health and well-being

Carers Week

Breaks or breakdown: Carers Week 2021 report

This survey found that carers lost, on average, 25 hours of support a month they previously had from services or family and friends before the pandemic. It also reveals that 72 per cent of carers have not had any breaks from their caring role at all. It calls on the UK government to provide £1.2 billion funding for unpaid carers’ breaks, so that those providing upwards of 50 hours of care are able to take time off for their own health and wellbeing.

Read the report here.

Gosall Library

Wellbeing books

Now more than ever, we need to look after our wellbeing and take time to ourselves. We know that the new lockdown may have caused additional stress, worries or anxieties. We have a great range of welbeing and stress relief books to help you throughout the next month and beyond.

To take a look at our library catalogue click here. If you have any book requests please email academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk and keep an eye on our Twitter account for active book polls.

The self service machine will remain in operation throughout lockdown or we can send books out to you at your place at work.

Overwhelmed at work?

Try the Control Influence Accept Model

Many of us have busy lives and with the rise of pressures from the Covid pandemic, tasks and worries can start to build up; leading to a sense of feeling overwhelmed. Ultimately, this can have an adverse effect on our health and well-being.

The Control Influence Accept Model (CIA model) was developed by HR specialist Neil Thompson and social-work lecturer Sue Thompson in their 2008 book, “The Critically Reflective Practitioner” and identifies 3 ways to respond to challenges (as seen in the diagram below):

The Control Influence Accept Model: from ‘The Critically Reflective Practitioner’ by Thompson, S. and Thompson, N. (2008) © Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

This model aims to help put things into perspective and clearly identify what is achievable compared to those challenges or tasks which aren’t.

Mindtools.com describe 4 simple steps to use when you’re feeling overwhelmed with a situation:

Describe the situation. What has happened and why has it become difficult? List every aspect of it that makes it overwhelming. An Elephant List exercise might be useful here. This encourages people to be candid about the problems that they are facing – in other words, to name the “elephant in the room.”
Sort and place items on the diagram. Once you’ve completed your list, write each item down on a separate sticky note and place it on the area of the diagram that it belongs in – control, influence, or accept/adapt. You can also use their interactive diagram to do this.
Consider each item in turn. Ask yourself or discuss with your team whether it is something that you could realistically control. Can you solve the problem using existing resources? Or will you need outside help? If you believe you can realistically control even part of the problem, place it in the Control section of the diagram. If you think the situation is beyond your control, consider whether it’s something you can influence. Do you, for example, have useful skills or knowledge that you can provide to someone else to solve the problem? If so, add it to the Influence section of the diagram. Place the remaining problems in the Accept/Adapt part of the diagram.
Take action. When you’re done sorting through the problems, address each section of your diagram in turn, starting with the things that you can control.

To find out more or to identify other tools to combat stress and anxiety click here.

Healthy Eating Week

British Nutrition Foundation healthy eating week 28th September to 4th October

Today’s challenge is to get active together. Why not plan a socially distanced walk with a friend or plan an active activity with the family, like exploring your local green areas or canals or make a splash swimming.

Why is it important to get active together?

There are many reasons why physical activity is important for health. However, being active together has a number of additional benefits, such as helping us:develop social skills;
-learn a new activity or sport;
-work as a team;
-enjoy new experiences;
-establish active habits for later years;
-look after our mental health;
-encouraging behaviour change through working together and setting targets.
We may be more likely to stick to being active if we have the motivation of others. Getting active together can be a great way to socialise and can be a great opportunity to spend time with family and friends. It is also a way of making new friends and feeling part of a community.
(BNF)

Today’s challenge – get active together

For more top tips click here.

Public health

Keeping up to date with current awareness

Commission on Alcohol Harm
King’s Fund
This Commission was set up by alcohol health experts and parliamentarians to examine the full extent of alcohol harm across the UK. In this, its final report, the Commission outlines recommendations for reducing harm and calls for a national strategy for alcohol. More detail here.

