British gardeners have been offered advice on the best flowers to plant for winter colour.
Plant pros at GardeningExpress.co.uk have revealed nine hardy climbers, shrubs and bedding plants which brave the cold to brighten up dreary gardens in the coldest, darkest months.
Blooming gardens are usually associated with the bright, warm days of spring and summer, but there are a variety of hardy plants that survive and even thrive in the colder months.
From pansies and daphne to snowdrops and clematis, these plants will help gardens look spectacular all year round.
A spokesperson for GardeningExpress.co.uk said: “Gardens needn’t look dull, dreary and dormant through winter, as there are a number of fantastic plants which are perfect for adding a splash of colour in the coldest, darkest months.
“From climbers and shrubs to bedding plants and evergreens, there’s something suitable for every spot in every garden. Pots and flowers borders will be brightened up in no time.”
1. Christmas Rose
These flowers bloom usually in January but sometimes as early as Christmas. They feature large, round, white flowers above low-growing mounds of leathery, deep green foliage, and are perfect for growing at the front of a partially shaded border.
2. Pansies
These low-growing, bushy perennials have large, striking flowers and heart-shaped leaves, and are a gardener’s staple. The bicoloured flowers have darker, face-like markings in the centre. Most varieties flower in spring and summer but some have been bred to bloom November to March, so make sure you buy the right type.
3. Mahonia
Mahonias feature slender spikes of bright yellow flowers that are popular with winter-active bumblebees, as well as evergreen rosettes of glossy dark green leaves. They flower between November and March and should be grown in moist but well-drained soil in partial shade.
4. Daphne
These colourful shrubs bloom in late winter and early spring. They’re great for small gardens, with some varieties suiting window boxes and containers too. Most varieties bear clusters of small flowers in various shades of red or pink, and sometimes white or green too.
5. Snowdrops
Snowdrops are some of the first bulbs of the year to flower, heralding the end of winter. With so many different species and varieties to choose from, the snowdrop has fast become a winter favourite amongst UK gardeners. For natural looking drifts, gently cast the bulbs across the planting area and plant them exactly where they land.
6. Winter clematis
Winter clematis is a perennial climber with glossy, evergreen foliage, and it flowers December to January. As a group one clematis, they don’t need pruning, though this can be done lightly, straight after flowering, to restrict their size.
7. Heather
Winter-flowering heathers are inexpensive, and a brilliant plant for low-growing texture. Evergreen, easy to grow, small, manageable, and long-flowering, it looks great in pots and comes with pink, white and purple flowers.
8. Cyclamen
Braving the cold, Cyclamen are winter heroes that can be brought to flower from autumn to spring. The flowers come in a variety of red, pink and white shades, which look fantastic in pots or planted under trees.
9. Winter Aconite
Cheery winter aconite bulbs produce golden, cup-shaped flowers surrounded by a green collar of leaves. In fact, they look just like buttercups, except they flower in the depths of winter. They love a moist soil and a shady position, so they’re perfect for planting among trees.
Shared Lives Plus, which is launching its Homeshare scheme in Scotland, is one of ten charities to receive £50,000 as part of Ecclesiastical Insurance’s Movement for Good awards.
The awards, set up by specialist insurer Ecclesiastical, have seen a total of £1million given to charities across the UK this summer. 500 charities have already been awarded donations of £1,000 and now 10 charitable organisations will benefit from £50,000 grants.
Shared Lives Plus, which aims to build communities where everyone lives a full life by sharing lives and homes, was one of 10 charities1 selected from over 1,000 entries.
The fund will allow the charity to develop its Homeshare scheme in Scotland, a project that carefully matches someone in need of support to live independently with someone who has a housing need and can provide care. The project fosters mutually beneficial and enriching relationships across communities.
Each of the £50,000 awards are designed to support the advancement of education, skills, arts, culture and heritage, as well as citizenship or community development. Applications were assessed against four key areas; impact and effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, and care and compassion.
