Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

The Edinburgh Practice unveils major expansion plans

 LAUNCH OF STATE-OF-THE-ART HEALTH CLINIC AT WAVERLEY SQUARE

The Edinburgh Practice, which specialises in providing expert mental healthcare, has unveiled major expansion plans to triple the size of their current premises into a purpose-built, 6,500 sq ft practice in Waverley Square, set to open in the summer, allowing them to expand their range of services, increase their client base and double the team from 50 to 100.

The New Town-based, award-winning company, which offers psychiatric assessment and treatment and a range of therapies including psychological, speech and language, educational and family therapy, began with one member of staff, Clinical Psychologist and founder, Dr Fiona Wilson, in 2017. Within three years the team increased to 32, resulting in the opening of two additional premises in the area.

Plans to combine all three sites into a single, purpose-built clinic to allow the company to expand its services and grow the team further have been in the pipeline for the last 18 months and now that building work has begun, the timeline to launch the new premises is on track for early summer. 

The state-of-the-art practice will feature 26 therapy rooms, a large meeting space for in-house and community events, and a dedicated staff area. It has been carefully designed to be a healing space which matches both clients’ therapeutic needs and staff wellbeing. 

Dr Wilson said: “We’re delighted to be taking this next step in our journey and finally be able to match up service demand and service provision in our own custom-built practice set to open in the summer.  As opposed to continuing to open more and more practices in the city, it made sense to us to bring everything together under one roof.

“Searching for help when struggling with your own or a loved one’s mental health difficulties is extremely hard, which is why our goal has always been to provide easy and fast access to high-quality, evidence-based treatment and therapy, in a safe, compassionate way.

“Our new custom-built practice, which is tripling the size of our current square footage, will allow us to be able to help even more people by expanding our existing wide range of services and launching new ones across all age groups, including an Early Years Service, Occupational Therapy Service and an Older Adults Service, where dementia assessments will be accessible through the practice’s new Memory Clinic.

“This expansion represents an exciting continuation of the development of The Edinburgh Practice, and we have a strong pipeline of new service development projects for 2023 and beyond.”

The Edinburgh Practice Awards include ASB Young Business of the Year Award 2018 and 2019 Finalist for Start Up Business of the Year Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards.

Website: www.edinburghpractice.com

Facebook: The Edinburgh Practice

Instagram: @theedinburghpractice

Deadline looms for School Age Payment

Families urged to make sure they don’t miss out

Parents and guardians who get qualifying benefits or tax credits and who have a child born between 1 March 2017 and 28 February 2018 are being urged to check whether they should apply for Best Start Grant School Age Payment as this year’s deadline approaches. 

Applications for the one-off payment of £267.65 per child, which can be used for books, bags, clothes and equipment for school, have to be submitted by midnight on the 28 February closing date. 

The Scottish Government introduced automatic payments for Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment in November 2022. Parents and guardians who get Scottish Child Payment will get School Age Payment automatically when their child reaches eligibility and within the School Age Payment window of 1 June to 28 February.

There are some people who don’t qualify for Scottish Child Payment that could be eligible for School Age Payment, including those who get housing benefit.

There may be others who choose not to apply for Scottish Child Payment who can still apply for School Age Payment. There are also parents and guardians who opted out of automatic payments so they could have more control around when they receive this money. All of these people are being urged to check if they could be due School Age Payment and to apply if they do.  

Statistics last week revealed that more than £105.8 million has been paid by Social Security Scotland in the Best Start group of payments – which also includes Pregnancy and Baby Payment and Early Learning Payment. 

Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “If you have a child in the family aged five, or who turns five this month, then you could be eligible for School Age Payment. 

“We are making it easier than ever to apply but we still ask people to check and make sure they know what they are entitled to.

“The Best Start Grant payments, which include School Age Payment, were the first three of our five family payments to be introduced.

“To date we’ve provided more than £100 million across these three payments.

“Making these payments automatic, where we have the information to do so, will enable us to get this money to families at key stages in their child’s development and when they may face additional costs.”

