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.

Things in the library 14th Feb...

Things to visit the library for today...
Free home-made heart biscuits (while stocks last) for all our library users today...and a reminder that via our Book a Librarian service you can arrange 1:1 or small group training on a variety of subjects....any time of the year not just on St Valentine's Day.




Things for a healthy childhood...
A safe, supportive and happy childhood environment is widely understood to be vital for a child’s development, health and wellbeing over the short- and long-term. Conversely, an established body of evidence shows a correlation between a disruptive, adverse or chaotic childhood environment and an increased prevalence of physical and mental health problems. Despite this established evidence base, the BMA's analysis of recent data highlights insufficient investment in England across a range of services to support a healthy childhood, with funding for a number of different services being cut in recent years. This lack of resource is likely to have an adverse impact on child health in England.

Things about microbiomics...
The Department of Neuroscience at University of Sheffield will co-host an event on Thursday 16 April to mark the launch of the Sheffield Microbiomics Network. This one-day symposium will take place in Sheffield (location TBC) and is open to anyone working in a field relating to microbiomics, or who is keen to embark on research in this area. Please register using this link. Anyone involved in microbiomics research in Sheffield (in any university, NHS or other institution) would be very welcome to join.

Things about indoor air...
There seems to be plenty of air outside at the moment...I just wish it would stop rushing around so fast! However whilst we are all stuck inside at this time of the year this RCPCH report on indoor air quality seems timely. This report is based on a systematic review of the science of indoor pollution, and conversations with children, young people and families. They make recommendations for Government and local authorities, and provide guidance for families.

Things about resilience...

Too many children and young people nationally do not receive the support they need to improve their mental health and wellbeing. There is ample evidence that, despite increased investment in, and policy focus on, mental health services for children and young people, the numbers of children and young people requiring support are going up. Thresholds for accessing support remain high, waiting times are long and there is significant inequity in provision between different local areas.

The purpose of this research from the Local Government Association is, firstly, to explore some of the factors which are contributing to this nationally challenging context and, secondly, to develop an evidence base for how local government and its partners can work most effectively together to deliver a coherent and joined-up offer of support for children and young people’s mental health. The research is based on a review of the existing evidence base, workshops with around 80 participants from councils and their partners in health and in-depth engagements with eight fieldwork areas.

Things about the NHS...
When the NHS Long Term Plan was published in January 2019 Healthwatch were asked by NHS England to engage with people across the country about how people wanted the priorities to be implemented locally. Here's what over 40,000 people told them. Key findings summarised below:

• People affected by cancer, and heart and lung conditions had a much better experience of care services than people with other issues.
• The positive feedback about cancer and heart and lung services appeared to be for a variety of reasons, including speed of diagnosis and treatment, access to rehabilitation, and quality of information and communication from professionals.
• People affected by other issues, especially mental ill health, dementia or learning disabilities, told us that the support often wasn’t in place for them and that professionals did not give enough consideration to their full range of needs.

Things about St Valentine...

On February 14, around the year 270 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed. Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families. To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.
Legends vary on how the martyr’s name became connected with romance. The date of his death may have become mingled with the Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love. On these occasions, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, and he declared that February 14 be celebrated as St Valentine’s Day.

Things to make...
A special chocolate and chilli dessert, very simple...and sinful!

Things in the library 28 March...

No..it's not Friday - sorry not quite the weekend yet...

Things in the library....not us...sorry...
A reminder that the library will be closed all day tomorrow Friday 29th due to an unfortunate combination of annual leave and a bereavement, returned books can be left in the book drop box and emails will be responded to on Monday.

Things about air quality...

Public Health England (PHE) was commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to review the evidence for practical interventions to reduce harm from outdoor air pollution, stratified by their health and economic impact. The focus of the review was on those actions available to local authorities and, where appropriate, the national actions needed to support them. They have various recommendations along the themes of prevent, mitigate and avoid. Local and national government should provide guidance for members of the public explaining how to reduce their exposures to air pollution, training for health professionals, school governors and staff, and social care professionals to help empower people to make informed decisions on how to reduce their exposure and, if required, to better manage their health conditions. Any information needs to be proportionate and consider the risks and benefits.For example, the advice supporting the daily air quality index notes that nobody need fear going outdoors and children need not be kept from school or taking part in games. In healthy individuals, the benefits of physical exercise are likely to outweigh any exposure-reduction benefits from staying indoors.

Things to sign up for...

Our next Randomised Coffee Trial will be taking place soon and already we have 50 SCH staff signed up to take part...if you want to join in the fun sign up here...and if you work in CAMHS and are feeling left-out as you are a long way physically from the Acute site and Ryegate then watch this space!

Things about Children's rights...

In the 30th year since the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was first adopted by the United Nations, the annual State of Children’s Rights in England report takes a look back at the past year to assess how well the government is respecting children’s rights.

Evidence from their 100 members (made up of the leading children’s charities and academics) and new data shows the government has made little progress on important issues such as child homelessness, rising school exclusions and how children are treated by the police; ignoring stark warnings from the UN. The wellbeing of the nation’s children should be one of the government’s top priorities, yet they have found clear evidence that children’s best interests are being overlooked and their rights violated because of a focus on Brexit and systematic failures to protect them.