Mark Hews, Group CEO of Ecclesiastical, said: “Our Movement for Good awards have been met with an overwhelming response. A huge number of charities have submitted projects for the £50,000 grant and it’s clear that charitable organisations are in need of support now more than ever.
“We believe this financial boost will create long-lasting improvements for communities and support charity workers during what is an incredibly testing time for many.
“Ecclesiastical is a unique financial services group. Owned by a charity, our core purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society. Charitable giving is at the heart of our business and we are proud to be able to give all available profits to the good causes which are important to our customers.
“We know that £50,000 can make a huge difference to the life-changing work that charities do and we are looking forward to seeing how these awards will help make people’s lives better.”
Ben Hall, Development Manager at Shared Lives Plus, added: “I didn’t expect to win at all and when we were told, I was delighted! For us, this project would not be taking place in the coming year without the award from Ecclesiastical’s Movement for Good. It really is as simple as that.
“Homeshare will be a new idea in Scotland and it is vital that we raise its profile. Our goal is that we want to bring shared living to more people and create a kinder and stronger society. This grant allows us to create those plans.”
An amazing 253,879 people around the UK supported the Movement for Good awards during its first phase earlier this year, with over 13,695 charitable causes up and down the country receiving votes. The 500 winning charities were picked at random from those nominated.
Phase two saw 1,059 project submissions for the £50,000 awards. Following a review of all the applications, a panel of judges made their final selection of the winning projects2.
A PUB boss who went out of her way to help vulnerable people at the start of the coronavirus pandemic is fuming at being wrongly brought into an Old Firm football fans row.
Dianne Irving, who runs the award-winning The Crown, the historic Howard Arms and newly-refurbished Milbourne Arms – all in Carlisle – received national acclaim when she delivered meals to the vulnerable across the city at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.
But this weekend Dianne found herself wrongly dragged into a Covid controversy about football fans heading to Carlisle from Scotland to watch the Celtic versus Rangers clash on TV.
One fan posted on social media that he’d organised a 49-seater coach from Dalkeith near Edinburgh so that Celtic and Rangers fans – unable to watch the game in a pub in Scotland due to lockdown – could travel south of the border to watch Saturday’s game on TV at the Howard Arms in Carlisle.
But Dianne, who runs the Howard Arms in Carlisle, knew nothing about the football fans’ trip.
She says they must have meant a different pub because the Howard Arms in Carlisle doesn’t even show live football on TV.
And the historic city centre pub wouldn’t even have room to accommodate 49 people given it is restricted to table service due to coronavirus rules.
Dianne said: “We know absolutely nothing about this. We never heard from this person. We didn’t have any group bookings. We don’t even show live sport at The Howard!
“We haven’t had any Rangers or Celtic fans in the pub this weekend. This whole story has absolutely nothing to do with us.”
Dianne has been at the forefront of technology, and adhered to all the Covid-19 rules to ensure all her regulars at all her pubs are able to enjoy a safe environment.
She only operates table service at all the venues she runs, takes advance bookings, and enforces social distancing throughout.
She and her staff have been widely praised by customers throughout the pandemic for the lengths they have gone to in order to make everyone feel secure.
Dianne said: “We have put the health and well-being of our customers and staff as the number one priority throughout the pandemic. We would never compromise that.”
Yet because of the football fan’s post, spreading false information, she has found herself, totally innocently, at the centre of a social media storm over the weekend.
She has even been contacted by environmental health on the back of complaints based on the completely incorrect information.
Dianne said: “It’s hard to take to be honest. It’s difficult enough, as anyone in the hospitality industry knows right now, to run a business in this climate.
“But when you work night and day to make sure you are complying with every regulation, only for someone to put a post on social media, wrongly naming our pub, it’s infuriating and so damaging to everything we are doing. It’s soul destroying.
“Our regulars know the type of pub The Howard Arms is. They know this has absolutely nothing to do with us. But anyone else, reading about these football fans on social media, or in the wider media, doesn’t necessarily know the truth. That’s why we need to put the record straight so people know that we have absolutely nothing to do with this.”
Dianne, managing director of Drouth Ltd, is well-known for the responsible way she runs her business.
The Crown was this year shortlisted in two of Greene King brewery’s national awards as Community Pub of the Year and also Entertainment Pub of The Year.
Dianne also won Best Turnaround Pub of The Year for The Crown in the Great British Pub Awards in 2018.
The Howard Arms in Lowther Street in Carlisle city centre, known for its striking Royal Doulton tiled exterior, has been registered in local directories since 1855.
The historic interior is a fine example of old State Management pubs, which Carlisle is famous for, with small snug-like rooms and a central bar.
A starter payment should be made to people claiming Universal Credit (UC) for the first time to ensure that everyone has enough money for basics such as food and heating during the wait for their initial monthly payment, the Work and Pensions Committee says.
The Committee’s report on Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment finds that the current wait of at least five weeks causes difficulties for some households. While the existing system of Advance pay-ments for those in need can provide a valuable financial lifeline, the Committee is concerned that some people are unable to afford the required repayments.
The Committee warns that this leaves people with a difficult choice: five weeks with no income, or the risk of debt and hardship later.
The report concludes that the introduction of a new payment – equivalent to three weeks of the standard allowance – would be a simple way of ensuring that new claimants had the money they needed for basic living essentials. For people moving from existing benefits, DWP should make the move seamless wherever possible—and pay a starter payment in other cases.
Advances should still be available for people who need further support to get by, but they should be renamed ‘new claim loans’ to make clear that they will need to be repaid. The DWP should also recognise that a request for a loan is a clear indication that someone is struggling and offer support as early as possible.
Reflecting evidence from Sir Iain Duncan Smith, among others, the Committee has also called for changes to the way that historic tax credit is clawed back from people when they move to Universal Credit—and for DWP’s debt collection to follow best practice in the private sector.
In addition, the Committee calls on the Government to make permanent the £20 per week increase in the standard UC allowance announced in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Rt Hon Stephen Timms, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said: “There is a growing body of evidence that moving to Universal Credit leaves many reliant on food banks, falling seriously behind with their rent, and even experiencing increased levels of psychological distress.
“The Government’s response is that there is no proof that Universal Credit—and in particular the wait for a first payment—is the direct cause of those difficulties. So DWP needs to commission research, and quickly, to find out what lies behind these deeply worrying findings.
“Our social security system should not be leaving people without the money they need for food and heating.
“In the meantime, the Government must face up to the fact that its current system of Advance loans simply isn’t working. They leave people facing the toughest of choices: go without income for at least five weeks, or have repayments subtracted from their future UC payments—which are already barely enough to get by on.
“We cannot understand why people who are already claiming benefits need to wait for at least five weeks when they move to Universal Credit—especially when nothing in their lives has changed. Their move should be seamless.
“For people claiming benefits for the first time, or people who’ve faced a significant change in their circumstances, the Government should provide starter payments. Doing so would both cut down on the need for Advance loans and ensure that nobody is forced into debt just to be able to afford to eat and keep a roof over their heads.
“UC is a highly automated system. That has been a real strength over the last few months, with the huge influx of new claims caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But it can also be a major weakness, leaving people without the tailored support they need, and Ministers unable to make the changes they want to see.
“There is much the Government can do without completely dismantling the UC system: we hope that our proposals, taken together, offer practical solutions for making Universal Credit work for everyone who needs it.”
Key report findings and recommendations
Starter payments
All first-time claimants of UC should receive a starter payment equivalent to three weeks of the Standard Allowance.
The payment should be made two weeks after the initial claim and only once the claimant’s identity has been verified, to guard against fraud.
People claiming legacy benefits should be moved seamlessly to UC, but where they cannot be they should receive a starter payment instead.
The impact of the wait
The Committee received evidence from both organisations and individuals which suggested that a significant proportion of people face financial difficulties during the wait for a first UC payment.
