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DEC launches Ebola crisis appeal

DEC launches first ever appeal in response to disease outbreak

Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) member agencies are scaling up their aid efforts in West Africa where they have already helped over 2.5m people affected by the Ebola crisis. The DEC launched its Ebola Crisis Appeal yesterday with appeals carried by all major UK broadcasters.

The urgent appeal for funds is essential to help member agencies intensify their efforts to stop the explosive spread of the disease and support those affected.

DEC Chief Executive Saleh Saeed said: “Aid workers are on the front line in the fight against Ebola. Some are facing great risk and local staff and partners are also being ostracised by their friends and families because people are so terrified.

“This is a price they are prepared to pay as they struggle to stop the spread of the disease and support those affected by the crisis. They need your help NOW not only to support medical treatment but to bury the dead safely, care for Ebola orphans, help families disinfect their homes, provide food to people in quarantine and, critically, to teach communities how to keep themselves safe and stop the spread of Ebola.”

This is the first time in the DEC’s 50-year history that it has launched an appeal in response to a disease outbreak: an historic move that reflects the scale of the situation.

The Ebola outbreak is the most severe the world has ever seen: it has so far infected 10,000 people and killed nearly 5,000 more, with the World Health Organisation warning of up to 10,000 new cases a week by December if it is not contained.

All major UK broadcasters carryied the DEC appeal yesterday, including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky. The appeal is also supported by other major DEC partners including ITN, BT, Post Office, British Bankers Association, Royal Mail, RadioCentre and NewsNow.

In addition to the 2.5 million people reached by DEC member agencies’ efforts, several hundreds of thousands more have been targeted by radio broadcasts and print materials containing life-saving messages on how communities can safeguard themselves from the disease.

Amongst the aid delivered activities so far include:

ActionAid has reached over 271,000 people in Sierra Leone and Liberia, delivering sanitation supplies to medical facilities, giving food and clothing to affected families and running public information campaigns.
British Red Cross partners have buried 3,595 victims of Ebola safely and with dignity across Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. They have helped to trace over 41,000 at-risk individuals.
CAFOD is giving food aid to over 9,000 quarantined families, providing sanitation materials and training faith leaders to raise awareness of safe burial practices.
CARE International has distributed hygiene packs to 1,100 vulnerable and quarantined households in Sierra Leone, reaching 53,000 people. The kits include soap, buckets fitted with taps and other essential materials.
Christian Aid is distributing food and hygiene kits to over 2,000 quarantined residents in Ebola hotspots and has reached 1.2 million people with awareness raising work, run by 900 volunteers using existing community networks.
Concern Worldwide is managing burial teams, educating communities on prevention methods and supporting district health workers. It has reached 170,000 people in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Oxfam is providing hygiene kits, giving health and burial workers protective clothing, supplying water to treatment and isolation centres, and co-ordinating door-to-door awareness-raising campaigns. It has reached almost 500,000 people.
Plan UK is giving psychosocial care to children, and has distributed food and sanitation kits to nearly 45,000 people.
Save the Children are building and managing health and community care centres where Ebola sufferers can be isolated and treated. It is training health volunteers and providing medical supplies.
Tearfund is working with over 1,000 churches to curb transmission, reaching over 350,000 people with prevention advice and distributing 2,600 hygiene kits to families.
World Vision has reached 7,500 people in mosques and churches with disease prevention advice and is providing materials to health workers.

The DEC does not set fundraising targets for its appeals and is always grateful for whatever support the UK public are able to offer.

To make a donation to the DEC Ebola Crisis Appeal visit www.dec.org.uk or call the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900. You can also donate £5 by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000.

What your money could buy:

£25 can provide cleaning kits including bleach, soap and a bucket for three families at risk from Ebola.
£50 can provide basic protective clothing such as gloves, masks, boots and gowns for three volunteers supporting people under quarantine.
£100 can provide training to a community on how to keep themselves safe and help stop the spread of Ebola.

