NHS Lothian’s Community Vaccination Team has administered an incredible 5,200 HPV vaccinations in schools across Edinburgh and the Lothians this past month, even with a break over the Easter holidays.
Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under 35 and HPV is the main cause. A 2018 Scottish study showed that the vaccine has reduced pre-cancerous cervical disease in 20-year-old women by up to 71%.
The prevalence of certain HPV types in 16- to 18-year-old women in England, who were offered vaccination at 12 to 13, was found to have reduced from 15% before the vaccination programme to less than 2% in 2018.
The vaccination also provides vital protection against genital warts and anogenital cancers in both boys and girls. Consent forms were provided to schools earlier this year. Consent is provided for the vaccination course and, once given, covers your child for both doses.
The team began vaccinating at the beginning of April and this year’s programme runs until the end of June. If your child’s form was misplaced or lost, you can contact the school’s office to get another.
If your child has any questions or concerns, they are encouraged to speak to our vaccinators.
Mums in the Neonatal unit in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh are to benefit from a dedicated Perinatal Mental Health Support Service which will match mothers with highly trained perinatal befrienders.
Aberlour Children’s Charity has secured funding which is enabling them to pilot an expansion of their successful Perinatal Mental Health Befriending Service with an experienced perinatal co-ordinator based at the hospital. The support will be accessible to mums with premature and unwell babies in the unit from Monday 9th May.
Three years ago, Aberlour recognised the need to support and improve the mental health of perinatal women and their children and set up a Perinatal Befriending Support Service for those who live within the East Lothian community.
The service helps mothers and mothers-to-be who are struggling with anxiety, isolation and depression in pregnancy, and after their baby is born up to the age of 12 months. It does this by matching mothers with highly-trained volunteer perinatal befrienders, who offer practical and emotional support to help tackle poor mental health and wellbeing.
Since it launched the service has supported 130 women, 134 babies and siblings and has recruited and delivered specialised perinatal befriending training to 67 befrienders in East Lothian.
Having a new perinatal co-ordinator based at the hospital means that more mums from all over the Lothians and other health boards will be given additional emotional and practical support when they need it most. The co-ordinator will build positive relationships, provide an emotional listening ear and when necessary signpost to appropriate services within the mums’ own communities.
Katy Ruggeri, Associate Director of Midwifery, Maternity, Gynaecology and Neonatal services at NHS Lothian, said: “We are thrilled that a Perinatal Mental Health Co-ordinator has been appointed and we welcome this innovative service from Aberlour.
“Mums who have babies in the Neonatal unit can be very fragile and having a dedicated Perinatal Co-ordinator who fully understands the challenges mums can face by providing additional support will be invaluable.”
Emma Cashmore-Gordon, Service Manager for Aberlour Perinatal Mental Health service said: “Having worked with women through their perinatal period for the past three years in East Lothian, we know what a difference our service makes to them as well as the lives of their families.
“We are so pleased that we can take this to the next level and provide support to mums throughout the whole of the Lothian region.
“This development is however a pilot, and we are seeking vital external funding to ensure continuity of our service to provide crucial support to families and secure employment for our staff. Any suggestions or assistance that can be given to help secure funding will be greatly appreciated.”
One mum who has received support from the service, said: “It’s a lifeline. Someone to listen to my crazy chat and have crazy normal chat with me!!!
“I’d be lost without my befriender. She is incredible, she juggles so much yet still has the time to speak with me and help me. She is amazing and she gets me through this difficult time.”
For more information about the service please contact Emma Cashmore Gordon, Service Manager, by calling 01875 632055 or email her at: enquiries@aberlour.org.uk .
A special film which captures experiences of staff across NHS Lothian is being launched today (28 April 2022) to show the public and future generations what it was like to work during the pandemic.
Premiering online, the film reveals how NHS Lothian staff mounted an extraordinary response to the unprecedented challenge of Covid-19.
