Tag: Health and wellbeing

Westminster committee calls for drugs decriminalisation in Scotland

The possession of illicit drugs for personal use should be decriminalised, a report by MPs has said. Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee also recommends the UK government should allow so-called fix rooms in Scotland in a bid to tackle drug misuse.

Drug-related deaths in Scotland reached an all-time high of 1,187 last year. Continue reading Westminster committee calls for drugs decriminalisation in Scotland

New Sick Kids: still on course for Spring move

The second and final part of a review into compliance of all building systems at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) and Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) has been published.

Concluding work ordered by Health Secretary Jeane Freeman in July, the latest NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) report focuses on fire systems, electrical systems and medical gases. This has identified remedial work required within fire and electrical systems prior to occupation and the need for other improvements. Continue reading New Sick Kids: still on course for Spring move

In for a penny to lose the pounds

 

Be in for just a penny and lose the pounds in time for Christmas. Edinburgh Leisure is reducing their normal joining fee to just 1p on any of their fitness, swim, gym, class and climb memberships meaning there’s no excuse not to get fit.

The offer is available from Friday, 25 October until Monday, 5 November 2019.

As everyone is different and needs to find their own way to a healthy and active life, Edinburgh Leisure offers a range of different membership options to suit everyone including swim, gym and fitness class only to full monthly memberships. By offering different types of membership, people can match their activity preferences to their pocket.

Existing members referring a friend will receive up to £30 cashback, when the friend joins. There is no limit on the number of referrals.

With 30+ venues including 1 climbing centre, 9 swimming pools, 14 gyms, and 800+ fitness classes per week, Edinburgh Leisure is the ‘biggest club in town’ providing  the widest range of fitness classes, state of the art facilities and community based programmes across the capital.

To join, visit your nearest Edinburgh Leisure venue or visit www.edinburghleisure.co.uk and sign up online.

Concern over record use of compulsory mental health treatment

A new report shows 6,038 new episodes of compulsory treatment using the Mental Health Act in Scotland last year – the highest figure since the Act came into force in 2003.

The new data, published by the Mental Welfare Commission, also shows rising figures for young people aged under 25 being given compulsory treatment.

The rates at which detention was used varied considerably across Scotland. Continue reading Concern over record use of compulsory mental health treatment

£9.34 million funding for improvements to GP practices

GP practices will receive more than £9 million of new funding to upgrade their premises and IT systems supporting better services for local communities.

The funding will facilitate improvements to GP practices and enhancements to make the best use of existing space. It will improve internet connectivity and also support the deployment of Attend Anywhere – an online virtual clinic that patients can link into wherever they are.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “This is a substantial investment by the Scottish Government which will support GPs, the wider primary care workforce and the communities they serve.

“The upgrades to premises and IT systems will see continued improvements to the delivery of high quality patient care, including the continued deployment of Attend Anywhere in our remote and rural areas.

“This investment is part of a wider commitment to increase general practice funding by £250 million by 2021 as part of an extra investment of £500 million per year for primary care funding. This funding together with our wider reform programme will mean additional staff working in primary care, providing better services for patients and allowing them to see the right person at the right time.”

Scottish GP Committee deputy chair Patricia Moultrie said: “This is welcome funding for GP premises and will allow partners to improve their practices and give much-need updates to IT systems.

“This funding is definitely a step in the right direction in regards to making premises fit for the multidisciplinary teams working within general practice in the future, as we look towards the development of Phase 2 of the GP contract.”

The £9.34 million will be split as below:

  • £5.14 million to fund digitisation of GP paper records and improvements to GP premises

– £5 million allocated to Integration Authorities to carry out digitisation of GP paper records and improvements to GP premises

– £0.14 million to NHS National Services Scotland to digitise paper GP records transferring between paper-light GP practices

  • £4.2 million will support implementation of Primary Care Improvement Plans (PCIPs) and improvements to GP IT, and improve practices’ internet connectivity.

– £2.2 million of this would be targeted to supporting Boards on their implementation of PCIPs and on their improvements to GP IT in 2019-20 and promoting joint working, including specific support to rural and remote areas.

– A further £1.8 million funding would be targeted to making faster progress on two other key areas of supporting infrastructure investment:

– Internet connectivity

– Staff and patient Wi-Fi in practices.

– £600,000 of the £1.8 million is going to be used to pay for the on-going costs of practices which have already had their internet connection upgraded. This cost wasn’t paid from the Primary Care Fund previously and is a direct result of previous investment to improve internet connections. Around £100,000 is identified for upgrading further practice internet connections.

– The remaining £200,000 would be targeted at supporting the deployment of Attend Anywhere to remote and rural GP practices.

  • The new GP contract developed in partnership with the BMA, is helping to cut doctors’ workload. Along with investment in multi-disciplinary teams is making the career even more attractive to new doctors, and helping patients to be seen at the right time by the right person.
  • A central aim of the new GP contract is to focus GP time on complex care, while building capacity in the wider multi-disciplinary team.

 

 

Local children’s cancer charities go gold with Amazon

The Amazon Customer Service Centre in Edinburgh raised awareness for Childhood Cancer Awareness in September with a special event to highlight the innovative work being done by hospitals and charities to support children and families across Scotland. Continue reading Local children’s cancer charities go gold with Amazon