Citizens Advice said that half the people it helps during the wait period are ‘unable to keep up with bills, rent or are forced to go without the essentials such as food and heating’.
The National Audit Office said that the wait for a first payment can exacerbate claimants’ debt and financial difficulties.
DWP must carry out research to develop its understanding of the possible impact of UC, particularly the wait for the first payment, on the use of food banks; on claimants’ levels of rent arrears; and on levels of psychological distress.
Advance payments
Even with starter payments, the Committee anticipates some people claiming will still need to ask for an Advance (a loan to tide them over during the wait).
The DWP risks misleading claimants, and damaging its own credibility, if it insists on denying the obvious fact that these Advances are interest free loans.
Advances should be renamed ‘new claim loans’ so it is clear that they need to be repaid.
The Department should offer support to anyone requesting a substantial Advance, as it would be a clear indication that someone is struggling with the transition to UC.
Tax credit debt
Repayments of tax credit overpayments can compound hardship for people who may already be struggling.
The Committee recommends that recovery of tax credit debt from people claiming UC should begin only when the claimant has repaid their Advance (if they have taken one out).
Repayments of remaining debts should be capped at 10% of UC standard allowance and written off entirely if they have not been pursued for more than six years.
Universal Support and Help to Claim
The DWP must invest in expanding and developing its Help to Claim service so it is closer to its original plans for Universal Support.
The service must go beyond assisting with an initial claim and should include debt advice, support for people struggling with repaying Advances and support for people with complex needs.
The Work Capability Assessment and support for disabled people
The Committee finds it troubling that, because of the time taken to complete a Work Capability Assessment, some disabled people and people with health conditions must wait much longer than five weeks to receive their full UC entitlement.
Four months, on average, is too long to wait and the DWP must work to speed up the process.
Coronavirus measures
In its report DWP’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Committee welcomed the decision to increase the standard allowance in UC and the basic element in Working Tax Credit by £20 per week.
The Government should now extend the increase past April 2021 and make the rise permanent.
This World Menopause Day (18th October), Pharmacy2U wanted to share information and expert comment around the common symptoms and physiological changes that occur during this transition and how lifestyle choices can make the changes more manageable.
Going through the menopause can be one of the most difficult parts of life for many women. The menopause is a natural part of ageing that typically happens to a woman when she is between 45 and 55 years of age, with the average age in the UK being 51. It’s important to remember that whilst many symptoms are the same in every woman that goes through this transition, the experience and severity vary from woman to woman.
During the menopausal transition, the body’s production of oestrogen and progesterone, the two hormones made by the ovaries, varies greatly. Bones become less dense, making women more vulnerable to fractures.
During this period, too, the body begins to change how it uses its energy, fat cells change and women may gain weight easier than they normally would. As hormone levels drop, a succession of not only physical changes, but also emotional changes then follow.
There are several common symptoms that may help women understand if they are going through the menopause, including;
Night sweats
Anxiety
Hot flushes
Vaginal dryness
Joint pain
Low mood
Although there is no ‘cure’ or medication to prevent this happening, there are certain lifestyle changes that can be made to make going through this transition as bearable as possible:
Staying clear of foods that cause hot flushes – coffee, tea, alcohol and spicy foods
Participating in regular exercise to relieve stress which can trigger the release of endorphins and aid in the balancing of hormones
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) – medication that contains hormones that a woman’s body stops producing after menopause
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – a type of talking therapy that can help with anxiety and low moods
It’s recommended that you talk to your GP if you are presenting with the symptoms listed and they’re causing you discomfort, or if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms and you’re below 45 years of age. Your GP can then usually confirm whether you are going through the menopause based on your symptoms, or through a blood test.
Phil Day, Superintendent Pharmacist at Pharmacy2U, commented:“The menopause is a natural process, however for some women it can cause a lot of discomfort and disruption to their everyday life.
