Two-thirds of parents in the UK are worried about their children’s mental health. And rightly so, as 1 in 6 children in the UK are experiencing mental health problems.
When children are anxious and stressed, parents are often anxious and stressed.
That’s why Edinburgh Leisure is taking a whole family approach to wellbeing and empowering employees to support their children’s mental health.
Employees now have access to the Wee Seeds Mini-Minds Wellbeing Toolbox. It’s a programme of fun and easy mindfulness exercises for children, all about bringing calm and connection to families.
Helen Macfarlane, Director of Wellbeing at Edinburgh Leisure said: Encouraging and supporting people’s health and wellbeing is at the heart of what we do at Edinburgh Leisure.
“We deliver a range of wellbeing initiatives to support our customers’ and employees’ health and wellbeing.
!We’re investing in our employees’ mental health. So, we’re taking a whole family approach to mental health and empowering our employees to support their children by giving them access to the @WeeSeeds Mini-Minds Wellbeing Toolbox. Our staff deserve good mental health and so do their children.”
Wee Seeds Founder, Christina Cran, said: “We believe it’s time for employers to take a whole family approach to mental health.
“All the areas of our life, work, home, and social life, intersect with each other. By working on having a calm family environment at home, we can improve all areas of our lives. Calm families, equal calm staff. That’s why we’re delighted to support Edinburgh Leisure with their staff and their families’ wellbeing.
“Our Mini-Minds Toolbox is designed to help shape the next generation’s mental health. The mental health crisis starts with our children, it’s time we tackle that early.”
Mindfulness can help children:
– Focus more easily and be ready to learn – Sleep better – Feel less anxious – Feel more connected to their family – Build resilience – Understand their emotions – Deal with frustration better – Become kinder to others and themselves
These are skills children can use today and for the rest of their lives so we are also investing in the future of the workforce.
As a social enterprise, all profits Wee Seeds makes go back into its social impact programme.
So, by partnering with Wee Seeds, Edinburgh Leisure will also contribute to Wee Seeds’ social impact programme Growing Good, which will support families in poverty or struggling with their mental health to nurture their mental well-being.
To find out more about how Wee Seeds is improving mental health, visit weeseeds.co.uk
A new Citizens Advice Scotland campaign is encouraging people to seek advice if they are worried about their debts, as research shows over 660,000 people cite debt as impacting their mental health.
Analysis of polling from research company YouGov suggests around 665,148 people in Scotland have seen their mental health and wellbeing affected by debt.
The “Stressed about Debt?” campaign aims to encourage people who are worried about their bills or stressed about debt to seek advice from the Citizens Advice network.
People can go to www.cas.org.uk/stressed and pick an advice route that works for them, such as online self-help tools, online advice pages or one to one advice from their local CAB.
The CAB Service helps improve people’s financial situation and for some this includes debt write -off. Since last spring CABs have helped write off over £11 million worth of debt, with the average amount written off being over £12,600 per client.
https://youtu.be/Os-Qv09KO_0
CAS Financial Health spokesperson Sarah Jayne Dunn said:“There is a clear link between money and mental health and that will have been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis.
“Hundreds of thousands of people across the country, through no fault of their own have fallen behind on bills and find themselves in debt. Some people will be in debt for the first time, others will have seen their existing debt get worse.
“There’s no shame in having debt, and it’s completely understandable to be stressed and anxious about it. For many people, debt is something they ignore until it builds up and becomes overwhelming.
“That’s why we’ve launched the Stressed about Debt campaign, to encourage people who are worried to seek advice and not let those worries build up until they are suffocating.
“You don’t need to go to a CAB to get advice, instead you can check our online advice pages or use our interactive self-help tools.
“Our network gets real results for people – last year people who saw a gain having sought advice were more than £3,700 better off. Our advice is impartial, confidential, and crucially free – we don’t charge for our advice, and we never will.”
Scottish Government Housing Minister Paul McLennan MSP said:“I welcome this important and timely campaign from Citizens Advice Scotland.
“Advice services play a critical role in helping people to navigate the current cost crisis and to access the support and information they need. The cost-of-living crisis is putting a huge strain on households which is why the Scottish Government is doing all it can to deliver support.
