Yesterday saw the first of Police Scotland’s events to mark World Suicide Prevention Day which is on Friday (10th September).
We are grateful to Veterans First Point Lothian and Ithrive Edinburgh who joined us at Whitefoord House and also at the Gyle Shopping Centre to raise awareness of the support available to people affected by suicide.
Police are holding two events today, both of which run from 11am until 2pm:
Nearly two years ago, Carnegie UK first convened a Kindness Leadership Network (KiLN), made up of members from different sectors spread across England, Scotland and Wales, with the stated aim of supporting and challenging organisations to move kindness ‘off the page’ and into practice.
As with many things, COVID-19 changed the nature and timetable of this programme of work, but it also presented opportunities for embedding kindness in organisational responses to the pandemic.
Today, we are delighted to launch a set of materials that tells the story of KiLN which we hope will inspire and support other organisations to join this growing movement in seeking to put kindness at the heart of their practice.
1. Our main report, Leading with kindness, narrates the journey we’ve been on since 2019: how KiLN members adapted to COVID-19, and what we learnt about what is possible when kindness becomes an operating principle.
2. The report culminates with a Commitment to Kindness, which distils the collective experience of KiLN members into six goals designed to enable organisations of all kinds and in all places to sustain and deepen their focus on kindness.
3. Alongside this, we worked with Simon Anderson and Julie Brownlie to produce Getting the measure of kindness– a guide that aims to support organisations to develop their approach to the persistent challenge of measurement.
4. Finally, over the next week we’ll be releasing a number of digital stories that aim to communicate the value and importance of kindness in a new way for people within organisations, and people interacting with organisations (look out for these on social media).
However, we don’t just want to share this learning; we want it to lead to action that improves wellbeing.
Therefore, if these reports resonate with the journey that you and your organisation are on, we invite you to endorse the Commitment to Kindness, to use it as a framework to enhance your organisation’s approach to implementing kindness, and to join a growing movement of ‘kind organisations’.
Finally, we would love to hear your thoughts and reactions, which you can share with the team via ben.thurman@carnegieuk.org and with others at @CarnegieUKTrust
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of children’s services, has called for significantly increased investment in mental health services and warned of a mental health pandemic as the impacts of Covid-19 on the young become clearer.
The call comes as new figures published today (7th September 2021) from Public Health Scotland indicate that at the end of June 2021, 1,686 children and young people had been waiting over a year for treatment from specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) provided by the NHS. This figure represents a doubling from June 2020 (787).They also represent 14.4 per cent of those waiting for specialist treatment.
With already under-resourced and overstretched services facing overwhelming pressure due to increased demand, the SCSC has raised concerns over a potential “lost generation” of vulnerable children and young people whose mental health is being impacted by Covid-19.
Even prior to the pandemic cases of poor mental health were at unprecedented levels and there are a growing number of vulnerable children who cannot access adequate support. This was further reinforced by a recent blog post from Antony Clark, a director for public health watchdog, Audit Scotland, who noted that “serious concerns have existed for years”, and that action was now more urgent given the impact of the pandemic on young people.
Figures issued last month showed that self-harm among the young in Scotland was at its the highest level for 14 years and this is undoubtedly only the tip of the iceberg.3
While 4,552 children and young people were treated over the period April to June 2021 by CAMHS, only 72.6 per cent were seen within the Scottish Government’s waiting time target for the NHS of 18 weeks from referral to treatment (met for at least 90 per cent of patients).4 Nine out of 14 health boards failed to meet this target (full table in Notes to Editors).
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “These frightening statistics highlight the challenges ahead and while we welcome a commitment by the Scottish Government to increase investment in mental health services to 1 per cent of NHS spending over the next five years, we need this investment now.
“This increased investment should not however just apply to the NHS and one of the key problems is that early intervention support has not been available due to funding restrictions. Investing in early intervention limits the need for highly costly CAMHS and increasing resourcing in support services and intervention strategies must be a priority for this government.
“We have for some time raised concerns over a potential lost generation of vulnerable children and young people, whose mental health is being impacted even further by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is more important then ever that children can access the support they need, when they need it, irrespective of where they live.
“This is a crisis we can overcome, but it will require a similar energy and commitment to that demonstrated for Covid-19 if we are to achieve this and prevent many young people giving up on their futures.”
