Day: March 16, 2020

Scots advised to limit social contact

Those most at risk strongly advised to reduce unnecessary contact

To slow the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) the general public are being asked to stay at home as much as possible and avoid unnecessary social contact.

People over 70 and those who have high risk and underlying health conditions are being strongly advised to stay at home as much as possible and significantly reduce unnecessary social contact.

The advice is that people should:

  • minimise social contact by avoiding crowded areas and large gatherings, including religious congregations and smaller gatherings such as restaurants, pubs, bars, clubs, cinemas and gyms
  • avoid using public transport as much as possible
  • work from home when possible
  • follow the latest health and travel advice, and follow basic hygiene precautions, such as washing hands frequently, not touching their face and covering their nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing

People showing symptoms suggestive of coronavirus should stay at home for seven days and only contact NHS 111 or their local GP if their symptoms worsen during that period.

Members of a household where someone has suspected symptoms should stay at home for 14 days.

This package of necessary measures comes into force with immediate effect.

Schools will remain open for the time being, however this decision will be consistently monitored and reviewed depending on the spread of the infection.

Those who cannot work from home should continue to go to work unless advised by their employer or if they display symptoms.

These measures will be kept under constant review as we try to slow down the spread of the infection.

The First Minister said: “Life as we know it will change in the coming weeks and months, but our goal is to protect lives.

“We are facing an unprecedented situation that will require major societal change if we are to protect people, especially those most at risk and our NHS.

“The package of measures we are announcing today is based on scientific and clinical advice. While it will cause some disruption and be difficult for us all, it will help us to prepare for the virus and to protect ourselves and each other in the long run.

“We need your help to slow the spread of the infection. That is why we are advising everyone in Scotland to restrict their social contact and to stay at home as much as possible. We are strongly advising those who are over 70 or have an underlying health condition to stay at home.

“People have a vital role to play in helping us contain this infection and I urge everyone in Scotland to follow the latest health and travel advice, and follow basic hygiene precautions, such as washing hands frequently, not touching their face and covering their nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

“This has not been an easy decision but it is vital if we are to stop the spread of the infection.”

For those under 70 underlying health conditions refers to all those eligible for the flu vaccine. Those who have compromised immune systems will be contacted with specific advice in the coming days.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman will update the Scottish Parliament tomorrow (Tuesday 17 March) on the Scottish Government’s plans to build up and scale up capacity in Scotland’s National Health Service.

It’s life, Boris … but not as we know it

PRIME MINISTER’s LATEST STATEMENT ON CORONAVIRUS

Good afternoon everybody, thank you very much for coming. I wanted to bring everyone up to date with the national fight back against the new coronavirus and the decisions that we’ve just taken in COBR for the whole of the UK.

As we said last week, our objective is to delay and flatten the peak of the epidemic by bringing forward the right measures at the right time, so that we minimise suffering and save lives. And everything we do is based scrupulously on the best scientific advice.

Last week we asked everyone to stay at home if you had one of two key symptoms: a high temperature or a new and continuous cough.

Today, we need to go further, because according to SAGE [the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies] it looks as though we’re now approaching the fast growth part of the upward curve. And without drastic action, cases could double every 5 or 6 days.

So, first, we need to ask you to ensure that if you or anyone in your household has one of those two symptoms, then you should stay at home for fourteen days.

That means that if possible you should not go out even to buy food or essentials, other than for exercise, and in that case at a safe distance from others.

If necessary, you should ask for help from others for your daily necessities. And if that is not possible, then you should do what you can to limit your social contact when you leave the house to get supplies.

And even if you don’t have symptoms and if no one in your household has symptoms, there is more that we need you to do now.

So, second, now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel.

We need people to start working from home where they possibly can. And you should avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues.

It goes without saying, we should all only use the NHS when we really need to. And please go online rather than ringing NHS 111.

Now, this advice about avoiding all unnecessary social contact, is particularly important for people over 70, for pregnant women and for those with some health conditions.

And if you ask, why are we doing this now, why now, why not earlier, or later? Why bring in this very draconian measure?

The answer is that we are asking people to do something that is difficult and disruptive of their lives.

And the right moment, as we’ve always said, is to do it when it is most effective, when we think it can make the biggest difference to slowing the spread of the disease, reducing the number of victims, reducing the number of fatalities.

And as we take these steps we should be focusing on the most vulnerable.

So third, in a few days’ time – by this coming weekend – it will be necessary to go further and to ensure that those with the most serious health conditions are largely shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks.

