Send your personal thanks to the NHS and your message could end up on a touring art installation.
The hardworking staff of the NHS care for us all – and we want to show them that we care too.
Online greetings card company thortful are collecting messages of thanks on their new noticeboard, and your words could be featured in the ‘This is Gratitude’ art installation, touring across the UK to say thank you to the NHS.
Noticeboard of messages
Undeniably, the pandemic has given us a fresh perspective on the importance of our NHS and its staff. With that in mind, thortful have created a noticeboard of messages that everyone can contribute to.
After raising more than £100,000 for NHS Charities Together, thortful wanted to continue to thank the NHS. The new noticeboard is a collection of thank you messages from the public. Anyone can leave a message and they can give thanks to friends and family who work within the NHS or medical staff as a whole.
A selection of these messages will then be chosen and incorporated into the “This is Gratitude” art installation which will tour around the country starting in August.
Give a personalised thank you
Collectively as a nation, we have had opportunities to thank the NHS in various ways. But thortful want their noticeboard to be a space where individual people can give a personalised thank you.
Here are some of the messages the noticeboard has already received:
“We are so lucky to have the NHS, my best friend works for them and she is so brave/helpful – like every other employee. Thank you so much – you sacrifice so much for us!”
“My mother is part of the ‘most vulnerable’ group and by association as is my father. They have been taken care of so incredibly well with no fuss and always with a smile. I couldn’t thank those in the NHS enough for their tireless and often unseen fight over the past year.”
“Dear NHS, thank you for working tirelessly on the frontline of the COVID19 pandemic. We were all scared and yet, with face-mask bruises, late nights, hot and sweaty uniforms and distancing yourself from vulnerable loved ones, you’ve managed to pull us through. I love the NHS!”
Jog for Jugs, the viral campaign raising breast cancer awareness and funds for the charity CoppaFeel!, has smashed its cheeky new target of £8,008 within just five days of the campaign going live.
Founder Becky Chapple (28), a regional manager for Amazon, and her fellow ‘Titty Committee’ have now ramped up the target to an ambitious new total of £18,008.
Since its launch on Saturday, the campaign has spread like wildfire, with over 450 participants now contributing to the JustGiving page and nominating their friends to do the same. As Jog for Jugs’ original target of £1,000 was hit in just two short hours, Becky is confident that the new target can also be reached:
“We couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who has already donated, and we’re beyond excited to see what happens next”, she said. When we originally planned the campaign over a socially-distanced glass or two of wine, £8,008 going towards CoppaFeel! was our wildest dream.
“To reach that number in just five days is beyond anything we expected, and we’re hopeful that as more joggers nominate their friends, we’ll hit our new target. We’ve been thrilled to see so many ‘Check Yourselfies’ – for us, the really important thing is that everyone learns how to check their boobs or pecs for changes, and does so regularly.”
Jog for Jugs launched last Saturday (10th April) with a video starring national treasure Lorraine Kelly and a host of other famous faces including Lee McKenzie, Emma-Louise Connolly and Joanna Vanderham. Since then, the video has been widely shared across social media and has been viewed a massive 110,000 times.
The idea for the campaign emerged as during lockdown, Becky received the unfortunate news that her mum Susan had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully, the signs were caught early, and swift treatment has meant that her future looks bright. However, after researching the disease over the course of her mum’s treatment, Becky discovered that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lives, and that regardless of gender everybody should be checking themselves regularly.
Becky and her friends devised Jog for Jugs to shine a spotlight on the issue and to help reduce the stigma of talking about boobs.
Participants are encouraged to jog/walk/cycle/swim/SUP 8km, to donate £8 to the dedicated JustGiving page, to nominate 8 pals to do the same and – most importantly – to share a ‘Check Yourselfie’ on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #JogforJugs, to represent getting into the habit of regularly checking boobs or pecs for concerning changes.
The campaign is particularly timely due to the recent news that 2 in 5 people have been too scared to visit their doctor due to Covid-19, and CoppaFeel! is deeply concerned that this will result in a flurry of late-stage diagnoses once lockdown restrictions are fully lifted.
To donate to the Jog for Jugs Campaign please visit
Eighty per cent of Edinburgh residents are satisfied with services delivered by the Council since lockdown began in March 2020, according to a large-scale city survey commissioned by …the council!
