BT and Digital Boost launch free mentoring programme for small businesses in Edinburgh

  • BT partners with Digital Boost to upskill small business owners and employees by bringing free mentoring sessions to at least 1,000 firms across the UK
  • New mentoring programme forms part of BT’s Small Business Support Scheme to assist small business during the pandemic and beyond by boosting their connectivity, cashflow and confidence
  • BT has equipped a further 20,000 small businesses with digital skills since the launch of the scheme, as part of its ongoing Skills for Tomorrow programme

BT has launched a new mentoring programme to support small businesses in Edinburgh during the pandemic, in partnership with Digital Boost, a free non-profit platform which unites digital experts with leaders of small businesses.

BT has pledged to deliver free one-to-one coaching sessions to at least 1,000 small businesses and is encouraging small firms across Scotland to register their interest. The initiative is part of its Small Business Support Scheme, which launched last Summer.

The mentoring initiative is open to all BT employees and has been successfully trialled with a number of small businesses prior to launch. BT has enlisted the expertise of its colleagues across the business – including Senior Executives – to upskill small business on a range of topics, including Cyber Security, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, and more. 

Digital Boost will connect individuals from small businesses with relevant BT experts via its free online platform, where small businesses are able to register their interest in booking a free virtual mentoring session. 

BT launched its Small Business Support scheme last Summer – a broad range of measures to help small businesses get better positioned for growth during and beyond the pandemic. The scheme aims to do this by boosting the connectivity, cashflow and confidence that many small businesses say they lack as a result of the ongoing public health crisis.

The new mentoring programme forms a key part of BT’s efforts to drive skills and optimism amongst small firms, with an earlier survey conducted by BT and Small Business Britain revealing that more than half (53 per cent) lack confidence in the future of their business.

63 per cent of small firms felt they needed more support in marketing and sales; 44 per cent wanted more assistance with digital skills; while 36 per cent lacked skills in building business resilience.

BT is responding to these concerns by opening up access to free, expert advice to 1,000 small firms initially, with a view to further expanding the reach of the programme over the coming months.

Alan Lees, BT director for corporate and public sector in Scotland, said: “Helping small businesses to acquire new skills and boost their confidence during these exceptionally challenging times is a central part of BT’s Small Business Support Scheme.

“We’ve already equipped a further 20,000 small businesses with digital skills since the launch of the scheme and now we’re going even further by introducing a free mentoring programme. By partnering with Digital Boost we can engage our own colleagues around the need to step up and support small businesses, with experts around the businesses volunteering their time as BT mentors.

“Our ambition is to scale this very quickly, involving colleagues from all levels, including the senior leadership team. I would encourage any small businesses in Scotland who feel they would benefit from this direct support to book a spot as soon as possible via the website.”

Sherry Coutu, Founder at Digital Boost, said: “At Digital Boost, we help those who work for and lead small businesses and charities to survive the COVID-19 crisis and be more competitive in the long-run.

“BT is a key partner in our effort to help prepare the UK to build back better after the pandemic.”

Brett O’Brien, Internal Engagement Manager at BT, who has been involved in the pilot of the mentoring scheme, providing his support in sales to a small business, said: “I volunteered to be a Digital Boost mentor as I felt it was my duty to support the small businesses that are trying to weather the storm of COVID-19.

“I have lots of friends and family working in small businesses that are no longer in work so I felt personally motivated to support the small businesses that are fighting for survival.

“My expertise are in sales/partnerships and I have conducted two mentor sessions. The feedback from them was great and I feel a great sense of pride knowing that I’m making a direct impact to help these SMEs stay in business.”

BT has already helped tens of thousands of small businesses acquire new digital skills through its Skills for Tomorrow programme which aims to reach 1 million small business owners and their employees by 2025.  In recent months, BT has launched new learning content on crucial topics – such as how to protect yourself from cyber-attacks and using social media to reach new customers. In the last year alone, BT has delivered over 190 free learning webinars for small businesses.

