More roadworks misery as SGN to work on Crewe Road South for THREE MONTHS

Temporary traffic lights on Crewe Road South for thirteen weeks

Just when you thought local traffic disruption couldn’t get any worse … here’s a message from SGN: 

SGN Alert – Crewe Road South

We’re investing £75,000 to upgrade our gas network in Crewe Road South, Edinburgh.

This essential work involves replacing old, metal gas mains with new plastic pipe, which has a minimum lifespan of 80 years, to ensure a continued safe and reliable gas supply for the local area.

Following discussions with Edinburgh City Council, the work will begin on Monday 21 May.

We’ll be working in Crewe Road South between its junctions with Grigor Avenue and the entrance to the Western General Hospital. Temporary traffic lights will be in place in the road, including at the entrance to the hospital, for the duration of our work. We’ll be manually controlling the lights at peak times to reduce disruption.

We understand this is a busy route and advise motorists and those visiting the hospital to allow more time for journeys.

If you have any other specific enquiries about this project, please call us on 0131 469 1728 during office hours 8am – 4pm or 0800 912 1700 and our customer service team will be happy to help.

Please share this information with anyone who may be impacted by our work.

Thank you for your support while we carry out this work.

Meanwhile, the work on Pennywell Road and Groathill Road North continues. The project started on 8th January and is scheduled to take 15 weeks. In the meantime Groathill Road North remains closed to southbound traffic.

Briggs urges progress on cross-boundary health planning

Briggs Calls for More Progress on Development of New Edinburgh and South East of Scotland Centre

Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs spoke in the Procurement debate at Holyrood yesterday. The Lothian MSP spoke on improving and promoting regional procurement, using the example of when a number of health boards or local authorities pool resources to construct Regional Centres or projects that go across council boundaries. Continue reading Briggs urges progress on cross-boundary health planning

Eight injured as bus hits bridge at Western

Eight people were injured when an East Coast double decker bus hit an overhead walkway at the Western General Hospital yesterday. The roof of the bus, a 113, was torn off and fire and rescue officers attended the scene to help recover the vehicle which had become wedged under the bridge. Continue reading Eight injured as bus hits bridge at Western

Western General Macmillan nurse receives British Empire Medal

A Macmillan nurse from Edinburgh has been presented with the British Empire Medal on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. Fiona Haston, a registered nurse for 34 years, received the honour for her work helping and treating people affected by Head and Neck cancer.

Continue reading Western General Macmillan nurse receives British Empire Medal

Western General: Must do better

Follow-up inspection finds there’s still room for improvement at Western General

WesternGeneral

The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) has published its report following an unannounced follow-up inspection visit to the Western General Hospital on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 May – and further improvement is required before the local hospital can be given a clean bill of health.

HEI, part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland, was set up to help reduce healthcare associated infection risk to patients through a rigorous inspection framework.

The HEI inspection team examined NHS Lothian’s self-assessment information and then inspected the hospital to validate this information, meet patients and staff, and visit wards and departments to assess how clean the hospital was and if it was meeting national standards.

This follow-up report should be read along with the previous report produced last November, as May’s inspection follows up on the requirements made at that inspection. (See NEN blog post 26 January ‘Simply Unacceptable’).

Inspectors found that the NHS board has met six of the requirements made at the previous inspection in November last year, and partially met two other requirements.

This latest inspection resulted in no new requirements or recommendations.

Jacqui Macrae, HEI’s Head of Quality of Care, said: “Our inspectors found that NHS Lothian has met six of the eight requirements we made in our previous inspection. Progress has been made in addressing the remaining two requirements but these have only been partially met.

“As a result, NHS Lothian must take further action to maintain a clean environment in the acute receiving admissions unit. It must also ensure that a consistent system is in place to check all mattresses across all wards and departments.

These requirements will be carried forward to the next inspection and we expect NHS Lothian to address these areas as a matter of priority.”

The full HEI inspection report can be found at: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/inspecting_and_regulating_care/nhs_hospitals_and_services/nhs_lothian/western_general_hospital.aspx

Have you seen Ian?

Police are appealing for information to help trace a man reported missing since Monday (9 March).

Ian Nelson, also known as Ian Copeland, who is 38-year-old, was last seen around 1.30pm in the Western General Hospital where he was receiving treatment. Staff are concerned that he has missed the dose of the medicine he needs and his health could be affected.

Ian is described as a white male, 5 ft 10, slim build with short ginger hair and a fair complexion. He is believed to be wearing a grey top and dark trousers.

Officers are now urging anyone who can assist with their enquiries to come forward. Inspector Allan Symington said: “We are concerned for Ian’s health and welfare and are keen to speak to anyone who can help us trace him. Those with information can contact Police Scotland on 101.”

Another patient tested for Ebola

WesternGeneralA patient is being tested for Ebola at the Western General Hospital after feeling unwell on returning from West Africa. The patient, who has not been named, was admitted to the specialist unit at the Western earlier today.

The test results are likely to be known later tonight or early tomorrow morning.

NHS Lothian Nurse Director Melanie Johnson said: “A patient who recently returned to Scotland from West Africa has been admitted to our Regional Infectious Diseases Unit (RIDU) at the Western General Hospital after reporting a raised temperature.

“The patient will be screened for possible infections and as a precaution will be kept in isolation. We have robust systems in place to manage patients with suspected infectious diseases and follow agreed and tested national guidelines.”

Pauline Cafferkey went out to Africa to assist in the Ebola aid effort and became the first Scot to be diagnosed with the disease when she returned to Glasgow in December. Transferred from the Western to London’s Royal Free Hospital after tests proved positive, the nurse was in a critical condition at one point but has since made a strong recovery.