Already four months and counting into 2023, it has been a busy time at Fife Health Charity with many of the projects we have supported over the past year now up and running and making their mark in all kinds of positive ways. Here we report on just a few with each helping us to achieve our aim of making a real difference to the health and wellbeing of NHS Fife patients and staff.
We love hearing your feedback and any ideas about what you would like to see included in the next edition of our newsletter. So please don't hesitate to get in touch with us at fife.healthcharity@nhs.scot
Fife Health Charity Funds Key Projects In New National Treatment Centre
The new £33m National Treatment Centre – Fife Orthopaedics located within the grounds of the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy and now welcoming its first patients, was the recipient of two significant grants totalling over £700,000 from Fife Health Charity to help bring the innovative project to fruition.
With construction commencing just two years ago as part of the government’s network of National Treatment Centres across Scotland, the Fife state-of-the-art facility has been designed to provide outpatient, inpatient and short-stay ward areas, plus a three-theatre surgical complex.
In contributing to the funding of the new centre, Fife Health Charity committed its single largest-ever grant of £618,000 to integrate Audio Visual technology within the surgical theatres. This enhanced experience will enable staff to visualise stages of surgery, improving multidisciplinary team working and changing the way training, teaching and learning experiences are delivered to a wide spectrum of staff and trainees, reflecting NHS Fife's commitment to staff development and teaching excellence and ambition to achieve teaching Health Board status.
In addition, Fife Health Charity awarded £120,000 to deliver a range of environmental enhancements to improve patient experience during their treatment and care at the centre and create beneficial facilities for staff.
Commenting on the role the charity has played in the opening of the new centre, the then Chair of the charity, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick, said:
“Fife Health Charity is delighted to have supported this innovative facility which will deliver high quality care for patients in Fife, bring teaching excellence, and provide a positive environment for the benefit of patients and staff in the years and decades ahead.
“From audio visual integration for surgical theatres to incorporate new technologies, to enhancing indoor and outdoor environments, funding by the charity for this exciting new facility will help to establish and maintain Fife Orthopaedics as a centre for excellence that puts the wellbeing of patients and staff at its heart.”
Project Update
Roll-Out of Staff Wellbeing Hubs Continues Across Fife
Healthcare staff at six Fife hospitals can now enjoy newly created facilities following the official opening of new staff wellbeing hubs in June and December 2022 and February 2023.
The bright, contemporary spaces at the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline, Randolph Wemyss Memorial Hospital in Buckhaven, Glenrothes Hospital, Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, St Andrews Community Hospital and the Adamson Hospital, Cupar, were designed and developed in consultation with staff to provide calming environments for staff for respite and to recharge away from busy hospital wards and departments.
The new hubs, which offer 24-hour swipe or keycard access and include modern kitchen facilities and comfortable seating and eating areas, are part of an overall project which will develop and provide similar space across all 10 NHS Fife hospitals, collectively supported with over £480,000 in funding from Fife Health Charity.
During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, a network of temporary staff hubs was established in hospitals across NHS Fife, which aimed to provide somewhere for staff to relax, have refreshments and take breaks away from their clinical areas.
Building on the benefits gained from creating the temporary hubs, the new permanent wellbeing hubs are currently being developed and opened at hospitals across Fife, with the hub created at Queen Margaret Hospital the first to be opened.
The funding for the ambitious project includes a significant donation from an anonymous benefactor to support NHS Fife staff and grant funding from NHS Charities Together, which was brought to national prominence by the incredible fundraising efforts of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Commentating on the opening of the new staff wellbeing hubs the then Chair of Fife Health Charity, Tricia Marwick, said: “These new facilities reflect Fife Health Charity’s ongoing commitment to improving the wellbeing of not only NHS Fife patients but members of staff who play a crucial role in looking after the wellbeing of others by providing high quality care.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, the charity made a commitment to help staff as best we could. The opening of the latest permanent staff hubs acknowledge the dedication shown by healthcare staff during those challenging times and which continues to be shown today.”
Funding Mental Health Support
Funding from Fife Health Charity via the NHS Charities Together Community Partnership Grants programme has enabled Kirkcaldy YMCA to provide mental health support to around 40 people each week, enabling them to improve resilience, develop coping strategies, maintain family units and prevent the need for interventions.
