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PUBLIC
HEALTH NEWS
June
2008
Welcome to the June edition of Public Health News
Note: This newsletter is produced by Healthcare
Alliances without any financial support from any source. This
enables us to provide an independent and objective service
We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you
have any information that you would like to share with others please
let me know and I will be happy to circulate it in the next
newsletter. Best wishes, Monica & Terry Dennis.
news@healthcarealliances.co.uk
WALES NEWS
-
20 items
New organ donation campaign launched
-
The
Donate Wales - Tell a Loved One Campaign, funded by the Welsh
Assembly Government and led by the Kidney Wales Foundation, sees
nine major charities come together for the first time in the UK to
tackle the shortage of organ donors. To join the organ donation
register visit
www.donatewales.org or call 0845 60 60 400
* * *
Care services failing Welsh older people -
According to a recent
report
the vast majority of doctors believe care services for older people
in Wales are not good enough. A survey by the British Medical
Association (BMA) found that more than 90% of doctors said not
enough money was being spent on NHS care for older people, while 85%
said they were concerned about healthcare services for older people
* * *
Planning guide to support implementation of NSF for older people in
Wales -
The National Public Health Service has produced
a
planning guide to assist the Welsh Assembly Government in
producing guidance on the appropriate care and support of older
people with mental health problems. Mental health issues in older
people are addressed as part of the National Service Framework (NSF)
for Older People in Wales . The NSF for Older People in Wales aims
to improve health and social care services and equity of access for
older people across Wales through the setting of national, evidence
based standards
* * *
In the red: debt and mental
health -
Mind Cymru has published a report that shows that debt is a
significant factor in worsening mental health. In the red: debt
and mental health is the first ever report to specifically
examine the links between mental distress and debt. For more
information about the campaign visit
http://www.mind.org.uk/.
To obtain a copy of the report email
c.foley@mind.org.uk
* * *
Pedal Power sponsored bike ride -
The Pedal Power sponsored bike ride is taking
place on 21 June 2008. If you are interested in taking part and
supporting the work of Pedal Power tel: 02920 390713 or email
info.pedalpower@btconnect.com. Pedal Power also has a new
website
* * *
Play, playwork and food: how to include food in a play setting
-
Play Wales have developed a briefing on play,
playwork and food - how to include food in a play setting. For more
information tel: 029 2048 6050
* * *
Learning along the food chain DVD -
Organic Centre Wales and Farming and
Countryside Education (FACE) Wales have developed a DVD for schools
entitled
learning
along the food chain. The 7-minute bilingual DVD shows primary
school children enjoying farm visits, gardening in school, visiting
a farmers’ market, preparing vegetables on the Cooking Bus, and
enjoying a school meal of local food. It is being distributed to
primary schools around Wales and supports educational work on
healthy eating, school meals and outdoor education. For more
information tel: 01970 622248
* * *
Growing together in Wales -
A three year Big Lottery funded project
Growing Together in Wales has commenced. It will provide support
and training for established, emerging and new Welsh community
gardens and farms. Community farms and gardens are an opportunity to
combine community development with environmental enhancement, local
food production and education. For more information email
katie@farmgarden.org.uk
*
* *
Women’s institute gardening with schools booklet
-
Thirty two gardening projects from across Wales
, involving WI members and their local primary schools, are featured
in the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI)- Wales
Gardening with Schools case studies booklet. From creating
flower beds and hanging baskets to growing a wide range of
vegetables, a variety of gardening stories are shared. The
Gardening with Schools project was established by NFWI-Wales in
2005 to provide primary school children with the opportunity to gain
practical experience of creating vegetable and wildlife areas and to
take part in hands-on activities such as planting and sowing and
garden maintenance. To receive a hard copy of the booklet please
send an A4 SAE (78p) to NFWI-Wales, 19 Cathedral Road , Cardiff CF11
9HA . For an electronic version, please e-mail
walesoffice@nfwi-wales.org.uk
* * *
Helping young people make sense of money -
A free financial capability course is being held
on Monday 9 June 2008 at the Safety Zone in Treforest. For more
information email
kdavies@a4e.co.uk
or book online at
www.a4emoney.co.uk/ypm quoting code A4e069
* * *
Rural housing in Wales -
There is a significant level of
unmet housing need in rural Wales. Problems of affordability are
more acute, homelessness levels have increased more sharply in
recent years and social housing supply is more limited than in urban
areas. Current and projected new affordable housing supply will not
be sufficient, and a seismic upward shift in provision is required
to meet this need. The paper presents the findings and
recommendations of the independent JRF Commission on Rural Housing
