Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for Lothian, Miles Briggs, has expressed “deep concern” over addresses that have been “red flagged” to ambulance staff across Scotland.
The concern comes amid reports that nearly 450 addresses have been identified as being “red flagged” for ambulance staff – whereby Scottish Ambulance Staff are not allowed to enter without the presence of police.
A Freedom of Information Request submitted by the Scottish Conservatives revealed the shocking statistics.
The highest number of red flagged addresses come with Glasgow and Edinburgh postcodes, with 107 and 83 addresses identified in these areas, respectively.
In the EH postcode area, the freedom of information request revealed that 83 warnings had been identified.
Mr. Briggs has highlighted concerns over the figures and has expressed doubt of how police and ambulance staff may link up, given that, under the SNP, police officer numbers in Scotland are at their lowest level for 15 years.
Mr. Briggs says that one attack on an emergency service worker in Lothian is one too many and more action must be taken to keep them safe.
Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Miles Briggs said: “These figures are deeply concerning.
“This is a significant number of addresses that have been red-flagged in Lothian for our dedicated ambulance staff who are putting themselves at risk for others on a daily basis.
“One attack on any ambulance worker in Lothian is one too many.
“This is a direct result of the SNP slashing local budgets and gutting the police service across the country.
“With police officer numbers at their lowest number since 2008 across Scotland, I am also concerned that they may not be able to easily link up with ambulance crews when called upon at a particular address.
“It is clear from the number of addresses that have been red-flagged in Lothian that more needs to be done to keep our ambulance staff safe, which includes handing out hefty punishments to those found to have assaulted them while they are on duty.
“At the very least, frontline staff in Lothian should be reassured that they can go about their work without serious risk of injury from members of the public.”
The Government response to the Women and Equalities Committee report on menopause and the workplace is a “missed opportunity to protect vast numbers of talented and experienced women from leaving the workforce.”
Published today, the UK Government’s response rejects five of the Committee’s recommendations outright, including the recommendation to consult on making menopause a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and pilot a specific menopause leave policy.
In a letter to Health Minister Maria Caulfield, the Chair of the Committee Caroline Nokes expressed concern that the Government has “ignored the significant evidence base” for equality law reform and called on the Government to review its position.
The Committee also highlights the low cost but high impact opportunities for model workplace menopause policies and menopause leave, which the Government has dismissed.
In the letter, the Committee highlighted it was “extremely disappointing that the Menopause Taskforce has not met since prior to the summer recess, and that the industry roundtable on HRT supplies has been delayed a number of times.”
The Committee’s report, published in July 2022, argued that the overlooked impact of menopause is causing the UK economy to ‘haemorrhage talent’.
It also argued that the current law does not sufficiently protect women experiencing menopause and does not offer proper redress to those who suffer menopause related discrimination, with evidence that many women have to demonstrate their menopausal symptoms amount to a disability to get redress.
Though the Government said it has accepted, partly accepted or accepted in principle six of the recommendations, it comes under criticism from the Committee for not actually committing to any new work in response to the report.
Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP, said: “This belated response to our report is a missed opportunity to protect vast numbers of talented and experienced women from leaving the workforce, and leaves me unconvinced that menopause is a Government priority.
“For too long women have faced stigma, shame and dismissive attitudes when it comes to menopause. The evidence to our inquiry was crystal clear that urgent action was needed across healthcare and work settings to properly address women’s needs, yet Government progress has been glacial and its response complacent.
“Its refusal to even consult on reforming equalities law doesn’t make sense and we urge it to look again.”
LOW EMISSION ZONE BEGINS TO TACKLE EDINBURGH’S AIR POLLUTION PROBLEM
It’s been revealed that Scotland did not breach air pollution limits in 2022 for the first time, excluding the impact of lockdowns in 2020. Campaigners say the improvement in air quality in Edinburgh shows the early benefits of Low Emission Zones, with reductions in pollution from diesel vehicles.