The number of days that patients who have been delayed from leaving hospital because of no appropriate place to go to has risen to 7,829 for July 2021, the latest month statistics are available for.
This is an increase of 2,004 from 5,825 delays throughout June and triple the number of bed days occupied from delayed discharge at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic when 2,531 delays occurred.
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic SNP Ministers made the decision to move hospital patients into care homes, to free up hospital space for dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. It later emerged that patients being moved from hospitals to care homes where not tested for Covid-19 leading to higher rates of Covid-19 deaths in care homes than anywhere else in Scotland.
The level of delayed discharge in NHS Lothian has now returned to pre- pandemic levels with the number of bed days in hospital for delayed discharge being 11 higher than March 2020, 7,278, when hospital patients where moved to care homes.
Edinburgh and the Lothians were in the process of recovering from a Social Care crisis before the pandemic hit, with the peak of delayed discharge in hospitals being in October 2018, when 11,855 combined days when patients were not able to leave hospital, despite being back to health.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “These figures are very concerning, with the number of patients being stuck in hospital without a suitable destination, returning to pre pandemic levels.
“In Edinburgh and the Lothians there has been a long standing challenge to provide social care, which started to shift towards care in the community.
“We are now seeing increasing numbers of patients not able to leave hospital and the Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board are planning on closing more care homes.
“Patients leaving hospital must have a suitable destination to go once recovered, so that we are not in a position where people are waiting days on end in hospital, when they don’t need to be there.”
A new snapshot survey by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has found that in August 2021 half of respondents stated that their Emergency Department had been forced to hold patients outside in ambulances every day, compared to just over a quarter in October 2020 and less than one-fifth in March 2020.
The survey, sent out to Emergency Department Clinical Leads across the UK, also found that half of respondents described how their Emergency Department had been forced to provide care for patients in corridors every day, while nearly three-quarters said their department was unable to maintain social distancing every day.
One-third said that the longest patient stay they had had in their Emergency Department was between 24 and 48 hours, with seven per cent reporting the longest stay to be more than 48 hours.
Dr Ian Higginson, Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “It is shocking to see the extent of the challenges faced by Emergency Departments across the UK.
“Holding ambulances, corridor care, long stays – these are all unconscionable practices that cause harm to patients. But the scale of the pressures right now leaves doctors and nurses no options.
“We are doing all we can to maintain flow, maximise infection prevention control measures, and maintain social distancing. Our priority is to keep patients safe, and ensure we deliver effective care quickly and efficiently, but it is extremely difficult right now.
“The data is stark, and this is August. Our members are really worried about what may come in autumn and winter. We have a duty to our patients and staff. Currently there is extremely high demand – for a number of reasons – but demand is not the whole picture.
“Demand presents a challenge because of the limitations of hospital space, workforce shortages, difficulties arranging quick ambulance handovers, smooth care and safe discharge of patients from wards, and a lack of services and alternatives to admission, particularly in the evenings and at weekends.
“The health service entered the pandemic short of staff, with less beds, and underprepared. Throughout the pandemic these shortages have been felt, but with demand higher than ever before, and with a workforce that is burned out, these shortages are felt more acutely than ever.”
Commenting on the increase in ambulance handover delays, Tracy Nicholls, Chief Executive of the College of Paramedics, said: “The College of Paramedics’ members also speak passionately about the potential for harm to those patients who, as a consequence of these lengthy ambulance handover delays, can wait an unacceptably long time for help. It is deeply concerning.
“Like the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, we recognise that all partners are working exceptionally hard to manage this situation and current demand. The reality is, however, that unless effective actions are taken now to ease the system pressures, more and more patients will face these delays as we head into another difficult winter, and both paramedics and ambulance clinicians across the UK will face the brunt of any further increase in demand.
“We urge NHS leadership to take action now to mitigate this risk wherever possible and protect both patients and our collective workforce from the inevitable pressure that we face if nothing is done.”
The survey also found that over 80% of respondents had little or no confidence in their organisation’s ability to safely and effectively manage the current or predicted combination of pressures as we head into winter.
Dr Higginson continued: “The final response that found an overwhelming lack of confidence signals something deeply troubling.
