Things in the library 6th May

CAMHS National Summit 2022...

This national conference focuses on transforming mental health services for children and young people, ensuring early intervention, and developing integrated services with clear care pathways from first intervention to crisis and inpatient care. The conference will also look at national developments and learning from the Covid-19 pandemic and how CAMHS has had to adapt and innovate to provide effective care. The conference will address suicide prevention and learning from suicide and also safeguarding and CAMHS. 

Things about eye tests...

A life-saving test that allows doctors to spot a rare form of eye cancer in babies in the womb is being rolled out by the NHS in England this week. Now, thanks to a new NHS test developed at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, babies identified as being at risk of developing retinoblastoma can be monitored and treated sooner – increasing the chance of saving their eyesight and potentially their lives. Symptoms of retinoblastoma are hard to detect and a diagnosis can normally only be made once the tumour has progressed and the eye can’t be saved. The new non-invasive test can detect changes in the genes in DNA and is likely to identify around 50 infants with retinoblastoma each year, in the latest example of the NHS harnessing the power of genomics to diagnose and treat patients faster and more effectively.

Things about language... 

In their article in the BMJ, Caitríona Cox and Zoë Fritz argue that outdated medical language that casts doubt, belittles, or blames patients jeopardises the therapeutic relationship and is overdue for change. According to Fritz "we need to change the language we use so that we don’t (unintentionally!) undermine the therapeutic relationship. We (doctors) are taught phrases like ‘presenting complaint’ and use them unthinkingly. But the patient isn’t complaining- they are telling us about their symptoms."

Things about the Heath and Care Act...

The Health and Care Bill was passed into law in England on 28 April 2022. The new Act establishes 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), which will replace Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) across England from 01 July 2022. Under the new Act ICBs will have to report annually on how well they are delivering their duty to safeguard children and young people. 

Things about Ofsted...

Ofsted has released a five-year strategy detailing its goals to raise standards in education and children’s social care. The strategy sets out the introduction of a more risk-based and proportionate approach to regulation and inspection to help keep children safer. The report highlights a number of areas of concern, including: online harm, the prevalence of peer-on-peer sexual harassment and unregistered settings where children may be cared for in unsafe environments. Ofsted aim to inform safeguarding practices through the measures outlined in the strategy, and identify systemic safeguarding issues.  

Things about food and gaming apps...

How children use meal-delivery apps and the rising popularity of online gaming could be driving obesity across Europe, the World Health Organization has said. Europe's highly digitalised food environments affect what, when and how people eat and should be monitored more closely, the report says. Meal-delivery apps, for example, play a significant role in increasing consumption of high-fat and high-sugar food and drinks. Online gaming, which is hugely popular among children, has also been linked to poorer diet, unhealthy behaviour and more time sitting rather than being active. The report also points out that "obesity is "a complex disease" and much more than the combination of an unhealthy diet and a lack of physical activity".

 Things to make...

I love spring - everything about it. The blossom, the light jacket weather, and the fact that it makes me want to eat green things. This spring veg and lemon broth is a lovely light meal, perfect for this time of year  I sometimes add some chilli flakes for an extra bit of delight.

Things in the library 25 Sept...

Things about childhood trauma... 

The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on children and young people’s lives. It has increased the experience of trauma for many, and compromised the support which children and young people receive from friends, family and public services. As the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic unfold, the UK Trauma Council has developed four recommendations that should be prioritised by all UK Governments to address childhood trauma in both the short and long term. These recommendations present a clear framework for action, to be taken forward in different ways across the UK. 

Things to do soon...

Closing date for our treasure hunt library quiz is coming up soon (30th Sept) so still time to enter and take a tour of our library catalogue at the same time. Winner to be announced next week.

Things about nurses... 

A King's Fund report about the health and wellbeing of nurses and midwives which are essential to the quality of care they can provide for people and communities, affecting their compassion, professionalism and effectiveness. Ensuring that working conditions across all settings – in primary, secondary, mental health, community and social care – are supporting nurses and midwives in their work is fundamental to ensuring the best outcomes for people who need health and care services. This report focuses on their work life experience and what needs to be done to address the problems they face. This review investigated how to transform nurses’ and midwives’ workplaces so that they can thrive and flourish and are better able to provide the compassionate, high-quality care that they wish to offer. 