in Wales
* * *
First ever Welsh language netball coaching course
-
The Urdd, working with the Sports Council for
Wales and the Welsh Netball Association has embarked on its first
ever coaching course through the medium of Welsh. Whilst anyone aged
14 and older can attend the Welsh language course will be of
particular interest to teachers and PGCE students and also to
potential coaches from clubs around Wales who would like to coach
netball to participants in Welsh. For more information email
jennylaycock@welshnetball.com
* * *
Charlotte Church launches breastfeeding drive -
Charlotte Church called on other young mums to
consider breastfeeding at the beginning of the Welsh Assembly
Government
Breastfeeding Awareness Week (11 – 17 May). Charlotte helped to
kick-start the campaign at the Wales Millennium Centre where she
joined other mums, Children’s Minister Jane Hutt and health experts
from across South Wales to urge more young mothers to consider the
protection that breastfeeding gives both to them and their babies
* * *
Swansea mums go online -
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University NHS Trust’s
successful breastfeeding peer support service has set up a new
web-based forum to offer support to all mothers who have chosen
to breastfeed their babies
* * *
Mapping community development across Wales -
Community Development Cymru (CDC) has recently
completed an initial survey of community development work across
Wales with over 650 individuals registering their work. CDC is
aiming to complete the survey for the whole of Wales during the next
few months. If you haven’t already been included in the survey and
you undertake community development work in a paid or voluntary
capacity please contact
einir@cdcymru.org or tel: 07977 222595
* * *
Human rights inquiry – request for evidence -
The Equality and Human Rights Commission
launched its Human Rights Inquiry on 6 March 2008 to find out how
public authorities in England and Wales are responding to the Human
Rights Act. As part of the Inquiry, the Commission is calling for
evidence from individuals and organisations. They want to build up
an accurate picture of how well human rights legislation is working.
Share
your experiences, whether positive or negative, and encourage others
to do so. Forms should be sent by 21 June 2008 and can be
submitted in Welsh or English
* * *
Assembly report calls for improvements in the way voluntary
organisations are funded -
A new Assembly
report
is
calling for greater access to information and less bureaucracy in
the way that voluntary organisations in Wales are funded. The
report does not call for increased funding but recommends a review
of funding criteria, a web-based portal providing information to the
voluntary sector, and making funding application forms easier to
understand and complete. It also says that the Government, local
authorities and other public bodies should treat the third sector as
a strategic partner when planning, commissioning and delivering
public services
* * *
WEFO guidance on procurement -
New
guidance on sponsorship, partnership, procurement and grants is
now available. The guidance offers advice to prospective sponsors,
match-funders and interested stakeholders so that they have a clear
understanding of the role of the project sponsor in the 2007-2013
programmes. It also describes the role of joint sponsor, the
importance of procurement, the distribution of grants to other
organisations and an overview of state aid implications
* * *
WEFO online goes live -
The
Welsh European Funding Office has introduced a new
online service which will allow projects to apply for European
funding via their website. Once registered, organisations will be
able to use WEFO online, to apply, view and manage their grants
securely
* * *
Endowment for new Archie Cochrane Chair -
A £2.5m endowment has been secured by Cardiff
University to create the first ever
Archie Cochrane Chair in Public Health. Irish philanthropist and financier Gerard
Walsh has made a major contribution to the public health field which
will honour one of the world's greatest epidemiologists and a very
major figure in Welsh, British and world medicine
* * *
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UK NEWS - 22 items
Designing citizen-centred governance -
Citizen centred governance involves new ways of enabling local
people, working with statutory and other agencies, to decide how
public services can improve their quality of life. This study
examined the relationship between new governance structures and the
engagement of citizens, service users and the voluntary and
community sectors, with the aim of identifying lessons for policy
and practice
* * *
Local authority circular on mental capacity -
This
local authority circular
sets out the resources available for the year
2008-2009 for the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and provisional figures
for 2009-2010 and 2010 - 2011. NHS Chief Executives and social care
directors will need to take note of these resources and ensure they
are used both to support the Act's wider
successful implementation and to deliver their own organisation's
statutory responsibilities
* * *
Commission for Social Care and Inspection publishes report on
dementia care -
This report,
See me, not just the dementia, looks at the experiences of
people with dementia living in care homes in England, with a
particular focus on whether their care offers dignity and respect.