“This year we will invest over £12.5 million in a range of advice services providing free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice. This includes more than £4.45 million to Citizens Advice Scotland and the network of Bureaux for the Money Talk Team, which offers free confidential and holistic advice. Access to free, confidential and impartial advice through the CAB network, either online or in person, can make a massive difference for people.”
Alex Cumming, Executive Director of Operations at SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health), said:“Poor mental health can be a factor in building up debt, and debt can result in mental health problems, including stress and anxiety. Debt and mental health problems often form a vicious circle, and it’s important to seek help for both.
“At SAMH, we hear time and again from the people we support, including those who contact our information service, that they are experiencing issues with money at the same time as needing help with their mental health.
“We welcome Citizens Advice Scotland’s campaign and encourage anyone who is stressed about debt to take that first step towards getting the support they need.”
As well as Citizen Advice Bureaux across the city, free and independent local debt advice is also available from a number of organisations including CHAI, Granton Information Centre and the city council’s Advice Shop.
The research project examined fresh-thinking and technology adoption across Scotland’s housing, health and social care sectors with the aim of better understanding the potential for innovation clusters, the role of public investment and capacity for innovation in the key sectors.
Despite the research reenforcing sector-wide challenges, Edinburgh-based Blackwood and its bespoke tech solutions were included as a case study of what is possible within tech-enabled care, despite the challenges faced by the sector.
Simon Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive at Blackwood said: “We are constantly striving to find new ways to improve the lives of the people we support. Receiving recognition and awareness for it always motivates us to keep pushing boundaries and leading the way.
“The research study by the Fraser of Allander Institute is an extremely valuable piece of work for the sector that we’re thrilled to be positively featured in. It’s very rewarding to be recognised.”
One tech solution mentioned in the report is Blackwood’s CleverCogs technology, a specially designed tablet-based system, which has delivered measurable improvements in quality of life and efficiencies in service delivery, despite major budgetary constraints.
Many Blackwood properties feature its CleverCogs technology which is personalised and links users to care and health services, home automation, local information, entertainment and video access to family and friends. The CleverCogs digital system lets users customise it to suit their life.
Emma Congreve, Deputy Director at the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute said: “We were asked by the Scottish Government to analyse the current social care innovation landscape and the potential for further development of tech solutions for those who draw on care.
“Blackwood homes provided an example of an organisation that has been able to take forward significant technological innovations. As our report stated, based on our research with others in the sector, this was an exception rather than the rule.”
The report, which was released late last year, also noted Blackwood’s strategy of close collaboration with residents and technology partners to develop solutions tailored to their needs – noting the crucial role of innovation-focused leadership in driving progress and cultural change.
Blackwood is now renowned as Scotland’s most tech-focused housing specialist, deploying cutting-edge technology to help its customers to live independently. With 600 staff across Scotland, the charity’s headquarters are in Edinburgh.
Simon added: “Making change is a team effort of course, so it’s fantastic to see our co-design approaches with customers and partners held up as an example model.
“The report does an excellent job of highlighting the hurdles the housing and care sector is having to jump in Scotland at the moment and it can be difficult to continue to innovate new forms of tech-enabled care while combatting challenges like funding or labour shortages.
“Despite that, it only gives us more fuel to continue that fresh thinking to allow people to live as independently as possible.
“Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we owe it to them to explore every opportunity that technology offers to enhance the quality of their lives. It’s rewarding that Blackwood is setting the standard in that.”
As Scotland’s most tech-focused housing provider, its Blackwood House design guide – developed in partnership with architects Lewis and Hickey – is the gold standard for accessible housing.
Over the next five years Blackwood aims to build 400 such homes, that can adapt to tenants’ future needs. Each can be adapted to include a host of benefits such as lift access, remotely controlled automated functions, and digital care and housing systems.
The housing specialist puts customers at the heart of everything it does, and their satisfaction is critical to Blackwood’s success. As a modern, supportive employer it also provides individuals with pathways towards achieving long and rewarding careers in roles that make a positive difference.
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Healthy Heart Tip: Benefits of physical activity on heart health
Physical inactivity is one of the main risk factors for heart diseases and is associated with a 24% higher risk of coronary heart disease.
In the UK, it is recommended that adults partake in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week plus two sessions of resistance training.
Over six in 10 adults meet this guideline, if one of these is not you, then why not? Your heart is a muscle too!