More than 1000 people were interviewed by telephone between October and December for the Capital Residents Survey. The research aims to help us understand how the public have been affected by changes to service provision as a result of the COVID pandemic, and to guide our prioritisation of resources as the city recovers.
As well as reporting high satisfaction with Council services, of participants who had contacted the Council over the last year, 67% said they were satisfied with the service they received. Two thirds of the people who took part also said they felt generally satisfied with their lives.
Despite the challenges of the last year, results demonstrated the positive impacts of lockdown, with over half of the participants (53%) walking for leisure more than before, 45% increasing the time spent talking to friends and family and a third (33%) upping their general exercise.
However, out of survey respondents, people in lower socio-economic groups, those living with a health condition or living alone were more likely to have experienced a negative impact on their wellbeing.
Feedback shed light on people’s changing working habits, with 58% of respondents working from home during the pandemic – 85% of these all or most of the time. Of those who took part in the survey, 55% said they would like to continue working from home all or most of the time after the pandemic, while 41% would prefer to always or mostly work away from home.
Councillor Adam McVey, Council Leader, said: “I am delighted that the people of Edinburgh have recognised the hard work Council staff have put in to maintaining and delivering services during the pandemic.
“It’s been a hugely challenging year for everyone, and we’ve been working extremely hard to make sure Council services are delivered with as little disruption as possible. I know that colleagues across the Council will be really pleased that these efforts have benefited the people of Edinburgh.
“Research like the Capital Residents Survey is incredibly insightful for our own future planning. Not only does the feedback help us to identify areas for improvement, like street cleansing or road conditions, but information will help us plan for the end of lockdown and a full resumption of services.”
Councillor Cammy Day, Depute Leader, said: “Work, travel, social interaction and a whole range of aspects of our lives have changed immeasurably since the pandemic began. This data demonstrates exactly how it has affected the way people have accessed and experienced Council services during this time.
“It’s clear that, while there is light at the end of the tunnel, we’re going to have to adapt our ways of living and working for some time to come. The feedback received will help us to respond to this, and to keep improving the way we communicate with and serve the city’s residents.”
When asked about future provision of services, three quarters of respondents told us it would be more convenient if libraries, community centres and advice services were all available in the same place.
The majority of people who took part (58%) said it would make sense to have all public services delivered from one location, but there were some concerns this wouldn’t work practically.
Fourteen per cent said they were dissatisfied with Council services in general, with roads, communications problems and street cleansing or refuse collection concerns being the main reasons.
Capital Residents Survey – key statistics
Council services
80% of respondents satisfied or very satisfied with Council services; 14% dissatisfied
One in ten respondents had visited Council offices in the past year and one in five had visited their local library
33% said they’d contacted the Council since March 2020; out of these, 48% had done this via the website while 36% had telephoned
Future development of services
Three quarters of respondents agreed that it would be more convenient if libraries, community centres and advice services were all available in the same place. One in five disagreed
76% said they would be comfortable using sports and leisure facilities at a local school
Impact of the pandemic on work, leisure and wellbeing
58% of participants have been working from home – 85% all or most of the time
55% of people said they would like to continue working from home all or most of the time after the pandemic ends
Two thirds of respondents (67%) reported being generally satisfied with their life nowadays
Seven in ten gave a high or very high score in relation to how happy they felt, though one in ten provided a low happiness score of less than five (out of ten)
The results of the survey, which was jointly funded by NHS Lothian, will now be reported to our Adaptation and Renewal Programme working groups to help prioritise future resource and to provide a better understanding of residents’ experiences of the pandemic.
In conducting the survey, quotas were set based on age, gender and geographical location to ensure coverage of both central and outer Edinburgh and to provide good data at city level and by key demographics.
A University of Glasgow project that is aiming to better understand the effects that COVID-19 infection has on blood vessels and blood pressure has received a grant of £250,000 from Heart Research UK.
Research has shown that people who are older, obese, male or those who have other medical problems including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or chronic lung conditions, have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is very common with more than one quarter of adults in the UK affected.
The virus causing COVID-19 enters the body’s cells through a receptor called ACE2 which is found in the lungs, heart, blood vessels, kidneys, liver, and bowel. ACE2 is very important for maintaining many of the body’s important processes including blood pressure, inflammation, and wound healing.
COVID-19 can also cause damage to the walls of the blood vessels which makes the risk of blood clots higher and this has been seen more often in people with high blood pressure. The reasons for this are not yet known which is why we need to understand more about the links between COVID-19 and high blood pressure.
