A report by the Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza on children’s mental health services has found an “alarming” postcode lottery when it comes to accessing children’s mental health services. The report follows the Commissioner’s The Big Ask, which surveyed children across England about their mental health. The report states one in five children said they were unhappy with their mental health and Ms De Souze said she is particularly worried about older teenage girls as two in five of 16 to 17 year old girls said they were unhappy with their mental health.
Tag: Children
Covid 19
Current awareness updates
JCVI update on advice for COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 5 to 11.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2022.
[JCVI advises a non-urgent offer of two 10 mcg doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty®) to children aged 5 to 11 years of age who are not in a clinical risk group. The intention of this offer is to increase the immunity of vaccinated individuals against severe COVID-19 in advance of a potential future wave of COVID-19. Published 16 February 2022]
Growing problems, in depth: The impact of Covid-19 on health care for children and young people in England.
Quality Watch; 2022.
[“…The sharp increase in children and young people with mental health problems is a serious concern. Services are facing unprecedented levels of demand, and young people are waiting longer to receive mental health care. In particular, there has been a surge in eating disorder cases, and conditions are deteriorating to the extent that a greater number of children and young people are attending A&E departments…”]
Social care reform: an independent review by Baroness Cavendish.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2022.
[A report looking at how the government can lock in the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic to build a more robust, sustainable and joined-up system of social care.]
NHS Confederation
Tackling the increase in demand for mental health support in children and young people
Recent survey results reinforce the urgent need for more funding to support the growing demand for children and young people’s mental health services.
Read more here.
Public Health
Current awareness updates
Prostate cancer.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This quality standard covers managing prostate cancer in people referred to secondary care or having follow-up for prostate cancer in primary care. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement. In December 2021, changes were made to align this quality standard with the updated NICE guideline on prostate cancer.]
Combined adult and paediatric respiratory clinical assessment service (RCAS) hubs for acute respiratory infection.
NHS England and NHS Improvement; 2021.
[This document supports systems to plan for a likely rise in respiratory infections (for example, Covid-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and other infections) this winter.]
Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Analysis of call for evidence consultation response has informed development of this document, which is published alongside the consultation response. This document sets out the government’s vision and the publication of the strategy will follow in 2022.]
Children and young people’s mental health:eighth Report of Session 2021–22.
House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee; 2021.
[This report calls for urgent action to prevent mental health services slipping backwards as a result of additional demand created by the pandemic and the scale of unmet need prior to it. MPs found that despite progress in numbers of young people receiving treatment, it was unacceptable that more than half with a diagnosable condition pre-pandemic do not receive the mental health support they need.]
Public Health
Current awareness updates
Children and young people’s mental health.
House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee; 2021.
[According to NHS data, the mental health of children and young people in England has worsened since 2017. Even before the pandemic, children and young people were facing a mental health crisis. Three lockdowns and the social distancing requirements of the pandemic have exacerbated the struggle with the loss of normal social structures, being unable to socialise in person with peers and not being able to attend school or university.]
Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.
Trades Union Congress (TUC); 2021.
[Every workplace risk assessment should include aerosol transmission, and outline what steps are being taken to improve ventilation where necessary. Ventilation being one of the most effective ways to mitigate risk, but it’s the one employers are least likely to be paying attention to.]
Emotional Support
Online resources – Master the Mind Master Anything podcast – Kids’ Mental Health Special
Source: Mindset by Dave podcast
Today’s resource is the Master the Mind Master Anything podcast presented by Dave Cottrell (Mindset by Dave). In this episode Dave talks, from one parent to another, about some of the things he has learned as a parent and how these can be applied in your relationships with your own kids.
Listen to the podcast here.
Public Health
Current awareness updates
Alcohol is one of the biggest risk factors for breast cancer.
World Health Organization (WHO); 2021.
[Alcohol is classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by IARC. It is causally linked to 7 types of cancer. Besides female breast cancer, it increases the risk of developing oral cavity (mouth), pharynx (throat), oesophagus (gullet), liver, larynx (voice box) and colorectum (large intestine and rectum) cancers. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption. The risk of breast cancer increases with each unit of alcohol consumed per day.]
Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This guideline covers diagnosing and managing myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in children, young people and adults. It aims to improve awareness and understanding about ME/CFS and when to suspect it, so that people are diagnosed earlier. It includes recommendations on diagnosis, assessment and care planning, safeguarding, access to care and managing ME/CFS and its symptoms.]
Eligible for a free flu vaccine this winter? Don’t wait, book it.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[With flu and COVID-19 expected to be in wide circulation together this winter, UK Health Security Agency is urging more people than ever to get their free flu vaccine, if they are eligible. In this blog the UK Health Security Agency answers some common questions about this year’s flu season.]
The use of wearables and health apps and the willingness to share self-collected data among older adults.
Seifert A. Aging and Health Research 2021;1(3):100032.
