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Join us for the Carers’ Big Day Out at Foxlake on 11 June 2021

East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership is inviting carers of all ages to a big day out at Foxlake Adventures in Dunbar on 11 June 2021 as part of Carers Week 2021 celebrations.

As everyone has been very much stuck at home during the last year, we thought we’d take the opportunity of the easing in restrictions to offer carers a chance to get out and about in the open air. 

We are offering morning and afternoon sessions, so you can choose times that best suit your circumstances. You can bring the person you care for with you or we can see how we can offer them support, if necessary, so that you are free to come on your own. We will also offer help with getting you there and back.

There are lots of activities on offer if you want to do something challenging and exciting. However, if a stroll and a cup of tea are more appealing, we can provide that too. We’ll be offering free morning coffee or afternoon tea to everyone who comes. The whole event is free and Foxlake’s team and ELHSCP staff will be on hand to help.

Go on…take the plunge. We’re looking forward to seeing you.

PS If you are interested in coming, please fill in the form below and return it to us or give Jane at ELHSCP a ring on 01620 827 755 as soon as you can so that we can give Foxlake an idea of numbers.

Download our application form here

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Suspension of Ecas Small Grants Fund

Janice Todd, Administrator, Ecas, writes…

Like many other charities, Ecas has been struggling to meet increasing demand with reduced income during the past year.

The Ecas Board of Directors made the difficult decision to suspend the Ecas Grants Fund from 1st April 2021. All grants that were approved up to Wednesday 31 March 2021 will be honoured, however, no further grants will be considered until further notice.

Any Grants Fund applications received after 1st April will be held on file until the fund reopens – we can’t say at this stage when this will be. Please do not to send in any new applications unless you are advised to do so after consulting with the Grants Fund Administrator.

I will contact you again to let you know when the Grants Fund committee are accepting new applications for consideration.

Kind Regards

Janice Todd
0131 475 2344
janice@ecas.scot

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Mental Welfare Commission to hold two virtual events on rights-based care in April

The Mental Welfare Commission will be holding two virtual events on rights-based care in April 2021. The first event on the 27th will cover topics related to the care of people in hospital; the second event on the 29th will focus on people in the community.

This event is targeted at professionals and clinicians working across the range of health and social care settings, including medical, nursing and social work staff, advocacy workers and independent sector employees.

These two webinars are an opportunity to learn from and watch presentations by medical, nursing and social work officers from the Commission. Using our good practice guidance, with data from our monitoring reports as well as topics on key issues we encounter through our visiting and on our advice line, the event on the 27th will cover:

  • Restrictions are considered under mental health or incapacity legislation
  • Developing Care Plans
  • Reviewing matters relating to detention

And on the 29th:

  • Developing advance statements
  • Capacity and consent issues are raised
  • Working with proxy decision makers and guardians

The email for queries and registering your interest to attend is info@redharbour.org

Fiona Hamilton
IT Support Officer
Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
Email address: fiona.hamilton8@nhs.scot

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A chance to inform Improving the Cancer Journey in East Lothian

Vivien Jayne, the East Lothian Improving the Cancer Journey has asked me to contact you with the message below. It would be great if you could share this around your networks. I think Vivien would like to hear from as many people as possible.

Vivien writes…

Our new Macmillan-funded service, ‘Improving the Cancer Journey (ICJ)’ supports people affected by cancer and ‘go live’ across East Lothian in summer 2021.  It will offer everyone who has been affected by cancer dedicated time with a Link Worker to think about ‘what matters’ with a focus on non-clinical issues. 

We know that ‘navigating the system’ or knowing what’s out there can be hard, so our ICJ Link Workers will be on hand to listen to you, work with you to find out what is important and then help you to find the right support for you in your area. This might include help with money worries, getting around, managing symptoms like fatigue, as well as referring to specialist support services such as counselling to help manage the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis.

There are ICJ services elsewhere in Scotland – click on the links below to find out more:

We are committed to developing ways to ensure that the voices of people affected by cancer are at the centre of everything we do. Our aim is to build a regional forum for East Lothian to help inform, advise and improve the service so that people living with cancer, their carers and their families can find the right support to help them manage the things that are most important in their lives.

We are therefore keen to speak to people who have been affected by cancer and who may wish to share their experiences and/or help gather the experiences of others, to help inform and influence the Improving the Cancer Journey service in East Lothian and beyond.

Interested?  We would love to hear from you.  You can contact us in the following ways: