Things in the library 24 Sept...

 Things about health... 

The fourth annual profile combining data and knowledge with information from other sources to give a broad picture of the health of people in England in 2021. Includes sections on Child Health and also the effect COVID-19 has had on health in England.

Things coming soon... 

The interviews were held for my replacement this week so, providing all the paperwork goes through correctly, an excellent new member of staff will be joining the library with good experience of doing this type of job. I am sure you will make them feel very welcome. They will also lower the average age of the library staff ! 

Things about adoption... 

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Adoption and Permanence has published a report looking at the experiences and needs of adopted children and their families. Findings include: a child’s needs must be comprehensively assessed and form the basis of a support plan that is put in place from the start; support for families should be proactively provided to meet their needs; children’s continuing relationships with former foster carers, social workers, birth family members and their local community can be critical to placement stability; and adopted children require ongoing and evolving support throughout their childhoods.

Things about bread... 

The addition of folic acid to food has been a successful public health policy in a number of countries worldwide such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, resulting in falls in neural tube defects. Folic acid will be added to non-wholemeal wheat flour across the UK to help prevent life-threatening spinal conditions in babies, the government and devolved administrations have announced.

Adding folic acid will mean foods made with flour, such as bread, will actively help avoid around 200 neural tube defects each year – around 20% of the annual UK total.

Things about safeguarding... 

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has published a review of the circumstances involved in cases where babies under-one-year-old have been harmed or killed by their fathers or other males in a caring role. 

Findings include: a range of risk factors were common in many of the cases, a lack of information sharing was a key factor that prevented practitioners from responding to risk to babies, and many services aimed at new parents are predominantly focused on the mother. 

Recommendations include: the government should fund pilots to develop holistic work with fathers and the engagement of fathers must be embedded in prospective and current family-focused programmes. NSPCC Learning has published a CASPAR briefing summarising learning from the review.

Things about getting to school... 

Children who walk or cycle to school may have a healthier body weight than those who arrive by car. A new study followed more than 8,000 schoolchildren over a period of years. The findings showed that even using public transport instead of taking the car led to a reduction in body fat.

It is widely accepted that physical activity helps people of all ages stay at a healthy weight. Walking or cycling (active travel) to school is likely to help children achieve this but, before this study, there was a lack of adequate evidence.

As children get older, they become more independent and often have more choices about how they get to school. Researchers found that children who switched to walking and cycling to school between the ages of 7 and 14 had healthier body weights than those who continued to travel by car. The findings also suggest that the beneficial effects of walking or cycling may be greater for children from the most deprived areas. 

Obesity is a major public health problem in the UK. More than one in five children in the last year of primary school are overweight and as a result are likely to have poorer physical and mental health.

This research underlines the importance of encouraging active travel. This means providing safe and effective infrastructure to encourage people to walk, cycle, or use public transport. Finding ways of supporting children and families from lower income households to walk or cycle could help these groups overcome some of the health inequalities they face. 

Things to make... 

I do love Autumn (by retiring in Autumn my plan was always to visit New England during the Fall ... maybe one day)  and it's nice to get the nip in the air to prompt me to cook some suitable autumnal food. This vegetarian lasagne is a lovely recipe I have made before and will be featuring in next week's menu at our house. 

Things in the Library 29 Sept...

Things you might remember...
You are invited to attend this public event in partnership with The Progress Educational Trust (PET). Life after Death: A woman's victory in having her deceased husband's children Tuesday, 24 October 2017, 6pm drinks reception, 6.30-8pm discussion. Lecture Theatre 4, Arts Tower, Western Bank, S10 2TN.

20 years ago, widow Diane Blood won the legal right to conceive a child using the sperm of her deceased husband Stephen Blood. This free event will bring together some of the people at the centre of this landmark legal case - including Diane herself and her son Liam. Two decades on from Diane's legal victory the speaker panel will look back on personal, legal, medical and ethical aspects of the case. They will also consider the impact of the case on others who have sought to use a person's sperm, egg or embryo to conceive a child after that person has died. Why do such scenarios still lead to legal difficulties and provoke public debate, in the UK and elsewhere? Attendance at this event is free, but advance booking is required

Things about CAMHS...
New research from the Royal College of Psychiatrists shows there are huge differences in CCG spending across the country. Their online tool can help you find out how much is spent on child and adolescent mental health services in each region.




Things about measuring...
A report published this week by Public Health England 'National child measurement programme (NCMP): trends in child BMI'  uses NCMP data to examine the changes in children’s body mass index (BMI) between 2006 to 2007 and 2015 to 2016.