Most similar studies have relied on the views of carers, care staff
and people in the early stages of dementia. This study examines
directly the experiences of people including those with advanced
dementia
* * *
Funding tomorrow today: social care for older people and vulnerable
adults
-Social care funding must be fairer if provision
of social care is to survive. This
paper argues that the long term solution to society’s biggest
problem, how to fund social care for older people, could be a
minimum package of entitlement paid for through a new insurance
system. A new system of a sensible level of care backed up by
top-ups through social insurance and government support for the
poorest would reward those who save, favour prevention over high
cost ‘last resorts’ such as care homes and hand control of how money
is spent to the users rather than the funders of care
* * *
Supporting older people in care homes at night -
This
report examines the perspectives of residents, relatives, staff
and care home inspectors. It identifies areas of good and poor
practice, and recommends ways to make improvements through a series
of interventions
* * *
Old age is the new middle age -The NHS is being urged to rise to the challenge
of providing more and
better preventative care for older people. Outlining a package
of measures to empower older people to live longer, healthier and
more independent lives, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said local
health and social care providers needed to work more closely to
build on services already provided and ensure people know what they
are entitled to
* * *
Scoping exercise on fallers ' clinics -
This
research summary describes how fallers’ clinics function, and
explores ways in which their success can be measured so that a
much-needed economic appraisal can be carried out.
The
full study is also available
* * *
Housing and disabled children -
In recent years the issue of
housing and disabled children
has moved up the policy agenda, and there are currently
opportunities for change at both the national and local policy
level. This round-up provides an overview of what is known about the
housing circumstances of disabled children and their families
* * *
Community leadership approaches to tackling street crime
-
A
review of whether the approaches taken to tackling street crime
by a social enterprise in Manchester might be relevant to similar
neighbourhoods in other areas
* * *
Call time on Britain' s damaging drink habits, urge public health
specialists -
A range of measures are needed to get to grips
with the UK ’s ever-worsening problem with alcohol misuse, says the
Faculty of Public Health and Association of Directors of Public
Health. In a new
alcohol position statement both are calling for firm action at
both a national and local level to address the devastating impact of
Britain’s drinking habits on the nation’s health and economy.
Recommendations to UK Government include tightening regulation on
marketing, promotion and pricing of alcohol: ensuring clear and
consistent labelling of alcohol content and giving more
consideration of public health issues when processing licensing
applications
* * *
AIDS support grant for social care for people with HIV/AIDS
-
This local authority circular explains arrangements for the
continuation in 2008/2009 of the AIDS support grant. Authorities are
also invited to bid for the HIV Capital Grant for HIV/AIDS-related
housing and capital projects.