Worried about your pet’s pounds?

PDSA and Royal Canin invite pet owners in Scotland to join in and ‘Weigh Up’ their pets

PDSA and Royal Canin are calling on pet owners in Scotland to take advantage of a free weight check for their four-legged friend by signing up to the new ‘Big Weigh In’ initiative.

The partnership launched their Weigh Up campaign in 2021, offering pet owners free online resources to assess and understand their pets’ weight throughout the pandemic.  The new PDSA Big Weigh In initiative will take place during February and March 2023 in conjunction with veterinary practices across the UK to help tackle the pet obesity crisis the UK pet population faces.

In 2022, the charity’s annual PAW (PDSA Animal Wellbeing) Report revealed 60% of owners regularly give their pet human food in some form, such as leftovers (26%), cheese (22%) and bread or toast (10%).

Human food is often high in fats and sugar, and can contribute to obesity and weight problems as well as potentially leading to an unbalanced diet for our pets. As per PDSA calculations, feeding a dog a slice of toast with butter, is the equivalent of a human eating two portions of fries. Similarly, feeding a cat three small cubes of cheese, is the equivalent of a human eating two quarter pounders!

One weight loss success story is Roscoe, who initially came into PDSA’s care weighing 75kg and after a tremendous effort from his owner, Roscoe managed to shed 23kg and he is very nearly at his ideal weight!

The excess weight was affecting Roscoe’s daily life through his breathing and energy levels, so losing the weight was vital for his health and happiness.

The main aim for PDSA Big Weigh In is to help other pets like Roscoe live a better and hopefully longer life, by maintaining a healthy weight.

For dog and cat owners in Scotland; you are able to find which vet practices are taking part and inviting pets to come in and get weighed on the veterinary practice map.  

PDSA Veterinary Surgeon, Lynne James said: “Our Weigh Up campaign was popular amongst pet owners who were keen to understand more about their pet’s weight, in order to keep them fit and healthy.

“Now we are taking the next step and launching PDSA Big Weigh In – where we are inviting owners to join in and visit a participating practice for a free weight check.

“We have also launched the PDSA #WeighUp Pet Weight Loss Support Group, for fellow pet owners to join, share their progress and access exclusive tips and content, including weekly Q&A’s with PDSA vets and vet nurses, all to help each pet owner with their pet’s weight loss journey.”

If you would like to find out more before visiting your local participating practice, please visit PDSA’s website.

Aldi stores in Edinburgh and Lothians launch Too Good To Go service

Aldi is rolling out its partnership with the world’s largest surplus food platform, Too Good To Go, to all of its stores in Edinburgh and Lothians. 

Following a successful trial last year, the UK’s fastest-growing supermarket is making the surplus food bags available nationwide, in a bid to tackle food waste while also offering even lower prices to customers. 

The ‘Magic Bags’ will contain a range of grocery products that are approaching their sell-by or use-by dates at less than a third of the price, costing just £3.30 each to purchase for at least £10 worth of food.  

To get a Magic Bag, shoppers can download the free Too Good To Go app and search for their nearby Aldi store, before reserving a bag to collect from the store at an allotted time.  

The nationwide roll out is expected to save a further 4,000 tonnes of food from going to waste annually and will form a key part of Aldi’s ongoing commitment to cut food waste.   

In addition, all of Aldi’s UK stores in Edinburgh and Lothians will continue to donate surplus food to local causes 365 days of the year. Since 2019, the supermarket has donated more than 30 million meals via its successful partnership with Neighbourly.  

Liz Fox, Corporate Responsibility Director at Aldi UK, said: “Rolling out our partnership with Too Good To Go is another way of allowing us to cut down on food waste, while also offering customers in Edinburgh and Lothians the opportunity to pick up our food at even lower prices. 

“With the rising cost of living impacting so many, Too Good To Go offers a simple and accessible way for consumers to save money and reduce waste.” 

