You can cut an avocado safely, now learn to help someone with epilepsy | Letters

Last week amateur chefs everywhere were absorbing instructions on how to cut an avocado, after a post-brunch A&E influx of injuries sustained while trying to prepare the fruit (Pass notes No 3,853: Avocado hand, G2, 11 May). Now I hope the nation might broaden their knowledge further by learning how to help someone having an epileptic seizure. It’s National Epilepsy Week, and our new YouGov poll shows that two-thirds of UK adults with no experience of epilepsy would not know how to help. This is worrying when London Ambulance Service alone attends 40 epileptic seizures a day. Taking two minutes to read our seizure first aid steps – www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/10-first-aid-steps-for-convulsive-seizures – could make all the difference in a crisis.
Clare Pelham
Chief executive, Epilepsy Society

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You can cut an avocado safely, now learn to help someone with epilepsy | Letters

Children need to be in the right mental state to learn effectively | Tony Draper

There is a crisis in mental health for young people. Services are operating in silos and they are not working for over-tested, overstressed young people. Much emphasis has been placed on teenagers with low self-esteem, with behavioural and emotional issues and how we can support them.

At Water Hall primary school in Milton Keynes, we believe in the need to identify and address these issues early to be able to implement intervention strategies as soon as possible.

Taking action early enables vulnerable children to rebuild their self-esteem and take responsibility for their emotions, behaviour and learning. The outcome will be that they re-engage with education, perform well and are confident and happy young people.

Water Hall primary serves the Lakes Estate in Bletchley, a disadvantaged area where external issues regularly affect children’s mental and emotional wellbeing. The school has used the Kaleidoscope programme for eight years. The support system enables children to forget the things worrying them at home or elsewhere when they are in school.

Seven different stages make up a Kaleidoscope session: relax, visualise, express, move, build, explore and affirm. A designated room is used for sessions for either small groups or one-to-one sessions. Interventions last six to eight weeks.

The programme is used in all classes every day. Each morning starts with a session enabling children to be in the right frame of mind to learn. Lights are low, relaxing music is played and children are taught various calming techniques that they can use anywhere.

Kaleidoscope has had an amazing impact on the children’s emotional and mental wellbeing and their learning. Exclusions have fallen, attendance and behaviour has improved, children have taken responsibility for their learning and results have shot up. Kaleidoscope works, it gives children the tools to enable them to raise their self-esteem, with the accompanying improved outcomes for the school.

Our work proves that unless the child is in the right place emotionally and mentally, learning will not take place, however good the teaching and leadership in the school.

Tony Draper is headteacher of Water Hall primary, chief executive officer of Lakes Academies Trust, and the immediate past president of the school leaders’ union, the National Association of Head Teachers.

Children need to be in the right mental state to learn effectively | Tony Draper

Air pollution made Beijing unbearable. Britain should watch and learn | Tania Branigan

On a good morning, from my Beijing tower block, I could gaze across the city to the hills far to the west. On the worst days, when pollution levels soared off the scale, I could barely make out the buildings across the road. The air purifiers in each room were turned up to 11. The filters inside were supposed to last for six months – but after just a couple of months, the pristine white folds had usually turned charcoal grey.

Even with a mask, 20 minutes outside could leave you feeling nauseous. Friends complained of sore throats and coughs that never went away. It was a running, though unamusing, joke: Airmageddon. The airpocalypse. Beige-jing. But it got inside your head as well as your system. After a spate of especially bad days, my spirits lowered. I longed to see the sky.

And then one spring I returned home for a holiday, and turned the corner at the Peak District’s Surprise View, one of the loveliest I know. Below me lay the Hope Valley, and, to my horror, the smog lay thick in its bottom. It took me a moment to recognise my error. Pollution had become so normal to me that, even at a place I knew so well, and had seen shrouded so often, it had not occurred to me that it was just mist.

In primary school my teacher had described climbing up to the hills as a child, and being unable to see Sheffield thanks to the blanket of smog. So many years after the Clean Air Act, it had been unimaginable to us. Now I took toxic air as the norm, like so many in China. I rolled my eyes when headlines shouted about the UK’s air pollution crisis in April 2014. It was, by Beijing’s standards, a pretty clear day.

Now I live in London again and note each morning how good it feels to breathe clean air. But I’ve noticed, too, how unpleasant it can be to walk along Euston Road. And I’ve started to ask myself why I’ve regarded illegal levels of pollution as acceptable. It is hard to see how our own attitudes – what we notice, what we tolerate – shift and how dependent this is on the views of people around us. To begin with, I took Beijing’s bad days for granted. I lived there for five years before getting purifiers. No one liked the filthy air: but most residents regarded it as inevitable, like bad weather. Masks were seen as at best an eccentricity, at worst an indulgent affectation. The only Chinese people who wore them were warding off infections or trying not to spread them.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when things changed. The research was piling up – scary data on the long-term health impacts: early deaths, heart and lung problems, cancer, diabetes, birth defects. So was the anecdotal evidence: toddlers who developed terrible asthma; the previously healthy friend who found himself waking in the night, struggling to breathe. Soon we were checking an air pollution app each morning, and discussing air purifiers and masks as petrolheads might compare sports cars. Private schools acquired inflatable domes so pupils could exercise without going outside.

We could afford to do this. Whether in Birmingham, Beijing or Delhi, pollution disproportionately affects the poor. They are more likely to live in heavily polluted areas (near factories or main roads, say) and are by definition less able to afford even partial remedies. But no one can escape the problem entirely.

Politburo members also looked out on a wall of grey, and presumably their sisters and sons were complaining, and their grandchildren too were racked by coughs. In 2015, hundreds of millions of people watched the documentary Under the Dome, which laid out the impact of pollution on China in frightening detail. It was a turning point in public awareness – and strikingly, while it was eventually censored, it had received at least partial official backing. Some within the leadership had realised that it had to take action, even if there is still a very long way to go.

That British problems are less severe does not mean we can afford to ignore them. The impact of nitrogen dioxide levels on our health, and especially that of our children, whose developing lungs are so much more vulnerable, is undeniable. The high court has twice judged the government’s response to air pollution as being illegally poor.

Measures such as masks and purifiers may help individuals and even save lives. But they are not enough. The true significance of their adoption in China was that they showed people were recognising the problem. Their popularity helped to reinforce the sense that such concerns were sensible and pressing rather than peculiar or trivial. The real solutions are social – taken by city leaders, national governments and international bodies. But they will act only when the rest of us decide we have had enough.

Air pollution made Beijing unbearable. Britain should watch and learn | Tania Branigan

What can the UK learn from Finland"s approach to mental health?

