Category: Uncategorized

Winter health advice for Scots gets a digital upgrade

People across Scotland are being encouraged to be prepared for winter ailments and to use NHS 24’s digital tools to help them.

NHS 24 launched its annual winter health preparedness campaign last week with Michael Matheson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care. The ‘Healthy Know How’ campaign helps people manage the usual winter illnesses with advice and helpful reminders ahead of the festive holidays.

The campaign reminds people who rely on repeat prescriptions to check they have enough to last over the holidays and to reorder in plenty of time. People are also reminded that GP opening times will be affected by the festive holidays and to make sure they have cold and flu remedies in, just in case.

As part of this year’s campaign NHS 24 is also highlighting the benefits of using NHS digital tools to find accurate and trusted clinical information online for free.

Health Secretary Mr Matheson said: “It is important to remember that services like General Practices and pharmacies will have limited opening times over Christmas and New Year. Planning can help ensure that coughs, colds and minor ailments don’t become a problem this winter.

“If winter illnesses do make an unwelcome visit, people can manage symptoms, find out if they need to speak to someone or locate their nearest services by using NHS 24’s range of digital resources from the NHS Inform website to the NHS 24 Online app. These digital tools don’t replace a healthcare professional, but they can help people make informed choices with self-care advice for minor illnesses.”

Mr Matheson launched the campaign ahead of chairing NHS 24’s Annual Review at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh. The Annual Review was an opportunity for Mr Matheson and the wider Scottish Government to evaluate NHS 24’s performance and view plans, meet NHS 24 staff, and review the ongoing work to support all NHS services this winter.

This year, GP surgeries will be closed for four days at Christmas (December 23 – 26) and four days again at New Year (December 30 – January 2).

Dr Ron Cook, NHS 24’s Associate Medical Director said most winter coughs and colds can be safely and effectively managed at home: “Roughly a third of the calls to NHS 24’s 111 service result in self-care advice so people can save themselves time by being prepared and, if they do think they need to speak to someone or their symptoms are not improving, they can check our website or app first.

“It’s important that anyone who relies on regular medication checks they have enough to last the extended holidays – we get a huge number of calls from people who have run out of meds, and no one wants to have to try and find a pharmacy that’s open over the Festive holidays so be prepared to avoid that inconvenience!

“You should have things like painkillers and cold & flu medicine in the cupboard, just in case. A little preparation can really pay off to make sure that relatively minor health issues don’t cause more of a problem.”

Everything winter health related can be found at https://www.nhsinform.scot/winter.

NHS 24 has also recently revamped its corporate website (nhs24.scot) and updated the NHS 24 Online app to include more mental wellbeing symptom checkers and the inclusion of defibrillator locations.

TONIGHT: M Club Xmas Night In!

PILTON COMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT from 6 – 9pm

At M Club tonight we’ll be meeting at Pilton Community Health Project for some snacks, hot drinks, Christmas crafts and good chat.

Join us and SHE Scotland CIC from 6pm.

Amazon supports new charity Second Chance Store launch

Ten employees from Amazon in Dunfermline played a key role in the launch of a new Amazon retail shop for Barnardo’s this week, when they packed and shipped more than 3,500 product donations for the Second Chance Store in central London.

The product selection – consisting of returned and refurbished Amazon items put back on sale at a reduced cost – features in-demand Christmas gifts with up to 50% savings on recommended retail prices.

While thousands of items including nearly-new gaming consoles, personal tech, toys and games have been donated to the high street store located at London’s Brunswick Centre, the range reflects the millions of returned, refurbished and open-box items available to buy at a discount all year-round from amazon.co.uk/amazonsecondchance.

The website also provides customers with information about product repair, recycling in their local community and trade-in for electronics.

“Working on the launch of the Second Chance Store for Barnardo’s has been a great opportunity for us to come together as a team, have some fun and support a charity that does great work in our community in Dunfermline, and across the UK,” said Ben Robertson from Amazon’s Dunfermline fulfilment centre.

“It’s also a great way to help customers see the range and quality of returned and refurbished items that are available to buy from Amazon online every day of the year.”

“Amazon is committed to giving more products a second chance – both through helping customers shop pre-loved, and through programmes to recycle, trade-in and repair products, contributing to a more circular economy,” added John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon. 

“Our Second Chance Store, with all proceeds going to Barnardo’s, is all about offering customers a great way to shop second-hand this festive season, while supporting a brilliant charity we have been working with for many years.”