This study, which will be led by Professor Sandosh Padmanabhan, Professor of Cardiovascular Genomics and Therapeutics, aims to answer whether:
High blood pressure makes COVID-19 infection worse and if so, why.
COVID-19 infection makes high blood pressure worse and if so, why.
Monitoring and management of high blood pressure needs to be a greater priority during the pandemic.
The study will look at routinely collected health records for people in the West of Scotland who attended hospital or had a positive test for COVID-19 between April 2020 and April 2021. This will be compared to the records of patients who attended hospital during 2019, for another reason. They will also look in detail at a group of people with high blood pressure.
Prof Padmanabhan’s team will also study a group of people that have recovered from COVID-19 infection. They will undergo blood pressure monitoring, and tests of heart and blood vessel health. These tests will be repeated after 12 and 18 months to see if there have been any changes. They will be compared to a group of people who have not had COVID-19.
Finally, the study will look at markers in the blood (biomarkers) with the aim of identifying any which are linked with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, or death in COVID-19.
This study will give us a better understanding of the links between COVID-19 infection and high blood pressure, and help to improve the long-term outcomes for survivors of COVID-19. Also, the findings may lead to recommendations on the monitoring and management of blood pressure during the pandemic.
Prof Padmanabhan said: “The current COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has exposed unexpected cardiovascular vulnerabilities at all stages of the disease.
“The mechanism by which the SARS-CoV-2 virus causes infection is believed to directly and indirectly affect the cardiovascular system potentially resulting in new-onset hypertension, heart failure and stroke and represents an insidious feature of long-COVID.
“The burden of hypertension as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown, but given the scale of the infection especially among the young this will be a major concern for the future. In this project, we plan to generate valuable evidence that will inform hypertension management strategies and reduce cardiovascular risk for survivors of COVID-19.”
Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive of Heart Research UK, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the work of ProfessorPadmanabhan and his team, who are conducting vital research into one of the biggest medical challenges the world has ever faced.
“We have known for some time that those with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions are more susceptible to developing severe complications from COVID-19. We hope that this research will help to explain why this is the case, reduce the risk for this vulnerable group and, ultimately, help to save more lives.
“Our grants are all about helping patients. They aim to bring the latest developments to those who need them as soon as possible.
“The dedication we see from UK researchers is both encouraging and inspiring, and we at Heart Research UK are proud to be part of it.”
Neon Artist Teams with Zebra One Gallery and Reclaim These Streets for ‘Text Me When You Get Home’ charity campaign
Celebrated neon artist, Eve De Haan will shine a light on London’s streets and women’s safety issues, tonight (April 15), with an illuminated billboard campaign curated by Zebra One Gallery, promoting Reclaim These Streets’ ‘Text Me When You Get Home’ campaign, with all profits donated to make the UK a safer, fairer place for women.
The billboards in places including Shoreditch, Fulham, Peckham and Dalston will display Eve’s art – an image of a deserted street after dark, with the poignant, glowing words, ‘Text Me When You Get Home,’ a familiar phrase which often replaces ‘goodbye’ for women, representing how safeguarding and safety fears have become a routine way of life for females after dark.
As well as illuminating the dark streets, the urban exhibition marks the start of the Reclaim These Streets movement’s new campaign, which aims to use legislation, education and community action to ensure no woman has to be asked to ‘Text Me When You Get Home’ again.
Four original prints, including the piece displayed on billboards, will be on sale through Zebra One Gallery with ALL profits raised going to Rosa, a grant-making charity that funds grassroots women’s organisations to help make the UK a fairer, safer place for women.
Eve says: “Many of my pieces celebrate the unique strength of women. The tragic circumstances of Sarah Everard’s murder and similar stories of attacks and harassment towards women around the world, shows that we still have such a long way to go before we can feel safe.
“I wanted to share these pieces in a public setting to show support for women and to remind people that a message like, ‘Text me when you get home,’ has become a part of our everyday lives, and that shouldn’t be the case.”
Reclaim These Streets was formed in the aftermath of Sarah Everard’s tragic murder, with the simple idea of holding a vigil. But after the event was cancelled, more than £500,000 was donated to the cause by supporters, leading to a partnership with charity Rosa.
Having already testified to the Home Affairs Committee, Reclaim These Streets are now working with cross-party MPs on amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to outlaw street harassment and kerb crawling.
