“While it is true that the data for January 2023 show improvements when compared with December 2022, December was the worst month on record. We are relieved that we have mitigated against a repetition of December, but we remain extremely concerned about our patients and their safety, and for the welfare of staff who are struggling.
“January saw continued high numbers of extremely long waits; the third highest number of 12-hour waits on record. While the weekly data from February also show that we cannot let up in our requirement for substantial improvement.
“As the Scottish leadership election begins, tackling the crisis in Emergency Care as well as the crisis in the wider health and social care system must be a priority for the next First Minister. In 2022, a total of 55,095 patients waited 12-hours or more in an Emergency Department in Scotland.
“Analysis by the College shows that consequently, in 2022, there were an estimated 765 patient deaths associated with these dangerously long waiting times – equal to an estimated average of 64 each month. This is entirely unacceptable and a marker of a system that is not functioning as it should.
“To tackle this, in Scotland we urgently need a restoration of the acute bed base, that means opening an additional 1,000 staffed acute beds where safely possible.
“There are also significant shortfalls of staff in Scotland. The Emergency Medicine workforce needs at least 100 more consultants, as well as senior decision makers, ACPs/ANPs/Physician Associates, junior doctors, and vital nurses.
“We welcomed the expansion of Emergency Medicine medical training places in Scotland by 10, but this expansion is considerably short of what is required and there has yet to be any commitment to maintain this each year.
“This winter continues to be the most challenging yet for the NHS in Scotland. A failure for meaningful action now will prolong the risk to patient safety and maintain these dangerously long waiting times at the detriment to staff who are already burned out and exhausted. 2023 must be the year that we see political will translated into action that improves patient care and conditions for staff.”
Health charity ASH Scotland is urging North Edinburgh residents to attend an event organised by the Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP) on No Smoking Day tomorrow (Wednesday 8 March).
People who smoke and attend the event in PCHP’s Community Hub at 73 Boswall Parkway between 12 midday and 1pm will have the opportunity to speak with representatives from the charity and NHS Lothian’s Quit Your Way service, which provides person-centred support to help stop smoking attempts.
Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland said: “Our charity’s theme for No Smoking Day is ‘Quit and Win’ and, through our campaigning and engagement at this event hosted by Pilton Community Health Project, we look forward to encouraging more people in NorthEdinburgh to make attempts to quit smoking to benefit their health, wellbeing and personal finances.”
Dawn Anderson, Director of PCHP said: “We are delighted to support our Community Wellbeing partnerASH Scotland with its No Smoking Day campaign and encourage people who smoke, their families, friends and neighbours to come along, share some lunch, and tell their stories about smoking, quitting or trying to quit.They will also have the chance to get some personalised advice from the experts about the best way for them to stop.
“The informal event will include lunch and those who take part will also receive a small gift card to thank them for sharing their experiences. We hope people who have already given up smoking will also come along and offer support to those starting out on their quit journey.”
If you live in North Edinburgh and would like to register for the event contact PCHP on 0131 551 1571 or email Dawn Anderson on dawnanderson@pchp.org.uk .
Anyone who has the goal of giving up smoking but unable to attend the event can contact a Quit Your Way adviser by calling the free helpline on 0800 848484 or create a quit plan at www.quityourway.scot.
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Healthy Tip: Women’s Heart Health
It’s International Women’s Day on 8th March and we want to take the opportunity to talk about women’s heart health. Heart disease is not just a man’s disease; 23,000 women die from coronary heart disease (CHD) every year in the UK, which is double the number of women who die from breast cancer.
This week’s healthy tip aims to inspire women to make positive lifestyle changes to support their heart health.
Get tested
Knowing your cholesterol and blood pressure levels is important for understanding your risk of CHD.
Even if you feel completely healthy, it’s important to have these tested and then make healthy lifestyle changes to support your heart. If you’re aged between 40 and 74 years, you can request blood pressure and cholesterol tests as part of your free NHS health check.
Prioritise yourself
As women, we often take care of everyone else and fail to look after ourselves. If you have a responsibility for caring for others, you need to be healthy to do this and it’s important to prioritise your own health and wellbeing.
