More important than ever to look after ourselves, says walking charity

Scotland’s walking charity is urging the public to stay active and take a walk everyday amidst the Coronavirus outbreak.

Paths for All says it’s more important than ever that people who feel well should walk alone or with those they live with to protect their physical and mental health.

Exercising once a day is one of only four reasons why people are allowed to leave their home. The charity believes that those not experiencing symptoms and not in the high-risk groups should go out for short, local walks as long as they minimise social contact.

Paths for All has also launched new online guidance and links to resources which can help people stay active indoors, connect with nature outside and encourage those working from home to move more.

Ian Findlay CBE, Chief Officer at Paths for All, said: “Now more than ever it’s important for people to look after their physical and mental health.

“Fresh air, being outdoors and connecting with nature is not only positive for your physical health, but it can help your mental health by improving your mood and reducing stress and anxiety. We believe it’s important for people to continue to enjoy short, local walks provided you are well and where it’s safe and appropriate to do so.

“The official advice is to stay local. Choose routes right from your own front door if you can, to avoid non-essential travel. You should try to visit places you know will be quiet, away from hotspots, and remember to keep a distance of at least two metres from other people.

“If you are unable to go outside for a walk, then there are many ways you can keep moving at home. Browse online for demonstration videos and resources and remember to take regular breaks from sitting down to get up and move around.”

Walking provides many benefits, including increased fitness and enhanced mood on top of reducing the risk of depression, anxiety, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, dementia and diabetes.

The charity’s campaigns and events showcase how walking can bring significant benefits to the nation’s health and environment, aiming to encourage everyone in Scotland to walk every day and everywhere.

Paths for All works with Scottish Government and 30 partners to support and deliver national policies, such as the National Walking Strategy and other ‘active travel’ initiatives.

For more information on Paths for All, visit: pathsforall.org.uk

Edinburgh Science Festival goes digital!

Elements of #EdSciFest is a digital reiteration of Edinburgh Science Festival 2020, now cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Elements of #EdSciFest draws on the original 2020 theme for the festival, Elementary, which used the ancient classifications of Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Aeather as lenses to look at the challenges and opportunities facing the planet.
Featuring dozens of free content items such as videos, Facebook Lives, blog posts, Q&As, online challenges and downloadable assets, Elements of #EdSciFest is the perfect opportunity to get hands-on with science at home, regardless of age.
Elements of #EdSciFest is live on sciencefestival.co.uk at 10am on Saturday 4 April with further events and assets to be added by 11 April. All content will be available online until normal service resumes.
Some of the highlights include live streamed talks from Claudia Hammond, Marcus Chown and Ilan Kelman, downloadable dinosaur craft activities, an online photo exhibition celebrating Scotland’s Coasts and Waters and a takeover of the Earth Live Lessons YouTube series.

Edinburgh Science team is pleased to reveal Elements of #EdSciFest, an ambitious free online programme of science videos, Facebook Lives, blogs, downloadable activities, Q&As, online challenges and more to keep sci-curious minds busy at home.

Being the world’s first and still Europe’s largest science festival, Edinburgh Science Festival has a wealth of experience in creating fun, engaging science content. Elements of #EdSciFest is set to be a fantastic resource for people of all ages confined to their homes and with many parents trying their hand at home-schooling.

Drawing on the Elementary theme of the Edinburgh Science Festival 2020, this wide-ranging project is a digital reiteration of the Festival which had to be cancelled in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the face of these unprecedented challenges, the Festival has called on its speakers and partner organisations to put together an exciting and innovative digital programme.

The content of the Elements of #EdSciFest programme explores science’s role in addressing the biggest global environmental challenges through five strands – Air, Earth, Fire, Water and Aether, the latter representing the digital world.

Each element provides a different way of looking at some of the challenges and opportunities facing humanity.

The All Fired Up strand focuses on how we tackle the climate crisis with the urgency it requires.

One Earth explores the circular and sharing economies, tackles our extinction crisis and looks at ways we can feed the world on a global scale. The Air We Breathe looks into air pollution and fuel alternatives that will help bring clean air to as many people as possible. Water for Life dives into our relationship with rivers and oceans and the protection they need from exploitation. Finally, Aether / Go Digital looks at the power we hold at our fingertips, the potential solutions that technology holds to our problems and the issues that might arise from it.

