Tag: Western General Action Group

Happy Birthday, PCHP!

SCOTLAND’S OLDEST COMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT CELEBRATES 40th ANNIVERSARY

PILTON Community Health Project marked an amazing milestone on Thursday as they celebrated their fortieth birthday.

The ground-breaking local health project, which was launched at a doctor’s surgery on Crewe Road North back in 1984, was the first of it’s kind in Scotland.

Pilton Health Project later moved to bigger premises on West Pilton Park, where the Health Hut housed the innovative Barri Grubb food initiative and was home to the celebrated Western General Action Group campaign, before moving on to their present home on the corner of Pilton Drive North / Boswall Parkway.

My own involvement with the Health Project began in 1990 when the Western General Action Group fought a long campaign to retain Accident and Emergency and maternity/paediatric services at our local hospital.

Sadly Lothian Health Board decided otherwise, but through our persistence we did achieve the establishment of a Minor Injuries Unit at the Western – the first of it’s kind in Scotland.

Despite repeated funding challenges over the years Pilton Community Health Project has continued to provide a wide range of support services to some of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people, and Thursday was an opportunity to celebrate a remarkable story.

The project welcomed a visit by health minister Neil Gray and local politicians in the morning and in the afternoon a hardy group of us ‘golden oldie’ original supporters and PHCP staff took part in a wee walk from PCHP HQ to the project’s birthplace (and back again!) – an opportunity to meet up with friends old and new.

Back at the project guests enjoyed refreshments and shared stories and magic memories of some of the amazing characters who have played a part in PCHP’s rich history.

It really was a pleasure to be there – and I’m looking forward to the 50th anniversary party already!

Minor Injuries Unit celebrates 22nd birthday

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The Western General’s Minor Injuries Clinic  celebrated its 22nd birthday on 1st November. 
The clinic provides treatment for adults and children aged over one year. Open every day of the year from 8am to 9pm (last patient book-in at 8.30pm) it treats a wide range of injuries, such as cuts, burns, sprains, wound infections and simple fractures.
More details on the work of the Minor Injuries Clinic are on the NHS Lothian at:
The clinic opened on 1 November 1994, breaking new ground by becoming the first nurse-led unit of its kind in Scotland. The new Unit was created as a result of community pressure following a long campaign to retain A & E and childrens services at the Western (above).

As a special 22nd birthday treat for the clinic’s specialist nurse, paramedic and physiotherapy practitioners, NHS Lothian arranged for a special rendition of “Happy Birthday” to be performed (appropriately) in the key of ‘A Minor!

You can hear the performance here:

Continue reading Minor Injuries Unit celebrates 22nd birthday

Minor Injuries Clinic is twenty years old!

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The Minor Injuries Clinic will mark a major milestone this week when it celebrates its 20th anniversary​. The unit, which was the first in Scotland, opened at the Western General Hospital in 1994.

It broke new ground when it was launched by becoming the first nurse-led unit of its kind. Now 20 years on, the unit continues to be one of NHS Lothian’s flagship services and treats around 25,000 people every year for a variety of aches, pains, cuts and sprains.

Fiona Churchill, lead nurse practitioner, NHS Lothian, said the unit was a one-stop shop for patients and provided a crucial alternative to busy Emergency departments which were dealing with life-threatening injuries.

She said the unit has ensured that patients are treated at the right time, by the right people in the right place.

She added: “We are delighted to be celebrating our 20th anniversary. The minor injuries clinic was pioneering when it was created and over the years it has continued to be at the forefront of quality care.”

The service has grown and evolved over the last two decades and paramedic practitioners and a physiotherapy practitioner are now attached to the unit.

One of the other major changes has been that all staff are, or are working towards becoming independent prescribers, which has helped enhance the patients’ journey and help the unit become the one-stop shop it was designed to be.

The number of patients attending the clinic has more then doubled since it was launched in 1994 because of its prompt and expert care.

It is estimated that on average 60 adults and children now attend the clinic every day – around 25,000 every year – for a range of injuries, especially to their ankle or wrist and for burns, cuts and sprains.

The clinic will continue to evolve and will soon move into a specially-designed unit on the same site as part of the work to re-design the Western General Hospital site to make it more effective and improve patient flow.

It will continue to be a walk-in service, so no appointment is required for treatment from a range of staff, including nurse, physiotherapy and paramedic practitioners.

Over the years, opening hours have been extended to make the clinic more accessible and in line with patients’ needs, meaning that it is now open every day of the year from 8am to 9pm, with last book in at 8.30 pm.​

That seems incredible – can it really be that the Western General Action Group campaign was over twenty years ago?

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