* * *
Outdoor environment key to tackling obesity and mental ill health
-
The Sustainable Development Commission have
produced a practical resource focusing on how the outdoor
environment affects health and well being. Bringing together
international research,
Health, place and nature - how outdoor environments influence health
and well-being comprises of a wide-ranging knowledge base, and a
slide set for practitioners to use in their own presentations
* * *
Consultation on the future of tobacco control -
The cancer reform strategy 2007 announced the
Government’s intention to consult on the next steps in tobacco
control and the further regulation of tobacco products, and to
consult with stakeholders on measures to reduce the significant harm
to health caused by smoking for those who are addicted to nicotine
and not able to quit altogether. This
consultation
closes on 8 September 2008
* * *
Tobacco display ban plan unveiled -The Scottish Government have announced plans to
ban the open display of cigarettes in shops
* * *
Improving services for substance misuse: commissioning drug
treatment and harm reduction services -
The
Healthcare Commission and the National Treatment Agency have
published a
report
which shows results from the second of three annual reviews to
assess the performance of substance misuse treatment services. The
findings reveal that although the majority of services are
performing well there were significant deficits in the provision of
vaccination for hepatitis B and testing and treatment for hepatitis
C. As 90% of all hepatitis C diagnoses are associated with injecting
drug use, this is a key area of concern
* * *
APRIL (Adverse Psychiatric Drug Reactions Information Link)
-
Drugs used for indigestion, acne, inflammation,
pain, infections, cholesterol, malaria prevention as well as for
depression and anxiety, can all cause serious psychiatric side
effects or withdrawal reactions.
APRIL provides information about adverse psychiatric drug
reactions (ADRs) to enable quick recognition of early signs of
psychiatric or neurological ADRs such as headache, nightmares,
insomnia, mania, depression
* * *
Helping deal with child behaviour -
KidsBehaviour
contains over 80 articles written by our experts who
continually update and add new content
* * *
Wellbeing of children in primary education -
The National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence (NICE) has recently published guidance on the wellbeing
of children in primary education. The
guidance is of use and relevant to teachers, school governors
and professionals within public health. It is also relevant to all
working with children in the community and voluntary sector, as well
as the NHS and local authorities. Children ' s social and emotional
wellbeing is important, as any anomaly could affect their physical
health and how they perform at school. Research shows strong social,
emotional and psychological health helps protect children against
emotional and behavioural problems. These include violence and
crime, teenage pregnancy and the misuse of drugs and alcohol
* * *
Child and adolescent mental health today
-This is a new
resource
supported by Young Minds. It aims to provide frontline workers in
health, education and social services with the knowledge and
understanding of the mental health issues affecting children and
young people today. The book covers a range of topics including
cultural competence, partnership working, promoting positive
parenting, risk and resilience, mental health in schools, the mental
health needs of young offenders, eating disorders, self-harm and
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
* * *
Government launches volunteer strategy consultation
-
A volunteering strategy for health and social
care will articulate the key actions needed to address the perceived
obstacles to making a refreshed vision for volunteering in health
and social care a reality. The
consultation will run until 30 September 2008, with a view to
publication of a final strategy and implementation plan in early
2009
* * *
Collaborative working -
NCVO’s Collaborative working unit has published
guidance on consortia delivery of public services. The guidance
looks at different legal structures for delivering public services
via a consortium, and is highly relevant as procurers look to reduce
the number of small contracts and realise economies of scale
* * *
£10 million per year for public health research -
The Public Health Research Programme is being established to
evaluate a wide range of public health interventions. These could
include social marketing for the promotion of safe sex, the
prevention of obesity in children, and speed bumps for the
prevention of road traffic accidents. The funding will rise over
each of the next three years to reach £10 million a year
* * *
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FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES - 3 items
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation -
The
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has launched three
new funding programmes to add to those it has been running under
its current guidelines. The topics cover food, a pilot programme of
work in Northern Ireland , and a Finance Fund. The new food strand
aims to promote an understanding of the role of food in enhancing
the quality of life. The Trustees expect to support a mix of
practical projects that have wide significance, and some research
and policy based work
* * *
The Joanies Trust -
The
Joanies Trust grants support projects working with young people,
aged 11-25, within the UK. Applications must show strong evidence of
how closely applicants consult young people in developing their
service, and for any community involvement or local financial
support. The Trust will support about 30 charities with average
grants of £1000. An application form is available
here The closing date for applications is 31 August 2008.
