Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

Survey shows patient experiences in A&Es overall ‘very good’ – but improvements are needed

Responding to the latest urgent and emergency care survey published this week by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Dr Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “The survey is welcome as it provides an invaluable insight into the patient experience and confirms that Emergency Departments are doing an incredible job in difficult circumstances.

“We are appreciative of patients engaging and providing this feedback in the middle of the pandemic in September 2020. Managing to continue these core assurance processes is a challenge but continues to be very important.

“It is encouraging to see improvements in many areas compared to previous years. It is particularly pleasing to see one-third of patients using type 1 services rate their experiences 10 out of 10, and also that 94% of patients had confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses examining and treating them. This is a testament to the dedication, commitment, expertise, and compassion of Emergency Medicine staff.

“While there are many positives to highlight in this report, understandably there are some areas for improvement. Many of the areas that are a source of frustration for patients are largely a result of staff shortages and the existing workforce’s ability to dedicate ample time to each patient.

“It is important that patients have the opportunity to talk through their treatment or condition, that all patients receive the help they need when they need it whether before, after or during their care, and that their pain or condition is managed throughout their time in A&E.

“The current challenges facing the health service are no doubt affecting clinicians’ ability to deliver the highest quality of care that they strive to provide. Current workforce numbers do not match current demand, and workforce shortages crossed with increases in demand mean existing staff are stretched thinly.

“To meet current demand the workforce needs 2,500 more consultants in England along with sufficient numbers of nurses, trainees, allied health professionals and SAS doctors.”

Dr Katherine Henderson continued: “It is interesting to see that 41% of patients contacted NHS 111 before going to A&E and 32% contacted their GP before going to A&E.

“This highlights the importance of NHS 111 as a resource for patients. It is absolutely essential that the efficacy of NHS 111 is properly evaluated so we can learn how best to resource it and wider services. Call handlers must have the tools they need to provide sound guidance to patients, and they must have an adequate range of services and pathways to which they can direct patients.

“It is also significant that 32% of patients also contact their GP before going to A&E. This highlights the crucial link between primary and urgent and emergency care and makes clear that both are under-resourced. Plans to tackle the challenges facing urgent and emergency care must include a joined-up approach that include ways of supporting and resourcing primary care.”

City council creates new online recycling tool to help you dispose of your waste correctly

We all know that recycling is one small step everyone can take to help the environment and lower our carbon footprint.

As part of this year’s recycling week (September 20-26) we’d like to help you reduce contamination in your bins which can spoil the rest of the contents and stop them from being recycled. We’ll also be promoting top tips for what to put in which bin and more on which plastics you can recycle.

We’ve created an easy-to -use online recycling sorter. You type in an item and it tells you if it can be recycled, which bin to put it in or where to take it – there’s also plenty of tips too.

Councillor Lesley Macinnes, Environment Convener, said: “It’s really important we all get in the habit of disposing of our waste correctly and reusing and recycling where we can. This will all help towards our target for Edinburgh to become a net zero carbon city by 2030.

“To help you sort out your waste and stop even small bits of food and grease in the green recycling bin contaminating other items, like paper and cardboard spoiling the whole bin we’re providing top tips across various platforms,  including our website. Our brand new recycling sorter will also be a really useful guide too.”

Depute Leader, Cammy Day, said: “We’re trying to make recycling as easy as possible for our residents. 

“I know it can be confusing, with so many different kinds of plastics being used in packaging so we’re providing guidance on that and how to dispose of electrical items safely as well! Please check this out to help us recycle more.”

How to make the most of your recycling

Check it

Make sure it’s on the ‘yes please list’.

Empty it

Make sure any bottles or containers are empty. Remember, you can leave plastic drink bottle lids on, but please remove any pump sprays.

Rinse it

Rinse any food and drinks packaging with water before putting it in the bin – you can even use dish water to do this.

Remove it

Peel film lids and coverings off plastic bottles, tubs, pots and trays. Plastic film, wrapping and cellophane can’t be recycled. You don’t need to remove labels though.