Across the UK and Europe, customer demand has driven second-hand shopping on Amazon into a billion-pound business.

In the UK alone, Amazon gave a second chance to more than four million products last year, helping British customers save more than £100 million by buying used or refurbished products at a discount.

In the first nine months of 2023, Amazon’s sales of second-hand goods in the UK increased by more than 15% compared to the same period last year.

So far this year, Amazon has facilitated the donation of more than 13 million products to more than 2,000 charities across the UK through its Retail and Fresh operations, and its Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) Donations, a programme which helps independent sellers using the Fulfilment by Amazon service donate their overstock or returned items automatically.

Charities including Barnardo’s, the British Heart Foundation, In Kind Direct, Scope and The Multibank initiative are amongst the donation recipients.

Product donations form one part of Amazon’s circular economy programme. In 2022, Amazon expanded its partnership with WRAP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to support a global circular economy for products.

The company is also supporting the development of a sorting technology to improve plastic packaging recycling through involvement in the Digital Watermarks Initiative HolyGrail 2.0, driven by AIM, European Brands Association and powered by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

The Amazon Second Chance Store is an expansion of Amazon’s existing relationship with Barnardo’s, with millions of products donated to the charity since 2019.

Amazon and Barnardo’s also launched a ground-breaking programme called the JOBS Project (Journey of Becoming Successful) which has supported 65 young people since 2021, with an ambition to help 500 people in the next five years, many of whom are care experienced, develop the skills needed to secure work and develop their careers.

As a signatory of the Care Leavers Covenant, Amazon is one of leading employers of care leavers in the UK.

Drinkaware: Two thirds of drinkers in Scotland feel their country has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol

  • Two thirds (66%) of Scottish drinkers feel their country has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol which lowers to 63% in Northern Ireland, 56% in England and 38% in Wales.
  • But only one in ten Scottish drinkers (10%) feel they personally have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.
  • Concern in Scotland is most likely to be for a friend’s drinking, with 36% of those with a concern indicating it relates to a friend, rising to 48% among men.

Two thirds of adult drinkers in Scotland (66%) feel that their country has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol according to the Drinkaware Annual Monitor, published today (Thursday 30 November).

The figure lowers to 63% in Northern Ireland, 56% in England and 38% in Wales.

While many Scottish drinkers believe their country as a whole has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, when asked about their own or, family and friends, only one in ten felt it was unhealthy (10% & 10%).

The Drinkaware Monitor 2023 is the annual ‘state of the nation’ survey conducted for Drinkaware by YouGov, that provides an insight into the drinking habits of the UK. This year’s Monitor looked at how we talk about alcohol and have honest conversations.

The Monitor asked 10,473 people from across the UK about their perceptions, and those surveyed highlighted their concerns about how alcohol is seen in society.

Karen Tyrell, Chief Executive of the charity Drinkaware said: “Our research shows the difference between perception and reality when it comes to our relationship with alcohol. Most people think the country has a drinking problem, but it is not them, it is someone else.

“We need to be more open and honest about our own relationship with alcohol and talk more about our drinking habits. We can learn from the change we’ve seen in how we talk about mental health, and make people feel more comfortable talking about their drinking.

“One way to understand more about your drinking habits is by doing the Drinkaware Drinking Check. This short quiz is a quick and easy way to find out if you’re putting your health at risk and is a great way to encourage a conversation.”

The report found that two thirds of (65%) Scottish adults do not think our society is understanding of people with drinking problems, the highest across the nations.

When it comes to Scottish people who are concerned about someone else’s drinking, under one in five (16%) haven’t done anything specific, 56% have spoken to them about it, 42% have made a comment about it to them, and 26% have encouraged them to seek help or treatment.

Having a conversation is more effective in helping people take action about their own drinking, rather than making a comment. Across the UK, only 32% of cases resulted in action when a comment was made, compared to 44% when a conversation was initiated.

The Monitor focus groups revealed that conversations can have an impact on an individual’s drinking, but this can take time and often happens after several conversations. Their effectiveness depends on the drinker’s openness to the issues with their drinking.