Sophie Trueman, Managing Director UK & Ireland at Too Good To Go, added: “We’re thrilled to be officially launching our partnership with Aldi nationally.

“Having already had fantastic feedback during a successful trial period, I know our​ Too Good To Go​ community in Edinburgh and Lothians is going to jump at the chance to save Aldi Magic Bags​ and prevent even more good food from going to waste​.” 

Police appeal for info following Ratcliffe Terrace crash

POLICE are appealing for information following a crash on Ratcliffe Terrace.

The incident happened around 8.45am last Thursday (26 January), and involved a cyclist and a blue Vauxhall Corsa.

The cyclist, a 27-year-old man, was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.

No one else was injured and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.

Police Constable John Smith said: “I am appealing for anyone who saw what happened or who has dash-cam that could assist with our enquiries to get in touch.”

Anyone who can help is asked to call us on 101, quoting incident number 0654 of Thursday, 26 January, 2023.

Fresh Start garden goes solar!

A community growing hub which helps people who have been homeless has become the latest local project to benefit from the Council’s community benefits scheme.

Following a great deal of community-based support from buildings solutions service John G Mackintosh (JGM), Pilton-based charity Fresh Start is now benefitting from a new solar power pack – meaning green-fingered volunteers can put the kettle on and enjoy a chat and a tea break while their garden tools charge up.

Allowing everyone involved in the Fresh Start community garden at Ferry Road Drive to shelter from the elements, JGM’s community benefits also includes a new leisure unit, new tables and growing tubs worth £12,000.

Fresh Start is an Edinburgh based charity helping people who have been homeless get established in their new home. Working with volunteers and community organisations, it delivers a range of services which provide practical and social support to help people resettle successfully.

Councillor Jane Meagher, Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “When someone has experienced homelessness, it can be a daunting and difficult transition to a new home, a new local community and a new way of life.

“We have an incredible third sector in Edinburgh and charities like Fresh Start offer support to people as they settle in. Gardening is a great way to connect with others and with nature in your area. It’s also an opportunity to learn new skills and I’m really pleased we’ve been able to support this community growing initiative. The donations and time clearly mean a lot and will make a big difference.

“As the largest social landlord in the city the Council has a great number of projects underway at any given time to improve or build new homes. Our community benefits scheme is a way for the contractors we employ in housing to give back and we’ve been impressed by John G Mackintosh’s response.

“It follows their £3.5m contract with us to upgrade vents at six multi-storey Council blocks in Moredun, and now this investment providing safe and warm homes is going full circle.”

Adrienne Mee, Community Growing Manager at Fresh Start, said: “The help we’ve received for the project has exceeded our expectations. The installation of the container is perfect for our planned tool lending library as well as shelter from the weather during gardening sessions. In the spring we will be able to offer garden workshops and tools for people in the area.

“It’s a great resource and we hope it will encourage people to have a go at gardening and help them develop their back greens or grow fruit or vegetables on their balconies. The tables and planters will help us to make this a really nice area for people who live in the flats to relax and enjoy being outside once the weather warms up.”

John Gellatly, Director of John G Mackintosh (JGM), said: “When JGM first became aware that as part of the Communities Benefit program there was an exciting opportunity to put something back into the community that was tangible, we were excited about the potential of this.

“After initial discussions and consultation, we were made aware of the Community Garden project at West Pilton, where JGM met up with the Council and Fresh Start to discuss the project further. We established the best position to site a lockable 20 foot container and agreed the design and layout of the paving to interwork with the existing garden area and the new storage container.

“Using JGM’s experience in the sector, it became apparent that in providing a solar panel solution for the container this attribute would add significantly to the benefits and flexibility that the users would have in using the container for their desired requirements.

“Over two visits JGM firstly did all the groundworks and sited the container in the chosen position and on their second visit the solar panel and internal electrics were added.  Some additional works were carried out to install shelving and line the walls within the container, plus some planters and picnic bench seating were supplied to enhance the experience of the end users.”

