Do you want to learn how to experience less stress in your daily life?
Pilton Community Health Project is running another series of online mindfulness sessions for men – starting Wednesday 7 October!
To find out more, please contact: israelsalinas@pchp.org.uk 07784 897 607
Scotland must show “bolder ambition” if it is to meet targets for tackling child poverty, a new report by the Joesph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has warned.
Over one million Scots – one in six people – are living ‘precarious and insecure’ lives, according to JRF’s latest Poverty in Scotland annual report – and the situation is likely to become even more critical with the ongoing cornavirus and the imminent end of the furlough scheme this month.
Child poverty now stands at 24% – almost one in four of our children now lives in poverty. The Scottish Government’s target is to reduce this figure to 18% or less by 2023 – 24 -but unless there is radical action this target is unlikely to be met.
JRF’s associate director for Scotland Jim McCormick, who also chaired Edinburgh’s Poverty Commission, said we are at a “crucial moment”.
“The decisions we make will determine whether we reach our ambitious child poverty targets by the middle of the next parliament,” he said. “As the shape of our economy changes, it is vital to do all we can to protect people’s jobs, homes and living standards, so more families are not pulled into poverty.”
The JRF report calls on the Scottish Government to be more ambitious.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said the government is ‘absolutely committed’ to tackling child poverty and said initiatives including Scottish Child Payments, Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods are evidence of this. The spokesperson called for the UK Government to match Scotland’s ambition.
Lauder Fire Station has celebrated its 20th Anniversary and firefighters have been reflecting on what it means to serve their community.
When the Borders station opened in 2000, there were 45 applicants to become firefighters, and 15 were successful. Still serving from that very first crew are Watch Commander (WC) John Connell and Crew Commander (CC) Dougie Scott.
Both are retained firefighters and balance being on call for their local community with holding down full-time jobs.
CC Scott is a postal worker. He was a leading firefighter at the crew’s first call out, which was to a horse transporter alight.
CC Scott said: “The first incident was the day after the station officially opened, and I drove to this call, as I was a selected driver. My heart was racing. We were supervised by a full-time Sub Officer, everything went to plan and our training kicked in.
“It was the start of 20 years enjoyable service with great highs and the inevitable lows.
“The camaraderie and team work of my colleagues help to lift you when times are hard, and I always remember that no matter what, I am helping our community at their time of need.”
When the Station opened, full-time farmer, WC Connell was Lauder Fire Station’s Sub Officer.
WC Connell said: “I was honoured to join the crew at Lauder and to lead them as Sub Officer. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for, and it’s been a rollercoaster.
“We have served our Community on over 2,000 occasions, but it’s only a small part of the picture. We are available for them 24/7, working around our families and main jobs as well.
“There’s great satisfaction in talking to a member of the community about joining and their journey to become part of the crew, which is like a family.
“I continue to be honoured and proud to be part of the Lauder crew, to serve our community, and I intend to do so for many years to come.”
Lauder Fire Station was officially opened on September 1, 2000 by HRH The Princess Royal.
Retained firefighter Christine Jaffray was part of the first crew. She’s since left the Service and she’s also the aunt of current Scottish Borders Group Commander (GC) Michael Jaffray.
She met Princess Anne at the official opening which was reported in the Border Telegraph newspaper on September 5, that year.
She said: “The Princess asked me how my family felt about me being a firefighter and what I did as my main job? I told her my family are fine with what I do and I’m a registered nurse, which can come in handy when I’m called out.
“I decided to become a firefighter because it was a challenge for me and it was something for the community that I could be involved in. They had an open day and I thought I would give it a go, I never thought for a minute that I would actually make it, but here I am.”
Lauder Fire Station celebrated the milestone occasion with a socially distanced ceremony.
This was attended by Assistant Chief Officer (ACO) John Dickie, Deputy Assistant Chief Officer (DACO) David Lockhart, Local Senior Officer (LSO) Steve Gourlay, GC Michael Jaffray, Station Commander (SC) Don MacNeil, and the Lauder crew.
ACO, John Dickie was involved in the initial and continuous training of the Lauder crew for their first three years.
He said: “It was very satisfying to observe the team develop from limited knowledge and experience as trainee firefighters to being signed off as ready to go on the run protecting the community of Lauder. Now 20 years on, it was good to meet and chat with some of the original crew again on the anniversary of the station going on the run.”
The SFRS is currently on the look-out for retained firefighters in areas across Scotland.
Retained firefighters must be aged 18 or over, live within five to eight minutes’ drive of their local station and have the permission of their primary employer before joining the SFRS.