* * *
European Union grants directory
-
The
annual
European Union grants directory is available on CD-Rom or
online. It contains details of over 400 grants available from the
European Commission. Grants cover a range of activities: racism,
women’s issues, the environment, child protection, education,
training, the disabled, human rights, energy, transport and more
* * *
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
- 7 topics
Public Healthcare in Wales : is today’s system best placed to
address tomorrow’s needs?
18 June 2008
Wales
Millennium Centre, Cardiff
For more information email
susan@positifpolitics.co.uk
* * *
Promoting physical activity with older people
Age Concern Cymru in association with the
British Heart Foundation National Centre (BHFNC) and the Welsh
Assembly Government are pleased to announce a series of seminars on
promoting physical activity with older people. The seminars will
take place on:
Wednesday 25 June 08 in the Liberty Stadium, Swansea
Thursday 10 July 08 in Venue Cymru, Llandudno
For more information email:
glenn.little@accymru.org.uk
* * *
Preserving the best: embracing change
Bringing the best of traditional rural general
practice to the modern day NHS
25 June 2008, Warwick University Students Union
For more information email
janers@irh.ac.uk
* * *
Healthy towns, healthy people
Thursday 3 July 2008, London
For more information email
Julia.crear@livingstreets.org.uk
* * *
Celebrating 25 years: now going for gold
9-11 July 2008
City Hall, Cardiff
For more information email
practicenurse@rcn.org.uk
* * *
2008 OPAN annual conference: Growing Old in Wales : A Showcase of
Ageing Research
23 July, Swansea
http://www.sparc.ac.uk/workshops/2008-07-23-opan-sparc-workshop/index.asp
* * *
A workshop for grandparents: grandparents day - helping children
learn
15 October 2008
Denman
College, Oxfordshire
For more information email
Valwoodgaiger@aol.com
* * *
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Forthcoming courses that might be of interest
include:
The Funding Programme
We have new Autumn dates for the funding
programme, which will be held in Cardiff
Planning for Funding –
Wednesday 24
September 2008
Writing for Funding –
Wednesday 15
October 2008
Communicating for Funding –
Wednesday 12
November 2008
Costing for Funding -
Wednesday 10
December 2008
For more information or to book online visit
the
website or email
fp@healthcarealliances.co.uk
* * *
Knowledge and Skills Programme
Effective Group Facilitation
(Tuesday, 1
July)
Convincing and Professional Business Cases (Wednesday
& Thursday, 2 & 3 July)
Team Based Working
(Monday, 7 July)
Powerful Presentations with Confidence
(Monday &
Tuesday, 14 & 15 July)
Please click on the links
for more details
* * *
Learning and Development Programmes
We are delighted to announce the launch of
three CIPFA accredited programmes which combine the strengths of
individual courses with the benefits of group learning. They are:
Leadership Programme - For managers leading change (Cowbridge)
Management Programme - An introduction to management for
recently appointed managers (St Asaph)
Communication Programme - For professionals and managers who
want to make an impact (Cowbridge)
Please click on the links
for more details
* * *
Managing Children’s Behaviour: Promoting Positive Parenting
Thursday 9 October 2008
St Michaels College , Cardiff
* * *
Sleep Management & Baby Massage
Thursday 2 April 2009
Taff Housing Association, Cardiff
For more information on the above two courses
email
mdennis@healthcarealliances.co.uk
* * *
The Patient Journey – where has all the care gone?
Many people requested a copy of the case study
which documented an elderly patients journey through hospital and
many responses were also received following receipt of the case
study, Please
email
if you would like to receive a copy of the case study or
the responses
We welcome you comments and suggestions. If you
have any information that you would like to share with others please
let us know and we will be happy to circulate it in the next
newsletter.
* * *
Public
Health News is published by
Monica Dennis, Healthcare Alliances,
Britannia House, 11 High Street, Cowbridge, CF71 7AD
Tel: 01446 774864 Mob:
07811 159800
www.healthcarealliances.co.uk
* * *
If you would
like to guarantee a regular monthly copy of the
newsletter by email - send your details to
mdennis@healthcarealliances.co.uk
* * *
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