The Monitor is the only UK-wide nationally representative survey that dives into peoples’ drinking habits and behaviour. Looking at Scotland specifically, it also found:

  • Those drinking at home alone in Scotland at least once a week is down from 23% in 2021 to 20% in 2023.
  • Only 25% of Scottish adults would feel very comfortable having a conversation with family and 21% with friends about their drinking, compared to 35% with a partner or spouse.
  • Women feel most uncomfortable about having this conversation, with a third (30%) not very comfortable or not comfortable at all starting a conversation about a friend’s drinking (vs. 23% of men).
  • Wine is the most commonly consumed drink among Scottish drinkers, with approximately three in ten Scottish drinkers always or often drink it (31%), then beer and spirits are tied second (29%) when drinking.
  • Pubs in rural Scottish areas are more likely to get support from their local community than those living in urban areas (19% vs 12% in urban areas).

People can learn more about their drinking habits and get free tips and advice by doing the Drinkaware Drinking Check.

This short quiz helps you find out if your drinking is putting your health at serious risk, visit www.drinkaware.co.uk

A full copy of The Monitor 2023 report is available to download for free at:

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/monitor23

Holyrood Committee ‘concerns’ over Circular Economy Bill

The Scottish Government’s Circular Economy Bill has been criticised for a lack of financial transparency and accurate costings, in a report out today.

The Finance and Public Administration Committee (FPAC) doubts that the Bill complies with the Parliament’s rules on setting out “best estimates” of costs likely to arise.

FPAC Convener Kenneth Gibson MSP said: “Scrutiny of this Bill reinforces our concern that affordability does not appear to be a key factor in Scottish Government decision-making.

“The Minister, Lorna Slater MSP, has committed to consult on the cost of secondary legislation, but that should not replace an assessment of affordability at the point of a Bill’s introduction.

“Our committee is not convinced that this Bill’s financial memorandum meets the requirements set out in Parliament’s Standing Orders to provide: “best estimates of the costs, savings, and changes to revenues to which the provisions of the Bill would give rise”.

Mr Gibson continued: “We’ve seen an increasing use of ‘framework’ bills that provide government with future enabling powers. These do not, however, provide best estimates of all likely costs, and undermine parliamentary scrutiny. 

“It also risks the Parliament passing legislation which may in the end – once outcomes are fully understood – lead to significant cost increases.

“The increased use of framework bills with no clear implementation costs, poses a long-term risk to the Scottish Budget, both now and for successive governments.

“The FPAC is disappointed that Scottish Ministers have still to meet our previous recommendations or expectations around the level of financial data, clarity and transparency required.

“In the end, it will be for Parliament to decide when voting on the general principles of this framework bill, whether the outcomes it seeks to deliver outweigh any financial or affordability considerations.”

On income from fly-tipping and litter fines, the report said:

  • The assumption in this financial memorandum (FM) of a 100% payment rate for fixed penalty notices is entirely unrealistic. Therefore, given that the level of income from fines assumed in the FM is not attainable, it should not be used to ‘off set’ some of the costs of enforcement, such as in relation to fly tipping. We consider this approach to identifying potential savings to be unsatisfactory.

Updates every six months:

  • We request that the updates, committed to by the Minister in her letter of 20 November be provided to the Committee every six months. These updates should include updated information on the expenditure incurred to date, any changes in forecast costs and any savings arising from the Bill and the subsequent Act (subject to the Bill being passed) and relevant secondary legislation, until all provisions are operational.

Homeless Project Scotland secure indoor premises for coldest winter months

 

Homeless Project Scotland have finally secured an indoor venue to bring their essential services and the people they help off the streets for the coldest months of winter on the day it was revealed 244 homeless people died on Scotland’s streets last year. 

They have been campaigning for years for an indoor property and now finally have a secure, safe and warm building to house their life-saving work with the homeless. The prominent soup kitchen have operated since 2019 but were forced to move from their base on Argyll St after opposition from local businesses, to a new spot on the Clydeside – but safety concerns for staff meant they moved back last week. 

Now they have a new home for the next three months thanks to Glasgow businessman Barry Cushley, who has handed over the basement of a building his company owns. 

Charity boss Colin Macinnes is thrilled to finally be able to deliver a safe sanctuary for struggling people in Glasgow: ““We are over the moon, this is what we have been working towards since the very start – creating a safe space for the people who need it most. 

“This is 100 per cent going to save lives, it will massively reduce the number of deaths on the streets this winter in Glasgow. 

“A safe, warm place for us to work, to feed and look after people, is all we have wanted. And now we have it – we want to create a 24 hour welfare centre to provide shelter, warmth, hot food to homeless and vulnerable people. 

“It’s the first of its kind in the UK and we plan to run this for three months to preserve life in the depths of winter. 

“We have this building for the next three months initially, so the coldest, most dangerous time of the year. 