This muscular organ also needs to be worked out and increasing the amount of physical activity you do is one of the best things for your heart health. In this healthy tip, we share some benefits of physical activity.
What is physical activity?
Physical activity is any form of movement produced by your muscles that uses energy. A few examples include walking, running, dancing, swimming, and gardening.
Heart health benefits
Partaking in physical activity strengthens your heart muscle and decreases your blood pressure. Regular physical activity can improve your blood sugar control and reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a major cardiovascular risk factor.
Changes in your cholesterol levels will become apparent, with your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels becoming lower and HDL (good cholesterol) levels rising.
Ultimately, physical activity is essential for a healthy heart. It strengthens your heart, reduces your chances of developing heart diseases and increases your lifespan.
Other health benefits
Physical activity benefits both your physical and mental health. If these are in good health, it is likely that your heart is too.
Partaking in regular physical activity will help you build cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, and improve your flexibility and balance.
You may find that you have more energy after carrying out physical activity due to the rise in your endorphins, this also helps to improve your mood.
Other benefits include improvements in your sleep quality and duration, improvements in anxiety and depression as well as a reduction in the amount of stress hormones in your body.
These additional health benefits all directly or indirectly help your heart too.
UK patients want better access to early and accurate diagnosis of health problems, according to new survey data from the Patients Association.
Many patients would consider paying to get tests done privately if they faced a long wait for NHS tests.
Nine in ten (90%) of UK patients say it should be more straightforward to get the diagnostic tests they need
Three in five (60%) said they would be willing to pay to get a test done if they faced a long wait, or the test they needed was not available
More than three in five (61%) believed being able to test at home could help speed up diagnosis
Patients want to know how to get the tests they need, why they are having them, and when they can expect results.
The survey, undertaken in partnership with Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland, represents the views of more than 1,000 patients from across the UK, who had received diagnostic support from the NHS in the preceding six months.
Nine out of ten (90%) of the people who completed the survey said it should be easier to obtain access to the diagnostic tests they need. They also wanted:
Better understanding of why they were being sent for a test
Increased speed and urgency
Improved access
A greater sense of empowerment when it comes to diagnostic tests, results, and subsequent treatment and care.
Access challenges
The findings demonstrated several challenges experienced by patients in gaining access to diagnostic tests.
One-third of respondents (33%) said when they tried to get a test, they found there were no appointments available locally. This reflects national data on the large numbers of patients unable to access diagnostic tests and services, even before consideration is given to any waiting lists for any treatment they may need.
Almost four in five (78%) patients felt testing facilities should be provided closer to patients’ homes to make access easier
Seven in ten (70%) wanted a clearer understanding of how to access tests. Some respondents highlighted that services are sometimes not available as advertised.
Speed and urgency of access to testing was another significant problem identified by survey. Only one in ten (11%) of respondent said they have never had any issues getting either a test or their results, or faced no consequences if they did.
For those living with long-term conditions, delays and difficulties in accessing diagnosis have had significant consequences. Nearly one in five (17%) respondents said their long-term recovery was set back significantly.
Many more reported consequences for their mental and physical health, and their wider work and family life.
Respondents were also unhappy about a lack of access to, and clear explanation of, test results. Almost nine in ten (88%) patients wanted a realistic timeline for their test results to come through and a similar number (87%) called for a better explanation of what those results meant for them and their treatment.
Patient-created solutions
The survey discovered patients are finding ways around the challenges they faced. For example, when asked whether they would be willing to pay to get a test done privately if they faced a long wait or if the test they needed was not available on the NHS, three in five (60%) of respondents said they would. This included patients who did not consider themselves to be ‘rich’.
The finding that so many patients would consider paying for tests shows the importance they place on getting a timely and accurate diagnosis, even if they had to pay.
Sustainable solutions
The survey’s results show many patients have a clear view on how diagnostic services in the UK could be improved.
Being able to test at home was seen as one way to make services more accessible. Nearly two thirds (61%) of respondents believed expanding opportunities to test at home could help speed up diagnosis.
When asked about specific examples, the numbers were even higher, perhaps building on our collective experience of testing at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than three quarters (77%) said they would be happy to test themselves at home.