Nurse and midwives have three core work needs that must be met to ensure wellbeing and motivation at work, and to minimise workplace stress: autonomy, belonging and contribution. This report sets out eight key recommendations designed to meet these three core work needs. These recommendations focus on: authority, empowerment and influence; justice and fairness; work conditions and working schedules; teamworking; culture and leadership; workload; management and supervision; and learning, education and developme

Things to attend...  

University of Sheffield Music Season concerts will be a little different this year. It’s their intention to bring you a series of concerts – both live and streamed online – this autumn, starting from Thursday 5 November. Instead of welcoming their performers to Firth Hall they'll be moving to the Octagon Centre. This move allows them to bring in measures for the safety of their musicians, performers, audiences, students and staff. The Octagon Centre is a COVID-secure venue as per Public Health England guidance. It also has extra sound and lighting capability far beyond what they would usually have in Firth Hall, which they hope to use to full effect.

To ensure they can safely seat their audiences online ticket sales will be limited to two per booking, and you can only book in your social bubbles. They can accommodate groups of three or more, they just ask you to contact them via email to process the booking. On the door tickets will not be available for the autumn season. Masks will need to be worn unleess medically exempt.

Things to help you...

Don't forget that although we are not doing face-to-face training under the current situation we can do much of our training online using Microsoft Teams or Google Meet - literature searching, accessing journals, reference managment and critical appraisal. Please contact the library for further details or use our Book a Librarian form.

Things to eat... 

How about some Caribbean flavours this week - we like this easy recipe for Jerk chicken thighs from Levi Roots

Things in the library 6th March...

Things about Evidence Based Practice...
Our next Quiz to celebrate our 70th year birthday is now open...how much do you think you know about Evidence Based medicine...try our quiz and at the end of March the highest scoring entry will receive a prize. If you find you know less than you thought you did then check out our training page.


Things to read...
Our reading group meeting this week was unanimous in liking John Wyndham's 'Day of the Triffids' which despite being written in 1951 still felt relevant and exciting today...and a little scary! Our next book is Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout and our meeting to talk about it will be on April 1st at 17:15 in the Illingworth Library (F Floor Grey lifts). Refreshments provided.


Things to attend...
Children & Young People's Mental Health (CAMHS) 2020 Conference & Exhibition Tuesday, 14 July 2020 Ambassadors Hotel, Bloomsbury, London. This national CPD accredited conference programme will explore emerging trends in children and young people’s mental health services, such as the interaction between online platforms for gaming/gambling and addiction; as well as existing issues with access to services, social media use and legislating to support CYPMHS and service users.


Things about rare diseases...
An update to the implementation plan for the  UK Strategy for Rare Diseases in England has been published by Department of  Health & Social Care around 3 million people in the UK will be affected by a rare disease, 80% of which will be of a genetic origin and over 75% of all rare diseases affect children.

Keeping up-to-date...

We have many ways to help you keep up-to-date.
When you join the library you can tell us your main areas of interest which means you will get notifications of new items we have added to our catalogue (books, websites, articles written by SCH colleagues, new gold Clinical Audits/service Evaluations). This will also mean you get a monthly email with a few articles we have selected that might be of interest to you.
e-prompt 
You can also sign up to one of our subject e-prompts giving a more comprehensive list of recent journal articles emailed to you regularly.

Things to eat...
It has been nice and sunny this week and the spring flowers are staring to show their colours so a nice spring recipe today with Parmesan spring chicken.

Things in the library 17th January...

Things about healthcare systems...

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services published a position paper 'A health care system that works for all children' last year (ADCS is the national leadership association in England for statutory directors of children's services and their senior teams). In their executive summary they state:

"ADCS members believe that now, more than ever, there is a real need for a national commitment to ensure that the NHS of the future has children at it’s heart and children’s health and wellbeing services are given parity with those of older people."

Things about CAMHS...