When Aino Korhonen*, 69, saw an advert for online mental health therapy in a newspaper, she went to her GP and asked if she could be referred to try it.

The lifelong Helsinki resident had been diagnosed with depression and had attended a few sessions with a psychologist but the two didn’t get along. She remembers: “We didn’t [seem to] talk the same language. I went a couple of times and it didn’t help me at all.”

Korhonen knew it was time to try something different when she turned up for an appointment only to sit and wait until she was informed that the psychologist was ill. “I was shocked. Somehow they hadn’t managed to contact me. I decided this wasn’t working. I couldn’t come here and not see anybody. I needed something else.” she says. Her GP agreed.

While online therapy is viewed with some scepticism in the UK, in Finland the service, Mental Health Hub, is used by every hospital district in the country. It was first set up 10 years ago by Prof Grigori Joffe and Dr Matti Holi at Helsinki University Central hospital in response to fragmented mental health services and because it is hard for patients in rural areas of the sparsely-populated country to get help.

It’s a win-win for patients, for professionals, for [hospital] management and for the taxpayer.

Prof Grigori Joffe

The online portal includes a questionnaire to determine whether users have mental health problems, along with a signposting service to show people where to go for help. The hub also provides self-help tools for those who don’t need professional help. Three years ago, it started offering therapy courses with qualified mental health professionals for people with mild to moderate mood disorders. Anyone can access it but a referral is needed for therapy. The hub also offers education, training, advice and consultation opportunities for mental healthcare professionals, as well as various tools for measuring mental health.

Patients can access computer-assisted cognitive behavioural online therapies for depression, alcohol misuse and a wide rage of anxiety disorders. They log on to watch videos and complete written exercises designed to highlight destructive behaviour and how to avoid it. If they have questions or worries, they can message a mental health professional who will reply to them with advice or encouragement.

It has proved popular. Funded by the hospital district in Helsinki, HUS and the government, in November 2016 the hub had 80,000 unique users, compared with 53,0000 in November 2015 – a rise of 70% year on year. The total number of unique users in 2016 was 545,000, equal to roughly 10% of the Finnish population; this has grown from 218,000 users in 2014 and 400,000 in 2015, the year the hub became available nationwide.

For Korhonen the service was invaluable. She remembers: “I started doing it and good heavens this was very good for me. I could do it very early in the morning because I normally wake up early. I could do it last thing in the evening. The exercises were very versatile. It really worked for me. I started appreciating myself. I changed my harmful beliefs into something creative. I got rid of my automatic negative thoughts. I changed them into positive ones.”

Preliminary evidence shows that the therapy provided works as well as that provided in a more traditional face-to-face setting, according to HUS director of strategy, Dr Visa Honkanen. Research shows that over a three month period, patients’ depression levels reduced by 10 points, as measured by Beck Depression Inventory, a widely-used instrument for measuring the illness. If someone were to have moderate depression and their BDI score dropped 10 points, they would be left with very mild or no depression.

Mental Health Hub was set up partly because it is hard for patients in rural areas to get help. Photograph: Alamy

Honkanen adds, however, that the idea of Mental Health Hub is not failsafe. He asks: “What if we have cases where self help tools say that everything is OK and then a young person harms him/herself. Who is responsible? Of course we would be.” This situation has not arisen yet in Finland but Honkanen recognises that as digital services develop, it is an issue that will come more to the fore. Of course, this situation could occur with face-to-face therapy as well.

The service has been somewhat of a revolution for the healthcare professionals involved. Eero Matti Kovisto, a psychologist based at HUS who does part of his work online, was sceptical at first about whether Mental Health Hub would be effective. “It was scary [to start with], I was just wondering: ‘Does this help anybody?’ I had the feeling that something was missing [from the therapy].”

He recognises that online therapy is not for everyone and Mental Health Hub is only effective for certain mental health problems which don’t require intensive treatment, but he has seen firsthand how it can transform lives. He also sees that it creates a more equal relationship between the professional and the patient and gives more responsibility to the latter for their care. He sees his role as more like that of a coach: “I give my patients comments and they do the therapy independently. It’s a whole different role [for a healthcare professional] and internet therapy is a whole different thing.’

The service is also much cheaper than traditional treatment; the professionals providing therapy can take on a bigger caseload. Kovisto has 20 people he helps online, which just takes up one day a week. Joffe adds: “It’s a win-win for patients, for professionals, for [hospital] management and for the taxpayer.”

As for Korhonen, whose depression almost entirely disappeared after taking the course, she knew it had helped when in November she lost a close family member. “This was a real shock. I had just finished my depression treatment and I felt quite terrible about it. I still grieve but somehow I feel that because of this therapy I was able to manage. I can remember all the good things and be grateful for them. Without the therapy, I don’t know what I would have done.”

*Not her real name

• Sarah Johnson was in Finland to learn about what health initiatives are running in the country. The trip was supported by Finpro and Tekes, who had no say in the content of this article.

Join the Healthcare Professionals Network to read more pieces like this. And follow us on Twitter (@GdnHealthcare) to keep up with the latest healthcare news and views.

What can the UK learn from Finland"s approach to mental health?

Put Down the Breakfast Cereal & Learn to Soak

Why Soak Grains?

You can soak grains before cooking or baking them. Soaking grains (and nuts, seeds, and legumes) helps to neutralize phytic acid, an anti-nutrient, present in them. Phytic acid blocks the absorption of critical vitamins and minerals (phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc) from being assimilated into the body. Phytic acid also inhibits enzymes from assisting our digestion. Breakfast cereals and other packaged foods have had all of the vitamins and enzymes stripped away, leaving the phytic acid to do damage to your gut.

Phytic acid = Locks Up Vital Vitamins, Enzymes & Minerals

Grains to soak:

• Oats


• Rice


• Millet


• Quinoa


• Faro


• Teff


• Wheat flour


• Spelt flour


• All gluten-free flours

Polenta & cornmeal need a different process (soaking in dolomite powder + water)

Other foods that need soaking:

• Nuts


• Seeds


• Beans


• Dried Peas

Does Soaking Help with Weight Loss?

There is evidence that an unhealthy gut (with low levels of bacterial diversity), can hinder diabetics and obese patients from losing weight. This is because bad gut bacteria will take more carbohydrates from a food and turn it into body fat. Probiotics alone will not solve the problem, but likely a myriad of solutions are needed. Eating a diet of highly processed foods makes gut bacteria diversity plummet. The bran in whole grains (touted to be healthier), actually has more phytic acid than refined flours. So, if you want to eat whole grains soak them! Anything that we can do to strengthen the gut bacteria and help digestion is going to help with weight loss.

