FORTNIGHTLY – THURSDAYS FROM 6 – 8pm
FIRST SESSION IS ON THURSDAY 5 FEBRUARY
A new bi-weekly group for men is starting at North Edinburgh Arts.
A fortnightly group for men to meet and share what’s going on in their lives in a safe, respectful and non-clinical space.
All conversations are confidential, and the group is supported by local volunteers.
First session will take place on Thursday 5 February at 6pm, and then fortnightly.
For more information, please email: smvwalters@gmail.com
The Scottish Parliament has installed a new Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) outside the public entrance to the Parliament building.
The installation is a collaboration between The Scottish Parliament and St John Scotland.
Every year, over 3000 people in Scotland suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, an event which is fatal unless CPR and defibrillation are started by bystanders within minutes.
The installation provides 24 /7 access for the public 365 days a year to the PAD.
The Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament said: “We’re pleased to partner with St John Scotland to give the public access to a defibrillator outside the Parliament building.
“Evidence shows the chances of survival from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest can be increased two-to-threefold by the immediate provision of bystander CPR and defibrillation so this is a very positive step which can help save lives.”
Barri Millar, Chief Operating Officer, St John Scotland said: “St John Scotland is proud to support the Scottish Parliament with a new Public Access Defibrillator. We are committed to strengthening community resilience across Scotland and ensuring lifesaving equipment is accessible in every community.
“Together with our ‘Save a Life for Scotland’ partners, we continue to expand CPR awareness and increase access to defibrillators — helping save lives across the country.”
Dear Editor,
As we mark Tinnitus Week (2 – 8 February), we know that for many people with tinnitus, it’s not just a hum in the background, but something that can make everyday life a challenge.
Despite tinnitus being more common than most people realise with one in seven adults experiencing it, too many are still left confused, worried or unsure of where to turn for help. Through our new research, two thirds (66%) of people with tinnitus told us it can impact their stress levels, while half (51%) said it makes them feel anxious or overwhelmed.
Thankfully with the right support, lots of people can live well with tinnitus. There are many practical ways to manage each person’s needs, such as talking therapies, hearing aids, or mindfulness.
No one should face tinnitus alone. If you’re finding your tinnitus difficult to manage or you’re worried about someone close to you, we’re here to help. RNID’s free online tinnitus guide at rnid.org.uk/tinnitus offers plenty of helpful information, practical tips and advice to help you live a good, balanced life with tinnitus.
Sincerely,
Franki Oliver
Audiology Manager at RNID
Public Health Scotland (PHS) has published its new 10-year strategy, Together We Can, setting out a clear and ambitious direction for improving and protecting the health and wellbeing of people across Scotland.
Scotland continues to face significant and urgent public health challenges. Too many people experience preventable ill health, and the gap in life expectancy between the most and least deprived communities remains far too wide. These pressures not only affect individuals and communities but also place increasing strain on health and public services across the country.
Together We Can responds directly to these challenges. Our strategy provides a focused, evidence-based framework to bring national and local partners together around a shared purpose: improving life expectancy and narrowing health inequalities across the next decade.
It sets out the practical steps PHS will take, and describes how collective action across Scotland’s public, third, and private sectors will be essential to achieving the scale of change required.
Developed with extensive input from PHS staff, Board members, partners and stakeholders, the strategy reflects the insight, ambition and experience of people working across Scotland’s health and care system and beyond. Their contributions have shaped a direction that is both bold and deliverable.
At the heart of the strategy are five drivers for change that will guide Scotland’s approach to improving public health over the coming decade:
These drivers structure the actions PHS will take and set a clear foundation for how the organisation will work with partners to improve outcomes for people and communities.
Ally Boyle, Chair of Public Health Scotland, said: “Scotland faces urgent public health challenges, from preventable ill health to deep rooted inequalities. Our strategy, Together We Can, sets out a clear ambition to tackle these challenges and improve health for everyone over the next decade.
“Across every pillar of public health, we’ve been challenged to deliver real, measurable improvement over the next decade – and that is exactly what we intend to do.
“We’ll achieve this by connecting people, ideas and experience, and by shaping a culture that values collaboration, creating the conditions where our shared ambition becomes real and lasting, and positive change is delivered for the people of Scotland.”
Paul Johnston, Chief Executive of Public Health Scotland, said: “Together We Can sets out a bold and hopeful vision for the next decade, which shows how we will work to improve and protect the health of people in Scotland. It provides a focused, evidence-driven direction not just for Public Health Scotland, but for the nationwide effort needed to create meaningful, lasting change.
“We know that no single organisation can shift Scotland’s health outcomes on its own. Real progress depends on working side by side with our partners across national and local government, the NHS, the third sector and communities everywhere. Therefore, this strategy is a shared commitment – one we will deliver collaboratively, drawing on the strengths and experiences of people and organisations across the country.