Friends of the Earth Scotland analysed official air pollution data for 2022, looking at two toxic pollutants which are primarily produced by transport. Legal air quality standards came into force in 2010, yet had previously been broken every single year since except 2020 when the lockdowns resulted in a big drop in car journeys.
The provisional data suggests that air quality across Scotland was within legal limits in 2022.
Edinburgh’s Low Emission Zone will formally begin in June this year. To support bus operators to meet the criteria, the Scottish Government has provided grants for buying new buses or retrofitting older buses. This has almost certainly led to air quality improvements on Edinburgh’s busier bus corridors, such as city centre streets.
Many areas across Edinburgh showed reductions in nitrogen dioxide, compared to 2021, with a slight increase on St John’s Road.
St John’s Road also experienced an increase in particulate pollution (PM10), the data suggest. In 2021, there was an annual average of 11.00 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) for PM10, rising to 14.31 µg/m3 in 2022.
There were year-on-year increases in PM10 across the city. These could be attributed to an increase in car traffic after all Covid-19 restrictions were removed, or a more general increase in commercial activity.
Dirtiest streets for Nitrogen Dioxide
The European Ambient Air Quality Directive set a limit for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) of 40 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3). The deadline for this limit to have been met was 2010.
Location / NO2 Nitrogen Dioxide Annual mean (µg/m3)
Edinburgh St John’s Road 29.26 Edinburgh Queensferry Road 26.86 Edinburgh Nicolson Street 23.40 Edinburgh Salamander St 18.34 Edinburgh Gorgie Road 17.37 Edinburgh Glasgow Road 15.14 Edinburgh St Leonards 13.09 Edinburgh Currie 4.77
Dirtiest streets for fine particles (PM10)
The Scottish annual statutory standard for particulate matter (PM10) is 18 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3).
Location / PM10 annual mean (µg/m3)
Edinburgh St John’s Road 14.31 Edinburgh Salamander St 14.26 Edinburgh Queensferry Road 13.92 Edinburgh Nicolson Street 12.11 Edinburgh Glasgow Road 11.81 Edinburgh Tower Street 10.01 Edinburgh St Leonards 9.22
Air pollution kills 2,500 people in Scotland each year and puts the population at risk of serious health conditions, like asthma, heart attacks, and strokes. It’s especially harmful to children, the elderly, and people living in poverty or made vulnerable from other health conditions.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Transport Campaigner Gavin Thomson said: “Air pollution from transport is responsible for thousands of premature deaths in Scotland every year, and causes serious heart and lung issues, so it’s great that some progress is being made in parts of Edinburgh.
“The provisional data show that the Low Emission Zones and the Scottish Government’s hefty subsidies for operators to buy new buses are having an immediate impact.
“The bad news is there’s persistent diesel pollution on St. John’s Road, and particulate pollution has increased across the whole city. If we want to stop breathing tiny particles that damage our vital organs, we need to change the way we move around. The evidence is clear – the more we can move away from fossil fuels, the more our health is protected”.
Joseph Carter, Head of Asthma and Lung UK Scotland said: “It is good news this year that air pollution on our streets has been kept within its legal limits, yet there is obviously more that can be done. We need the Scottish Government to make tackling air pollution a national priority.
“Air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to public health. At a cost of £1.1bn per year to the NHS, it is draining our resources, straining our health system and cutting short over 2,500 lives a year in Scotland. It is causing new lung conditions like lung cancer, and worsening existing ones.
“With 1 in 5 Scots developing lung conditions like asthma and COPD in their lifetime, for them, it can trigger life-threatening asthma attacks and exacerbations.”
England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty recently noted that, ‘everyone is affected by air pollution, and it is everyone’s problem’.
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‘Dentistry in Scotland is still light years away from business as usual‘
The British Dental Association has responded to new figures showing the number of claims for payment made to dentists for NHS treatments have fallen by more than 50% in some health boards since 2019.