This might look like planning a balanced, nutritious meal for yourself rather than eating on-the-go or, if you’re a parent, filling up on the kids’ leftovers. It could look like taking some time out to do something that really relaxes you and reduces your stress levels.
Menopause
A woman’s risk of CHD increases as a result of the menopause. If you’re a woman of menopausal age, pay particular attention to consuming calcium rich foods, such as low-fat milk and yoghurt, fortified plant-based milks, cheese, kale and small fish (including the bones).
You can also support your cardiovascular system by consuming heart-healthy fats from unsalted nuts and seeds, olive oil, avocado and oily fish, such as salmon and sardines.
If you want to learn more about this subject, please have a look at our HER disease campaign.
An innovative project to provide much-needed support to Long Covid patients has been extended to Midlothian.
Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland has worked with NHS Lothian, Pogo Digital Healthcare, patients and GPs to develop the individualised and easy-to-use Long Covid Pathway.
The pathway was piloted in Edinburgh in 2022, involving 36 GP practices and 173 patients, with plans to roll out across Edinburgh and the Lothians by the end of 2023.
GPs can refer patients directly into the pathway, which provides people with bespoke digital advice and also connects them to a CHSS nurse-led helpline and peer support.
The digital aspect of the service, the award-winning ‘MyTailoredTalks’, helps people manage their condition day-to-day while providing feedback to their GP to help with ongoing care.
Jane-Claire Judson, Chief Executive of Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland, commented: “In Scotland, 94,000 people have been living with Long Covid for over a year. We know that people living with the condition feel scared, abandoned and left behind.
“Our Long Covid Support Pathway allows us to better support people living with the condition in Edinburgh and Lothian. Its success means we hope to see it rolled out across the country, helping more people with Long Covid to live their lives to the full.”
Professor Tim Walsh, Director of Innovation for NHS Lothian, said: “It’s been really important for us to bring together expertise from a range of organisations to better improve the support available for people with Long Covid.
“We know living with this can be really challenging and patients with Long Covid need support that can be individualised and available on demand, and we’re proud to have worked with our partners to have developed such support in Lothian.”
The Midlothian Health & Social Care Partnership Long Covid Project Team has welcomed the roll-out.. A spokesperson commented: “During the pilot phase, this pathway empowered people to make a successful transition after diagnosis towards self-management of Long Covid through effective and targeted self-management resources.
“GP practitioners in Midlothian are looking forward to utilising the pathway, which will remove travel barriers while still providing person-centered support and reducing demand on services. The combination of written, video and telephone support will provide people in Midlothian access to the most appropriate support for them.
“Importantly, support and self-management resources provided by MyTailoredTalks and CHSS are fed back to the referring GP without them needing to seek out this information. The pathway will enable people in Midlothian living with Long Covid to self-manage their symptoms and access up-to-date and validated information relevant to their needs.”
None of this would have been possible without NHS Lothian Charity, which has invested £120,000 in the platform so far.
Jane Ferguson, Director of NHS Lothian Charity, said: “As the official charity of NHS Lothian, we have a key role to play in supporting NHS Lothian to take forward innovative projects that help improve the health and wellbeing of communities.
“Thanks to generous donations to our COVID-19 appeal, we were able to provide initial funding for ‘MyTailoredTalks’ and are delighted to see this now being extended to Midlothian.
“This has been a great example of partners coming together from across the sector to put in place innovative solutions that support our communities dealing with the effects of Long Covid.”
Pogo Studio designed MyTailoredTalks, which recently won the Technology Enabled Independent Living Award at the Digital Health and Care Awards 2023.
Jack Francis, Managing Director of Pogo Studio, said: “This has been a fantastic, collaborative partnership to bring our expertise in technology to, and we have learnt hugely from working with NHS Lothian, Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland and people living with Long Covid.
“Long Covid continues to be a huge issue across Scotland and so we’re delighted that our work so far is demonstrating that MyTailoredTalks can help to support people in their recovery.”
The war in Ukraine started over a year ago in February 2022, causing 17.4 million individuals to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. Twinkl Educational Publishing continues to help Ukrainian children and has now teamed up with the Ukraine-based charity fund Voices of Children to provide FREE mental health and art therapy resources for families affected by the war and for anyone in need.
