This December many of us will be making up for lost time and celebrating the festive period with friends and family across our major towns and cities, after being unable to get together last year.
With the nightlife scene working its way back to a sense of normality, this Christmas will see work parties, reunions with friends, and family gatherings taking place across the UK and Ireland.
Whilst it will be great to see people enjoying the festivities this year, it also brings back the risks of individuals falling in the water after a night out whilst drunk making their way home.
Young people across the country are working with the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), the charity which enhances communities so everyone can enjoy water safely, as they fear that this time of year will potentially see people like them unexpectedly falling into the water after enjoying their night out.
The RLSS UK launches its annual Don’t Drink and Drown Campaign this month, which will run from 6 – 12 December, in a bid to encourage public safety with its key messages of:
look out for your friends and make sure they get home safely
if you’ve had a drink, stay away from the water
find an alternative route home away from water, and
stay away from water in winter, cold water shock kills.
With alcohol impairing our judgements, limiting muscle ability, slowing down reactions and numbing our senses, this can mean that even for strong swimmers, entering the water after drinking can be extremely dangerous. On average 73 people lose their lives each year through a substance-related drowning, this is over 20% of the annual accidental drowning fatalities.
A number of young people who are working with the charity are spreading the word and offering safety advice in and around our major towns and cities this festive period.
The Youth Leadership Team at RLSS UK have been visiting popular nightlife destinations within their own local areas to deliver the message and asking people to Be a Mate over the coming months to ensure everyone can enjoy their Christmas.
James Cossons, Youth Advisor at RLSS UK, said: “As part of my role in the Youth Leadership Team at RLSS UK, the team and I have been spreading the message of our Don’t Drink and Drown campaign to improve people’s knowledge around water safety.
“It is really important for members of the public to understand the dangers, especially at this time of year, of being around the water after drinking. We want to ensure everyone enjoys the festive period safely and we encourage everyone to be a mate this Christmas.”
Drowning is a significant issue all year-round and one which needs caution this Christmas. The charity is urging people to be mindful and plan their safe routes home away from water.
For further detail on RLSS UK’s Don’t Drink and Drown campaign visit www.rlss.org.uk/dont-drink-and-drown where you can also download resources to spread the word and help keep your friends and family safe this Christmas.
There have been over 500 verbal or physical assaults on the Scottish Ambulance Service’s staff by members of the public between January 2020 and October 2021, new data from the Service has revealed.
In one incident in Oxgangs, Edinburgh on 20th November, the Service received a hoax call for a cardiac arrest, and when a crew were dispatched to the scene, the vehicle was hit with a number of unknown objects. There have also been incidents where call handlers have been verbally-assaulted, and staff members have been spat at.
The Service has a range of measures in place to help protect staff, such as training in managing aggression and assessing risk, and areas where staff have previously faced violence or threatening behaviour are taken into consideration and communicated to attending crews. However assaults against staff leave a lasting effect, and as we come into the party season, it’s more important than ever to raise awareness of the issues.
The Scottish Government has also recently launched a campaign to tackle attacks against front-line staff. Their Health Worker Respect Campaign has been produced to help reduce levels of violent and abusive behaviour being experienced by health and social care workers following increased demands on NHS services as a result of the Covid pandemic. It also aims to raise awareness of the challenges staff are facing and the consequences inappropriate behaviour can have on staff members.
Pauline Howie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “Assaults and anti-social behaviour are completely unacceptable, and our staff should not have to fear for their safety when treating patients, or to be verbally-assaulted over the phone when handling calls.
“They work incredibly hard, helping people in need and keeping them safe, and sadly, we’ve seen incidents occur in other parts of the NHS and against our police and fire colleagues too. We also provide support to staff to report incidents to Police Scotland, so that they can take the matter further.”
Total Number of Incidents by Incident date (Month and year) and Category
This Road Safety Week (15-21 November 2021) a national vet charity is urging pet owners to be aware of the dangers that roads and traffic can pose to our four-legged friends.
Here, PDSA Vet Lynne James offers her top tips on how to keep your beloved pets away from dangers on the roads:
“Before you do anything else, make sure you have pet insurance in place. If the worst happens and your furry family member is involved in a road accident, pet insurance will help to cover the cost of veterinary treatment for their injures.
