Day: January 8, 2022

Green Flag: Top tips to protect your car this winter

The UK Met Office has issued a weather warning as frequent sleet, hail and snow showers are expected to cause some disruptions. The information service is advising residents to expect travel delays, power cuts, and icy patches on roads, pavements, and cycle paths.

For cars frozen windscreens are most prevalent during these times, and drivers are reminded that it is extremely important to properly clear the ice or frost from your car before starting their journeys.

Green Flag has provided some helpful dos and don’ts to prepare drivers for the icy temperatures this winter.

Mark Newberry, Commercial Director at Green Flag, said: “Hazards can come at us from all angles when we’re on the road, so it is even more important that we can see all around us in icy and challenging, wintery weather conditions.

“It takes less than ten minutes to clear the entire windscreen from ice, not forgetting your side windows and mirrors. It’s crucial that you can also be seen by other drivers – so remember to clear your lights from ice too, before you embark on your journey.

“Remember, never be tempted to leave your car running unattended to warm up the vehicle, as not only can you face a fine, but thieves thrive on cold weather and motorists leaving their cars unattended.

“Clearing your car of ice is not only an important safety check but it is also a legal requirement – that could make the difference between a safe journey and a crash – so please follow these simple steps.”

Green Flag’s Do’s and Don’ts for de-icing your car through winter:

  • Do use a scraper. The most effective way of de-icing car windows is still with a scraper. It’s always best to use one that’s designed for the job.
  • Do try a de-icer spray. If you don’t fancy using a scraper, you can also use de-icer sprays, which are a quick and easy way of getting the job done.
  • Do de-ice all of your windows. Never drive looking through a porthole scraped in the ice on your windscreen. Hazards come at us from all angles when we’re on the road. It’s important that we can see all around us, so make sure you clear the ice from the side windows as well as the entire windscreen.
  • Don’t pour boiling water over your windscreen. It will certainly be very effective at melting the ice, but it’s also a very effective way of causing your windscreen to crack. If you’ve got a small chip or some damage that you may not have noticed, the boiling water will get into it and the sudden expansion will turn that tiny chip into a rapidly spreading crack.

For further information, see Green Flag’s expert advice for tackling a frozen windscreen here:

https://www.greenflag.com/winter-driving/what-to-do-if-your-windscreen-is-frozen

Keep Scotland Beautiful welcomes marine litter consultation

KEEP Scotland Beautiful has welcomed the opening of a public consultation on an updated Marine Litter Strategy which will run until 22 March 2022.

KSB CEO Barry Fisher said: “We know that 80% of marine litter comes from land and that we need to tackle this problem upstream.  Our stats also highlight that 88% of people believe that litter is a problem nationally, while 70% believe it is an issue in their local area – this is unacceptable.

“For over 30 years we have taken action to reduce marine and coastal litter and played an important role in the development of Scotland’s first Marine Litter Strategy which was published in 2014.    

“The two consultations running from now until the Spring of 2022 give everyone a chance to have our say on litter – on land and at sea.  The next three months provide those frustrated by litter with a huge opportunity to have their voices heard.”

Through KSB’s award-winning Upstream Battle campaign on the Clyde and now active on the Tay the organisation has supported community Anchor Groups to collect data which helped them publish their first citizen science report in June 2020.  You can ‘meet’ KSB’s Anchor Groups, and find out more about what they are doing to tackle litter from source to sea on KSB’s campaign pages.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is committed, alongside partners such as the Marine Conservation Society, Fidra, Scottish Water, Nature Scot and Crown Estate Scotland, to improve the quality of our marine environments.

Since 2014 KSB has also:

  • Driven action through the Treasure Your River campaign on the Forth, and the My Beach Your Beach campaign at key bathing waters in Scotland;
  • Supported communities and businesses to Clean Up their local beaches and coastlines by providing free Clean Up Kits;
  • Audited sites across Scotland using our Local Environmental Audit and Management System in line with the Environment Protection Act and associated Code of Practice for Litter and Refuse;
  • Recognised beach managers and communities through Scotland’s Beach Award programme; and
  • Assisted the Scottish Government with the development and delivery of the updated Marine Litter Strategy.

The Scottish Government is concurrently seeking views on a range of measures to prevent litter and flytipping, optimise services, improve data and strengthen enforcement as part of a separate consultation on a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy which runs until 31 March 2022.

Keep Scotland Beautiful looks forward to playing their part by supporting people across Scotland to have their voices heard and to make responses to the consultations over the coming months.  Find out more here.

Plant expert shares ultimate green guide for creating a home jungle

GREEN FINGERED homeowners and tenants can now access the ultimate guide on how to bring the outdoors into their home thanks to an Edinburgh based plant expert.