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has published its Annual Report on access to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). The study examines access to specialist services, waiting times for treatment, and provision for the most vulnerable children in England. The research is based on new data obtained using freedom of information (FOI) requests to mental health providers and local authorities over the course of a year. This data is not published by the NHS. The majority of lifelong mental health problems develop early on, during childhood or adolescence. The wider economic costs of mental ill health in England are vast, estimated at £105bn each year.

Things in the news today...
Sepsis
Global, regional, and national sepsis incidence and mortality, 1990–2017: analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study is the article on which the headlines are commenting. The interpretation of the results from the authors is:

"Despite declining age-standardised incidence and mortality, sepsis remains a major cause of health loss worldwide and has an especially high health-related burden in sub-Saharan Africa."

Social Media
Along with exploring the impact of screen time generally, this paper 'Technology use and the mental health of children and young people' from the Royal College of Psychiatrists also explores the impact of different types of screen use: negative content; how vulnerable groups may be affected such as those with mental health problems and very young
children; potential for bullying and safeguarding issues; as well as the potential for addiction. In addition, guidance is provided for children and young people, parents and carers, clinicians and teachers.

Things about patient feedback...

The National Institute for Health Research published a themed review this week on Improving Care by Using Patient Feedback. There are many different reasons for looking at patient experience feedback data. Data is most often used for performance assessment and benchmarking in line with regulatory body requirements,  making comparisons with other healthcare providers or to assess progress over time. Staff are sometimes unaware of the feedback, or when they are, they struggle to make sense of it in a way that can lead to improvements. They are not always aware of unsolicited feedback, such as that received online and when they are, they are often uncertain how to  respond. 

• Staff need the time, skills and resources to make changes in practice. In many organisations, feedback about patient experience is managed in different departments from those that lead quality improvement. Whilst most organisations have a standardised method for quality improvement, there is less clarity and consistency in relation to using patient experience data.
• Staff act on informal feedback in ways that are not always recognised as improvement. Where change does happen, it tends to be on transactional tasks rather than relationships and the way patients feel. 
• The research featured in this review shows that these challenges can be overcome and provides recommendations and links to practical resources for services and staff.

Things to take part in...
The next Randomised Coffee Trial will be taking place in the SCH Trust in February. Sign-up now via this link . If you previously asked to be included in all future RCTs there is no need to sign up again. If you are new to the Trust - our RCTs run two or three times a year, you sign up and are randomly matched to someone else and you arrange to meet at a mutually convenient time for 30-40 mins to chat about anything you like. It is a good way of meeting new colleagues, taking time out and widening networks. The positive responses we get show how much it is enjoyed. Last time we had a few people who signed up but then didn't make contact with their matchee..please be courteous and inform the library and the other person if you cannot meet so that we can try to re-match the other person.

Things to make...
If you want a nice brunch dish there are some good suggestions here based on baked eggs.

Things in the library 6th Sept...

Things about blindness...
A revolutionary new gene therapy which restores sight will be provided by the NHS, chief executive Simon Stevens has announced this week. Babies born with inherited retinal dystrophies disorder have poor sight which swiftly deteriorates, with most losing their vision completely in childhood. Until now no treatment has been available.
The life-changing treatment for children and adults – voretigene neparvovec – is the first in a new generation of gene therapies that can be directly administered to patients, in this case through an injection.

Things about respiratory health...

Public Health England have issued a report on respiratory diseases in the Yorkshire and the Humber population, highlighting examples of good practice and opportunities for improvement in both primary prevention and disease management. Respiratory diseases can have a substantial impact on quality of life and are responsible for 13.6% of all deaths in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Mental health in paediatric primary care...
The pediatric primary care setting is ideal for addressing children's and adolescents' mental health needs. As a result of extensive training in health promotion, consultation, assessment, and treatment of psychological disorders, psychologists are uniquely positioned to support primary care pediatricians in this endeavor. This paper 'I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends' provides a review of models of psychology interventions in pediatric primary care including: care delivery, scope of practice, implementation and recent research. It concludes with a case example and recommendations.