“A greater awareness of this, and of the many ways the symptoms can be identified and managed, can only be a good thing; and World Menopause Day aims to start that conversation. Lifestyle changes, and approaches such as HRT, can go a long way to restoring normality in many cases.
“HRT replaces the hormones oestrogen and progestogen, or just oestrogen for most women without a uterus, and it can be given in many different ways including tablets, patches, or vaginal creams or pessaries. Your pharmacist and GP are on hand to give advice.”
Microbiologists take steps to reducing plastic waste
“Everyone can make a difference!” urge microbiologists after developing a new approach that could reduce their laboratory’s plastic waste by over 500kg a year.
The group, based at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, developed an approach to reduce plastic waste produced by their lab. They have shared their approach in the journal Access Microbiology, with the hope that other labs will follow suit.
Led by Dr Amy Pickering (no relation – Ed.), the lab replaced single-use plastics with re-useable equipment. Where alternatives were not available, the group decontaminated and re-used plastic equipment which would have usually been thrown away after one use.
“We knew that we were using plastic daily in our research, but it wasn’t until we took the time to quantify the waste that the volumes being used really hit home. That really emphasized the need for us to introduce plastic reducing measures,” said Dr Pickering.
The lab developed a new scheme which focused on sustainability, moving away from the use of single-use plastics wherever possible. In some cases, the research group would use reusable wooden or metal items instead of plastic.
If there were no alternatives, the group focused on reusing plastic equipment by chemically decontaminating the plastic tubes before a second level of decontamination under heat and pressure – known as autoclaving.
To determine the success of the scheme, the lab of seven researchers spent four weeks documenting the plastic waste produced in regular conditions. They then measured the amount of waste produced over the next seven weeks with new processes to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic.
Dr. Pickering said: “Once the measures were in place it was quickly clear that large impacts were being seen. The most surprising thing for us was how resilient some plastics are to being autoclaved and therefore how many times they can be re-used. This means that we were able to save more plastic than we originally anticipated.”
In implementing these replace and reuse practises, 1670 tubes and 1300 loops were saved during a four-week period. This led to a 43-kilogram reduction in waste.
The typical microbiology laboratory uses mostly disposable plastic, which is often not recycled due to biological contamination. In 2014, 5.5 million tonnes of plastic waste were generated in research laboratories worldwide. The Edinburgh lab works with dangerous disease-causing bacteria, due to the dangers of contamination, their waste must be autoclaved and incinerated at a high environmental and monetary cost.
Practices to reduce plastic waste in research labs is becoming increasingly popular in the UK, with researchers from the University of York decontaminating and re-using plastic flasks and researchers from a chemistry lab in Edinburgh recycling 1 million plastic gloves in 2019.
“It’s important to take some time identifying what plastic items you are using the most. This will allow you to identify both the easy wins, such as replacing plastic inoculation loops for re-useable metal ones, as well as the bigger tasks, such as re-using plastic tubes. That will help you to bring others on board and build momentum,” added Dr Pickering.
The new protocols not only prevent plastic waste, but also save money according to Dr Pickering: “Over a 3-month period of implementing the protocols we will have saved over £400 of plastic tubes, inoculation loops, and cuvettes” she said.
This month is Sober October, when lots of people around the UK stop drinking alcohol for the month. If you have not yet joined in, it is not too late!
Research has found that alcohol consumption has increased in one fifth of people due to the coronavirus pandemic. As many as two fifths of people who have been furloughed are thought to be drinking more alcohol. Drinking in excess can increase your blood pressure and lead to weight gain, which is bad news for your heart.
If you have stopped drinking for October, we have some tips to keep you on track:
We hope these tips will help you if you are thinking about stopping drinking, but haven’t yet taken the plunge:
Avoid temptation by not having alcohol in the house
Tell other people you have stopped drinking. By telling other people about it, you are more likely to stick to your goal
Reward yourself for your success. Decide on a reward that will motivate you to achieve your goal and keep reminding yourself about it whenever you are tempted to have a drink.
