Things in the library 5th February...

 Things Orwellian... 

The Reading Group read and discussed '1984' this week and it scored very highly (84%) despite having being written in 1947. Many comparisons to be made with current society (fake news etc) but also enjoyed purely as a fiction. Ironically the imagined 'telescreens' are what enables us to keep the Reading Group active despite lockdown. Our next book on 3rd March will be Ben Elton's 'High Society'.

Things to celebrate...

I believe Feb 12th will be the start of the Chinese New Year - the year of the Ox. In Chinese culture, the Ox is a valued animal. Because of its role in agriculture, positive characteristics, such as being hardworking and honest, are attributed to it. Although the family reunion dinners will not be possible I hope that if you celebrate this festival you enjoy your day.

Things about home working ... 

A fascination article here about the changes brought by home working and the inequalities that may come about given that it is broadly the case that wealthier neighbourhoods have more potential remote workers. If working from home becomes the new normal, many restaurants, cafes, gyms and other locally consumed services may migrate away from city centres towards these neighbourhoods. The graph shows (if the figures are accurate) an amazing correlation between working at home and deprivation.

Things about safeguarding...

The NSPCC, with support from the Home Office, has launched a new initiative that will give ten local authority areas access to a package of support and training that will help them to expand the services they provide to children.  Local safeguarding partners can apply to join the programme for free. In addition, the NSPCC will offer free advanced training to agencies within six of the selected local authority areas to support them to provide Letting the Future In, the NSPCC’s therapeutic recovery service that helps children who’ve been sexually abused to rebuild their lives. 

...and continence

NSPCC Learning has published content to help professionals recognise and respond to continence issues that may affect the children and young people they work with. The content covers: the causes of continence issues; the impact these can have on a child’s wellbeing; what to do when challenges related to continence may indicate a safeguarding or child protection concern; how best to support children and young people with continence issues; and information about who should be providing intimate care, including information about vetting and barring checks, privacy and boundaries.

Things to have your say... 

The UK has comprehensive tobacco control legislation in place to help protect people from the harmful effects of smoking and encourage people to quit. This legislation has contributed towards smoking rates falling to their lowest ever on record in the UK.

Yet despite this positive news, smoking still remains one of the biggest causes of death and disability across the UK. Current figures show that smoking kills 75,000 people in England each year. This shows that there is still more work that can be done to address this issue.

The Government have launched a new consultation on current regulations for tobacco, related products and packaging. The consultation is open till 19th March. They want your views on how effective legislation has been in: 

- discouraging people from starting to use tobacco products

- encouraging people to give up smoking

Things to eat...

A Chinese fish dish is apparently a regular part of the New Year celebrations, this steamed sea bass sounds lovely. 

Things in the library 29th January...

 Things about child marriage... 

Although not primarily a problem in high-income countries this systematic review in the Journal of Adolescent Health is interesting as it  assesses evaluations published from 2000 to 2019 to shed light on what approaches work, especially at scale and sustainably, to prevent child marriage in low- and middle-income countries. The results indicate that enhancement of girls' own human capital and opportunities is the most compelling pathway to delaying marriage. In contrast, low rates of success, scale-up, and sustainability of multicomponent programs requires reconsideration of this approach. This review supports global efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 5.3.1 target of ending child marriage by 2030.

Things to rate... 

If you have read or used one of our library books then you can let others know what you thought about it by rating it and/or writing a review on our catalogue, Simply login with your reader number and PIN to give a star rating. Logging in to the catalogue, whilst not essential for searching, does give you the ability to see what you have borrowed and manage your renewals, create lists and favourite searches, customise the display and share information with others. 

Things that have unexpected benefits... 

For many years we have wanted to enable people to be able to pay for their photocopying, library fines and hot drinks by card and (thanks to a pandemic) we now have the ability to do so. So for those of you arriving at the library counter and unable to pay your dues ("I have no money with me") we are now able to accept cards and other contactless devices!

Things to discuss... 

“Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.” 

This and other quotes from George Orwell's '1984' will no doubt be amongst our discussions at Reading Group on Wed 3rd Feb online at 18:30. If you would like to join us then please contact the library for the link.

Things about social media... 

The results of a study looking at social technology use from the perspectives of adolescents currently hospitalized for a recent suicide attempt or severe ideation. Results reveal both positive and negative social technology uses, with most participants reporting mixed (positive and negative) experiences. Negatives/risks included trouble regulating use, stress related to social media metrics, encounters with "triggering" content, hostility and meanness, self-denigrating comparisons, and burdensome friendship expectations. Positives/benefits included social connection, social support, affect-enhancing content, shared interests, and resources for mental health and coping. Overall, the documented risks and benefits of social technology use correspond with established (offline) risk and protective factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Participants generally valued the break from social technologies during hospitalization, and also viewed them as integral to social re-entry and identified related concerns. Future studies should test well-being focused 'digital hygiene' interventions for maximizing potential benefits and minimizing potential harms of social technologies for at-risk adolescents.

Things to make... 

We have been enjoying watching Rick Stein's Cornwall series recently and many of the recipes he demonstrates are available on his website. This Spiced poached pears sounds lovely - and if like me you are trying not to buy 'out of season' foods then you will be pleased that it uses frozen blackberries. 

Things in the library 22 Jan...

 Things about pets... 

The Government COVID-19  advice to those with animals has been updated, it contains advice  for pet owners and livestock keepers on looking after the welfare of animals during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This advice applies to England only.

Things about family group conferences...

Family group conferences (FGCs) have been around in the UK since their introduction by Family Rights Group (FRG) and others in 1992 and they have been increasingly used in recent years for family-led planning in children and families’ social care. 

Covid restrictions have meant that many FGC services have either had to stop working or significantly alter their practice. Many FGC staff have simply been redeployed, often as social workers or family support workers, in order to support these increasingly stretched services at a time when many workers were shielding and unable to work.

This blog post from from CommunityCare discusses the lessons that can be learnt, the challenges and benefits from conducting virtual FGCs during the pandemic and beyond. 

Things about Mental Health Act... 

In 2017 the government asked for an independent review of the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA), to look at how it’s used and to suggest ways to improve it. The review’s final report said that the MHA does not always work as well as it should for patients, their families and their carers.

The Government are now proposing a wide range of changes to rebalance the MHA, to put patients at the centre of decisions about their own care and ensure everyone is treated equally.

The changes are based on 4 principles that have been developed with people with lived experience of the MHA. They are:

• choice and autonomy – ensuring service users’ views and choices are respected
• least restriction – ensuring the MHA’s powers are used in the least restrictive way
• therapeutic benefit – ensuring patients are supported to get better, so they can be discharged from the MHA
• the person as an individual – ensuring patients are viewed and treated as individuals

They want your views on changes to the Mental Health Act to help put patients at the centre of decisions about their own care. This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 21 April 2021. More information and the link to respond can be found here.

Things about e-books... 

We have recently added 100 extra e-books to our library catalogue which were made available to us via HEE North. As with our other e-book collections authentication for these is via your NHSOpenAthens account. The recently added books cover a wide range of health topics (not just paediatrics) and are aimed at a variety of NHS staff. To see all the e-books to which you have access with an Athens account check this search link. We are still processing some of the new books so if you come across any access problems please let me know.

Things to remember to do...

We already have nearly 70 SCH staff signed up to our next randomised Coffee Trial - many of whom are regular attendees. It would be lovely to get to 100 participants, remember it is a virtual meeting for most people this time. Closing date 5th Feb sign up here.

Things about snowdrops... 

The first ones are appearing in my garden and show that spring is on its way. The snowdrop is a familiar spring flower, coming into bloom in January and flowering until March. Despite its long history in the UK, however, it may not actually be native here; it is a native of damp woods and meadows on the continent, but was not recorded as growing wild in the UK until the late 18th century.

