Day: December 3, 2020

Three Scottish charities share £30,000 from Scottish Power Foundation Awards

Charities across the country split prize fund awarded for work to transform communities

Three charities with bases in Scotland have been named among the winners and runners-up of this year’s ScottishPower Foundation Awards, taking home their share of a £30,000 prize fund.

The Awards celebrate benevolent work in local communities throughout the UK, with organisations judged in four categories for the Innovation Award, the Education Award, the Community Engagement Award and the Charity Champion Award, which gives special recognition to the outstanding contribution made by an exceptional employee or volunteer who exemplifies what their organisation stands for.

Winners in each category receive an additional £5,000 funding boost, with runners-up receiving £2,500.

The Education Award was won by Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland, based in Glasgow, for its work to help children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus be fully included in education and the learning experience.

The judges recognised the charity’s work to support each child individually and to tailor its support to their bespoke needs. For example, it worked with partner organisations to ensure one child who required crutches to get around was able to fully participate in sporting activities at his school.

The charity was also praised for its work to celebrate what makes the children it supports unique and ensure they all have the best possible start in life.

Donna Mackey, from The Sporting Memories Foundation Scotland, based in East Lothian, was crowned the Charity Champion for her work with isolated older people during the pandemic.

Donna mapped out bespoke exercise programmes that were originally to be carried out in person, but due to the virus had to be taken online through Zoom meetings. Donna single-handedly produced videos to encourage members to carry out physical activities at home.

As well as this, she created a new ‘Keep in Touch’ bag, which contained physical equipment to help people participate and DVDs of exercises for those who don’t have access to online video calls. The judges noted Donna’s ability to adapt to what was needed and tailor her work to individuals, putting on quizzes or catch-up chats for those who didn’t want to participate in exercise.

Lucy Abbeels, 12, from Edinburgh, was named runner-up in the Charity Champion category for raising over £6,000 for Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland while receiving ongoing support from the charity herself. 

Lucy’s fundraising journey began with the Cumbernauld Victory Mile in 2012. Since then, she has completed numerous Kiltwalks – “go Team Lucy!” Even lockdown couldn’t stop her; in May, Lucy took part in the 2.6 Challenge, raising £1,000 for the charity.

Starcatchers Productions was named runner-up in the Community Engagement Award category for supporting families who are most negatively impacted by the pandemic and more likely to experience greater levels of isolation.

The charity set up a menu of digital creative play activities and helped deliver over 2,000 creative play parcels for families living in poverty.

Melanie Hill, Executive Officer and Trustee of the ScottishPower Foundation, said: “Huge congratulations to the winners and runners-up of this year’s ScottishPower Foundation Awards, who are all real beacons of light in these challenging times. We’re so proud of their achievements and pleased to further recognise their tremendous efforts to change lives for the better.

“What’s especially pleasing is the wide range of activities and support services these Awards celebrate – whether keeping older people connected, supporting disabled young people to live full and fulfilling lives, providing key support to children affected by domestic abuse, or taking a whole community approach to addressing homelessness and hardship. However, the one thing they all have in common is the incredible difference they make to the lives of others.   

“We’re honoured to recognise all our winners, runners-up and finalists who bring the values of the ScottishPower Foundation Awards to life every day.”

The awards are open to recipients of this year’s ScottishPower Foundation funding, which saw £1.2m awarded to 21 charities delivering projects across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Due to social distancing restrictions, the winners were announced on ScottishPower’s Twitter channel – @ScottishPower.

This year’s judging panel was made up of a host of experts from ScottishPower, the third sector, education and communications including Arthur McIvor, Senior Client Manager for Energy & Utility Skills; Juliet Simpson, Founder and CEO of Stripe Communications; Sheila Duncan, Human Resources Director for ScottishPower; and Melanie Hill, Executive Officer and Trustee of the ScottishPower Foundation.

