NHS HQ Opened

Three NHS facilities were praised by Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing when she formally opened the building they all share as their headquarters.

Caledonia House at Fifty Pitches site in Cardonald is home to NHS 24, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the Scottish Ambulance Service among other health agencies. Around 700 employees work there round the clock. ‘This is a fantastic example of joint working,’ said the Cabinet Secretary as she unveiled a brass plaque. ‘It is THE leading example and is no mean feat for everyone involved.’

 

Refurbished at a cost of £1.6m, Caledonia House was built in 2000 and is leased by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde for 15 years. The joint project was completed within 18 months.

‘Not only does it provide quality accommodation, the benefits of staff working closely together are already being found. Face to face working transforms contact. Now people aren’t just talking on the phone, they can walk a few steps to see the person they need to talk to. Such integration provides for better patient care,’ said the Minister. ‘This is a fantastic achievement and is thoroughly impressive,’ she said adding her personal thanks for the hard work which had gone into the project.

Andrew Robertson, Chair of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: ‘Three bodies was enough critical mass to achieve this. There is no down side. We have quality accommodation, effective joint working where we gain from each other and there is real value for money.’

Alan Watson, Chairman of NHS 24 added: ‘This move is providing an excellent opportunity for better integration, particularly in Out of Hours care which can only improve patient experience in the longer term.’

The Out of Hours service is the largest in Scotland if not the UK and cares for 1.25 million people. ‘Close working partnership put us in a better position to meet the current winter’s higher levels of demand,’ said Andrew Robertson.

William Brackenridge, Chair of the Scottish Ambulance Service Board said: ‘The new facility has improved our ability to answer 999 calls and quickly dispatch the most appropriate response to patients. Altogether, the move adds up to a better service for our patients.’

St Kentigern’s Medieval Music

Ancient music sings out Glasgow’s story

The rare sound of Medieval music in praise of Glasgow’s Patron Saint, St Kentigern, was heard in Glasgow Cathedral in January.

‘It made my hair stand on end just to hear it,’ said Bailie Catherine McMaster, chair of Glasgow City Council’s Local History and archaeology working group who introduced the event. She said: ‘This connects the past with our present and helps us to learn our own story.’

St Kentigern – a sixth century holy man known also as St Mungo – became known as the first bishop of Glasgow and the city’s patron saint. His legendary miracles are remembered in the bird, tree, bell and fish with golden ring, as seen on the city’s coat of arms.

The music was selected from chants of the Office (service) which were composed especially to celebrate his feast day which falls on 13 January. The manuscript which contains this Office is known as the Sprouston Breviary dated around 1300 and is housed in the National Library of Scotland. It is the only known manuscript which contains both the text and the music for his feast.

Known to a limited number of scholars familiar with early editions of the chant texts, it was brought to public attention during the BBC radio series, Scotland’s Music, by John Purser. Following that, Alan and Rebecca Tavener of Cappella Nova commissioned Dr Greta-Mary Hair and Dr Betty Knott-Sharpe to prepare a performing edition of chants from the Kentigern Office for a concert and recording.

The performance in Glasgow Cathedral was given by Canty and Schola Glasguensis – professional Medieval singers and musicians. Canty director, Rebecca Tavener said: ‘Performances of medieval material would not be possible without the tireless expertise and generosity of very special scholars, Dr Greta-Mary Hair who transcribed and edited the music and Dr Betty Knott-Sharpe, editor and translator of the texts.’

Afterwards, Dr Hair told the LOCAL NEWS: ‘It is always gratifying to hear a good, live performance after having worked on the manuscript.’

* The entire Office will be published later this year by Musica Scotica Trust.

Homeless Mental Health Warning

A mental health epidemic looms as evictions and house repossessions dramatically increase the number of people likely to become homeless.

Three agencies which worked together to prevent homelessness, have piloted a way to reduce the stress of people facing eviction and to address the often very complex, issues and problems which surfaced with each case.

South West Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership, Govan Law Centre and Money Matters, Money Advice Centre combined in an s.11 Partnership – named after section 11 of the Homelessness etc (Scotland) Act 2003, which comes into force on April 1.

Because the person in difficulties was seen by the same professional from the beginning, trust was gained and the clients all praised the help they had received. ‘It was so good to have someone on my side,’ said one. ‘They helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel,’ said a young mum.  But almost everyone developed mental or physical illnesses as a result of facing homelessness.