According to the Wildlife Trust, in Yorkshire, it was customary for village maidens to gather bunches of Snowdrops and wear them as a symbol of their purity on February 2nd, which was Candlemas. The Wildlife Trust also have some suggestions of things to do during lockdown including activity sheets for children (and others). 

Things to make...

Keeping with the snowy theme what about trying these Snow-capped fairy cakes 

Things in the library 15 Jan ...

Things about Gender stereotyping... 

The Commission on Gender Stereotypes in Early Childhood has published a report looking at gender expectations and gender stereotypes in the UK. Findings from responses to a call for evidence and a separate survey of 1,030 parents show that gender stereotyping persists in parenting, education and the commercial sector and that it is harming young people’s mental health. Recommendations to government include: embedding an understanding of gender stereotypes in antenatal and health visiting practice; and issuing new teacher training guidance to include knowledge and understanding of gender stereotypes, and stereotypes relating to race and other protected characteristics

 Things about the dark web... 

The Children’s Society have published a guide to the dark web describing what it is, how young people might use it and what to do if you have safety concerns.

Things to connect you... 

Our hugely successful and much appreciated Randomised Coffee Trial is running again in Feb/March. For anyone who has not heard about this before please do consider taking part. You sign up via this form, we then randomly match you with another participant and you both then agree a time and place  to meet for 30-45 minutes just to chat (mostly virtual at present - though some people have walked in the park to combine some exercise if that is allowed under Covid-19 restrictions at the time of your meeting). Please sign up before 5th February. You can talk about work if you want to, but your conversations can be about anything. Think of it as the equivalent of bumping into someone around a water cooler.  Participants really enjoy this opportunity and some recent feedback comments are:

I enjoyed it and found it very interesting to chat to people that you wouldn't normally get to meet with.

Love this!

I'll definitely do it again

Really enjoyed meeting a new colleague and finding out how we might support their team.

It's a great idea, I'd love to be involved in future

Still keen to take part, think this is a great innovation

Things about safeguarding... 

Attensi, specialists in gamified simulation training, have collaborated with NSPCC Learning on a new 3D learning tool to help adults talk to children about abuse. The free tool enables learners to: access simulated scenarios and interact with fictional child characters; learn how to respond to the children and build their trust to help them talk about their experiences; and build knowledge and confidence to talk to children about abuse.

Things not quite connecting...  

We have recently had to change one of our library emails (though still please contact us on illingworth.library@nhs.net) and this has resulted in some of our automatic library notifications going into people's nhs.net spam/junk folder. Do please check this folder regularly (not just for our emails) and if there is anything in there that you actually want please mark it as 'not spam' and add the address to your address book. Please be assured that notifications about overdue books are getting through correctly! 😀

Things to make... 

Stay safe, warm and cosy in this cold weather. This  Pork & apple stew with parsley & thyme dumplings is a winter favourite which we enjoyed last weekend. Very simple to make - I often use ordinary flour for the dumplings. 

Things in the library 8th January...

 Happy New Year to you all from the Library Staff

Things about child health...

Below you can find the joint Commissioners’ (England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland) reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Every five years, the Committee examines the whole UK on how well it is meeting its promises under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The reports on this page are submitted to the Committee. They assess how the UK Government and devolved administrations have progressed towards giving every child the opportunities and protections enshrined in the UNCRC.

The “Report of the Children’s Commissioners of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child”, including a “Covid-19 annex”, identifies emerging trends and key issues regarding children’s human rights in the UK. Some of these draw on previous concluding observations while others reflect worrying trends caused by the UK’s departure from the European Union (Brexit) and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report “Are we there yet?” is based on engagement with children and young people in all four nations, and it aims to provide the Committee with children and young people’s voices about their experiences on the delivery of their rights. A summary report goes alongside it.

Things about children and justice... 

This report from the Children's Commissioner looks at the issues around children in the justice system.