Separate it

Don’t store containers and packaging inside each other – it’s difficult to separate them at the recycling plant.

How to recycle your plastics

What to recycle

Whether you use a wheelie bin or a communal bin you can easily recycle plastics in your green lidded bin. Just pop in your empty plastic:

  • bottles (juice, shampoo, household cleaning, toiletry bottles etc)
  • pots (yoghurt etc)
  • tubs (ice cream, butter etc)
  • trays (fruit punnets, ready meal trays etc)

We don’t collect any other type of plastic, so don’t put bags, wrappers, cellophane, toys or any other type of plastic in your green lidded bin.

Before you pop them in the bin remember to rinse the bottles and wash any food off pots, tubs and trays – you don’t need to remove labels, but some bottles come wrapped in a sleeve made from a different plastic. Tear these off and put them in your non-recyclable waste bin.

We accept bottles with or without the tops, but remove pump sprays before putting them in the bin as we can’t recycle them.

What happens to plastic recycling?

Our contractor recycles these in their own recycling plants in England. Anything they can’t recycle is turned into fuel.

Avoiding plastics means less waste

Everything you buy or use has an impact on the environment. Recycling helps to reduce this by reducing how many raw products we use but avoiding producing waste in the first place means even less impact.

Edinburgh has some great refill shops where you can bring your own tubs and bottles and refill them with dried foods, household cleaners and toiletries. Some supermarkets are also starting to develop refill stations in-store.

Plastic bags and wrappers

You can recycle plastic bags at larger supermarkets. They’re starting to collect a wider range of plastic wrappers.

Find out about recycling plastic bags and wrappers.

Large plastic items

We can’t collect and recycle large plastic items at our recycling centres at the moment. This includes items like garden furniture and toys. We’re looking for a reliable recycling company who will take items and we’ll start to collect them again as soon as we can.

You can still take them to one of our recycling centres to dispose of them, but we won’t be able to recycle them.

Other household plastics

Some types of plastics are much harder to collect, either due to their size or because they are made of a mix of materials and need specialist treatment.

Some shops have now started to provide collection points for things like lipstick packaging, pumps sprays and cosmetic packaging in store.

These include

  1. Boots
  2. The Body Shop
  3. Lush.

Not all stores will offer the service, so check their websites to find out what they take and which stores provide this.

How to recycle electrical items:

  • Kerbside bins – to recycle small electricals in Edinburgh you put them in your blue recycling box (which also collects your glass bottles and jars) if you have one. You can put in batteries (in clear plastic bags) and small electrical items like a hairdryer).
  • You can also use this website to find out where to https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/
  • For reusable items try to use an organisation such as the Changeworks reuse tool to find charities where you can donate them.
  • Take larger items to your nearest recycling centre and remember to book an appointment.
  • Various shops will also collect and recycle small electrical items.

You can also search the city council’s new online recycling sorter to find out what to do with your unwanted electricals.

From MND patients to the Prime Minister: We need your help NOW


MND letter relays the country in bid for £50 million from UK Government

Doddie Weir OBE and Euan MacDonald MBE have kickstarted a nationwide ‘MND letter relay’ from Scotland to 10 Downing Street. The letter, which has already been signed by hundreds of motor neurone disease (MND) patients from across the country, calls for the UK Government to invest in MND research.

United to End MND – a campaign led by charities MND Scotland, the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and MND Association, as well neurologists and people living with MND – calls for £50 million of UK Government funding over five years to target MND research.

To catapult the campaign, patients throughout the UK have now written and signed a personal letter to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which will be presented at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday 21st September, by rugby legends Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast to launch activities on Thursday, Doddie said: “We are continuing to fight to try and make a difference, and to try and find a cure for this horrific issue of MND. The UK has the best researchers in the world and at the moment we’re nearly there to find a stoppage or a cure.

“So this letter, and the money from the Government, will make a massive difference. This will give a lot of hope to people with MND. We need to take it to the next level and with that we need the Government’s help.”