The s.11 Partnership saved the public purse between £24,000 and £80,000 per client and up to £7,000 per client in NHS spend. But their report ‘Prevention of Homelessness Partnership Evaluation’ by Danny Phillips Associates published at the beginning of February stated that the s.11 Partnership is not sustainable if voluntary organisations such as theirs have to supplement the costs from reserves.

*In January the s.11 Partnership recorded a 66% increase in their workload with 501 new cases of potentially homeless people asking for help.

Victory for Glasgow Home Owners Campaign

A move by Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) to allow home owners up to two years to pay large bills has been welcomed.

‘This is a victory for us,’ said Sean Clerkin, leader of the Glasgow Home Owners’ Campaign (GHOC) which has been campaigning vigorously for more time for owners to pay. The average bill for re-cladding, re-roofing and similar work is £7000 per household and payable within one year.

Said civil servant Linda Wood (61) (pictured right): ‘I’m delighted. I don’t have a sword of Damocles hanging over me now. But I’ll still need to work two years longer than I had planned to pay my bill of £6648.35.’

In a four-in-the-block property, she would have had to repay £550 a month under the original scheme which required bills to be cleared within one year. ‘There is no way I could do that. I don’t have that amount of money. But spread over two years it is possible –just!’

 

Said a GHA spokeswoman: ‘we believe the extra lifeline will assist owners who are willing to pay their bills, but are struggling to meet the current 12 month payment period.’ She added that the vast majority of owners – 98% – pay their bills within the 12 month period.

School and Nursery Closures

Parents across the city are mobilising in protest against threatened closures of schools and nurseries.

Glasgow City Council has announced 22 closures and amalgamations, in an attempt to address the issue of sub-standard buildings and under-occupancy.

There will be a consultation period starting in February, for parents and others to comment on the proposals.

St Gilbert’s primary in Germiston is one of the schools facing an uncertain future. Pupils will move to St Philomena’s primary nearly a mile away, and pupils from Barmulloch primary are due to move in to the St Gilbert’s building.

Members of the parent-teacher council secured 5000 signatures on a petition within two days of the proposals being announced. The group also held a public meeting to discuss tactics.  Mary Scott has two grandchildren at the school, Rosemary, 6 and Jordan, 8.

Mary, who worked as a breakfast club assistant at the school for eight years, said: ‘The kids are settled in the school. To move them would be a major disruption to their education.’

Jim McCann has three children at the school, Chloe, 10, Amy, 9 and Ryan, 7.   He told the Local News: ‘Our family moved to Airdrie for two years, and we thought so much of St Gilbert’s that we commuted the kids to school here. We have now moved back to the area, largely because of the high quality of education provided at the school.’

St Gilbert’s has 190 pupils on the school roll, and employs 10 teachers, 5 support staff, 4 cleaners and 2 breakfast club staff.

Attending the protest meeting were Paul Martin MSP and councillors Jim Todd, Grant Thoms and Phil Greene.

Grant Thoms announced that the council’s forthcoming budget vote on 12 February includes the projected savings from the school closures, but the schools consultation does not finish until March, indicating that the decision has already been made. Phil Greene also alleged that elected officials were kept in the dark until the last minute, and the news was leaked via the Evening Times newspaper before the schools were informed.

Schools and nurseries on the Southside will also be affected. Victoria Primary in Govanhill has 88 pupils and 60 pre-school children in its nursery. Cathy Wotherspoon, chair of the Parent Council, said: ‘Moving the pupils to Annette Street and Cuthbertson Primary is a bad idea. There is a full class of 22 P1 children waiting to come into the school and there is a waiting list for the nursery. Moving the nursery kids to Govanhill Nursery makes no sense as that nursery is already full to capacity. There were 175 parents and kids at our public meeting because people feel strongly about the issue. The school and nursery are like a family, it has taken a long time to build this atmosphere.’   

