Tag: Health and wellbeing

Heart Research UK Healthy tip – Get the kids walking

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

This year, many children are not attending school due to COVID-19 and they may be missing out on getting in some valuable steps.

Regular physical activity in children and young people is associated with improved learning, better mental health, healthier weight status and better cardiovascular fitness.

Many children are not getting enough exercise and we provide some ideas for getting your kids walking more, whether they are currently attending school or not.

Not enough time to walk?

If you tend to drive your child to school because you are short of time in the mornings, you could look at your schedule to see whether getting up earlier, or moving things around in your diary, could help. If your child is not currently attending school, you could try to squeeze in a short walk at the start of the day.

Too cold and wet to walk?

If you are put off walking because the weather is too cold or damp, try wrapping up warm and making sure you/your kids are protected from the rain with waterproof clothing, umbrellas and wellies. Younger children can have fun splashing in puddles along the way.

Kids not willing to walk?

If your kids are not willing to walk, you could start by encouraging them to walk two or three times a week and increase it gradually until they are walking every day.

Try having fun during your walks by singing songs, playing games or spotting birds and insects along the way. If your kids are old enough to walk on their own, you could motivate them by asking them to count their steps using a smartwatch or smartphone and set them daily or weekly targets.

Voting opens to find the UK’s top ten parks

Scots urged to vote for their favourite Green Flag Award park

Scotland’s treasured green spaces are going to the polls, as the vote opens to choose the UK’s top award winning parks. The People’s Choice vote allows members of the public to have their say – selecting the parks that will be crowned the top ten in the country.

Following expert-led judging, Scotland has 77 parks this year with a Green Flag Award to choose from. These include spaces managed by community groups, universities and local authorities.

The voting is open from 30 October to 25 November with winners announced on 3 December.  To vote for your favourite, simply find it on the map at www.greenflagaward.org and click on the vote button.

Last year, Strathaven Park in South Lanarkshire placed in the top ten for the sixth time in seven years and was awarded the accolade of “Scotland’s favorite park”. This year, parks stretching from the Western Isles to the Scottish Borders are all in with a chance.

Jamie Ormiston, Beaches and Parks Officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful said, “Living through a pandemic has made this year particularly challenging, and it has shown us the vital role our green spaces play to our health and wellbeing.

“The Green Flag Award acknowledges the hard work that goes on to keep these important greenspaces available for us to enjoy. We encourage everyone to vote for their favourite Green Flag Awarded park and we look forward to finding out the results later this year.”

A list of Scotland’s Green Flag Award parks is attached.

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Bonfire and Fireworks advice from Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Let’s keep our communities safe this bonfire season …

https://twitter.com/i/status/1323996210043228161

Four tips to help keep routines on track amid uncertainty

Scots have been encouraged to build extenuating circumstances into their plans, look at the smaller goals and reward themselves to help them stick to their routines during this difficult time.‎

The team from Blackwolf Workout  have offered those struggling four tips to help keep their days more structured.‎

A lack of motivation and productivity is normal for anyone during a global pandemic, whether this is in terms of keeping to a gym routine or adapting to working from home.  ‎

Everyone is feeling different day to day so it’s important to not let your entire week or routine be overshadowed by one slip-up. ‎

A spokesperson for  Blackwolf Workout  said: “This has been a very uncertain year for everyone where normal routines, such as commuting to and from work, have been disrupted.  

“It can be difficult to stick to the routines of the ‘new normal’ when everything is so uncertain with further potential lockdowns still possible.