“The College has consistently warned of the upcoming winter and ongoing pressures. It is time we saw leadership and an equivalent response. There must be a comprehensive plan for the current demand and upcoming winter that include short- and long-term solutions to tackle these serious challenges.
“If ambulance services and Emergency Departments cannot cope with ongoing pressures, then it is patients and the workforce looking after them who will suffer. The winter could lead the health service into a serious crisis. Patients and staff must have assurance that they, their Emergency Department and their hospital will get what they need to manage.”
A new, pilot mechanical thrombectomy service for stroke patients in the East of Scotland has been launched today.
The pilot will be based at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and will help pave the way for an eventual national service set to benefit hundreds of people who have been struck with a life-threatening stroke.
John Watson, Associate Director of the Stroke Association in Scotland said: “This service is long awaited, overdue, but very welcome indeed.
“Thrombectomy is a remarkable procedure. It involves inserting a long tube into an artery in the leg, which is then fed through the body to reach the blood clot in the brain. The blood clot is then captured in a mesh and pulled out.
“The removal of the clot allows blood flow to resume and oxygen to reach the brain, halting the damaging effects of the stroke. These are blood clots which are too big to be broken down by clot-busting drugs and are usually associated with severe strokes and the worst outcomes for patients.
“Around one in every three people who receive a thrombectomy following their stroke will be less disabled as a result. Around one in five will be able to function completely independently afterwards.
“Thrombectomy has the power to save lives and reduce disability for around one in every ten people who have a stroke.
“The Edinburgh-based pilot is an important milestone on the road to a national 24/7 thrombectomy service for Scotland. A pilot service for the North of Scotland based in Dundee, has been underway since November last year, and we look forward to a third thrombectomy centre in Glasgow coming online next year.”
In addition to improving quality of life, thrombectomy generates substantial savings for the NHS by reducing the need for other interventions or care in the future. Research indicates that, on average, every thrombectomy procedure saves the NHS £47, 000 over a 5-year period.
A stroke is a brain attack. The effects can be devastating. Stroke is a leading cause of severe adult disability. Almost two thirds of survivors leave hospital with a disability. Many have problems with speech and communication, thinking and vision. It can also affect peoples’ emotions and personality.
Alison Maclean, 72, from Dundee had her stroke just before lockdown in January 2020. It was a massive stroke that could have taken away her independence, but following a thrombectomy, she regained full function and has gone back to the life she had before her stroke, almost unchanged.
Angela said: “I am back to doing all the things I did before my stroke: seeing friends and family, reading, watching telly, going on my exercise bike and for walks.”
See foot of article for Angela’s story
John continued: “We want all eligible patients to have access to this game-changing treatment, as quickly as possible. But thrombectomy cannot deliver in isolation. It needs to be part of a new, re-shaped service covering the whole pathway from 999 call, to hospital treatment, recovery and rehabilitation.
“The Scottish Government recognises the need for stroke improvements, which is extremely encouraging. It already has a draft framework of what its own advisors, stroke clinicians and the wider stroke community including the Stroke Association want to see. This is the result of good work by all involved.
“We look forward to seeing the final report and recommendations at the end of the year. But of course, it is the delivery of change and improvement that really matters so we look forward even more, to a commitment early next year to publish a plan to deliver on it.”
Alison Maclean’s stroke story of receiving a thrombectomy
Alison Maclean, 72, from Dundee had her stroke during lockdown in January 2021. It was a massive stroke and she received a thrombectomy resulting in enormous success. The stroke could otherwise have left Alison unable to talk or walk.
I had an accidental fall on 21 Jan 2021. I rang NHS24 in complete agony. Two dayslater I was in hospital getting it checked out.
I had a fractured femur which was put in a plaster-cast and an operation was planned on 26th Jan 2021. On the morning of my operation, I suddenly developed left sided weakness, vision difficulties and problems speaking.
The doctor in the orthopaedic ward called for help. I don’t remember very much other than being asked to lift my arm and lift my leg and answer questions.
I thought I was ok, but the next thing I remember is the doctor telling me that he thought I might have had a stroke. I believe I was rushed in to a room to get a brain scan following which I underwent a thrombectomy. Apparently some blood had leaked from my femur bone causing a clot thereafter the stroke.