The Festival’s outdoor photography exhibition, Into the Blue, is now being brought indoors and on to our screens for everyone to enjoy from home. Every day the Festival is uploading a new picture from the exhibition on to their Instagram, taking users on a fascinating journey around some of Scotland’s most remarkable coastlines with stunning photography from local artists.

Online content will include a series of short science videos covering a huge range of topics. These have been filmed by speakers who were originally planned to appear at the Science Festival, along with some special new additions who were keen to get involved following the cancellation announcement.

Live-streamed content will include talks from broadcaster Claudia Hammond on the importance of rest in our fast-moving world, science writer Marcus Chown on the vast complexities of the Universe and Professor Ilan Kelman on how the majority of natural disasters are created or exacerbated by human choices.

Dr Raj Persaud brings back his TEDX and podcasts exploring themes such as seduction, pandemics and happiness.

60 Seconds Science series sees, among others, Prof Nick Jelly talking on renewable energy, Pragya Arwal taking on unconscious bias, Prof Geraint Lewis and Dr Luke Barnes presenting The Cosmic Revolutionary’s Handbook and Jan Hodel shining light on his work in brewing and distilling.

Very Short Introduction To…. series also continues online with 10 different science topics.

Elsewhere, The University of Edinburgh have prepared a range of videos exploring issues around climate change. Also, Digital World (Skills Development Scotland) are sharing a range of digital workshops and online learning with fun tasks challenging audiences to Defend a Hospital and Steal a Pizza.

Instead of the Dinosaur Weekend that was planned for children at the Pleasance, the Festival has designed a series of dinosaur crafts that kids can download and make at home. Plus, two events that were planned for the Festival’s flagship family venue, the City Art Centre, will now take place in digital form as part of an Edinburgh Science takeover of the popular Earth Live Lessons YouTube series. On 10 and 11 April, viewers can livestream talks focused on our amazing oceans and Scottish wildlife.

National Space Academy, originally involved in Exploring Space Science, presents a series of events for the space-curious.

These include demo videos with Tim Peake, first British European Space Agency astronaut to visit the International Space Station, a virtual tour of the Science and Technology Facilities Council including space rocks brought from Apollo missions, online library of the National Space Centre, a series of short videos in which team from the National Space Centre answers questions from the public via social media and a TEDX talk from Kierann Shah on how space can save the world.

Through a series of This Is Engineering short videos as well as STEM teacher resources from the Royal Academy of Engineering, the young minds get a chance to have a closer look at engineering careers and the difference they make in the world. Also exploring the world of engineering is This Book Thinks You’re An Inventor by Jon Milton and Harriet Russell. Elements of #EdSciFest presents colourful and simple one-page engineering challenges and activities that can be done at home.

For Minecraft fans, Society of Antiquaries present Crafting the Past, a website which digitally recreates sites in Minecraft, enabling audiences to discover Scotland’s history, heritage and archaeology, including free to download maps.

Amanda Tyndall, Festival and Creative Director at Edinburgh Science, said: “Two weeks ago, we made the sad but necessary decision to cancel the Edinburgh Science Festival due to the global spread of COVID-19, but it takes more than lockdown to keep us down!

“We’ve reached out to our partners, participants and supporters, wracked our brains and trawled our archives and I’m delighted to announce that our online offering, ‘Elements of #EdSciFest’, will launch on 4 April.

“Using the ancient classifications of Earth, Air, Fire and Water and Aether to explore how science can help address some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing us as individuals, societies and as a planet, we’ll bring you talks, reading lists, film recommendations, curated articles, downloadable resources and a selection of ‘live’ events that help ensure that everyone – from kids, parents and teachers to the just generally sci-curious – can get still get some science this Easter!’’

www.sciencefestival.co.uk

@EdSciFest

www.facebook.com/EdinburghScienceFestival

Further changes to waste collections ‘will help protect workers’ safety’

First it was glass, now it’s garden waste. Changes will be made to waste collections in Edinburgh to ensure the continued delivery of essential services and to protect the health of frontline workers and residents.

New arrangements will protect the health of frontline staff
Non-statutory garden waste collections will be suspended to allow for changes
Additional measures have been taken to safeguard public health

From 7 April we are suspending kerbside garden waste (brown bin) collections to help prioritise resources while enabling waste collection crews to observe social distancing guidelines during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

In order to give crew members the space to stay two metres apart, the number of operatives in refuse lorry cabs will be reduced, meaning we’ll need increased resources to carry out the collection of kerbside and communal general waste, food recycling and dry mixed recycling.