It stresses the Scottish Government must rapidly move forward to fix the broken payment system at the heart of the service.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats analysed the number of NHS dental claims in all 14 health boards between 2019 and 2022. The analysis revealed that:
Across Scotland the number of NHS dental claims fell from 5,583,137 in 2019 to 3,184,858 between January and November of 2022
NHS Dumfries and Galloway saw a 55% drop in NHS dental claims, with claims falling from 139,988 in 2019 to 62,481 between January and November of 2022.
NHS Orkney saw a 64% drop in NHS dental claims, with claims falling from 20,149 in 2019 to 7,175 between January and November 2022.
NHS Shetland saw a 53% drop in NHS dental claims, with claims falling from 15,873 in 2019 to 7,510 between January and November 2022.
All 14 health boards saw a decrease in the number of claims submitted between 2019 and the first eleven months of 2022.
The BDA say that while COVID emergency measures have been withdrawn, practices continue to face of an historic backlog, with many patients requiring more extensive treatment having bottled up problems during the pandemic.
On 1 October the Scottish Government cut the ‘multiplier’ designed to support the pandemic recovery, that increased NHS fees by 1.3. A lower bridging payment’ took effect uplifting NHS fees at a rate of 1.2 for the next three months, falling to 1.1 for the period up to April 2023.
Dentist leaders stress that in the months ahead progress must be made to deliver needed change to the broken high volume/low margin model NHS dentistry is based on. Without reform, this package will simply delay an inevitable exodus of dentists from the NHS that is already evident in other UK nations.
Facing surging practice running costs, the BDA says that without an adequate interim funding package several key treatments, and anything – like dentures – that requires laboratory work, risk being delivered at a financial loss.
Robert Donald, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Council said:“Dentistry in Scotland is still lightyears away from business as usual.
“Ministers pledged free NHS dentistry for all, but to keep that promise they need to fix a broken system.
“Dentists are struggling, facing demand that can’t be met, with some NHS treatments already being delivered at a loss. They need to know that come April they will see real change, not just see the last safety net pulled away.”
NHS Lothian laboratory teams are the first in Scotland to develop and use PCR testing to detect Group A Strep illnesses among those admitted to hospital.
The tests are proving vital in helping to identify and reduce onward spread of these infections, which are particularly dangerous for children, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
Patients who are suspected of having a Group A Strep illness are typically treated swiftly with antibiotics, but this treatment impacts the success of more traditional testing methods, meaning an accurate diagnosis is more difficult and can take longer.
The introduction of the PCR testing, which is not affected by antibiotics, means patients are being diagnosed more accurately and much more quickly. A quicker diagnosis means treatments can be tailored, and the potential for onward spread of infection can be significantly reduced.
Dr Kate Templeton, Head of Molecular Diagnostics, NHS Lothian explained, “While the ongoing impacts of COVID are still being felt across healthcare, and society more generally, a more positive outcome of the pandemic has been the wealth of research and innovation within laboratory testing and diagnostics.
“Within NHS Lothian, we are taking the experience and knowledge gained throughout the pandemic and applying that to other health conditions. The development and use of the PCR test, which had more commonly been used in response to COVID, for Group A Strep illnesses is hugely important. Not only is it providing quicker diagnosis, but it is helping to reduce the spread of these infections and ultimately it is saving lives.”
The Lothian labs team is now processing PCR tests for suspected Group A Strep illnesses for all Health Boards across Scotland, a vitally important role, amid the ongoing surge in respiratory illness that is being seen across the country, and which is hugely impacting levels of hospital presentations and admissions.
Calum Campbell, Chief Executive, NHS Lothian said, “The NHS Lothian laboratory teams did incredible work throughout the pandemic, but they haven’t stopped there.
“This new development, which builds on their immense knowledge, and the investment we have made in this area, is now proving vital as Scotland’s healthcare system responds to increased and sustained levels of respiratory illnesses.