As highlighted in an article published in the European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry journal in March 2022: The effects of war on refugee children are vast, encompassing everything from immediate stress responses to a higher likelihood of developing mental health issues like PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, being separated from parents and losing a sense of safety during war can have long-term negative impacts on a child’s development. These experiences stand in stark contrast to children’s fundamental needs and rights to grow up in a safe, secure, and predictable environment.
Psychologists from the Voices of Children Foundation explained how the preservation of mental health can be influenced by the people who surround us, showing that resilience is important, and it is resilience which enables an individual to maintain faith in their own strength to overcome difficulties.
Psychologists from the Voices of Children Foundation said: “One of the difficulties in the work of a psychologist or psychotherapist, which we now encounter quite often, is the misuse of the term “trauma”. The psyche of a person, in particular a small child, has a number of protective mechanisms that are activated in conditions of increased stress. The preservation of mental health is also influenced by the people who surround us, who support and care for us and help us cope with the most severe stress.”
To conclude they mentioned that studies linked to mass disasters showed that post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most severe forms of stress reaction, and it develops in 25-30% of people who have been in emergency situations.
Twinkl’s partnership with Voices of Children wants to contribute to the delivery of trauma-informed care by providing a selection ofmental health and art therapy resources that have been reviewed and recommended by the Foundation’s psychologists.
These mental health materials are now easily accessible for FREE and grouped in bundles to help parents, carers and mental health professionals support Toddlers and young learners, children aged 7-11, and Teenagersexpress and manage their emotions, develop coping strategies, and reduce anxiety.
Besides storytelling, art therapy activities such as the ones included in this pack are part of the methodology used by the Foundation’s psychologists in their Art Therapy Programme which focuses on understanding children’s emotions and supporting their wellbeing while also helping parents deal with child anxiety.
All resources are available from 24th February 2023 onwards in both Ukrainian and English, to aid speakers of both languages in accessing them. Some materials curated in partnership with Voices of Children are also published in German, French and Polish, and all resource packs created from this collaboration can be found in the Voices of Children page at Twinkl’s platform.
Apart from the Dual Language materials, these resources are also available in Ukrainian only and can be accessed for FREE by Ukrainian families and educators anywhere in the world!
Find out more about the resources created in collaboration with Voices of Children by visiting Twinkl’s Blog.
Almost £600,000 funding to help prevent childhood obesity
Children up to the age of five and their families are being given the tools to develop healthy habits through six projects aimed at preventing childhood obesity and reducing health inequalities.
Almost £600,000 is going to programmes such as JumpStart Tots – run by NHS Ayrshire & Arran – which has already seen a number of young children and families in the area benefit from this healthy weight programme.
The funding is part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to ensure all children have the best start in life and the projects support the ambition to halve childhood obesity in Scotland by 2030.
This builds on the range of actions being taken as a result of the 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan to ensure everyone eats well and has a healthy weight.
Public Health Minister Maree Todd said: “On World Obesity Day we reiterate the importance of improving health and reducing health inequalities across Scotland.
“We want Scotland to be the best place in the world for a child to grow up and we know good nutrition and physical activity is crucial for children’s health and development.
“These projects are crucial to our bold ambition to halve childhood obesity in Scotland by 2030. They tackle inequalities working with families and communities to encourage healthy eating and offering support for those experiencing food insecurity.
“We will continue to support local partners to develop these ambitious and effective plans to help prevent and reduce childhood obesity, alongside policies such as our Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan and Best Start Foods payment, which are central to our commitment to ensure everyone in Scotland has access to healthy, nutritious food.”
Consultant Dietitian in Public Health Nutrition for NHS Ayrshire& Arran, Dr Ruth Campbell said: “The continued early years funding from Scottish Government has enabled NHS Ayrshire & Arran to extend the Jumpstart Tots programme to more families across Ayrshire.
“Jumpstart Tots is an interactive healthy lifestyle programme which offers families with children aged between two and five, a minimum of eight one hour sessions that are planned to suit each individual family’s needs.