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “As a result of the current situation, non-statutory garden waste collections will be suspended until further notice, along with kerbside glass (blue box) collections, which were stopped earlier this month.

We’ll be in touch with households who have paid for this service about how we’ll compensate them for the reduction in service once we know the extent of the disruption.

“We’re working extremely hard to continue providing essential services to people living here, and our waste collection crews are doing a fantastic job. However, their health is of utmost importance so it’s important that we adapt service provision to protect their safety.

“This latest change will allow us to keep collecting most bins while giving teams the space to practise social distancing, limiting the potential spread of the coronavirus. I want to reassure the public that we’re doing everything we can to keep essential services running as close to normal as possible while looking out for the needs of the people who work for us.”

Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “Like local authorities across the country we face unprecedented challenges and at times like these it’s necessary to make changes for the good of the city, and our employees.

“We know this will be of some inconvenience to those planning to be gardening during this period, but I would discourage people from putting grass and cuttings in the brown bins in the meantime, as contents will begin to compost meaning they may become too heavy for us to collect once the service is up and running again. You can, however, find tips and advice for home composting on Changeworks’ website.”

To further support the essential collection of general waste, mixed recycling and food recycling, the council is procuring extra resources from a third-party provider, as well as reassigning staff from cleansing teams.

Anyone with symptoms of Coronavirus is encouraged to follow the guidance on how to dispose of waste correctly to help protect the safety of bin collection crews.

Additional measures taken to safeguard waste and cleansing workers’ health have been the increased provision of hand sanitiser supplies, in addition to hot water handwashing points in a number of vehicles, the washing down of lorries at the end of shifts and efforts to encourage social distancing in depots.

We will be contacting all those who have registered for garden waste collections to update on arrangements via letter or email, depending on how they signed up.

During this period, residents can continue recycling garden waste by using a compost bin if possible – tips and advice for home composting are available on Changeworks’ website.

If your brown bin is full please don’t put more garden waste in as the contents will start to compost and could become too heavy to empty when services start again.

Further information on changes to bin collections and other services can be found on the Council website.

New guidelines to protect frontline staff

New guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE) has been published for health and social care workers responding to coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland.

The guidance, which has been agreed by the four UK Chief Medical Officers and Chief Nursing Officers, follows an urgent review of the existing guidance against the latest evidence and WHO advice, on the safest way to protect health and social care staff.

The new guidance includes:

what type of PPE to use in secondary, primary and community care settings, and when to wear it

when clinicians need to wear a higher level of protective equipment, and in which settings

detailed advice around risk assessing use of PPE in a range of different clinical scenarios, including community settings, such as care homes and caring for individuals in their own homes

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “Protecting staff working on the frontline is an absolute priority and I want to thank each and every one of them for their hard work and commitment in this incredibly challenging situation.

“I want our staff to feel as safe as possible and this updated guidance provides clarity so that health and social care staff caring for patients feel confident in which PPE they need to wear in different situations and settings.”

Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood said: “The updates to the guidance reflect the fact that COVID-19 is now widespread in the community, so health and social care workers are more likely to see patients with the virus, some of whom will not have symptoms yet.

“We have introduced new measures to improve the distribution of PPE, including a single point of contact for all health boards to manage local PPE supply and distribution, and an email address for NHS staff to contact if they do not have what they need. This is covid-19-health-PPE@gov.scot. It will be monitored continuously and allow us to act to resolve any specific supply issues more quickly.

“A helpline has also been set up for registered social care providers having problems accessing PPE, with extra staff to prepare orders for social care, additional delivery drivers, longer delivery hours and use of more external delivery companies to increase capacity. Work continues to source further PPE and ensure there is an appropriate supply for all our workforce.”

The Scottish Government also outlined details of the improved process to report COVID-19 deaths that began yesterday.

As part of this new system, 40 deaths, which would not yet have been reported under the old system – because next of kin had not been informed – have been included and allocated to the last three days as appropriate.

The data below shows the running total of the number of deaths reported, under the old and new systems, of those confirmed to have died from Coronavirus across the last few days. There are now 126 deaths confirmed using the new system:

Tuesday 31 March – 69 (previously 60)

Wednesday 1 April – 97 (76)

Thursday 2 April – 126 (86).