Regularly remind yourself of the health and financial benefits of not drinking. You could use the money you save to buy yourself a reward.
If you go back to drinking after October, keep a drink diary to record your weekly alcohol intake. If you are consuming more than 14 units a week, take steps to address it.
On International Restart a Heart Day on Friday, the Save a Life for Scotland partnership celebrated five years of working together to help more people learn CPR so that should they ever need to do it, they feel more prepared.
Despite not being able to reach people face to face since March, they had managed to equip an amazing 640,790 people with CPR skills up until lockdown in March 2020.
The Save a Life for Scotland Partnership has collectively contributed to a 45% increase in 30-day survival rates for those who have had an out-of-hospital cardiac, arrest doubling to 1 in 10 since the strategy launch in 2015.
When it comes to bystander CPR, the numbers continuing to do it this year in Scotland are pretty incredible. As a nation, amongst everything that’s going on, bystander CPR rates haven’t changed. When someone needs CPR Scots are still helping, still caring and making an incredible difference. Today, the campaign wants to remind you that calling for help and starting CPR is still the right thing to do.
Every year about 3,500 people are treated for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by ambulance crews in Scotland. The Scottish Ambulance Service have made significant improvements to our response to out of hospital cardiac arrest, including early decision making, meaning patients with immediately life-threatening conditions are now being identified earlier in the 999 call process, and treated more rapidly.
When you call 999 and a cardiac arrest is identified, our highly trained call handlers will provide clear instructions on how to perform CPR. Remember any delay in commencing CPR could decrease chances of survival drastically so we ask you to assist right away. Early bystander CPR can increase someone’s chance of survival by 2-3 times.
We understand you may be concerned about what the risks may be around CPR during COVID-19 and CPR guidance has changed slightly due to the current pandemic. Research conducted on behalf of the Resuscitation Council (UK) revealed that a third of UK adults don’t know if, during the COVID-19 pandemic, CPR should only be carried out by professionals wearing PPE.
We want to reassure you that bystander CPR should still be carried out while the ambulance service is on the way and our highly trained call handlers will support you to give essential lifesaving support, in a safe way, until help arrives.
Dr Andrew Lockey, Consultant in Emergency Medicine and co-lead for World Restart a Heart Day, Resuscitation Council UK said: “The principle message for Restart a Heart is that you can still save a life, whilst keeping yourself safe.”
The Resuscitation Council (UK) advise that if you have to administer bystander CPR place a cloth or a towel loosely over the persons face to reduce the risk of any spread.
The Save a Life for Scotland campaign have created a page where you can refresh your CPR knowledge, learn of the small changes to the guidance and perhaps learn for the first time – take a look and learn today. https://www.savealife.scot/adult-resources/learn-cpr/
To showcase how every step of the ‘chain of survival’ is so important to save lives, Robert Hogg shares his story:
A man who had a cardiac arrest on a family holiday said he would not be alive today if not for the Scottish Ambulance Service, the Coastguard and off duty medical staff who swiftly came to his aid.
Robert Hogg was at Sands Campsite, Gairloch, with his wife on August 22 when he collapsed.
He has praised the efforts of everyone involved, including the off duty GP and dive medic who performed CPR until Scottish Ambulance Service arrived, the Coastguard, who transported Robert to Raigmore Hospital, and the hospital staff.
Robert, 54, said: “I remember a few bits before it happened. I walked off to go to the rubbish bins. I dumped the rubbish and turned back around and then I collapsed.”
Robert, a climate control engineer, said he recalled “not feeling great” 10 minutes before he had the cardiac arrest. After he collapsed, an off duty GP and medic diver were nearby and rushed to the scene to give CPR. He said: “It was pure luck it happened where it did – if it had happened at the caravan I would be under the ground. It’s a huge site.
“A GP was having his dinner at a restaurant. There was also a paramedic diver, who was drying his towels, who started CPR.”
