Meet the Author

Neil White

Best-selling author Neil White is a criminal lawyer as well as a crime writer.

He was born above a shoe shop in Mexborough, a small northern mining town, and grew up on an estate on the edge of Wakefield. His father worked in the shoe trade but seemed happiest when he was reading a book, and he filled the house with them: sci-fi, horror and history books. And if it wasn’t books, it was Johnny Cash who took over.

Neil’s books were initially set in America but after rewriting them to change their settings to England he had more success. After swapping Chicago for London and Indiana for a small town in Lancashire he caught the interest of a publisher.

He veered away from crime briefly and wrote the book he had always wanted to write, Lost In Nashville. He had always wanted to visit the places Johnny Cash sang about, so he did, but crafted a book from it. It is a tale of a father and son who travel Johnny Cash’s life and songs and try to reconnect along the way. It is his favourite of all his books, purely because it has so much emotional resonance for him.

Eventually Neil gave up full-time lawyering and turned mainly to writing, although he still practices as a freelance lawyer.

Neil has kindly answered a few questions for us about books that have entertained and inspired him and his work as an author.

Read the interview here.

Read more about Neil, his love of Johnny Cash, his books and his career on his website.

Psychiatric Nursing

Current Awareness Bulletin

The February bulletin on psychiatric nursing, produced by Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust, is now available to view and download.

For any issues accessing journal articles or Open Athens accounts please email: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

Toolkit

Deafness and Hearing Loss

Source: KnowledgeShare

Produced by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP); 2021; the resources developed aim to educate GPs and GP trainees on deafness and hearing loss, help reduce variations in accessibility to GP practices and ensure deafness and hearing loss are considered across all aspects of primary care activity including consultations and continued care. The toolkit supports GPs and GP trainees to implement the latest NICE guidelines and NHS Accessibility Quality Standard and guidance across the UK.

To access the toolkit click here.

King’s Fund

Book Club

Bertie’s Book Group Group is a book club that focuses on fiction that touches on health or medical-related theme. The group meets on the third Thursday on every month at The King’s Fund Library; accessible by their website: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/search?search=book+group

The group is currently reading Platform Seven by Louise Doughty

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If you would like to get involved simply join the conversation and join Bertie’s Goodreads book group to express your thoughts.

Royal Marsden Manual

New content

Royal Marsden have updated Chapter 15- Medicines Optimisation with new content on “Monoclonal Antibody Preparation and MAB risk assessment”.

Find all the information here or alternatively please click on the link on the homepage.

Remember you can access Royal Marsden Manual with your Open Athens account by signing in here: https://openathens.nice.org.uk/Auth/Login

Improving our Service

Library User Survey

We are continuing striving to provide the best service possible for all our staff and Library users. We would really appreciate it, if you have a spare few minutes to complete our survey;

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TSZNXFP

We value all feedback and hope to make changes for the better based on your recommendations.

We will enter anyone who completed the survey before Sunday 14th February into our prize draw to win a hamper of treats.

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

The state of children’s mental health services 2020/21 Children’s Commissioner

(This report examines the progress that has been made over the past five years as well as looking at the impact the Covid crisis has had on children’s mental health. It finds that while there has been an expansion of children’s mental health services over the past four years, services are still nowhere near meeting the needs of many hundreds of thousands of children.)

Young people’s mental and emotional health: trajectories and drivers in childhood and adolescence Whitney Crenna-Jennings; January 2021

(Based on data from the Millennium Cohort Study, this report reveals insights into the determinants of young people’s wellbeing, including how it is affected by their relationships, background, and use of social media. The study examines the personal experiences of young people in England, at age 11, 14 and 17. The research shows that while the wellbeing of all young people declines by the end of their teenage years, there is a strong gender divide within this: girls see far lower levels of wellbeing and self-esteem than boys – driven by a sharp fall of both during mid-adolescence.)

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine advice for adults living with HIV.
British HIV Association (BHIVA) & Terrence Higgins Trust (THT); 2021.

(The British HIV Association (BHIVA) & Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) have issued guidance on COVID vaccines for people living with HIV. The COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be protective in people with HIV and are recommended. The Department of Health and Social Care recommends that all adults living with HIV should have the vaccines currently on offer, regardless of their CD4 count.)

Advice for women seeking contraception, abortion and other sexual and reproductive healthcare during the COVID-19 second wave.
Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH); 2020.

(The updated advice includes new information on menopause services as well as updates on contraception, abortion, and emergency removals of long-acting reversible contraception. It also contains useful links for women in all regions of the UK, to help them access further advice and care. The advice can be shared with patients and local communities.)

Building public trust: a response to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy predicament.
Journal of Public Health; 2021.

(This study suggests that a more ‘localized’ public education and role-modelling from public officials and health authorities can help a lot in building public trust. The study aims to contribute to the further development of public health mechanisms in the rolling-out and distribution of vaccines against COVID-19.)

Health charities and the NHS: a vital partnership in peril?
National Garden Scheme; 2021.

(This report highlights the crucial services and leadership that health care charities provide for the NHS, both of which have been shown to be critical throughout the current pandemic. It sets out the pressing need for better recognition of and healthy engagement with health care charities by policy-makers, and the benefits that this would bring.)

Stronger Together: A Co-production Webinar series Ambition for ageing

(Between 9th February – 25th March, Ageing Better programme partners are coming together to showcase their learning through a webinar series on Co-Production, coordinated by Ageing Better Sheffield. The webinars aim to inspire others to use the principles of co-production to work collaboratively to achieve a collective aim.)

Time to Talk Day

February 4th is Time to Talk Day, a campaign to change the way people think and act about mental health problems

A small conversation about mental health has the power to make a big difference. We know that the more conversations we have, the more myths we can bust and barriers we can break down, helping to end the isolation, shame and worthlessness that too many of us with mental health problems are made to feel.

Time to Talk Day is the day that we get the nation talking about mental health. This year’s event might look a little different, but at times like this open conversations about mental health are more important than ever. Your help is needed to start the conversation this Time to Talk Day – together we can end mental health stigma.

Click here for more information and to sign up for free resources to get people talking.