Stung into action: Hancock unveils testing plans

England will carry out 100,000 tests for coronavirus every day by the end of this month, Health Secretary Matt Hancock pledged yesterday.

Increased testing for the NHS will form part of a new 5-pillar plan, bringing together government, industry, academia, the NHS and many others, to dramatically increase the number of tests being carried out each day.

Mr Hancock’s announcement comes following increasing criticism of the government’s slow response to both testing for coronavirus and provision of vital personal protective equipment (PPE).

On Wednesday, trade unions urged the government to ensure essential workers get access to live-saving protective equipment in an open letter to ministers.

The letter, signed by the TUC, UNISON, RCM, GMB, Unite, BDA and CSP, said: “Our members care for the sick and the elderly, they look after our children and keep them safe, they make sure there is food on the supermarket shelves, they keep the lights on and the water running.

“We are weeks into fighting Covid-19. It is now clear that the lack of personal protective equipment for frontline workers has become a crisis within a crisis.”

The letter adds: “Workers are being exposed to unreasonable and unnecessary risk by the ongoing failure to provide key workers with adequate PPE.

“Every day we hear from our members that despite repeated assurances from government, people are being asked to work with inadequate or out of date protective equipment – and that is where PPE is being provided at all.”

The letter states starkly the risks faced by key workers. “They are risking their own health and safety for us. We must be clear what that means, those who are subject to prolonged and direct exposure to the virus – such as health and social care professionals – are risking their lives.”

Calling for urgent government action to increase PPE supply, the letter adds there must be “transparency on procurement, distribution, timescales and exactly how and when workers can expect to get the protection they need and deserve,” adding “we call on the government and employers to guarantee that no member of staff will be put under pressure to perform tasks without adequate protective equipment.”

The call was backed by Labour health spokesperson John Ashworth. “Labour calls on ministers to abandon attempts to gag staff and instead work closely with trade unions to ensure staff get the PPE that is so crucial to keeping them and patients safe,” he said.

The appeal – and, perhaps more importantly, criticism from loyal government supporting newspapers including the Daily Mail and the Telegraph – appears to have had an effect and the government has been stung into action.

Professor John Newton the Director of Health Improvement for Public Health England, has been appointed to help deliver the new plans and bring together industry, universities, NHS and government behind the ambitious testing targets.

He will coordinate a national effort with global manufacturers encouraged to expand their manufacturing capacity here in England; our strongest, home grown businesses in life sciences and other industries are encouraged to turn their resources to creating and rolling out mass testing at scale, and the government will support anyone with a scalable scientific idea or innovation to start a business.

New testing capabilities for the NHS and their families will support staff who are isolating at home to return safely to work if the test is negative, and keep themselves and others safe if the test is positive.

Significant progress to increase testing has already taken place across the country to protect the vulnerable, support our NHS, and ultimately save lives. New testing centres have been established at the main hotspots of the disease, and the UK has already conducted more than 152,000 tests. The 5-pillar plan sets targets to expand the England’s capability further.

The new 5-pillar plan outlines the ambitions to:

Scale up swab testing in PHE labs and NHS hospitals for those with a medical need and the most critical workers to 25,000 a day by mid to late April;
Deliver increased commercial swab testing for critical key workers in the NHS, before then expanding to key workers in other sectors;
Develop blood testing to help know if people have the right antibodies and so have high levels of immunity to coronavirus;
Conduct surveillance testing to learn more about the spread of the disease and help develop new tests and treatments; and
Create a new National Effort for testing, to build a mass-testing capacity at a completely new scale.

Once widespread testing is available, we will prioritise repeated testing of critical key workers, to keep them safe and make sure that they do not spread the virus.

Over time, plans announced today will also see increasing focus on testing to see if people have already had the virus, to identify if they have the antibodies that will give them immunity against catching it again. This science is new and developing, but the aim is for a successful test that can be rolled out at scale, that could allow critical workers – and then the wider population – to return to work and their daily lives.

The Health Secretary also announced that over £13 BILLION of debt will be written off as part of a major financial reset for NHS providers – and community pharmacies will also receive a £300 million boost.

Seems the government has found that magic money tree after all!

New technology to aid COVID-19 air transfers

The Scottish Ambulance Service is utlilising the latest medical technology to aid in the safe transfer of COVID-19 patients using air ambulance.

The ‘epishuttle’ technology allows patients to be placed in a sealed adult sized incubator for transfer by air ambulance, providing protection for both patients and staff in complex cases.

To date, eight of these shuttles have been purchased, two of which have been received and are being tested for a go-live date on 3 April. A further two will be received on 17 April and another four by Mid-May.

The investment, of more than £500,000, will allow the Service to ensure patients receive the highest possible standards of care whilst increasing capacity for complex transfers involving COVID-19 patients, such as those from remote and Island communities.

The Scottish Ambulance Service is working in partnership with Transport Scotland, Loganair and the RAF to increase the range of transport options available for COVID-19 transfers.

Pauline Howie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “This is an unprecendented situation and our staff across the country are doing a fantastic job in caring for patients across Scotland.

“The fight against COVID-19 has required the NHS to think differently and to move at pace. By adapting our approach and using this latest available technology, we are taking swift action in the best interests of patients and our hardworking staff – whilst increasing our capacity.

“The introduction of epishuttles will increase the range of options available to us as a Service as we deal with COVID-19 cases, particularly for rural and island communities.

“I’d also like to thank our colleagues at Transport Scotland, Loganair and the RAF who have been offered fantastic assistance to us through aircraft and staff. It has been a real team effort and means we have the full range of resources available to us to enable us to react to any situation as we continue to help communities across Scotland in the months ahead.”

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “We’ve been working closely with the Scottish Ambulance Service to significantly increase capacity for airlifting patients off the islands and to ensure that any patients from our island communities with COVID-19 can be transported to receive the appropriate healthcare when they need it.

“The first batch of Epishuttles will be available from this Friday, with plans well underway to increase the number of these single patient isolation pods in the coming weeks. Epishuttles are designed to protect patients and crew from potential infection and safely transport patients on fixed wing aircraft.

“In the meantime, SAS is working with the RAF who are currently providing cover for transfers off the islands, using three puma helicopters based at Kinloss which can transfer some patients without Epishuttles.

“Our NHS is on an emergency footing and all health boards have been undertaking extensive work across Scotland to maximise the capacity available to manage expected rise in demand due to COVID-19. We can all play our part and ease pressure on services by staying at home, except for key workers, essential shopping, reasonable exercise or caring for the vulnerable.”

Health workers do-it-themselves to tackle ventilator shortages

The First Minister has thanked clinical physics teams across Scotland in Parliament for their efforts on increasing ventilator capacity by repurposing equipment.

NHS staff have helped boost the stock of ventilators, crucial for the care of those suffering from coronavirus (COVID-19), by repurposing more than 200 anaesthetic machines.

These machines, normally used in operating theatres outwith intensive care units (ICU), will supplement the stock of specialised ICU ventilators.

NHS boards will deploy them as an interim measure with staff currently being retrained to use them in this way.

The use of repurposed machines increases ICU bed availability to more than 500. More ventilators for the NHS in Scotland have been ordered from a range of manufacturers and these will arrive in the coming weeks.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Expert NHS clinicians, medical physicists and technicians have worked tirelessly, particularly over the last few days, to increase the ventilation capacity in our NHS by repurposing anaesthetic machines in response to COVID-19.

“Their remarkable work means our NHS has not just doubled ICU capacity, but has tripled it, ahead of the arrival of the additional ventilators we have ordered.

“We are now working to quadruple ICU capacity for COVID-19 patients to beyond 700 ICU beds, as soon as that can be achieved.

“These measures are part of our concerted and sustained response to an unprecedented health emergency. I am deeply grateful to our NHS staff for their ongoing commitment, expertise and bravery during this outbreak.”

Consultant Intensive Care Anaesthetist and Scottish Critical Care Clinical Lead Dr Rory Mackenzie said: “Over the last month ICU clinicians across Scotland have been fully committed to delivering detailed plans to increase the number of ventilator beds to meet the anticipated demand due to COVID-19.

“These plans include expanding into new spaces not normally used for critical care and repurposing anaesthetic machine ventilators, normally used in the operating theatre environment, to supplement specialised ICU ventilators.

“Most importantly, staff with previous ICU experience and others released from elective care programmes have gone through additional training.