Things about work life balance...
Published in Acta Pediatrica is this progress report 'The Evolving Educational Challenge: Balancing Patient Numbers, Conference Attendance, Sleep and Resident Wellness.' which although written from an American perspective may well be of interest.

Things to attend...

The Brit Rock Film Tour 2019 World Premier takes place at 19.30 at the Pennine Lecture Theatre, Sheffield Hallam University, S1 2LW on 24th October 2019. With introductions by the filmmakers and climbers, free stuff, a chance to meet the rock stars and a film maker Q&A. It has all the best new climbing films from the UK’s top adventure filmmakers, featuring some of the country’s most popular climbers. Climbing Blind is a  60 mins documentary directed and produced by Alastair Lee, in association with Montane. Jesse Dufton was born with 20% central vision. At four years of age Jesse was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa: a rare genetic disease that breaks down the retinas’ cells. At aged 20 Jesse could no longer read, by the time he was 30 his vision was reduced to just light perception with around 1 or 2 % field of view. A life long climber, Jesse can more than hold his own, both lead-climbing classic routes that would challenge fully sighted climbers with his sight guide and fiancee Molly, to competing in world cup events (4th in 2019).  As his sight degenerates his climbing continues to make remarkable progress. Despite his condition, Jesse only takes on bigger challenges by attempting to be the first blind person to make a ‘non-sight’ lead of the iconic Old Man of Hoy sea stack in Scotland.

Things about health inequalities...

Inequities have a profound impact on the health and development of children globally. While inequities are greatest in the world's poorest countries, even in rich nations poorer children have poorer health and developmental outcomes. From birth through childhood to adolescence, morbidity, mortality, growth and development are socially determined, resulting in the most disadvantaged having the highest risk of poor health outcomes. Inequities in childhood impact across the life course. This article in BMJ Paediatrics Open discusses these issues.

Things about street food...
Sheffield Students Union Street Food Market will be taking place just down the road from the Acute SCH site on 26 September from 17:30 till 22:30








Things about automation...
This graphic from the Health Foundation is about which health care jobs are the most likely to be affected by automation? The automation of work will impact the future labour market.

• Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis suggests that 7.4% of jobs in England are at high risk of automation (defined as 70% chance of being automated). 
• The ONS analysis estimates that medical practitioners have an 18% probability of automation, compared to over 50% probability for care workers and home carers.
• However there is optimism about opportunities technology could bring too, such as creating new roles. There are also limits to the tasks that technology can perform—human skills, intelligence and perception are likely to be of enduring value.

An item I won't be telling my mother-in-law... about given her lifelong phobia about robots.

Coffee opportunities...
Don't forget to sign up for the two Randomised Coffee trials available for SCH staff. One for all staff in October and one for those attending the SCH Clinical Summit.
More things about coffee...
I am not really a cake maker but for the evening reception of my son's wedding recently I was asked to make a coffee cake. It was well received (thanks Mary Berry) so I pass on the recipe...sunflowers optional...they were to match the bride's bouquet! I used more butter icing than stated in order to cover the sides as well. On the hottest August bank holiday fortunately the venue was air-conditioned otherwise both I and the cake might have melted!

Things in the library 19 July...

Things about diet...

A review article in the journal Nutrients looks at the evidence of the role and sustainability of the Mediterranean Diet , reiterates the importance of acting in certain age groups to stop the spread of obesity and proceeds with a critical review of the regulatory instruments used so far. Bearing in mind the importance of the scientific evidence that led to the consideration of the Mediterranean Diet as not just a food model, but also as the most appropriate regime for disease prevention, a sort of complete lifestyle plan for the pursuit of healthcare sustainability. Several different socio-economic factors have caused a large portion of the population to adopt unhealthy eating habits that can undermine healthcare systems, unless current trends are inverted towards more sustainable lifestyle models. Even though a dietary plan inspired by the principles of the Mediterranean Diet is associated with numerous health benefits and has been demonstrated to exert a preventive effect towards numerous pathologies, including obesity, its use is decreasing and it is now being supplanted by different nutritional models that are often generated by cultural and social changes. Directing governments’ political actions towards spreading adherence to the Mediterranean Diet’s principles as much as possible among the population could help to tackle the obesity epidemic, especially in childhood.

