Press

Ecas regularly engages with the media to help raise publicly issues which impact on the lives of disabled people. We are often quoted or referred to in print journalism and broadcasting in Scotland and wider afield. The Edinburgh Evening News has referred to us as 'the city's top support group for people with disabilities'. We are available for interviews and commissioned articles.

Home Care Services

Ecas believes that elderly and disabled people in Edinburgh are having to put up with inadequate levels of home care services.

We commissioned research from the Strathclyde Centre for Disability Research, at the University of Glasgow, into the provision of home care services for disabled people in Edinburgh. The research report 'Domiciliary Care in Edinburgh' was finalised in September 2008. It made a number of conclusions which criticise current home care service provision. These included concerns about the toileting services being provided; the quality of food being prepared; and the reduction in the duration of home visits.

These criticisms have proved controversial, with City of Edinburgh Council refusing to accept the validity of the report. However, we believe we have uncovered further evidence to back up the report's conclusions, through the Ecas Befriending Project - with at least one client suffering inadequate and degrading toileting services.

This story has been reported in the Evening News. The research report is available to download from the publications section of this website.

Prams on Buses

Ecas has recently been asked to comment on Lothian Buses' controversial ban on the use of prams on its vehicles. (The Edinburgh Evening News has run a series of articles which cover this debate.) Lothian Buses' has claimed that its ban arises from having to comply with disability discrimination law and to give preference to wheelchair users in accessing wheelchair spaces. Ecas believes, however, that such rules are unnecessary and are counterproductive - a better solution is to allow common sense and common courtesy to prevail.