Small businesses interested in mentoring support can book a free one-to-one coaching session now by visiting: https://www.digitalboost.org.uk/

BT is also acutely aware that it’s an extremely worrying and uncertain time for small businesses and is also providing access to expertise to small business leaders around maintaining wellbeing by boosting their mental and physical health.

A free online Wellbeing Toolkit is already available and a webinar series specifically designed for small businesses will launch next month.

Help your workmates save money and stay warm this winter

Many of us have been working from home since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Research from June 2020 (PDF) showed most Scots felt their energy use increased during lockdown, and almost 60% of households were worried about their bills going up as a result.

As lockdown measures continue and cold weather means the heating is on for longer, you and your workmates might need some help to manage your energy costs while keeping warm at home.

Learn simple ways to stay warm at home

The good news is, we can help. As well as impartial advice to householders, we also offer fun and interactive online workshops for employers across Scotland.

Workshops are completely free and can be tailored to suit your workplace. And they’re a great way to connect with and support your colleagues, especially when many may be concerned about rising bills.

You and your workmates will pick up practical tips to reduce your bills and keep your home warm, like:

  • Getting to know your heating controls, so you can get the best out of your heating system and make your home more comfortable
  • Keeping the heat in by draught-proofing your home
  • Making sure you’re not wasting energy – just turning your appliances off instead of leaving them on standby could save you £30 a year
  • Finding out what support is available to help you make your home warmer and more energy efficient through energy saving home improvements

We’d love to help you and your colleagues stay warm this winter – email us to book your workshop. We also offer workshops on travelling sustainably (for essential journeys of course!), and saving water in partnership with Scottish Water. If getting everyone together for an online workshop will be tricky, our home energy e-learning is also full of useful advice on saving energy and money at home

Pick up tips to make the food shop go further

While we’re all cutting down on supermarket trips and many household budgets are getting tighter, it helps to make the food shop go further. Love Food Hate Waste workshops, delivered by Energy Saving Trust on behalf of Zero Waste Scotland, can help attendees save up to £437 a year by reducing food waste, through simple tips like: 

  • Menu planning, to make sure you don’t buy more than you use and don’t have to dash out for missing ingredients
  • Storing food correctly so it lasts longer
  • Using up leftovers and kitchen cupboard ingredients with crafty recipes

Interested? Get in touch to book a workshop.

Support for communities as well as workplaces

We also offer free online workshops for community groups on saving energy and water at home, travelling sustainably, and cutting food waste.

These are a great way to get your community group together remotely.

Find out more about our support for communities, and drop us an email if you’d like to book a workshop.

£1 million up for grabs for listeners across Scotland

An incredible £1 million prize pot is up for grabs across Scotland and Forth 1 and Forth 2 listeners will have their chance to grab their share of the cash, as the hugely popular ‘Cash Register’ returns.

The contest, which is Scotland’s biggest radio competition, launched yesterday and runs every weekday on the Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio networks across Scotland*, including the likes of Forth 1, Forth 2, Clyde 1, Clyde 2, West FM and West Sound**.

The popular feature gives out life-changing sums of money to listeners and has been a favourite for a number of years, however, this time the prize pot has reached the £1 million mark.

Every weekday after 8am a new cash amount will be revealed on Boogie In The Morning on Forth 1 and on Ewen & Cat At Breakfast on Forth 2, and listeners can find out how to play. One lucky listener will then get the all-important call back from Garry Spence after 5pm for their chance to win by simply repeating the exact sum on-air.

Cash prizes will be given out across the network until the £1 million prize pot has been emptied. Afternoon presenter on Forth 1, Garry Spence, is looking forward to sharing the amazing amount of money with his listeners. He said: “Playing Cash Register with listeners is by far my favourite competition – it’s so simple to play yet can impact someone’s lives in a way that’s hard to imagine.

“The best part is telling people they have won – there is no greater feeling, and with £1 million to give away it’s going to feel even better. I know from speaking to listeners that the prizes on Cash Register can quite literally change people’s lives, and after such a challenging year, we all need these feel-good moments more than ever.”

