Things in the library 25th June...

 Things back in the library... 

(C) Gill Kaye 2021

Me!  After a wonderful break in Cornwall and calling in on friends and relations along the way - with frequent lateral flow tests! It was wonderful to be welcomed to Cornwall by a fly past from the Red Arrows 30 mins after we had arrived...right over head...as this view from our chalet shows! 

Things about young people with cancer...

Teenage Cancer Trust has revealed recently that more than a third of young cancer patients who felt they needed it, have had no, or reduced access to a psychologist in the six months prior to being surveyed, due to inadequate access in parts of the UK. The ‘#NotOK: Filling the gaps in mental health support for young people with cancer’ report, published today to mark the launch of the charity’s #NotOK campaign, also highlights the frustrations of psychologists who feel like they are ‘firefighting’ due to the high demand on ‘limited resource’. 87% of psychologists surveyed think current national provisions for specialist psychological support for teenagers and young adults with cancer is insufficient to meet their specific needs. Teenage Cancer Trust warns that young cancer patients could face depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions well into their adult lives unless UK Governments provide protected funding for high quality support that is available from the point of diagnosis.

Things about fathers... 

The Fatherhood Institute published a report 'Lockdown Fathers: the untold story'.

Their recommendations include:

During lockdowns fathers in the UK almost doubled the time they had been spending on childcare, grew in confidence, learned new skills and built stronger relationships with their babies and children.

All children should benefit, in learning and love, from the support that time with a confident, well-supported dad can bring. As we build back from this pandemic, we owe it to them to make this happen.

Fathers want to keep contributing, but shift patterns dictated to them at the last minute, long commutes, and long and inflexible working hours can get in the way. 

Following on from this is their campaign ‘Time with Dad’ to preserve the ‘lockdown positives’ of fathers spending more time with their children and supporting their learning, development and education. They want the UK to build back from the pandemic in ways that take account of fathers’ importance – and the limits on their time. They are looking for employers, schools, dads, mums, anyone who shares their vision, and might be interested in helping them turn it into a reality.

Things about air quality... 

Ambient air pollution is produced by sources including traffic, coal-fired power plants, hydraulic fracturing, agricultural production, and forest fires. It consists of primary pollutants generated by combustion and secondary pollutants formed in the atmosphere from precursor gases. Air pollution causes and exacerbates climate change, and climate change worsens health effects of air pollution. Infants and children are uniquely sensitive to air pollution, because their organs are developing and they have higher air per body weight intake. Health effects linked to air pollution include not only exacerbations of respiratory diseases but also reduced lung function development and increased asthma incidence. Additional outcomes of concern include preterm birth, low birth weight, neurodevelopmental disorders, IQ loss, pediatric cancers, and increased risks for adult chronic diseases.  This policy (from the American Academy of Pediatrics and available to you with an NHS Athens login) reviews both short- and long-term health consequences of ambient air pollution, especially in relation to developmental exposures. 

Things about fever... 

In the press today is news that Emergency departments across the UK are seeing very high numbers of young children for this time of the year because of a rise in infections usually seen in the winter.  RCPCH, RECM and RCGP are issuing advice for parents and carers concerned about fever in their child. One emergency paediatrician described the situation as “winter in June”. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has heard from paediatric emergency medicine doctors around the country describing pressures on their emergency department (ED) from an increase in children being brought in with mild fever by anxious parents. Many parents have not seen fever in their child – particularly if they were born during lockdown – and are taking them to A&E rather than seeking help at pharmacies, their GP, NHS 111 or online.

Things about mental health... 

Children and young people will benefit from a cash injection to mental health services which includes addressing the increasing demand for the treatment of eating disorders. An extra £40 million has been allocated to address the COVID impact on children and young people’s mental health and enhance services across the country. One way the additional money will be spent is to support ensuring the right type of beds are in the right places, or that alternatives to admission are in place, supporting parts of the country that have more challenges in their range of bed capacity. Across the country £10 million capital funding is being used to provide extra beds at units which provide care for young people with the most complex needs, including eating disorders, as well as £1.5 million to ensure there are additional facilities for children under 13. This funding is on top of £79 million made available by the government to support children and young people’s mental health in the community, including via increased access to crisis and eating disorder services, and new mental health support teams being rolled out – by April 2023, there will be around 400 teams covering 35% of the country.

Things to visit... 

It is great to be able to visit galleries again so I am looking forward to seeing Sheffield-born John Hoyland, one of Britain’s leading abstract artists, in this new exhibition opening at the Millennium Gallery. John Hoyland is renowned for his bold use of colour and inventive forms. In a career spanning over 50 years, his tireless innovation pushed the boundaries of abstract painting and cemented his reputation as one of the most inventive British artists of the 20th century. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of his passing, John Hoyland: The Last Paintings brings together large-scale canvases, some of which have never been publicly displayed before, made during the last eight years of the artist’s life. Sat 3 Jul - Sun 10 Oct 2021 Millennium Gallery. 

Things fishy...

On our one venture into St Ives (predictably they had a COVID outbreak following the G7 summit) we ate in a wonderful little restaurant recommended on one of Rick Stein's programmes. All the fish we ate in Cornwall was wonderful, of course, so today my recipe is  Hake in a Chorizo, Tomato & Olive Sauce.