“By planning ahead and building any uncertainty into your routine you’re more likely to stick to it.” ‎

These are Blackwolf Workout’s  tips on how to keep to a routine:

1. Goals

Everything seems more achievable with smaller goals. If you have one finish point in mind, try and break down the journey between where you are now and the endpoint. Within the journey, you should highlight several markers or smaller goals to help show you’re on track. ‎

2. Reward

Everyone likes a reward and they can sometimes be just the motivation you need. If you’re struggling to motivate yourself to go to the gym, why don’t you treat yourself to your favourite meal on a Saturday night if you go three times a week? Be careful not to burn yourself out otherwise you’ll never want to get back to a routine. ‎

3. Remind

Write down exactly what you want to achieve by our routine. Do you want to lower your body mass, look more toned or reach a lifting goal? By writing your goal down and displaying it somewhere within your house, maybe on your desk or the door of your fridge, it’ll remind you of why you’re doing what you are and help motivate you. ‎

4. Location

With further potential lockdowns looking likely it can be hard to create a routine which you know will look the same in the next few months. Try and incorporate things that you can do at home, such as home workouts, into the routine.

If you do want to go to the gym, consider how you could do this at home if they shut. By planning as much as you can and considering these options before they happen it means you’re less likely to be thrown out of routine if they do.

National Stress Awareness Day

4th November 2020

National Stress Awareness Day falls on the first Wednesday in November each year. Some stress is good for us. It helps us to respond to changes in life. However, too much stress causes harm to our health and relationships. This year has been highly stressful for most of us.

However, you’re not alone with your mental health.

The Together Let’s Care for your Mental Health campaign aims to raise awareness of a range of mental health information and services to support people experiencing anxiety and other common mental health concerns.

Under the banner ‘Together Let’s Care for your Mental Health’ NHS 24, Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service are able to signpost to a range of self-help guides and options for further support.

Information is available for a range of day to day concerns such as stress and anxiety, depression, young people’s mental health needs, alcohol, gambling and drug use.

Self-help guides are available 24 hours a day from NHSinform.scot/youmatterwecare .

Users are able to choose strategies for immediate support, using tried and tested self-care options, or where appropriate, may be guided to other means of support such as telephone helplines.

NHS 24 offers a range of mental health services in addition to the NHS inform self-help guides, including the 111 Mental Health Hub, and Breathing Space’s telephone and web chat services.

A new 24/7 Mental Health Hub provides support for those contacting the 111 service. In addition, people calling Police Scotland in mental health distress are also now offered access to the 111 Mental Health Hub service.

Collaboration work with the Scottish Ambulance Service is also underway to develop a similar pathway.

Dentists: Patient expectations need managing as ‘full service’ resumes in Scotland

The British Dental Association Scotland has warned that the reintroduction of the ‘full range’ of NHS treatments from Sunday 1 November will not signal a return to routine care, as a new poll reveals the limited capacity in the service. 

According to new data from practices across Scotland: 

  • Two-thirds (66%) are operating at less than a quarter of their pre-COVID capacity, with social distancing and new operating procedures leaving them capable of seeing a fraction of their former patient numbers. 
  • 80% report less focus on routine NHS dentistry, with 53% report more focus on urgent cases, with 63% stating less focus on cosmetic dentistry.   
  • The greatest levels of concern with the Scottish Government’s performance has been on managing patient expectations, where 84% of practices expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s record.  This compares to 43% dissatisfied with access to PPE, 58% on financial support. 82% were dissatisfied with the government’s overall performance during the pandemic in relation to the service.  

The BDA has welcomed positive signals that the Scottish Government is developing communications to provide a needed ‘reality-check’ to patients.  It has said clear and consistent messages from government and all NHS Boards are now essential to reduce patient frustration and prevent practices and their staff from being overwhelmed.  

Dentist leaders have stressed that the pandemic has caused a huge backlog in unmet treatment built up over lockdown, and will require continued priority to be given to urgent cases, those midway through courses of treatment, and high-risk patients who have not been seen for several years.  

While the BDA has recognised growing anxiety about an increasingly ‘two-tier’ system in Scotland it has questioned the timing of reintroduction of a full range of NHS dental services when COVID transmission rates are increasing significantly, and a huge swathe of the country is already facing Level 3-type restrictions. 