Investing in diagnostics and new technology was supported by most respondents. For example, more than half (57%) the respondents felt the use of new technology such as artificial intelligence could speed up diagnosis and reduce pressures on the NHS – an important factor since nearly one-third (29%) said they delayed seeking tests to avoid wasting NHS time and resources.
Looking to the future
Almost nine in ten (86%) felt testing and diagnosing conditions more quickly would help reduce the NHS backlog. While patients want to feel more empowered in taking charge of their own health, they are also keen that solutions are sought to support NHS efficiency and sustainability in the longer-term.
Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patient Association, says:“Patients value diagnostic services – that’s very clear from the survey. Frustrations about access to tests came over loud and clear.
“Those taking the survey clearly value being partners in their care. And to partner with the professionals sending them for tests, patients need and want clear communication on how to get tests, why they need a test, and when they’ll get results. Healthcare professionals can improve patient-centred care when ordering diagnostic tests by explaining how, why and when.”
Geoff Twist, Managing Director, Roche Diagnostics, UK & Ireland says:“Tests that detect or diagnose disease early, or in some cases prevent it altogether, can play a vital role in the patient journey, and in helping the health system work efficiently.
“This report shows that patients themselves see and understand the importance of diagnostic tests, and that they will proactively seek them out to find the answers they need about their health.
“The message is clear. But to realise this we need a renewed policy focus, setting out how we can speed up getting existing diagnostic tests and innovations to the people who need them. Prioritising diagnostic services can help to relieve some of the pressure on our NHS today and protect it for generations to come.”
VPZ is the UK’s leading vaping retailer with over 160 stores throughout the UK. Since it was established in 2012 it has helped over 700,000 smokers quit.
VPZ Director Doug Mutter says the 12 per cent rise in vape sales figures across the industry is no surprise due to its effectiveness as a smoking cessation tool but urged the wider industry to take steps to educate consumers on sustainable products.
Doug said: “The significant increase in sales figures across the industry last month highlights once again that vaping is the best way for people to quit smoking and make a major lifestyle that improves your health and financial wellbeing.
“At VPZ, our stores offer a dedicated one-to-one service to help smokers quit and our consumer intelligence tells us that the majority of customers prefer being instore where they can access a personalised service and get the right guidance and advice from our staff that can’t be accessed elsewhere.
“VPZ specialists are trained and have expert knowledge, engaging with smokers to educate them on the health, environmental and financial benefits of switching to reusable and sustainable vaping products.
“Our approach gives adult smokers the help and advice they need at a time when local stop smoking services across the country are under threat whilst supporting the country’s ambitions to become a smoke free nation by 2030.
“As the UK’s leading vaping retailer we are supportive of the Government’s disposable vape ban but it’s important that they take on board advice and guidance to regain much-needed momentum and ensure that the country meets its targets.”
A family which has raised more than a million pounds to fund a research project into the most aggressive type of brain tumour has unveiled a plaque at the University of Edinburgh laboratory where the work takes place.
The Emily Morris Fund, set up in memory of a woman from London who died from a brain tumour aged just 31, was established in 2017 in collaboration with The Brain Tumour Charity.
Emily’s father, Jack Morris, then became Chair of Trustees at the organisation.
Now he and his family have seen for themselves how their fundraising is helping to screen thousands of drugs to see if any have the potential to treat glioblastoma.
The project is co-funded by Cancer Research UK and is believed to be the largest of its kind in the world: an unbiased screening of drugs in human glioblastoma cell models.
Emily first became unwell with headaches and what doctors thought was a flu virus in 2015 when she was 29.
Then her heart rate rocketed for no apparent reason and a cardiac specialist prescribed her medication but couldn’t find the underlying cause.
When she began to experience a strange smell and taste up to 20 times a day, she was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist who sent Emily for an MRI scan.
Expecting nothing out of the ordinary, Emily went to find out the results on her own and was shocked when a consultant told her she had a brain tumour and needed urgent surgery.
That craniotomy removed much of the tumour and confirmed it was a glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most aggressive and difficult to treat brain cancers.
Emily’s treatment included 30 sessions of radiotherapy and nine rounds of chemotherapy, but the tumour returned.
Emily’s father Jack said: “Emily had six months after her initial treatment where she did pretty well. Following that it was then a process of, as I used to say, trying hold back a tsunami.”