“It means the world to us – Barry Cushley has done something no one else in the city has been willing to, he has turned over an area of a building to us to do whatever we need to do to help people.

“The figures are out today showing 244 people tragically died last year on the streets – and it is all the more poignant to see those numbers and know we can make a difference right away.” 

The agreement has been drawn up and Colin will have the keys imminently so he and his team of volunteers can begin moving in and making the changes he wants. “It has happened so fast it is hard to believe – I had to phone back after the meeting and ask was it all real. 

“It came out of the blue, Barry reached out to Nick at McChuills and next thing we were looking round the building and shaking hands. 

“It’s an incredible thing and means so much. We just want to help people and we can now help so many more.” 

Barry Cushley, who runs C&C Group, has signed over the basement of the premium building his company owns in Merchant City, for exclusive use by Homeless Project Scotland for the three months – and wants to continue helping beyond that. 

Barry said, “It broke my heart to see what the team at Homeless Project Scotland are going through with moving to an area they felt unsafe and now going back to where they’d been chased from. I felt I had to do something. 

“I am fortunate to be in a position where I can do something to help Colin and his team right now, to get their people and the families they help off the streets for the coldest months of the year. 

“We have been able to give them full use of a private, warm, dry, safe and secure area of a building we own. We have agreed it’s initially for the next three months – Colin will have the keys next week and it’s theirs to operate and manage as they need it. 

“We had a very powerful meeting with Colin and Nick from McChuills who I have to thank, he was our point of contact and he has helped us put the whole thing together. Colin is really inspirational and so is Nick. Colin knows what he needs and isn’t afraid to ask for it. I admire that. 

“I’ve made mistakes in my life when I was a young idiot but I’m a different guy now and just want to help bring about good things for people who need it – I got a second chance and want to give that to others. It’s vital – everyone deserves a second hance. 

“I really want to give something back to the city and this feels like an important thing – I HAD to do this. I couldn’t stand by and see stories of people not being safe when they’re doing such amazing work. 

“This is just the beginning for Homeless Project Scotland and my team – there are a lot of ideas already about other ways we can maybe help out in the near future and way beyond that too. This is just the start, I promise. 

“And if anyone else can help – please do. I’ve tried to support individuals before but it rarely works, sadly. If you want to really help, work with the people who know how to use that help, like Homeless Project Scotland.”

Andrew Fairlie Scholarship winners announced

The Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland has announced two worthy recipients of the fourth annual Andrew Fairlie Scholarship.

Darren Seggie, 35, Lecturer of Culinary Arts at City of Glasgow College and Rachel Bremner, 34, Commis Pastry Chef at The Balmoral, were the talented chefs who most impressed the expert industry judges.

Positioned as the ultimate scholarship any aspiring chef could receive, the Andrew Fairlie Scholarship is awarded annually to a chef working in Scotland, carrying on the legacy of Andrew Fairlie’s commitment to nurturing culinary talent in Scotland.

The finalists had to prove their worth in a skills test, and were challenged to create a dish with potato as its star ingredient while incorporating Scottish dairy. They had the further challenge of delivering an impressive surprise dish using hand-dived scallops. 

Darren Seggie impressed the judges with his creative potato-based dessert comprising butter gold potato pudding and espuma, sourdough crumble and ice cream and caramel sauce. While Rachel Bremner blew everyone away with her dish – potato and egg yolk ravioli, crispy potato skins and potato espuma. 

The final skills test took place at Perth College UHI with the winners announced afterwards during a ceremony at Gleneagles.

The judging panel included some of the country’s finest chefs, all of whom knew Andrew Fairlie well. The panel was headed up by Stephen McLaughlin, Head Chef at 2 Michelin-starred Restaurant Andrew Fairlie; alongside fellow 2 Michelin-starred chef Sat Bains; 1 Michelin-star Head Chef at Cail Bruich and winner of Great British Menu, Lorna McNee; and Masterchef The Professionals winner and National Chef of Scotland, Gary Maclean.

The winners will be taken on an incredible 2-day educational trip to France with Grande Cuisine, and gain hands-on experience at the 2-Michelin star Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, the 3-star Core by Clare Smyth in London, an international stage, as well as receiving a bespoke chef’s jacket from Goodfellows. These highly informative experiences will be taken over two years, allowing both talented scholars to develop their learnings over an extended period of time.