“Local parents feedback has been that the Jumpstart Tots programme has helped them make changes that their whole family has been able to benefit from as a result of finding out more about the food they eat.”
Projects receiving funding are:
NHS Ayrshire & Arran: JumpStart Tots – £53,769
NHS Lanarkshire: ‘Little n Lively’ programme in partnership with Healthy Valleys – £150,000
I’m a pet expert and here is how to keep the extra inches off of your dog
For World Obesity Day, 4 March 2023, PDSA are shedding the light for how to know if your dog is overweight, and how energetic your dog breed truly is.
PDSA Vet Nurse, Shauna Walsh, shares expert insight into some of the UK’s popular dog breeds and how to know if your four-legged friend is carrying extra weight around the edges:
“It sounds obvious, but dogs who eat too much and don’t exercise enough, get fat! If you feed your dog a lot of treats as well as their normal food, most of the extra calories will turn into excess inches.
“It can be easy to dismiss any extra weight on your dog, especially if their fluffy coat hides the excess pounds! With images of plump pooches – tubby terriers or rotund retrievers being increasingly showcased and viewed as ‘normal’, it can be difficult to know what a healthy shape is for your dog.”
Dogs come in all different builds and sizes depending on their breed-type, but a healthy shape is the same for every dog. Your dog’s body shape will help to give you an idea of whether they’re carrying too much weight.
The veterinary term for this is ‘Body Condition Scoring’ (BCS), and it is simple and easy to do at home with your canine companion:
Run your hands along your dog’s sides. The skin should move freely over the ribs, which you should be able to feel with a light touch.
Run your hands along your dog’s back. You should be able to feel the spine and hipbones under the skin without being able to see them – they shouldn’t be sticking out.
Gently feel the base of your dog’s tail, there shouldn’t be a build-up of fat where the tail joins the spine.
Feel under your dog’s tummy, it should go in, not bulge out.
Look at your dog from the side and from above. You should be able to see a waist. If not, your dog may be overweight.
Knowing your pet’s body condition score helps you to know if they need to lose some pounds, but it’s also important to know your pet’s current weight – use both together to work out what their ideal weight should be.
Weighing them regularly means you can quickly spot any changes, and then tweak their diet and exercise to correct it. You can visit your vet to weigh larger dogs, and small dogs can also be weighed at home quite easily using bathroom scales.
Maintaining a healthy weight is down to feeding the right amounts of a balanced diet, as well as appropriate levels of exercise.
Shauna advises: “All dogs need daily exercise, but how much they need depends on lots of factors, including their age, breed, fitness level and any health conditions they may have.
“Every dog is an individual, so it is very important to consider your dog’s specific needs when exercising them – young dogs won’t need as much exercise as they grow, and that may be the same for some senior dogs, who could benefit from resting their aging paws! For dogs with health concerns, the levels of exercise they need will be best discussed with your vet and adjusted appropriately.
“Unless your vet advises otherwise, all dogs need at least one walk a day for their physical and mental health – some dogs prefer a long leisurely walk, and others prefer multiple shorter walks split up throughout the day. You can also incorporate games and playtime into your dog’s daily routine to keep things fun in-between walks.”
Your dog’s breed plays a large part in their natural energy levels, which affects how much exercise they need. Some high-energy breeds need significantly more exercise than others, as well as mental stimulation throughout the day. Flat-faced breeds such as Pugs, Bulldogs, and Shih Tzu’s still need exercise, but often struggle to breathe due to the shape of their face so they need extra consideration to not over-exert them during walks and playtime.
Very high-energy breeds
These breeds are ideal for active owners who will take them out on adventures and make sure they have plenty to do all the time. They need plenty of varied exercise opportunities every day and we recommend spreading these across the day in several walks to have a good sniff around, with off-lead time on top. As well as keeping their paws active, you want to keep their brains busy, too! Make sure you have plenty of time to play with your dog, have training sessions and create some games that will really challenge their minds to prevent them from getting bored. Popular very high energy breeds include: Labradors, Siberian Huskies, Border Collies, German Shepherds, Dalmatians and Golden Retrievers.