Jamie Klingler, one of the founders of Reclaim These Streets, says: “We are thrilled to be working with Eve. We need to shine a light on all of the places where women are unsafe in public spaces and Eve’s way of illustrating the plight of all women will spark conversation and interest, which ultimately translates into change.”
The billboards for the campaign were generously subsidised by Brotherhood Media and are expected to remain in place for two weeks.
Zebra One Gallery owner and curator, Gabrielle du Plooy adds: “As a woman, this is an issue close to my own heart.
“I’ve lived in London my whole life and – like most women – have had personal experiences which have made me feel unsafe. So I’m delighted that we are able to help with such an important campaign through our art.”
”Thanks to our ‘try then modify’ approach, we’ve been able to tweak the design” –Cllr Karen Doran
Changes to a scheme for safer travel on Braid Road will help improve journey times and reduce intrusive traffic on nearby streets, while retaining protected space for active travel, the city council has announced.
Braid Road was one of the first Spaces for People schemes to be implemented in May 2020, when it was closed to traffic to help people walk, cycle and wheel safely to and from the Hermitage of Braid while physically distancing.
Thanks to the temporary nature of the measures, officers have since been able to amend the design to reduce an observed impact on southbound bus travel on Comiston Road, as traffic levels have increased.
As part of the new layout the city council will be reopening Braid Road one-way to southbound traffic and introducing segregated cycleways, following approval by Transport and Environment Committee in January.
They will also be installing traffic calming interventions around Midmar Drive to manage the return of intrusive traffic and protect the Meadows to Greenbank Quiet Route.
These measures will include no entry onto Braid Crescent from Comiston Road and ‘diagonal filters’ at the junction of Braid Road and Hermitage Drive, the junction of Hermitage Gardens and Cluny Drive and the junction of Braid Avenue and Cluny Drive, which will effectively remove through traffic from the affected streets. Once implemented, the changes will be monitored closely.
Councillor Karen Doran, Transport and Environment Vice Convener, said: We first introduced the closure of Braid Road to help people exercise and travel safely by foot, bike or wheelchair back in the early days of lockdown, when walking and cycling surged.
“We’ve had some great feedback from the many families and individuals who have enjoyed using the route since then, but we’re also aware that, as traffic levels begin to rise, there has been an impact on neighbouring streets.
Thanks to our ‘try then modify’ approach, we’ve been able to tweak the design, as well as introducing traffic-calming measures on nearby streets, helping to alleviate pressure on surrounding areas while also continuing to provide a protected space for all those walking, cycling and wheeling here.”
Recent workshops with local stakeholders, involving ward councilors, community councils and the emergency services, amongst other groups, have helped us tweak the scheme further to meet the needs of community members.
Additional changes include retaining two-way traffic on Braid Road between Braid Hills Drive and the main entrance to the Braid Hills Hotel, closing the southbound ‘slip road’ between Braid Road and Hermitage Drive to discourage southbound journeys from the Morningside Clock and pavement-widening at the south-east side of the junction of Braid Road and Hermitage Drive.
The council is currently implementing the changes, and plans to reopen Braid Road to southbound traffic by Monday (19 April). Once in place, the new layout will continue to be monitored and amendments will be made where necessary.
While the pandemic has had an impact on all parents and families, the severity of that impact, and the potential long-term consequences, will vary significantly.
While there have been positives for some families in being able to spend more time together, emerging evidence suggests others are experiencing increasing mental ill health, poverty, domestic abuse and child neglect.
There are also concerns around the impact on children’s development, perhaps especially for those born in the last year.
The Committee has decided to conduct a short inquiry on this topic, and will begin by hearing from organisations working with more vulnerable and disadvantaged families about what they have observed over the last year and their concerns for the future.
Witnesses
Tuesday 20 April 2021
At 9.45am, the Committee will hear evidence from:
Jabeer Butt, Chief Executive, Race Equality Foundation
Sally Hogg, Head of Policy and Campaigning, Parent-Infant Foundation
David Holmes, Chief Executive, Family Action
Jaine Stannard, Chief Executive, School-Home Support
Jane Williams, CEO Founder, The Magpie Project
Themes for discussion
How the pandemic has affected more vulnerable and disadvantaged families.
What the long-term impact of the pandemic might be for parents and children.
What action is needed from Government to respond to these concerns.
Close to two-fifths (37%) of UK workers in full or part-time employment are given less than a week’s notice of their shifts or work patterns, according to new research conducted by the Living Wage Foundation.