Stay up to date with developments in Ebola, the emergency response and the fundraising efforts with the DEC on twitter:http://twitter.com/decappeal or on Facebook via http://www.facebook.com/DisastersEmergencyCommittee

pictures: Getty Images

Lazarowicz: Government ‘turning it’s back on fellow human beings’

‘not just cruel but totally without logic‘

Mark Lazarowicz MP has attacked the Government for refusing to work with other European states to put in place search and rescue operations across the Mediterranean to save the lives of refugees and migrants desperately trying to reach Europe at risk of their lives.

He put down an Urgent Question to the Government to challenge its policy as the Italian Navy operation comes to an end this week without a comprehensive EU operation to replace it.

It is estimated that already this year more than 3000 people have drowned in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe and the total number to have lost their lives over recent years is likely to be at least 20,000.

The North and Leith MP (pictured above) said: “Refugees and migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe are exploited by people traffickers and risk dying en route – yet they are so desperate they still make these terrible journeys anyway, many of them fleeing war, poverty and starvation in places like Syria and Libya.

“The Government has said it would not support EU search and rescue operations across the Mediterranean – to discourage, presumably, others from making the journey: that’s not just cruel but totally without logic.

“The right response is to work to bring about a comprehensive EU search and rescue operation and offer safe and legal channels for people to access protection yet the number of refugees from Syria the Government has allowed in to the UK is tiny.

“This is a shameful policy. When fellow human beings face a terrible death, and it is in our power to do something about it, it is our moral duty to act.”

The Italian navy’s search and rescue operation comes to an end this week having it is estimated saved 150,000 lives over the past year but the UK has made it clear it will not support EU search and rescue operations across the Mediterranean to replace it because it believes it would only encourage more people to undertake the journey.

That will leave only a much more limited EU plan that will see operations restricted to within 30 miles of the Italian coast.

The decision has been strongly attacked by the British Refugees Council, Amnesty International and other agencies working in the field.

TTIPing point

Greens urge First Minister to get tough on TTIP

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and a member of Holyrood’s economy committee (above), is urging the First Minister to oppose TTIP, the controversial EU-US trade deal.

Writing on behalf of the five-strong Green-Independent group of MSPs, Ms Johnstone calls on Alex Salmond to press the case against a power grab by big business that undermines democratic decision-making.

The full text of the letter can be seen online at greenmsps.org. It is supported by Alison’s Green colleague Patrick Harvie, along with independent MSPs John Finnie, Jean Urquhart and John Wilson.

Alison Johnstone MSP said: “”TTIP is a power grab by private corporations which threatens the NHS. Although Scottish ministers have said they oppose the inclusion of health services in TTIP the negotiations have not yet provided any clear protections, and I urge the First Minister to press the case.

“There’s huge public concern at the offshore corporate courts being proposed. These would enable corporations to sue governments for passing laws which may be in the public interest but affect a company’s profits, an outrageous suggestion.

“We could also see watering down of European protections from the likes of GM foods and beef produced with growth hormones, an issue causing real concern for Scotland’s farmers.

“I hope the Scottish Government will write again to the UK Government stating opposition to TTIP. There is mounting public concern that cannot be ignored.”

Transport Hub to transform patient travel

Patient transport in NHS Lothian has been transformed after the health board became the first in Scotland to create a dedicated Transport Hub. The unique system, which is expected to save an estimated £1 million, organises all non-emergency patient journeys and has been designed to boost efficiency and improve patient flow.

With a fleet of ambulances, mini-buses with carers, volunteer cars and taxis at its disposal, the Transport Hub provides a single point of contact for staff seeking to arrange patient transfers or to take the patient home.

It means that when a patient, who requires transport, is due to leave hospital, ward staff simply have to make one call to the hub, which is open 365 days per year.

Specially-trained staff at the end of the phone will then organise the right kind of vehicle, depending on the needs of the patient and their clinical requirements.