And again the reason for doing this in the next few days, rather than earlier or later, is that this is going to be very disruptive for people who have such conditions, and difficult for them, but, I believe, it’s now necessary.

And we want to ensure that this period of shielding, this period of maximum protection coincides with the peak of the disease.

And it’s now clear that the peak of the epidemic is coming faster in some parts of the country than in others.

And it looks as though London is now a few weeks ahead.

So, to relieve the pressure on the London health system and to slow the spread in London, it’s important that Londoners now pay special attention to what we are saying about avoiding non-essential contact, and to take particularly seriously the advice about working from home, and avoiding confined spaces such as pubs and restaurants.

Lastly, it remains true as we have said in the last few weeks that risks of transmission of the disease at mass gatherings such as sporting events are relatively low.

But obviously, logically as we advise against unnecessary social contact of all kinds, it is right that we should extend this advice to mass gatherings as well.

And so we’ve also got to ensure that we have the critical workers we need, that might otherwise be deployed at those gatherings, to deal with this emergency.

So from tomorrow, we will no longer be supporting mass gatherings with emergency workers in the way that we normally do. So mass gatherings, we are now moving emphatically away from.

And I know that many people – including millions of fit and active people over 70 – may feel, listening to what I have just said, that there is something excessive about these measures.

But I have to say, I believe that they are overwhelmingly worth it to slow the spread of the disease, to reduce the peak, to save life, minimise suffering and to give our NHS the chance to cope.

Over the last few days, I have been comparing notes and talking to leaders around the world and I can tell you that the UK is now leading a growing global campaign amongst all our friends and allies, whether in the G7, the G20, the UN, the IMF – all those bodies in which we play a significant role.

We’re leading a campaign to fight back against this disease.

To keep the economy growing, to make sure that humanity has access to the drugs and the treatments that we all need, and the UK is also at the front of the effort to back business, to back our economy, to make sure that we get through it.

I know that today we are asking a lot of everybody. It is far more now than just washing your hands – though clearly washing your hands remains important.

But I can tell you that across this country, people and businesses in my experience are responding with amazing energy and creativity to the challenge that we face, and I want to thank everybody for the part that you are playing and are going to play.

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: Edinburgh College suspends classes

Edinburgh College has issued the following statement:

Due to the rapidly changing situation regarding coronavirus and to best protect the health and safety of all of our students, Edinburgh College has taken the decision to suspend all face-to-face classes from 4pm today (Monday 16 March) until Monday 20 April.

Starting from Monday 23 March, additional provision will be in place to enable students to continue studying from home. This week, all students will be issued with guidance on how to continue their studies during this time and individual class information will be made available on Moodle.

We understand that students will be concerned about the impact that this may have on studies and progression. We’d like to emphasise that this situation is national and reassure students that we are speaking with external agencies to limit the longer term impact on everybody.

This week, students will be issued with guidance via online channels on how to continue their studies during this time. Individual class information will be made available on Moodle.

It is important that students continue to keep up-to-date with information regarding the College and their studies via our online channels – email, Moodle, social media and website.

Libraries will remain open across all campuses until further notice for students who don’t have access to Moodle at home

The College is committed to limiting the negative impact this has on students’ studies. During this period, all bursaries will continue to be paid and we are confident we have a plan in place to ensure students can progress to the next stage of their studies.

As the situation develops, we will notify students of any updates on a daily basis via our online channels including this webpage and via email. Please continue to check our channels for the latest information.

It is important that you continue to follow the advice provided by the Government and public health agencies during this time to keep yourself and others protected.

This includes:

  • Anyone who has symptoms of coronavirus, however mild, should stay at home and not leave their house for 7 days from when the symptoms started – regardless of whether you have travelled to affected areas or been in contact with someone who has the virus.
  • NHS Scotland recommends using good hand, respiratory and personal hygiene. Coughing and sneezing should be into tissues that are promptly disposed down the toilet. Hands should be washed more regularly than usual with soap and water or using an alcohol hand rub even if hands are visibly clean

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.”

Edinburgh Theatres to close

A STATEMENT FROM CAPITAL THEATRES 

We would like to reassure our customers that we are closely monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and adhering to guidance issued.

The advice of the Scottish Government is that events involving more than 500 people should not take place, with effect from Monday 16 March 2020.  This applies to mass events across all sectors – including sporting events, cultural events, and religious gatherings.