“Together, we can improve life expectancy, narrow inequalities and create a fairer, healthier Scotland for everyone.”
Public Health Scotland will continue to engage with partners, communities and staff to ensure the strategy leads to real improvements across Scotland.
Local government umbrella body Cosla commented:
Find out more and view our new 10-year strategy Together We Can on the PHS website.
UK Poverty 2026: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK
This report sets out the nature of poverty in the UK, and evaluates changes under the last Conservative-led Government.
It also sets out the scale of action necessary for the current Government to deliver the change it has promised.
Today, we’ve launched our annual state of the nation report, UK Poverty 2026. The report, which accounts for the time just before the current government took power and clearly shows the depth of the problem and the scale of the challenge.
Some of the key findings of the report include:
People in very deep poverty now make up the biggest group of people in poverty, at 6.8 million people.
This is unacceptable for the fifth richest country in the world, and it has consequences.
Overall poverty rates have flatlined since 2005/06 at just over a fifth. The longer a family spends in poverty, the worse the effects on that family.
The longer we tolerate unacceptably high levels of poverty, the worse it is for our country.
THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW.
We found that Britain’s poorest people are getting poorer. And poverty is hardening, not easing.
Feelings of frustration – and the need for urgent action – were evident
The lives behind the numbers — unacceptably tough, and getting harder
With a foreward from our Grassroots Poverty Action Group (GPAG), this report speaks to some of the policies that would lift hundreds of thousands of children, disabled people and other families out of poverty.
It can be done, and it has been done before. The alternative is a reality that feels harder to thrive in.
Social Work Scotland is a membership organisation which represents social workers and other professionals who lead and support social work across all sectors.
In October 2025, after reports of reductions to SDS personal budgets (options 1 direct payments), Social Work Scotland facilitated two separate surveys for disabled people and carers and social workers.
Survey analysis was completed by Three Sisters Consultancy (disabled people and carers) and Dr Gillian MacIntyre and Dr Ailsa E Stewart (social workers).
In addition, Social Work Scotland are proud to publish a bridging paper collating both perspectives to discuss the state and future of social work and social care in Scotland, and pleased to be able to bring lived experience and workforce voices together.
This report is published alongside two complementary research studies: one capturing the lived experience of people who draw on social work and social care support, and another exploring the experiences of social workers operating within the current system.
Its purpose is to connect these perspectives – to show how funding decisions, governance arrangements, and policy choices shape both what people experience and what practitioners are asked to do.
By bringing lived experience, workforce reality, and financial analysis into the same frame, this paper aims to support informed, constructive discussion about how Scotland can build a more sustainable, rights-based, and trusted system of care and support. It is intended as a contribution to collective problem-solving, not an attribution of blame to individuals or organisations working within significant structural constraints.
For further details on Social Work Scotland visit the organisation’s website
Report 1: The State and Future of Social Work and Social Care in Scotland Part 1 (written by Laura Kerr, Head of Policy and Workforce, Social Work Scotland)
Report 2: Impacts of SDS budget reductions on social workers – Survey analysis (written by Dr Gillian MacIntyre and Dr Ailsa E Stewart)
Report 3: Impacts of SDS budget reductions on disabled people and unpaid carers – Survey analysis (written by Rhiann McLean Three Sisters Consultancy)
COSLA has responded to Social Work Scotland’s research on The State and Future of Social Work and Social Care Funding in Scotland.
COSLA’s Health & Social Care Spokesperson Councillor Paul Kelly said: “This report serves as a collective call to action for meaningful and sustainable change in social work and social care in Scotland, to deliver the system we aspire to have; one centred around human rights and dignity, where both the people delivering and accessing support feel valued. I offer Local Government’s commitment to work with partners on realising change.
“Scotland’s social work and social care sector faces complex funding, policy and system challenges, and this report makes clear the impacts these can have on people, carers and frontline workers. It is deeply troubling that frontline workers talk about the moral and ethical dilemmas they face as a result of having to balance financial considerations with the care that can be delivered to citizens.
“In collectively considering the reports and working through system challenges, we cannot allow further cuts to be inflicted upon vital social care services at this pivotal time. As it currently stands, the Scottish Budget would represent a further cut to social care funding in Scotland, and risks compounding the very real system pressures which will directly impact people and communities.
“Social work and social care are essential to the fabric of Scottish society. We know that by investing in these services, and by working together to change them for the better, we can make a real difference to people’s lives, to local economies and to our communities.”
People in Scotland are less likely to die from cancer, with the risk falling by 12% over the past decade, according to new figures published today by Public Health Scotland (PHS).
