Tag: Health and wellbeing

Edinburgh care home launches dementia awareness series

Dementia series kick starts with industry expert event at Edinburgh home

A SCOTTISH care home is bringing together some of the country’s leading dementia care experts to launch its bumper calendar of activities to raise awareness of the disease.

With an estimated 90,000 people living with Dementia in Scotland1, Cramond Residence is launching ‘Let’s talk about…Dementia’ to build support and connections within the community while sharing important knowledge.

The home will open its doors to members of the public on 18 June to host the informal event with experts from Alzheimer’s Scotland and Home Help Me Care in attendance, alongside the Dementia care team from Cramond Residence.

Informative stalls will be set up in the garden for the duration of the afternoon event with three expert presentations covering what the world looks like for those with dementia, how to care for someone living with Dementia at home and when it’s the right time to consider residential care.

Rickie Tank, Registered Manager with local support service, Home Help Me Care which specialises in at-home care, said: “We believe that bringing dementia support services that support people in the community enables them a greater chance of experiencing quality care in later years.

“Every day we hear the stressful experiences of people trying to secure the right support for loved ones but no one really guides them through the process or explains the timescales involved and this often means people have to get to a crisis stage before they secure care. 

“By coming together with like-minded community support groups and companies like Cramond Residence we want to share our knowledge to make the journey easier.”

The event hopes to raise awareness through educational sessions and discussions for those living or caring for someone with the condition or generally worried about dementia.

Ross Bijak, General Manager at Cramond Residence with more than 10 years of expertise in the healthcare sector and recently completed a master’s degree in Dementia studies, said: “I have lived with a passion for making tiny changes to people’s lives since I started my career in care and in particular for people living with Dementia.

“I aspire to support and educate people who are affected by the condition and have provided 97% of the 123 members of staff at Cramond with some level of dementia training.

“Being part of such an event as the General Manager at the home is a privilege to which I hope to lead by example in explaining how Cramond Residence helps people living with the condition to enjoy a fulfilling and dignified life.”

Alzheimer’s Scotland will also be in attended to provide information and support to make sure nobody faces dementia alone with the charity hosting an interactive session on its isolation prevention initiative, Dementia Friends.

The event starts at 12:30 and refreshments will be provided. To book a seat for the expert presentations, please contact enquiries@cramondresidence.co.uk (please note spaces are limited).

Cramond Residence strives to ensure that those living with dementia live a fulfilled life. The home offers a dedicated dementia floor, specially designed for those living with dementia to allowing them to live a richer and more satisfying life with specialist facilities and trained staff on hand to provide support and relief.

Dementia training sits at the top of the care home’s agenda with 90% of their staff being provided with vital dementia training.

Five foods you didn’t know could ease menopause symptoms

From hot flushes to bloating, sleep disturbance to night sweats, it’s estimated that 8 in 10 peri-menopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal women experience symptoms that significantly impact their daily lives.

But with increasing shortages of hormone replacement therapies across the UK, with many women having to move away from their usual treatments to ones that are available,  attention is shifting to find ways to manage difficult symptoms at home that can work in synergy with prescribed treatments.

Nutritionist and 44 Foods partner Emma Ellice-Flint specialises in helping women through the menopause through their diet, creating recipes that nourish, heal and help to balance hormones, which can help to ease some of the most common symptoms. We caught up with Emma to find out more about some of her top menopause friendly foods that could not only help to make you feel happier and healthier but they’re delicious too!

Vitamin C

“There’s a reason that the humble vitamin C is known to be great for everything from skin health to hormone health. That’s because it benefits so many different actions in our bodies.

“But importantly it doesn’t work in isolation. In nature Vitamin C is found in all plant based foods that also contain phytonutrients, which can help to boost your immune system –  something that can take a bit of a knock once we start menopause. Some of the best sources are red peppers, pomegranate, plum, brussels sprouts, kiwi fruit, blackcurrants/blueberries, cabbage, broccoli and oranges.”

Fermented foods

“Regularly eating live fermented foods such as kefir and sauerkraut, can help to improve your gut health and its microbiota. From my experience in the clinic, adding fermented foods into your diet can help to reduce bloating and improve your digestion which can both be impacted when we hit the menopause.