The research – based on two surveys, of over 2,000 UK adults in each case – addresses a gap in the UK’s labour market data and understanding of hours insecurity, being the first recent study to assess notice periods for work schedules across the workforce.
The study found that among the 59% of workers whose job involves variable hours or shift work, over three-fifths (62%) reported having less than a week’s notice of their work schedules. At the extreme, 12% of this group – amounting to 7% all working adults – had less than 24 hours’ notice.
While short notice periods affect workers throughout the UK, they are particularly common in London, where almost half (48%) of all workers received less than a week’s notice of work schedules. Scotland (35%), the South of England excluding London (34%), and the North of England (33%) are areas where short notice periods were less common.
A second survey conducted by the Living Wage Foundation homed in on the experience of full-time, low-paid workers, finding that they were particularly hard hit by short notice of working hours.
Of those working full time and paid below the real Living Wage of £10.85 in London and £9.50 in the rest of the UK, more than half (55%) had less than a week’s notice of work schedules, with 15% having less than 24 hours’ notice.
Low-paid, full-time workers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds (68% of whom had less than a week’s notice of work patterns) and those with children (64%) were also disproportionately affected.
Despite this, and the challenges facing many employees and businesses, some employers are stepping up to commit to stronger standards on shift patterns to better support workers and families.
This includes Scottish energy provider SSE, which has today been announced as an accredited Living Hours Employer, joining, amongst others, Aviva and Standard Life Aberdeen as employers committing to provide workers with secure, guaranteed working hours.
The Living Hours programme requires employers to both pay a real Living Wage and commit to provide at least 4 weeks’ notice for every shift, with guaranteed payment if shifts are cancelled within this notice period.
Living Hours employers also provide a guaranteed minimum of 16 working hours every week (unless the worker requests otherwise), and a contract that accurately reflects hours worked.
The Foundation’s research shows that currently just 10% of workers who have variable working hours or conduct shift work received at least four weeks’ notice of shift patterns.
Laura Gardiner, Director, Living Wage Foundation, said: “Without clear notice of shift patterns provided in good time, millions of workers have had to make impossible choices on childcare, transport and other important aspects of family life.
“Low-paid workers have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic, with millions struggling to plan their lives due to the double whammy of changing restrictions on economic activity and insufficient notice of work schedules from employers.
“Despite this, and the challenges many employers have faced, some have stepped up during this crisis and committed to provide workers with secure, guaranteed hours and notice of shift patterns. These are the businesses that will help us rebuild and recover, and we encourage more employers to follow their example.”
John Stewart, SSE HR Director, said: “The real Living Wage movement has been an incredible phenomenon, championing the fundamental truth that people should be able earn enough to live a decent life.
“Living Hours is the other side of that coin. The amount of pay employees take home can be affected by irregular and unpredictable hours. The majority of our direct employees are already on contracts which meet the Living Hours requirements, but it is right that a company like SSE, headquartered in the UK and delivering some of the biggest projects in the fight against climate change, should guarantee higher standards for workers.
“This is fundamental to ensuring there is a fair and just transition to net zero. Like with our Living Wage accreditation, the most important impact of Living Hours is that, in time, it will flow through our supply chain activities and benefit those working regularly on our behalf too.
“It is the right thing to do and we are very proud to have achieved this accreditation and hope it will help show others the way.”
Morrisons is brightening everyone’s day by launching another new flavour of its renowned doughnuts, Pink Lemonade. Featuring a delicious blend of raspberry and lemon juice, the filling is the perfect combination of sweet, tangy and refreshing; they really do pack a punch.
The new flavour has already been spotted in stores and shared widely on Instagram. Described as ‘the taste of summer’ and ‘just like pink lemonade’, the new treat is already proving hugely popular and customers can’t wait to get their hands on them.
Pink lemonade is set to be hugely popular this summer, with people having turned to old favourites over the past year. The new doughnuts will be a delicious addition to a nostalgic picnic spread, or maybe just as a snack in front of a great TV series.
Andy Clarke, In-store Bakery Manager at Morrisons said: “We know that our customers have been loving nostalgic flavours, so it made sense to create a classic Pink Lemonade filling for our renowned doughnuts.
“The new treat offers yet another reason to be excited for spring, and a reason to share delicious food with friends and family.”
Morrisons Pink Lemonade doughnuts are available now in 400 stores nationwide, for 50p for a pack of 5.