For more on what it takes to join our retained ranks visit /work-with-us/retained-firefighters.aspx
To view current opportunities, visit https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/emergency-services/scottish-fire-and-rescue-service/jobs
Picturing Health is a photovoice project by Media Education and Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership.
The purpose of Picturing Health is to start a conversation with everyone in Edinburgh about how we see the future of health and social care. Health is a social issue which affects us all and the communities in which we live our daily lives.
People across Edinburgh were asked to take a photograph about what health means to them. These photographs tell a story about what health means to people in Edinburgh – what needs to change, what we cherish and what we want to celebrate and protect.
The Picturing Health exhibition launched last month and is now on the wall at Waverley Station. Orgainsers hope the pictures will generate conversation and inform health and social care services in Edinburgh moving forwards.
You can view these images at our exhibition at Waverley Station and in our online gallery at the updated picturing-health.com.
We would like to express our special thanks to everyone in Edinburgh who took photographs for this project. Your willingness to share your experiences creatively has brought this exhibition to life.
It’s also not too late to submit your own photograph and have your voice heard!
Council officers handled over 250,000 inbound customer phone calls, 150,000 emails and 50,000 tweets at the height of the pandemic, as part of the city’s round the clock response to supporting residents in need.
The Contact Centre team has been thanked for their lockdown efforts – which have largely been from home – ahead of the Council’s move to re-instate all phone lines to pre-Covid levels.
From tomorrow (Monday 5 October) a full service will start to resume with 200 staff managing customer queries by social media, email and phone. This will take place remotely and from Council buildings, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
Residents are being urged to keep going online where possible to save time and to keep phone lines free for those without digital access.
Councillor Rob Munn, interim Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee, said: “Our customer team has done an incredible job of supporting residents, with great care given to help some of our most vulnerable citizens during what has been a very challenging situation. I’d like to thank each one of them for this as they prepare to return to their usual roles.
“Over the last six months, we have seen more and more residents save time by going online to report an issue, request help or pay for services, and that’s something we want to see continue.
“We know increasing numbers of people would rather use their mobile phone, tablet or computer to contact us and the website is by far and away the quickest and simplest way to get in touch. The savings we make from digital service delivery can also be invested towards improving the city.
“That said, not everyone has the means, the ability or the want to go online. That’s why it’s also important that we start to reinstate our usual phone services again, and why we need people to help us keep these lines free and accessible for those who need them most.”
Councillor Joan Griffiths, Vice Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee, added: “The ways in which we communicate in our day-to-day lives have evolved this year and our Contact Centre team has had to adapt to the changing demands of the Council, of residents and of course the pandemic.
“More than ever, residents and businesses want and need to contact us and receive information digitally, and our officers offer a responsive social media and email service.
“We recognise that the team has helped an unprecedented number of residents with questions and concerns at all hours of the day, and that they have done this from home. It has been an incredible effort and I’m pleased that we’re now seeing a return to more phone lines being open too.
“We recently extended our ICT contract with CGI which will help us to move more services online and invest in new technology, as this is all part of our commitment to making Edinburgh a Smart City. I’m sure we’ll continue to see a sea change in the way people want to interact with our services and the demand for quick, useful online services will only increase.”
An emergency only service was introduced during lockdown so that the most critical customer queries could be prioritised as well as new phone lines to support people who were vulnerable and shielding.
Many officers were also redirected to boost welfare and benefits advice services and to process tens of thousands of applications for the Coronavirus business support scheme, which has allowed over £112m to be paid out in grants to local business owners.
The Council’s website is designed for reporting issues such as problems with street lighting, potholes and litter and there are currently 70 services available, ranging from requesting a new recycling bin to parking and licensing transactions. It is also simpler and quicker than ever to report, request or pay online, with customers no longer needing to register or sign in to their mygovscot account to use online waste services.
Since the drive to move customer contact online was launched in 2015, the number of transactions being processed by the Council online has risen to over 80,000 a month with the website receiving close to 288,000 visits every week.
A nationwide voluntary survey of education staff in schools or Early Learning & Childcare settings will help identify whether those tested are likely to have had coronavirus (COVID-19).
The COVID-19 Antibody Survey in education Staff (CASS), launched on Friday, will help identify the proportion of people working in an education setting in Scotland who have had coronavirus by testing for antibodies in their blood.
COVID-19 has had a huge impact on life in Scotland and understanding how many people have had the virus, particularly those working in an education setting doing a variety of roles, and how this changes over time will inform the measures taken to limit risk and strengthen the ongoing pandemic response.
Following the return to school, protecting the health of all staff working in and around schools is crucial to ensure their safety and wellbeing as well as minimising the disruption of children’s education – a vital component to their own health and wellbeing.
This survey will use home testing kits provided through the UK Government antibody testing programme, which commenced in September 2020. The timing of this study allows for monitoring and the ability to track changes over the school year while staff are in their normal work environment. As the test looks at past infection, it will identify whether those tested are likely to have had the virus in the school year to date.
From the test, we aim to learn whether someone has been infected in the past, and understand how this relates to their occupation, and the setting in which they work. All of which will be important to inform future decision-making for the protection of Scotland’s education staff, and pupils as a result.
The tests, however, will not influence the activities of individuals who take part. This is because an antibody test provides information about whether someone is likely to have had the coronavirus before, but it does not provide information about an individual’s immunity, or whether they can or cannot spread the virus to other people.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “This new survey, part of the schools surveillance led by Public Health Scotland, is an exciting opportunity to monitor COVID-19 antibodies in the education workforce.
“This will help us understand more about the virus within educational settings as well as understanding more about antibodies and any protection they may give. I would encourage teaching staff to sign up once they are invited to take part over the coming weeks. There is no need to do anything before you are contacted.”
Dr Diane Stockton, COVID-19 Social and System Recovery Lead said: “Scotland’s education staff are working tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of children so they can continue their education in the traditional school setting, spend time with their peers and get back to something more like normal.
“We recognise the impact the return to school has had on staff and the CASS study is intended to provide a more detailed look at this particular work setting and provide important surveillance for staff in the long-term.
“Any adult working in a school or Early Learning & Childcare setting in Scotland is eligible to sign up for the CASS study. What we learn from participants’ test results will support and strengthen Scotland’s response to COVID-19 and ensure school settings are as safe as they possibly can be for all.”
Cllr Gail Macgregor, COSLA Spokesperson for Resources said: “The Scottish Local Government workforce has and continues to play a vital role the response to COVID-19.
“Ensuring essential services can continue to be delivered safely is a critical part of supporting the health and wellbeing of everyone in our communities. The return to school has been a vital step in not only ensuring the education of children and young people is maintained, but also in strengthening their mental health and wellbeing.
“Doing so has been a whole workforce effort and it is therefore key that all employees who work in and around schools are encouraged to take part in the CASS survey.
“Whether you are a teacher, a pupil support assistant, a cleaner, janitor, caterer or any other of the many roles that keep our schools running, we need you to take part. Doing so will help ensure we know as much as possible about COVID-19 and that we can continue to protect you and everyone in our communities.”
The CASS study is part of a larger programme of enhanced surveillance in schools. People working in education and Early Learning Centres can expect to see communications from their employers and places of work with further information about participating in this study over the coming weeks.
Social service workers and the key role they have played in supporting some of Scotland’s most vulnerable citizens during COVID-19 have quite rightly been recognised as a vital part of the health and social care system.
Their prominence and recognition come at the same time as a significant milestone is reached in the regulation of social service workers, marking a 20-year journey towards a trusted, qualified and safe workforce.
Lorraine Gray, SSSC Chief Executive said: ‘The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the social care, social work and early years workforce into the public eye and shown that they are a professional, qualified and skilled workforce with parity alongside other similar roles, such as health.
‘The aspiration of the original legislation passed almost 20 years ago to protect people who use social services is coming to fruition with people in social care and early years joining social work to create a fully qualified, accountable workforce.
‘The stories we’ve heard from the sector about how they’ve coped in the most challenging circumstances are just awe inspiring and it’s these individuals who have helped services to continue delivering high quality care to the people who need it most.
‘What comes through most of all are the values and compassion of workers, many of whom could never imagine doing anything else, such is their commitment and dedication.
‘The Scottish Government’s independent review of adult social care is an opportunity to acknowledge those workers, giving them not only the recognition they deserve for the life changing work they do but also the opportunity to change the way society values their role.
‘Adult social care alone contributes more than £13bn each year to the Scottish economy, which is more than agriculture, forestry and fishing, so the economic importance of social services shouldn’t be overlooked either.’
The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 set a vision for a registered, qualified and professional social service workforce with Codes of Practice setting the behaviours and values every worker must work to.
It meant social service workers in a wide range of roles; from social workers to day care of children workers and care home workers to residential childcare workers; have to register with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).
SSSC registration requires workers to hold, or be working towards, a relevant qualification for their role and work to the SSSC Codes of Practice.
A trusted, skilled and confident workforce
A group of Scotland’s most successful restaurant and bar operators have pleaded with customers to stay away from house parties this weekend, after Scotland’s National Clinical Director highlighted household mixing was a major driver of the upsurge in Covid infections.
The Scottish Hospitality Group, whose members employ over 6,000 people, has also warned that any further tightening of lockdown in the sector will drive a boom in illegal gatherings in homes across the country and will force many pubs, restaurants and hotels to close their doors permanently.