In November/December 2016 Emily’s oncologist said she was fighting an uphill battle, and her family agreed that she should come home.
Jack continued: “I had a moment that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life with Emily before she died. I was just sitting with her and at this time she couldn’t speak and I did a little wave and said ‘I love you’ and she just said to me ‘love you’. I don’t know how she found the words but they were the last words she ever said to me.”
Emily died on 3 January 2017 and as she had been such a colourful character who loved jewellery, her mum Susan started making bracelets to sell in her memory.
Friends and family far and wide organised marathons, bike rides and numerous other challenge events to raise money in Emily’s memory. Her family used these proceeds to set up The Emily Morris Fund and sought advice from The Brain Tumour Charity.
The Charity told them about Professor Neil Carragher’s research at the University of Edinburgh and they were “absolutely blown away” by his efforts to find treatments for glioblastoma and decided to support it.
Jack said: “Funding research through The Brain Tumour Charity, wherever it needs to be in the world, by the best practitioners, by the best institutions, is the lifeblood of finding a cure for this awful disease.”
Emily’s brother, Bobby, added: “We will always keep Emily’s memory alive because we talk about her a lot.
“Whenever we’re at a family dinner or a birthday, we’ll always do a little toast to her and just make sure that she’s remembered … Our family will always be a family of five people, we’re not a family of four.”
You can find out more about Professor Carragher’s research here:
An Edinburgh children’s hospital has become one of the first in Scotland to use a virtual reality headset to help children prepare for surgery.Patients at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) will now be able to prepare for surgery through an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience.
Thanks to funding from the Hearts & Minds charity, the home of the Clowndoctors, and NHS Lothian charity, the RHCYP will launch its first VR film alongside five headsets this week as part of an innovative pilot.
A number of patients and staff members were involved in the development of the VR pilot including Isla Burns, 14, who advised on the script with Hearts & Minds and recorded the introduction.
The schoolgirl takes centre stage in the project after undergoing ten operations and surgical procedures since she was two-years-old and is keen to reassure and help other children and young people.
Isla from Edinburgh had surgery at the RHCYP to lengthen her left leg which had developed to be 8cm shorter than her right. She underwent an initial 8-hour surgery where her leg was broken and then encased in a brace which screwed 26 metal pins into her leg.
Every day, her mum Annabelle had to turn the pins to move Isla’s bones further apart, encouraging a ‘ghost bone’ to grow in between.
Isla said:“When I was a little younger and virtual reality wasn’t used in hospitals yet, it was hard to visualise what would happen before my operations by chatting it through.
“This virtual reality film will help young people by allowing them to see what the wards look like and get an idea of how the whole process works. It is a great visual tool that will help so many kids prepare for their operations and feel less anxious about what is to come.”
After the operation, Isla’s leg grew 7cm in just seven weeks. She has since had had a further 9 surgeries and spent a full year learning to walk again under the guidance of physiotherapists at the RHCYP.
Under Isla’s guidance, the VR film features the Clowndoctors who are about to undergo surgery at the RHCYP. Alongside the help of NHS Lothian staff, the Clowndoctors showcase a virtual walk through of the pre-operation journey; from the surgical ward, into the anaesthetic room and then into theatre.
Isla used her own experiences to help the Clowndoctors outline every step of the process and put the minds of younger patients at ease.
The film, which was produced by filmmakers Neon8 who initiated the project with Hearts & Minds, uses cutting-edge technology which enables patients to have a gentle immersive viewing experience while remaining seated or reclined.
The VR pilot is being rolled out within the hospital and will be managed by Play Specialists who generally prepare children for surgery.
Allister Short, Director of Women’s and Children’s Services at NHS Lothian, said:“I would like to especially thank Isla and her family alongside our staff and charity partners who helped to craft this extraordinary VR film.
“When a child is about to have surgery, it is often an emotionally unsettling time for the entire family. It’s hoped that the VR headsets will help to alleviate patient’s anxieties before a procedure takes place.
“I look forward to seeing the positive impact this ground-breaking technology will have on patients and staff.”
Rachel Colles, Co-Artistic Lead, Hearts & Minds, said: “I first tried a VR headset when running a research project for children exploring virtual reality theatre with Neon8. It was fantastic to see the children’s responses and excitement with this medium and it occurred to us that we could use this in our work as Clowndoctors.