Historic former whaling building opens for first time

The original Main Store on the subantarctic island of South Georgia has opened to visitors for the very first time, after almost five years of sympathetic restoration and curation by the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) and a UK charity, the South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT).

This small but significant British Overseas Territory, which lies in the Southern Ocean over 1,500km east of the Falkland Islands, was at the centre of the whaling industry but is now famed for its remarkable environmental recovery.

The Main Store is at the heart of the island’s principal settlement of Grytviken, an abandoned yet atmospheric former whaling station which ceased operations in the 1960s after decades of whaling.

Built in c.1920, the Main Store is one of the few remaining original structures to survive at the site, and the restoration of this important historic building now adds another layer to the rich cultural heritage that is being preserved on the island.

Between 1904 – 1965 over 175,000 whales were processed across South Georgia. For the whalers the hours were long, the work unpleasant and the weather harsh. But despite the island’s dark past, GSGSSI and SGHT are working to ensure that South Georgia’s human story is told.

Alongside the South Georgia Museum, which is owned by GSGSSI and managed by SGHT, the preservation and reopening of the Main Store mean that the 10-15,000 annual international visitors to South Georgia will get a rare insight into what life was like during the height of the whaling era in the mid-20th century.

There are lots of never-before-seen objects in the Main Store that visitors will be able see for the first time, including harpoon grenades, bone saws, blubber hooks and flensing knives, all essential tools used by whalers throughout the hunting and production process. There’s also thousands of rivets, nuts, bolts, pipes and steam pumps used to maintain and repair the factory, boilers, vessels and machinery.

Visitors can also see a mysterious small ceramic figure named ‘Nisse’, whose provenance and age is unknown. A firm favourite with the team on South Georgia and visitors alike, he’s the unofficial guardian of the Main Store, keeping a watchful eye when the team leaves over winter.

During the restoration every heritage item was retained, cleaned, and photographed and any modern items removed. The catalogue is available to view in the South Georgia Museum.

Jayne Pierce, SGHT Curator of the South Georgia Museum says: “The Main Store is one of the oldest and largest buildings to survive at Grytviken.

“Given South Georgia’s remote location it played an essential role in storing the many supplies needed to keep the whaling station and its fleet of vessels running, including feeding and supporting the many men that formed the whaling crews, which was a huge undertaking.

Laura Sinclair-Willis, CEO of GSGSSI explains: “The Main Store is central to South Georgia’s intriguing history, and thanks to the support of a team of experts, it is now an accessible time capsule capable of receiving visitors, as well as an important part of the work we are doing to explain the rich cultural history of the island.

“Following a Condition Survey and Structural Report of the Main Store that was published in 2018, our Heritage Build Team, SGHT’s Museum Curator and an Advisory Panel of heritage experts worked over the summer seasons between 2018 – 2023 to remediate the building’s structure.

“This included repainting the entire exterior, removing modern equipment and materials, installing electrical wiring and period lighting fixtures, and replacing windows, giving us the fully accessible building we have today.”

Iconic wildlife from humpback whales and southern elephant seals, to vast colonies of king penguins and an array of seabirds call South Georgia and the Southern Ocean home. South Georgia is celebrated for its remarkable environmental recovery following several Habitat Restoration projects run by both GSGSSI and SGHT.

GSGSSI removed reindeer that had been deliberately introduced to the island by the whalers as a source of fresh meat and sport, and SGHT ran a successful decade-long rodent eradication project to tackle invasive mice and rats, which came over in whaling vessels and decimated local seabird populations.

Now the island is a rare example of an ecosystem in recovery. South Georgia is also famous for its links with world-famous explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton who is buried at Grytviken.

The restoration of the island’s Main Store would not have been possible without the generous support of the many organisations and friends with a close affinity to South Georgia. These include Øyas Venner (The Norwegian Friends of South Georgia), t;he Hurtigruten Foundation, the Friends of South Georgia Island, the British Antarctic Survey and the Headley Trust.

To find out more about South Georgia, the work of its government and of SGHT, visit www.gov.gs and https://sght.org.