David McColl, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee said: “November will not mark a return to ‘normal’ dental services in Scotland.

“Since the return to a ‘full range’ of services was announced the phones at many practices have been ringing off the hook. Dentists may be able to offer a wider range of treatment but now face demand that simply cannot be met.

“The Scottish Government is making the right noises, but we need every Health Board onside to prevent practices from being overwhelmed. Dentistry remains a skeleton service and urgent and high-risk cases need to be at the front of the queue. 

“It is paramount that officials communicate this message effectively to the public. It now takes a nurse 42 minutes to thoroughly deep clean a surgery following a procedure. Rules designed to keep the public and staff safe mean dentists that once saw twenty patients a day are now capable of seeing just five.”

Minor injury? Call MIA

A new minor injuries services helping people to access advice about minor injuries more quickly, easily and safely has been officially launched across the Lothians.

Introduced by NHS Lothian, Call MIA offers patients a confidential online video consultation with a Minor Injuries Nurse Practitioner. It provides advice on a wide range of injuries, less than 14 days old, from sprains, cuts and burns to suspected broken bones.

The launch follows a successful pilot of the service at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh earlier this year, which received extensive positive feedback from patients and staff. During its first six months Call MIA helped over 1,000 patients with minor injuries, saving many an unnecessary trip to hospital.  

The service has now been extended to include all minor injuries services across the Lothians including the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and St John’s Hospital in Livingston.

Gillian McAuley, Acute Nurse Director responsible for introducing the service, explained: “We’re asking anyone with a minor injury to Call MIA first”.

“A qualified nurse will advise if you can self-treat the injury or with the help of a local pharmacy. If you need to go to a minor injury service, you’ll be given an appointment, so you don’t need to wait when you attend. All of this can be done from the comfort of your home or workplace.”

The video appointment service is available 7 days a week by calling 0300 790 6267 between 8am and 9pm. It is open to children over the age of eight and adults of all ages who live in Lothian.

Dr Tracey Gillies, Medical Director of NHS Lothian added: “Not everyone with a minor injury needs to be seen in person.  Call MIA provides an extremely valuable service for patients, helping people to access the right care in the right place, and get help quicker and closer to home where possible.

“As we approach winter it will be essential in reducing overcrowding in hospital waiting areas and keeping patients and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Call MIA can help patients with injuries including: strains, sprains and suspected broken bones; wounds and burns; damage to joints ligaments, muscles, nerves and tendons; minor bumps to head and face; eye injuries and insect bites and stings. It is operated using secure online software.

Anyone with a life-threatening emergency should always call 999.

Following the success of NHS Lothian pilot, Call MIA is being extended to other health board areas including NHS Forth Valley and Fife.

£15 million to help young people’s mental health through the pandemic

Funding of £15 million is being made available to respond to children and young people’s mental health issues, with a focus on those  brought about by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The funding will be distributed to local authorities to support a local response for five to 24-year-olds, their families and carers.

Of this, £11.25 million will be for services in response to the pandemic, such as support for children who are struggling emotionally due to returning to school under new restrictions.

The remaining £3.75 million will be the first instalment of an annual £15 million fund to provide new and enhanced community mental health and wellbeing services. These new services will have a focus on prevention, early intervention and the treatment of distress.

Minister for Mental Health Clare Haughey said: “The pandemic has been very hard for everyone, but for many children and young people it has been particularly difficult.

“Families have told us they need more support for mental and emotional distress and for their wellbeing and resilience, delivered in a community setting. By providing funding to tackle the impacts of the pandemic, alongside a separate fund to provide long term mental health and wellbeing support, we aim to deliver help where it is needed.

“This funding is in addition to supporting the recruitment of an additional 80 mental health professionals to work with children and young people, and our recent announcement of a further £3.6 million to help provide more than 80 additional counsellors in every college and university in Scotland over the next four years. We are also ensuring that every secondary school will have access to a counsellor.”

COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People Cllr Stephen McCabe said: “The wellbeing of our children and young people is of upmost importance to local authorities and has been a particular priority in recent months due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“This funding will allow local authorities to continue their work to support  young people’s mental health and wellbeing needs arising as a result of the pandemic, and to implement new and enhanced services, providing early support for children and young people experiencing wellbeing issues, and their families. These actions will help ensure the best outcomes for our children and young people in the short and longer term.”

Joanna Barrett, NSPCC Scotland policy and public affairs manager, said: “We know that many children in Scotland have suffered difficult and traumatic experiences over the past few months.

“During lockdown, we saw a rise in contacts to Childline about mental and emotional health issues, with some children saying they had experienced suicidal thoughts. Our counsellors heard from children struggling with family relationships, sharing that arguments, increased parental stress levels and abusive home environments had impacted their mental health.

“So this investment by the Scottish Government to address these issues is crucial for the recovery of our younger generation. But it is important we also remember and support our very youngest and most vulnerable members of society, those under five, who cannot voice the impact the pandemic has had on their mental wellbeing.”

Briggs’ concern over ‘lost pupils’

Figures released by Reform Scotland this week show a yearly increase in the number of pupils that have less than a 50% attendance.

In Edinburgh the number of pupils who have a below 50% attendance has increased from 354 in 2016/17 to 457 in 2017/18 and 419 in 2018/19. This is 0.7%, 0.9% and 0.8% of total enrolled pupils in Edinburgh schools.

In East Lothian number of pupils who have a below 50% attendance has increased from 128 in 2016/17 to 163 in 2017/18 and 209 in 2018/19. This is 0.9%, 1.1% and 1.3% of total enrolled pupils in East Lothian schools.

In West Lothian number of pupils who have a below 50% attendance has increased from 329 in 2016/17 to 412 in 2017/18 and 444 om 2018/19. This is 1.2%,1.5% and 1.6% of total enrolled pupils in West Lothian schools.

Midlothian Council did not respond.

Latest CAMHS waiting times figures show over a thousand children and young people waiting 0-18 weeks and 427 children and young people who have been waiting over a year for mental health support.

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “This is an important report from Reform Scotland which highlights how many young people are being let down by the education system in Edinburgh, West Lothian and East Lothian.

“It is extremely worrying that so many young pupil have a lower than 50% attendance rate at school and the number of pupils has risen in all three local authorities.

“CAMHS services in Lothian have been struggling to cope with the significant increase in demand for services and young people must be fully supported to get back into full time attendance at school.”

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Royal College of Occupational Therapists launches careers diversity campaign

As part of Occupational Therapy Week 2020, the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) has launched a campaign to inspire people from all backgrounds to become occupational therapists. 

Although there are over 41,000 occupational therapists, across the UK there is still a significant shortage and the profession is included on the UK’s Shortage Occupations List.

RCOT also wants to encourage people from a variety of backgrounds to qualify as occupational therapists and ensure that the profession reflects the diversity of the population it serves.

Through a social media campaign, #ChooseOT, RCOT is reaching out to school students and the people who support them to encourage more people to consider occupational therapy as a career. 

RCOT Chief Executive, Julia Scott said: “I’m sure I speak for our members in saying that being an occupational therapist is the best job in the world. It brings immense benefits and opportunities, and training to be an occupational therapist leads to a nationally and internationally recognised qualification.

“No two days are ever the same. You can change people’s lives on a daily basis working in the NHS, social care, schools, prisons, the emergency services and in the private and voluntary sector. The list is almost endless. 

“The profession needs people from all backgrounds. So if you are a problem solver, people person, good at sizing up situations or enjoy helping people – now is the time to #ChooseOT.”

Occupational Therapy Week 2020 takes place from 2-8 November,

More information can be found on our campaign webpage. 

More information on how to become an occupational therapist can be found at our careers website.