The ScottishPower Foundation was established in 2013 to make a significant and lasting contribution to society, enhancing the lives of people living in communities throughout the UK. It provides funding to help support the advancement of education, environmental protection, arts and culture and citizenship. It also supports charities who aim to provide relief from poverty, disability, or other disadvantages.

The winners and runners up this year are outlined below:

Innovation Award

WINNER – Acorns Project

Based in North Tyneside and Northumberland, the Acorns Project offers a range of services to support families affected by domestic abuse such as counselling, first response and adult support services.

RUNNER-UP – Whizz-Kidz

Whizz-Kidz aims to transform the lives of disabled children across the UK, supporting them to become confident and independent young adults by providing the equipment, support, and life skills they need in order to develop their full potential.

Education Award

WINNER – Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland

Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland seeks to increase public awareness and understanding of individuals with spina bifida, hydrocephalus and allied conditions. It aims to support all those affected to identify their needs and to empower them to make informed choices and decisions.

RUNNER-UP – Bangor University (Reaching Wider North and Mid Wales Partnership)

Bangor University (Reaching Wider North and Mid Wales Partnership) works alongside primary and secondary school pupils as well as adults with no formal qualifications to increase higher education participation among lower socio-economic groups.

Community Engagement Award

WINNER – South Tyneside Churches KEY Project

South Tyneside Churches KEY Project works with young people and their families to help develop the skills they need to live independently, become good citizens, and reach their full potential.

RUNNER-UP – Starcatchers Productions Ltd

Starcatchers is Scotland’s National Arts and Early Years organisation specialising in creating performances and exploring creative activity for babies, toddlers and young children aged 0-5 and the adults who care for them.

Charity Champion Award

WINNER – Donna Mackey The Sporting Memories Foundation Scotland

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Donna sprang to action to ensure that support for the elderly participants, many of whom living with long-term conditions such as dementia and depression, would continue. Donna set up weekly Zoom session and single-handedly produced exercise videos featuring her own grandmother for the participants to follow at home. Sporting Memories Foundation tackles dementia, depression, and loneliness through the power of sports reminiscence by bringing together older adults, as well as providing social and physical activities.

RUNNER-UP – Lucy Abbeels, Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland

Lucy has been raising money for Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland since she was 4 years old, and to-date has raised over £6000 while receiving support from the charity herself. Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotlandseeks to increase public awareness and understanding of individuals with spina bifida, hydrocephalus and allied conditions. It aims to support all those affected to identify their needs and to empower them to make informed choices and decisions.

Student nurses return to the frontline

University’s School of Health & Social Care supports testing programme

Scores of Edinburgh Napier nurses and midwives have again rallied behind the national drive to combat Covid-19 by signing up to assist with the asymptomatic testing programme for students.

Around 100 are working at two testing sites in the city between November 30 and December 9, helping their fellow students in the capital make informed decisions about returning home for Christmas and minimising the risk of spreading the virus.

Covid-19 ‘rapid’ tests, available on a voluntary basis, are taking place at University of Edinburgh sites at The Pleasance Sports Complex and St Leonard’s Land. It is recommended that Edinburgh-based students with no symptoms book themselves in for two tests, between three and five days apart.

Students from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Health & Social Care leapt at the chance to assist with the test programme in a non-clinical role, with more than 400 responding to the call for help.

This was narrowed down to around 100, who are covering various shift patterns across the two sites, talking students through the process and providing support and encouragement.

Many of the same students were among 1000 from the School who earlier took up placements alongside NHS workers in hospitals and care homes at the height of the pandemic in the spring.

Marianne Mearns, 30, a final year BN Child Health Nursing student from Livingston, (above) said: “It is an amazing yet scary time to be a student nurse, but I feel proud to be one of the many supporting the university and the NHS during the pandemic.

“Keeping people safe is paramount, and assisting with the testing is a new challenge I am excited to be part of.

“I also undertook an NHS placement at the height of the pandemic and had to stay in a hotel temporarily to protect my fiance who was shielding at the time. It was very challenging but I feel I coped well and it has made me a more competent and confident student nurse going forward.”