Grain/Nut Foods Not Soaked = Hard on Our Gut Bacteria = Tougher to Lose Weight

How Soaking Works

When you soak grains in warm water with fresh whey from yogurt (or lemon juice), it activates the phytase enzyme that unlocks the minerals and vitamins. Also, it unlocks more B Vitamins and helps digestion. Nuts have the highest amount of phytic acid of any food (other than cocoa), so it is especially important to soak nuts before eating them.

Grains, beans, seeds and nuts are all a seed of a plant, and that plant wants to ensure that it’s “baby” will germinate in optimal conditions for producing another plant and more babies. So the seeds are designed to wait for moisture, warmth, and rain (which has a small amount of acid in it, just like our lemon juice or yogurt). Therefore, all of the nutrients that we can be absorbing from the life-giving seeds of a plant are being blocked unless we prepare them properly.

Store-bought packaged granola, granola bars, quick oats, cookies, store-bought breat, breakfast cereals, and other packaged grain foods will have high amounts of phytic acid in them and should be avoided altogether. Try making sourdough bread at home, it is very healthful.

Side Note: Vitamin D and Calcium in fermented dairy products (kefir, yogurt, cultured butter, buttermilk, cream cheese) will help counteract the phytic acid present in bread products if you eat them together.

What is Whey?

Fresh whey from yogurt is simply the watery stuff that pools in a container of yogurt after taking a few scoops out. Furthermore, it is not powdered whey protein. Whey protein powder is highly processed with no good bacteria or acid in it to bring out the enzyme phytase. You can get fresh whey from store-bought yogurt or homemade yogurt. Just scoop some yogurt out of the container. Then wait for the whey “water” to pool in the yogurt. You can use that to soak your grains, beans, and seeds.

If you are allergic to dairy products or you are vegan, you can use lemon juice instead.

[embedded content]

Step by Step Instructions

For Grains:

1. Pour grain into a pot or bowl & add double the water (room temperature). Try to use filtered water, as it doesn’t have chlorine which kills good bacteria.


2. Add 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh whey or lemon juice


3. Stir


4. Let sit in a warm place for 24-48hrs


5. Cook as usual

For Oats:

1. Pour oats into a pot & add double the water (room temperature). Use filtered water.


2. Add a generous sprinkle of sprouted or freshly milled rye flour. Rye has the highest amount of the good enzyme phytase which helps the phytic acid decrease (since oats do not have much phytase).


3. Add 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh whey or lemon juice


4. Stir


5. Let sit in a warm place for 24-48hrs

For Beans/Legumes

1. Pour beans in a bowl & fill the bowl with water until it is up to the top. Beans absorb lots of water


2. Add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice


3. Stir


4. Let sit in a warm place for 24 hrs

For Nuts & Seeds

1. Pour nuts or seeds into a bowl & fill the bowl with water until it is up to the top.


2. Add a very generous sprinkle of sea salt (not table salt, which uses anti-caking agents). Taste the water, it should be very salty.


3. Stir


4. Let sit for 12-18 hrs. In the middle of this time period, change the water.


5. Roast on low 175° F or in a dehydrator for a crispy treat

What About Soaking for Babies?

Babies are still developing their gut flora and don’t fully have a mature system until 2 or 3 years old. So it is especially important to avoid giving babies the following:

• rice cereal that is store-bought (make your own by soaking rice)


• crunchy breakfast cereals


• muffins


• quick breads


• tortillas, corn chips


• whole wheat breads, white breads


• cookies, crackers, etc. that have not been prepared right.

Babies do not need grains until 1 year old. Also, they need easy-to-digest foods with lots of fat (such as avocados, coconut oil, butter, fermented dairy) as breast milk is naturally 50% fat.

Soak grains, beans, nuts and seeds as often as you can and it will help your digestion and keep your family healthy! In addition, start slow and experiment with doing it for one meal you make, such as oatmeal or beans. Questions? Contact me on my website or twitter (@RosemaryPure1).

Rosemary Hansen is a published author on Amazon, a Traditional Foods Chef, and a devoted Mama. You can learn more about her Pure Living Course + nourishing tips at: www.RosemaryPureLiving.com

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is intended for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for advice, diagnosis or treatment by a licensed physician. It is not meant to cover all possible precautions, drug interactions, circumstances or adverse effects. You should seek medical care for any health issues and consult your doctor before using alternative medicine or making any changes to your regimen.

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/living-with-phytic-acid/

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1988 47:270-4; J Anal At Spectrum. 2004 19,1330 –1334; Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry 1994, 42:2204-2209.

https://chriskresser.com/a-healthy-gut-is-the-hidden-key-to-weight-loss/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-gut-bacteria-help-make-us-fat-and-thin/

Put Down the Breakfast Cereal & Learn to Soak

Aid for Autism – Learn 10 Most Effective ways to Deal with the Autistic Children

According to several surveys, each one child among 68 is autistic in the United States. The increasing number of the affected children is really threatening. There is a chance that you may find a friend, colleague or relative cursed by the disease autism. In most of the cases, children are the victims of this disease. Even if the affected child has no direct connection to you, you should help the child for the sake of humanity. Though the awareness regarding the disease is increasing, there are many people who do not know how they can offer any aid for autism. A list of ten tips is provided here to tell you how you can help an autistic child.

1. Be well aware of autism

First of all, you should have a clear concept of autism. In fact, the best way to aid for autism is to learn each detail about the disease. You can find a number of online resources to gather information about autism. There are many research articles that have discussed important aspects regarding autism such as home-based behavioral treatment of the autistic children.

2. Ask the parents about their kids

Whenever you are meeting the parents having autistic children, don’t forget to ask them about the kids. It will help you to gather knowledge about the disease and the children affected by the disease. You may also go to the non-profit organizations to meet the autistic children and know about them. A little information about the children will guide you about how to support them.

3. Don’t hesitate to go the extra mile

Parents of recently diagnosed children may not call, visit or come to your place as much as usual. If they belong to your friend circle or relatives, you would know that this is unusual. So, you should understand their condition. They might be busy with the doctors and the therapists to discuss the medications and treatments. They might be busy in calling the insurance company or the school authority. So, it is your responsibility to go the extra mile to catch them up. Such meetings can give the parents mental support and confidence.

4. Be patient

You should be patient enough to listen carefully to the parents talking about the diagnosis of autism of their children. You should keep it in your mind that the feelings of the parents may change from the day-to-day. So, you must be a good listener. You need to understand their circumstances and let them realize that you are available whenever they need any assistance.