Kirkcaldy YMCA is providing opportunities for people to meet up in a safe way without prejudice by running a series of mental health support groups four times a week, supporting an average of 12 young people and 26 adults each week. As many of the participants experience mental and or physical health issues, while others are dealing with the challenges of drug and alcohol misuse, the group and one-to-one sessions take place within a welcoming, understanding and nurturing environment where people feel included, listened to and valued.
In some sessions, a coaching approach is offered, giving people the opportunity to learn a self-directed solution to their issues and challenges. Participants also have the opportunity to access hot food and share a meal together, helping to address food poverty and encourage healthy eating. The transformational aspects of attending the group or one-to-one sessions also often include medication, drug and alcohol reduction.
You can read the full story about the difference our funding is making at Kirkcaldy YMCA here
More Funding News
Helping Premature Babies Get The Best Start
Positioning aids purchased with the support of Fife Health Charity are providing therapeutic and optimal positioning for premature babies being cared for in the Neonatal Unit at the Victoria Hospital. The specialist positioning aids are designed to promote correct joint alignment and symmetry, supporting neuromuscular development and improving the babies’ comfort.
Caring for preterm babies, who can be born from as young as 23/24 weeks gestation, and helping them to thrive brings its own unique clinical challenges. A priority for the Neonatal Unit’s specialist staff is to ensure the babies are correctly positioned in their incubators and cots to support growth and musculoskeletal development, reduce stress and enhance comfort.
The range of positioning aids purchased as a result of charity funding includes nests in different sizes to suit the different gestational ages of the babies cared for in the unit, specially designed multi-purpose frog-shaped bean bags that support the baby’s head and body, and prone boards.
Read more about the difference our funding is making to the Neonatal Unit here
Supporting Lochgelly’s Local Lunch Hub
The challenges local people faced in being socially isolated during the Covid-19 pandemic were a driving force in the creation of community-based initiative, Lo’gelly Lunches. Recognising the need to create a facility that provides a place to meet, eat and get involved in activities for people from the Lochgelly area, Fife Health Charity supported the initiative with funding via the NHS Charities Together Community Partnership Grants Programme.
Set up and co-ordinated during its initial stage by Lorraine Mullen from Fife Council and a team of volunteers, the project delivered 19 weekly sessions that helped feed 4197 people in the Lochgelly area, offering either a hot hatch or packed meal service.
In addition to being able to buy some food stuffs and with a view to providing post-pandemic services, funding support from Fife Health Charity enabled the hub to purchase essential equipment, including soup urns, tables, chairs, crockery and cutlery, and boost social interaction by offering access to games and activities, all of which have contributed to the ongoing life of the project.
Providing access to tasty, nutritious food aside, encouraging social inclusion and engagement is a key aspect of the Lo’gelly Lunches hub. People dropping in on Tuesdays and Fridays for a cuppa, snack or meal can lead to all kinds of positive opportunities, such as finding out about an adult learning course or being able to ask for help regarding a welfare issue. Volunteers are developing new skills by going through elementary food hygiene training. Local primary school children are even getting in on the action and developing their people skills.
Read more about the difference our support for Lochgelly Lunches has made here
Building Volunteer Skills to Combat Social Isolation in Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy-based Gallatown Gala & Community Group’s post-Covid project to reduce social isolation, improve mental health and encourage greater inclusion was supported by Fife Health Charity, enabling the development of volunteer community responders and support community food champions.
Following funding from NHS Charities Together Community Partnership Grants Programme via Fife Health Charity, the main element of the project initiated by Gallatown Gala & Community Group (GGCG) has been to build a team of 12 volunteer community responders to provide outreach activities on an ongoing basis enabling people to be supported within the community. A crucial aim of the initiative has been to reduce the need for medical intervention and help prevent hospital admissions following overdose.
Six peer mentors have already completed the Introduction to Volunteering Course facilitated by Fife Voluntary Action. This element of the project aims to help volunteers build personal resilience, develop a coping strategy toolkit and become trauma informed, ensuring they are better equipped and more likely to provide positive peer support to their family, friends and neighbours in the wider local community.
