Covering the East of Scotland 2010
January 2010
Dear Members
I hope you all had a good Christmas. If like me you have over indulged, there’s no excuse now!
I’ve attached the personal exercise programme which was given out to everyone by the
respiratory physiotherapist at our Information day in October. These exercises have been
designed for people with breathing problems. If you want more advice, ask your GP if you can
be referred for respiratory exercises! Most areas have a physiotherapist who can give you
support.
For me this year, it’s going to be the year of the bike! I’m in the early stages of planning a
sponsored cycle to raise funds for Asbestos Action Tayside. I’ll be coming out to you again soon
with more information as it would be great if we could get as many friends and family involved in
cycling even just a few miles to help out! I’ve committed myself in writing now, I really will have
to get fit!
In the last newsletter, I suggested another way of keeping in
contact with us was by Skype video calls. I’m delighted to say
that our first member to indulge me in a video conference call
was 89 year old Raymond Preston. We had a very pleasant
chat and it felt more personal than just a phone call. Anyone
else interested in keeping in touch this way can find out more
details on how to use Skype later on in this newsletter. Hope to
talk again soon Raymond!
Alex Allan, who has been with us for 3 years now, assisting
many of you with the minefield of benefit papers is retiring
and will be leaving us at the end of March. Alex has
pleural plaques himself and has been a great source of
comfort to many new sufferers as they walk through the
door. We would like to take this opportunity to thank him
for all his work and hope that he will continue to play an
active part in AAT for many years to come if he can fit us in
between his golf and bowling!
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With the number of referrals continuing to rise, and with Alex retiring,
we have now taken on another full time member of staff. Meet John
Fearn. John will be taking over Alex’s work but also helping to
develop our project. This will bring our staff up to 2 full timers and
Davina who works 8 hours per week on the admin.
It is only with the generosity of many of our members that we are able
to do this, as without your donations it would be impossible.
Once John has settled in, he will be taking a trip up to Aberdeenshire
and will arrange to meet as many of our members in this area as
possible, especially those who have been dealing with us by post or
phone.
Everyone here at AAT would like to wish you all the best for 2010. We will continue to help and
support you wherever possible. Read on to find out what’s happening in your area and the
campaigns we are behind this year!
Alison Blake, General Manager
Information Day Hilton Hotel
Over 50 delegates attended our
Information Day in October. It was a
good opportunity to meet new friends
and listen to the various speakers. It
was our first “information day” and we
learned what worked and what didn’t.
Feedback was very positive and it was
good to see so many people turn up. I
know there were many of you would
have liked to attend but for one reason
or another you couldn’t. We do hope to
repeat the event in 2010 and will give
you as much notice as possible.
Meanwhile a date for your diary already
is Friday 2nd July 2010. We will be
having our AGM but it also the official Mesothelioma Day and we intend to
hold a conference for sufferers and their families.
More details will follow.
International Workers Memorial
Clydebank Asbestos Support Group have asked us to thank
our members who responded to their request for a donation to
the memorial which will be sited at the head of the dock in the
former John Brown & Co Shipyard. The “International Workers
Memorial” is a project initiated by the Clydebank Asbestos
Group to acknowledge the sacrifices of workers throughout the
world who have been affected by asbestos and other
industrially related diseases.
A company limited by guarantee. Registered in Scotland No. 231615. A Scottish Charity No. SCO33344
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Fundraising Activities
Thanks to those who continue to fundraise on our behalf!
• This time, “camera shy” Agnes Davies held a car boot sale
along with help from her friends and family! As if this wasn’t
enough she also arranged a bucket collection at an East Fife
FC match and raised £265 in total. What a great effort Agnes!
Thanks also go to Joyce, Michael and Janet for helping out.
• The Aberdour Golf Club is keeping up their generosity by
awarding us just over £200 raised at their Captain’s Charity Day.
They have certainly helped to raise the awareness of asbestos
related diseases amongst their members. Many thanks go to
them for their continuing support.
• Top marks must go to Jay and Kyle Ward
(aged 5) who undertook a sponsored 3 mile
walk! It poured with rain, but they splashed their
way through it and didn’t let it deter them! They
managed to collect a staggering £143. Their
mum’s friend Alex has mesothelioma and they
wanted to do their bit to help him.
It’s so good to see all ages getting involved!
• Thanks go to Ruby Young who has also helped us immensely by donating boxes and
boxes of stationery. This is a valuable resource for us and has saved us a substantial
amount on our annual budget.
• Thanks go to the PCS Dundee Taxes Branch of the Inland Revenue. They carried out a
bucket collection at their AGM and raised £155 for us.
Personal Donations
• As well as the above, we really have been delighted by the personal donations made in the
last quarter. We can’t thank you enough because without your support, we could not
continue.