Things for children to do over the summer...

The University of Sheffield's Sport Sheffield's Active Kids Camp is a multi-sport and activity camp for children aged 5-14 years. They offer a huge range of activities including swimming, bouldering, team sports and arts and crafts. The qualified leaders delivering the sessions are passionate and enthusiastic about giving children the ability to try out new skills and make friends in a fun and safe environment.To find out more or make a booking please visit: https://www.sport-sheffield.com/active-kids

Active Kids will run on the following dates  between 8.30am and 5.15pm

Monday 22 - Friday 26 July 2019
Monday 29 July - Friday 2 August 2019
Monday 5 - Friday 9 August 2019
Monday 12 - Friday 16 August 2019
Monday 19 - Friday 23 August 2019
Tuesday 27- Friday 30 August 2019

The cost is £28 per day. Wraparound care is also available if needed. Please note if you would like to make a booking for wraparound care please email activekids@sport-sheffield.com with your requests.

Things to attend...
CAMHS National Summit 2019: Transforming Mental Health Services for Children & Young Adults Monday 7 October 2019 De Vere West One Conference Centre, London or follow the conference on Twitter #CAMHS2019

More information 

Things to watch...

The NSPCC have created evidence-informed resources to help adults ensure children always feel listened to and advice on how to respond to a child's disclosure of abuse.

Adults told the researchers that they aren’t always confident about knowing what to say and do if a child starts to disclose. Through their research they have identified that it’s helpful for children and young people in the moment of disclosure if adults use appropriate interpersonal skills to make it clear they are listening and taking them seriously.

Things the library can help you with...

Almost anything! Check out our Book a Librarian service, this list isn't exhaustive we can help with many other things too! 

We had a great compliment from someone who is shortly moving on to a consultant role - thank you (#blushes) and good luck with your new job.

"Not sure any other healthcare library will ever be up to my expectations any more. Thanks for being such a fab library team"

Things to read...
Mentioned at the recent all age workforce strategy workshop was this book 'Radical help: how we can remake the relationships between us and revolutionise the welfare state.' which we have bought for the library - although it is currently on loan  - but if you have a PIN and your library ticket number you can reserve it via our library catalogue. Ask us if you don't have a PIN set up -  it also give you access to the Library App which will be upgraded next month with push notifications sent to your phone. Logging into your library account online means you can leave reviews of books (good or bad) to help other library users and create your own reading lists.

 Things to eat...
 It has to be a Mediterranean recipe after the first item above.. though it doesn't feel very Mediterranean today! So here is a quick, healthy and easy Spaghetti with smoky tomato & seafood sauce.

Things in the library 17th May...

Things about your library ticket...
As from this week we will no longer need to issue a separate library ticket to all SCH staff when they join the library...so one less piece of plastic to carry around! Instead your SCH Staff ID card will be used as your means of identification in the library and your library reader number will be the 7 digit number printed on the back of the card. Next time you are in the library bring us your old library ticket and present your staff card and we will switch you over. If you use the library MyCirqa App you will need to enter your new reader number the next time you use it. If you currently use a university card in our library there will be no change. If you have never joined the library please click on this link so you can take full advantage of all our services.

Things about trends of care...
The Nuffield Trust has published a QualityWatch indicator Update on Children and young people.  This update looks at trends in the quality of care for children and young people.  It highlights the increase in childhood obesity, the stalling in rates of infant mortality, and an increase in hospital admissions as a result of self-harm. However, there have been some promising improvements including a reduction in smoking among young people and a decrease in teenage pregnancy.

Things about evidence...

Our subscription to DynamedPlus has now ceased and we won't be able to renew it at the moment, however BMJ Best Practice is now available to you via your NHSAthens account. (It will soon be available as a quick link on the trust intranet.) BMJ Best Practice is an  online decision-support tool for use at the point of care. Structured around the patient consultation, it presents the required information just as it’s needed. The tool is regularly updated, and draws on the latest evidence-based research to offer step-by-step guidance on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention. It fits information around real, diverse and evolving medical information needs.