The past decade has seen a welcome reduction in the numbers of children getting caught up in the criminal justice system. Since 2010, the numbers receiving a caution or sentence have fallen by 83% and the number of children in custody has fallen by 73% to 571 in August 2020. But there are still hundreds of children ending up in our courts and prisons. By comparison, in 2015, there were only 13 children aged 15-17 in prison in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland and Denmark combined.

We know how and why many of these children end up involved in violence and crime. The blueprint is there for all to see – children growing up in turmoil and experiencing trauma, but not receiving the support and protection they need. Or worse, targeted by those who wish to exploit their vulnerabilities for personal gain. Our under-resourced system of child protection was not designed to safeguard against risks outside the family home and is creaking under the pressure of trying to keep kids safe.

Many of these children have been let down by the systems that should be keeping them safe from harm before they ever set foot inside a police station. Over half (56%) of children sentenced are currently or have previously been a ‘Child in Need’ (assessed as needing additional support from the state) and 7 in 10 have identified mental health needs. 85% of boys in young offender institutions have previously been excluded from school. When compared to their peers, children in residential care are at least 13 times more likely to be criminalised.

At every stage of a child’s journey through the criminal justice system, opportunities are being missed to get to the root causes of offending and put children’s best interests at the heart of the response. When children’s home staff call the police on a child for damaging property, rather than ground them or dock their pocket money as a parent might. Or when they meet a police officer unable to recognise vulnerability and trigger a safeguarding response. Or when the courts remand children to custody before they’ve even been tried – last year almost a third of children in custody were on remand, two thirds of whom never went on to receive a custodial sentence. Ultimately, the system fails to see the child first and the ‘offender’ second, which reduces the opportunity for real change. This appears to be particularly true for Black children, who are over four times more likely to be arrested than White children. Despite accounting for only 18% of the general population, children from BAME backgrounds now make up almost half (49%) of the entire population of youth custody.

The number of children in custody in this country is half the size of a secondary school and yet custodial institutions are failing to even keep children safe, let alone rehabilitate them. Levels of violence are high, and over a third (35%) of children have felt unsafe in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres. This violence leads to incidences of restraint and a situation where children are spending hours at a time shut in their cells, rather than accessing the education or support they need to turn their lives around.  Too many children are set up to fail when they leave, because not enough is done to find them the right place to live, or get them the treatment or education they need on release.  Is it any wonder that 7 in 10 children released from custody reoffend within a year?

We need a radical new approach to preventing children becoming involved in crime and turning children’s lives around when they have spiralled out of control. This means: stopping gangs from exploiting vulnerable children; identifying children at risk of getting involved in crime and diverting them away from that path; reducing the numbers of children in custody to an absolute minimum and transforming secure care for children so that rehabilitation is at its heart.

This about unhealthy food and drink... 

It was announced in December that promotions on food and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) in retailers will be restricted from April 2022. Offers for unhealthy foods like ‘buy one get one free’ and promotions in prominent locations in stores and online to be restricted from April 2022. Free refills of sugary soft drinks will also be prohibited in the eating-out sector. Restrictions will apply to medium and large stores. The new rules, designed to support the nation to make healthier choices, will prohibit retailers from offering multibuy promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘3 for 2’ offers on these products. Unhealthy promotions will also no longer be featured in key locations, such as at checkouts, store entrances, aisle ends and their online equivalents. Promotions often appear to help shoppers save money. However, data shows that these deals actually increase purchases of promoted products by almost 20%. They encourage people to buy more than they need or intended to buy in the first place

Things to attend... 

Our next Reading Group will be on 3rd Feb at 18:30 meeting by Microsoft Teams - please contact us if you want to be added to the mailing list or if you want the link to join a specific group. Our next book is the modern classic by George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four. Interesting parallels with our world today I think and 'fake news'.