Professor Alison Machin, Dean of the School of Health & Social Care, said: “These are challenging times, but I am very proud of our students’ enthusiasm and willingness to apply their skills and get involved. 

“The lessons they learn will stand them in good stead for the rest of their careers.”

Michelle O’Reilly, lecturer in the School of Health & Social Care, said: “This is an experience we are all delighted to be involved in, with our students from across nursing and midwifery demonstrating excellent professional and interpersonal skills in helping to reduce the anxiety of fellow students getting the test.”

Universities and colleges are utilising lateral flow devices (LFDs) – a clinically validated swab antigen test that does not require a laboratory for processing and can produce rapid results within half an hour at the location of the test.

Students will be offered two LFD tests, spaced three days apart which are bookable through their college or university. Those receiving two negative results will be encouraged to safely return home as soon as is practical after the second result.

If either of the lateral flow tests returns a positive result, the student will be asked to self-isolate and undertake a confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test through the usual NHS Test & Protect channels.

‘Shameful’: BiFab Unions issue joint statement

GMB Scotland & Unite Scotland: BiFab Administration

BiFab has filed for administration this morning, following the Scottish Government’s decision to withdraw financial guarantees supporting the manufacturing of eight offshore wind turbine jackets for the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) project.

Joint Trade Union Secretaries Gary Smith and Pat Rafferty said: “BiFab’s administration exposes the myth of Scotland’s renewables revolution as well as a decade of political hypocrisy and failure, in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

“The workers and communities dependent on these yards have fought so hard for a future and everyone was hoping that 2021 would finally be the turning point.

“Shamefully the Scottish Government has buried these hopes just in time for Christmas and they have worked together with UK Government in doing so.

“A decade on from the promise of a ‘Saudi Arabia of renewables’ and 28,000 full time jobs in offshore wind manufacturing, we’ve been left with industrial ruins in Fife and Lewis.”

 The joint trade unions will comment further in the coming days.

Ambulance staff to share base with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

AMBULANCE service staff based in Linlithgow have relocated to Bo’ness Fire Station in a move which will benefit patients in the area.

A total of 11 Accident and Emergency staff, along with two A and E vehicles, will be housed at the fire station on Linlithgow Road from 30th November onwards.

Linlithgow Ambulance Station staff have been based at St Michael’s Hospital since 1991, and the move has been earmarked for two years, receiving funding in 2019.

The new base at Bo’ness provides modern and improved facilities for the staff, who responded to more than 6,400 emergencies in the past year.

Clair Wright, Area Service Manager West Lothian, said: “We are delighted to have moved to this new base alongside our emergency services colleagues at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and look forward to working with them and building on existing relationships.

“There is now an aspect of multi-agency working and training that can take place between both services, improving patient care. This move ensures that we continue to provide the very best care to patients in these communities, as well as being a great new base for our staff.”

David Sharp, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Local Senior Officer for Falkirk and West Lothian, is pleased to welcome Scottish Ambulance Service to the site. He said: “Sharing Bo’ness Fire Station facilities will enhance our ongoing partnership and enable us to plan, prepare and respond to emergencies in local communities.

“This is a positive step, which has been replicated in other parts of Scotland, and improves awareness of each other’s capabilities as we work jointly to protect the public by providing the highest quality of response to those that require our assistance.”

SFRS and SAS closely collaborated to ensure that the appropriate steps were taken prior to the move regarding COVID government guidelines, social distancing and infection control procedures.

Scots urged to stay active to boost winter immune systems

FAMILIES across the nation have been encouraged to lead an active lifestyle this Christmas by walking once a day.

Scotland’s walking charity, Paths for All have highlighted the importance of a daily walk to help maintain physical and mental well-being during the winter months.

The plea comes as the charity launches its Walk Once a Day this Winter campaign, and a new online content hub for all ages to benefit from.

The hub provides a variety of ideas, activities and information designed to motivate everyone to get outdoors and get moving including nature spotting, podcast recommendations, location advice, community and festive walks and creative walking.

