Working at inclusion: issues of race in social care.
The week just passed has been a bizarre and indeed sad one. At the start of the week, I was expecting to speak at an event yesterday which was a […]
The poverty of holidays.
I travelled to and from Manchester at the end of this past week. As usual I went by train and to say the least the stations in Glasgow and Manchester […]
The illusion of partnership: what real collaboration looks like.
This was my first full week back at work since I took annual leave this summer and as is often the case I have been catching up on meetings and […]
Mental health supports for older people in Scotland: time to listen.
Samaritans Awareness Day is on 24 July and the following day sees National Schizophrenia Awareness Day. These are two important days in the mental health and awareness calendar and come […]
Hidden in plain sight – alcoholism amongst older people in Scotland and its impact on social care.
It was Alcohol Awareness Week at the start of the month and during it I was reading some of the latest research and data on alcohol and older age in […]
The Power of ‘Thank You’ in Social Care
Whether it’s Efcharisto, Danke, Gracias, Merci, Takk or simply thank you – wherever those who can and choose to travel or holiday this summer doubtless most of us will learn […]
I’ve held her inside every step of the way
I first knew Jane when we were both in our early twenties. She and her husband had just suffered a bereavement. Their little girl had contracted meningitis and had died […]
A nation of two halves: forgetting rural Scotland.
Yesterday I was pleased to take part in a Royal Society of Edinburgh session on the challenges facing those who live in rural and remote parts of Scotland as they […]
Social care in Scotland is traumatised: a personal reflection.
I have had some challenging and hard conversations and encounters in the last few days. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that they have been some of […]
A vision for the health and care of all, not least men.
After many requests from not a few the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Neil Gray addressed the Scottish Parliament this past week in a speech during which he […]
The Scarlett Pimpernel that is Social Care
They seek him here, they seek him there Those Frenchies seek him everywhere Is he in heaven or is he in hell? That damned elusive Pimpernel Famous words from Baroness […]
Rights matter more than ever
I am writing this in New York City at the end of a week when I have had the privilege of being an accredited participant at the Open-Ended Working Group […]
It’s time to turn around homecare
The following is based on an address given yesterday at the Scottish Care, Care at Home and Housing Support Conference, ‘Care Revolution: Time to Act’ held In Glasgow. I […]
Social care nursing makes economic sense.
The following extended blog is based on an address given to staff at Erskine Veterans on Friday 10th May, in celebration of International Nurses Day which is held every year […]
Demystifying Death; the silence of emptiness.
I sat last week and listened one year on from the day since Joan’s husband had died as she recalled the ups and downs, the tears and laughter that had […]
The criticality of immunology and vaccination for social care.
On Monday and Tuesday of this past week I had the pleasure of spending time with colleagues from across the United Kingdom and Ireland at a meeting of the Five […]
Home is where the health is
Home is where the health is … ageing well in place. The following is a shortened edited version of a talk given to the Edinburgh University Advanced Care Research Centre […]
The devaluing of care: the stress of caring.
The month of April is Stress Awareness Month which has been held every April since 1992 and which is designed to increase public awareness about both the causes of and […]
Scotland can’t wait… social care needs to act about Parkinson’s
On April 11th there will be a global coming together for what for a number of years now has been recognised as World Parkinson’s Day. It sits within Parkinson’s Awareness […]