Reflective collars
“With shorter daylight hours, cats may be more likely to be out and about in the dark. Reflective collars can make it easier for drivers to spot your pet when they’re exploring near roads, just make sure it’s a ‘quick release’ type so they can’t get caught up anywhere. It’s a good idea to help keep your cat safe by keeping them indoors at night and only letting them out during daylight hours. In this instance, try feeding your cat as it begins to get dark — they should get used to the schedule and return home for food before nightfall.
Leads
“The best way you can make sure your pooch is safe is to keep them on a short, strong lead attached to a well-fitting collar when around roads. If you’re going to take them off the lead to have a run-around, check that the area is safely secured with fences or railings so they can’t run onto any nearby roads.
Commands
“While you won’t be able to teach your canine companion to look left and right, you can use simple commands to help keep them safe by busy roads. When approaching a road with your dog on a lead, ask them to ‘sit’ and ‘wait’. Once your dog has sat calmly and you’re happy it’s clear, give the command to ‘walk’ and cross the road together carefully.
Visibility
“While it’s always better to walk dogs in daylight, at this time of year it isn’t always possible, so when walking your four-legged friend during darker hours, you should make sure drivers can see both of you. You could wear bright coloured clothing or even a high visibility jacket to help them spot you. For your furry friend, you can use a high visibility dog coat or an LED collar or tag to help them stand out along roads.”
To find LED collars and other pet accessories visit PDSA’s online store at pdsapetstore.org.uk – every purchase helps PDSA to help more pets in need.
Vet charity PDSA provides free and low cost vet care for those who struggle to pay treatment costs for their sick and injured pets. For many vulnerable pets, PDSA is there to help when there is nowhere else for their owners to turn.
Since the first UK lockdown began, PDSA’s dedicated vet teams carried out more than one million phone consultations.
With 388,000 pets treated in 2020, by keeping their 48 Pet Hospitals open, PDSA can support the thousands of pets that need help across the UK every day. Every pet deserves a fighting chance.
As part of our ongoing work with partner agencies to keep people safe in Edinburgh, Community Police Officers met with the RNLI yesterday to deliver a water safety event at Portobello Beach.
During the day we spoke to a large amount of beach visitors and local businesses about beach safety and how to stay safe on our coastline.
We also had the pleasure of meeting the Keep Porty Tidy lobster!
See below for some safety tips from RNLI and HM Coastguard on how to stay safe this summer:
#FloatToLive – if you find yourself in difficulty in the waterIf you fall into the water, fight your instinct to thrash around
Lean back, extend your arms and legsIf you need to, gently move them around to help you float.
Float until you can control your breathing
Only then, call for help or swim to safety.
If you are using Stand-Up Paddle Boards (SUP):
Check the water and tides before you go, if in doubt, don’t go out.Take a fully charged phone in a waterproof pouch so you can call for help if you need it.
Be equipped – wear the right gear including a flotation aid and leash.
Please don’t use inflatables at our coast, they are not designed for open water. They will quickly drift out to sea, along with those on them.
If you do choose to use them, please make sure that they are properly secured and very closely supervised. If you do get blown out to sea, stay in your inflatable and call for help.
If you get into trouble in the water or coast, don’t wait, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard and they will send help. FAST.
Following a Freedom of Information request the Scottish Government has released the following submission from Forth Ports:
Wardie Bay was not included on the list of Scotland’s designated bathing waters when it was published on 1st July.
The Wardie Bay Beachwatch environmental group appealed the decision and received the following response from the Scottish Government’s Environmental Quality Unit last month:
Thank you for your letter to Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, about the application for Bathing Waters designation at Wardie Bay, Edinburgh. Bathing Waters fall under the remit of Mairi McAllan, Minister for Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform, and I have been asked to reply.
The Bathing Waters Review Panel is multi-stakeholder group, chaired by SEPA, that considers and reviews the list of bathing waters, including new applications for designation and provides recommendations to Scottish Ministers. The Panel met on 8 December 2020 and made recommendations to the Minister for Wardie Bay bathing water designation application in May 2021.
The panel recognised numerous positive aspects of the Wardie Bay application and agreed that user number criteria was met in 2020 and seemed sustainable. However, Forth Ports provided a submission which mentioned swimmer safety in relation to offshore vessel/harbour activity, and this would have to be managed by clear beach management and bather information.