[The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which older adults utilize mobile health tracking tools in everyday life and their willingness to share the collected health-related data with doctors, health insurance companies, or research institutions. 75.0% of the participants used at least one mobile device; 22.9% used health-related apps. Participants were more often willing to share their data with doctors than with health insurance companies or researchers.]
Changes in childhood experimentation with, and exposure to, tobacco and e-cigarettes and perceived smoking norms: a repeated cross-sectional study of 10–11 year olds’ in Wales.
BMC Public Health; 2021.
[Children’s experimentation with and exposure to tobacco, and their perceptions of smoking as a normative behaviour, have continued to decline alongside growth in exposure to e-cigarettes. Although a large majority of pupils reported they minded people smoking around them, there was some evidence of diminishing disapproval of secondhand smoke since 2007.]
Understanding Sexual Aggression in UK Male University Students: An Empirical Assessment of Prevalence and Psychological Risk Factors.
Sexual Abuse; 2021.
[University-based sexual aggression is an international public health issue; however, to date, there have been no formal assessments of the prevalence or psychological indicators associated with the proabuse behaviors of the most common perpetrators at UK universities: heterosexual male students.]
Patients as team members: Factors affecting involvement in treatment decisions from the perspective of patients with a chronic condition.
Health Expectations; 2021.
[From the patients’ perspective, this study shows that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to involving patients more actively in their healthcare journey. Strategies aiming to enhance active patient involvement among patients with a chronic condition should consider this diversity in perspectives among these patients.]
Lead exposure in children: surveillance reports (from 2021).
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[Results of laboratory-based surveillance of elevated blood lead concentrations in children in England.]
Seasonal flu vaccine uptake in children of school age: monthly data, 2021 to 2022.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[Cumulative vaccine uptake data for the childhood seasonal flu programme in England.]
Review: Physical activity interventions for the mental health and well-being of adolescents – a systematic review. [Abstract]
Hale GE. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2021;26(4):357-368.
[Rates of physical activity decline throughout adolescence, and evidence indicates that this has an adverse impact on psychological health. This paper aims to synthesise available evidence for physical activity interventions on the mental health and well-being of young people (11-19 years) from the general population.]
Telehealth interventions: remote monitoring and consultations for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). [Abstract]
Janjua S. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021;7:CD013196.
[BACKGROUND: Face-to-face visits with health professionals can be hindered by severity of COPD or frailty, and by people living at a distance from their healthcare provider and having limited access to services. Telehealth technologies aimed at providing health care remotely through monitoring and consultations could help to improve health outcomes of people with COPD.]
Strategies to improve smoking cessation rates in primary care. [Abstract]
Lindson N. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021;9:CD011556.
[OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of strategies intended to increase the success of smoking cessation interventions in primary care settings. To assess whether any effect that these interventions have on smoking cessation may be due to increased implementation by healthcare providers.]
Living with dementia: my life, my goals.
Alzheimer’s Society; 2021.
[A new self-help guide for people living with dementia. The guide helps people with dementia achieve their goals step-by step. It was created by researchers from the GREAT trial in collaboration with people living with dementia.]
Emotional Support
Online resources – Master the Mind Master Anything podcast
Source: Mindset by Dave podcast
Today’s resource is the Master the Mind Master Anything podcast presented by Dave Cottrell (Mindset by Dave). This episode features Sam Tyrer (Change Talks), talking about his experiences and taking mental health awareness into schools.
Listen to the podcast here.
Public Health
Current awareness updates
Behaviour change interventions to optimise antibiotic prescribing.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Strategic behavioural analysis that aims to help understand and change behaviours related to antimicrobial stewardship and antibiotic prescribing.]
Third primary COVID-19 vaccine dose for people who are immunosuppressed: JCVI advice.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Statement from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the benefits of a third primary COVID-19 vaccine dose in individuals aged 12 years and over with severe immunosuppression.]
JCVI statement, September 2021: COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 12 to 15 years.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Updated advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on vaccination of children aged 12 to 15.]
Covid 19
Current awareness updates
COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing COVID-19.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[On 10 August 2021, NICE corrected an error in the practical info section of the recommendations on corticosteroids. The dose of prednisolone for children with a greater than 44-week corrected gestational age is 1 mg/kg.]
Impact of Covid-19 on physical activity in children in the UK.
Carried out by Frankie Marcelline from Brighton and Sussex on 9/8/2021
[This evidence search consists of short reports on the impact of Covid-19 on physical activity in children in the UK. Most of the results are summaries from Sport England which works to encourage all age groups in the uptake of sports and physical activities in England.]
The impact of Covid-19 to date on older people’s mental and physical health: one year on.
Age UK; 2021.
[This report finds that the impact of the pandemic on the health and wellbeing of some older people in early 2021 is so demonstrably severe that it raises big questions over whether they will be able to ‘bounce back’. The adverse effect may prove long lasting in many cases, or even irreversible, with big implications for the NHS and social care in the months and years to come.]