May Day bank holiday closure

All the Libraries will be unstaffed on Monday the 5th of May for the bank holiday.

Spring tulips

24 hour access is available as usual to our registered members by swiping in using your library card at the Berrywood and Richmond libraries.

We reopen as normal on Tuesday the 6th at all of our sites.

The Environment and Health Atlas for England and Wales

The Environment and Health Atlas for England and Wales is a collection of maps (produced by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit at Imperial College) which illustrate the geographical patterns of environmental agents and diseases. The service has been developed to help explain the variability in disease risk by bringing together information on the environment, lifestyle factors and location.

The service also aims to look at any possible causal links between the environment and health.

The maps contain information on 14 health conditions including COPD, coronary heart disease, various cancers, kidney disease, still birth and low birth weight mapped over a 25 year period (1985 - 2009).

Interactive maps

Once you have selected a health condition or environmental agent, you are presented with a map. You can click on a county and then down to (census) ward level. You can also search them by by postcode. The maps will display relative risk of each condition or agent at the ward level.

The Atlas does not aim to give explanations to questions of geography and disease, but is a useful starting point for raising questions and identifying issues for public health.

Map of health based places of safety from the CQC

The Care Quality Commission have produced an interactive map of all 2161 designated health based places of safety for people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

Health based places of safety

A place of safety is usually for people who have been detained in a public place by the police because they have a mental disorder and may pose a risk of harm to themselves or others, pending a mental health assessment. Places of safety include hospitals, care homes or other suitable venues (usually mental health units).

The map covers the whole of England and for each unit includes full contact details and opening hours, as well as the age range of the patients they accept.

You can also view the map by local authority boundary, CCG areas or police force coverage.

The page also has a link to the CQC's survey of health based places of safety.

Easter opening

All the Libraries will be unstaffed on Friday the 18th and Monday the 21st of April for the Easter holidays.

24 hour access will be available as usual to registered members over the Easter period via our swipe card system at the Berrywood and and Richmond Libraries.

We reopen as normal on Tuesday the 22nd at all of our sites.

April Eyes on Evidence from NICE

Eyes on Evidence is a free monthly bulletin from NICE Evidence Services which reviews significant new evidence as it emerges and what this might mean for current practice.

In the April issue you can find:

• E-cigarette awareness and use to quit smoking
• Beta-2 agonists and exercise-induced asthma
• Blood pressure control with home telemonitoring and pharmacist management
• Risk factors for congenital abnormalities
• Antidepressant use in late pregnancy and risk of postpartum haemorrhages
• CT scans in childhood or adolescence and risk of cancer
• Alcohol use disorders: preventing harmful drinking

You can find all the previous issues of Eyes on Evidence or subscribe to receive the bulletin by email on the NICE Evidence Services site.

The latest titles added to stock

We added a new selection of books to our collection this month. See our latest acquisitions, via our new books list on the Library web site.

The current list includes titles on:

• Anatomy & physiology
• Child health
• Education, training and exam study aids
• Mental health, psychiatry and psychotherapy
• Nursing
• Physiotherapy
• Research
• ...and many more

You can also help us to buy the titles you need by participating in our Books on Approval scheme and we are always happy to have recommendations for things you think we should have.

Web site of the month: The Coalition for Collaborative Care

The Coalition for Collaborative Care is made up from organisations and individuals who work in health, social care and the voluntary sector.

Current members include NHS England, the RCGP, the Health Foundation and many others.

Aimed at people with long term conditions, the Coalition is focused on the implementation of person centred, coordinated care.

The House of Care blueprint

On the site you will find the House of Care blueprint. This uses collaborative care and support planning, but also recognises the importance of non-medical activities and resources, which they call a "more than medicine" approach.

The ultimate aim is to develop the person to be able to manage their own long term condition within the framework of a supportive community.

As well as the House of Care model, there are a number of blogs from different coalition members on the site about the value of this approach. You can also follow the Coalition on Twitter @Co4CC.

The Coalition for Collaborative Care is in the early stages of its development, but is a useful resource for anyone involved in the commissioning, management or delivery of integrated services to people with long term conditions.