Shawbridge Street nursery is also facing closure, with the children due to join with Pollokshaws nursery, then move to the new Tinto nursery and primary school facility after a year. Rachel Beattie worked at the nursery for 21 years before she retired. She said: ‘The nursery has always operated at full capacity. The building is in excellent condition. Pollokshaws nursery is listed as being in poor condition, so why move children from a good building to a bad one? Also, John Maxwell primary is to remain open right until the new Tinto school is ready, Shawbridge should remain open also.’ Stacey Buchanan’s son Kenzie White, 3, is enrolled at Shawbridge nursery. Stacey is concerned about the level of disruption. Having just moved to the area, this is Kenzie’s second nursery. If the plan proceeds he will have attended four nurseries in total before starting primary school.

At a meeting of the full council on Thursday 29 January, councillors voted in favour of proceeding with the consultation.

 

The full list of proposed closures and amalgamations;

 

• Sighthill Primary to close and pupils to transfer to Rosyton Primary.

• St Gilbert’s primary to close and pupils to transfer to St Philomena’s. Barmulloch primary to close and pupils to relocate to St Gilbert’s building. 

• Victoria Primary to close and pupils to transfer to Annette Street and Cuthbertson Primary. Victoria Nursery Class to transfer to Govanhill Nursery.

• Bellahouston Primary to close and pupils to transfer to Ibrox Primary.

• Albert Primary in Springburn to close and pupils to transfer to Elmvale Primary.

• St Agnes’ primary in Cadder to close and pupils to transfer to St Blane’s.

• St Aloysius’ Primary in Springburn to close and pupils to move to St Stephen’s.

• St Gregory’s in Maryhill to close and pupils transfer to St Mary’s.

• Wyndford Primary in Maryhill to close and pupils to transfer to Parkview Primary.

• St James primary in Calton to close and pupils to transfer to Alexandra Parade primary.

• Ruchill Primary to close and pupils to move to Westercommon Primary.

• Our Lady of Assumption primary to be closed and pupils to move to St Cuthberts.

• Shawbridge Nursery to close and children to move to Pollokshaws nursery.

• Kinning Park Nursery to close and children to move to Festival Park Nursery.

• Merrylee Nursery class to close and combine with Holmlea Day Nursery – these are housed in the same building. 

• Mile End nursery to close and combine with Bridgeton Family Learning Centre.

• Garscube Nursery to close and combine with Cowcaddens Day Nursery, both housed in the same building.

• Craigielea Nursery and Broomapark Nursery to close and children to attend St Denis’ primary instead.

• Anderston Nursery  Class to lcose and children to attend either Anderston Street Nursery or Sandyford Day Nursery.

• In Dalmarnock, Queen Mary Street nursery is to close and children will be offered a place at London Road Nursery.

• Newark Drive, Nithsdale Road and Pollokshields Nurseries to close, and children to transfer to new early years centre at Pollokshields Primary Annexe.

Gaza Protests

A thousand people marched through the streets of Glasgow on Saturday January 3 to show their support for Palestinian civilians caught up in the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip.

 The marchers called for an immediate end to the violence and the removal of blockades which are preventing aid from reaching the besieged Gaza residents. The marchers assembled at Blythswood Square then made their way to the Merchant City.

 They were addressed by speakers including MSPs Bill Kidd, (SNP) Pauline McNeill, (Labour) and Hugh O’Donnell (Lib Dem), as well as Barrie Levine of Scottish Jews for a Just Peace and Nazia Iqbal of the Scottish-Islamic Foundation.

The following night, a fundraising dinner at the Glasgow Central Mosque by Islamic Relief raised £160,000 for humanitarian aid for Gaza. The dinner was attended by Nicola Sturgeon MSP, who said: ‘I congratulate Islamic Relief and the people of Glasgow for raising over £150k in one evening.

‘This shows the strength of feeling from people about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.’

On Tuesday January 6, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that Gaza faces an imminent humanitarian disaster. The Committee’s director of operations, Pierre Krähenbühl, said ‘There is no doubt in my mind that we are dealing with a major crisis in humanitarian terms. The situation for the people in Gaza is extreme and traumatic as a result of ten days of uninterrupted fighting. In that sense, their situation has clearly become intolerable.’

Further demonstrations took place in London and Edinburgh on Saturday January 10 by both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups.

 At the London pro-Israeli rally, Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks called for an end to violence saying: ‘We say to those who criticise Israel: You want Palestinian children to gorw up with hope, so do we. You want Palestinians to be able to live with dignity, so do we.’

In Edinburgh around 7000 people marched in support of the Palestinians. As protesters passed the American Embassy, a torrent of shoes was thrown at the building – including ski boots and clogs. Three police officers suffered minor injuries.