SHG spokesman Stephen Montgomery, who runs two successful hotels in Dumfries, said: “Professor Jason Leitch was spot-on when he identified household mixing as the major cause of increased infections.
“Unlike in bars and restaurants, where there is track and trace, social distancing, PPE and strict hygiene rules, if you go to a house party this weekend, you’re just playing Covid Russian Roulette.
“We’re urging people to follow the official advice not to take the huge risk of socialising at home, and to do so safely in Scotland’s bars and restaurants, where they can be sure that all possible precautions have been taken to look after them properly.
“Scotland’s bars and restaurants are a vital part of the fight against the spread of Covid. If we are locked down or the restrictions on us are tightened, it will simply drive more people to socialise at home, with the inevitable increases in Covid that will follow.”
Kenny Blair, founder of Buzzworks, which operates 12 venues in Ayrshire, said: “Publicans and restaurateurs have followed Scottish Government guidance to the letter. We are a vital part of the solution to combatting Covid.
“We’re the only safe place people can socialise, and the figures from SHG members – over 1.8million customers served since July, with only 17 confirmed cases – show that the Government’s own measures are working really effectively.
“However, the clear feedback we are getting from many in our industry right across the country is that they are only just managing to stay afloat. If we have further restrictions imposed or, God forbid, another lockdown, it will be Armageddon for a sector which employs more young Scots people than any other.”
The Scottish Hospitality Group comprises many of the country’s largest and best-known restaurant and bar businesses, including The DRG Group, Buzzworks Holdings, Signature Pubs, Montpeliers, Manorview Group, Lisini Pub Co, Caledonia Inns, G1 Group, Siberia Bar & Hotel, Mor-Rioghain Group, and Caledonian Heritable.
Education Scotland wants to celebrate the fantastic work we know has taken place right across the country over the last few months – and we need your help!
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the sudden closure of school buildings and other learning sites. There were many examples of extraordinary work across the entire education system to support learners and communities.
For many learners, this was through distance and online platforms, with different forms of on-going contact with their teachers, childcare workers, youth workers, tutors and others. Of course, for children and young people, support from parents and carers continued to be key to their learning.
We’d like you to share your stories with us and we’ll use as many as we can to create a book of celebration to showcase the important work carried out by educators, learners, parents and communities at this unprecedented time.
Check out our website for more information, but be quick – the closing date for submissions is 10 October.
We can’t wait to hear your story!
A charity that provides support for homeless people in Edinburgh has received a £2,000 donation from Amazon Development Centre Scotland.
Streetwork has been offering care and guidance to those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Edinburgh for almost 30 years. The charity provides expert advice and compassionate support, working to connect people to the services they need. The mission of the charity is to enable a life off the streets, showing dignity and respect to everyone.
The capacity of Streetwork in Edinburgh is expanded by being part of Simon Community Scotland. Simon Community Scotland works to combat the causes and effects of homelessness, with a vision that everyone should have a safe place to live and access to the support they need.
Amazon has been a supporter of Streetwork since 2017, having previously donated £1,000 towards the purchase of heavy-duty sleeping bags for those who had nowhere to live. Earlier this year, the team from Amazon Development Centre Scotland hosted an International Food Day event and raised a further £500 for the charity.
Graeme Smith, Managing Director at Amazon Development Centre Scotland, said: “It is our pleasure to continue our support of Streetwork in Edinburgh.
“We know that those who are homeless are at greater risk during COVID-19 than ever before and want to ensure any individuals who need help have somewhere to find it. Streetwork is an excellent charity, doing great work, and we can’t thank them enough.”
Jan Williamson, Assistant Director from Streetwork added: “Like many charities, our resources have been stretched as we respond to COVID-19, so we are very grateful to receive this donation from the Amazon team.
“We strive to show people on the streets that they are cared for and supported, and we cannot do this without the help of the entire community. Thank you, David and the Amazon team, for continuing to support our work.”
Edinburgh Central MSP, Rt Hon Ruth Davidson commented: “Streetwork does amazing and important work across Edinburgh – work that has never been more important than at this time.
“I welcome this donation from the Amazon Development Centre, which will allow the Streetwork team to help more of our city’s vulnerable and homeless.”
Amazon Development Centre Scotland is responsible for innovations used around the world by the company, including machine learning to power Amazon’s smart features like personalised recommendations.
Streetwork received the donation as part of the “Amazon in the Community” programme, whereby the company supports the communities around its operating locations across the UK.
Community donations is one of a number of ways in which Amazon is supporting communities across the UK during COVID-19.