The new report, which provides the latest insights in cancer mortality in Scotland, highlights that there was a small increase in the number of deaths due to cancer, from 16,011 in 2015 to 16,352 in 2024. This is caused by Scotland’s by Scotland’s ageing population, and older people are at higher risk of cancer.
It also shows that those who die from cancer are now older than in the past. In 2024, 70% of all cancer deaths occurred in people aged 70 and over, up from 66% in 2015. The average age at death also increased between 2000 and 2024, rising from 71 to 74 years for males, and from 72 to 74 years for females.
Lung, colorectal (bowel), prostate, and breast cancers together accounted for 46% of all cancer deaths. Lung cancer remained the leading cause, with 3,651 deaths in 2024, making up 22% of all cancer deaths. Most lung cancer deaths could be avoided by eliminating smoking.
Professor David Morrison, Consultant in Public Health, Public Health Scotland, Scotland, said: “Cancer remains the most common cause of death in Scotland, but the risk has been falling over time.
“Deaths from lung cancer have fallen by a quarter over the past 10 years, and oesophageal and bladder cancer deaths have also gone down. We can see the huge benefits of fewer people smoking and more successful treatment of cancer in these latest figures.
“Among women, the chances of dying from breast cancer have fallen by 11% over the last decade. Breast screening picks up cancers at an earlier, more treatable stage and new treatment options have become available.
“I would encourage anyone invited for cancer screening or offered HPV vaccination to take up the offers.”
Reducing harm from tobacco by creating a smoke-free generation remains a priority for PHS, particularly given lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in Scotland. This, together with reducing harm from alcohol, drugs and unhealthy foods, is one of the key actions outlined in our ten-year strategy, also published today, which sets out how we will work to improve Scotland’s health outcomes.
A second cancer-focussed report published by PHS today, the Place of Death from Cancer in Scotland report, examines the place of death for people who died from cancer between 2015 and 2024.
Of the 49,474 cancer deaths in Scotland during 2015–2024, 39% occurred in NHS hospitals, 37% occurred at home or a private address and 15% occurred in hospices.
The Cancer Mortality in Scotland Annual Update 2024 report can be read here:
The Place of Death From Cancer in Scotland 2015 – 2024 report can be read here:
Information on cancer screening available for free through the NHS in Scotland can be found at: Introduction to screening in Scotland | NHS inform
More information on identifying, treating and managing cancers can be found on NHS Inform: Cancer | NHS inform
Last year, we published a joint blog by Consultants in Public Health Medicine, Professor David Morrison, Director of the Scottish Cancer Registry and Dr Fatim Lakha, exploring the seemingly paradoxical good news within Scotland’s rising cancer statistics – and what it means for our future health and care system.
Find out more about PHS’s ten-year strategy: Strategic vision – Together we can: our 10-year strategy to 2035 – What we do and how we work – About us – Public Health Scotland
A new online learning hub providing free palliative care education resources for Scotland’s health and social care workforce launches today.
The Palliative Care Learning Hub brings together recommended learning materials from NHS Education for Scotland, Scottish Social Services Council, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Health Boards and third sector organisations in one accessible place.
The hub supports staff and students wherever they work or study – offering advice on providing compassionate end-of-life care – that reflects the refreshed 2025 Palliative Care Education Framework launched in November. It offers free, flexible ways to support learning and development for individuals, teams, and organisations.
Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health Jenni Minto said: “Everyone deserves compassionate, high-quality care at the end of their life. This new learning hub will help ensure our health and social care workforce has the knowledge and skills to provide that care.
“By bringing together palliative care learning resources in one accessible place, we are making it easier for staff across Scotland to access the education and support they need. This is an important step forward in delivering on our commitment to improve palliative care for people of all ages.”
The hub is a key action from Scotland’s palliative care strategy and delivery plan, supporting the outcome that health and social care staff caring for people of all ages with life-shortening conditions, have access to recommended education and learning resources.
Palliative Care Learning Hub:
https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/86009/palliative-care-learning-hub
SPECSAVERS’ new state-of-the-art audiology hub in Edinburgh city centre has officially opened.
Specsavers Shandwick Place, which is locally owned and run, launched the dedicated hearing care service at the start of January, with audiologist Kate Baxter, an experienced audiologist who has lots of experience in both the NHS & private sectors, at the helm alongside fellow directors Aly Uka and Susan McIntosh.
The new hub was in response to growing customer demand in Edinburgh, and is now open 7-days a week, making it easier for the local community to access much-needed hearing services.
Kate Baxter and the team will carry out in depth private assessments, including comprehensive hearing checks, hearing device fittings and maintenance, hearing protection, along with advice about looking after your ears.
Ear wax removal will also be available, and Specsavers Shandwick Place has also expanded its facilities to improve accessibility for customers.