Recognising that the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences have had a marked impact not only on the local community but on the project itself, the GGCG saw a huge increase in feelings of isolation, fear and despair of things getting any better during and following prolonged lockdowns.
Reflecting the project’s objective to reduce social isolation, GGCG’s links with their core group of volunteers have helped to establish a community craft group, Darn Good Yarn. Utilising their new found confidence, the volunteers now run a busy weekly group for an average of 17 attendees, ranging in age from 34 to the mid- 80s. The volunteers are able to tune in to the mood of the wider group and are quick to welcome new members with a smile and a cup of tea.
“Thanks to the support we have received from NHS Charities Together and Fife Health Charity, we will continue to build on our existing solid foundations going forward,” explains Cairinne Macdonald, Gallatown Gala & Community Group’s development worker.
“We will encourage our community responders to put their own life experiences to good use to benefit both themselves and others. Our responders are already encouraging others to join in our ever-increasing community circle of support.”
You can read the full story about the difference our funding is making at the Gallatown Gala & Community Group here
Charity Support Helps Take Patients Back to the Seaside
The development and creation of a bright, seaside themed environment for patients and carers to relax in and enjoy during visits to the Victoria Hospital's specialist dementia ward was funded by Fife Health Charity.
Many of the patients attending Ward 41 at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, which specialises in Medicine of the Elderly, have dementia related conditions or experience memory loss, confusion and cognitive impairments. Recognising the positive benefits of creating an environment that triggers happy memories and furthers the sense of wellbeing that the ward aims to create, staff embarked on a project to enhance the ward.
Central to the project was creating a homely and comfortable environment that would support the welfare of patients and their carers, and also incorporate art that promotes health and wellbeing. Following a poll amongst patients, it was decided that the theme of the project would reflect the enduring love of being at the seaside.
A bright, welcoming new ward day room was created, with a range of complementary design features including a bespoke mural, seaside striped armchairs, foot stools and soft furnishings, wall-mounted display cases containing vintage memorabilia and seaside themed postcard racks. Enhancements in the ward corridor included a large seaside mural and a sitting area.
The new environmental enhancements funded by Fife Health Charity are helping to put patients at ease and often take them back to times spent with family, loved ones and friends on holiday at the seaside or daytrips. Patients experiencing memory loss or difficulty in recalling can spend time with staff or visitors in the day room, listening to music and enjoying the seaside memorabilia, all of which can help them to reconnect with happy events from their past and share positive memories.
You can read the full story about the difference our funding is making for patients of Ward 41 and their carers here
Increasing Community Contact & Skills
Fife Health Charity provided funding via the NHS Charities Together Community Partnership Grants Programme to support three weekly groups held at Kirkcaldy’s Linton Lane Centre to help local people overcome the social isolation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, increase opportunities for community contact and learn new skills.
Based in the Templehall area of Kirkcaldy, local charity the Linton Lane Centre is one of the town’s longest running community centres. A thriving hub of activity and widely recognised as the heart of its community, the centre provides a wide range of services for local people of all ages and at all stages of life.
Pete’s Man Chat Movement meets weekly for two hours. The aim of the evening group is to provide a welcoming, sociable environment where men can get together, connect with others and chat about any difficulties they may be facing in their lives and find ways to overcome them. Rather than having nowhere to go and nobody to talk to, often just being able to have a chat each week can help people feel lighter and more positive about the future.
Also meeting weekly at the centre, the local group of national charity A Veteran’s Best Friend helps Fife-based veterans of the Scottish Armed Forces who are experiencing PTSD and mental stress by pairing them with former rescue dogs sourced from the Dog Trust. Being able to bond with and look after an assistance dog brings a range of benefits including getting outdoor exercise, helping to establish a regular routine and make new connections with other dog owners.
The third group supported by Fife Health Charity is Cooking for Fun, a weekly cookery group held at the centre for adults to encourage them to learn basic cooking skills. The group alternates one week to help adults supported by their carers, and the following week to help other people from the local community.
Although the three groups based at the Linton Lane Centre focus on helping different members of the local community, each shares the aspiration to bring people together who are normally isolated and lonely and may even have experienced increased vulnerability as a result of the pandemic. To date, 40 members of the local community have benefitted from being regular members of the three groups supported by Fife Health Charity.