“This is to ensure they can provide essential support and assistance to core critical care staff in the delivery of invasive ventilation, within these significantly enlarged units, to the sickest patients for whom this treatment provides a realistic prospect of survival.”

Scottish Government Senior Medical Advisor and Consultant Intensive Care Anaesthetist Dr John Colvin said: “From working collaboratively with clinical and technical staff across NHS Scotland, we are now confident that we are able to provide more than three times the normal number of ICU beds, and are on course to quadruple Intensive Care Capacity.

“A key advantage is that the extra medical and nursing staff from anaesthetics who will be contributing to the ICU escalation care will be familiar and confident with this equipment. ”

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s clinical physics team have converted 100 anaesthetic machines to ventilators.

The First Minister thanked clinical physics teams across Scotland in Parliament today for their efforts on increasing ventilator capacity by repurposing equipment.

This is part of the board’s overall mobilisation plan to quadruple critical care capacity to cope with COVID-19, as requested by the Scottish Government.

Patients with coronavirus often have difficulty breathing and ventilators are used in hospital to help with this.

A team of 12 technicians in the past few days converted the medical equipment at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Royal Alexandra Hospital.

They were able to do this by changing the machines’ inner tubing to use air instead of oxygen to operate the ventilator. The machines were then tested, calibrated and are now approved for use to treat patients with coronavirus.

The clinical physics team at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde maintain the medical equipment in our hospitals.

This is part of NHS Greater Glasgow’s overall response to COVID-19 as the board aims to protect its patients, staff and wider public.

Ted Mullen, Head of Medical Equipment Management, part of the wider Clinical Physics Team, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (above), said: Our team of experts did an incredible job this past weekend to convert our anaesthetic machines to much-needed ventilators.

“I want to thank them for their tireless work on this. These ventilators will help our frontline staff treat patients with coronavirus.”

The Big Light Network launches new crime fiction podcast

SCOTTISH podcast network, ‘The Big Light’, is set to launch ‘THE TARTAN NOIR SHOW’, a brand new crime fiction podcast celebrating the gritty world of ‘Tartan Noir’, the internationally-acclaimed and increasingly popular Scottish crime writing genre.

Presented by crime writer and broadcaster, Theresa Talbot, this upbeat, gripping and informative podcast showcases the very best crime writing and storytelling from our most successful ‘Tartan Noir’ authors, as Theresa is joined each week by a special guest writer, for a backstage pass into the extraordinary world of Scottish crime writing.

Theresa’s first guest is none other than ‘Queen of Crime’, the incredible Val McDermid.

Val and Theresa discuss the very essence of the tartan noir genre, referencing her own favourite crime author, William McIlvanney whose seminal novel, Laidlaw, is often cited as the book that kicked the whole genre off.

Working in collaboration with existing literary festivals, Bloody Scotland, Aye Write! and other major literary events, The Tartan Noir Show also features exclusive live recordings plus special live event editions of the show.

Upcoming guests and pre-recorded live content includes further world-renowned names, including: DENISE MINA, CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE, IAN RANKIN with NICOLA STURGEON, PETER MAY, STUART MACBRIDE, LIAM MCILVANNEY, IRVINE WELSH, CARO RAMSAY, ABIR MUKHERJEE plus many more.

Host Theresa Talbot, says: “I’m so excited about hosting The Tartan Noir Show because not only am I a crime writer, but also, I’m a huge fan of crime fiction and, I have to confess, I’m a huge fan of Scottish crime fiction.

“We have such a rich seam of talent here, from Shetland right down to Dumfries and Galloway, so it’s really fascinating to be getting behind the scenes with people who write crime in Scotland. Tartan Noir is really quite particular – you can almost taste it and the setting is almost like a character in itself.”

Exec producer, Janice Forsyth, says: “It’s a thrill to be able to connect fans around the world with the best crime writing and writers from Scotland and beyond in this lively, informed weekly podcast.”

Author Val McDermid, says: “It’s absolutely the berries! If you are interested in Scottish crime writing … if you’re interested in crime writing, this is the show for you!”

The Big Light co-founder, Fiona White, said: “Our mission for The Big Light is to connect a global audience with the very best content Scotland has to offer.

“Scotland has produced some of the literary world’s most successful crime writers, making The Tartan Noir Show is a no-brainer for us and we’re looking forward to making it available for Scottish crime fiction fans around the world.”