In the past, ward staff would have contacted The Scottish Ambulance Service to arrange a journey or would have booked a private ambulance company directly.

Jim Crombie, Director of Scheduled Care, NHS Lothian, said: “The Transport Hub is a completely unique concept and we are really proud to be the only health board in Scotland to have taken this approach to planned patient transport.

“The Transport Hub is a much more efficient way of working. It improves the overall patient experience while also freeing up ambulances to be used for emergency transfers.”

The Transport Hub, which is based at the Astley Ainslie Hospital in Edinburgh, has become a crucial link in the discharge process, ensuring a smoother, smarter and more efficient way of working.

The team handle around 400 calls a day, from 24 of NHS Lothian’s Acute and Primary Care sites and also offers a level of support to a number of care homes within our boundary. Using a Patient Needs Assessment (PNA), the call handlers gain information from ward staff which allows them to arrange the most appropriate transport and equipment for the individual needs of the patient. This is done in real time so that each journey can be planned and logged and the caller advised immediately as to the transport option available.

By ensuring the correct mode of transport is in place, the system helps reduce clinical risk, allowing the patient to be moved safely from hospital to home. It also means hospital beds become available for new and emergency patients in a more timely and organised fashion.

Strollers strive to stamp out sectarianism

Civil Service Strollers club secretary Keith Stewart writes about an initiative to tackle a problem that continues to blight our ‘beautiful game’:

Civil Service Strollers is the only football club in Edinburgh that has received funding from the Scottish Government’s Voluntary Action Fund to undertake workshops on understanding sectarianism and how it affects the community.

We recognise the problem sectarianism plays in dividing communities, particularly in relation to football allegiance, and have set out to work with players and the local community to participate in informal education workshops that help increase their understanding of the issue and the negative impact on everyday interactions.

The workshops will culminate into a public event, when a range of community stakeholders will be invited to witness the showcasing of Civil Service Strollers workshop participants journey on achieving its aim of non- tolerance to sectarian behaviours in their football community.

A club spokesman said: “It’s about football clubs taking a stance to address sectarian issues that exist by bringing everyone together to understand the impact of sectarian behaviours on day to day relationships.”

Anyone interested in taking part in weekly community workshops should contact Club Secretary Keith Stewart on 07402521912

Sing out at St Serf’s

THE SINGING GROUP
FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA & THEIR CARER(S)
(Formerly known as Singing for the Brain)

Our group has been running since June 2010, meeting at 2.30pm on the first and third Thursday of each month. We currently meet at Inverleith St Serf’s Church Hall on Clark Road, Edinburgh

The group is for people with dementia, and their carers, who still live at home in the community. Research has indicated that people with dementia leave singing groups ‘on a high’ and this positive mood can last for some time after each session. This is also good for the well being of the carer.

The group come together to sing with emphasis on enjoyment and fun. Volunteers are on hand but those with dementia should be accompanied. There is no charge for attending the Singing Sessions, but a donation for refreshments is appreciated.

The group meet for coffee and conversation first, giving people a chance to socialise. Support is also available from volunteers and other families. When singing begins, we sit in a circle ensuring that everyone is equal and not identified by their illness. We then sing along together for around
45 minutes, led by ‘music volunteers’.

The group was started by a small number of individuals who were inspired by the “Singing for the Brain” groups running in England.

For further information, please contact: Sheila Hardie 551 1229, Kate Walker 554 4940, Diana Kerr 552 3857 or Pam Robertson 553 7239.

Lazarowicz backs rail Bill

Mark Lazarowicz MP backs Bill to allow public sector train operators

Local MP Mark Lazarowicz was today among MPs to support a Motion by Labour MP Andy Sawford for a Bill to be introduced to permit public sector railway operators.

The Motion was passed by 197 votes to 38 and even if the Bill does not reach the statute book the vote shows the strength of feeling amongst Labour MPs about the franchise system and the service that passengers are receiving.