To find out the daily amount and how to play, listen live to Boogie In The Morning on Forth 1 and Ewen & Cat In The Morning on Forth 2 every weekday morning from 6am, and to Afternoons with Garry Spence from 4 – 7pm for the winner ring back.

Keep up with all the latest news, sport, biggest hits and competitions across the Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio networks across Scotland on FM, AM, on DAB radio, online, via the station app and on your Smart Speaker.

*Cash Register is a text competition played across all of the Hits Radio & Greatest Hits networks in Scotland and full terms and conditions and online entry can be found at the station website.

**West Sound Dumfries is on FM (and not available on DAB). Northsound 2 is a digital station and not available on AM.

Letter: Help prevent a kitten crisis

Dear Letters Editor

With World Spay Day coming up on 23 February, Cats Protection is urging that unneutered pet cats are kept indoors to prevent a potential kitten crisis.

We estimate that around 70 per cent of kittens born in the UK are the result of unplanned pregnancies, which puts severe pressure on owners to arrange for their feeding, care and rehoming.

The pandemic has meant that we are currently only able to take in a small number of cats as emergency cases. This is why we’re asking the public to help us by ensuring that unneutered cats are kept indoors, and unneutered siblings kept apart.

The coronavirus has affected many vets too. Many have had to prioritise emergency appointments, meaning access to neutering operations will vary. It is important to check with your vet for availability and make an appointment in advance if you can.

Cats Protection can help owners on limited incomes with the cost of neutering pet cats.

To find out if you are eligible, call our Neutering Line on 03000 12 12 12 (option 2) or visit www.cats.org.uk/neutering where you can also find out more about neutering and its benefits.

Yours faithfully,

Sarah Reid

Acting Head of Neutering, Cats Protection

Radical changes needed to deliver primary care fit for the 21st century, says Holyrood Committee

A radical revision of primary care is essential to ensure the next generation of citizens receive the care they need, according to the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee.

In a report published today, the Committee say the traditional 9-5, 5 days a week service must become a thing of the past, replaced with a new model shaped around users’ needs. They urge the health service to fully embrace technology, enabling better data sharing and monitoring, to deliver a 21st century system fit for patients.

The Committee’s report is the culmination of a two-year inquiry into the future of primary care. The innovative inquiry was centred around members of the public with their views shaping the inquiry. The first phase of the inquiry, published in July 2019, revealed the public’s desire and support for a transformation in how services are accessed and delivered.

The inquiry has highlighted the growing costs and demands on the health service due to an ageing population and their more complex health needs, as well as an obesity epidemic and stark health inequalities in Scotland’s most deprived areas.

The Committee’s report questions the Government’s commitment to recruit at least 800 more GPs by 2030. They say the emphasis should instead be placed on committing to appropriate recruitment of professional staff across multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs), including both GPs and other professions, which can deliver the intended benefits to primary care as a whole.

Speaking as the report was published, Committee Convener Lewis Macdonald MSP said: “It is clear that when it comes to primary care the status quo is no longer an option. Existing ways of delivering care are not only financially unsustainable but have failed to keep pace with modern life.

“We need to radically rethink primary care so that we can ensure our citizens receive the best possible care for generations to come.

“We must move away from the automatic provision of prescriptions and towards social prescribing. There must be widespread adoption of a preventative model of delivering care and the health service must fully embrace new technology.

“A fundamental shift is also required in how the public and health professionals view General Practice. Instead of GPs being seen as the provider of all services, a new approach should be adopted where other health professionals, who are often better placed and equipped to help and support people can do so.

“Our inquiry has been driven by hearing directly from the public about the primary care services they want, need and require and the Committee wants to thank all who took part in our public forums and shared their views.”

The Committee say a focus on prevention needs to be prioritised and mainstreamed, but for this to be a success it goes beyond just the health service.

They identify the importance of local communities in delivering good health outcomes and say there is a clear desire amongst the public for connected communities, with spaces that give people opportunities to become active and socialise, and to connect to the local natural environment.

Widespread adoption of video consulting service ‘Near Me’ during the Covid-19 pandemic has been commended although the Committee has expressed reservations that default use could deepen health inequalities.