“Every fermented food has its own set of healthy bacteria so it’s all about finding ones that suit you. For me, I love mixing a couple of heaped tablespoons of kefir into my breakfast or adding a dollop of sauerkraut to my evening meal to make it easy to integrate it into my diet. However, fermented foods aren’t for everyone, and should be avoided by those with an intolerance to histamines”

Magnesium rich foods

“Magnesium plays a part in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body contributing to everything from bone health to energy. It is an important mineral to maintain at healthy levels since it can affect mood, sleep and vitality. Plus it is used more in the body during times of stress.

“It is naturally found in foods such as whole grains, green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale as well as muesli, nuts, nuts, legumes and pulses. The NHS recommends an adult woman have 270mg of elemental magnesium per day but it can be tricky to get this amount from food alone so I’d also recommend investing in a high quality magnesium supplement to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need.” 

Oily fish

“Omega 3, found in oily fish like sardines, salmon and mackerel, is a type of fat that is essential to our bodies. In perimenopause and menopause, these benefits are especially important  – supporting gut health, reducing inflammation, and helping with mood and anxiety. 

“And, since the body cannot produce its own Omega 3 fats, it has to get them from what we eat so adding some form of oily fish, nuts, seeds or soy into your diet is a great way to keep your Omega 3 levels up.”
Pre-biotics“Pre-biotics are a fermentable fibre found in plants. While our digestive system struggles to digest them, our intestinal microbiota thrives, making them a vital to maintain a healthy gut.

“Examples of my favourite prebiotic-rich foods include: Jerusalem artichokes, rocket, garlic, onion, leek, spring onion, asparagus, beetroot, green peas, mange tout, sweetcorn, cabbage, pulses, nuts, seeds, whole grains, apples and dark berries. Even if you’re not looking to fully overhaul your diet, many common ingredients like onions and garlic can still contribute to your overall gut health which is particularly important during the menopause.”

Emma has recently launched her own range of recipe bundles with ethical online food retailer 44 Foods to make it simpler than ever to recreate some of her most popular recipes. From her zingy ginger stir fry with prawns to a nutrient packed avocado, basil and borlotti beans, each bundle gives you all of the ingredients you need, plus a recipe card.

For more information on Emma or to view her full 44 Foods range, visit www.44foods.com

Open All Hours at Drumbrae Leisure Centre

Open all hours at Drumbrae Leisure Centre is also open to P7s this term.

You can sign using our new bookings form in advance or you can sign up your child on the night.

Session are free , and now its a one time sign up each term. There are 5 weeks left – (they will be off on the 3rd June.)

Public holiday advice from NHS 24

As bunting goes out in towns and villages across Scotland to celebrate the holidays and Jubilee weekend, NHS 24 is reminding people of the health advice and information that’s available via NHS inform.

The national health information service has advice on everything from hay fever to heartburn, safety in the sun to how to deal with insect bites.

Maria Docherty, NHS 24’s Director of Nursing and Care explained: “Many people will be planning trips away, or days out and celebrations over the May holiday and Jubilee Holiday weekends.

“These holidays may impact on local GP and pharmacy opening times. If people take regular medication, they should ensure they have enough to see them through, or order what they need and in plenty of time.”

Scotland’s Service Directory is also kept up to date with information on services available across the country and is accessed through www.nhsinform.scot

Maria added: ‘We’re hoping for sunny weather for the celebrations ahead but if you do need support for seasonal illness, or advice of how to stay safe in the sun, NHS inform and community pharmacies can help.

“NHS 24 staff will also be working to support the public over the coming weeks’.

General advice and information on how to stay healthy this summer can be found at www.nhsinform.scot/spring

Ten years of success for Scotland’s Family Nurse Partnerships

More than 10,000 young mothers and their children have been helped by a decade-long programme since it began as a pilot in NHS Lothian.

An analysis report on the Family Nurse Partnership shows positive results for mothers and babies in areas such as breastfeeding rates and stopping smoking, with most children meeting all their milestones, and 95% receiving all their immunisations.

The Family Nurse Partnership supports young, first-time mothers to prepare for motherhood and throughout the first two years of their child’s life.

Women’s Health Minister Maree Todd met mothers and staff who have taken part. She said: “Over 10,000 young women have now received support through this programme since it started, which is a fantastic milestone.

“Family nurses help mothers to think about the future, what kind of parent they want to be and their goals and aspirations for other areas of their lives like education and employment.

“Earlier this year we committed to expanding the programme to all young first time mothers aged 21 and under by the end of 2024. Where possible, we will also target first time mothers under the age of 25 who are care experienced or from the most deprived communities. This expansion will mean we can support up to an additional 500 families per year by 2025.”