The new franchise for the East Coast Line is due to start in March 2015 but the UK Government has repeatedly refused to allow Directly Operated Railways (DOR), the public sector company currently running the East Coast Main Line, to bid for it.

The North & Leith Mp said: “I strongly welcome this Bill which would permit a public sector company to bid for a franchise as I have been urging the Government to allow the current public sector operator of the East Coast Line to be allowed to do given the successful way it is running it.

“Given the franchise fiasco of the West Coast Line last year and East Coast’s private sector operator reneging on the terms of that contract in 2009 surely it’s time a public sector operator is given a chance at last to bid for a franchise or is the Government afraid of a public sector bid coming out on top.”

The railway network was privatised in 1993 by the then Conservative Government of John Major. The East Coast Line is currently the only franchise run by a UK public sector rail operator and it has consistently been amongst the top train operators for value for money for the taxpayer.

The latest results for Directly Operated Railways showed that in the last financial year before it is reprivatised, to March 2014, it paid £225m to the government after it’s pre-tax profits for the year rose 40%. Over the five years the company has run the East Coast Line since 2009 it has paid more than £1bn in premium payments to the Government.

Partnerships Make Advice Work in Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s ‘Making Advice Work’ (MAW) programme is now one year old, and delegates to a Scottish Parliament reception heard that the service has delivered quality advice and support to clients in desperate need of help across the city.

Last October the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) was asked by the Scottish Government and the Money Advice Service to run a new grant funding programme to focus on improving access to advice. A wide range of Edinburgh-based organisations joined together and successfully bid for MAW funding and an interim report on progress was presented at an event at Holyrood last night.

The statistics are impressive – over twelve months MAW-funded organisations gave advice to 1632 people who reported accumulated debts of over £1.2 million. Clients were represented at 119 tribunals or Sheriff Court cases and financial gains achieved for clients totalled over £1.8 million. It’s worth noting that in many cases these figures are in addition to organisations’ other client groups – organisations like Granton Information Centre have been able to see more people in need as a direct result of SLAB funding.

Statistics only tell part of the story, however, and behind ever figure there is a person or family in need of help and support. The recession and subsequent welfare reforms have hit communities hard and all advice agencies have struggled to cope with record numbers of clients. For some, it’s being unable to understand complicated forms, for others it’s an unexpected change of circumstances. Some are these are on the verge of losing their family home, some facing mounting debts with seemingly nowhere to turn – and all of them need help.

Housing and Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess MSP knows more than most the value and importance of good quality advice – she has front line experience as a former adviser with Citizens Advice. One grateful former client recently recognised and approached the Minister – not as a politician but as a person who was there to provide support when it was most needed – fully nine years ago!

After talking of the social challenges faced by families and communities, Ms Burgess told delegates: “There are undoubtedly challenges, but we can see through the case studies and your report that help is being provided to those most in need. Tonight is a night to celebrate what you have achieved”.

Projects involved in the partnership include CHAI, Citizen Advice Edinburgh, Dunedin Canmore, Deaf Action, Shelter Scotland, Hillcrest Housing Association, Granton Information Centre, The Action group, Cyrenians, Prospect Community Housing, Port of Leith Housing Association and the City of Edinburgh Council.

Making Advice Work has three programme streams – community-wide advice, helping tenants of social landlords and a thematic stream which aims to tackle barriers in accessing advice for people with disabilities and others experiencing domestic abuse.

The Making Advice Work projects operating across the city cover all three of these programme themes, and David Gardner (CHAI), Brendan Fowler (Prospect Community Housing) and Cheryl-Ann Cruickshank (Shelter Scotland) gave short presentations to give a flavour of the type of work taking place in Edinburgh.

Brendan Fowler explained: “It can be intense, but the best advice is face to face, one to one. This project is good value for money because it works. This funding has helped to change people’s lives”.