The winter initiative will also offer incentives to those who pledge to walk once a day through December and January.

Dr Gregor Smith, Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer, said: “Regular walking is a powerful tonic. It helps to boost our immune system and those of us able to should strive to get the benefit this winter.

“A 30-minute daily walk is one of the best ways to look after yourself and it’s something we can do from our own front door.

“During periods of physical distancing, isolation and uncertainty, many have expressed increased feelings of anxiety, stress or worry. Daily outdoor exercise, while adhering to guidelines, is an important way to improve physical and mental wellbeing.

“We would encourage those who are able to get outdoors this winter to do so, even if it is for a short walk to the shop or to school.”

Research shows that half a million older people regularly experience periods of isolation, going at least five or six days a week without seeing or speaking to anyone at all.

Getting out for a daily walk allows interaction with neighbours, others in the community and can create a sense of connection and community belonging, even while social distancing.

Dr William Bird, founder of Intelligent Health and the Beat the Street game said: “Walk Once a Day this winter is such a simple but effective message.

“When I talk to patients on a day-to-day basis, most of them ask for advice on how to avoid getting COVID-19 or how they can improve their chances of fighting it if they do catch it.

“Walking is always one of the best things that people can do for their health, however during these times of COVID-19, it’s more vital than ever. When you go for a brisk walk, this stimulates the creation of ‘natural killer cells’ which are part of the immune system. They sit at the nasal cavity and are ready to mop up any virus including COVID-19 and kill it before it has a chance to replicate and get into the cells.

“Not only that, but walking in green space and nature has a positive impact on the brain also reduces stress and its negative impact on the immune system.”

UK-wide research by King’s College London during lockdown revealed 49% of people in the UK have felt more anxious or depressed than normal, with walking shown to be an effective method to prevent and manage mental health conditions.

Paths for All believes regular walking is key to leading a happy and healthy life – and it is important for people to continue enjoying short, local walks where it is safe and appropriate to do so, owing to the huge array of associated benefits.

Ian Findlay CBE, Chief Officer at Paths for All said: “Walking has never held such importance to our physical, social and mental health, so it is great to see walking has become more popular over the last few months.

“Surveys have shown that Scots have increased their walking during this unprecedented time more than any other part of the UK and we would encourage everyone to keep it up as we move into the winter months.

“We believe by encouraging people to walk everyday they will experience many positive physical, social and mental health benefits and in turn we will move forward from this pandemic as a healthier, greener, safer and happier nation”.

Follow the campaign over on Paths for All social media channels #WalkOnceADay.

Paths for All launched a mood-boosting podcast designed using mindfulness techniques to help people look after their mental well-being whilst getting their daily exercise during Covid-19. 

Mind to Walk is freely available online on all popular podcast players or on Paths for All website at www.pathsforall.org.uk/mindtowalk

Paths for All’s focus is clear: it wants to get Scotland walking: everyone, every day, everywhere.

For more information on Paths for All and the Walk Once a Day this Winter campaign, visit: http://www.pathsforall.org.uk/walkonceaday

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Boris Johnson: “The searchlights of science have picked out our invisible enemy … and give us the power to stop that enemy”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave this statement at last night’s coronavirus conference from Downing Street:

It is almost a year since humanity has been tormented by COVID. Across the world, economic output has plummeted and a million and a half people have died.

And all the time we have waiting and hoping for the day when the searchlights of science would pick out our invisible enemy and give us the power to stop that enemy from making us ill – and now the scientists have done it.

And they have used the virus itself to perform a kind of biological jiu-jitsu, to turn the virus on itself in the form of a vaccine from an idea that was pioneered in this country by Edward Jenner in 1796.

And today we can announce that the government has accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for distribution across the United Kingdom.

After months of clinical trials, involving thousands of people to ensure that the vaccine meets the strictest, internationally recognised, standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.

Thanks to the fantastic work of Kate Bingham and the Vaccines Task Force, we purchased more than 350 million doses of seven different vaccine candidates, and the UK was the first country in the world to pre-order supplies of this Pfizer vaccine securing 40 million doses.