5. Build friendship with the kids

The best way to deal with the kids is making a good bond with them. In your leisure, you may spend your times with the autistic children to know them better. Your presence and companionship can help them get positive vibes and confidence. You can become a kid too in order to give them company and I assure that it will give you immense pleasure.

6. Help the caregiver

Along with the affected children, you should also help their parents and their caregiver. It is obviously quite difficult to handle an autistic child. So, the caregivers also need assistance. You can offer to watch one of your friends’ kid with autism on behalf of the parents or caregivers.

7. Try to be comprehensive

If you are eager to aid for autism, you can try to teach your own children about the disease. It will guide your children to deal with the autistic friends in school. Some children bully the autistic children unconsciously. You should explain the disease to your kids in the simplest terms; you can invite their friends at your place and conduct one-on-one activities with the kids which can help the autistic children discover their hidden talents or the common interests they share with your kids and other healthy children. All you need is to be comprehensive.

8. Spread awareness

Awareness is really essential. Each year thousands of families suffer from autism. All of the affected families should come together to fight against the disease. Spreading awareness can help you to make them stand together. You can find a number of events and awareness camps taking place all over the country. You can inform one or more families about such events.

9. Donate for the children

Medical science has achieved great success to treat the disease successfully. It is possible to give an autistic child a better life if you can provide proper treatment to the child at the right time. Unfortunately, there is a large number of children who are deprived of proper treatment due to the expenses of the treatment. If you can donate whatever is possible for you; it will be a great aid for autism.

10. Help non-profit associations advocate

Advocating for the access to the services meant for autism is not so easy. The autism community gives immense priority to this advocation. It is no less than the world to the autistic children and their families. So, you can try to be an autism champion on the behalf of the community by advocating. Your simple step can help to change the life of an unfortunate child. Therefore, you may contact the organizations that aid for autism.

Summing up:

Nothing is more important to the parents than their children. There are many parents who have studied hard about the disease to find ways to raise their autistic children properly. Not only the parents, a large number of people have come to stand for autistic children in order to combat the disease. Don’t you want to be a part of this growing family that is supporting the children to get a better life? You little aid for autism can bring light to the world of the autistic children.

If you are eager to fight against autism and save countless children from the grip of this monster, you can join Aid for Autism.

Aid for Autism – Learn 10 Most Effective ways to Deal with the Autistic Children

The fetishisation of work is making us miserable. Let’s learn to live again | Anna Coote

Mounting pressures at work are taking a heavy toll on life at home. Employees say their bosses want them to put job before family, and many are expected to be on call around the clock. More than one in four say they work longer hours than they want to, we learn from the latest YouGov poll.

It’s not a pretty picture: an economy where high levels of stress and anxiety are normal, where people get ill because they’ve lost control of their time, where marriages are damaged and children suffer. And yet, it’s a picture we’re invited to applaud. Our political leaders idolise “strivers” and “hard-working people”, not “chilled-out, caring dads”, for example. The longer and harder we work, the more admirable we are supposed to be.

I am old enough to remember lunchtime. When my workmates and I went out to a nearby eaterie for at least an hour, scoffed a proper meal and probably a glass of wine. These days, like most worker bees, I stay at my desk with my fork and Tupperware pot, nose glued to the screen. And I‘ve become so mesmerised by the modern working culture that I’d be quite shocked to find a colleague dining out at lunchtime. No booze, no siestas, no playtime.

It seems a bit odd when we hear so much about automation and “the end of work”. If the robots are coming, why are we rushed off our feet? In fact, it’s all part of the same picture.

All the main UK political parties insist that the only successful economy is one that grows, preferably faster than other economies. Growth calls for greater productivity: getting more output per unit of input. The system is greedy for more resources, but workers and machines have to do more for less. More efficient processes (including more robots) reduce the amount of human input required. So those who have jobs must work harder – and longer hours – to hang on to what they’ve got and to keep the economy growing.

Meanwhile, since robots can’t do everything yet, there are new flurries of low-end jobs with zero-hours contracts, insulting pay and no security. This class has been called the “precariat” and much of it thrives on the over-busyness of other workers. It ferries people home at night (Uber), delivers fast food (Deliveroo) and fixes things around the house (TaskRabbit). Many precarious workers have to do two or three jobs just to make ends meet. So they are under heavy pressures too, often torn between poverty and an intolerable work-life balance.

What can we do about it? First, take back control of the workplace. This means workers in all settings finding ways to organise and build up bargaining rights. For the casualised precariat, it could mean building new digital platforms to rival the technological giants that have cornered the market so far.

Second, let us never forget that this is a challenge for men as well as women. Much of the stress and unhappiness that women experience at work is because they take on most of the unpaid work at home. Until men really share the housework and childcare, they are unlikely to be powerful advocates for a more humane regime in the workplace.

And third, let’s move to shorter hours of paid work for everyone, not just women. This has long been argued by the New Economics Foundation and there is growing evidence of its many benefits. Nobody should have to work more than four days or 30 hours a week, even in today’s 24-7 economy. As some jobs are automated out of existence, others could be created to cover the hours left unworked by the newly unstressed.

It should be a gradual shift, with minimal impact on pay. For example, suppose all workers over 50 take a one-hour cut in their working week each year. If they start with a 40-hour week, they can be doing 30 hours at 60 and 20 hours at 70. And suppose all young people entering the labour market for the first time start on a 30-hour week – and stay that way, with each new cohort adding to the numbers, until it becomes the new “normal”. What if all workers in organisations where there is an annual round of pay negotiations were to trade a bit more time each year for a smaller pay rise?

All this should go hand in hand with a higher minimum wage, more generous child benefit and a more secure “social income” in terms of high-quality services that are collectively funded and provided (education, health and social care, childcare, housing and so forth). If lousy wages force people to work around the clock, the problem is pay: it’s not a sensible argument against shorter hours.

If 30 hours became the new standard working week, for women and for men, across all kinds of jobs, from doctors to delivery drivers, from teachers to task-rabbits, there would be a lot less stress and anxiety at work and at home. We’d have more control over our lives, more time to look after one another. We could slow down and relax more – and rely less on carbon-intensive fast food and travel. We’d have more time to be active in our communities and in politics. We’d have more time to campaign for a new working culture that respects love, family and friendship instead of fetishising “hard work”. And most importantly of all we could build an economy that enables people to flourish, instead of one that is entirely fixated on growth.