 

Glaswegians in the 2009 Honours

A Southside sportswoman is among those who have been acknowledged for their contribution to society in the New Year’s Honours List.

Blind paralympian cyclist Aileen McGlynn of Crookston was awarded an OBE – Order of the British Empire.

Aileen told the LOCAL NEWS: ‘It is an amazing end to the year. Once I received my MBE in 2005, which in itself was a great honour, I didn’t expect to get anything more.’

Aileen cycles tandem with her cycling pilot guide, Ellen Hunter of Cornwall who also received the OBE.  Both meet up in Manchester to train at the velodrome before big events. Said Aileen: ‘The sooner the velodrome in Glasgow is open, the better!’

She won two gold medals at last year’s Paralympic Games in Beijing and even smashed the world record for the 1 km timed trial which she and Ellen had set in Athens in 2004.

Another honour goes to East Ender, Sandra Forsythe, Glasgow Housing Association’s Tenant Chair. She said she was ‘humbled’ by her MBE and added: ‘The recognition was a complete surprise. I am still in shock. However, it’s good to know that those who give up their spare time voluntarily are being honoured. I’ll be accepting the MBE on behalf of all tenant volunteers in Glasgow.’

Sandra was elected Chair of GHA Board in January 2005 and has just been re-elected as chair for another year and as a board member for another three years. The outer East area covering Greater Easterhouse, Shettleston, Tollcross, Baillieston and Carmyle nominated Sandra for the Board but she represents the whole of the city. She has been involved in Glasgow’s housing since 1991.

Raymond Francis Hemmett of North Kelvinside was made an MBE. He is a senior conservator of paintings with Historic Scotland. A conservator for 35 years, he said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted.  It is good for conservators in general because they do not normally get recognised. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes and while the work of the curators is important, the conservators play a part.’ One of his most exciting projects was the re-decoration of the King’s Dining Room in Edinburgh Castle.

Alexander (Sandy) McGeoch was appointed MBE for his services to the Young Engineers and Science Clubs Scotland (YESC). Originally from Banff in Aberdeenshire he moved to Glasgow and the Maryhill Park area and now lives in Milngavie. He told the LOCAL NEWS: ‘It made me feel extremely good that the industry has recognised me.’ Sandy has worked with primary and secondary schools and further education facilities across Scotland since 1993 and has built up the number of clubs from 23 to just short of 300. YESC provides hands-on experience of science and engineering projects such as ‘Rampaging Chariots’ which gives students the chance to build their very own working robot.

Sandy said: ‘The robot building gives the kids skills in mechanics and construction but it is fun too. Making sure the kids learn through having fun is important or else it would simply been seen as an extension to the classroom.’

The Herald and Evening Times Group’s Managing Director , Tom Thomson, received an OBE for his services to music. He was chairman of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. ‘This honour recognises the outstanding success of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Scotland’s position on the musical world stage as acknowledged by Glasgow’s recent award as a UNESCO City of Music,’ he said.

Ian George Taylor, district manager of Jobcentre Plus in Glasgow received an OBE.  Harry Benson, world renowned, Glasgow photographer was awarded a CBE.

Olympic cyclist, Chris Hoy, received a knighthood. He also has the accolade of having Glasgow’s multi-million pound Velodrome to be built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, named after him.

Chinese New Year on Burns Night

Chinese New Year and the 250^th anniversary of poet Robert Burns’ birthday coincide on Sunday 25 January this year.

The Scottish Government will use the date as the launchpad for the Year of Homecoming to persuade exiles and diaspora to return to Scotland to celebrate.

Glasgow’s Chinese communities will settle for a modest, but rousing, New Year event on Monday February 2 in the Mitchell Theatre, Glasgow.

There will be entertainment by various Chinese groups and artists hosted by the Chinese Community Development Partnership (CCDP)

At the CCDP’s annual general meeting at the end of last year, Chinese Consulate- General Shi Yufeng was guest of honour. He congratulated the Partnership of 16 organisations for what they had done for the community. This included a spectacular Chinese New Year Celebration in the Royal Concert Hall in 2008.