The relevant local authority, City of Edinburgh Council, indicated overall support in principle for the application. However, despite the Transport and Environment committee outcomes you mention in your letter, there are still on-going discussions at Committee level on their current roles and resource to perform beach management functions.
As beach management is a key criteria for designation, until such times as the City of Edinburgh Council concludes its deliberations on these matters, the Panel was unable to recommend designation.
Having considered the Panel’s advice on the circumstances at Wardie Bay, the Minister accepted the Panel’s recommendation that Wardie Bay is not designated as a bathing water at this time, noting that the outcome of the Council’s current deliberations on beach management will inform the Panel’s future recommendation regarding this location.
I hope you find this information helpful.
The group’s petition to have Wardie Bay included on the list of designated bathing waters remains live on Change.org – over 1730 people have signed so far.
Dr Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has stated that it is absolutely essential that patients and visitors in Emergency Departments continue to protect themselves and others with face masks, hand washing and social distancing.
Dr Katherine Henderson said: “While restrictions have been eased, it is absolutely essential that we continue to keep everyone safe in hospital settings and in Emergency Departments. Patients and visitors must therefore expect to wear a mask and maintain social distancing.
“Emergency Departments regularly see vulnerable patients. We must do all we can to keep those patients safe, but also to ensure that these patients feel safe coming to the hospital and the Emergency Department if, and when, they need help.
“We ask patients and visitors to kindly respect and co-operate with this guidance and help to keep everyone safe. Staff will not tolerate any abuse whatsoever. They absolutely do not deserve it, but it is a sad reality that we are already hearing and seeing abusive behaviour towards staff. It is clear these measures will help protect the most vulnerable patients, so it is right that all patients and visitors follow them.
“Staff will request all patients and visitors to put a mask on when in an Emergency Department and they will not be engaging in any debate on the guidance.
“It is a matter of public health and infection prevention control to keep all our patients safe.”
Care & Repair Edinburgh, part of the Age Scotland family, is launching a home assessment service to help older people and those living with disabilities live as safely and comfortably as possible in their own homes.
The new service includes a free room-by-room home assessment by the charity’s Independent Living Adviser (above), who will create a report of recommendations for improvements in safety, accessibility and comfort.
Typical recommendations may include replacing faulty electrical items, fixing door thresholds, removing frayed rugs or other trip hazards, draught-proofing wooden windows and doors, and improving accessibility through the installation of handrails, ramps and key safes.
Following the home assessment, a full report will be available to allow clients to review any recommendations and discuss with family members. Care & Repair Edinburgh may also be able to carry out some of the work client wishes to progress, either free of charge where eligible or at a subsidised rate for larger repairs and installations.
Allison Strachan, Head of Care & Repair Edinburgh, said: “Although lockdown measures are easing gradually, people are still spending large amounts of time at home and therefore it is very important that the home environment is as safe, comfortable and accessible as possible.
“This new service will allow older people and those living with disabilities in Edinburgh to continue to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as they want and are able.
“Arranging a free home assessment can offer much-needed peace of mind and we would encourage eligible Edinburgh residents to get in touch to find out how Care & Repair Edinburgh can assist them.”
Our new free home assessment service has been researched with @ROSPA, @policescotland & @fire_scot and includes a room by room assessment and recommendations to improve safety, accessibility and comfort at home.
— Care&RepairEdinburgh (@carerepairedin) June 9, 2021
The free home assessment service has been researched in collaboration with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and is possible thanks to generous funding from Bank of Scotland Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and Greenshoots Fund.
Bookings will be taken from Monday 14 June onwards, with the first appointments for home assessments available from Monday 19th July.
To arrange your free assessment, please contact Care & Repair Edinburgh on 0131 3371111 or visit www.crew.scot for more information.
1.7 million adults in Scotland planning on hosting a garden party this summer
1.7 million adults in Scotland will be hosting a garden party during the summer, according to a new YouGov poll and 7 per cent intend to hire a bouncy castle for their event – meaning as many as 120,000 inflatables will be in use in private gardens, yet new research has also revealed that one in three (32 per cent) of bouncy castle operators are not up-to-date with inflatable inspections after the lockdown.
The research, released by the Register of Play Inspectors International (RPII) – an international body for training inflatable inspectors and operators – and national inflatable inspection scheme PIPA – also reveals that 31 per cent of adults in Scotland don’t know what to ask regarding the safety of the bouncy castle at the point of booking one.