The fetishisation of work is making us miserable. Let’s learn to live again | Anna Coote

Why can’t our leaders learn from 30 years of failure in health and education? | John Quiggin

The inadequacy of competition and the profit motive in the provision human services like education and health has been established by harsh experience with consistent failures like PFI hospitals, for-profit schools and private prisons. This failure presents a puzzle: how is it that (assuming we have an adequate income) we can rely on for-profit corporations to put food on our tables and clothes on our backs, but not to educate our children or preserve our health.

In the hands of many advocates of privatisation, this puzzle is turned into a knock-down refutation: if the profit motive works well in providing something as vital as food, it must work well everywhere. The latest instance of this naive faith in the market is the Australian Productivity Commission’s call to privatise public health and housing.

In fact, there is no puzzle here: economists and public policy scholars worked out decades ago how to answer this question in principle, and solved many of the issues in detail. The problem is that the political class, along with much of the economics profession, have done worse than the Bourbons, of whom Talleyrand observed “they have learned nothing, and forgotten nothing”. Leading economist Paul Romer recently observed, echoing earlier comments by Robert Gordon, that macroeconomics has been going backwards since the early 1980s.

The same is true of the regressive microeconomics underlying the dogma that privatisation and market competition are always and everywhere beneficial. Our leaders, and the economists who advise them, have shown themselves incapable of learning from experience, but they have forgotten much that we once knew. In this case, what we once knew was the analysis of market failure that supported the successful mixed economy that came into being in the mid-20th century.

The basic analytical framework was set out in Francis Bator’s 1958 article, “The anatomy of market failure”, (itself drawing on earlier work by the great British economist AC Pigou). It was developed further by a string of contributions from economists like Kenneth Arrow, Joseph Stiglitz and George Akerlof, all of whom received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their work.

Taken together with Keynesian macroeconomic theory, this body of work explained why a properly functioning modern economy must be one in which some goods and services are provided by firms competing for profit and others by governments or publicly-funded non-profit organisations. The result is the “mixed economy”, political and social aspects of which were analysed by scholars such as Karl Mannheim and Andrew Shonfield.

Human services are among the sectors of the economy where markets and competition perform badly. The central problems related to human services involve information and finance. These are most obvious in relation to education. Education is for most of us, a once-only experience, and its value is hard to assess, except in retrospect. To some extent, we can make choices on the basis of the reputation of schools and universities. However, these reputations change only slowly over decades, so slowly that no rational for-profit firm would invest in maintaining them.

Moreover, education is hugely expensive, so that most families can’t afford it in the absence of public provision or a public subsidy. The experience of for-profit education in Australia and the US has been that it is far easier to extract public subsidies through scams of various kinds than to compete on the basis of high-quality education.

Many of the same issues arise in healthcare. Obviously, if we knew what was wrong with our health and how to fix it, we wouldn’t need doctors to tell us. As it is, we need to rely on the judgment of our doctors to give us the right treatment and, equally importantly, to tell us when we will get better without treatment. The greater the role of profit in the system, the greater the incentive to provide unnecessary or overpriced services. The example of the United States, which spends more on healthcare than any other country, with worse results, is an illustration.

Information isn’t a problem, or not much of one, in the case of food supply. We buy food on a weekly or even daily basis and have plenty of chances to determine what we like, and which suppliers offer good value for our money. There are things we can’t easily observe, like the cleanliness of food preparation, but these can be dealt with through regulation rather than through governments getting into the food supply business themselves.

Of course, none of this helps if you don’t have enough money to afford the food you need. But long experience has shown that the best way to help poor people afford necessities like food is to give them more money. Neither general food subsidies nor welfare payments tied to food purchases (food stamps) have ever worked as well as income redistribution.

If markets and profits don’t work well in the provision of human services, why should we expect governments and non-profit organisations to do any better? The answer is that that non-profit provision relies on professionalism and a service ethos. These can’t be combined with reliance on direct financial incentives and managerial control.

The Bourbons who have dominated public policy for the past few decades are resolutely hostile to any kind of professional or service ethos. They take for granted the most simplistic versions of textbook economics, in which only monetary incentives matter. On a more sophisticated view of the question, people care just as much about the respect of their peers and belief in the value of their work as they do about the size of their pay packet.

This is ultimately an empirical question, and after 30 years of failure we have more than enough evidence to reach a conclusion. Across the human services sector, markets, incentives and competition rarely work better than non-profit provision and frequently lead to disastrous failure.

Why can’t our leaders learn from 30 years of failure in health and education? | John Quiggin

What can the UK learn from New York"s approach to mental health?

New York mayor Bill de Blasio’s new programme of mental health spending is impressive in its scale, leadership and depth of resources, and could provide a lesson for central and local government leaders in the UK.

The programme, Thrive, comes with a mental health roadmap [pdf] for the city that states its ambitious aims: “It is our goal to not only reduce the toll of mental illness, but also promote mental health and protect New Yorkers’ resiliency, self-esteem, family strength and joy.”

Having spent a week in New York City as part of a small study group from London, it was impressive to see just how rapidly the programme has mobilised since its launch in November 2015. We spoke to key officials in the health and education departments and the New York police department.

Related: Mental health services kept waiting for promised ‘revolution’

Over the next four years, the mayor has committed $ 853m (£650m) to deliver the roadmap. Some of its objectives include training 250,000 people in mental health first aid; screening and treating all pregnant mothers with depression; setting up a 400-strong mental health corps to work in primary care and substance misuse; recruiting 100 mental health consultants (social workers and psychologists) to work in schools; and scaling up community-based parent coaching and social and emotional education. There are 54 initiatives in total and many have a strong emphasis on data collection and evaluation.

The mayor and first lady Chirlane McCray have been instrumental in moving Thrive forward, motivated by their own lived experience of mental illness. The other key driver was the numbers. Gary Belkin, who heads Thrive, told us one of the motives behind the idea came from a 2014 report from the London mayor’s office [pdf] exploring the invisible costs of mental health. The report found that the total cost of mental ill-health in London comes to around £26bn a year. The difference between London and New York City is that when the latter then ran the numbers for their own city it galvanised a greater response from politicians and officials.

We have to pursue treatment and prevention. Both are necessary; one is not sufficient without the other

So what can the UK learn from New York’s approach? Last summer one in four people responding to a consultation by NHS England said that prevention of mental illness should be a priority. Prevention does feature in the NHS England Mental Health Taskforce’s February report. However, the focus is more on improving access and choice of treatments. The treatment gap in mental health in the UK [pdf] and globally [pdf] is admittedly huge, but the taskforce recommendations would not close this gap even if implemented in full. So what should we do?

