Inspection of the Spire Hospital at Murrayfield
Edinburgh Restaurant Festival
Job with National Trust for Scotland
Playing at Halloween
Singing and storytelling in Newhaven
Healthcare Improvement Scotland published its report relating to an unannounced inspection visit to Spire Murrayfield Hospital, Edinburgh. The inspection visit took place on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 August 2014.
The hospital has 70 inpatient beds divided into two wards. The ground floor ward is used for patients who need more complex surgery. The first floor ward is used for day care and short-stay treatments. Patients’ bedrooms are single occupancy with en-suite facilities. A two-bedded high dependency unit (HDU) is also available for patients who need a higher level of care. The hospital is part of Spire Healthcare Ltd, the UK-wide independent healthcare group. Healthcare services provided include a range of medical and surgical services including treatments for cancer.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland was established in April 2011. Part of the HIS role is to undertake inspections of independent healthcare services across Scotland. Our inspectors check that independent healthcare services are complying with necessary standards and regulations. They do this by carrying out assessments and inspections. These inspections may be announced or unannounced.
Based on the findings of this inspection, this service has been awarded good or very good grades under various headings including quality of information, quality of care and support, quality of environment, quality of staffing and quality of management and leadership.
The full inspection report and an improvement action plan developed by Spire Healthcare Ltd to address the identified issues is available to view here.
Speaking of the report, Susan Brimelow, Chief Inspector, said: “This inspection has identified areas where Spire Murrayfield Hospital is performing well. We found comprehensive systems in place to support staff training and a management team that were committed to improving quality and providing a high quality service to patients.
“Patients also spoke highly of the quality of care they had received. However, improvements must be made to the record-keeping for patients’ own medication, theatre counts and equipment checks. Patients should also be provided with more opportunities to provide feedback on the service, for example in relation to the quality of the information the service provides. This inspection resulted in one requirement and nine recommendations.”
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The Edinburgh Restaurant Festival is now in full swing, offering Scottish foodies a fortnight of taste temptations across over 60 venues in the Capital, from 9th-23rd October.
To celebrate, many of the city’s restaurants bars and bistros are offering a huge range of special menus to suit all budgets, including the likes of 21212, Bistro Moderne, Angels with Bagpipes, Café St Honore, The Filling Station and Contini Cannonball..
Packed with gastronomic events throughout the fortnight, here is just a flavour of some of the foodie events taking place:
· Mamma’s American Pizza Co Kids Cookery Lessons, The Grassmarket – 12-16 October – FREE
Donning their chef whites and aprons, kids can get down and dirty at Mammas with dough making lessons and pizza decoration before enjoying the results.
· The Game Hunter. Glorious 12 –Game and Whisky Tasting at The Dining Room, Queen Street – 22 October 7-9pm – £29 per person
Celebrating the best of Scottish Game season this is the perfect opportunity to sample no less than five special Single Malts, each pared with the perfect Game Supper dish.
· Eat Walk Edinburgh – Tasty walking tours of Old and New Town, Monday – Saturday 10am-1pm – £39
Let your taste-buds be guided around the historic centre of Edinburgh. Visiting six delicious locations along the way for mouth-watering treats while learning a few surprising facts and stories of Old Reekie’s history.
· Edinburgh Gin Treasure Hunt, starts at Heads & Tails, 1a Rutland Place – 18 October – £30
Promising twists and turns around four of the city’s finest gin joints, the first ever Edinburgh Gin Treasure Hunt is here. Unravel riddles and clues to unlock your next cocktail, plus mystery prizes and hidden gems along the way
· The West End Beer Festival 19 October 12:30-6pm – FREE
Meet the makers and sample the goods of some of Scotland’s best known and up and coming microbrewers with the likes of Brewer Speyside, Brewer Barney’s Beer and Brewer Alchemy. Taking place in five West End bars – Teuchters, The Melville, The Grosvenor, The Ghillie Dhu and Ryan’s Bar
· The Old Town Street Food Festival – The Three Sisters, every Saturday and Sunday in October – FREE
Enjoy a delicious bite in the fun and informal setting of the Three Sister’s courtyard, packed with pop-up vendors including “The Pig Mac” and an All American Street Food stall.
