FORTH AND TAY DISTRICT

of

EDINBURGH BRANCH

35th Meeting

Dewar Centre, Glover Street, Perth at 7.30 pm Thursday 3rd April 2008

Sederunt.

A. Thomson               T. Mellon                     R. Paterson                L. Roberts
K. Paterson                S. Chisholm               A. Reavey                  W. Miller
A. Pill                          D. Binnie                    P. Hally                       H. McCrea
A. Milne                      B. Stainton                            

Apologies
J. Goddard                 B. Davies                   M. Powell                   E. Ekenem
A. Stark                      Dr J. Morran               S. Fowler                    K. McDonnell
R. Turner                    D. Morrison               

1.         Chairperson                        Paul Szawlowski (Deputising)

Paul opened the meeting at 7.30pm welcoming everyone attending the 35th Meeting of the Forth and Tay District.  He apologised to the meeting on behalf of Karen McDonnell who could not attend and stated that he would conduct the business for the evening.  Paul then went on to remind the members of the emergency and administrative arrangements for the meeting at the Dewar Centre.

2.                  Minutes of the 33rd Meeting on the 01st November 2007

The meeting was asked if there were any comments to be made regarding the Minutes of that meeting. No comments were forthcoming and, so, it was proposed that the Minutes be accepted as a true record of that meeting.

Proposed:      A. Powell                    Seconded:     B. Stainton

3.         Secretary’s Report             A. Thomson

The Secretary informed the meeting that the following addressees for e-mails would be removed from his (e) mailing list as they keep bouncing back:-

Kevin Findlay

Dave Devey

Ian Condie

Any member who is contact with either of the people listed is requested to inform them of the Secretary’s action.

The Secretary asked if members were happy to get email sent from him on an ad-hoc basis containing items the committee felt would be of interest to them.  Members present agreed this was acceptable indeed desirable.

The Secretary also asked if any member objected to email addresses being shown to other members. 

Members present agreed this could be used for networking purposes with each other; therefore all were happy to leave as is.

4.         Correspondence

Hugh McCrea gave information on a Dermatitis Seminar being held in Livingston on 23rd April 2008 (members had already been emailed this information).

5.         Branch Liaison – (normally) Karen McDonnell

At the meeting the Secretary stated that he had not directly received any information from Karen regarding Branch liaison but that he would contact Karen after the meeting for anything that should be included.

Nothing to report from Branch.

6.         Any Other Competent Business

Sandy Chisholm announced details of the site visit to NYNAS Dundee on 05th June 2008, 1.30pm – 4.30pm.

Paul said Karen was now trained as a Mentor for IPD. 

Paul also congratulated, in his absence, Philip Brunton who had been recommended for Chartered Membership.

7.         Ten Minute Speaker 

No member attending had any presentation to give.  If any member would like to address the next meeting, they are requested to contact the Secretary so that they can be confirmed for the Ten Minute Speaker slot.

8.         Guest Speaker – Dr I. Scragg,

                                         Head of Safety Services, University of Dundee.

Topic: Stress – What can we do?

Ian opened his presentation by explaining that he was originally down to do a ten minute speaker presentation however, due to the original speaker being unable to attend he was “persuaded” by Paul to extend his talk therefore, he invited the members present to assist him by joining in with any questions throughout his talk.

Ian gave figures relating to absence from stress within University of Dundee and showed a clever optical illusion to prove that there are two ways of looking at things.  Ian led an active discussion over promotion of awareness and how poor management training and over-work could lead to stress.  He went on to discuss how, during discussions with University staff, they came up with action plans that had staff support behind them.  This lead to an open discussion about whether of not “stress” does come under the “safety” banner or is it a health issue.

Ian discussed his SOS leaflet (Switch Off Stress).  The University, after staff input, issued a stress questionnaire which was linked to a charity benefiting from replies received.

For a copy of Ian’s presentation, email District Secretary.

9.         Vote of Thanks –  K. Paterson

Kirsten stood up a gave a hearty vote of thanks to Ian, not only for his in-depth presentation but also for standing-in at very short notice.  She felt he ‘laid-out his store’ and put across the way The University of Dundee deals with the on-going battle we all have with what can be a very tricky, complex and personal matter not only for the Company/Organisation but for the individual concerned.  He had recognised the particular challenges the U of D had with stress and was very honest on how they are dealing with this.  On behalf of the members, Kirsten again thanked Ian for facilitating a lively and beneficial discussion on this topic and invited the members to show their appreciation in the traditional manner.

10.       Next Meeting.

The next meeting will be the site visit to NYNAS Dundee and will take place on Thursday 05th June 2008, 1.30pm – 4.30pm. 

ANY MEMBER WISHING TO ATTEND THIS SITE VISIT MUST CONTACT ALLAN THOMSON ASAP on allan@central-training.co.uk TO ALLOW FINAL NUMBERS TO BE GIVEN TO NYNAS.