While there are positive examples of government action to improve children’s rights highlighted in the report, for example, steps taken to better safeguard children in care and those with mental health issues, we still have a long way to go to achieve the positive vision of childhood set out in the UNCRC back in 1989.

Things about Child Health Profiles...

Public health England have detailed reports of child health profiles and  health behaviours in young people. You can select region, area and which indicator you would like to view. The information can be viewed in a variety of different ways and charts etc downloaded as images or as CSV files.. Comparisons with other areas and benchmarks are possible and trends are shown. A really useful resource.

Things to come to...

Reading Group meets in the library next week at 17:15 on Wed 3rd April when we are discussing 'This is going to hurt' by Adam Kay along with drinks and nibbles. 

The next book is Hold My Hand by M.J.Ford which we will be discussing on Wed 1st May - do come and join us!

Things to make...

A lovely spring meal to try  Sesame salmon, purple sprouting broccoli & sweet potato mash  and it is  healthy, low-calorie and rich in omega-3.

Things in the library 2 Nov...

Things to stitch...
According to this report there are some who are concerned that the newest surgical recruits are not as dexterous as former surgeons due to having less experience in doing craftwork. I'm sure our surgeons all sew beautifully...but perhaps we should start an embroidery group in the library along with our reading group!

Things about Quality of Life...
Quality of life (QOL) measures are increasingly used when important prognostication and treatment decisions need to be made in the care of a critically ill child. Unfortunately, health-care professionals and families experience difficulties when attempting to accurately predict and estimate QOL for a patient. Aspects such as subjectivity, complexity and adaptation to illness play an important role in how QOL is ultimately experienced. This often leads to inaccurate estimates of QOL, when performed by individuals other than the patient, such as clinicians or family members. In order to make decisions in the best interest of the patient, a partnership between families and clinicians must be fostered, based on communication, trust and mutual understanding of values. This article in Paediatric Respiratory Reviews attempts to describe some of the challenges that come into play when assessing QOL for a patient and will provide tools for building a clinician-family partnership in the decision-making process.

Things about air pollution...
This WHO report summarises the latest scientific knowledge on the links between exposure to air pollution and adverse health effects in children. It is intended to inform and motivate individual and collective action by health care professionals to prevent damage to children’s health from exposure to air pollution. Air pollution is a major environmental health threat. Exposure to fine particles in both the ambient environment and in the household causes about seven million premature deaths each year. Ambient air pollution (AAP) alone imposes enormous costs on the global economy, amounting to more than US$ 5 trillion in total welfare losses in 2013.

The evidence is clear: air pollution has a devastating impact on children’s health.
says the report

Recent data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that air pollution has a vast and terrible impact on child health and survival. Globally, 93% of all children live in environments with air pollution levels above the WHO guidelines. More than one in every four deaths of children under 5 years is directly or indirectly related to environmental risks.

Although air pollution is a global problem, the burden of disease attributable to particulate matter in air is heaviest in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in the WHO African, South-East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific regions. Poverty is correlated with high exposure to environmental health risks.

Things about conversations...
This Ask Listen Do resource shares tips for health, social care and education organisations and practitioners with the aim of making feedback, concerns and complaints easier for people with a learning disability, autistic people, families and carers.





Things about nature...
It is commonly believed that nature has positive impacts on children’s health, including physical, mental and social dimensions. This review focuses on how accessibility to, exposure to and engagement with nature affects the mental health of children and teenagers. This review showed significant positive findings on the benefits of nature for all mental health outcomes; however, ADD/ADHD, overall mental health, stress, resilience and HRQOL were the only outcomes that demonstrated more positive significant findings over non-significant findings. Several outcomes (emotional well-being, self-esteem, depression) were associated with a greater number of non-significant findings than positive significant findings, supporting the inconclusive nature of the evidence reported in previous reviews. The authors believe that "By prioritising investments of natural spaces at all levels of government as well as within school districts, children have a better chance of receiving the benefits of interacting with nature."

Things about C*********...
Reluctant as I am to do things Christmassy this early in the year I spotted on the webpage for Weston Park Gallery (across the road from the hospital) that this December, they’ll once again transform the Arctic World gallery into Santa’s North Pole ho-ho-home. You can take the family along to meet the man himself, who’ll be there with a warm welcome, quality presents and plenty of Christmas cheer. To make the visit to see Santa stress-free they have a new online booking – just pick the day and timeslot that suits you £7 per child.

Things Roman...

A little bit more grown up and if archaeology interests you then there is a lunchtime talk at Weston Museum on Tuesday 27 November on Roman finds in Yorkshire. Ranging from evidence of military activity and the cult of Mithras, to the personal grooming habits of the Romans, and coin hoards and monumental statues, this talk will highlight some of the most interesting Roman finds from Yorkshire that have been recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and use them to illustrate a brief history of the Roman period in Yorkshire.

Things to eat...
I am hosting a bonfire party for 26 people ranging in age from 8 weeks to 86 years this Saturday...so hope it doesn't rain! So with jacket potatoes on my mind and apparently it being World Vegan Month in November here is a nice sounding recipe for Vegan chickpea curry jacket sweet potatoes.