Heart Research UK Healthy tip: Easy ways to get your 5-a-day!

Eating five portions of fruit and veg every day can help keep your heart healthy and reduce the risk of heart disease. As supermarket shelves are emptier than usual, Heart Research UK have some tips to help you achieve your 5-a-day during this challenging time.

What counts as a portion?

Eighty grams of fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and veg or 30g dried fruit count as one portion. For example, one fresh pear or banana, two small plums, or three heaped tablespoons of peas. Beans and pulses also count, but you should only count these once as they contain fewer nutrients compared to other fruit and veg. 150ml of fruit/vegetable juice or smoothie also counts, but you should limit these drinks to no more than one a day due to the sugars they contain.

Top up with lentils

Lentils are a versatile ingredient and a great source of fibre, which is good for heart health. Try replacing some of the meat in your bolognese sauce with a handful of lentils or try adding lentils to homemade soups.

Include tinned, frozen and dried fruit and veg in your meals

As the population is being encouraged to make fewer trips to the supermarket, you may find that you need to rely on the food in your store cupboard and freezer more than usual. Try adding dried or frozen fruit to your bowl of breakfast cereal in the morning and include a variety of frozen or tinned veg with your evening meals. Tinned fruit with yoghurt can also provide you with a healthy dessert.

Enjoy homemade soups for lunch

Homemade soups are an easy way to increase your veg intake. You can include a variety of tinned, fresh and frozen veg in soups. There are lots of healthy vegetable soup recipes available online, but here is one to get you started.

Easy-peasy pea soup.

1 tbsp rapeseed oil or vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
400g frozen peas, defrosted
500ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Fresh mint, finely chopped (optional)

Heat the oil over a medium heat and stir in the chopped onion. Gently fry the onion until soft, but not browned. Add the peas and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Puree the soup using a blender and add salt and pepper to taste. If you have fresh mint available, you can add this at the end.

The rights and health of refugees, migrants and stateless must be protected

A joint press release from The Office of the High Commissioner, United Nations Human Rights; International Organisation for Migration; World Health Organisation:

In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, we are all vulnerable. The virus has shown that it does not discriminate – but many refugees, those forcibly displaced, the stateless and migrants are at heightened risk.

Three-quarters of the world’s refugees and many migrants are hosted in developing regions where health systems are already overwhelmed and under-capacitated. Many live in overcrowded camps, settlements, makeshift shelters or reception centers, where they lack adequate access to health services, clean water and sanitation.

The situation for refugees and migrants held in formal and informal places of detention, in cramped and unsanitary conditions, is particularly worrying.

Considering the lethal consequences a COVID-19 outbreak would have, they should be released without delay. Migrant children and their families and those detained without a sufficient legal basis should be immediately released.

This disease can be controlled only if there is an inclusive approach which protects every individual’s rights to life and health. Migrants and refugees are disproportionately vulnerable to exclusion, stigma and discrimination, particulary when undocumented.

To avert a catastrophe, governments must do all they can to protect the rights and the health of everyone. Protecting the rights and the health of all people will in fact help control the spread of the virus.

It is vital that everyone, including all migrants and refugees, are ensured equal access to health services and are effectively included in national responses to COVID-19, including prevention, testing and treatment. Inclusion will help not only to protect the rights of refugees and migrants, but will also serve to protect public health and stem the global spread of COVID-19.

While many nations protect and host refugee and migrant populations, they are often not equipped to respond to crises such as Covid-19. To ensure refugees and migrants have adequate access to national health services, States may need additional financial support. This is where the world’s financial institutions can play a leading role in making funds available.

While countries are closing their borders and limiting cross-border movements, there are ways to manage border restrictions in a manner which respects international human rights and refugee protection standards, including the principle of non-refoulement, through quarantine and health checks.

More than ever, as COVID-19 poses a global threat to our collective humanity, our primary focus should be on the preservation of life, regardless of status. This crisis demands a coherent, effective international approach that leaves no-one behind.

At this crucial moment we all need to rally around a common objective, fighting this deadly virus. Many refugees, displaced, stateless people and migrants have skills and resources that can also be part of the solution.

We cannot allow fear or intolerance to undermine rights or compromise the effectiveness of responses to the global pandemic. We are all in this together. We can only defeat this virus when each and every one of us is protected.