Library computer upgrades May 27th - 30th

All of the computers at each of the library sites are going to be upgraded.

The schedule for upgrades is as follows:

• Tuesday 27th May Berrywood Hospital Library
  
• Thursday 29th - Friday 30th May Richmond Library, Northampton General Hospital

The schedule is approximate and may change depending on any technical issues (Isebrook Library will be done on an ad hoc basis).

The process will inevitably lead to some disruption and there may be times when PCs are unavailable. We may also need to ask you to move between PCs to enable the technicians to get on with the upgrade.

Once the upgrade has finished all of our PCs will be moved from Windows XP to Windows 7, many of them will have been replaced with newer machines and there should be a significant improvement in performance and reliability.

We apologise of any inconvenience the process may cause, but the end result should deliver an improvement to our service.

Spring bank holiday closure

All the Libraries will be unstaffed on Monday the 26th of May for the bank holiday.

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 27th at all of our sites.

We have a new selection of books to review

The Bookworm by Spitzweg

We have just taken delivery of a new set of on approval books. The scheme gives you the chance to browse a selection of newly published titles covering a variety of health and related topics and let us know if there are any you would like us to buy for the Library's collection.

Our current selections are available at the Berrywood and Richmond libraries until the 20th of June. The topics covered include:

• Anaesthetics
• Autism
• Dermatology
• Epidemiology and medical statistics
• Mental health & psychiatry
• Neurology
• Nursing
• Paediatrics
• Psychology
• Public health
• ...and more

Of course, we are always happy to have recommendations for new stock on any health related topic.

You can also find a list of titles we have recently purchased (including previous on approvals) on our web site, and all of our stock via our catalogue.

Severe traffic disruption around Northampton General Hospital, Wednesday the 7th of May

There are going to be a large number of road closures on Wednesday the 7th of May in central Northampton that are liable to have a substantial impact on traffic around the hospital. The closures are for The Women's Tour cycling event which is coming to the town.

The road closures will start at 4.30 am in the town centre and last until 7 pm. Additionally, there will be more closures around the hospital itself between midday and 2 pm including Cheyne Walk, Victoria Promenade and the Bedford Road from the junction with Cliftonville Road (which will include the Midsummer Meadow car park).

The scale of the disruption is uncertain but you are advised to allow extra time onto your normal journey (see the advice from Northamptonshire Highways on how much time to allow).

For more details on the road closures see the Northamptonshire County Council web site.

Web site of the month: The Campbell Library

The Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews is a collection of high quality evidence on the effects of social interventions in three interlinked areas, social welfare, crime and justice, and education.

Similarly to the Cochrane Library in health, the Campbell Collaboration is a research network that conducts systematic reviews with the intention of supporting evidence-based decision making.

The Campbell Library is simple to search and offers free full text of all of its published reviews (click here to see an example of a systematic review on mindfulness).

The advance search feature enables searches to be filtered by area of interest, type of document and publication year. The search history feature enables you to combine different search terms for more accurate searching. There is a user guide on the site that takes you through all the searching features.

If you are looking for high quality, non-clinical evidence around social interventions, education or criminology, the Campbell Library is a really good place to start.

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.