The report can be found here.

Pet therapy helps care home residents enjoy a weekly ‘paws’

ANIMAL-LOVING pensioners at a city centre care home have been enjoying pet therapy sessions for more than a decade, thanks to dedicated staff and resident pup, Sophie.

Staff at Belleville Lodge in Edinburgh recognised how much joy and comfort the sessions brought to their elderly residents and made the decision to ensure they could continue throughout the pandemic.

During the sessions, residents reminisce about their pets over the years, cuddle up with Sophie, the resident west highland terrier, and look at pictures of animals and nature, while sharing stories in small groups.

The carers have found pet therapy has amazing benefits for residents with and without dementia, from increased mood and social interaction to improved nutrition and physical activity. It’s also a fun activity for residents who can share their pet histories and find out interesting facts about different animals.

Margaret Russell, Matron at the home operated by Mansfield Care, said: “We find the sessions are excellent for our residents wellbeing and spirits. Before the pandemic we had two other dogs who visited regularly, a black lab called Orchid and a border terrier named Ruff, who residents are looking forward to reuniting with when it’s safe to do so.

“Anyone with a pet will know just how relaxing and calming spending time with an animal can be. As well as relieving the feelings of loneliness and isolation, pets can reduce stress, lower blood pressure and promote a sense of overall wellbeing.

“With such a powerful range of physical and mental benefits, it’s not surprising that pet therapy is being introduced into many care homes to improve the lives of elderly people and dementia patients across the UK.

“Even when a resident has advanced dementia, you can see the change in their face and the comfort they find when petting a dog – their faces completely light up as they stretch out their arms to welcome them.

“We’ve found it so important to keep activities that residents enjoy going throughout the pandemic, so we have made sure to incorporate pets and animals into our activity programme.

“When we couldn’t physically welcome any pets into our lounge area, we would download pictures of our residents favourite animals for our residents to talk about.

“Everyone thoroughly enjoys hearing one another’s stories and leaves the sessions feeling happy – which is the main reason why we have our extensive activity programme.”

Belleville Lodge offers space for up to 25 residents, including some twin rooms, in the heart of Edinburgh.

Mansfield Care operates 11 care homes across Edinburgh, Borders and the West of Scotland, specialising in small homes which offer bespoke, friendly care and boast state of the art facilities.

The care provider specialises in small, friendly, residential care homes across Edinburgh, Borders and West of Scotland, providing individualised care in state of the art facilities.

The Mansfield Care ethos is inspired by the kind of care many would wish for later in life – positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.

To find out more about Mansfield Care visit, https://www.mansfieldcare.co.uk/

Time To Be Bold: Care union urges MSPs to support call for £15 an hour social care minimum wage

GMB Scotland is urging all MSPs to support its campaign for a £15 an hour minimum wage for care workers.

In a letter to political party leaders ahead of a Scottish Parliamentary debate on the Independent Review of Adult Social Care this afternoon (Tuesday 16 February), the union calls on MSPs to grasp “a once in a generation opportunity to transform social care” by underpinning reforms with “proper value for the workers who will deliver it.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport Jeane Freeman MSP will lead the debate for the Scottish Government and recommend the incoming Scottish parliament should implement the findings of the Independent Review “as quickly as practicable”, with opposition MSPs lining-up to back GMB’s pay increase plan for the sector.

The union’s ‘Fight for Fifteen’ campaign was launched following the publication of its sector report, ‘Show You Care: Voices from the frontline of Scotland’s broken social care sector’, which highlighted the significant challenges facing care workers before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

GMB Scotland’s Women’s Campaign Unit Organiser Rhea Wolfson said: “The recommendations of the independent review are a once in a generation opportunity to transform social care, but only if they are underpinned by proper value for the workers who will deliver them.

“The report is clear that every £1 spent on social care generates £2 for the wider economy, so if government and industry invest properly in this sector and its people, the effects could be transformative not just for workers and service users, but for society too.

