Stay CO safe

Age Scotland and SGN, the network that keeps gas flowing to homes in your area, have partnered to bring you useful tips and highlight services that can help you stay CO safe and well in your home.

• Have your gas appliances checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer every year. You should also check for signs of CO in your home – staining on appliance casing or surrounding walls/decoration, yellow, floppy flames, soot deposits, excess condensation in a room when an appliance is in operation and general poor condition of appliances.

• Install a CO alarm. The alarm should be set up according to the manufacturer’s instructions and put in the right place in your home – for example it should not go in a cupboard. You should regularly test your CO alarm and check its expiry date.

• Be aware of the symptoms of CO poisoning – headaches, nausea, dizziness, breathlessness, collapsing – and know what to do if you or someone in your home experiences them.

• Know who to contact. If you are concerned about the presence of CO in your home, or notice symptoms of CO poisoning, contact the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 or via textphone (minicom on 0800 371 787) immediately.

Get your free CO alarm!

Age Scotland and SGN are delighted to offer a free carbon monoxide alarm if you don’t have one or your current CO alarm is more than seven years old.

To get your free alarm phone our helpline on 0800 12 44 222 or email publications@agescotland.org.uk

Driving out loneliness by keeping communities connected

We spotlight two of our members – Mearns and Coastal Healthy Living Network (MCHLN) and the Community Transport Association (CTA) –and find out how they are driving out loneliness by keeping older people connected to their communities.

MCHLN delivers a range of community-based activities and services to support the health and wellbeing of older residents across Kincardine and Mearns. The charity reached a milestone in November, celebrating two decades of service. Back in 2002, it was one of 46 Healthy Living Centres set up in Scotland. This followed recognition that services for older people were stretched, and research into challenges in rural areas showed a greater impact on older members in our communities.

Huge headway was made in the early stages of establishing the project and the organisation has grown steadily since 2002. The small team of part-time staff now engages 200 older people a week with amazing support from a volunteer network of around 80 individuals that gave over 3,000 hours of their time in 2022.

MCHLN currently runs 550 groups, classes and activities a year which are designed to promote social inclusion and positively impact both mental and physical wellbeing. Groups include lunch clubs, walking groups, dedicated groups for those living with dementia, a Sunshine Club (adult soft-learning), social gardening groups, and digital skills classes. Its services are focused on providing practical support to enable people to live at home as independently as possible. This includes a shopping service, a garden maintenance service, and a ‘friendly call’ telephone service. MCHLN also provides a very busy transport service to facilitate attendance at healthcare appointments and social groups benefitting wellbeing.

Driver of the year award

In 2022, volunteers drove over 24,000 miles providing the transport service – making the lives of so many older residents a little easier.

At the Grampian Volunteer Transport Awards in December 2022, Ken Fairweather, the charity’s oldest driver – and longest serving volunteer at 20 years – won the Driver of the Year award. MCHLN also won Organisation of the Year. Jane Mitchell, manager at MCHLN, said she was “delighted the time and dedication of the volunteer drivers was recognised and their amazing contribution valued”.

MCHLN’s values and core purpose have remained unchanged over the years. It continues to ‘lend an ear and give a voice’, identifying and addressing the needs of older people and steering the way for them to live in their communities with a degree of independence and sense of community.

Find out more!

Get in touch to find out what MCHLN could do for you: mchln.org.uk