High-energy breeds
Whilst these breeds still require plenty of exercise opportunities, they may want a little more downtime than the very high-energy breeds. They will still want daily varied exercise, on top of some brain games to provide mental stimulation, however will also appreciate some time to relax and rest their paws, more than breeds with more energy to burn! Popular high energy breeds include: Whippets, Poodles, French Bulldogs and Cocker Spaniels.
Moderate-energy breeds
Although these breeds aren’t known for bouncing off of the walls with energy, they will still require a good amount of exercise in order to keep them fit, active and healthy. All dogs, regardless of energy levels still require exercise, as well as mental stimulation to avoid becoming a couch potato! If your dog prefers a gentle plod over a run around, be sure to offer plenty of brain games for them to participate in. Popular moderate-energy breeds include: Miniature Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers and King Charles Spaniels.
Being a healthy weight and shape will improve your pet’s quality of life, as they can enjoy walks and activity, which in turn improves their mental health, and can delay the onset of long-term diseases, helping them to live longer.
Shauna added: “it can feel like a big challenge to get a pet to lose weight or keep off the pounds, but trust us, it’s worth it for the long term – we all want our dogs to be in our lives for as long as possible! When your dog is their ideal size and shape, they will be healthier, happier and more active. They will also have the best chance of living a long, healthy life. If you are struggling with your pet’s weight, contact your vet for help and advice.”
PDSA Big Weigh In launched in partnership with Royal Canin – the aim is to help pets live a better and hopefully longer life, by maintaining a healthy weight. With just one month to go, pet owners across the UK are invited to join in and visit a participating practice for a free weight check throughout March.
PDSA has also launched the PDSA #WeighUp Pet Weight Loss Support Group, for fellow pet owners to join, share their progress and access exclusive tips and content, including weekly Q&As with PDSA vets and vet nurses, all to help each pet owner with their pet’s weight loss journey.
To find out more before visiting your local participating practice, please visit PDSA’s website.
Huge charitable effort from Greene King pubs across Scotland as they raise a phenomenal £193,743 for Macmillan Cancer Support in 2022
Greene King’s total raised for Macmillan Cancer Support tops an incredible £3million in 2022, the highest 12-month total
Greene King has raised over £14million during its10-year partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support
Greene King pubs across Scotland raised an amazing £193,743 for Macmillan Cancer Support in 2022 to help people living with cancer.
The brilliant fundraising efforts by pub teams and the generous support of customers means that the money raised can be used to support the 155 Macmillan professionals currently funded by the charity across Scotland such as specialist dietitians, therapists and the iconic Macmillan nurse.
Greene King, the UK’s leading pub company and brewer, has now raised a staggering £14million for Macmillan over its 10-year charity partnership. The tenth year marked a record breaking £3million annual total for the charity. This equates to £342 raised every hour in 2022, which is enough to fund a Macmillan nurse for a whole day.
There was an outstanding effort from kind-hearted regulars and team members at Greene King’s Smiddy Inn in Cumbernauld where a phenomenal £12,518 was raised over the past year.
There was a busy calendar of fundraising events at the popular Ben Lawers Drive pub involving the pub team, regulars and the wider community. Highlights included walking the Rob Roy, the family fun day and taking part in the Edinburgh Tartan Track as well as a host of raffles, hampers, quizzes and bingo nights.
Julia Hutton, general manager of the Smiddy Inn, said: “We are just so proud of everyone’s efforts here at the pub. We were determined to pull out all the stops and set our targets high. And we did it!
“This really was a team effort. The fun days, craft days and Christmas market were great. At every event we have a raffle table, it’s simple but effective and keeps the money rolling in. We go around the pub with collection buckets and people are always happy to pop some money in.
“Our thanks go out to everyone who works here and all our customers. What a year it has been. We have a wall chart showing what we have raised so everyone can see the progress we are making. We’ve had fun in our fundraising and it’s been great to do our bit. Let’s see what we can do in 2023!”
Alison Ramsay, senior social impact manager at Greene King, said: “This is proof that charity really is at the heart of all our pubs. What better way is there to celebrate our 10-year partnership with Macmillan than by having a record-breaking 12-months of fundraising.