A nearby community AED placed by Scottish Charity Lucky2BHere [L2BH] was also located and the GP and diver used it until emergency responders from the Scottish Ambulance Service arrived. Robert was in hospital until the Wednesday following the incident after getting airlifted from the Coastguard SAR. Despite not recalling the incident, his wife has relayed what happened.
He said: “I would not be here if not for everyone involved. Even in such a remote area, they were still able to provide the care and attention I needed. I cannot thank everybody enough. I owe these people my life.”
The story goes further to showcase the importance of community resilience as a key step in the chain of survival because the lifesaving Big Sands L2BH defibrillator used to save Robert’s life was unveiled just last year by Gairloch local, Cherril Parry, whose own life was saved by a community L2BH defibrillator in 2018.
Despite enduring such serious illness, Cherill championed fundraising for a new defibrillator for the area. The ‘Red Phone Box’ where it is located, is well known in the community and when Robert had his cardiac arrest, his team of rescuers knew the location and retrieved the L2BH defibrillator, immediately helping save Robert’s life.
The staff involved in helping this patient were East EMD, Karen Russell, North Supervisor, Alistair Dargie, North Dispatcher Blair Gordon, SSD: Richard Fisher, Sarah Morrison, Michael McKenna, and and Alan McLean
Lisa MacInnes, Director of the Save a Life for Scotland campaign said: “Scotland as ever, continues to step up to look out for each other in their families and communities.
“COVID-19 has highlighted that Scots are ready and willing to care for those around them and when it comes to CPR they continue to be willing to get help and start CPR.
“Our message today is please keep going. Your actions continue to give people the best chance of survival. Please use and share our videos with others to keep the message going that any CPR beats no CPR.”
Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: “Starting CPR immediately after the heart stops beating can double, and sometimes triple the chances of survival. The Save a Life for Scotland campaign is an excellent example of how we can all work together to improve a person’s chance of survival.
“Despite the challenges faced this year, people in Scotland continue to demonstrate a willingness to help. I would encourage everyone to learn CPR online.”
Pauline Howie, Chief Executive for Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “The Scottish Ambulance Service would like to say a massive thank you for what you have helped us, and all the strategy partners, to achieve over the last five years.
“Bystander CPR is the most crucial link in the chain of survival and because so many more of you have learnt and been willing to perform bystander CPR we have seen survival double in that time; double the number of people surviving and returning to their loved ones.
“Our message is still clear – early bystander CPR is the difference between life and death for those in cardiac arrest. So please keep attempting CPR. Our call handlers will guide you through how to do this safely, meaning you too can save a life “.
Lucky2BHere Founder, Ross Cowie said: “This amazing story of survival shows how every person in a community can and does play their part in saving a life.
“Lucky2BHere provided the defibrillator and Emergency Life Support training though, on the day it was the incredible community team effort that saved Robert’s life; passing him safely into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service.
“We couldn’t be happier for Robert, his family and the whole community.”
Struggling with Halloween ideas? Fear (no) more – Drive-in Movies at Edinburgh Airport offers the best Halloween entertainment for people of all ages in a safe, family-friendly environment!
Sarah Drummond and Louise Montgomery enjoy a Drive-in screening of Scream with the Ghostface himself… PIC: Lloyd Smith
Featuring a spine-chilling selection of family favourites, cult classics and blockbusters, Drive-in Movies at Edinburgh Airport transports its audiences into a fright-filled world of cinema this Halloween!
The event takes place between Thursday 29 October and Sunday 1 November and presents 12 fantastic horror classics to choose from, including The Lost Boys, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jaws and Scream, plus family favourites Hocus Pocus, E.T, Coco, Ghostbusters and much more – all in a safe, socially-distant, outdoor environment with strict health and safety measures in place.
The pre-screening entertainment includes Halloween-themed sing along, film quiz with spot prizes, competition for best costumes and carved pumpkins displayed on the dashboard, all run by the event’s MC, Edinburgh DJ Stewart Calverto who becomes Count Calverto …
Edinburgh’s Drive-in Movies truly is the place to go for Halloween fun this year!