Val Alexander, service manager of the Family Nurse Partnership, who has been with the programme since it began, said: “We are so proud of the Family Nurse Partnership and everything our clients have achieved. 

“The Family Nurse Partnership programme works to support young, first-time mothers to prepare for motherhood and continues that support for them and their child through the first two years.

“FNP was first delivered in NHS Lothian and to see it extended across Scotland to reach thousands more families is something very special for all of us.

“This 10-year analysis of the delivery of the service across Scotland will help us to see how far we have come and map out our goals and ambitions for the future of the programme and young families.”

Scotland to modernise breast screening services

A major review of Scotland’s breast screening programme which makes 17 recommendations to strengthen and improve it has been published.  

The report recommends ways to make the breast screening programme more accessible, resilient and sustainable, to drive improvements and build upon successful delivery of services.

These include developing a single programme-wide workforce plan that focuses on role development and redesign, training capacity, leadership for major developments which will help to automate aspects of activity, and benchmarked staffing levels.

It also recommends digital initiatives, including exploring the potential for adoption of Artificial Intelligence in breast screening mammography.

A new Breast Screening Modernisation Programme Board, chaired by Dr Marzi Davies, will take forward the recommendations from the report as well as considering additional ways to modernise the service.

Separate to the modernisation work, the Scottish Breast Screening Programme will see those aged 71 years and over being able to opt to self-refer for appointments once again from autumn 2022, in a phased way which won’t impact on the main screening programme.

Public Health Minister Maree Todd said: “I welcome this report and I am very grateful for the work that went into it while our NHS faced immense pressures in responding to the pandemic.

“We accept all of the recommendations, many of which are already being progressed, such as reinstating self-referral services for those aged 71 years and over, and others that will require careful consideration and planning. 

“It sets out a number of key learning points and opportunities for improving how we do things, and while it was commissioned pre-COVID-19, it’s important to note that the breast screening programme is still recovering from the impacts of the pandemic.

“Among our immediate priorities is ensuring that there is sufficient capacity for women aged between 50-70, the recommended screening population, to be invited for screening every three years.   

“I’m pleased Dr Davies has agreed to chair the breast screening modernisation programme to drive forward key ambitions.”

Breast Screening Modernisation Programme chair Dr Marzi Davies said: “The publication of this review and the establishment of the Breast Screening Modernisation Board represent an exciting opportunity to ensure resilience and deliver a sustainable, more person-centred breast screening programme in Scotland.

“I’m privileged to have been asked to lead this work, which will drive improvements in a number of areas and build upon an already high-quality and effective service.”

Scottish Breast Screening Programme: major review  

major-review-scottish-breast-screening-programme-march-2021Download
appendix-3-barriers-facilitators-breast-screening-uptake-amongst-disadvantaged-communities-final-reportDownload

Coalition launches Covid Safety Pledge

A coalition of trade unions, covid safety groups and the Independent SAGE have launched a new ‘Covid-19 Safety Pledge’, designed to ensure workplaces adopt measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 infections.

The Pledge, aimed at workplaces in both the public and private sectors, asks employers to sign up to three key commitments: protect workers and customers from Covid-19, risk assess their premises and practices to safeguard against infection and specifically ask any workers who test positive for Covid to stay at home while infectious and to provide the support necessary for them to do so.

Employers who sign up for the scheme will be presented as a covid safe workplace, with their name displayed on the Pledge website (covidpledge.co.uk) in addition to being able to display the Pledge sign within their premises.

The move has been backed by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) in addition to covid support groups such as Covid Families for Justice and Clinically Vulnerable Families.

The STUC warned that employers in Scotland should not roll back on health and safety and support for staff. Supermarket giant Sainsbury recently introduced a policy that allows staff to attend work if infected with covid and punishes them for covid related absence.

Commenting, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “It’s vitally important that the legacy of COVID-19 isn’t a rollback on workers’ safety or rights. The Covid-19 Safety Pledge allows employers to stand by their workers, ensuring the highest levels of protection against infection are taken, in addition to supporting staff and consumer wellbeing whilst on their premises.

“For people across Scotland – especially those who are clinically vulnerable – this Pledge can act as a clear indicator of responsibility and support for employers wanting to do right by their staff, customers and service users.

“We are also calling on the Scottish Government to support the pledge. Our joint COVID-19 Fair Work Statement should be updated for the new circumstances but also to continue to commit to the fair treatment of workers and the control of the virus.”

FND Stories

Capturing the stories and lived experience of those diagnosed with neurological condition, Functional Neurological Disorder, through art.

