Sodi Kakouris from Let's Get On With It Together (LGOWIT), Maggie Wright from Families in Trauma and Benn Benjamin from LGBT Health and Wellbeing discuss how their services have adapted to the COVID-19 situation and how they have ensured that they continue to facilitate human connections for those they support.

The wide-ranging conversation covered inclusive outreach, online courses, tapping into communities of interest and even tips on how not to put people off by hyping the technology too much - let it fade into the background instead and focus on the individual.

On Wednesday 13 May from 11am, the ALLIANCE interviewed Dr Donald Macaskill, Chief Executive of Scottish Care.

This important ALLIANCE Live session covered the many challenges being faced by the care sector during COVID-19 pandemic, the amazing, brave and compassionate response by care workers in facing down those challenges and the indifference that Donald has seen in the slow response of Government to help those who are part of this country's most vulnerable .

Scottish Care represent the largest group of social care providers across the country. As Chief Executive, Donald has long argued for a human rights approach to care and support.

Tommy Whitelaw chats to Nurse Director - Acute Services at NHS Lothian, Gillian McAuley. In a wide ranging conversation they discuss how priorities have changed for Gillian's team during the COVID-19 pandemic and how her staff are still finding ways to ask people what matters to them.

In this ALLIANCE Live Wellbeing Wednesday we are joined by Dr Pip Osmond-Williams, poet and academic researcher. Pip takes us through how reading and writing poetry can allow you to engage, explore and escape, and recommends resources and technique to begin, or develop, your poetic journey during this period of lockdown.

Pip Osmond-Williams is a poet and academic researcher from Macclesfield, based in Glasgow. In 2019, she was awarded a PhD for her thesis 'Changing Glasgow: A Social History of Love in the Life and Work of Edwin Morgan' from the University of Glasgow. Her poems have been published most recently in Northwords Now, New Writing Scotland, and by the Scottish Writers' Centre.

In this ALLIANCE Live interview, Iona highlights the importance of the third sector in supporting children, young people and families, the Scottish Government’s commitment to support for the third sector through Covid 19 and the importance of maintaining good communication with the third sector during this period.

Iona, perhaps known to many as the Scottish Government Chief Social Work Adviser, will highlight key aspects of her letter to the third sector, dated 8 April 2020 and give relevant updated information. She will address a number of questions which have been passed to the ALLIANCE from children and young people and by third sector colleagues.

Tommy Whitelaw sits down with Shaun Maher the Strategic Advisor for person-centred care; Scottish Government Healthcare Quality and Strategy Directorate & Principal Educator, Quality Improvement team, NHS Education for Scotland for this ALLIANCE Live podcast. The pair discuss how Scotland's health and social care professionals finding ways to ask ‘what matters to you’ and how might our response to COVID-19 be leveraged in the future to strengthen person-centred care?

Shaun has worked in the NHS for more than 30 years across diverse healthcare settings in primary and secondary care, and more recently in variety of national roles. He spent most of his clinical career as a senior nurse in intensive care.

He has a particular interest in developing person-centred approaches to improving quality and is a leading voice in the global “What matters to you?” movement – an informal international network of people working together to focus on re-calibrating the health and social care system.

He is also an accredited executive coach, clinical microsystems coach and a Scottish Quality and Safety Fellow.

Since 2015 he has worked as a professional advisor for person-centred care with the Scottish government and as a principal lead in the Quality Improvement team at NHS Education for Scotland.

Emma Ritch, Executive Director of Engender is our guest for this ALLIANCE Live podcast. Joined by ALLIANCE Director, Lucy Mulvagh this conversation focuses on the ways in which the differences between men's and woman's lives are playing into the pandemic.

Engender are a feminist policy and advocacy organisation working in Scotland. Its mission is to integrate women's equalities and rights into the work and policies of parliament and Scottish Government. The work across three broad themes: women's economic equality, women' social and cultural equality and women's political equality.

This podcast is part of the ALLIANCE Live series, Wellbeing Wednesday, which will be coming to you every week during this period of lockdown. This series will have input from people across our membership and beyond, helping you to manage your own wellbeing at home.

In this podcast, from our Self Management funded IMPACT project at Aberdeen Foyer, will guide you through a mindfulness exercise and help you to focus while you colour.

This important ALLIANCE Live interview covers the COVID-19 pandemic, the most up to date clinical advice and the impact of the current situation for disabled people, people living with long term conditions and unpaid carers.

As National Clinical Director, Jason is responsible for quality in Scotland’s health and social care system, including patient safety and person-centred care, NHS planning, and implementing quality improvement methods across the government and the broader public sector.

Nicola Bedlington, Special Advisor for the European Patients Forum (EPF) speaks to ALLIANCE Direcotr, Irene Oldfather in this ALLIANCE Live interview.  

Recorded remotely during COVID-19, the interview covers what are the big issues for the EPF and how is it adapting and listening to its members.  

Based in Austria, Nicola also reflects on the country's own response to the pandemic as well as what does this disease mean for the future and particularly in post Brexit world?