“The introduction of the PCR test will mean Scotland’s hospitals can diagnose Group A Strep illnesses more quickly, improving treatment options for patients and minimising the potential spread of infection. This innovation is proving invaluable now, but will continue to play a vital role in future years.
“I am immensely proud of the laboratory teams for their ongoing work in this area, and as they continue to support not just NHS Lothian, but Scotland’s other Health Boards throughout this particularly difficult winter.”
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Healthy Heart Tip: Plant Based Diets for Heart Health
This January many people will be challenging themselves to go plant-based in support of Veganuary, a month-long campaign aimed at encouraging people to try out a vegan diet.
A vegan diet consists of only food coming from plants and eliminates any animal-based foods such as milk, eggs, meat, and cheese. Adopting a more plant-based diet comes with many health benefits.
Specifically in relation to heart health, vegan diets tend to be higher in fibre and lower in saturated fat, which has a positive impact on cholesterol levels.
Here we outline some ways you can eat more plant-based every day, not just January:
Include fruits and vegetables at breakfast
Making sure we consistently get our minimum of five fruits and vegetables every day can be quite difficult if we don’t consume at least one portion with every meal. Start the day off right by including a portion at breakfast.
This could look like adding mushrooms to your scrambled eggs or including a banana alongside your porridge. Just make a conscious effort to tick off one of your five a day at breakfast.
Plan snacks around plants
Regardless of what diet you follow, everyone can benefit from eating more plants. A great way to do this is to plan your snacks around fruits and vegetables.
Carrot, cucumber, pepper, sugar snap peas and edamame beans make great vegetable snacks; pair them with some hummus or a homemade low-fat yoghurt and mint dip.
Any fruit works well as a snack and most pair nicely with a few teaspoons of almond or peanut butter to make a more substantial snack.
Eat plant-based, protein-rich foods
If the thought of a bean chilli or lentil spaghetti bolognese doesn’t appeal to you, simply make your usual ones but try adding in a tin of beans or lentils while its cooking. They will add more fibre to your meal, helping you stay full for longer, and reduce the amount of saturated fat you are consuming (providing you eat your usual portion size).
An added bonus is beans and lentils are much cheaper than buying meat, so you can bulk up your meals and make them go further at a fraction of the cost.
As a group of organisations who support vulnerable children and young people, many with autism and a learning disability, we would add our support to concerns relating to a delay in a Scottish Government commitment to establish a commissioner to promote and protect the rights of autistic people.
Currently too many of those with autism and learning disabilities are struggling to get the support needed, with their human rights breached, and a commissioner is vital to help them fight their corner.
However, with a delay in public consultation on this until late 2023, there is a real concern that the delivery of a commissioner is simply not being prioritised.
While not by any means a panacea, a commissioner for autism and learning disability would be the first of its kind in the world, established in law to champion the human rights of autistic people and people with a learning disability.
It would be a powerful voice, improving access to services and advocating on people’s behalf when they cannot. A commissioner would also close the current gap between what the law says and what actually happens, delivering improvements. Importantly people would also have recourse when the system falls short and fails to deliver for them.
Many of those with autism and learning disabilities feel invisible, and such a role can help people live good lives with choice and control, free from discrimination. We would urge the Scottish Government to develop a sense of urgency on this vital matter.
A special groundbreaking event was held yesterday (Thursday 19 January) to mark the start of construction work on the new Currie Community High School.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills at the Scottish Government was joined on site by Councillor Joan Griffiths, Education, Children and Families Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council and Head Teacher Jenny Hutchison.
The new Currie Community High School, which will be one of the most energy efficient high schools in Scotland, is expected to open in 2025 and is being built by partners Kier Construction.
The campus will be one of the first Passivhaus-designed high schools in the country setting the standard for energy consumption across school estates. Passivhaus is a rigorous energy standard which reduces the amount of energy needed for heating by up to 90%. It also lowers the total amount of energy used by around 70% and minimises carbon emissions. The new school will support Edinburgh’s aim of net zero emissions by 2030.