“Our teams and customers are simply brilliant to have raised over £3million in 2022. Sadly, we all know someone living with cancer but we know every single pound raised in our pubs helps.”
Local Macmillan Relationship Fundraising Manager, Kirsteen Plop, said: “What a fantastic effort. A big thank you and well done to all the Greene King team members and customers at the Smiddy Inn in Cumbernauld for their amazing fundraising. £12,518 is such a brilliant total.
“Right now, Macmillan is needed now more than ever, and we want to be there for people living with cancer in our community. Macmillan services, such as the innovative and free 12-week Macmillan Move More – North Lanarkshire programme which offers a wide variety of gentle exercise sessions in a number of locations, make a real difference to the lives of people living with cancer and we simply couldn’t do what we do without the support of our partners like Greene King.
“We’re immensely grateful to everyone at Greene King for their continued and generous support of Macmillan and the millions of pounds that the partnership has raised over the years.”
Persistent bloating. Abdominal Pain. Feeling full quickly. Needing to wee more often.
The level of awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms is devastatingly low, and not knowing what to look out for could lead to a delayed diagnosis of the deadliest gynaecological cancer.
I write to you today as we need to increase widespread awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer to help improve early diagnosis rates. Right now, just 1 in 5 (20%) women can name persistent bloating as a symptom of ovarian cancer1, with only one in three (34%) contacting their GP if they experience it2.
If I’d have known the symptoms, I would have seen my GP a lot earlier.
I began to experience pain in my abdomen, similar to period pain, the summer before my diagnosis – along with needing to wee more often and changes to my bowel habits – but I just dismissed it due to my age.
I never had ovarian cancer in my mind.
It was initially suspected as IBS, but a CT scan and ultrasound later confirmed the cancer, which had spread.
My experience has shown me that so much more needs to be done to raise awareness of ovarian cancer and its symptoms in order to save lives. If diagnosed at the earliest stages 9 in 10 women will survive3, but currently two thirds of women are diagnosed late, when the cancer is harder to treat4.
That’s why this Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month (March), together with Target Ovarian Cancer, I want everyone to know the potential significance of the symptoms: bloating, abdominal pain, feeling full quickly and needing to wee more often.
Editor, share the symptoms with readers this month. Help to stop this disease devastating lives.
Scottish Book Trust, the national charity working to change lives with reading and writing, has launched a series of free workshops, available online and in local libraries, designed to help those who support and care for people living with dementia.
The charity runs Reading is Caring, a programme which provides personalised training on creating shared, sensory reading experiences to those caring for someone living with dementia – whether that’s a partner, relative, friend or professional carer. Reading is Caring is designed to ease daily challenges by creating special moments of connection, sparking positive memories and relieving stress.
A Reading is Caring participant, caring for her mother who lives with dementia, said: ‘Reading is Caring was fantastic. The stories bring mum into the here and now. She laughs, she’s interested and engaged. I get a glimpse of her personality again, which is lovely for both of us.’
Now in its third year, Reading is Caring has been proven to provide a consistent, connective activity for family, friends, and professional carers to use at every stage of the dementia journey.
People in Edinburgh and the Lothians who support someone living with dementia can attend a two-part workshop series online, or head along to one of the drop-in sessions at Craigmillar Library and Musselburgh Library.
These free workshops provide the knowledge and tools needed to share reading with someone living with dementia. Scottish Book Trust provide personal support throughout and after the training to help tailor the experience to the unique needs of each person, removing barriers to participation at every stage of their dementia journey.
Musselburgh Library workshops:
Monday 27 February: 3–4pm
Monday 6 March: 3–4pm
Monday 13 March: 3–4pm
Monday 20 March: 3–4pm
Monday 27 March: 3–4pm
Monday 3 April: 3–4pm
Craigmillar Library workshops:
Thursday 2 March: 10.30–11.30am
Thursday 9 March: 10.30–11.30am
Thursday 16 March: 10.30–11.30am
Thursday 23 March: 10.30–11.30am
Thursday 30 March: 10.30–11.30am
Thursday 6 April: 10.30–11.30am
Online workshops take place regularly and can be found on Scottish Book Trust’s website.