The next thing I remember was being in ICU. A nurse came up to me and told me that I’d had a stroke and had just received a procedure to remove a blood clot to help with my recovery.
I was quite relaxed about being told about the fact that I’d had a stroke, but my son called me and he was very distressed about it. I guess he had had to deal with the stress of seeing his Mum in a life-threatening situation making decisions on my behalf. I was unaware of how ill I was at the time, so there are big gaps in my recollection of what happened.
I felt fine following the procedure and apart from my hand shaking uncontrollably for the first day, everything else seemed normal. I was discharged on 2 February 2021. I feel great, just the same and I am back to doing all the things I did before my stroke: seeing friends and family, reading, watching telly, going on my exercise bike and for walks.
Lockdown has been absolutely fine. I’ve been in a bubble, so have had some company and when lockdown eased briefly last summer, I met a few friends and we’d have a cup of tea and biscuit together.
I am very positive about thrombectomy and the fact it probably saved my life. It should be available to everyone who needs it. My life is back to normal and that may never have happened if I had not received a thrombectomy.
As part of the Edinburgh Health & Social Care Partnership’s Summer Season Conversations, community researchers will be in Fresh Start Pantry on Wednesday (8th September) from 9.30am – 12.30pm to meet with members of the local community to chat about wellbeing and what it means to them.
Fresh Start will host this as safely as possible and it will be a drop in session with track and trace upon entry and social distance within the space.
Sir Chris Hoy led the way today as he joined hundreds of other cyclists on a charity cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh to raise money to help build two new villages for people experiencing homelessness.
The Olympic legend completed the 60-mile route to support Social Bite’s ‘Break the Cycle’ campaign which has so far raised over £700,000 as it aims to fund the creation of two new Social Bite Villages in Glasgow and London.
The cyclists set off from the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and pedalled through to the finish line in Edinburgh, near the Social Bite Village in Granton on Sunday 5 September.
Each of the participating cyclists fundraised since the campaign launched earlier this year, with entrants having access to a host of special prizes, including naming a house at one of the new villages and a signed medal from Sir Chris.
Amongst the 540 participants was former Scotland Rugby player, John Barclay, as well as residents and staff from the Social Bite Village in Edinburgh.
TV fitness guru, Mr Motivator, was also on hand to warm the cyclists up on the start line and welcome them over the finish line at the end of their journey.
Josh Littlejohn MBE, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Bite, who also completed the cycle, said:“It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to cycle alongside a sporting hero like Sir Chris and the hundreds of other passionate supporters that completed the route alongside us.
“Having so many people support the cause is incredibly humbling and Sir Chris’ backing of this campaign has been a major boost in our efforts to raise money for two new villages for people in a situation of homelessness.
“We’re working very hard behind the scenes on the plans for two further Social Bite Villages in not just London and Glasgow but other major cities as well, and the money from Break the Cycle will help turn these plans into a reality. We’re all very grateful to all of our supporters and partners who have helped push the campaign forward.”
As well as the charity cycle, the fundraising campaign has been open to all levels of fitness and ability, with people across the UK taking part in virtual challenges since March to raise money.
Challenges have ranged from long distance challenges, through to different exercise routines depending on what suited people best.
Sir Chris Hoy said:“I’ve been a huge supporter of Social Bite and the incredible work it does for a number of years now.
“I’ve seen the positive impact the charity has on so many people’s lives and I’m really thankful to everyone who has been able to support the Break the Cycle campaign so far.
“It was fantastic to meet all the other cyclists and join them for the ride which will make such a difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness.”
Since opening in July 2018, Social Bite’s Edinburgh village in partnership with Cyrenians has helped 43 people find their feet again, 100% of the residents in a recent survey preferred living at the Social Bite Village over Hostels or B&Bs.
The village offers a supportive community to help people build an independent life, with the village blueprint offering an alternative to how society responds to homelessness.
Money raised from the Break the Cycle campaign will go towards creating the two highly supported communities with the pro bono help of engineering firm Arup.
10% of funds raised from the event will also be donated to SAMH, the Scottish Association for Mental Health and further funds will be invested in Social Bite’s mission to Break the Cycle of homelessness by providing food, employment opportunities, and housing projects.