Before his departure to London, Doddie is leading the charge by sending the patient letter on a relay across the nation, to encourage more people living with MND to sign it, starting with fellow MND campaigner, Euan MacDonald in Edinburgh.

Euan, who has MND, is the co-founder of the Euan MacDonald Centre for MND Research. He was joined there by Dr Suvankar Pal, Consultant Neurologist from the University of Edinburgh and Rachel Maitland, MND Scotland’s Chief Executive, who are showing their support for the letter.

The letter states ‘MND is a death sentence’ but that ‘research has now reached a point where a cure or life-saving treatments can be found’. It continues ‘The current piecemeal and protracted approach of funding individual projects will not deliver the life-saving treatments we need …we urgently appeal for action and investment now’.

Euan said: “I very much believe the goal of finding treatments for MND is achievable. The letter and supporting statements highlight the personal impact this disease has had on families like mine and others up and down the country. 

“We are trying to ensure other people’s children, spouses, parents and siblings don’t have to go through what ours have. I’d like to appeal to the Prime Minister to back MND patients and have confidence in UK Science achieving what may have previously seemed impossible – a cure for MND.”

Currently the UK Government’s funding for targeted MND research stands at less than £5 million a year, which the campaign coalition says is not enough. £50 million from the UK Government over five years would fund a virtual institute for MND Research, providing the infrastructure needed for accelerating treatments for MND.

The funding bid has already been debated in the UK Parliament after a petition to garner public support gathered more than 100,000 signatures in just three weeks. Members of the campaign coalition have met with key politicians to explain the desperate need for the cash, to shore up the investment made by charities and industry.

With the support of MND charities and neurologists, campaigners are now taking the call directly to Downing Street and people living with MND still have the opportunity to add their signature here: patientsunited2endmnd.org.

Dr Suvankar Pal, the Co-Lead Investigator of MND-SMART, the UK’s biggest drug trial for MND, said: “This is an exciting time for MND research with many centres across the UK working on important areas ranging from drug discovery to delivery of treatment trials.

“We fully support this initiative which promotes collaborative working and much needed investment in research with the aim of delivering new treatments for MND in a timely way.”

Rachel Maitland, MND Scotland’s Chief Executive, said: “We are united here today to ensure the voices of those living with MND are heard by the UK Government.

“The average life expectancy for someone with MND is just 18 months from diagnosis. People like Doddie and Euan do not have time to wait, and neither does our search for a cure.

“MND Scotland’s vision is a world without MND. But we are only able to fund the pioneering research taking place at the Euan MacDonald Centre, and other institutes across the UK, because of the generosity of our supporters. MND isn’t incurable, it’s just under-funded. Together, we will beat MND, but we cannot do it without the UK Government’s support.”

To find out more about the campaign visit www.mndscotland.org.uk/united or tweet your support @MNDScotland @MNDAssoc and @MNDoddie5 using #United2EndMND.

The Penny rolls on: End’s in sight for coast challenge walker Karen

Long-distance charity walker Karen Penny ends 11,000 mile coastal challenge in Scotland next week

Alzheimer’s Research UK champion Karen Penny is set to complete her amazing 11,000 mile coastal walk around the UK and Ireland on World Alzheimer’s Day, 21 September, in the Shetland Islands.

Karen, 54, had been travelling since January 2019 on foot from her home in the Gower, South Wales around the entire coastline of the UK and Ireland, only returning home when forced to by the COVID-19 pandemic.

She had reached the small island of Muckle Flugga in the Shetlands (one of 110 islands that she has walked around as part of her journey), where she planted a flag before returning to her South Wales home for lockdown.

Inspired to support the UK’s leading dementia charity after both of her in-laws were affected by different forms of dementia, Karen has raised nearly £100,000 to fund vital research.

Karen says: “I can’t believe that my walk is coming to an end. I was so sad to have to leave the beautiful Shetland Islands last March because of COVID-19 restrictions, and I am now really excited to be returning to Muckle Flugga. I wonder if my Alzheimer’s Research UK flag is still where I left it!

“The last two and a half years have been wonderful. Although it has sometimes been hard going, I have met so many great people, and heard so many heart-rending stories of the impact of Alzheimer’s disease and the other diseases that cause dementia on families.

“It has made me all the more determined to do whatever I can to raise awareness and raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK, so that in future families can be spared the fear, harm and heartbreak that so many are currently experiencing.”

Hilary Evans, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We are so grateful to Karen for the amazing fundraising and awareness-raising that she has done, with such commitment, since the beginning of 2019.

“As Karen has found with all the people who have shared their experiences with her on her journey, one in two people know someone affected by dementia. Through research, we can keep people connected to their families, their worlds and themselves for longer.

“Research has the power to make breakthroughs possible and Alzheimer’s Research UK is at the forefront of these efforts. We rely on public donations to fund our crucial research and it’s thanks to the commitment of people like Karen that we are able to increase the profile of dementia research and continue our important work.”

To sponsor Karen, go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thepennyrollson  

For further information about Alzheimer’s Research UK call 0300 111 5555 or visit www.alzheimersresearchuk.org

Police seek information following night fires in Drylaw and Pilton

Police have launched an investigation into a series of fires which took place across Drylaw and Pilton in the early hours of this morning.

The six separate incidents were reported between approximately 2.30am and 4.30am at properties on a number of streets: Wester Drylaw Avenue, Wester Drylaw Drive, Crewe Road North, Groathill Loan and Groathill Road North.

The fires are all being treated as suspicious. Whilst there were no serious injuries reported, a number of people were treated at the scene and one person was taken to hospital.

Detective Inspector Jonny Wright, from Gayfield CID, said: “It is fortunate that these fires were discovered and extinguished when they were, and that we are not investigating a far more serious and tragic set of circumstances.

“Enquiries into each of these incidents are ongoing and we are appealing for anyone with information, or who may have seen any suspicious activity on these streets, to please come forward.

“We will be increasing our patrols in the area and engaging with the local community, to provide reassurance as we work to identify those responsible.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting incident 0675 of 18 September. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, if you wish to remain anonymous.”

Collective Exhibition Launch | Acts of Observation

Collective is delighted to present Acts of Observation, a group show by artists and writers Ana García Jácome, Jeda Pearl Lewis, Abi Palmer and Simon Yuill. The new exhibition spans our entire site and is presented as a series of solo presentations, or ‘acts’, throughout our different buildings, spaces, and online.

Dynamic in form and content, the artists brought together present a diverse range of works including film, interactive installation, writing and architectural interventions. 

Acts of Observation directly questions, contextualises and challenges how we negotiate institutional language and spaces, and how disability is represented. The participating artists articulate and politicise notions of recovery and offer visions of positive, inclusive futures.

Artworks on display include: interactive installation Crip Casino by Abi Palmer, where absurdist poetic diagnoses are delivered by the spirit of Elvis reimagined as a medical practitioner; two film works by Ana García Jácome – It’s Like She Had Never Existed and The [ ] History of Disability in Mexico, new poetry by Jeda Pearl which questions how we are observed and which bodies are seen as sublime; and a new text work by Simon Yuill, expanding the text works produced for the artist manifesto Not Going Back to Normal.

Join us on Saturday 25 September, 2 – 4pm, to celebrate the opening of the exhibition, including a live poetry reading by Jeda Pearl Lewis. This is an open event and all are welcome.

Much of the event will take place outdoors in our new ‘Play Shelter’ so please dress for the weather! Numbers inside the exhibition spaces will be monitored in line with social distancing advice so a short wait may be required.

Please RSVP by booking a free ticket on Eventbrite. 