Yet despite this, almost one in 10 (9 per cent) of adults have witnessed an accident or injury on a bouncy castle, many of which could be prevented.
The RPII and PIPA have joined forces to launch a new campaign called #BounceSafe, supported by singer and mum-of-two Suzanne Shaw, which aims to get parents and those booking inflatables to take the appropriate safety steps to help ensure safe usage during this summer surge, and reduce the number of accidents and injuries.
Suzanne Shaw, singer and mum said: “After the year we have all had, it’s not a surprise to see millions of people will be hosting garden parties and what better way to entertain the kids than with a bouncy castle.
“I’m supporting the #BounceSafe campaign to send an important message to parents and those hiring the inflatables at-home to please make sure they ask the right questions when they hire and follow the safety advice on the day to help reduce the number of accidents. We all have a role to play in keeping the kids bouncing safe and it’s so important to supervise the inflatable at all times.”
The campaign is calling for people who hire bouncy castles for at-home use to do three things:
Ask the 3 key questions of the operator at the point when they hire – Do you have a PIPA tag and number, are you insured and have you done the RPII operator training during the last 3 years?
Supervise the bouncy castle at all times once the operator leaves a private at-home event.
Follow simple safety advice during the event and brief users about the rules before they go on.
When it comes to supervision, 82 per cent of all adults in Scotland do not know that if they have hired the bouncy castle, they are fully and legally responsible for the safety of the children on it when the operator leaves the event whilst one in five (20 per cent) have witnessed bouncy castles being completely unsupervised while children are on it.
The inflatables industry has been hit hard during the COVID pandemic. The RPII’s research reveals that 56 per cent of operators have suffered financially with 70 per cent having to temporarily close the business, 24 per cent furlough staff and 50 per cent adapt their business model over the last 12 months. The research also reveals the support from the public for the industry as one in seven (15 per cent) want to support their local inflatables business after the lockdown.
Matthew Sweed, Technical Director of Inflatables at the RPII, said: “We are launching our #BounceSafe campaign today to help keep children all over the UK bouncing safely this summer and reduce the number of accidents and injuries.
“By following some simple safety advice, everyone can play an important part in the safe hiring and safe usage of inflatables. As part of the campaign we are also urging all inflatable operators to ensure their castles are up to date with their annual inspection and that operators have also participated in our operator training programme during the last 3 years.”
And when attending a garden party with a bouncy castle, 25 per cent said there were too many children on the bouncy castle at any one time and a quarter (24 per cent) said they saw children climbing on the bouncy castle walls which is the most common cause of accidents.
Sweed continued: “It’s really important that those hiring the inflatable supervise the users at all times after the operator leaves. We know it’s something not all parents are aware of, but it has a huge impact on accident rates.“
As part of the #BounceSafe campaign, the RPII is launching a new digital training programme for all bouncy castle operators which they can complete online and a new website for hirers to access simple safety information – www.bouncesafe.org.uk.
Hibernian FC has urged supporters to enjoy today’s Cup Final and reiterated that they should watch – and hopefully celebrate – the match in line with Government restrictions and with consideration for others.
The Club confirmed yesterday that Easter Road Stadium would close on Friday and will not reopen over the weekend, regardless of the game’s outcome.
And following the harrowing scenes from Glasgow city centre – where a man had his hand blown off in a shocking pyrotechnic incident – the Club is asking fans to desist from any use of pyrotechnics. These are not safe, can cause severe injuries, and can be harmful to health – particularly to those suffering from any respiratory illness.
Fans can now enjoy the game with families or close friends provided they do so in line with Government restrictions – so basically up to six adults from three households, whether in a private home or hospitality setting.
The game is being televised live via Hibs TV to International Subscribers and is also being shown on BBC and on Premier Sports – so loads of options to watch.
In his open letter to all supporters, Hibernian Chairman Ronald J Gordon said: “I also want to ask one more time for your support and patience. Please, cheer the team on, but please do it with your friends and your family and do it within the Government restrictions that are there to protect us all. Let’s not be part of anything that risks the progress made in tackling the pandemic.”
The Club is asking supporters to resist the temptation to gather unsafely in large numbers and making it clear that there will be no opportunity, sadly, to celebrate together as we would all like if Jack Ross and the players cap a great season by winning the Scottish Cup.
By adhering to the rules, Hibernian fans can help bring a return to stadiums a little closer.