The health board was the first to receive and care for a COVID-19 patient in Scotland. It then went on to set up one of the first drive-through testing facilities and played a significant role in ground-breaking research, testing and vaccination.
The one-hour documentary is told through a series of interviews, videos and photographs of staff, providing reflections of working during the pandemic over the last two years.
Calum Campbell, Chief Executive of NHS Lothian said: “While this film cannot do justice to the work of every team or service, it offers a flavour of the outstanding commitment of all our staff. We are extremely proud of how they responded to the pandemic and how hard our teams continue to work.
“We recognise the journey is far from over. COVID is still with us, pressures on staffing are severe and the effects of the pandemic will be felt for a long time to come. But we have learned a great deal and will put that to good use as we plan for the future.
“We want to thank all our staff for their continued exceptional service and our patients and the wider public of Edinburgh and the Lothians for the support they show our staff.”
The film is part of NHS Lothian’s wider commemorative plans, which are supported by its official charity partner, the Edinburgh and Lothian Health Foundation.
Also featuring in the film is a special commemorative song written and performed by Scottish singer and songwriter, Marina Rolink, especially to thank all NHS Lothian staff.
Commenting on her involvement in the film, Staff Nurse Viv Conway, who was a student nurse during the first wave of COVID in 2020, said: “It’s still raw, and it’s still relevant in how we practice on our ward. It’s impacted our ward and it’s impacted the culture that we work in, the need to focus on our colleagues and our team.
“I think the film really brings back a lot of emotions as a true representation of what it was like on the front line and the sacrifices that we made and how we came together at a very difficult time.”
The film will premiere on NHS Lothian’s YouTube channel at 6pm tonight and will remain available for people to watch in the future.
NHS Lothian has invested over half a million pounds into its electric fleet as part of its ongoing efforts to be a leader in sustainable healthcare.
Over £525,000 has recently been spent on 58 electric vehicles and 46 charging stations at sites across NHS Lothian.
Iain Sneddon, Transport Manager for NHS Lothian, said: “Climate change poses the biggest threat to global health and its vital that we adapt to this as an organisation, not just as individuals.
“Electric vehicles are the preference when we’re looking to grow our fleet or replace vehicles. Not only are they a cleaner alternative, but they have the added benefit of being more cost-effective.”
With the additional 58 electric vehicles, this brings the total number of electric vehicles in NHS Lothian to 187, which is just over a quarter of NHS Lothian’s fleet.
NHS Lothian received its first three electric vehicles in 2012. In 2019, Transport Scotland provided funding which resulted in an additional 39 electric vehicles being added to the fleet.
Since 2019, the electric fleet has travelled over 1.5 million miles and has been used by teams such as podiatry, physiotherapy and forensic.
The average car emits 0.78 pounds of CO2 per mile driven, which means NHS Lothian has prevented around 500 tonnes of CO2 being released into local communities.
Dr Jane Hopton, Sustainability Lead for NHS Lothian, said: “Making our fleet greener is part of our wider strategy to ensure NHS Lothian is a leader in sustainable healthcare.
“We’ve also been working to reduce the impact medical gasses have on the environment, as well growing our green spaces and improving our energy infrastructure.
“Iain and his team have done a fantastic job over the last few years with the fleet and have clearly had a huge impact already on reducing NHS Lothian’s carbon footprint.”
Don’t miss the online launch of our documentary which tells the story of NHS Lothian’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic through interviews, videos and pictures of our staff.
Please join us to reflect and watch the premiere on our YouTube Channel on Thursday 28 April, 6pm. #pandemic#covid-19
More than one third of patients facing long waits in Scotland, as Emergency Care remains in severe crisis.
Responding to the latest weekly Emergency Department performance figures in Scotland Dr John Thomson, Vice President of The Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, said:“We are continuing to see severely poor performance in the Emergency Care system. Staff are becoming more and more burnt out; the appalling crisis in Emergency Care is seriously distressing.
“The public are extremely worried about these long waiting times, and rightly so, because patients are coming to harm. Staff continue doing all they can to deliver care and keep patients safe, but it is incredibly challenging.