If you have any questions about the event, contact us at mail@collective-edinburgh.art

Children spend half a life at home with the parents

One in eight adult children who live with their parents could spend half their life living with mum and dad

One in eight (13%) adults that have always lived with their parents are aged 35-55+. That means people are spending almost half of their expected lifespans (81 years) if not longer living with their parents

Of those aged 35+ that live with their parents, 40% have never moved out

Over a third (37%) of adult children living at home don’t expect to move out in the near future

This could be costing parents a fortune – over half (55%) of parents with adult children living at home said they cover additional costs because of this. On average parents are spending £117 per child each month

It’s well documented that more grown-up children are now choosing to live at home with their parents for longer4. Now, new research from SpareRoom reveals just how much longer that could be: almost half of their lives – if not more.

One in eight (13%) of those who have always lived with their parents are aged 35 to 55+. Currently the average life expectancy in the UK is 81 years. That means people in their mid-to-late thirties have lived with their parents for nearly half of their expected lifespans – while those over 55 have spent more than two thirds (68%) of their lives under their parents rooves.

Furthermore, of all of those surveyed aged 35 – 55+, 40% have never moved out of the family home5.

Astonishingly, one in two (50%) adult children who currently live at home have never moved out. What’s more, 37% don’t expect to move out within the next six months, with the likelihood of moving out decreasing after the age of 25.

Whilst living at home and spending time with family is seen (by most) as a positive bonding experience, it has an impact on important milestones outside of the family home for children, not to mention the cost implications for parents.

The majority (55%) of parents with adult children living at home cover extra expenses because of this, with the average parent being out of pocket by £117 per child each month.

The bank of mum and dad, now also known as the hotel of mum and dad, helps pay for their adult children’s food (64%), clothes (36%), fuel (25%) and even ‘pocket money’ for them to socialise with their friends (25%) while they’re living at home.

Many parents also paid for their subscriptions (20%) and holidays (23%). Covering mental health and therapy (12%) costs were also on the list of expenditures for parents.

Miriam Tierney, SpareRoom spokesperson comments: “We’ve known for some time that the number of adults living at home with their parents has been rising. The main factor driving that is how expensive housing is, regardless of whether you’re renting or buying. What hasn’t been clear, until now, is just how much of their lives people could be spending in the family home.

“There are, of course, plenty of positives to multi-generational living and in many countries and cultures it’s the norm. However, in the UK the trend is clearly being driven by the housing crisis rather than choice and it’s restricting career and social opportunities for a whole generation.”

Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes collect top award at national competition

Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes won two of the most prestigious awards at the coveted Scottish Home Awards in Glasgow on Thursday.

The housebuilders collected the top award of the night, Housebuilder of the Year (more than 100 units), for presenting their robust business results which had customer service and employee care at its core.

The UK’s largest housebuilder was plauded for its substantial contribution of £245m to the economy and supporting hundreds of other organisations in the supply chain.

They also collected the Community Contribution Award for their work during the pandemic, which includes donating £1,000 to a deserving cause in each of its three Scottish divisions every month. CHAS, a full family support service for babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions is one such charity.

Over 350 people gathered to celebrate winners in The Scottish Home Awards in a hybrid event that also welcomed guests from home watching live via digital broadcast.

Douglas McLeod, regional managing director for Barratt Scotland, said: “I am bursting with pride and admiration for our hard working team at Barratt and David Wilson. It has been a challenging couple of years for the housebuilding market as we’ve adapted to lockdown ways of working, making this win all the more special.

“We have worked tirelessly in these difficult times to create long-term employment opportunities whilst also repaying all furlough money to the government, as well as continuing to onboard new apprentices.

“The commitment from the entire team is unrivalled, which is why we continue to set the standard within our industry. I’m particularly proud of the community contribution award as we strive to give back to people living in the communities we help build. These small donations go a long way to making a real positive change to those most in need.”

The Scottish Home Awards, sponsored by Ross & Liddell named developments, homes and organisations which picked up the trophies after more than 130 developments in 18 categories were assessed.

Among the other notable winners on the night: The City of Edinburgh Council picked up the Housing Regeneration Project of the Year Award for Craigmillar Town Centre and Queensberry Properties was awarded the Apartment Development of the Year award for Bonnington Mill