Health & wellbeing

Fife Cultural Trust recognises the wider role that social activity plays in enhancing the quality of life and wellbeing of individuals. We continued to develop our significant experience of working collaboratively with NHS Fife and other local partners to deliver many activities that are focused on improving the health and wellbeing of all Fife’s communities. Our libraries team are passionate about providing a wide range of activities for those living with dementia from Groove ON discos to dementia-friendly screening of movies.

Cupar Library

WalkON

Comedy Cafe

Crafts in the library

Music in the library

Audiences at Carnegie Hall

Macmillan Partnership

ONFife Libraries was granted £240,000 to deliver Macmillan Cancer Information and Support from four libraries across Fife and to support information points in two hospitals. The ambition in Fife is to have seven volunteer-led services – one in each of the seven Fife Council areas – but four locations have been chosen initially. These libraries would hold the full range of information leaflets, offer drop-in sessions and deliver support and signposting, not only on a practical level but also on an emotional level. In December 2018, a project officer was appointed to lead the implementation and is working towards the launch at Jennie Lee Library, Lochgelly, in 2019, closely followed by a second venue at Leven Library.

Walk ON

The Walk ON Events boost physical and mental health by combining walking and reading. Our six current Walk ON groups enjoyed a year of conversation, companionship and exercise – with 1,194 attendances over 125 sessions. Three new groups have been set up in Duloch, St Andrews and Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries. An award of almost £6,000 from Paths for All Smarter Choices, Smarter Places fund supported the training.

Hearing aid batteries in libraries

Working with NHS Fife, libraries across Fife have been helping to dispense hearing aid batteries to NHS patients. The second year of this service has seen it become increasingly popular, with 7,753 packs of batteries being distributed from libraries across Fife.

Moments in Time for those living with dementia

We expanded and developed our dementia-friendly offering for those living with dementia and their carers, reaching over 700 people.

Our monthly Moments in Time sessions are a series of free, relaxed sessions specifically designed to provide those living with dementia an opportunity to revisit certain times in their lives. Over tea and biscuits – stories, poems, photographs and music are used to transport those attending to their own moment in time…

These are now available at Kirkcaldy Galleries, Rothes Halls and Methil Library. The sessions have been developed to allow sessions to be delivered in community settings such as care homes or day care centres, so physical access isn’t a barrier to participation. Funding from the Dementia Strategy Group helped support the expansion of these sessions.

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Movie Moments

Doris Day and Howard Keel helped us go back in time as we expanded our project to include Movie Moments – dementia-friendly cinema screenings of Calamity Jane at the Adam Smith Theatre and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Carnegie Hall.

Groove ON, dementia-friendly discos

Groove ON – our dementia-friendly discos – also proved popular throughout the year. 2018/19 saw Rothes Halls, Carnegie Hall, Leslie and Cadham Libraries become dementia-friendly venues.