Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton questioned the Cabinet Secretary for Health today at Parliament about when we can expect the move in to the new Sick Kids Hospital to be completed. Today, she told him that the revised date of the end of January is now set for March 23^rd. The opening of the new Sick Kids' was cancelled just days before patients were set to arrive in July 2019. The Health Secretary announced last autumn that the move would be put back again, with final building works to be completed by 25 January 2021.

I found it really chilling recently to see that a survey had  found that many disabled people in Scotland were more worried about their mental health deteriorating than catching Covid-19. 

I attended an event at the Festival of Politics last week to hear about the effect of the pandemic on people with disabilities. It has been brutal for many, who have found their support services curtailed or stopped altogether. This was an issue that came up a lot in responses to my survey of Livingston South residents. 

“Why should we have to move everywhere and everything because of him?”

That question is on the front of Change, Justice, Fairness, a Scottish Women’s Aid community research project into homelessness caused by domestic abuse in Fife. 

Students from West Lothian College have started a petition to save the only honours degree in the area.

The degree has had its funding withdrawn by Edinburgh Napier University which ends a decade long partnership of running the course alongside the college.

Forty percent of children and young people referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Scotland are waiting over 18 weeks for treatment, according to new figures from Public Health Scotland.

A shocking 14.6% had to wait over 36 weeks to start treatment, with 7.9% waiting over a year.