Things about divorce & children...
There was an interesting, if upsetting, programme on BBC Radio 4 last weekend about Parental Alienation. Sometimes when parents split, the children are caught in the middle, pawns in a never-ending battle. Divorce rates in this country are falling, but increasing numbers of parents are going to court to fight over their children, despite the lack of legal aid. Around 80,000 children are affected by battles in the family courts every year. In this moving programme, Philippa Perry examines Parental Alienation, talking to lawyers, researchers, therapists, and parents. It is available to listen to on the BBC website

Things about coffee...

We are running three Randomised Coffee Trials at the moment: one for the majority of SCH staff which is half-way through - already receiving nice comments about this thanks.  One just for CAMHS staff which was launched last week (CAMHS staff sign up here) and one for Oncology & Metabolism staff at University of Sheffield - this is the department where the Academic Unit of Child Health belongs.  Think we should be buying shares in Costa!

Whether you are taking part in an RCT or not don't forget you can buy hot drinks and chocolate biscuits in the library to keep you going whilst you work.

Things not here...

Me actually...as you are reading this I should be in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam celebrating my ruby wedding anniversary and enjoying the Hockney-Van Gogh exhibition which looks at their approach to nature. For a new exhibition much closer to home you might like to visit 'Nordic by Nature: modern design and prints' this explores how Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian artists and designers have created distinctive designs that are rooted in their nation’s nature, culture, traditions and industries. From ice-like glassware to intricate woodcuts and atmospheric watercolours, discover over 40 examples of innovative and iconic paintings, print, craft and design from the collection of the British Museum. this is at Weston Park Musum just across the road from the Children's Hospital Acute site...so not far to travel.

Things to eat...

A lovely vegan suggested by Sarah this week, she made it recently and was very impressed by the result. Chickpeas with dates, turmeric, cinnamon and almonds is cooked using a slow cooker for a full flavour, but you could adapt the recipe easily for normal cooking if you prefer.

Things in the library 10th May...

Things new and old...
A new batch of books have arrived and are on the shelves. If you are registered with the library and want to be notified when new books are bought on your subject interests please contact us and let us know. This means we have added more old books to our 'For Sale' trolley so come up and browse or check this list (please note some items have already been sold.)

Things just for CAMHS...
We have just launched a Randomised Coffee Trial for CAMHS @SCH as part of their Transforming CAMHS 'It starts with me' programme. Any member of  staff at CAMHS - whatever your role or workplace - is eligible to take part. Please sign up via this form before 30th May (don't try to open in Internet Explorer)  and you will be randomly matched with another CAMHS person and encouraged to meet for a 30/40 minute chat about anything you like during June. Have fun!

Things about science...
Pint of Science returns to Sheffield from Monday 20 to Wednesday 22 May at six pubs across the city. At the festival 55 of University of Sheffield researchers will be swapping the lab for the pub to talk about their work and answer your questions. Covering topics as diverse as 3D printing, the Large Hadron Collider, Game of Thrones fans, air pollution, the physical benefits of playing an instrument, and the future of biological engineering...The talks will be accompanied by hands-on activities, demonstrations and a chance to win prizes - play Periodic Bingo, craft some body-parts, sample some antarctic snacks, build your own air quality monitor, and walk around a virtual reality model of our sun! See the full Sheffield programme and buy tickets - some already sold out.

Things about Prof Illingworth...
Our namesake...and some shots of the library...are featured in this short video. Throughout the last year, the University Library has been gathering nominations from staff, students and alumni for books by their academic community that have inspired, motivated or informed. The Sheffield Authors Showcase honours the achievements of the academic community, by celebrating their contribution to academic endeavour and by recognising the effect that their scholarly works have had on their readers. The latest featured author in the Sheffield Authors Showcase is Professor Ronald Illingworth, a pioneer in both the teaching, and practice, of paediatrics. We have many of his books in the library.

Things to improve your spoken English...