PICTURES: South Georgia Heritage Trust

Boosting the social care workforce 

Campaign aims to help fill vacant posts across Edinburgh 

A marketing campaign to support the recruitment of more adult social care workers in Edinburgh has launched this week, to help address the high level of vacancies in the sector.  

The campaign – titled ‘there is more to care than caring’ – will raise awareness of the career opportunities available in adult social care and encourage people to apply. Activity includes radio, outdoor and digital advertising, highlighting the important work done by adult social care workers. 

It is part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to attract more people to work in adult social care, retain existing staff and raise its status as a profession. This builds on a pay uplift for all adult social care staff which guarantees them a minimum of at least £10.90 an hour from this April. 

Social Care Minister Kevin Stewart visited Leuchie House in North Berwick yesterday to see the work it does to support people affected by stroke, multiple sclerosis and neurological conditions. 

Mr Stewart said: “Working in adult social care can be challenging but offers the opportunity to have a hugely positive impact on people’s lives on a daily basis.  

“We are increasing pay, improving terms and conditions in the sector, and developing clear career pathways for the workforce, ahead of the introduction of the National Care Service. This will lead to more rewarding roles for the existing adult social care workforce, and for new entrants to the profession. 

“This campaign highlights that while relevant experience can help, it is core interpersonal skills such as communication, compassion, empathy and respect that are most highly valued.

“If these are skills you possess then adult social care could be the career for you.” 

Foysol Choudhury MSP: Immoral Trading Must Stop

Zara. H&M. Lidl. Tesco. All high-street retailers who have supposedly been engaging in unethical practices when purchasing from garment factories in Bangladesh. Whilst consumers in the UK often buy items at these popular chains, unfortunately a story of inequality, exploitation and unfair practices lurks behind many purchases (writes FOYSOL CHOUDHURY). 

Research undertaken at the University of Aberdeen surveyed 1,000 factories in Bangladesh and their findings were shocking.

The cost of materials and production has soared globally. Yet, the research showed that the price we pay to producers in Bangladesh has apparently stayed the same as before the pandemic, two years ago, meaning that garment factories are facing a real term cut. As a result, many factories selling to large, global retailers such as H&M and Zara were supposedly paid below the cost of production for their garments.  

Unethical practice was also evident, with the research concluding that between March 2020 and December 2021, 90% of high street brands were found to be engaging in unethical practices such as cancelling orders and delayed or failed payments.  

Many retailers involved have denied claims. However, if the factories are not being paid enough for their production, unfortunately the workers at these factories may not be being paid enough either.   

Rightly, we fight for the rights of our workers at home. However, it would sadly seem that we neglect the rights of workers globally who are responsible for producing the clothes and items we use regularly. 

Twelve of the brands listed in the report were apparently members of the Ethical Trading Initiative, aiming to promote workers’ rights. This, whilst undertaking business practices which could quash fair pay for workers in Bangladesh.  

We cannot preach about paying workers fair wages globally whilst perpetuating a system of financial exploitation which, unfortunately, ensures that businesses often don’t have the funds to pay their workers a fair wage.

We cannot continue to give with one hand and take with the other when it comes to the visage of fair play versus our unethical trading practices. 

We cannot continue to operate on an ‘out of sight out of mind’ basis. Instead, we need to recognise that these practices are, in part, being propped up by the UK’s global unethical business practice. We need to shift our priorities and act to ensure that all workers involved in our production chains, around the world, have access to workers’ rights.  

I urge governments to ensure that our importers pay the correct costs and make the process ethical. We must not profit at the cost of others around the globe facing exploitation and unfair wages; this immoral trading must stop. 

The University of Aberdeen ‘‘Impact of Global Clothing Retailers’ Unfair Practices on Bangladeshi Suppliers During Covid-19”:

 https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/documents/Impact_of_Global_Clothing_Retailers_Unfair_Practices_on_Bangladeshi_Suppliers_During_COVID-19.pdf