SLAB Chief Executive Lindsay Montgomery CBE (above) thanked the organisations for their efforts over the last twelve months. “When this funding was introduced we were very clear that it would be dependent on organisations being able to show that they could work in partnership with others to produce positive outcomes. The results so far have been very encouraging and it’s to be hoped that other parts of Scotland will follow Edinburgh’s lead”.

The event was co-sponsored by Labour MSPs Sarah Boyack and Kezia Dugdale.

For more information on Making Advice Work – and the organisations involved in the programme – go to http://goo.gl/HPnt9E

Nominations open for the Edinburgh Award

The Edinburgh Award is seeking its eighth recipient as nominations open to find the successor to art entrepreneur Richard Demarco:

First launched in 2007, the Edinburgh Award is a way for Edinburgh citizens to pay a lasting tribute to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the city through their achievements.

Past recipients include authors JK Rowling and Ian Rankin, sports stars Sir Chris Hoy and George Kerr, scientist Professor Peter Higgs and artist Elizabeth Blackadder – each of whom has a cast of their handprints imprinted in flagstones in front of the Capital’s City Chambers.

Nominations are sought annually from communities, businesses and individuals across Edinburgh and the winner is selected by a panel chaired by the Lord Provost.

The Rt Hon Donald Wilson, Lord Provost, said: “The Edinburgh Award is a coveted accolade and celebrates those people who have been outstanding ambassadors for the city at home and throughout the world.

“If you know somebody who should have this award get involved and nominate them now. In addition to the award itself the recipients have their handprints embedded into the stones in the City Chambers Quadrangle, providing a visual and lasting tribute to their contribution to this great city. We all have people in mind that we think are deserving so make sure you get online and make your views known.”

Nominations are now open and can be made online at

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/edinburghaward

and must be received no later than Thursday 27 November.

Postal nominations are also available.

The recipient will be presented with an engraved Loving Cup by the Lord Provost at a ceremony early next year.

Edinburgh Award criteria state that the individual being nominated:

– was born in Edinburgh or resided in the City for the past 12 months
– has not previously been awarded The Freedom of the City of Edinburgh
– is not a previous winner of The Edinburgh Award
– is not a serving politician.

Once all the nominations have been received, the recipient will be selected by a judging panel chaired by the Lord Provost, with representatives from all political groups on the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council and Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

Muirhouse & Salvesen Community Council

JAMES McGINTY reports on Muirhouse Salvesen Community Council’s annual general meeting:

The Community Council held their Annual General Meeting in Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre on 20 October. Eight people were present to hear Chairperson Roy Douglas welcome everyone, gave the apologies for the four councillors and introduce guest speaker Christine Mackay, manager of the Total Craigroyston project.

Mr Douglas then stated that “during the meeting we would be looking at the year past and the year ahead.” The Chairperson later laid out in the form of a document the aims and goals of the Community Council and listed the achievements for 2013/14.

He highlighted the community council’s input to the Pennywell & Muirhouse Master Plan and new Health Partnership Hub and the support given to local groups and organisations in the Muirhouse.

These groups and organisations to benefit from the Council’s support were:

The Centipede project (The Old Kirk and Muirhouse Church) started by Linda Dunbar, who has now moved on to a new position within the Church of Scotland.
The highly acclaimed Community Shop in Pennywell shopping centre.
My Adventure and the forthcoming £200 donation to the bothy project in the borders from the Community Council.
Assisting Friends of Linear Park and finally cleaning up the lane between Salvesen and the Waterfront.

The Financial Report was then discussed and approved.

Guest speaker Christine Mackay (above) then gave an in depth report on the Total Craigroyston project and conducted a question and answer session centred on this far reaching and ambitious Project.

WPC Helen Lyon (above) gave a police report, highlighting the area’s problems and the steps towards alleviating them.

All in all, a very well structured and transparent AGM, but we would ask members of the community to come along and give more support to what is your own communities’ council – especially as more powers are being handed down from the City of Edinburgh Council.

James McGinty

Muirhouse & Salvesen Community Council