“At Cooking for Fun, it’s not all about cooking,” says Cheryl Clarke, Cooking is Fun instructor. “There’s a social side to the group too as a lot of the people who come along don’t often manage to get out and socialise. A few of the members say they would just stay at home watching telly and eating snacks and junk food if they weren’t here.”
Encouraging people to get out of the house and giving them something to look forward to on a regular basis, being welcomed into a relaxed, friendly space and meeting up with other people all bring significant improvements to mental health and a personal sense of wellbeing and confidence.
As centre development manager, Mandy Henderson explains: “In a group situation at times it’s about helping people to learn how to engage and chat with others, while respecting other people's feelings. It’s about ensuring everyone feels their story is as important as the person next to them.
“Covid was a major challenge which we hope we are now moving forward from but it has left an effect on normal living which we need to ensure we address by understanding and always having a listening ear. Thank you for helping us help people.”
Read the full story about the difference our funding is making for the Linton Lane Centre’s local community here
Other News & Views
The Art of Donations
If you’ve ever walked past a painting hanging on a ward wall or gazed at a watercolour of a local scene and wondered how they got there, Fife Health Charity can put you in the picture!
One of the charity’s responsibilities is the custodianship of the collection of art displayed in and around NHS Fife hospitals, healthcare centres and offices. With hundreds of pieces of art already within the collection and donations received regularly each year, the person behind the work of cataloguing, updating and arranging the display of artworks is Fife Health Charity’s art convenor, Gillian Parsons.
A former organiser of the annual Fife Art Exhibition, Gillian took up her post as manager of the charity’s art collection in July 2022. In the first months of her new role, Gillian toured each of NHS Fife’s 10 hospitals, assessing the artworks, taking photographs and speaking to people to gather feedback, including how they would like the collection to be displayed.
“One of the biggest responses I got was the desire to see the collection moved around and refreshed,” reports Gillian. “The artwork is lovely, but some of it doesn’t have the impact it had originally because it’s been in the same place for so long.”
Like all great art, Gillian’s plan to shake things up, is a work in progress, not least of all because of the size of the collection and the effort that has to go into moving and hanging existing and new artworks. A recent success has been to select pieces from the collection that were in storage to make staff offices at Lynebank Hospital in Dunfermline less clinical and brighter. A keen advocate of community galleries, Gillian has also identified potential settings within two NHS Fife hospitals to create new spaces featuring selected artworks from the collection for the enjoyment of patients and staff.
As they say, watch this space!
Applying for Funding
Funding From Fife Health Charity Could Help Make Your Project Happen
As the strategic charity partner of NHS Fife, Fife Health Charity is proud to be at the heart of providing grants which fund projects that make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of NHS Fife patients and staff throughout Fife.
From providing state-of-the-art equipment and redeveloping ward and outdoor spaces, to investing in staff development and funding innovative research, every year we work with staff across NHS Fife to support hundreds of projects large and small that have a positive impact.
In addition to £202,000 awarded to 35 projects across Fife through Fife Health Charity’s 2022 Small Grants programme, other projects we have funded at ward level, include:
- RITA (Reminiscence/Rehabilitation & Interactive Therapy Activities) innovative software technology and touch screen system to assist in the care of NHS Fife dementia patients in various wards - £23,750 funding awarded to date;
- Creating a pregnancy loss bereavement suite within the Maternity Unit at Victoria Hospital - £12,000 funding awarded;
- Refurbishment of the Victoria Hospice - £150,000 additional funding awarded.
But many of the projects we fund are for less than £5,000, so please don’t think your project is too small and won’t be considered. If you’re a member of NHS Fife staff and have a project in mind that’s above and beyond what is normally provided by NHS Fife, wherever you are based and whatever the scale of the project, Fife Health Charity would love to hear from you. For more information about how the charity can help, plus advice about how to apply for funding, please contact the Fife Health Charity team at fife.healthcharity@nhs.scot
Together we can do amazing things!
Getting in touch with Fife Health Charity
www.nhsfife.org/fifehealthcharity
Donate: www.justgiving.com/faht
Facebook: @fifehealthcharity
Twitter: @FifeHealth
Email: fife.healthcharity@nhs.scot
Scottish Charity Number: SC011988