Like New York, we have to pursue a twin approach: upscaling and improving access to treatment while helping to prevent mental illness in the population. Both are necessary; one is not sufficient without the other.

In 2011, as I was helping to write the government’s mental health strategy No ealth Without Mental Health [pdf], I also published a review of the economic case for investing in mental health promotion [pdf]. This set out the evidence base and identified the “best buys” for mental health promotion.

Many of the approaches described in the report have good rates of return on investment, ranging from a £84 return for school-based social and emotional learning programmes, to a £4 return for debt advice services.

There are many great examples of combinations of early years school-based and asset-based community development approaches being tried, including Sandwell’s primary care-led approach to community health and Margate’s multi-agency approach to health inequalities. The future of mental health promotion and illness prevention already exists in our country – the challenge is to make them the new normal.

Too often, you find silos in services and the savings from various initiatives seldom land in the budget that originally funded them.

Related: Tackling underfunding in children’s mental health services

An example of this is the family drug and alcohol court, run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust, of which I am chair. In a value-for-money study, the Centre for Justice Innovation [pdf] found that the service cost £560,000 and made estimated savings of £1.29m for public bodies over five years, meaning that £1 spent on the service saved the public purse £2.30. Savings exceeded the cost of the service within two years.

But despite the prospect of savings, it’s difficult for hard-pressed directors of children’s services to make the necessary upfront investment. Still, New York is not the only place adopting the principles behind Thrive, or using it is their ambitious verb of choice. There is a growing body of literature endorsing the need to support and bolster parents and children. The critical role of positive couple relationships [pdf] as a protective factor in child development and resilience is being recognised. Adopting a population approach to the mental health of children and young people – where emphasis is placed on resilience-building – is at the heart of the Thrive model devised by the Tavistock andPortman Trust and the Anna Freud Centre [pdf].

i-Thrive, as this programme has become known, is being rolled out in the borough of Camden and in a dozen other child and adolescent services across England through an NHS innovation accelerator programme. At its heart is a shared lexicon that supports collaboration and common purpose across education, social work and psychology.

Collaboration and common purpose were evident in New York. The mayor is looking beyond mental illness services for solutions that foster resilience and support recovery. So should we.

Join the Social Care Network to read more pieces like this. Follow us on Twitter (@GdnSocialCare) and like us on Facebook to keep up with the latest social care news and views.

What can the UK learn from New York"s approach to mental health?

We want to learn what two,000 calories a day seems like to avoid diabetes | Ann Robinson

Diabetes is threatening to bankrupt the NHS after a 60% rise in cases in the past 10 years, according to Diabetes UK . But what’s behind that headline? Is it true? And can anything be done to stem the undeniable rise in diagnosis and cost of treatment?

Related: Sugary drinks may cause type 2 diabetes regardless of size, research says

It does appear to be true. NHS data confirms that an additional 1.2 million adults are living with diabetes in England and Wales now compared to figures in 2005. Most of this is type 2 diabetes which usually develops later in life, doesn’t necessarily require insulin and is often related to obesity, especially in those with an inherited tendency.

Diabetes UK predicts that if current trends continue, 5 million people will have diabetes by 2025. And care is suboptimal in 40% of diabetics who don’t receive all eight care processes that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends. Of the 100 amputations a week, 80% are thought to be preventable with optimal care.

Diabetes is a killer and a major cause of significant health problems: kidney failure, stroke, heart attacks and blindness. And it’s expensive. Diabetes treatment accounts for 10% of the annual NHS budget (about £10bn a year).

And the devil is that it is often – though not always – a preventable disease. The single biggest preventable factor is obesity. But of current trends continue, one in three of us will be obese by 2034 and one in 10 of us will be diabetic.

The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme is aiming to introduce an evidence-based behavioural programme to fight this trend. It’s being developed and rolled out across the country.

Diabetes UK is also calling for more NHS resources to provide better care, avoid complications like amputations and give more “flexible education options” for people with diabetes.

Healthcare professionals are encouraged to identify individuals at particularly high risk of developing diabetes because they’re obese or have an inherited tendency, and offer specific intervention.

It’s the way we have become a nation of grazers. Schools need to teach pupils what 2,000 calories looks and feels like

And there is growing awareness of the need to identify and intervene when young people are becoming obese and at risk of type 2 diabetes. There’s particular interest in trying to make sugary drinks more expensive, less attractive or less available, especially to young people.

But the only way that the tide will be turned is in a massive change in the way we lead our lives. Sport has to come back into schools, playing fields reclaimed and repurchased, cycling made safe and walking to school become the norm.

And we’re going to have to stop eating all the time. It’s not just what we eat (although clearly sugary drinks and calorie laden muffins are not helpful). It’s the way we have become a nation of constant grazers. Schools need to teach pupils what 2,000 calories a day looks and feels like. It means a breakfast of toast or cereal, a sandwich and zero calorie drink (like water) at lunch and a supper of protein, veg and a portion of carbohydrate like some boiled potatoes. Some fruit and a yoghurt, and you’re basically done for the day. Who eats like that nowadays?

The messages need to be clear and unambiguous. Public health policies and political intervention are all very well. But individuals need to know how to say no to the constant offers of food and sugary drinks that surround us. The temptations will always be there. We need the tools to resist.

We want to learn what two,000 calories a day seems like to avoid diabetes | Ann Robinson

Your 5 Year Old Can Learn To Code With An IPad App

The MIT Media Lab just lately released ScratchJr, a cost-free iPad app that helps children five-eight find out how to code. The app is a collaboration among the MIT Media Lab, Tufts University, and Playful Invention Firm (PICO).

The unique Scratch programming language is presently employed by millions of older kids, but it was also complex for younger youngsters. The Scratch team redesigned the interface, simplifying it in order to make it more accessible to younger little ones.

I downloaded ScratchJr and then handed the iPad to my 6 12 months outdated. He was instantaneously engaged. Whilst he was playing–creating stories via an interface that teaches the essentials of coding–I shot an email to Mitchel Resnick, one of the creators of Scratch. I wanted to discover a little much more about the contemplating behind ScratchJr.

The following is the conversation between Mitchel and me. We cover scratch, literacy, perform, expression,and early childhood creativity.

Jordan Shapiro: Scratch and ScratchJr are digital apps that introduce young children to simple coding via a easy drag and drop interface. I’ve witnessed some young men and women produce fairly amazing factors with the authentic Scratch: building their own video games, making short films, even producing truly engaging animated presentations. It is excellent since it is simultaneously silly and critical. ScratchJr is a brand new iPad app aimed at younger little ones. Can you make clear how and why you designed Scratch in the first area? Also, tell us about particularly about ScratchJr How is it different? Why is it essential?