Inspace Gallery, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB 

Inspace City Screen, window display on Potterrow – Tuesday 7th – Sunday 26th June;  

Opening Event Wednesday 22nd June, 5-7pm; 

Internal Exhibition Thursday 23rd – Sunday 26th June.

 

This June, East Lothian based artist, Andrew Brooks will be exhibiting art focussing on telling the stories of those diagnosed with neurological condition Functional Neurological Disorder, FND, often referred to as the most common condition you’ve never heard of.

Brooks makes art that concentrates on small details of information to tell stories, using the particular to find the universal.

The multidisciplinary exhibition, FND Stories, is based on in-person interviews with six people from around the UK who live with FND along with contributions from over 90 of those diagnosed from around the world.

The interviews gave first-hand accounts of living with FND and include a beauty queen finalist from Croydon who only began competing since her diagnosis in July 2020. The artwork was created using techniques of data analysis from the interviews and contributions in a range of media including silent video, text-based art, and large-scale ink and gold leaf pieces.

The exhibition seeks to raise awareness of the condition and highlights the lived experiences of those diagnosed. It will be on show through the 20m long windows of InSpace Gallery for the full period to engage as many people as possible, as well as a shorter internal show with an opening event.

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is a common and disabling cause of neurological symptoms. The symptoms are not caused by a structural disease of the nervous system but it is a problem with the “functioning” of the nervous system.

It is a problem with how the brain and body send and receive signals. The symptoms can cause impairment in quality of life that is similar to and in some aspects worse than other neurological conditions.

Symptoms are highly varied and can include weakness and abnormal patterns of movement, attacks of abnormal movement / change in awareness that resemble epileptic seizures, sensory problems, cognitive problems, and visual and speech problems.

Andrew Brooks began making work involving the condition while studying a Fine Art MA in Bristol: “FND is a constant part of my life as my wife was diagnosed with it in 2015 following a bicycle crash involving a car.

“I began to make and exhibit work about our experiences living with FND reflecting on our married life, subsequently broadening the project making further work with members of Southwest England based charity ‘FND Friends’. Having moved to Scotland I secured funding from Creative Informatics.

“The ‘Connected Innovators’ funding stream has given me the time and resources to continue making work with those diagnosed with FND developing new skills to represent people’s stories and raise awareness about the condition”.

With support from FND Hope UK (whom he is independent from) Brooks has been able to broaden the project and had responses from around the globe, including America, Canada and Gibraltar, with over 90 participants answering the question what three words would you use to describe your FND – the top three responses being frustrating, debilitating and misunderstood. Six in-person interviews with participants from around the UK were filmed and transcribed, these stories are the basis for much of the artwork.

Those interviewed are from a range of ages, backgrounds, types and severity of condition and were asked the same set of questions about life with FND. In response to “what is a good day with FND?” one interviewee answered, “a good day is having a shower and not having to sleep after it (laughing)…good days are when I can do the things I used to take for granted”.

Coverage Briefing

The artwork is multidisciplinary and varied including video, sound, word and physical paper-based art, to tell different facets of stories, often focussing on specific details. Large paper-based pieces, some of which are over 2m long, use ink, water, gold leaf, graphite dust and latex, encoding words, meanings and information.

As Brooks explains “the encoded presentation is to create a slower understanding of what is being discussed or described be it data or words, hopefully enabling a more nuanced interaction with the subject matter.

“The interview films are shown as a pair without sound, one film showing the subject’s reaction while listening to their favourite childhood story and the other show’s them explaining about their life with FND.

“Removing the sound avoids the primary forms of storytelling and shifts focus from what is being said to the emotional communication of the person. Relying on body language and the contrast of the two films allows the viewer to emotionally engage with the teller.”

Brooks added: “My aim is to make work that can portray some of the lived experiences and stories of those diagnosed with FND. I don’t want to portray a list of symptoms but reveal different facets of people’s stories.”

FND Stories will be partially on display on Inspace City Screen (Inspace windows facing on to Potterrow), Monday 6th – Sunday 26th June, with full exhibition inside Inspace Thursday 23rd June – Sunday 26th June, 11am – 5pm.

There will be an opening event on Wednesday 22nd June 5-7pm.

Tickets to the opening event can be booked through Eventbrite here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fnd-stories-exhibition-launch-tickets-343015437407  

Best Start, Bright Future: Poverty Alliance webinar on the Scottish Child Poverty Delivery Plan

Best Start, Bright Future – a Poverty Alliance Webinar

Monday 6 June 2022: 10am – 1pm 

Scotland is a country where compassion is strong, but where child poverty is an ongoing injustice that we have to end together.