Kate says: ‘Maintaining healthy hearing is vital for overall well-being, so we are delighted to be offering a dedicated hearing service for the people of Edinburgh, and the team and I are excited to grow the business and provide the very best care for our customers.’
Aly Uka, dispensing director and senior dispensing specialist at Specsavers Shandwick Place, says: ‘We’re delighted to have a dedicated hearing hub now open that can offer high-quality hearing care to local people.
‘We’re committed to expanding our services in the area to meet customer need, and to improving local health and wellness in any way we can.’
Specsavers Shandwick Place is located at 14-16 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH2 4RN, and is easily reachable on foot or public transport, including trams and buses.
For more information about the Specsavers Shandwick Place store, visit:
https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/shandwickplace, or call 0131 240 8860.
68 organisations* from across Scotland have come together to urge all political parties to enable more people to walk, wheel or cycle, ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election.
The ‘Joint Active Travel Manifesto for 2026’ calls for parties to commit to multi-year budgets, link public transport and improve road safety, in order to build on ongoing success and bring the benefits of walking/wheeling and cycling to more people.
From helping to reduce Scotland’s carbon emissions to improving public health and supporting local economies, the manifesto highlights some of the many benefits that active travel brings, calling on parties to pledge to support five key commitments:
Increased national investment in active travel was supported by all major parties at the 2021 Holyrood election, and has led to impressive increases in walking, wheeling and cycling where projects have been delivered.
Sadly, it’s not all good news as 12 people are killed or seriously injured while walking, wheeling or cycling every week in Scotland and more action is needed to keep people safe and reduce danger at source.
The Scottish Government’s 2026 budget has set out increased funding for active travel and bus infrastructure over the next four years – an extremely welcome development that will help to create safer streets, healthier communities, and support more thriving local economies.
The Joint Active Travel Manifesto calls on all political parties to commit to sustaining and building on this investment into the long term.
Devi Sridhar is Professor and Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh and author of ‘How Not to Die Too Soon’. In support of the manifesto, Professor Sridhar said: “A move towards active travel isn’t about banning cars, but rather increasing options and freedoms for people to choose how they want to go to school, work or city centre, whether it’s walking, cycling or public transport.
“Getting people moving in their daily life should be a high priority for governments given that sedentary behaviour is a major risk factor for chronic disease such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke and dementia. Exercise also contributes at a cellular level to better mental health.
“Scotland has made positive steps in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go to catch up with major European cities who have built active travel into urban design.”
Rose Marie Burke and John Newman, the parents of Emma Burke Newman who was killed while cycling in Glasgow City Centre in 2023, said: “Emma loved to cycle through her world, including her beloved Scotland.
“Unfortunately, careless driving and poor infrastructure took her away from us. Despite progress, let’s keep up the hard work to recognise and address the real issues in plain sight.”
Kay Corbett, owner of Outline Hair in the centre of Edinburgh, has supported customers to travel by bike by providing cycle parking inside her salon, and has advocated for further improvements for walking, wheeling and cycling on local shopping streets.
Kay said: “I’m lucky enough to have my commute to work pass through Holyrood Park, and seeing the changing seasons in the park, and wildlife up close every day is unreal, you really couldn’t convince me there’s a better way to travel.
“The safer and more enjoyable an experience we can make it is the best way to encourage people to make the leap onto a bike.
“I can do all I like to encourage cycling to my business, talking to clients about biking, providing bike parking in the salon, but the biggest concern my staff and customers have is safety. The want to cycle is there. The issues remain clear – that cycle lanes aren’t city wide yet.”
Jason Corbett, owner of Insider Tattoo, said as a small business owner: “I need to get about, my customers need to get about so the more people using active travel the more swiftly, safely and cleanly we will all move.
“It will give us both physical and mental health benefits and a cleaner environment for the future.”
Organisers of the Pedal on Parliament campaign, which is set to ride through the streets of Edinburgh on 30th May 2026, said: “We know cycling to be transformative – we can see that from the infrastructure local authorities have built in Scotland in recent years, and how everyday people then find themselves with a quick, healthy, low-cost and flexible way of moving around our villages, towns and cities.
“But we still see cycling being under-prioritised — not only under-budgeted, but more importantly those budgets being underspent. We see other European nations effecting huge changes like improving air quality, easing congestion, increasing local trade and raising citizens’ general quality of life by making travelling by bike a safer and easier choice.
“We wonder when Scotland will join them — because we’re falling behind, moving too slowly, and listening too closely to those who say ‘it can’t work here’ when all the evidence tells us otherwise. That’s why we’re organising our big ride on 30th May 2026 in Edinburgh – kids, teens, adults and elders cycling together to the Scottish Parliament to ask for better, faster.”
The full joint manifesto for active travel, with list of all signatories, is available here.