The scholarships are offered in partnership with HIT Scotland, an industry charity with which Andrew Fairlie was closely connected. Now in its fourth year, the Andrew Fairlie Scholarship is supported by HIT Scotland, Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Perth College UHI and The Gleneagles Hotel. 

Stephen McLaughlin, lead judge and head chef at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, said: “Our five finalists have competed fiercely and fairly today and they have all given it everything to win this year’s Andrew Fairlie Scholarship. Everyone competed with great character and commitment and showed a real respect for one another this afternoon.

“The chefs should all be extremely proud of themselves for getting to the final but must also take great pride in how they handled the pressures of the day and in the fabulous dishes that they all produced. This was a tough one to find just one winner today as everyone cooked so well and all had showed great application in getting this far.

“We had no choice but to award two deserving winners… This year’s winners not only submitted immaculate application packs but followed this through and showcased themselves clearly as the best on the day with clean, precise and creative cookery”. 

David Cochrane, HIT Scotland Chief Executive, added: “It was a true delight to see our group of finalists demonstrate a passion for cooking that Andrew Fairlie would be proud of.

“A huge congratulations goes to Darren and Rachel, who have demonstrated exceptional skill, creativity, and dedication to their craft. They have bright culinary futures ahead!”

Ype van der Schaaf, Sector Manager of Hospitality and Food Studies at Perth College UHI said: “Offering our kitchens and facilities to support HIT Scotland and being part of the Andrew Fairlie Scholarship is very important to us, as he was our well-respected alumnus. 

“Hosting for the third time, we have really enjoyed watching the finalists create their fantastic dishes, they’re at the top of their game and their efforts demonstrate to our students the very top of industry standards. Huge congratulations to the two winners!” 

The 2023 finalists were:

  • Daniel Robb, 27, Chef de Partie at Gleneagles 
  • Rachel Bremner, 34, Commis Pastry Chef at the Balmoral
  • Darren Seggie, 35, Lecturer of Culinary Arts at City of Glasgow College
  • Spud Henderson, 34, Sous Chef at Craig Millar @ 16 West End
  • Rita Varga, 31, Chef de Partie and kitchen departmental trainer at Voco Grand Central Hotel. 

MSP supports ASN Reform Scotland

Foysol Choudhury MSP pursues support for children with additional support needs

ASN Reform Scotland recently attended the Scottish Parliament to hold a drop-in session for MSPs. Their mission was to raise awareness amongst MSPs about the issues that children with ASN and their parents are facing, how to improve ASN education in Scotland, and to help raise awareness of children with ASN ‘s educational needs.  

Training for people who work with children and young people with complex additional support needs emerged as a key theme from the Scottish Government’s recent 2023 report, ‘Pupils with complex additional support needs: research into provision’. These findings about challenges in accessing training were echoed by parents in the ASN Reform Scotland Group, who raised concerns that the environment provided by mainstream schools is often not appropriate for children with additional support needs due to, for example, a lack of appropriate training for teachers.

Foysol Choudhury MSP hosted the ASN Reform Scotland Group’s drop-in session for MSPs at the Scottish Parliament, after meeting the group outside the Scottish Parliament before the Parliament’s summer recess and offering his assistance to the group. Mr Choudhury says it was saddening to hear about the lack of appropriate support some children are getting at school, with some parents reporting having to take on the burden of teaching their own children.

Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “It was made clear at the drop-in session that parents feel unsupported. 

“The group are calling to increase ASN provisions in Scotland and ensure all teachers get specific ASN training to bring the best for all our children.

“There should be support for children with ASN in school along with school staff members getting provided with the correct training in all types of schools, so parents can feel they are sending their children to a safe and beneficial environment”. 

Parents from the ASN Reform Scotland group also raised with Mr Choudhury their concerns over stretched funding and called for accountability over how funds are spent to support a child with ASN.

The group says this will not just benefit the children’s development but will also help their families, as parents will be assured are that their children are getting the right support and care when they are at school. 

A rolling presentation was played at the meeting, to convey the concerns of parents of children with ASN across Scotland. One parent noted they want “All teachers to have ASN training in mainstream schools”. Another noted: “My child deserves to thrive, not just survive in school”. 

Mr Choudhury says he will continue to support the ASN Reform Group and other parents wherever he can.

Protesters call for action on one year anniversary of Edinburgh councillors voting for divestment

Campaigners staged a protest outside Edinburgh City Chambers on Friday (24 November) to call on the Lothian Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels. The protest marked one year since Edinburgh City Council voted in favour of divestment, but the fund has still not enacted the request.