Things about the future of health...
This report 'Future of health' presents findings from a survey conducted by RAND Europe at the request of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to gather and synthesise stakeholder views on the future of health and healthcare in England in 20 to 30 years' time. The aim of the research was to generate an evidenced-based picture of the future health and healthcare needs, and how it might differ from today, in order to inform strategic discussions about the future priorities of the NIHR and the health and social care research communities more broadly.

The survey provided a rich and varied dataset based on responses from 300 stakeholders in total. A wide range of fields were represented, including public health, social care, primary care, cancer, genomics, mental health, geriatrics, child health, patient advocacy and health policy. The respondent group also included a number of professional and private stakeholder categories, such as clinicians, policy experts, academics and patient and public representatives.

The study findings validate a number of prominent health research priorities currently visible in England, such as antimicrobial resistance, the burden of dementia and age-related multi-morbidity, digital health and genomics. Interest in these areas and other themes, such as mental health, health inequalities and transforming health service models, cut across multiple disciplinary boundaries. However, it is clear that there are a variety of views among stakeholders on the relative importance of these areas of focus, and the best approach to manage their emergence in the coming decades.

The full dataset of survey responses, for which permission to share was given, has been published alongside the report and is a useful resource for those seeking to engage with a particular issue in more depth.

Things magical...
Calling witches, fairies, wizards, nifflers, fairy godmothers, elves, magicians and magical creatures of all ages! Hop on your broomsticks, flying carpets or dragons and join 'Off the Shelf' on The Moor for a spellbinding afternoon celebrating magical books of all kinds. Sat 7th October 1:00pm - 4:00 pm
From Room on the Broom to The Wizard of Oz, and from The Worst Witch to Lord of the Rings – we all love magical fiction. And 2017 marks 20 years of the boy wizard Harry Potter!
Visit Grimm & Co’s mysterious dark den, jam-packed with magical things to see and do. There will be lots of fun arts and crafts activities including storytelling, takeaway spells and potion-making. You can make a dragon puppet to take home and train, play an enchanted glass harp, write your own mini-book, create a potion, make your own wand with a certificate of authenticity and much more. Watch out for wizards, witches and real magicians – you might even spot Hagrid…
Come dressed as your favourite magical character or creature and join the fancy dress parade at 3pm.
To continue the fun, a very magical film will be screening at 4pm at The Light Cinema. Visit sheffield.lightcinemas.co.uk for details. Suitable for all ages, children must be accompanied by an adult.

Things to eat...
If you have a courgette glut - or even if you haven't - here is a nice vegetarian risotto to try Courgette and lemon. Although to my mind every good risotto should have a splash of wine in it before you start adding the stock.

Things in the library 21st July

Things about changes to the NMC's Nursing Code...
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has been told that a change to the code may be required to ensure clarification on delegation to nursing associates. The NMC also plans to begin working on professional standards for the new nursing associate role over summer. Read about it here.

Things about the health of the nation...
A report about the heath profile of the nation has been published by Public Health England (PHE).This report focuses on the question 'are we living longer, and are the extra years spent in good or bad health?' Four key areas are considered; life expectancy, health life expectancy, morbidity and mortality. The report data also compares the health of the population in England with other developed nations.

Standardizing things for ambulances
Following the largest clinical ambulance trials in the world, NHS England is to implement new ambulance standards across the country. The changes focus on making sure the best, high quality, most appropriate response is provided for each patient first time.
So, in future there will be four categories of call. Details can be found here.

Things about new books in the Library...

We have many new titles available to be borrowed; including this book on integrative paediatrics which provides an "excellent introduction to a relatively young field and will help the reader understand the scope of current evidence for integrative therapies in children and how to introduce integrative concepts into clinical practice".

Things about volunteers...

Volunteers are crucial in both health and social care. Have your say on the future of  volunteering in the NHS by completing the online survey or downloading the questionnaire from this page.

Things about Google Translate... 

As it's summertime and lots of us are visiting places where we don't necessarily know the language - Google Translate is a nifty tool that can help us. If you're not already familiar,  you can use it to overcome the language barrier as it will translate the word, phrase or sentence from English to countless other languages. It works the other way round too! The app is available on Android or Apple.

Summer things..
Jersey Royals, courgette & goat’s cheese tart

Make the most of Jersey Royals while they're in season with this lovely summer tart that has a tang of goat’s cheese. Ideal for a picnic, served with salad