Mitchel Resnick: My investigation group at the MIT Media Lab spends a great deal of time operating with younger individuals. We noticed that several younger men and women wished to develop their personal interactive stories, video games, and animations, but conventional programming languages were not made with little ones in mind. There was clearly a require for a new type of programming language. At the same time, we knew that finding out to program would be a rich learning experience for younger men and women. So we produced Scratch to meet a need — but also to provide new learning options.

We created Scratch for ages eight and up. But we believed that younger young children would also get pleasure from (and benefit from) studying to program. So we determined to build ScratchJr for young children ages five to 7. We teamed up with Marina Bers, a professor of youngster improvement at Tufts University, and we redesigned the Scratch interface and programming language to make them developmentally acceptable for younger youngsters, cautiously creating attributes to match youthful children’s cognitive, personal, social, and emotional development.

JS: You lead the MIT Media Lab’s Lifelong Kindergarten Investigation Group. I’ve often loved the identify. I’m guessing that most individuals hear “kindergarten,” believe about finger painting and physique tracings, and picture it is all about childish irreverence. In fact, kindergarten, carried out effectively, is truly way a lot more structured than that perform is the rigorous perform of youthful men and women. Kindergarten ought to supply playful methods for little ones to experientially understand the building blocks of rational pondering and meaningful articulation. ScratchJr introduces algorithmic thinking to youthful little ones in a innovative way. Kids go by means of the standard motions of coding even even though they really don’t always realize it. You have explained that Scratch and Scratch Jr. are not only about “learning to code,” but also about “coding to understand.” Can you briefly clarify what you mean by that? What are some of the vital non-STEM abilities that children can understand from Scratch and ScratchJr?

MR: As children code with Scratch and ScratchJr, they find out methods for solving problems, creating projects, and communicating concepts. They find out how to divide complicated issues into easier elements, how to iteratively refine and improve their function, how to remix and build on the perform of other people, how to persevere in the encounter of problems. These skills are crucial for absolutely everyone, not just folks who will grow up to become scientists, engineers, or pc scientists.

JS: A few many years ago, I wrote a book called FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide To Greatest Euphoric Bliss. I argued that video video games are the mythology of the potential. But I was genuinely getting at anything a lot far more standard: that the way humans inform stories, transmit details, and practice persuasive rhetoric is fundamentally shifting from a leading-down organization to a participatory 1. In other words, storytelling, narrative, and expository communication are all increasingly turning out to be interactive, algorithmic, and non-linear. It takes place to me that with Scratch and ScratchJr you are supplying a platform on which young children can get started to produce and practice the foundational expertise (and also a way of contemplating about communication) that will be critical in a globe that we can only just begin to imagine. Is it honest to say that Scratch and ScratchJr assist to immersively teach the grammar and syntax of an emerging sort of rhetoric?

MR: I see coding as an extension of creating. The capacity to code makes it possible for you to “write” new types of items – interactive stories, games, animations, and simulations. When men and women find out to compose, they can share their tips with the rest of the world. So also with coding. Get a look in the Scratch on-line neighborhood and you will uncover animated stories, virtual excursions, science simulations, public-services announcements, multimedia art projects, on-line newsletters, interactive tutorials, and a lot a lot more.

JS: These days, every person would seem to be saying that coding is the ‘new literacy.’ To be truthful, I uncover that a small absurd. For a single thing, there are many different kinds of essential literacies and we need to get out of the mindset that any one is a lot more important than the other folks. Also, there is practically nothing ‘new’ about the computational pondering that coding requires. It dates back at least to 8th century Persia (but was currently practiced by ancient Greek and Egyptian philosophers). It is important, even so, that new digital technologies enable us to use this sort of thinking in really efficient approaches. With these tools, we can out of the blue apply this thinking in approaches we never could have imagined achievable in the past. But that includes shifting our viewpoint so that we can understand and see the new choices. Scratch and ScratchJr put a simplified version of these technologies into the hands of very youthful kids so that they can understand, experiment, and perform, in a useful way, with computational contemplating. I may well not call it the “new literacy,” but I do think every single youngster need to be exposed to this kind of perform. Why do you consider this is this so critical? Why is play a single of the very best methods to learn content in context?

MR: I’d like to comment on two themes in your question: “computational thinking” and “play”.

In current many years, several individuals have emphasized the significance of “computational pondering.” I agree that comprehending personal computer concepts can give a framework for comprehending many kinds of techniques and processes in the globe. But I truly feel that folks have a tendency to overlook and undervalue the relevance of “computational expression.” When you learn to code, you really do not just discover new methods of considering, but new techniques of expressing by yourself and sharing your suggestions.

For me, “play” is not just an activity (like “playing a game”) but a type of interacting with the globe. A playful technique includes trying new factors, testing boundaries, taking hazards, exploring what’s attainable, iterating once more and once again. A playful approach is important for creativity and innovation — and creativity is much more crucial in today’s globe than ever just before.

JS: The Lifelong Kindergarten Analysis Group’s mission is to nurture “a planet full of playfully creative individuals who are continually inventing new possibilities for themselves and their communities.” Scratch and ScratchJr do this via early hands-on exposure to coding and computational contemplating. I enjoy the way this function manifests: support people achieve fluency with new technologies and concurrently empower them to do the simple function of human civilization inside of a modern day context. Primarily, it looks to be all about supplying innovative opportunities for creative perform. Your perform reminds me that even though we are nevertheless enjoying in the identical sandbox, if we continually update the buckets and the shovels, we may well even find out that the sand looks and behaves in a different way. Inform us about one or two of the other tasks and how they complete the same mission.  

MR: For several many years, we have collaborated with the LEGO Business on the layout of new robotics kits, like LEGO Mindstorms and LEGO WeDo. Just as Scratch and ScratchJr give options for youthful folks to layout, create, and invent in the online planet, LEGO robotics kits give possibilities for youthful men and women to layout, develop, and invent in the bodily globe. In the process, youthful folks understand to think creatively, purpose systematically, and work collaboratively — vital capabilities for achievement in today’s globe.

In collaboration with the Boston Museum of Science, my research group co-founded the Personal computer Clubhouse undertaking, an global network of soon after-school finding out centers the place youthful men and women from reduced-revenue communities find out to express themselves creatively with new technologies. As they work on projects, Clubhouse members turn into far more capable, confident, and creative learners. With assistance from the Intel Foundation, the Computer Clubhouse Network has expanded to a hundred areas in 20 nations, serving roughly 20,000 young folks every single 12 months. Our preliminary inspirations for Scratch came by means of our interactions with youthful men and women at Laptop Clubhouses.