In celebration of International Houseplant Appreciation Day on January 10th, homebuilder CALA Homes (East) has partnered with plant expert, Andrew Forbes of GREEN.MEADOWS Edinburgh, to create a carefully curated series of videos and blogs to help newbies and plant pros alike elevate their spaces with greenery.

Covering a variety of topics, from how to match plants to your home’s individual décor, to the best plants for beginners, to the best balcony plants for microclimates across the UK, the new resource provides informative care tips and stylistic inspiration for both interior and exterior areas of the home. 

Andrew said: “Houseplants have really boomed throughout the pandemic and can be an amazing way to upgrade your spaces. However, lots of people don’t really know where to begin, or how to take their greenery to the next level.

“One of my favourite things about my job is helping people find the right plants for them, and I am hoping the range of resources we’ve pulled together will help a wide variety of people plant style their homes and care for their plants in a way that will help them thrive.

“Part of the project is a short video series where I was lucky enough to take a visit down to a state-of-the-art CALA show apartment at Waterfront Plaza in Leith, to style it with my own selection of plants. It was wonderful to see how they really transformed the space.

“I’m hoping this new guide will provide some inspiration and help homeowners get their interior and balcony spaces blooming.”

The guide includes easy to keep plants such as the Zamioculcas zamiifolia Raven (ZZ plant) and Monstera Deliciosa with useful tips on how to avoid overwatering and the best places to keep plants based on light and humidity around the home, with an accompanying video of Andrew plant styling a CALA apartment for to give viewers inspiration.

No need for second booster at this time, say health experts

Boosters continue to provide high levels of protection against severe disease from Omicron in older adults

Latest data from UKHSA shows booster doses are continuing to provide high levels of protection against severe disease from the Omicron variant among older adults.

Figures show that around 3 months after they received the third jab, protection against hospitalisation among those aged 65 and over remains at about 90%.

With just 2 vaccine doses, protection against severe disease drops to around 70% after 3 months and to 50% after 6 months.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has taken this latest evidence into account in their ongoing review of the booster programme.

The Committee advises that at this present time:

  • there is no immediate need to introduce a second booster dose, or fourth jab, to the most vulnerable (care home residents and those aged over 80) – the timing and need for further booster doses will continue to be reviewed as the data evolves
  • priority should continue to be given to rolling out first booster doses to all age groups
  • unvaccinated individuals should come forward for their first 2 doses as soon as possible

Professor Wei Shen Lim, the JCVI’s chair of COVID-19 immunisation, said: “The current data shows the booster dose is continuing to provide high levels of protection against severe disease, even for the most vulnerable older age groups.

“For this reason, the committee has concluded there is no immediate need to introduce a second booster dose, though this will continue to be reviewed.

“The data is highly encouraging and emphasises the value of a booster jab. With Omicron continuing to spread widely, I encourage everyone to come forward for their booster dose, or if unvaccinated, for their first 2 doses, to increase their protection against serious illness.”

The latest study looked at booster doses in those aged over 65, who were among the first to be eligible when the booster rollout began in mid-September.

Whilst with a booster dose, the duration of protection against severe disease remains high, protection against mild symptomatic infection is more short-lived and drops to around 30% by about 3 months.

Emergency care crisis deepens

The latest Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports 2021-22 for week ending 2 January 2022 show:

  • There was a total of 562,062 instances of staff absences
  • 249,173 instances of staff absences were covid related, an increase of 41% on the previous week
  • Nearly half of instances of staff absences were covid related
  • Since the start of December there has been an increase of 198% in covid-related instances of absence
  • On average 16,906 patients resided in hospital who no longer fit the criteria and were ready to be discharged, of these, on average, 9,858 remained in hospital
  • This is equal to almost six in 10 patients who were ready to be discharged remaining in hospital
  • Nearly one quarter of ambulance arrivals were delayed by 30 minutes or more
  • Almost one in 10 ambulance arrivals were delayed by at least an hour

Dr Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “The scale of the pressures facing the health service is highlighted in these figures. Instances of covid-related absence have tripled since the beginning of December. Now the army has been deployed to assist the health service in London.

“Ambulances continue to be delayed in handing over patients on arrival putting patient safety at risk, while high numbers of patients ready to be discharged remain in hospital due to the ongoing social care crisis.

“Promoting flow through the hospital is vital but rests upon timely discharge of patients back home once their treatment is complete. To ensure this social care must be resourced and supported, this will help reduce admissions and free up beds in hospital.

“It is a perilous situation, and an enormous strain is put upon staff working in hospitals, who continue, as ever, to go above and beyond to ensure care continues to be delivered and patients are kept safe.”