“COVID-19 has exposed how poorly our care workers have been valued, a workforce of mainly low-paid and often exploited women who found themselves on the frontline of a crisis without proper safety or support.  

“We owe them a huge debt and if we really want to put care on an equal footing with the NHS as the Cabinet Secretary suggests, then we have to back that up with the investment to match.

“Now is the time to be bold and today Holyrood can rise to the challenge. That’s why we are urging MSPs to stand with our members in care and support their campaign to fight for fifteen.”

Covid lockdown could be causing more people with sight loss to experience hallucinations

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is warning that ongoing lockdown and coronavirus restrictions could be causing a spike in hallucinations due to sight loss.

Hallucinations due to sight loss are known as Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS), which is caused when the brain attempts to fill in gaps in visual information with invented images or patterns. The hallucinations vary from person to person and range from simple lights or patterns to complex images. They are often distressing.

The condition has now sparked interest from Britain’s longest running television soap, ‘Coronation Street’, with a storyline showing Weatherfield resident Johnny Connor, played by actor Richard Hawley, beginning to hallucinate cockroaches, cats and people. Although his symptoms are caused by sight loss, they are initially misidentified as a psychiatric issue.

Although there is little research into the condition, it is widely believed that at least third of all people with significant sight loss experience these symptoms, but it is often under-reported.

Over the last 12 months, the number of people calling RNIB’s Sight Loss Advice Service to report CBS has increased – with sharp peaks in calls corresponding with coronavirus restrictions. Last month, the number of calls about hallucinations increased by more than two-thirds (67 per cent) compared to January 2020, and accounted for more calls than any other condition.

Thelma Good, aged 70, from Biggar in South Lanarkshire, has experienced Charles Bonnet Syndrome for years after losing a large proportion of her sight due to glaucoma and cataracts.

She said: “I studied psychology at university, and we learned about Charles Bonnet Syndrome in my course. Because of this, although it would be years until I was officially diagnosed with the syndrome, I was able to understand why I was having hallucinations, I knew that it was related to my sight.

“One of the scary aspects for me is that when I cross the road my brain fills in the gaps in my vision with a clear road, which means that I can’t see approaching cars or cyclists. That can be really challenging and frightening, so it takes me a long time to cross roads.”

Dr Louise Gow, specialist lead for eye health at RNIB, said: “The increase in calls and emails we have received about CBS since lockdown has been dramatic. And the visions that are being reported are much more vivid than usual, which has left many people feeling particularly distressed – describing their hallucinations as ‘out of control’.

“It’s as though the stress and anxiety of coronavirus, and the resulting restrictions, has had an impact on people’s symptoms. Although there is currently no research to confirm such a link, it would seem stress and lack of stimulation can increase symptoms.”

To help people with the condition, RNIB has launched a new Talk and Support service specifically for people experiencing CBS. Created with CBS specialists Esme’s Umbrella.

Judith Potts, founder of Esme’s Umbrella said: “We launched Esme’s Friends, a telephone chat service, which has now joined RNIB’s Talk and Support Groups. The calls provide peer-support and new contacts, all of whom understand what it is like to live in a world of vivid, silent, visual hallucinations.

“The calls can be joined by carers and family members who are too often forgotten, but who also need support. Through Esme’s Friends, people living with CBS find they are part of a community which is developing its own voice.”

Dr Louise Gow added: “It is very worrying that awareness of CBS remains low, even among health and care professionals. We have heard of several instances where GPs have mistakenly referred patients to mental health services, rather than directing them to information about how to cope with CBS and ensuring that they see an eye health professional.

“If this happens, it is possible that the underlying vision issue causing the CBS is not treated and could worsen, resulting in further avoidable sight loss.

“While there is still a lot to learn about the condition, it’s more important than ever that health and care professionals are made aware of CBS. There is a range of support and advice available to help people living with the condition. But patients must first be diagnosed appropriately.”

ESMEs-UMBRELLA-leafletDownload

Professor Mariya Moosajee, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said: “We are working hard to better understand CBS and how it can be managed.