“It is a desperate situation, a result of widespread shortages of staff and beds throughout the system and a crisis in social care. Despite exiting winter and entering spring, the situation remains dire; we have never faced a crisis worse than this. The intense workload is breaking staff, and the distressing circumstances are breaking their morale.
“Patients continue to face seriously long waits, and we continue to state that this crisis is worse than ever, and that patients are coming to harm. The government cannot let this deteriorate further, staff and patients urgently need meaningful action now to tackle the desperate situation in Emergency Care and address the widespread staff shortages, the bed shortages, and the social care crisis.”
People across Lothian are being encouraged to help ensure health and care services across the region are fit for the future.
NHS Lothian and Lothian’s four Health and Social Care Partnerships has launched a major engagement initiative as they begin planning how services should be designed and delivered over the next five years. Priorities include ensuring that people have equal access to the right care and support, wherever they live in the region.
Calum Campbell, Chief Executive of NHS Lothian, said: “There are lots of reasons why we need to consider how things may need to change to ensure everyone has equal access to the care they need to live their best lives.
“The past two years of pandemic have been hugely challenging, so we need to make sure that we prioritise our resources as effectively as possible to help reduce waiting times.
“There are opportunities too. Technology and innovation in medicine can have a huge impact on what we can do and how we do it, and we have learnt a lot about new ways of working.”
The move comes against a backdrop of challenge facing health and care services that existed even before the pandemic.
More people are living longer – a testament to improvements in general population health and innovation in medicine and healthcare – but this has also created the highest ever demand for these services, as people are likely to need them more in their later years.
The NHS workforce is ageing too. There are more NHS staff over 55 years of age than under 30. That means a focus on recruitment and training is vital, but also that the roles themselves in healthcare might need to change.
Mr Campbell added: “It’s really important that patients, carers, partner organisations and our staff understand the constraints and the opportunities and tell us what matters most to them as we develop our plans.
“There is not a household in the land that is not affected by these services at some point, so this really is for everyone to think about and have their say.”
This phase of the engagement process is running until the end of May and the public are invited to get involved by reading the draft framework and providing feedback or by attending one of the virtual events being held across the next two months.
Thinking of getting your child vaccinated over the school break? At your child’s vaccination appointment, you will have the opportunity to speak to the vaccinator and ask questions before giving final consent.
Please see an overview of the locations available to get your child vaccinated here:
Migraine Trust and Thistle Health and Wellbeing among projects benefiting from investment
Nineteen projects supporting people with neurological conditions are to benefit from Scottish Government backing.
As part of a five-year neurological care and support action plan, innovative projects which harness new techniques and technology will be helped by a third round of funding – with £1 million commissioned for work across Scotland.
The 2022 to 2023 award will continue to support earlier projects as well as invest in new schemes.
These include a collaborative bid from the Migraine Trust and NHS Grampian to work with community, primary and secondary care pharmacists to help people with migraine manage their symptoms and treatments more effectively.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Partnership Delivery Group will also receive more than £100,000 to meet key Neurological Care and Support Framework commitments – helping people to live well and improving patient experience.
Epilepsy Scotland will receive more than £40,000 to improve mental health outcomes for people with epilepsy, and other projects include NHS Lothian’s digital neurosymptoms platform.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Around one million people in Scotland live with a neurological condition and our neurological action plan provides a clear vision for those affected to be able to access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms.
“The allocation of this funding, as part of our £4.5 million investment over five years, will benefit a wide range of projects helping those living with epilepsy, Parkinson’s, ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders.
“We know that migraine, which affects one in seven Scots, can have a hugely negative impact on the lives of those affected by it and this investment will enable the Migraine Trust and NHS Grampian to help those dealing with it.
“But all of these innovative projects, including cross-sector collaborations, seek to ensure seamless access to high-quality and co-ordinated health, social care and third sector support in the right place at the right time.”
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