“This collaboration with NHS Lothian alongside our fabulous Clowndoctor colleagues has allowed us to create what I hope will be a beneficial and enjoyable way to support children preparing for surgery at the RHCYP.”
Jane Greenacre, Head of Programmes, NHS Lothian Charity, said:“We are delighted to have funded five VR headsets which aim to reduce children’s worries before they undergo surgery.
“The VR headsets will enable children and their parents to complete a virtual walk through of what will happen at each step of their pre-operation journey.
“This is a great example of how NHS Lothian Charity works with NHS Lothian colleagues and third sector partners to support ideas that improve the experience of patients and their families across the Lothians.”
A proposal for air quality monitors to be trialled in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth
Doctors encourage Scottish Government to take forward schools air quality monitor pilot
A proposal for air quality monitors to be trialled in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (“the College”) is urging the Scottish Government to take forward its proposal to monitor air quality around urban schools in Scotland.
The College’s costed pilot proposal would see air quality monitors placed for a year in up to three schools, within 50m of those schools, in each of five Scottish cities: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth. The pilot would therefore see up to 15 schools across Scottish cities taking part.
Last year, the College called for air quality monitors to be placed at all city primary schools in Scotland for a period of at least a year, in its submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee.
The pilot idea was developed by the College’s Working Group on Air Pollution and Health. It has now been submitted to the Scottish Government following positive discussions with government officials last year. Members of the Working Group highlighted the lack of data on air quality around schools despite the knowledge that air pollution can pose serious health risks to children.
As part of the working group’s preparation of the pilot proposal, clinicians plotted the distances between primary and secondary schools in these five city areas and existing air quality monitors.
The group found that from the 337 primary and 94 secondary schools examined, only one primary school was within 50m of a PM (particulate matter) monitor and only 2 primary schools were within 100m of a NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) monitor.
There were no secondary schools within 100m of either type of monitor.
Professor Jill Belch, Co-lead of the College’s Working Group on Air Pollution and Health, and Professor of Vascular Medicine at the University of Dundee, said:“Science has provided robust evidence that children are significantly harmed by air pollution, with sometimes tragic results.
“Whilst lung disease in children is widely recognised as a result of breathing polluted air, less well known to the public, but equally important, are the effects of this pollution on the developing organs within a child.
“For example, exposure to polluted air in childhood has been shown to reduce brain cognitive function in a number of key ways. Further, and of concern, is that children appear to become unwell at lower levels of pollutants than do adults.
“ At present the early work conducted by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh suggests that few school have air quality monitors nearby, so we do not actually know how well or otherwise, our children are protected. It is therefore imperative that we ensure air quality around schools is within regulatory levels, and the College’s proposal to the Scottish Government can start this process.”
Professor Andrew Elder, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the other Co-Lead of the Working Group on Air Pollution and Health, said:“ There is overwhelming evidence that air pollution can have a wide range of detrimental health impacts on our children including problems with the lung, heart, brain and immune and hormonal systems.
“We also know that there is a correlation between areas of high deprivation and poor air quality and this can exacerbate pre-existing health inequalities in children and young people.
“ We are concerned at the lack of data on air quality around urban schools in Scotland- with the vast majority of urban air quality monitors currently sited too far away from schools- and believe we must collect as much accurate school level data as possible so we can have an evidence base for action.
“The College hopes that the Scottish Government will consider our proposal positively and we remain committed to working constructively with it and all other stakeholders so that we can better understand the levels of air pollution around our schools and subsequently support implementing mitigation measures where these are required.”
Mike Corbett, National Official (Scotland) for the NASUWT said: “Thousands of people die each year because of occupational diseases caused by air pollution at work. Pollution arising from work and travel to work are health issues for which employers currently take little responsibility.
“Air pollution impacts workers and their families at all stages from before birth to old age and is particularly damaging to the growth and development of babies and children.
“ Being able to quantify the scale of the problem around our schools is the first step to cleaning up the air we and our children breathe and moving towards a heathier and safer future. NASUWT is therefore very pleased to endorse and support this proposal for pilot air quality monitoring around schools.”
0800 83 85 87
breathingspace.scot