Through our Winter Plan, the NHS has been preparing for the biggest programme of mass vaccination in the history of the UK and that is going to begin next week.

And in line with the advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation the first phase will include care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.

But there are immense logistical challenges: the vaccine must be stored at minus 70 degrees and each person needs two injections, three weeks apart.

So it will inevitably take some months before all the most vulnerable are protected, long and cold months. So it is all the more vital that as we celebrate this scientific achievement we are not carried away with over optimism – or fall into the naïve belief that the struggle is over.

Its not, we’ve got to stick to our Winter Plan, a comprehensive programme to suppress the virus, protect the NHS and the vulnerable, keep education and the economy going and use treatments, testing and vaccines to enable us to return to much closer to normal by spring.

Today in England we have ended national restrictions, opening up significant parts of the economy in doing so but also replacing them with tough tiers to keep this virus down.

And I know that those tiers will mean continued hardship for many, and it is going to continue to be tough for some sectors but until the vaccine is deployed, our plan does rely on all of us continuing to make sacrifices to protect those we love.

So please, please continue to follow the rules where you live, remember hands, face, space – and if you live in a tier 3 area where community testing will be made available, please take part in that community testing.

Together, these steps are for now the surest way to protect yourselves and those you love and by reducing the transmission of the virus, help de-escalate your area to a lower level of restrictions, as vaccines and testing, as I say, take an ever larger share of the burden.

And as we do all this, we are no longer resting on the mere hope that we can return to normal next year in the spring, but rather on the sure and certain knowledge that we will succeed: and together reclaim our lives and all the things about our lives that we love

So I want to thank the scientists and all those around the world who have taken part in the trials and got us to this stage.

‘TODAY IS GENUINELY A GOOD DAY’

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the news at her daily media briefing from St Andrew’s House yesterday:

I want to warmly welcome the news that the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, has been authorised for supply in the UK, by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

This is not unexpected. But even so, because it confirms that a safe and effective vaccine can now be used, it is perhaps the best news than any of us have heard about the virus since the pandemic began all these months ago.

Today is genuinely a good day, we’re not at the end of this pandemic yet and of course we cannot and must not ease up in our efforts to control it, but today feels like it may well be the beginning of the end of this horrible experience. And for that reason I am sure I am far for the only one this morning who feels a lightness of heart that I haven felt in quite some time

We expect vaccines to be delivered over the course of December. And we expect that that will start to happen in the next few days.

And – if we receive the first doses of vaccine as soon as we are expecting to and there is no reason right now to doubt that – I can confirm that the first vaccines against Covid will start to be administered in Scotland on Tuesday 8 December.

That is just six days from now. So to reiterate – the first vaccines against Covid will be administered in Scotland on Tuesday 8 December.

It is of course worth remembering that everyone will require two doses of the vaccine, and that these are likely to be offered 21-28 days apart – so it is unlikely that anyone’s vaccination will be completed until early next year. But there is no doubt that being able to have this degree of confidence  that we can start a vaccination programme next week is absolutely fantastic news.

We will start by vaccinating the people who will be vaccinating everyone else. We will then follow the independent advice we have received from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

They have recommended prioritising those with the greatest clinical need – including older residents in care homes, health and social care workers, and those aged over 80. Those groups will therefore be the first people we seek to vaccinate.

The authorisation which was issued today has some conditions which its important to be clear about, will make the Pfizer vaccine quite difficult to transport to some locations  – especially individual houses. We are therefore in the process of planning how we can ensure that all people in priority groups can be vaccinated.

Overall, however, the high probability that vaccinations will start next week is welcome, and much-needed, good news for us all.

For all the difficulties that undoubtedly lie ahead, it should give us all real hope that the end of the pandemic for Scotland is in sight.

And it should also motivate us and I’ll come back to this point at the end, to do everything we can between now and then to keep ourselves and each other safe, including of course over the upcoming Christmas period.