Things in the library 12th April...

Things to help you organise...
If you have followed this blog for some time you will know I am a great fan of Evernote. It's an organising and productivity tool - you can keep everything you need to remember in one place including handwritten notes, photos of receipts and documents....and much more. They have just released Evernote for Gmail or Outlook which lets you take what matters out of your inbox and into a distraction-free workspace where you can curate your content, add context, and stay focused. Whilst I am not suggesting you do this for NHS business you might find it very useful for organising the rest of your life.

Things about rare diseases...

The measurement of quality of life in the context of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is challenging. This is because the disease is experienced by children and is rare, which makes data collection difficult. There are also practical and methodological challenges associated with capturing quality of life in paediatric populations. For children, it may be necessary to use proxy reporting (with a parent, for example). It can also be difficult to disentangle changes in quality of
life that arise as a result of age-related or  developmental changes, rather than because of a disease or its treatment.This briefing from the Office of Health Economics reports on a symposium that outlined some lessons that can be learnt from the SMA context that might be more widely applicable to other rare diseases.

Things about measles...

Sheffield City Council are promoting MMR vaccinations. In 2018, there were over 900 laboratory-confirmed measles cases in England. They want to make sure that all pre-school children are protected from Measles, Mumps and Rubella and are fully vaccinated before they start school this September. They are urging parents and guardians of all pre-school children to check with their GP that they are fully up to date with the 2 doses of the MMR vaccine.

Things about inhalers...

A new patient decision aid highlights that some inhalers have a much higher carbon footprint than others. The aid will help people with asthma, alongside health professionals, to identify which inhalers could meet their needs and control their symptoms. Where several inhalers could be viable options, patients can opt for the more environmentally friendly option, which may help to cut the health service’s carbon footprint. The new aid, partially funded by the Sustainable Development Unit, also says that all used inhalers should be returned to local pharmacies for environmentally safe disposal or recycling. The aid includes links to a new series of short videos created by Asthma UK, which give simple demonstrations of correct inhaler technique, potentially improving their effectiveness and preventing future exacerbations and attacks.

Things about opening hours...
There are some changes over Easter to our library opening hours. We will be closing at 5pm on Thursday 18th April and closed completely on the Bank Holidays (Good Friday and Easter Monday). We will also be closed at 5pm for the rest of Easter Week (23-26 April)

Last chance things...
Last chance to sign up for the next SCH Randomised Coffee Trial - matching will be happening next week with meetings in May...join the buzz!




Things to make...
For Easter Sunday it has to be roast lamb in our household - this Slow roast leg of lamb with herb rub sounds lovely.


Happy Easter!

Things in the library 5th April...

Things to attend...or present...

The RCN International Nursing Research Conference 2019 is being held in Sheffield 3rd to 5th September. The over-arching theme of this year's conference is: Impact. There is still just time to answer the call for abstracts (11th April) so if you have some research ready to go this is your chance.

Things to read...
Our last Reading Group book 'This is going to hurt' by Adam Kay was both very funny and also sad, mostly liked by the group and we had an interesting discussion with views from consultants and those thinking about careers in medicine (work experience visitors), alongside  a variety of non-medics. Our next book is a thriller 'Hold my Hand' by M J Ford and our meeting will be on 1st May at 17:15. We are always happy to welcome new people - so come and try us out - we are very friendly.

Things about child measurement...
Public Health England have published 'National Child Measurement Programme: a conversation framework for talking to parents'. This document provides guidance and resources for school nurses, their teams and other professionals running the National Child Measurement Programme.

Things about integrated care systems...
NHS England has produced the following case studies showing how integrated care systems are supporting a number of health care areas:

• Integrated care in action – children and young people
• Group clinics for parents of children with sickle cell anaemia
• Paediatric Screening – a new play specialist approach

Things about nurses...

Globally there are mounting concerns about nurses' job satisfaction because of its pivotal role in nurse turnover and the quality of care of patients. This literature review aims to identify a more comprehensive and extensive knowledge of the job satisfaction of qualified general nurses working in acute care hospitals and its associated factors drawing upon empirical literature published in the last five years.

Things about Autism...and libraries

The House of Commons library has published a briefing which provides an overview of policies and services for people with autism, primarily in England.

It is estimated that more than half a million people in England have autism, which is equivalent to more than 1% of the population. There is however no national register or exact count kept of the number of people with the condition.

The full report can be downloaded here.  

Did you know The House of Commons Library is an independent research and information unit. It provides impartial information for Members of Parliament of all parties and their staff. This service supports MPs in their work scrutinising Government, proposing legislation, and supporting constituents. They have Brexit explainer (!) videos, podcasts and all sorts of interesting information on their website. I also believe they have to stay open whilst ever the House is sitting.

Things about Sheffield...

NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have announced they will be investing an additional £615,500 in children and young people’s mental health support. This funding has been committed in partnership with Sheffield City Council, as part of Sheffield’s Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Strategy for Children and Young People. The funding, which was agreed at the CCG’s governing body earlier this year, will come in to place in April 2019. Some of the funding will be used to sustain and expand Door 43, which is based at Star House in Sheffield City Centre and provided by Sheffield Futures and Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust.

Things to make...

I do like a nice tray bake and this vegetarian one sounds lovely.  Moroccan freekeh tray bake ...I didn't know what Freekeh is so looked it up. It is a green grain made from young durum wheat which is roasted or smoked then polished to remove the shells.  The grain is then cracked to varying degrees of coarseness. Freekeh is mentioned in the Bible and was reportedly discovered by accident when soldiers in the Eastern Mediterranean tried to ruin the crop by setting fire to wheat fields.  In trying to salvage what they could, the locals discovered that if the burnt shells were removed, delicious green grains were revealed. The grains are pale green/brown and similar in texture to bulgar wheat.