Capital Theatres can announce that we will be cancelling or postponing all performances at the Festival Theatre, The Kings Theatre and The Studio throughout March and April as an initial measure.  This will come into effect from Monday 16 2020 at 12 noon.

Customers who have tickets for performances during March and April will automatically receive a full refund over the coming weeks.  Our box office staff will contact customers directly if there are any issues, please bear with us as we work through the refund process at this challenging time.

We are currently working to reschedule cancelled performances to dates in the autumn and will keep all customers up-to-date as quickly as possible regarding this.

Please refer to our website and social channels for further updates over the coming weeks.

We greatly appreciate the support of our audiences at this testing and anxious time. It is a fast-moving situation; we are monitoring it closely and will keep you posted.  We are hopeful that things will get back to normal soon and we hope to see you return in the not too distant future, stay safe.

Crewe Medical Centre CLOSED

Crewe Medical Centre has been closed for routine appointments until further notice:

The surgery is closed for routine appointments until further notice. If you need medical advice please phone us during opening hours on 0131 552 5544 and a doctor will call you back.

For information on the coronavirus outbreak please go to NHS Inform or call the helpline on 0800 028 2816

If you have symptoms of coronavirus, do not go to your GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. Call your GP or 111 for advice on what to do.

Week of action to focus on vulnerable road users

Police Scotland’s Road Policing Division is carrying out a week of action this week focusing on the safety of vulnerable road users.

The campaign, which will run from Monday 16 to Sunday 22 March, will see officers carry out enhanced activity at locations with a higher number of cyclists and pedestrians, such as schools, colleges and universities as well as town centres.

The aim is to interact with drivers, pedestrians and cyclists to raise awareness about how they can all contribute to making our roads safer.

In Scotland in 2018, Police Scotland responded to 1,253 pedestrian casualties, with those aged 12-15 or over-70 being most impacted for fatalities and serious injuries respectively. In the same period, there were 637 pedal cyclist casualties, 87% of which took place on built-up roads.

Chief Superintendent Louise Blakelock, Head of Road Policing, said: “Road safety is an absolute priority for Police Scotland and it is vital that everyone is aware of the risks associated with using our roads, whether you use them as a motorist, a pedestrian, cyclist or any other activity.

“This campaign provides us with an excellent opportunity to highlight our collective responsibilities as road users. Some simple steps, being readily visible to others, being alert to your own surroundings, being aware and courteous to other road users, all go a long way to improving road safety.”

Alpaca parties headline new range of services at LOVE Gorgie Farm 

Edinburgh’s urban farm is marking the beginning of a new era as it announces a new range of services only two weeks after opening the site back to the public. 

LOVE Gorgie Farm, on the former Gorgie City Farm site, will offer a wide variety of activities, including birthday parties and pet boarding. On offer will be alpaca treks and birthday parties, and the farm can act as a venue for corporate gatherings and training events. 

The farm can also be rented as a venue for community events and fundraiser parties. 

Operated by education and social care charity LOVE Learning, most activities on the farm will nurture the organisation’s mission and consequently relate to education and social care. 

As such, the farm will offer animal volunteer sessions for people with additional support needs, hold animal care and animal handling activities, provide “farm to fork” workshops and use its education centre to impart its accredited training programmes. 

LOVE Gorgie Farm will also have a cuddle corner on the site, which can outreach to the community, including care homes and schools. 

Moreover, the urban farm is committed to providing services that align with LOVE Learning’s environmental portfolio and will build a climate change garden, host green conferences and provide innovative social prescribing therapies in partnership with the NHS. 

The urban farm is organising sponsorship packages to help fund the animals and the farm. Interested sponsors will be able to choose from a wide range of options like animal sponsorship, birthday packages and corporate bundles. 

Lynn Bell, CEO of LOVE Learning said: “Now that the farm is back and running, we want to make sure we provide a wide range of activities that the community enjoys and ensure that we are financially sustainable, delivering enough funds to successfully run the farm.

 “By offering animal, environmental and education services, we will make sure that LOVE Gorgie Farm becomes more than an urban farm but rather an education and social hub with strong environmental credentials that welcomes all members of the community. 

“Aside from these new services, we are looking to launch sponsorship deals for people and businesses who want to be more involved and support the farm through their generous donations.” 

To the general public, the farm remains open seven days a week and it is free to visit, though donations are encouraged. 

Those interested in any of the services should contact LOVE Gorgie Farm at gorgie@l-o-v-e.org.uk or visit www.gorgiecityfarm.org.uk