If you are (or know) someone who would like to improve their spoken English The English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) at University of Sheffield is looking for volunteers to join classes so that trainee teachers can practise their teaching.
The Free English classes are not part of a course and you don't have to work or study at the University to attend. If you wish to join these classes, you will do so as a volunteer not a student. The classes are a great way of learning English in a relaxed environment and volunteers in the past have really enjoyed and benefited from them.
To join our free English classes you must:
- Be over 18 years old.
- Have an English level between pre-intermediate (IELTS 3.0 - 5.0) and upper-intermediate (IELTS 5.0 - 6.5).
- Live in the UK and be able to attend face-to-face classes at the ELTC.
- Be able to attend at least 80% of the classes.
If you are interested in attending, please look on their website for times and days, and complete a simple application form.

Things about the developing child...
Harvard University's Centre on the Developing Child has published a new infographic explaining what executive function is and how it relates to child development. The infographic stresses the importance of relationships with responsive caregivers. The phrase “executive function” refers to a set of skills. These skills underlie the capacity to plan ahead and meet goals, display self-control, follow multiple-step directions even when interrupted, and stay focused despite distractions, among others

Things to eat...
Next week is Coeliac awareness week so I thought I would signpost some gluten free recipes  from the Coeliac Society (UK) and BBC Good Food.. This Harrisa chicken traybake happens to be a favourite recipe of mine whether you follow a gluten-free diet or not.

Things in the library 30 Nov...

Things just about over...

Hopefully most of the 104 participants of our randomised Coffee trial have now had chance to meet. The feedback form is now available (please don't try to open it in Internet Explorer). Some people have already told us how it went for them but we need as many responses as possible please so we can decide if we should run it again or not.

Things in the news...

Today is the news that the NHS is to offer 800-calorie diet treatment for newly developed Type 2 diabetes. Click here if you want to read the original research paper from the Lancet and here for the NHS statement.

Things for next year...
Our last Reading Group of the year meets next Wednesday (5th Dec) at 17:15 we will be choosing our reading for next year, sampling some seasonal food & drink and sharing some Winter/Christmas readings/poems. If you have wondered about joining us this would be a great chance to drop in and see who we are and what we are planning to read.




Things about mental health...

One in eight (12.8%) of children and young people aged between five and 19, surveyed in England in 2017, had a mental disorder according to a major new report which provides England’s best source of data on trends in child mental health. Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2017, published this week by NHS Digital, collected information from 9,117 children and young people and combines information - depending on their age - from children and young people or their parents and teachers.

For the first time, the survey has covered children aged two to 19, whereas previous surveys have focused only on the five to 15-year-old age group.

Looking at the five to 15-year-old age group over time, the report reveals a slight increase in the overall prevalence of mental disorder. For this age group, this has risen from 9.7% in 1999 and 10.1% in 2004 to 11.2% in 20172. When including five to 19-year-olds, the 2017 prevalence is 12.8%, but this cannot be compared to earlier years.

Mental disorders were grouped into four broad categories - emotional, behavioural, hyperactivity and other less common disorders.
Emotional disorders have become more common in five to 15-year-olds – going from 4.3% in 1999, to 3.9% in 2004 to 5.8% in 2017.
Different disorders were found to be more or less common at different stages of childhood, with rates of mental disorder higher in older age groups.

and also...
Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has published new analysis looking at the provision of children’s mental health services in England. The Commissioner’s briefing finds that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are improving in most areas in the country, yet with the exception of eating disorder services, the provision of services in the youth justice system and in perinatal mental health care, the rate of progress is slow. A vast gap remains between what is provided and what children need. As a result, the current rate of progress is still not good enough for the majority of children who require help but are not receiving it.

Things for the family...
At Weston Park Museum (across the road from the hospital) is a Christmas festive factory on Saturday 8th Dec from 12:00 to 15:00. Join them for some festive fun in their hands-on creative activities for the whole family. Get into the festive spirit as you create Christmas crafts to decorate your home – or even to give away as presents!



Things vegetarian...
This potato, onion, sage and gruyère tart sounds nice - I think fresh sage is my favourite herb - and a good way to use up left over potatoes!