“This includes a study to learn how common CBS is in children across the UK. We are hoping to start a study into deciphering the overall time period affected by visual hallucinations, as this will help us to provide a more accurate prognosis for patients to guide them on how long to expect them to occur.

“We would welcome further research on CBS to increase our understanding and would also encourage clinicians to ask their patients about CBS symptoms regularly.”

Anyone with sight loss who is experiencing visions or hallucinations – or any sudden change in their sight – should seek immediate help from an eye health professional or contact RNIB’s Helpline on 0303 123 9999.

For more information, visit www.rnib.org.uk.

Call Centre Workers Still Putting Their Lives On The Line

Covid-19 still a major threat to call centre workers’ health

Workers call for more action to protect staff

Covid-19 still presents a major threat to contact centre workers and action needs to be taken to protect them, according to a letter from the STUC to the Scottish Government.

The letter is a response to the work of the Scottish Government’s Working Group for Contact Centres and urges them to audit Scottish call centres and ensure employers are following guidelines and revising risk assessments.

The letter comes after new variants of the disease have been confirmed and a major outbreak in DVLA Swansea confirms the danger presented in large workplaces. The letter argues that the conditions in sealed buildings with mechanical heating and ventilation systems magnify the problem.

The letter has the backing of Call Centre Collective- a trade union-backed grassroots organisation formed in response to the pandemic- who have organised a petition in support.

Craig Anderson from Call Centre Collective said: “The Scottish Government needs to listen and take active steps to protect workers. We know there are some employers cutting corners and taking unnecessary risks with the safety of their staff.

“It would be unforgivable, after seeing what happened in Swansea, if no lessons are learned from it. We urge anyone who with an interest in protecting workers to sign our petition supporting the STUC’s letter and keep up the pressure.”

Roz Foyer, STUC General Secretary, added, “Throughout this pandemic one of the largest sources of complaints to unions and MSPs has been from call centre workers.

“The new evidence on transmission and the risks inherent with new variants makes it absolutely essential that we see action now.”

‘Optimistic, but patient’: PM to set out recovery road map next week

Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave this statement at the coronavirus press conference last night:

Today the national vaccination programme continues to power past the target we set six weeks ago with more than 15 million people vaccinated across the UK.

And once again I pay tribute to the astonishing efforts of everyone involved – the GPs, the nurses, the volunteers, the army and the pharmacists like Hardik Desai – who rallied local volunteers to vaccinate 3,000 people in his village hall in Ticehurst in Sussex, while keeping his pharmacy open – and of course I thank all of you who have come forward to be vaccinated.

This is an unprecedented national achievement but it’s no moment to relax and in fact it’s the moment to accelerate because the threat from this virus remains very real.

Yes, it’s true, we have vaccinated more than 90 per cent of those aged over 70 but don’t forget that 60 per cent of hospital patients with Covid are under 70.

And although the vaccination programme is going well, we still don’t have enough data about the exact effectiveness of the vaccines in reducing the spread of infection.

We have some interesting straws in the wind. We have grounds for confidence. But the vaccinations have only been running for a matter of weeks – and while we are learning the whole time – we don’t today have all the hard facts that we need.

And the level of infection remains very high, with more people still in hospital today than at the peak last April and admissions running at 1,600 a day.

So we have to keep our foot to the floor. And I can tell you today that the next million letters are landing on people’s mats right now, offering appointments to the over-65s and we are also contacting all those aged between 16 and 64 with underlying health conditions, as well as adult carers.

And if we can keep this pace up – and if we can keep supply steady – and I hope and believe we can – then we hope to offer a vaccination to everyone in the first nine priority groups – including everyone over 50 – by the end of April.

And at the same time we will be giving second doses to millions of the most vulnerable within twelve weeks of the first.

So this moment is a huge step forward but it’s only a first step.

And while it shows what the country can do we must be both optimistic but also patient.

And next week I will be setting out a roadmap saying as much as we possibly can about the route to normality even though some things are very uncertain.

Because we want this lockdown to be the last. And we want progress to be cautious but also irreversible.

So please continue to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

Thank you.