Annie Mead, Chairperson of CCDP presented the 7^th annual report. She said that an assessment of their plan to have a One Stop Chinese Community Centre, revealed the idea did not meet funding criteria. Despite the disappointment, useful data was obtained which will inform future plans and developments. The Youth project had had a very successful year and would continue to be supported by CCDP but because funding had failed to materialize for the work, it would be up to the young people who had benefited from the previous efforts, to organise themselves into an effective and dynamic group.

‘We firmly believe that as one door closes, another opens,’ said the Chairperson. She gave credit for the considerable achievements of the Partnership over the previous year, to the dedicated, hard-working and efficient staff and the Directors who had given their time, support and advice to the work as well as all the volunteers and their invaluable contributions. She added that she was proud to report that Development Officer, Joyce Tai, had completed her studies at Glasgow University and had graduated as a fully qualified community development workers.

Bailie Gordon Matheson, who chaired the annual general meeting, paid tribute to the CCD for trying to ‘do more, with less.’

 

ID Cards Protest at Brand Street

Protesters gathered outside the UK Borders Agency office in Brand Street, Govan to protest against the introduction of ID cards for non-EU citizens wishing to apply for student or marriage visas.

The demonstration was organised by action group Glasgow Anarchists who fear the cards will make it easy to steal a person identity and will be the iceberg in the creation of a national identity card scheme

On Tuesday November 25 the biometric ID cards came into force across the UK. They will contain a photograph linked to a fingerprint and personal details of the holder.

Action groups including NO2ID, No Borders Scotland and UNITY showed their support at the demonstration. Each card will cost £30.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: ‘The first ID cards are being issued to people making applications to remain in the UK as a student or based on marriage. This will be followed in 2009, by identity cards for British workers in sensitive roles and locations and extended to young people in 2010.’

They added: ‘This national identity scheme will help protect against identity fraud, illegal working and immigration, crime and terrorism, and those trying to abuse positions of trust. It will make it easier for people to prove they are who they say they are.’

But two students who were at the demonstration are not convinced.

Steph Spoto of California is at Edinburgh University and will have to apply for a card to remain in the country. She said: ‘This is just awful, I hate the idea. I love Scotland and want to be able to continue working here. I am mainly concerned by the database which will hold the information – we really have no idea who will have access to it.’

Stephen Dietrich, who is studying Human Ecology at Strathclyde University and volunteers at UNITY, a support base for asylum seekers,  said: ‘This is identity theft made easy. I am not convinced about the security of the database.’

A spokesperson for Glasgow Anarchists said: ‘We are very suspicious of the ID cards. If your card is lost or stolen, essentially, you will have lost your identity.’

Similar demonstrations were held across the UK at six Border Agency offices, Glasgow, Sheffield, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff and Croydon.

Stow College – Glasgow to New York

Experts from Stow College recently told delegates at a New York conference that the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths needs a radical overhaul to encourage more young people to study them.

Senior staff at the Glasgow learning establishment were invited to return to the American conference run by the Association of Community College Trustees for the second year in succession to share their secrets of success.

Stow College is bucking the international trend for falling student numbers in science, technology, engineering and maths – the STEM subjects. The city centre college has had a 36% rise in applications for science and engineering courses alone, this year. It has introduced new pathways into STEM subjects and careers with courses tailored to suit school age pupils through to mature students. Stow is also the first place in the West of Scotland to introduce a new ‘Skills for Work in Energy’ course to attract school pupils to careers in renewable energies. It recently introduced a new exit route from its phenomenally successful ‘Access to Medicine’ course into Dentistry at the University of Glasgow.

Said Alex McLean, Vice Principal of Stow College and one of the team to take New York by storm: ‘It is vital we address the problem of falling numbers of students in the STEM subjects. Our national and international economies demand skilled workers in these areas to meet current needs throughout the developed world. We are working closely with partners in Scotland to address this problem and to meet Scottish Government priorities. We also plan to work with international partners to address the issue in a global context.’

Dr Peter Hughes is the Chief Executive of Scottish Engineering, a key partner of Stow College. He said: ‘A key element of a successful Scottish engineering sector is the supply of well-qualified, motivated, young people. Many companies have difficulties recruiting such personnel because of the downturn in pupils studying the key subjects of science, technology and mathematics. Initiatives to reverse the trend can play a vital part in developing key skills for the future. Scottish Engineering is pleased to support Stow College in developing effective pathways into science, engineering and mathematics.’

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