Data saves lives

Reshaping health and social care with data

Source: The King’s Fund

This strategy sets out the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s vision for how data will be used to improve the health and care of the population in a safe, trusted and transparent way. It provides an overarching narrative and action plan to address the current cultural, behavioural and structural barriers in the system, with the ultimate goal of having a health and care system that is underpinned by high-quality and readily available data. The strategy also marks the next steps of the discussion about how we can best utilise data for the benefit of patients, service users, and the health and care system.

Tackling mental health disparities

Centre for Mental Health 

Source:King’s Fund

Mental health inequalities mean that while it is true that anyone can experience mental ill health, the risks are much higher for certain groups who experience structural discrimination and disadvantage. This briefing sets out 10 evidence-based actions that the government could take in the forthcoming disparities White Paper. Read the briefing here.

Public Health

Current Awareness

How can local authorities reduce obesity? Insights from NIHR research.
NIHR Evidence; 2022.
(This themed review draws on the breadth of NIHR research relevant to obesity, conversations with staff at local councils and at national organisations, and feedback from a group of practitioners, researchers and members of the public. Together they identify evidence-based actions that local authorities, working with their local partners, can take to reduce obesity in their communities.)

Support at the end of life: The role of hospice services across the UK.
Nuffield Trust; 2022.
(This new analysis draws on a nationwide survey of hospices conducted by Hospice UK to address a large gap in our understanding of the services that the hospice sector provides across the UK, including how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted those services.)

Fit for the Future: The Health Value of Wellbeing and Leisure Services.
District Councils’ Network; 2022.
(This new report from DCN, produced with health consultants HEC at University of East Anglia and Economics By Design, delivers strong evidence of the potential of these services to tackle health inequalities and level up our communities.)

Estimating suicide among higher education students, England and Wales: Experimental Statistics: 2017 to 2020.
Office of National Statistics (ONS); 2022.
(The suicide rate for higher education students in the academic year ending 2020 in England and Wales was 3.0 deaths per 100,000 students (64 suicide deaths); this is the lowest rate observed over the last four years, although the small numbers per year make it difficult to identify statistically significant differences. Higher education students in England and Wales had a significantly lower suicide rate compared with the general population of similar ages.)

Nursing under unsustainable pressures

Staffing for safe and effective care in the UK

Source: The King’s Fund

In March 2022, the RCN invited nursing and midwifery staff from across the UK to give their experiences of the last time they were at work. There were 20,325 responses to the survey. Eight in ten (83 per cent) said there weren’t enough nursing staff to meet all patient needs safely and effectively on their last shift. Just a quarter (25 per cent) of shifts had the planned number of registered nurses. Less than one in five (18 per cent) said they had enough time to provide the level of care they’d like. Read the report here.

Healthy Eating Week

13th to 17th June 2022

This year the British Nutrition Foundation are encouraging everyone to eat well for you and the planet. every day will have a specific focus:

  • Monday: Focus on fibre – for meals and snacks
  • Tuesday: Get at least 5 A DAY – put plenty on your plate  
  • Wednesday: Vary your protein – be more creative  
  • Thursday: Stay hydrated – fill up from the tap
  • Friday: Reduce food waste – know your portions

Head over to our Twitter for top tips and recipe ideas throughout the week and do your bit to get involved.

We also have a selection of cook books available to loan through the library. Take a look here:

Please get in touch with academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk if you would like us to send a book out in the internal post.

How does the NHS work and how is it changing?

The King’s Fund Animation

Watch The King’s Fund new animation to discover the key organisations that make up the NHS and how they can collaborate with partners in the health and care system to deliver joined-up care.

Watch here: How does the NHS in England work and how is it changing? | The King’s Fund (kingsfund.org.uk)

Library Bulletins

Community Health, Depression and Suicide Prevention

The current bulletins for Community Health, Depression and Suicide Prevention, produced by Merseycare NHS Foundation Trust, are now available to view and download.

For support accessing any of the articles within the bulletins please contact: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Monkeypox cases reported in the WHO European Region.
World Health Organization (WHO); 2022.

(Links to 2 reports: Monkeypox – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and Monkeypox – Key facts. While the number of cases in the Region is still relatively small, what is concerning is that some of the cases appear to have been acquired in the Region without a link to travel to countries where monkeypox is known to be endemic. Many cases have been detected in clinics specialized in sexually transmitted infections.)

Mental Health Awareness Week 2022: Loneliness.
House of Commons Library; 2022.

(How does loneliness affect our mental health and what the Government has done to address the issue?)

Vaccine uptake in the general population.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2022.

(This guideline aims to increase the uptake of all vaccines provided on the NHS routine UK immunisation schedule by everyone who is eligible. It supports the aims of the NHS Long Term Plan, which includes actions to improve immunisation coverage by GPs (including the changes to vaccinations and immunisations detailed in the 2021/2022 and 2022/23 GP contracts) and support a narrowing of health inequalities.)

The over-representation of Black people as restricted patients in secure hospitals. Nuffield Trust chart of the week.
Nuffield Trust; 2022.

(People with severe mental health problems who are in contact with the criminal justice system can be held as restricted patients in hospitals if they have been assessed as needing treatment. Miranda Davies takes a closer look at new data that shows that 16% of restricted patients in hospital are Black or Black British, despite only making up 3% of the general population.)

Smoking bans in prisons improve health and reduce medications.
NIHR Evidence; 2022.

(This study found that the smoking ban did not affect dispensing for mental health conditions which suggests that it did not increase levels of depression. However, the researchers caution that there may have been an impact on mental health since, in the interviews, some prisoners reported raised anxiety levels. Improvements in respiratory health were especially marked. Removing second-hand smoke from prisons also improved working conditions for staff.)