Christmas shopping on Amazon? Find out how you can help the library.

Click the link!

If you are doing some or all of your Christmas shopping on Amazon, you can help support the Library Service at no cost to yourself. It's as simple as clicking a link.

By clicking on the "buy it now" link in our catalogue, on our web site or from this blog, a percentage of the price of anything you buy will come to us, all at no additional cost to you.

It doesn't matter if you are buying books, a blu-ray box set, music, a Christmas jumper, a laptop, scented candles or reindeer food. If you click our link the Library Service will get a cut.

The ID will stay on your computer for 24 hours, so anything you purchase from Amazon in that time will automatically be included.

"What's the catch?" you may ask. There isn't one.

Clicking on the link doesn't change what you pay to Amazon, and we can't see what you have bought.

Clicking the link just means we get some money back which we can then invest in the library service to help make what we do go a little further.

So please, if you are going to be shopping with Amazon this Christmas, help us at the same time and use our Buy It Now link to send a little of Amazon's profits our way.

Stocking up on holiday reading? Buying a new shed? Find out how your Amazon purchases could help the Library

Buying the latest bestseller for the beach? Planning a new revamp in the garden? Treating yourself to a new tablet for your holiday?

If you're an Amazon customer you can help our budget go a little bit further just by clicking a link before you start shopping.

By clicking on the "buy it now" link in our catalogue, on our web site (or from this blog), a percentage of the price of anything you buy will come to us, all at no additional cost to you.

It doesn't matter if you are buying a book, clothes, a barbecue, music downloads or something expensive like a lawnmower or new computer, we will get a percentage of the purchase price.

The tracking ID will stay on your computer for 24 hours, so anything you purchase from Amazon in that time will automatically be included.

"What's the catch?" you may ask. There isn't one.

Clicking on the link doesn't change what you pay to Amazon, and we can't see what you have bought.

Clicking the link just means we get some money back which we can then invest in the library service to help make what we do go a little further.

So please, if you are going to be shopping with Amazon, help us at the same time as you engage in a little retail therapy, and use our Buy It Now link to send a little of Amazon's profits our way.

Web site of the month: Disclosure UK

A rather different site than normal this month. Disclosure UK is produced by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and is a move towards increasing the transparency in the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and health professionals. You can find more about the initiative and an introductory video on the web site.

The site contains a large database of payments or benefits in kind that have been made by 109 pharmaceutical companies in the UK to doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals (approximately 70% of professionals have agreed to have their details disclosed).

The database can be searched via the site and you can specify organisations or individuals. You can also download the entire data set for free.

Disclosure UK is a step forward in public understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and the public sector.

How the Library Service can benefit from your Amazon purchases

Buy it now!

How would you like to help make our budget go just that little bit further, and at no cost to yourself?

If you are an Amazon customer, its as simple as clicking a link!

By clicking on the "buy it now" link in our catalogue, on our web site or from this blog, a percentage of the price of anything you buy will come to us, all at no additional cost to you.

It doesn't matter if you are buying a book, clothing, music downloads or something expensive like a new computer, we will get a percentage of the purchase price.

The tracking ID will stay on your computer for 24 hours, so anything you purchase from Amazon in that time will automatically be included.

"What's the catch?" you may ask. There isn't one.

Clicking on the link doesn't change what you pay to Amazon, and we can't see what you have bought.

Clicking the link just means we get some money back which we can then invest in the library service to help make what we do go a little further.

So please, if you are going to be shopping with Amazon, help us at the same time as you engage in a little retail therapy, and use our Buy It Now link to send a little of Amazon's profits our way.

The real cost of alcohol: map of alchol harm across England

Photo by Richmeyer on Flickr

Treating the effects of alcohol abuse costs the NHS £2.7 billion each year (£34 million in Northamptonshire). Alcohol Concern have produced an interactive map of alcohol harm for England  showing how this occurs.

The map gives a breakdown of information on alcohol misuse by local authority area, including the number of people drinking too much, alcohol related hospital admissions and associated costs, mortality and more. Statistics are also broken down by gender and age and there is the facility to compare different areas.

New report on chronic kidney disease in England

Kidney disease costs the NHS more than breast, lung, colon and skin cancer combined, yet too many cases remain undiagnosed and untreated, according to a report published by NHS Kidney Care.

The report, which is summarised in in the medical journal Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation has found that chronic kidney disease (CKD) costs the NHS in England more than £1.4bn each year.

This is more than the combined NHS spend on breast, lung, colon and skin cancer (£1.37 billion), according to the full-length study Chronic Kidney Disease in England: The Human and Financial Cost.
Treating kidney disease, including complications such as heart disease and stroke, swallows up £1 in every £77 spent by the NHS in England. 

As well as the report, NHS Kidney Care have published a number of resources to support the care of patients with Chronic disease, including an e-learning module (in conjunction with the RCGP) and a QOF toolkit.

The RCN launches moneysmart - a complete guide to finances for students nurses

MoneySmart

Moneysmart is a free interactive guide to finance for student nurses. It covers bursaries and budgeting as well as benefit entitlements and information on housing and accommodation. There is even a top ten money saving tips list.

It's an essential guide for any student nurse who wants to make their money go further.

Find the whole guide on the RCN's web site.