...and also Journal Club

The next meeting will be on 12th January 13:00 - 14:00pm meeting virtually & physically from the Education & Skills Centre, F Floor Stephenson Wing discussing the paper 'Intracranial injuries on computed tomography head scans in infants investigated for suspected physical abuse: a retrospective review'. Please contact the library fo attending information and a copy of the paper. Bring your own muffins!

Things about eating disorders... 

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is alerting parents and guardians to look out for signs of eating disorders in children and young people.  The College spoke to paediatricians from around the country working in the field allll had seen an increase in cases in the last year, and all put this down to the effects of the pandemic on young people’s lives. 

A number of factors are thought to have contributed to increased stress, deterioration in young people’s mental health and an intense focus for some on eating and exercise during the pandemic. These include: isolation from peers during school closures, exam cancellations, loss of motivating extra-curricular activities such as sports, dance/drama/youth clubs; an increased use of social media with young people concentrating on unrealistic ideas of body image; being forced to quarantine (a particular problem for many students newly arrived at university); worries about families’ economic problems; illness or death of loved ones, and fears about contracting the virus.

Dr Elizabeth Allison, Lead Consultant Paediatrician for eating disorders at Sheffield Children’s Hospital (medical lead in the region for the community eating disorders service): 

“We’ve seen around twice the number of referrals for medical outpatient reviews and around twice the numbers of inpatient medical admissions for patients with Anorexia Nervosa in 2020 compared to 2019 and these numbers appear to be continuing to rise even further since September.  The lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic has created a fertile ground in which eating disorders can flourish. This is maybe due to the confinement away from young people's normal social and educational structure and also perhaps due to the increased exposure to social media influences. We are concerned that we may continue to see this trend continue over the next year or more." 

Things to make...

Our latest Reading group book that was much enjoyed was The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. How much more fun it would have been if we had all had some of this  Apple Cake with Bourbon Honey Glaze to eat along with it (scroll down the page for the recipe). This blog suggests recipes based on various books and I think we should embrace this idea when we can return to physical meetings.

Things in the library 11 Dec...

Things closing for Christmas... 

These are our closing dates for Christmas - I am posting them now as I am on annual leave next week so this will be the last blog before Christmas.

Mon 21 Dec  Closed for Stock Taking

Tues 22 Dec – Sun 3 Jan  Closed for Christmas & New Year

We will reopen Mon 4 Jan 2021

As always there is a book drop box outside the library if you need to return items whilst we are closed.

Things finished, until the next one...  

The recent Randomised Coffee Trial is receiving good feedback from people who took part. Some people found it difficult meeting online without disturbing colleagues in their workplaces. Not much we can do to help with that I'm afraid - hopefully people will be able to meet up again physically at some point next year - you will perhaps have to encourage your colleagues to sign up too!. Some people based on the Acute site went for a socially distanced walk in the park. Meeting virtually is not ideal but it does make it easier to meet colleagues from different sites. We expect the next RCT to be in February with sign-up being available anytime from now until the end of January.

Things about autism...

This article was highlighted to us from our colleagues in CAMHS 'The effectiveness of parent training for children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analyses' it is available on open access. 

Things about training... 

If you are clinical staff you may be directed to use Clinical Skills Net for some of your training.  If so and you have not previously registered to use this, then please email the library and tell us your NHS email address, staff assignment number (you can find this when you log in to ESR) and your staff category/job role. We will then set up your account so you can access the courses.

Things to attend... 

The next Journal Club meeting is on Tuesday 15th  December 13:00 - 14:00.

Venue: Virtually & from the Education & Skills Centre. Click here to join the meeting.

Paper: Primary care faecal calprotectin testing in children with suspected inflammatory bowel disease: a diagnostic accuracy study

Things about Christmas past... 

I have just been re-reading Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' as I try to do each year. One of the things I always enjoy is the glimpses of life in 1843, of the Cratchit’s Christmas pudding he writes:

"A great deal of steam! the pudding was out of the copper. A smell like a washing-day! That was the cloth. A smell like an eating-house and a pastry cook's next door to each other, with a laundress's next door to that. That was the pudding."

