MND is a rapidly progressing terminal illness, which stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. This may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided. 

MND Scotland provides vital support to families affected by MND when they need it the most, and fund ground-breaking research into a cure. 

Last month the charity announced a £1.5million investment into the UK’s biggest MND drug trial. Funds raised through the ScotRail Alliance – a partnership between ScotRail and Network Rail Scotland have contributed to this monumental step towards finding a cure for the disease and giving people living with MND hope. 

Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway, said: “I am absolutely delighted that we will be continuing our work with MND Scotland over the next two years.

“MND Scotland is an incredible charity doing extraordinary work right across our country, and the recent drug trials show just how valuable our fundraising efforts can be.

 “I’m really proud of our people and customers who have helped to raise more than £250,000 for this great cause so far, and I’m looking forward to raising even more over the next two years.”

 Iain McWhirter, MND Scotland’s Head of Fundraising, said: “We are delighted that the ScotRail Alliance are going to be joining us on our journey to a cure for another two years. 

“We have been blown away by the support we have received, from staff jumping out planes and organising coffee mornings, to customers donating across the country, and advertising which has helped raise awareness with commuters throughout Scotland. 

“Thanks to the generosity of supporters like this we have been able to fund the most comprehensive MND drug trial in a generation. This trial will be open to almost every person with MND in Scotland and we hope will lead to finding effective treatments and ultimately a cure for MND.”

The cost of cash

The UK’s banks have made hundreds of millions of pounds from cash machine cuts and bank branch closures in the last two years, while fees paid by consumers to access their own cash have soared, research from Which? has revealed.

New figures obtained by the consumer champion show the amount paid by consumers to withdraw cash jumped by £29m to £104m last year – as many free machines vanished or were converted to charge fees.

In contrast, this seismic shift in the cashpoint network has saved the banks £120m since January 2018, according to the new figures from Link, which runs the UK’s largest cashpoint network.

More than 8,700 free ATMs have closed since changes to how the Link cashpoint network is funded were pushed through with no regulatory oversight in January 2018, following lobbying by the banks.

Between 2018 and 2019 the percentage of fee-charging machines jumped by 37 per cent (from 11,120 to 15,277) and they now comprise a quarter (25%) of the entire network of 60,291 machines  – leaving countless communities having to pay up to £2 just to withdraw their money.

These changes have seen the number of times people have had to pay to withdraw cash increase from 46m in 2018 to 73m in 2019 – a rise of 59 per cent in a single year.

The banks are also saving vast sums through branch closures – with 1,203 having closed since January 2018 alone. These ongoing closures have drastically reduced people’s ability to access free withdrawals across the UK.

Which? first raised the alarm in December 2017 that incoming cuts to the way cashpoints are funded would lead to a rapid reduction in access to free withdrawals across the country.

And two years on these new figures show the sheer mismanagement of the cash landscape, which is seeing people cut off from cash – or forced to pay significant fees to access it.

Which? previously revealed that deprived areas are losing free cash machines at a much faster rate than affluent ones across the UK – hitting those who can afford it the least.

Digital banking and payments have brought many benefits to consumers in the UK, but it’s crucial that the transition is better managed to ensure all those still reliant on cash aren’t forced to pay just to access it.

Which? is calling on the government to intervene with legislation that protects free access to cash for as long as it is needed.

Gareth Shaw, Head of Money, Which?, said: “Massive cuts to the UK’s bank branch and cash machine networks have been highly lucrative for the big banks – but highly costly for millions of consumers. Entire communities have been cut off from cash or forced to pay hefty fees to access their own money.

“Banks must take greater responsibility for ensuring customers are supported to make the transition to digital if branches close and that those who are reliant on cash are not left behind by changes to the banking landscape.

“The Budget is a major opportunity for the government to introduce much-needed legislation that protects access to cash and free withdrawals for as long as this vital payment method is needed.”

Goodbye, Storm Ciara – but be prepared for snow and high winds

MET OFFICE: Yellow Warning for Wind and Snow

Today:

Unsettled weather turning bitter with wintry showers carried on strong to gale westerly winds, interspersed by brief interludes of weak sunshine. Best of the limited shelter across southern areas of Dumfries and Galloway. Maximum temperature 4 °C.

Tonight:

Gales continuing to bring wintry showers, with east in best of shelter. Fresh snow gathering away from the lowest levels, but even here chance of some later slushy deposits. Minimum temperature 0 °C.

Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders said:  “In the wake of Storm Ciara, it’ll remain unsettled and very windy across the UK and it’ll turn colder with wintry showers and ice an additional hazard, as we head into the new week.

A wind and snow warning is in force for parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland on Monday as well as a further yellow wind warning in the south west of England.”

You can keep up to date with the latest forecast and warnings from the Met Office using our forecast pages and by following us on Twitter and Facebook, as well as using our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.

Parasite wins Best Picture Oscar

PARASITE became the first foreign language film to win Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards last night. 

The South Korean film, directed by Bong Joon-Ho, tells a story of greed and class discrimination through the relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kims.

Parasite picked up four Oscars on an unforgettable night for international cinema. Bong Joon-Ho won the Best Director award and the subtitled film also won both the Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature awards.

Accepting the Best Picture award for Parasite, Director Bong Joon-Ho said: “After winning Best International Feature, I thought I was done for the day and was ready to relax!

“When I was young and studying cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart which is “The most personal is the most creative.” That quote was from our great Martin Scorsese.

“When I was in school, I studied Martin Scorsese’s films. Just to be nominated was a huge honor. I never thought I would win. When people in the US were not familiar with my film, Quentin always put my films on his list. He’s here. Thank you so much.Quentin, I love you.

“And Todd and Sam, great directors that I admire, if the Academy allows, I would like to get a Texas Chainsaw, split the Oscar trophy into five, and share it with all of you.

“I will drink until next morning. Thank you!”

If PARASITE was a surprise winner – 1917, The Irishman, Joker and Once Upon A Time in Holywood were all widely tipped for the Best Picture accolade – the other big Oscar winners were more predictable.

RENEE ZELLWEGGER won  Best Actress for her superb performance in JUDY, JOAQUIN PHOENIX was Best Actor for his tour de force JOKER.

LAURA DERN (Marriage Story) and BRADD PITT (Once Upon A Time in Holywood) won Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor statuettes respectively.

TOY STORY 4 won Best Animated Feature and Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s (I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN from Rocketman was voted Best Original Song.