The award-winning project, Ageing Well, run by Edinburgh Leisure in partnership with NHS Lothian, will be starting two new activities in July, to support people to become, and remain active in later life.
Starting on Thursday, 8th July, there will be a regular Walk around Saughton Walled Garden with a volunteer walk leader.
The walk is suitable for people who have not walked much before, and are looking to be more active, or are returning from injury or illness. The walk will take up to 30 minutes on flat ground or gentle slopes with firm surfaces and generally no steps.
Register your interest with active@edinburghleisure.co.uk. Participants should meet at the Garden Bistro, at 10.50am for an 11am start. A contribution of £1 is welcomed towards the activity.
There will also be an 11 weeks’ Cycle Skills Course, starting on Monday, 12th July. This will meet at Saughton Sports Centre initially, with a further 4 weeks on the cycle paths leaving from Ainslie Park Leisure Centre and a further 4 weeks leaving from Meggetland. Good quality bikes and helmets are supplied to trainees so there is no need to own your own.
This course is suitable for those who wish to take up cycling again after a lengthy absence but lack confidence. The course will give participants an opportunity to improve confidence on a bike; increase bike-handling skills; put in to practice the skills they are learning; and the introduction to cycle paths, on the last two weeks of the course.
The course is very relaxed, sociable, and fun and is based on the Cycling Scotland Bikeability material adapted for adults. A contribution of £2 per week is asked from trainees to help towards the running costs of the programme.
Since their activities reopened after COVID-19 restrictions lifted again at the beginning of April, they have been supporting 120 older adults to be active again. The emphasis is on meeting new people and making physical activity accessible and enjoyable. All activities are either led by or supported by fully trained volunteers, who are all older adults themselves.
For further information, to register your interest and/or to book a slot, contact the Active Communities team on active@edinburghleisure.co.uk
NHS Lothian gave a final fond farewell to the iconic ‘Sick Kids’ site as the building was formally handed over to its new owners Downing yesterday.
The site was home to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children until March 2021, when the services moved to their purpose built, state of the art new facilities at Edinburgh’s Little France.
The Royal Hospital for Sick Children was designed by eminent Edinburgh architect George Washington Browne and opened in 1895. From then the hospital expanded and led the way in many aspects of paediatric medicine.
During the war years, women were welcomed onto the medical team and the staff coped with reduced supplies and evacuation.
Between 1895 and 2010 the hospital went through a number of extensions and redevelopments to provide a comprehensive range of dedicated children’s services including accident and emergency, acute medical and surgical care, specialist surgical and medical care, haematology and oncology, day care and critical care.
Despite the building’s incredible history and the amazing work that it supported, the space available was limited and the decision was made to move services to a new home located next to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France.
The first moves, which included the majority of children’s outpatient services took place in July 2020, with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and all remaining services including inpatients moving in January and March 2021 respectively.
Allister Short, Service Director, Women’s and Children’s Services, NHS Lothian said: “The Royal Hospital for Sick Children played an incredible role in supporting the health and wellbeing of children and young people across Lothian for over 125 years, and the building will always hold many memories for patients, families and staff.
“Our services are now settled into their incredible new home at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, but we will always look back on the colourful and remarkable history of our former building with fondness.”
The building, which has undergone a period of decommissioning to remove final clinical equipment will now pass to Downing who plan to deliver a major mixed-use development comprised of 323 student bedrooms, 95 private residential properties, community space and affordable housing.
Ian Harrison, Projects Director at Downing said: “We are looking forward to beginning works to the former Royal Hospital for Sick Children and associated buildings, ensuring the preservation of the site’s incredible architectural features whilst providing an inspiring space for residents and the surrounding community.
“The sensitive redevelopment of the hospital facility will not only represent an exciting new chapter in the building’s history, but Downing’s commitment to providing first-class residential and student accommodation will help to continue the legacy of what has been an important part of the city for generations to come.”
Scran Academy, a leading social enterprise in Edinburgh, is delighted to announce the launch of the new Scran Café, a professional café within NHS Lothian’s Comely Bank Centre, planned, launched and run by inspiring young people aged between 13 and 21 from across Edinburgh.
The café’s initial focus will be to create a welcoming, relaxing and safe haven for as many as 100 frontline NHS workers and clinical trainees on a daily basis, offering freshly made meals, drinks and other refreshments.
With an innovative social business model involving a voluntary, private and public sector collaboration, this unique partnership between Scran Academy and NHS Lothian will see more than 100 young people, too often judged and failed by both their city and country, access dedicated employment experience and skills support over the coming three years.
Through the charity’s existing community-based Academy School and Scransitions, a new 16+ employability programme, this ground-breaking social venture will empower these young people with the skills and confidence to lead in the hospitality industry.
At the same time the programme will take a significant bite out of the poverty-related barriers, life challenges and injustices they face on a daily basis – being care-experienced, disengaged from mainstream school, at risk of homelessness, unemployed or suffering from poor mental health.
Scransitions is supported by The National Lottery Fund’s Young Start Project, the Edinburgh Thrive initiative and Walter Scott Giving Group, who have all generously enabled the £300,000 project to run for three years.
The Café will open to the public later in the year as restrictions are eased. There are already strong signs that the café will become an essential resource to the wider community, instrumental in joining up other Scran programmes and initiatives.
Through the charity’s partnerships and intergenerational work including projects involving low-income family, elderly and homeless organisations, there are hundreds of individuals keen to access the cafe and get involved.
The cafe will also provide a free community library, with support from Edinburgh International Book Festival and other bookstores.
Founder of Scran Academy and social entrepreneur, John Loughton BEM (above), himself a young person who grew up struggling in North Edinburgh, said: “At Scran we do hand-ups, not just hand-outs.
“We must all respond and adapt to what is an oncoming crisis for today’s generation that has resulted from education systems failures, a bleak employment context and the rising grip of poverty and mental health. It’s brutal for young people and our work has never been more needed.
“What Scran’s story shows is that if we support local community organisations that are run with passion and authenticity, we can develop creative solutions to social inequality. It also shows that unlike the stereotypes so often in the media, young people make a real and positive contribution to society and your post code does not have to be your destiny.
“I also want to take this opportunity to thank all our funders, schools and volunteers whose contribution to the operation of Scran has made a huge difference to the young people of Edinburgh.”
Vaccine drop-in centres for the over 40s will be launched across NHS Lothian as part of the battle against COVID-19.
Clinics will be rolled-out in mass vaccination sites, from today (Wednesday 9 June), for people aged 40 and over, who require a first or second dose of the Astra Zeneca vaccine.
Anyone over the age of 40, who have not yet had their first dose – for whatever reason – can attend the clinic without an appointment, while those who are waiting for their second dose can turn up as long as they received their first injection of the Astra Zenaca vaccine at least eight weeks before.
The clinics will run at Lowland Hall (Ingliston) and West Lothian’s Pyramids Vaccination centres from tomorrow (Wednesday) through to Sunday 13 June. Starting from June 14, they will run at every centre except Lowland Hall.
People will be seen on a first come first served basis, and the centres will run for 10 hours every day.
NHS Lothian has joined up with the British Armed Forces as part of this key stage to accelerate the programme and provide increased protection for more people as quickly as possible.
A total of 36 Army personnel have been deployed into Lothian to help deliver vaccines across all of the centres.
That extra capacity – which equates to more than 3,500, appointments each day – will allow the vaccination team to target people who have not yet had the vaccine and may also speed up the process for those waiting for a second injection.
Pat Wynne, Nurse Director of Primary and Community Care, NHS Lothian, said the clinics, which will run for two weeks, were an important step. He said: “This is a really exciting step for us because it means we can reach a lot of people really quickly to help give them some protection, which is obviously vital to help beat new variants and keep people well.
“We are delighted to team up with the British Armed Forces again. Our teams have previously worked with them in two of our vaccination centres and we invited them to return to provide extra capacity across our centres as part of this race. They will join our teams at the routine appointment clinics and in the drop-in clinics.”
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “This is an excellent idea and people in Edinburgh and the Lothian’s, who are aged 40 and over waiting on their first or second dose, will welcome this move.
“NHS Lothian have used their initiative to launch vaccine drop in centres and they will be an important part of the strategy to speed up the vaccination process.”
As the national vaccination programme continues to progress through younger age groups on the priority list, members of the Armed Forces have again been asked to help accelerate the roll-out.
The Scottish Government is working closely with NHS Boards to ensure the number of appointments can be increased in line with national guidance to help combat new variants and provide protection to as many people as possible.
This includes military support and NHS Lothian and NHS Lanarkshire have requested this to enable them to boost their capacity to administer second doses alongside the delivery of first doses to younger cohorts.
Military personnel will therefore assist with vaccinations from Monday 7 June in these areas for up to five weeks.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has been involved in the vaccine rollout in Scotland, including the military, which has ensured more than 2 million people have received both doses.
“We remain on track to offer the vaccine to all adults by the end of July, but the emergence of the new variant shows that we cannot be complacent. That is why, as we have done previously, we have requested military support to complement our existing resources and to ensure we can get even more vaccinations into arms as quickly as possible.
“The vaccination programme is one of the main ways – along with restrictions and testing – that we are working to beat this virus and so it is crucial that everyone attends for their appointments when they are offered. That includes going for second doses as they are vital in providing greater and longer lasting protection against the virus.”
The Armed Forces have been working to support the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine programme with new deployments planned in Scotland and North West England.