Not many people make their own puddings these days and if they do I hope they don't use their washing machines, but if you have left over Christmas pudding this year there are many options. I have seen one suggestion that you fry up a slice to go with a full English breakfast in the place of black pudding!. Perhaps a little more conventional is Christmas pudding ice cream.

Illingworth Library staff would like to wish everyone a 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Things in the library 4th Dec...

 ***Reminder we are closed all day Monday 7th December for staff training***

Things without mulled wine... 

We had a  great time online on Wednesday evening choosing the books we are going to read next year in the Reading Group. The selection will be being emailed out to the group shortly so if you want to be kept informed please contact the library to be put on the mailing list. Our highest scoring book this year was The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham followed by the Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier. 

Hopefully this time next year we will be meeting in person again.

Things about care leavers... 

Coram Voice in collaboration with the Rees Centre have published a report looking at how care leavers feel about their lives 'What makes life good'. Findings from a survey of 1,804 care leavers, collected in 21 English local authorities between 2017 and 2019, include: the majority of care leavers had moderate to high well-being, but 30% had low well-being; 24% of care leavers reported a disability or long-term health problem, against 14% of 16- to 24-year-olds in the general population; and care leavers also reported higher levels of loneliness (22%), high anxiety (33%) and feeling unsafe where they live (16%)

Things about mental health...  

The Centre for Longitudinal Studies at the UCL Social Research Institute has published a report looking at the mental ill-health of young people at age 17 in the UK. Findings from data from more than 10,000 young people who have all been taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), a nationally representative study of teenagers born in 2000-02, include: 16% of teenagers report high levels of psychological distress at age 17, 24% of young people report self-harming, and 7% report self-harming with suicidal intent.

Things about safeguarding... 

Article 39 reports that a Court of Appeal judgement, given on 24 November, declared that the Secretary of State for Education acted unlawfully in failing to consult the Children’s Commissioner for England and other children’s rights organisations before making “substantial and wide-ranging” changes to legal protections for children in care in England. Article 39 launched the legal challenge after the government removed and watered down 65 safeguards for children in care in England through The Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020.

Things about COVID-19... 

The Rees Centre reports on the latest findings from the Co-SPACE study tracking children and young people’s mental health throughout the COVID-19 crisis. The report finds that for participating primary school aged children behavioural, emotional, and restless/attentional difficulties have generally decreased from July, throughout the summer holidays, and as children returned to school in September.

Things about becoming parents... 

The NSPCC has released two podcasts on the Baby Steps perinatal educational programme, designed to help prepare people for becoming parents. Baby Steps has been adapted and delivered virtually since March 2020 and the podcasts discuss: how the NSPCC and external partners have delivered services during the pandemic; and the research and evaluation carried out to gather insight about how the programme has been run since lockdown began.

Things about food in movies... 

A quirky little article I spotted this week found that, across 14 946 foods and beverages, 73% of movies earned less healthy food nutrition ratings and 90% earned less healthy beverage ratings, even though only 12% of foods and beverages were visibly branded products. Moreover, the movie-depicted diet failed federal recommendations for saturated fat by 25%, fiber by 45%, and sodium by 4% per 2000 kcal, featuring 16% higher sugar content and 313% higher alcoholic content per 2000 kcal than US individuals actually consume.

This qualitative study suggests that popular US movies depict an unhealthy diet; depicting unhealthy foods and beverages in media is a sociocultural problem that extends beyond advertisements.

Something to think about when watching all those Christmas movies!

Things about post-Brexit and MHRA... 

From 1 January 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will be the UK’s standalone medicines and medical devices regulator. Stakeholders need to get ready for new rules from 1 January 2021.

Things to eat... 

Following on from the movie film food I found this website suggesting food to match films (spaghetti with 'Lady & the Tramp' obviously!)...my unhealthy choice would be Quick almond croissants with 'Breakfast at Tiffany’s' though I expect I will make more crumbs when eating than Audrey Hepburn!