At the heart of the new school plans are five core elements: education, inclusion, outdoor learning and sustainability, digital learning and community access. The school will have a series of learning zones for pupils with breakout areas which include:
Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) over three levels with dual-teaching classrooms, science labs, technician areas and a learning plaza
Languages and Humanities with dual-teaching classrooms, learning plaza and a debating chamber
Expressive Arts with music rooms, a recording studio, art studios including a kiln room, dance studios, drama studio and stage
Health and Wellbeing with a gym hall, games hall, fitness suite and swimming pool, food technology and hospitality
Integrated Support with wellbeing hub, support for learning classroom, a sensory room and a sensory garden
There is a strong emphasis on outdoor learning with the creation of a special terrace on the second floor providing all of the learning zones with immediate access to external teaching spaces. This focus will shape the curriculum on offer and ensure these outdoor spaces promote sustainability and link lifelong learning to the surrounding grounds of the school and community.
Health and wellbeing also feature prominently in the designs with the creation of a dedicated wellbeing hub and separate wellness centre to support pupils. The hub will be based in the integrated support zone and is a dedicated room in a quiet location which can be used as part of a planned alternative/flexible timetable to help young people learn in a variety of settings.
The wellness centre will be in the community and sports side of the building and will provide a space for counselling and activities to support improved mental health.
The new building will offer the community daytime, evening and weekend access to an intergenerational community hub. Visitors can drop in to the library space in the foyer, access meeting rooms and digital services, visit the café, keep healthy at the gym and pool or enjoy a walk around the grounds. There will also be public allotments.
Councillor Joan Griffiths said: “These are exciting times for the Currie school community as there are so many innovative elements to the plans which have energy efficiency at their centre.
“This will make the new campus one of the first high schools in Scotland to meet Passivhaus standards and supports Edinburgh’s aim of net zero emissions by 2030.
“The new school will provide a first-class learning setting and be an exciting, inspirational and creative hub for the whole community which will meet both future educational and environmental needs.
“I’m delighted to see such a strong emphasis on outdoor learning with the creation of a special terrace and how the outdoor spaces will promote sustainability for the school and local community.”
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “This new school will provide an inspiring learning environment for around 1,000 pupils and will benefit generations to come. It has been a privilege for me to break the ground here today on this fantastic addition to the area and to hear what a difference this completed project will make to pupils and the wider community.
“The project will be completed using support from the first phase of the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP), which is managed by the Scottish Futures Trust and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland.”
Jenny Hutchison, Currie Community High School Head Teacher, said: “It was great to be at the event this morning as everyone can now see the construction taking place on the site of the new school.
“We’re so incredibly excited about what our new school has to offer as a learning and community campus with an amazing energy around curriculum development and how we ensure that young people develop the skills to be 21st century ready.
“As one of the first Passivhaus schools in Scotland, we are committed to energy efficiency for the benefits of our young people and community. The opportunities for intergenerational learning are endless with transformational learning spaces both inside the building and out.”
Phil McDowell, Regional Director for Kier Construction North & Scotland, said:“This really is a unique project, which not only creates an outstanding new school, but its vast range of facilities will bring important socio-economic benefits to the local area.
“Everything about the new school has been designed with the focus of minimising energy usage and creating a healthy environment for generations to come.
“We’re proud to continue our successful relationship with the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver this fantastic new facility for the community of Currie.”
The new school will deliver more proactive services closer to people across the city, which is a key part of our 20-minute neighbourhood strategy. We want everyone to live well locally and be able to meet most of their daily needs from within their own community by walking, cycling, wheeling or taking public transport.
This means working with our local partners and communities to better plan and deliver services that meet everyone’s needs.
Local community hubs will bring daily services together for everyone to help create more social, inclusive and accessible communities that are connected by safe active travel routes. These will help to support the wellbeing of all citizens and end poverty and isolation in Edinburgh.
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