A company limited by guarantee. Registered in Scotland No. 231615. A Scottish Charity No. SCO33344
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Campaigns
Disregard of Industrial Injuries Disablement
Benefit Health & Safety Executive
This year we are working with the Asbestos The HSE recently ran their 2nd campaign to
Forums with the call to disregard Industrial target young tradesmen of today. Their stark
Injuries Disablement Benefit from means warnings were broadcast on just about
tested benefits! every radio station and full page adverts
appeared in many of the popular
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) newspapers. But I know from speaking to
is paid as compensation for disablement tradesmen coming into this building that
resulting from loss of faculty caused by an they are still taking risks. By the time they
industrial injury or a prescribed disease. leave here, after a short lecture from me,
they’re usually feeling a little less
By definition, IIDB is paid for the adverse complacent. If you have any tradesmen in
effect of an industrial injury or a disease, so your family, ask them what they know about
that a man suffering from asbestosis asbestos, have they been trained? Do they
receives IIDB for the restrictive effect the know where to find out more? Refer them to
fibrosis has on his lungs, causing him www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos for more
breathlessness. Yet, if this man receives a information. They can never be too careful.
means-tested benefit, IIDB is treated as
income replacement so that the means-
tested benefit is lost, pound for pound of
IIDB.
Resources research
In such a case, IIDB loses its raison d’etre: it Sally Moore is a Nursing Research Fellow in
no longer compensates the man with the Royal Marsden hospital in Surrey. She
asbestosis for his lack of lung function has been working with a number of
causing his breathlessness. Instead, it mesothelioma patients and their families
becomes an income replacement benefit. It and wants to improve the resources
is treated as income; money to pay for the available to sufferers and their families. If
means to live, such as food and clothing. you have been affected by mesothelioma,
she wants to know what you think are the
The increasing use of means-tested main areas to explore. Are there any gaps in
benefits, such as State Pension Credit, to the level of care, support, lobbying etc? If
tackle poverty has had the unintended you want to pass me your thoughts, then I
consequence of depriving the poorest, and can send them on to Sally who will
in some cases the most disabled in society, endeavour to put them together in a report
of compensation for the industrial injury or and lobby the appropriate people.
disease which has had such a damaging
effect upon their lives.
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Some things never change!
As we constantly have new members joining then you can be in contact with others using
us, there are some things that we have to Skype completely free of charge. I have it
include in every newsletter, so if you have a loaded on to the laptop with webcam and it
touch of déjà vu, this is why! means we can talk to you over the video link
at an agreed time. My address on skype is
Background to Asbestos Action Tayside alisonaat1. You can email me to arrange
an agreed time to be on webcam.
Asbestos Action (Tayside) is a Scottish
charity that has been set up to assist
sufferers of asbestos related diseases. We
are a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation
Pleural Plaques Claims
set up to provide practical support and
At the time of writing this newsletter, the
advice to those who have an asbestos
hearing for the judicial review launched by the
related disease. We want to ensure there is Insurance Companies is still taking place.
a LOCAL service north and south of the Tay Therefore there is no update on the pleural
to respond to any queries that a person plaque situation.
diagnosed with an asbestos condition may Do not delay in obtaining legal advice if you
have. The charity was formed by a group of are diagnosed with pleural plaques.
people from the East of Scotland who either Claimants have three years from being
have an asbestos related illness or have aware that they have an asbestos related
cared for someone with an asbestos linked condition to raise Court proceedings against
condition. any negligent party, failing which their claim
would become time barred. The clock is
continuing to tick even though it will be
some time before we know whether claims
Do you have a computer? can proceed. If you have been diagnosed
with pleural plaques and you wish to
Email: Do you use preserve your right to make a claim, speak
email? If so, we to a solicitor as soon as possible.
can use this as
another way to
keep in touch
with you. Send
me your email address and I would like to personally thank our
I can use it to forward on the newsletter or committee members John Anderson,
any other up to date information that you Nancy Rattray, Nancy Lettice and Charles
may be interested in. Lewis for all their hard work and
participation throughout the year. Without
Skype: If you have a webcam, this is a them we would not exist! We still need
people to join and help out the committee,
simple way of having a quick face to face
so if you or any friends and family are in
chat with you.
any way interested, please don’t wait. Call
You simply go to www.skype.com to
us now!
download the version for your kind of
computer. Once downloaded, you give
yourself an “address” eg your name and
A company limited by guarantee. Registered in Scotland No. 231615. A Scottish Charity No. SCO33344
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Volunteers
After some delays, we really hope that we will be able to get our volunteer network up and
running in 2010. Please remember, if you know of anyone who has some time to spare and
would like to do some voluntary work for Asbestos Action Tayside, in their local area, just
give them our phone number for more information. 01382 225715. There are a number of
ways people can help from driving someone to hospital to getting some groceries. All
expenses will be met in full.
Newsletter
If you would like to see any particular information in the newsletter or want to pass on
information, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Equally if you wish your name to be removed from our distribution list, please do not
hesitate to let us know.
Asbestos Action Tayside
Ground Floor
Royal Exchange Building
Panmure St
Dundee
DD1 1DU
Tel 01382 225715
Email:alison@asbestosactiontayside.org.uk
www.asbestosactiontayside.org.uk
A company limited by guarantee. Registered in Scotland No. 231615. A Scottish Charity No. SCO33344
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