Things in the library 7th June...

Things about the NHS App...
The NHS App went into the Apple App and Google Play stores on Monday 31 December, with a web based version due to launch in the coming months.
During testing between September and December, NHS England and NHS Digital teams listened to feedback from patients and practice staff and used this to make improvements to the app and plan the national rollout. Changes included improving the online registration process, how GP appointment information is presented, and changes to the information patients see before accessing their GP medical record.

The app is now being rolled out across England, with individual GP practices needing to review some of their system settings before they can go live and all the functions of the NHS App will be available. These actions and the gradual rollout will ensure patients have the best possible user experience of the app.
When the GP practice is connected patients will be able to use the NHS App to:

• book and manage appointments at their GP practice
• order their repeat prescriptions
• securely view their GP medical record
• check their symptoms using NHS 111 online and the health A-Z on the NHS website
• register as an organ donor
• choose whether the NHS uses their data for research and planning

Until the GP practice is online patients will be able to use the NHS App to check their symptoms using NHS 111 online and the health A-Z on the NHS website.
Most practices will go live between April and June 2019, [I just checked and no Sheffield GPs on yet] the NHS App was expected to be fully rolled out to practices and patients by 1 July 2019 so I don't know if that is still the target. It's not getting great reviews on the App stores at the moment but its something you might need to know about.

Things about opening hours...
We always try to stay open for our core hours of 8:45 - 17:00 Mon - Fri but over the summer there will be occasions when we cannot open in the 17:00 to 19:00 (Mon - Thurs) time slot due to staff holidays. if you are planning to come to the library in the evening do give us a ring to check to avoid a wasted journey. In the next couple of weeks we will be closing at 17:00 on the following days:
Thurs 13 June, Mon 17 June, Wed 19 June,  Mon 24 June, Wed 26 June.

Things to read...
If you are going on your summer holidays don't forget we have a good selection of leisure reading books available for you to loan - fiction and non-fiction. We have just finished reading Stephen Fry's 'Mythos' at our reading group and out next book is Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult discussed at our meeting on July 3rd at 17:15 (drinks and nibbles provided).
 "The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage. Jodie Picoult is one of the most fearless writers of our time—and tackles a complicated issue in this gripping and nuanced novel. How do we balance the rights of pregnant women with the rights of the unborn they carry? What does it mean to be a good parent? A Spark of Light will inspire debate and conversation." [Goodreads website]

Things about social media...
ScHARR are running a short 1 day course on 27th June "An Introduction to Using Social Media to Communicate Research" the aim of the workshop is to offer an introduction to the many tools you can use to help you communicate research and work smarter. The purpose of the day is to help attendees come away with a variety of tools and artefacts they can use to help communicate and share their work. They will teach you basics of social media in an academic setting and demystify some of the barriers that may have put you off from using these tools in your work.

Things about self-harm...
In the news this week an increasing number of people, especially girls and young women, are turning to self-harm to cope with painful feelings. The full study can be read in The Lancet Psychiatry The following points are made on the NHS behind the headlines site :
 "...the study has some limitations. The overall number reporting self-harm, especially in the 2000 survey, is fairly low (65 men and 105 women in 2000), which means the results may not be an accurate picture of the overall population level of self-harm. Also, although the same questions were asked in each survey, people's understanding of self-harm is likely to have changed since 2000. 
People may be more likely to report self-harm, or see certain acts as self-harm, than they were when the survey began. Also, we do not know whether the people who declined to take part in the survey were more or less likely to have self-harmed than those who did participate. We also crucially do not know how often people were engaging in self-harm. Because they were asked if they'd ever self-harmed, we do not know whether they were reporting a single event or an ongoing pattern of behaviour. Previous studies of self-harm have focused on people who were in contact with medical services as a result of self-harm. As the study discovered, more than half of people who self-harm do not seek help, so this study improves our knowledge of the scale of the problem. Despite its limitations, the study seems to have found a worrying increase in self-harm, especially among young women."

Things to eat...
I rather feel I should be posting salad and cooling drink recipes but with the rain lashing down outside and a colleague off on a UK holiday (always a sign of impending rain) I feel more like hunkering down with something warm and comforting! How about a slow classic ratatouille from Jamie Oliver served with some crusty bread, couscous or rice?