· Foods of the World – Harvey Nichols Food Hall, 21 October 7-8:30pm – £10 (refundable against purchases)
Join Harvey Nics food and wine experts for a culinary journey across the globe, with tasting stations to discover new flavour and get your teeth into.
With more restaurants per head of population than anywhere else in the UK, the Edinburgh Restaurant Festival aims to encourage locals to get out and explore the city’s rich dining scene, fabulous food markets and help further raise the profile of the participating bars, bistros and restaurants across the city.
John Donnelly, Chief Executive of Marketing Edinburgh says: “The Edinburgh Restaurant Festival is not only a celebration of the city’s varied and vibrant dining scene, but a chance to really shout about the region’s terrific food and drink offering. Quality restaurants and producers in Edinburgh have really come in to their own in recent years and the Edinburgh Restaurant Festival is the perfect opportunity for residents and visitors to meet the people behind the success story and enjoy a wide selection of delicious food and one-off events.”
The diet can start on 24th October, but until then visit www.thisisedinburgh.com/edinburghrestaurantfestival for all the delicious details.
Follow @edinburgh #edrestaurantfest on Twitter for all the latest news and updates
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Conservation charity, the National Trust for Scotland is looking to recruit a senior stonemason based at Newhailes, East Lothian.
This exciting new role will establish a stonemasonry service at Newhailes to deal with addressing the property’s masonry needs, and promote the broader objectives of the Trust on the site in order to get members, public and peer groups engaged when works are underway through new initiatives.
Candidates should hold relevant advanced stonemasonry qualifications, have project management experience and a good understanding of conservation principles and approaches.
The new role will oversee a programme of repair and restoration works to built structures across the historic East Lothian estate which was once home to the Dalrymple family. The designed landscape there is internationally-renowned for its artistic significance.
There are already plans to:
· repair the historical ha-ha,
· reinstate the Flower Garden and restore the glasshouse in the Walled Garden.
The closing date for applications is 20 October – to apply and for more information, visit: http://www.nts.org.uk/Charity/Vacancies/.
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Little monsters can actively enjoy Hallowe’en this year and have frightfully good fun with Edinburgh Leisure soft play.
The spooktacular soft play at Scrambles, at Edinburgh Indoor Climbing Arena (EICA) Ratho, Tumbles Portobello and Clambers at the Royal Commonwealth Pool are all hosting bloodcurdlingly brilliant Hallowe’en parties so that little ones can run wild.
There’ll be activities such as mask making, messy play and arts and crafts at Scrambles, while animal handling and a ghoulishly good disco will be a hit at Clambers.
Over at Tumbles Portobello children will be spooked by the eerily brilliant magician, while all the parties offered will of course include a devilishly good time enjoying soft play.
Entry is for ticket holders only, please present ticket at the venue’s welcome desk – the venue will close to ‘pay as you play’ entry half an hour before the start of the party. Children are under the supervision of their parent/carer at all times .
Hallowe’en parties are at Clambers at Royal Commonwealth Pool, call 0131 667 7211, Thursday 30th October, from 4-6pm.
Scrambles on October 31st from 2.30-4.30pm, call 0131 333 6333.
Tumbles at Portobello on October 31st, from 3-5pm. Call 0131 669 0878.
For further information visit www.edinburghleisure.co.uk
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Bow-Tow, a Newhaven Story
Songs, choirs, stories and spectacle inspired by the community of Newhaven
Friday 24 and Saturday 25 October 2014
To be a Newhavener is to be Bow-Tow. It is a symbolic relationship between the land and sea, the men and women of Newhaven. This live event will present story telling, theatre and traditional music set alongside performances by local residents young and old.
From 7.00 pm at Newhaven Harbour (outdoor event) and at venues throughout the village untill 9.00 pm
With Jed Milroy, Hamish Moore and the new Newhaven Community Choir, this free event is a celebration of this vibrant community and its place in the 21st century.
For more information, see ‘Newhavener Bow-Tow’ on Facebook
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