Suicide risk in young people who self-harm and visit emergency departments.
The Mental Elf; 2020
(Katerina Kavalidou reviews a prospective observational cohort study on mortality and suicide risk in young people after they present to hospital emergency departments following episodes of self-harm.)

COVID-19 surveillance in school KIDs (sKIDs): pre and primary schools.
Public Health England (PHE); 2020
(A report on the preliminary results of the COVID-19 testing and antibody prevalence surveillance in schools programme, colloquially known as sKIDs. Prospective active national surveillance of preschools and primary schools for SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in England, June 2020. The report concludes that SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission rates were low in preschool and primary schools under surveillance during the summer.)

Calorie reduction: guidelines for the food industry.
Public Health England (PHE); 2020.
(A technical report outlining guidelines for industry, 2017 baseline calorie levels and next steps. This report sets out the calorie reduction ambitions for all food industry sectors, including: the approach to calorie reduction and reformulation; the different ambitions set across food industry sectors recognising that more action is required in the eating out, takeaway and delivery sectors; food products included in the categories; baseline figures for the different food sectors.)

Making a support bubble with another household.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2020.
(How you can safely expand the group of people you have close contact with during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Published 9 September 2020.)

Remember, you can create a personalised account with KnowledgeShare to keep up to date with current research targeted in your field of work.

Working from home

Balancing productivity and well being

With more people than ever working from home, it’s important we consider the benefits and challenges that come with this. Some may relish in their new way of working life, yet others may struggle to juggle family life around work or feel isolated. Communication is key – we need to cultivate a sense of belonging.

Mind tools offer some top tips to help us keep our minds healthy whilst staying productive:

Design your workspace – make it somewhere you will enjoy working, have all your equipment ready and inform the rest of your household that this is your ‘office’ space
Establish good routines – keep to regular start and finish times and eat at regular times. Remember to take short breaks (5 to 10 minutes) to keep energised and focused.
Work securely- use only secure networks, maintain strong password protocols, don’t save sensitive data and remember to lock your computer when unattended
Make a to-do list – this could help to manage your workload and build structure to your day
Avoid backache with frequent movements away from your office chair
Ask for help when you need it – your manager may not know if you are struggling
Continue to celebrate success – whether this is on a personal level or as a team. Small acts of kindness can go a long way.

To read the whole article click here.

Centre for mental health

Local authorities and public mental health

In order to stay healthy and avoid serious distress we need to place emphasis on our mental wellbeing to prevent mental health problems. What better way to do this, than to work together and collaborate different strategies and initiatives?

Local authorities play a key role in improving mental health in their communities, to bring people together and reduce inequalities. A recent report written with the Local Government Association, argues that people’s mental wellbeing will play a crucial role in every aspect of recovery planning, including schools reopening, workers returning from furlough, people who have been shielding, and in dealing with the economic and housing consequences of coronavirus (Covid-19).

The report highlighted 4 common principles:

Public mental health is everyone’s business
Collaboration
Place-based approaches
Taking a holistic approach

It concludes that a national focus is needed on helping everyone stay mentally well, backed up by funding for councils.

To read the full report click here.

How to maintain a slower pace of life after lockdown

Before lockdown, our lives were defined by speed. Rushing around, living life at rocket pace was the norm. Keeping up with work responsibilities, social obligations and the latest tech or fashion trends was a never-ending feat. Only a privileged few could afford to slow down. This research shows that in order to experience the benefits of slowing down, people must decelerate in three ways.

News

Chief Nursing Officer appoints first-ever adviser for care home nursing

England’s most senior nurse has appointed the lead on health and wellbeing for Chelsea Pensioners as her advisor on improving support for care home nurses. Professor Deborah Sturdy OBE will provide the chief nursing officer for England, Ruth May, with expert advice from those nurses working to deliver the high-quality clinical care for people living in care homes, helping them to stay healthy, happy and independent for longer.