Working together with local health boards and the NHS, personnel are part of Operation Rescript, the Armed Forces Covid-19 response. They are providing ongoing assistance to administer vaccines, provide logistics and planning support, as well as carrying out surge testing in response to variants of concern.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, said: The Armed Forces continue to show their incredible versatility and flexibility, deploying wherever and whenever they are needed in support of this national vaccination effort.
I am delighted to see that across all corners of the UK, military personnel are working side by side with their NHS counterparts to help get the British public vaccinated as quickly as possible.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock said: “We have vaccinated over three quarters of UK adults with a first dose and half of adults with a second dose. That is a huge effort across the healthcare system and beyond – and I am incredibly grateful for the amazing role our armed forces have played in this.
“We know how effective the vaccine is, thousands of lives have been saved and thousands of hospitalisations prevented. These are not just numbers, these are our family, friends and loved ones who have all been protected. Each vaccine brings us one step closer to putting this pandemic behind us. So when you get the call, get the jab.”
Commander Standing Joint Command, General Tyrone Urch said: “I am incredibly proud of our servicemen and women who have deployed in support of the Department for Health and Social Care, NHS and Health Boards across the United Kingdom to help deliver the vaccination programme efficiently and at pace.
“We are delighted to be able to support and complement the incredible work done by health professionals and volunteers across the country and we will continue to deliver anything requested of us.”
As part of the UK Government’s response to variants of concern, 400 trained vaccinators from across the Armed Forces are available to be deploy when and wherever required. 4,300 service personnel also remain at high readiness and can be called upon to support with Covid-19 tasks across the UK.
This comes in addition to support the Armed Forces have provided around the world, including delivering vaccines to Ascension Island, Falklands, Gibraltar and Tristan da Cunha, and delivering other essential COVID supplies to India and Nepal.
63 members of the Armed Forces will deploy to Lanarkshire and Lothian from Monday 7 June for up to five weeks.
42 service personnel will provide support to NHS Lothian. This will be made up of 36 vaccinators, 4 registered health professionals and 2 command and control managers. They will be split into 4 vaccine support teams who can deploy across Lothian as required.
21 service personnel will also work alongside NHS Lanarkshire and will consist of 18 vaccinators, 2 registered health professionals and one command and control manager. They will form two vaccine support teams and will deploy across Lanarkshire as required.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “This support from the armed forces gives NHS Lothian a boost in the vaccination race against Covid-19, just when they need it.
“The armed forces played an important role in getting vaccination centres up and running and the extra support they are offering now is extremely welcome.
“The professionalism from NHS Lothian staff in the vaccination programme has been outstanding and if the momentum is kept up they’ll be on top of the second doses soon.”
You can change the date, time and location of your appointment online if still in the same health board area, or by calling the helpline if in a different health board area.
Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton has welcomed an announcement from the First Minister that the Scottish Government will save Edinburgh’s historic Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion.
This U-turn comes after a hard fought community and cross party campaign and after the Lib Dems secured a vital commitment towards a replacement facility from the Scottish Government, as part exchange for Liberal Democrat votes for the Scottish budget, earlier this year.
In those negotiations, the Lib Dems persuaded the Government to protect specialist eye services within the City of Edinburgh as well as securing a massive boost to mental health funding. In this afternoon’s announcement, the First Minister made good on that commitment and promised “the renewal and replacement of health facilities across Scotland – including the Edinburgh Eye Pavilion.”
Commenting, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:“This is a huge victory today, not just for the cross party MSPs who worked to save the Eye Pavilion, but also for everyone across Edinburgh and the Lothians who fought to see the promise of a replacement facility in the capital made real.
“The First Minister’s announcement is welcome, but it should have come much sooner. Even after securing the protection of specialist eye services, the Scottish Government was attempting to rail road a more casual set up, with different treatments and services dispersed across the Lothian region.”
“I know from both constituency correspondence, and conversations on the doorsteps throughout the recent election campaign that this was a major issue for local communities. The thought of losing the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion was genuinely upsetting for people, especially those who are affected by full or partial sight loss.”
“I am delighted that Edinburgh no longer risks being the only capital city in Europe without a dedicated eye care centre. This demonstrates what can be achieved when politicians seek to work productively, on a cross party basis, for meaningful change.”
This week NHS Lothian launched their biggest COVID-19 vaccination centre so far in a bid to deliver more lifesaving vaccinations. The first of thousands of patients have begun streaming through the Lowland Hall at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston.
Vaccination teams opened the doors to the huge centre which has 50 vaccination stations with the potential to increase, if required.By opening Lowland Hall, we will be able to more than triple our current capacity.
We will deliver 18,000 vaccines every day as the numbers of patients eligible for the jab increases in line with the population mix in Lothian.
We look forward to welcoming you to the Lowland Hall.