Best Start, Bright Future, the Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, was published at the end of March. It’s designed to help create the change we need to drive down child poverty and reach Scotland’s interim child poverty targets in 2024. 

There are a lot of commitments in the plan, and we are hosting a special morning webinar to explore how we can make sure they are implemented, and how they can best deliver practical change in our communities. 

The plan includes pledges to: increase the level of the Scottish Child Payment; create a new employability offer to help parents get into work, and; mitigation of the benefit cap. 

There is lot more besides, and Best Start, Bright Futures will touch on all areas of anti-poverty activity in Scotland. It is crucial for groups and organisations across the country to understand what it all means for their work.

Please join us for a morning of discussion on how we can all work together to ensure that the ambition contained in the plan is delivered.   

Click here to register!

Agenda 

10:00 Welcome  Peter Kelly, Director, the Poverty Alliance 

10:05 Best Start, Bright Futures: What you need to know! 

Julie Humphreys, Deputy Director, Tackling Child Poverty & Financial Wellbeing, Scottish Government  

10:20 From Plan to Practice: Perspectives on Best Start, Bright Futures 

Professor Morag Treanor, Deputy Chair, Poverty and Inequality Commission 

John Dickie, Director, Child Poverty Action Group Scotland 

Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland 

10:50 Panel Discussion 

11:15 Comfort Break 

11.30 Workshops 

1. Making Employability Work for Priority Group Families 

  • Jack Evans, Policy Manager, Joseph Rowntree Foundation 
  • Laura Millar, Strategic Manager, Fife Gingerbread 

2. Social security: Priorities for tackling poverty  

  • Tressa Burke, CEO, Glasgow Disability Alliance (tbc) 
  • Polly Jones, Head of Scotland, Trussell Trust (tbc) 

3. Childcare and Child Poverty – Meeting the Challenges 

  • Anna Ritchie Allan, Executive Director, Close the Gap (tbc) 
  • Satwat Rehman, Chief Executive, One Parent Families Scotland (tbc)  

12.30: Feedback from groups and concluding remarks 

13:00 Close 

Quitting smoking for good could save you over £40,000, new study finds

  • Giving up a pack of cigarettes a day could save you up to £4,197 a year – the price of a family holiday abroad.
  • Cutting out that weekly pack of cigarettes could save you £598 a year, or £2,990 over five years.
  • Quitting for good could save you up to £41,975 over ten years – equivalent to a 20% deposit on a new home.

You could be saving up to £4,197 a year by giving up a pack of cigarettes a day according to new research, with savings of £598 a year for less frequent smokers.

Vaping experts over at IndeJuice calculated how much money you could be saving based on the average UK cost for a pack of 20 cigarettes over various timespans. They broke down how much you would save throughout your lifetime if you kicked the habit for good, as well as comparing what you could be spending the money on instead.

The research reveals that if you are smoking one pack of cigarettes per day at the average UK cost of £11.50 per pack, you would save £349.79 per month or £4,197 over the course of a year by quitting – the cost of a family holiday abroad for four people, the cost of running your car for ten years or paying for 11 years’ worth of gym memberships.

Someone who regularly smokes a full pack of cigarettes a day can expect to see staggering savings in the long run – banking up to £41,975 over ten years from quitting smoking. This is the equivalent of a 20% deposit on a £200,000 property, the price of a Porsche Cayman or nearly a kilogram of 24 carat gold.

For people who are only smoking a couple of cigarettes a day, the cost can still quickly add up. If you are smoking just one pack of cigarettes a week at the same average cost, you could still make savings of £598 a year, or £2,990 in your pocket over the next five years.

The money saved by quitting for one year, could cover the cost of a three-course meal for you and your significant other 11 times a year, the cost of nine weekly food shops or seven annual Netflix subscriptions.

A spokesperson from IndeJuice added: “Many smokers are already aware of the harm imposed on their body by regularly smoking, but it is easy to overlook the financial savings that could be made by choosing to quit for good.

“When looking at Google Trends data over the past five years, there has been a significant increase in people searching the term ‘quit smoking’ year on year, with the exception of 2021 where there was a 2.3% decrease in searches from the previous year.

“As we emerge out of the pandemic, it is important that we continue to reflect on the health benefits of quitting for good, and the long-term savings offer an additional incentive to do so.”