Tag: Health and wellbeing

Protect your child from playground bumps and bruises this Easter

Parents across Scotland are being advised on how to protect children from playground bumps and bruises during the Easter holidays. As part of the national Be Healthwise this Easter campaign, NHS 24 has issued a number of top tips on how to prevent and treat minor scrapes and bruises. Continue reading Protect your child from playground bumps and bruises this Easter

Protests force rethink of hospital parking charge hike

NHS Lothian has ditched plans to raise parking charges at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Parking at the privately-run car parks at Little France were due to be hiked from £7 to £15 A DAY, but heath chiefs have been forced to rethink following complaints from staff. 

Car parking charges at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh will now remain at current levels for 2017/2018. In a statement NHS Lothian said:

Increases in the car parking charges had been proposed in line with the contract for the hospital, however, NHS Lothian has agreed with private sector partners that parking charges will not be levied in 2017/18.
The proposal to change parking charges at the hospital had been presented to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Partnership forum as part of a wider review of car parking at the site. However, following subsequent feedback from staff and in response to their concerns, a further extension of the current rates has been agreed.
A formal review of car parking on the hospital site has been agreed and will progress in the coming weeks in agreement with our Staff Partners.
Jim Crombie, Deputy Chief Executive, NHS Lothian said: “We have discussed with staff the proposal to increase parking charges and we have listened to the concerns they have raised. We have fed this back to our private sector partners and have agreed that charges will remain at the current level for this financial year.
“We understand the impact that travel to and from work can have on staff but also the frustration patients and visitors experience when trying to park to attend an appointment or visit a patient. We will use the review to explore these issues in detail.”
NHS Lothian does not own or operate the car park at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. The charges for the car park are set by Consort Healthcare in line with the PFI agreement. The original parking charges were set at £10 a day and were subsequently reduced to £7 a day. The only increase that has been applied to parking charges since the hospital opened was a 2.5% rise in 2011 as a result of the VAT increase.

Healthy pregnancy, healthy baby

All pregnant women in Scotland are to receive free vitamins. The move to provide universal access will improve parent and children’s health and has widespread support among healthcare professionals.

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell confirmed the development at Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital last week, where she also launched the first Scotland-only Maternal and Infant Nutrition Survey.

Ms Campbell said: “We are committed to giving every child in Scotland the very best start in life and helping women to enjoy a healthy pregnancy is a key part of this.

“There is strong evidence that taking vitamins during pregnancy improves both the mother and baby’s health. By offering them to all pregnant women we can contribute towards giving every baby a fair and equal chance – a move that is widely supported by healthcare professionals.

“I’m also pleased that the Maternal and Infant Nutrition survey is now underway. Data will be gathered on nutrition, breastfeeding, formula feeding and weaning practices and help us strengthen the support we offer to new mothers. I would strongly encourage pregnant women and families with young infants who receive a survey pack to complete and return it.”

Easter Holidays: Remember to check your repeat prescription

NHS 24 is calling on the public to remember to check their repeat prescription in time for the Easter holidays. This year, Easter falls between Friday 14 April and Monday 17 April and while some GP surgeries may be open, others will be closed. Continue reading Easter Holidays: Remember to check your repeat prescription

Get Fit and Fed at Free Multi-Sport Camp

With the news that exercise levels are declining ‘long before adolescence’, Edinburgh Leisure and Craigmillar Community Sports Hub is offering free sport and healthy eating sessions during the Easter holidays aimed at 6-12 year olds.

A new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine says that sitting is replacing physical activity from the time children start school. Many of the 400 children enrolled in the study did less than this as they got older.

Phil Trodden, Community Sport Hub Coordinator at Edinburgh Leisure said: “Sitting is replacing physical activity from the time children start school. Children should get at least an hour of exercise a day. Activities outside school have an important role to play too.

“So our sessions will be on encouraging the children to have fun and move more, at the same time as instilling in them the importance of a healthy diet.”

The sessions will run from Monday, 3 April to Friday, 7 April 2017 from 10.30-12.30 at Jack Kane Sport Centre. Each day will have a different one hour sport of physical activity followed by a one hour healthy eating session and meal.

On Friday 7 April, a multi-sport event will kick off at 10.00 until 12.00 noon with a range of different sports to try out.

Places are limited to 30 per session and booking is essential and needs to be made by Monday, 27 March. To book a place on the camp, contact: communitysportshubs@edinburghleisure.co.uk

Thank you, Moonwalkers: new Maggies Centre opens

Up to 15,000 people in the Forth Valley area living with cancer could benefit from a brand new Maggie’s Centre which opened yesterday in Larbert. Breast cancer charity Walk the Walk is the principal funder of Maggie’s Forth Valley, through a £3 million grant from funds raised by its iconic night-time fundraising event, The MoonWalk Scotland. Continue reading Thank you, Moonwalkers: new Maggies Centre opens

Letters: Save our local services

Dear Editor

Cuts in funding for services affect people differently; most are appalled at the frequency and the damage it is doing to the local social fabric. But, as always, it is those who most in need of services are denied them, with all the consequences including further isolation within the community.

Pilton Equalities Project (PEP), an organisation based in North Edinburgh, runs many services for local people including:

  • Five day care clubs
  • Classes and activities in computer training, arts and crafts and literacy and numeracy
  • Cooking
  • A mental health issues group

These activities are attended by approximately 200 people each week.

PEP minibuses pick up from and return people to their homes; all the buses are staffed with volunteer escorts. Up to 80 other volunteers help throughout the week with other activities.

Funding cuts from the city council or Scottish Government will hit the provision of these services and the very people who are most in need.

PEP makes every effort in appealing to various social and charitable organisations for grants and support to keep these vital services going, but it is not sustainable in the long run if funding cuts continue.

PEP’s volunteers carried out 13,000 hours volunteering for local people in 2016, adding greatly to the quality of life and indeed their health.

As one of those volunteers, the reason for this letter is to raise public understanding of how serious are repeated cuts in funding for local services. With the best will and efforts, volunteers cannot operate on insufficient funding for their organisation.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens