In a  short series mini series of recordings we speak to three Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) from NHS Ayrshire and Arran about how they have adapted their services during COVID-19 to continue to care for and support the individuals they work with.

In this recording of the mini series we speak with Gemma O'Neill, an Occupational Therapist based in a Ayrshire prison. Gemma talks about the work that has gone on within the prison to help staff and prisoners maintain their wellbeing through a range of care and support measures. 

In this episode, Katie Wood, Senior Legal Officer at Maternity Action, tells us more about the organisation's work on and around maternal and parental rights during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of current policies on people – and particularly women. 

Read the transcript of this recording, available on the ALLIANCE website.

In this podcast, we interview Audrey Birt and Kirsty Gibson, who are both currently shielding in line with the Scottish Governments shielding advice. Hear about the practicalities of shielding,  the impact its has had on their family and friends and how they think experiences could be improved.

In this podcast, Tommy Whitelaw is joined by newly qualified nurses Clare Manley and Craig Davidson where he hears more about their journey transitioning from theory to practice and profession during the pandemic and their new podcast initiative 'Retaining the passion' where they hope to shine a light on key issues affecting the nursing profession and wider society by speaking to various guests about their lived experiences.

Chris Martin, the Chief Executive of Social Enterprise Scotland joined the ALLIANCE Live podcast as a guest to discuss how the sector has been effected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chris describes the positives of seeing greater support and collaboration both internally and externally with Government and other sectors as well as the negatives of businesses inevitably having to close their doors. The conversation steers itself to looking into the future and Chris provides his view on what measures are needed to give social enterprises a boost as they begin to emerge from the pandemic. 

Chris was previously Managing Director of Calander Youth Project Trust and launched the award-winning social enterprise Calandar Hostel securing employment opportunities for disadvantaged young people. Chris is described as a serial social entrepreneur and has a background in both formal and informal education and he received national acclaim for his work at the youth project and has been recognised with a number of high-profile awards, including an Exceptional Employee at the 2016 Scottish Charity Awards as well as being named 2017 Social Enterprise champion.

ALLIANCE Live is committed to providing transcripts to as many of its podcasts as possible. Read the full transcript of this recording on our website.  

To mark Employability Day we are joined in this podcast by Alistair Kerr, Director and Chair from BASE Scotland and David Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Union of Supported Employment. We're going to explore the impact of the pandemic on supported employment and look to the future. The BASE Network supports disabled and disadvantaged people across the UK and Europe utilising sustainable procurement legislation supporting an inclusive growth strategy to transform the lives of disabled and disadvantaged people across Scotland. 

Alistair himself has held various board and chair positions within the three bodies since 2002 and he's been recognised by UK Government as a champion of the social model of disability. David has been the Chief Executive officer of the Scottish Union of Supported Employment since 2017. He has spent the majority of his career with a large voluntary sector organisation with responsibility for developing and delivering employment services, social enterprises and youth projects for people with disabilities. He worked with Scottish Government on the design of the Fair Start Scotland programme and recently participated in the expert group that supported the development of the Fairer Scotland Employment Action Plan.

In this Wellbeing Wednesday podcast, Gillian Shirreffs, PhD student at the University of Glasgow shares her story as a person with lived experience of chronic illness. Gillian reads some of her writing that has helped her navigate her diagnosis. The words offer an insight into how creativity has played a role in her management of pain and gives her own tips ahead of her workshop with Glasgow Women's Library.

In this ALLIANCE Live podcast we sit down with Annie Gunner Logan, the Director of the Coalition of Care and Support Provider's in Scotland (CCPS). Annie discusses the range of issues unfolding with social care in the third sector, what's happening now, but also what's needed for a positive future.

A fully transcripted version of this podcast is available to read on our website.

In this episode, Morven Brooks, Chief Executive Officer of Disability Equality Scotland, and tells us about the organisation's work and its recent survey into disabled people's experiences of physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Read the transcript of this recording, available on the ALLIANCE website.

Across the world, hospitals are struggling to get the resources they need to care for people, from face masks to ventilators to ICU beds. But there’s another aspect of health care also in short supply: palliative care. In this podcast, Carer Voices Project Lead Tommy Whitelaw is joined by Mark Hazelwood, Chief Executive of Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care (SPPC) to discuss the importance of talking about death, dying well and bereavement as well as the role of palliative care during a pandemic.