Lothian Pension Fund has at least £350 million invested in the fossil fuel industry, according to new analysis by Platform and Friends of the Earth Scotland. This is a significant increase from the £229 million investment it held when the research was last conducted in October 2021.

Lothian Pension Fund is the second biggest fossil fuel investor of all the council pension funds in Scotland. It invests in some of the world’s biggest climate polluters, including Exxon Mobil, Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies and BP.

With virtually all oil and gas companies set to expand their operations, campaigners are calling on the Lothian Pension Fund to listen to councillors and stop funding fossil fuels.

The protest highlighted the role French oil giant TotalEnergies – that Lothian Pensions have investments worth £19 million in – is playing in worsening the climate crisis and threatening human rights.

TotalEnergies is currently developing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, stretching 1444 km across Uganda and Tanzania. Building this pipeline is displacing communities and destroying livelihoods in Africa in order to pump oil out of the continent to be consumed by people living in the global north.

John Hardy from Divest Lothian said: “It’s extremely disappointing that as the climate crisis worsens, the Lothian Pension Fund has failed to follow the democratic will of the council to divest from the fossil fuel companies that are driving climate breakdown.

“In particular, their investments in TotalEnergies and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline harms our climate and puts local communities and important ecosystems at risk.

“The Lothian Pension Fund needs to listen to the people of Edinburgh and the Lothians and divest from all fossil fuel companies immediately. Our future is at stake, and we cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Sophie Burgess from Global Justice Edinburgh Youth Collective said: “We need to Stop EACOP for my future, the future of people in Uganda and Tanzania and the future of people globally.

“We cannot allow pensions to continue to fund fossil fuel giants like TotalEnergy, who are continuing to threaten all our futures with devastating projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.”

The Lothian Pension Fund administers the pension funds of almost 90,000 members from the four councils in the Lothians and 59 other employers, including Scottish Water, Edinburgh Napier University, VisitScotland and Heriot-Watt University.

Scottish Ambulance Service Prepares for Winter

The Scottish Ambulance Service is bringing in a range of extra initiatives this winter, including new frontline staff, ambulances and enhancements to 999 call centre operations.

The initiatives will come into place in the coming weeks to help SAS meet the increased demands on their services at a time which is traditionally the busiest for the NHS.

Recruitment is already well underway to support SAS’s dedicated frontline workforce with 317 new paramedics, technicians and advanced practice practitioners joining the Service by the end of March 2024.

Additional clinicians are also being introduced in the Service’s Integrated Clinical Hub. The Hub triages less seriously ill patients who don’t need to go to A&E to receive care and provides alternative routes for treatment, freeing up ambulances and reducing pressure on A&Es.

Michael Dickson OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We know that winter will be an extremely challenging period for the NHS which is why we’ve introduced a range of initiatives to help our patients and support our staff this winter.  

“Our patients are our priority, we will do everything we can to ensure patients are cared for and get the service they need quickly and efficiently.

“Not every call to 999 needs an ambulance or a trip to A&E and we are completely focussed on supporting patients to get care at home or close to home where it is safe to do so, ensuring patients get the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

“The SAS workforce is essential as they carry out their roles often in extremely difficult circumstances and we will continue to support them during this high-pressure time.

“We urge the public to help our staff by remembering that 999 and A&E is for emergencies, if you need urgent care, but it’s not life-threatening, you can call NHS 24 on 111, day or night, or your GP during opening hours.”

Extra initiatives being brought in this winter include:

• New staff, including Advanced Practitioners into each region and 52 new vehicles such as Rapid Response Vehicles to help respond in a more flexible manner throughout the winter period.

• Maximising the use of trained volunteers such as Community First Responders, Cardiac Responders and BASICS, where appropriate.

• Utilising dedicated Patient Transport Service (PTS) resources for low acuity patients, freeing up ambulances to get help to very seriously unwell patients as quickly as possible.

• Connecting patients with local services and communicating pathway information to SAS clinicians.

• Daily meetings with health boards to respond to the challenges relating to hospital handover delays so that our highly-trained ambulance crews can be back out responding to the next patient in the community who needs our help.

• Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers (HALOs) will work with senior hospital site managers and the Service, improving the hospital admission and discharge process.

• Ensuring the wellbeing of our crews, working with Health Board partners to provide refreshments for crews at hospitals in periods of high pressure and demand

• Piloting new processes to help staff finish on time to protect their wellbeing and having a wide range of health and wellbeing services available for them to access should they need them.