Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

#HealthNow Literature review update: how has patient experience changed for people who are homeless?
Groundswell; 2022.
(People experiencing homelessness face significant health inequalities. They encounter barriers to accessing the health care they need and often have poor experiences of engaging with health care services. This report examines research published since the Groundswell 2020 #HealthNow literature review and outlines the findings from its five #HealthNow research reports.)

Health disparities and health inequalities: applying All Our Health.
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID); 2022.
(Evidence and information for health and care professionals and the wider workforce on health disparities and health inequalities, and how they can be addressed. This resource will help frontline professionals and organisations use their trusted relationships with individuals, families and communities to address the impact of health disparities and health inequalities on groups or populations. We also recommend important actions that managers and staff holding strategic roles can take.)

National Audit of Dementia: Memory Assessment Services Spotlight Audit 2021.
Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP); 2022.
(The National Audit of Dementia (NAD) is a clinical audit programme commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership on behalf of NHS England and the Welsh Government. In 2019 we undertook an audit of community-based memory assessment services in England and Wales.)

World Mental Health Day: rising cost of living and mental health.
House of Commons Library; 2022.
(Our mental health can change depending on our financial situation and it’s thought this relationship works in both directions: suffering financial losses or living in poverty can worsen mental health; people with mental health conditions may end up in poverty or suffer financial loss because of their illness, for example, if they are not able to work. Financial difficulties and problem debt are also associated with suicidal thoughts and dying by suicide.)

Valuing health: why prioritising population health is essential to prosperity.
British Medical Association (BMA); 2022.
(This report calls on the government to consider the health of the population as crucial to sustainable economic growth, rather than being dependent on a prosperous economy. Raising alarm about rapidly declining population health and widening health inequalities, the report identifies that the nation is facing a ‘ticking time-bomb’ of ill health with current government policies insufficient to meet the scale of the challenge.)

Bereavement is everyone’s business.
The UK Commission on Bereavement; 2022.
(This report shows how bereavement impacts us all. From dealing with complicated administration, to coping with financial and housing insecurity, it explores the challenges of returning to work or school after a bereavement and highlights the challenges being bereaved throws up in every area of life.)


The state of medical education and practice in the UK

The workforce report 2022

Source: The King’s Fund Health Management and Policy Alert

This report finds that the number of doctors joining the workforce overall has grown by around 17 per cent over the past five years, but that growth is not consistent. It varies considerably between different groups of doctors, leaving a shortfall in primary care that puts at risk patients’ ability to access GP services. The number of specialty and associate specialty (SAS) and locally employed (LE) doctors on the GMC register has increased at six times the rate of GPs, largely driven by doctors coming from overseas. Current rules actively prevent these doctors from working in areas such as primary care, and the GMC is proposing the government change the Performers List criteria to allow more doctors to work in general practice.

Library Bulletin

Community Mental Health

With thanks to our colleagues at Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust, the latest edition of the Community Mental Health Bulletin is now available to view and download.

Some articles are freely accessible, others may require an Open Athens account. For any support accessing any literature please contact academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk .

Library Lunch and Learn

STOPtober Session

Our next Lunch and Learn session is taking place on Wednesday 26th November (12pm-1pm) with our key guest Lee Mills from the Quit Squad.

All library members should have received a Teams invite to this session. Please contact katie.roper@lscft.nhs.uk for an invite to be extended to you or your colleagues.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

RCP view on the NHS workforce

Short- and medium-term solutions

Source: The King’s Fund

This policy paper outlines how staffing shortages are the biggest barrier to meeting demand for care and delivering health care sustainably in the long term. It describes how a long-term plan for increasing staffing numbers, including expanding medical school places, is needed to put the NHS workforce back on a sustainable footing, restore timely access to care and protect patient safety. But given the urgency of the situation, the RCP has set out a range of short- and medium-term solutions that will make a difference now, from affordable childcare and flexible working to overseas recruitment and a new ‘retire and return’ deal for consultants. 

World Menopause Day

Menopause: Continuing the conversation

For World Menopause Day 2022, the British Menopause Society has partnered with ITN Productions Industry News to produce a news-style programme ‘Menopause: Continuing the Conversation’ to cut through the noise to give straight talking, clear guidance and advice from BMS menopause specialists, healthcare professionals and BMS members, with information from industry experts, providing support for women to recognise and improve their symptoms.

Hosted by Louise Minchin, it will feature expert interviews, news items and reporter-led sponsored editorial profiles from leading organisations filmed on location.

The programme will launch on World Menopause Day, 18 October 2022.

King’s Fund Free Online Course

Leading well for staff health and wellbeing in the NHS

The Covid-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented pressures on the health and social care workforce and is now compounding longstanding inequalities and challenges among staff. The role of a manager and leader in protecting, supporting and promoting the health and wellbeing of staff has, therefore, never been more necessary and urgent. 

In this free, online, three-week course from the King’s Fund you’ll develop your understanding of your own health and wellbeing and learn to better lead and support your colleagues, team and organisation. 

Click here to sign up for free.

Allied Health Professions Day

Friday 14 October 2022

AHPs are the third largest healthcare workforce, with significant opportunities to support delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan. AHPs’ Day is an annual opportunity for AHPs to come together and celebrate being part of the AHP family, and the day gives an opportunity to showcase to others the impact they make to the delivery of high quality care. The collaborations in services, organisations, trusts, regions and nationally enable:

  • Improved awareness of the role of the fourteen allied health professions
  • Showcasing the achievements of local services and their impact on patient care and population health
  • Integrated working with other services and organisations.

Read more here

Health and Care

LGBTQ+ inclusion framework

The LGBTQ+ population in the UK experiences significant physical and mental health inequalities compared with the general population. These inequalities extend from increased risk factors for ill health and barriers to accessing health care and support, to discrimination against LGBTQ+ staff within the workplace. This framework comprises six key pillars of inclusivity that organisations should aim to build to create and maintain inclusive cultures: visible leadership and confident staff; a strong knowledge base; being non-heteronormative and non-cisnormative; collecting and reporting data; listening to service users; and proactively seeking out partners to co-deliver services.