With my colleagues Phillip Schmidt and Natalie Rusk, we have been creating an on-line course, called “Learning Imaginative Learning,” to share our concepts with other people (http://discover.media.mit.edu). We view the program as an experimental option to traditional Substantial Open On the web Programs (MOOCs), placing higher emphasis on peer-to-peer learning, hands-on projects, and sustainable communities.

JS: Is there anything else you want to tell us about either ScratchJr or the Lifelong Kindergarten Analysis Group?

MR: In our Lifelong Kindergarten Research Group, we have been establishing a conceptual framework for our method to understanding and training. We have recognized 4 guiding ideas, which we occasionally call the 4 P’s of Imaginative Finding out:

• 
  Tasks. Individuals find out greatest when they are actively functioning on meaningful projects – producing new concepts, developing prototypes, refining iteratively.


• 
  Peers. Studying flourishes as a social activity, with folks sharing suggestions, collaborating on tasks, and constructing on a single another’s operate.


• 
  Passion. When men and women work on tasks they care about, they perform longer and more difficult, persist in the encounter of issues, and discover more in the approach.


• 
  Play. Finding out entails playful experimentation – trying new issues, tinkering with supplies, testing boundaries, taking hazards, iterating again and yet again.

Jordan Shapiro is writer of FREEPLAY: A Video Game Manual to Maximum Euphoric Bliss, and MindShift’s Guidebook To Video games And Learning For details on Jordan’s approaching books and events click here.

Your 5 Year Old Can Learn To Code With An IPad App

The NHS must learn from its mistakes

In the final yr, there have been 123 situations in which swabs, instruments or other products have been left within sufferers following surgery. Photograph: Rex Characteristics

Maurice Murphy died soon after a nasogastric tube was passed through his nose into his lung alternatively of into his stomach. Murphy, the principal trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra for 30 years, was being handled in an NHS hospital in London for a liver complaint. A junior nurse who queried regardless of whether the tube was in the correct spot was told by the doctor in charge: “You don’t have the brain to keep in mind that I advised you to start off the feed. The tube is in the right place.”

Murphy, who died in 2011, was a victim of a “never event” – mistakes so referred to as since they must never ever occur. His case was recalled by Prof Sir Liam Donaldson, former chief health care officer, who advised a group of NHS experts this month that never occasions do still occur – at the rate of 300 a yr in England. They incorporate (from final 12 months) a female who had her fallopian tube eliminated rather of her appendix and 123 cases in which swabs, instruments or other products had been left within sufferers soon after surgical procedure.

What sufferers want, following incidents like these, is that the NHS understand from its blunders. However, to consider just a single example, the misplacement of nasogastric tubes continues. There were twenty reported circumstances in 2012-13 and 14 in 2013-14. These are lower numbers in the context of the millions of sufferers treated in the NHS each and every year. But they are unacceptable and in any other sector its leaders would be saying we will not want any errors of this variety.

Last year Prof Nick Black of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medication and I had been asked by Sir Bruce Keogh, healthcare director of NHS England, to investigate 14 NHS trusts that were offering concern due to the fact they had large mortality costs. There are several attainable reasons for a substantial hospital mortality rate, like a shortage of hospice beds in an area (which indicates patients die in hospital when they could have been transferred to die in a hospice which specialises in the care of terminally sick sufferers). Our brief was to examine what proportion of the deaths in these trusts was avoidable due to poor care, and whether or not there was a link with the higher total death fee.

We are comparing the level of avoidable deaths in the 14 trusts with 10 matched trusts with reduced mortality charges and anticipate to report back to Keogh at the finish of this 12 months or early in 2015.

In addition, the Institute of Worldwide Wellness Innovation based mostly at Imperial University London, which I lead, is studying far better methods of collecting and disseminating information on patient security incidents in the NHS. Close to 1.2m incidents are being voluntarily reported each yr in the NHS, the huge vast majority of which cause no or lower harm – but they give a enormous understanding opportunity which will grow as far more reports are produced.

This perform will contribute to the patient safety drive announced by Jeremy Hunt final month with a target of halving deaths from avoidable harm which it is hoped will save six,000 lives over three many years. The measures the overall health secretary announced incorporated a duty of candour on the NHS to be open with individuals about mistakes and the appointment of 5,000 safety champions charged with identifying unsafe care.

In addition to these initiatives, there are two new developments that should make care in Britain’s hospitals safer.

1st, 15 expert groups, called patient security collaboratives, are to be created, covering every single region of the nation to share very best practice.

Secondly, from following April, all NHS trusts will be mandated to investigate deaths in their hospitals in a standardised way by specially trained consultants who will be needed to judge what proportion had a dilemma with their care and were avoidable.

These investigations will be subject to independent review by a central panel of trained medical doctors who will supply a national snapshot of the degree of avoidable deaths in our hospitals. This will be of apparent interest to our political leaders who will want to see the proportion coming down.

A key concern is no matter whether we use safety incident reports for understanding or for overall performance management. I favour learning. 1 of the ideal ways to find out is from other’s innovations. But we need to uncover greater methods to spread knowledge. It has been known for years that a easy way to get rid of naso-gastric mistakes is to use ph indicator paper to check the fluid aspirated by way of the tube. But the message has not spread. To share that information and assist trusts across the nation drive out avoidable errors like the one particular that killed Maurice Murphy would be a fitting memorial to the London Symphony’s trumpeter.

Lord Darzi is a surgeon and director of the Institute of Worldwide Well being Innovation. He was a Labour health minister from 2007-09

This report is published by Guardian Professional. Join the Healthcare Pros Network to acquire regular emails and unique provides.

The NHS must learn from its mistakes

Time with my mother that aided me learn how to grieve

Ultimately, we realised she wasn’t breathing any more. We couldn’t actually think it, and my father stored feeling her pulse, considering it may possibly even now be there. We stood close to her bed for a although and then named in the nurse, who confirmed what we knew in our hearts. By then it was a beautiful early summer time afternoon.

I really do not don’t forget significantly about the next few hrs. I sat close to in shock and disbelief, and kept going in and out of Mum’s area, looking at her. It felt wrong to depart her, and I was in physical pain, as if half of me had been ripped away. I felt drawn to be close to her, feeling a bodily connection to her entire body I had, after all, commenced my lifestyle within her, and had been born from her. Her death meant an actual element of me had died, or so it felt at the time.

A number of hours later, my brother Ned and his wife Kate, and their 3 daughters Tess, Ruby and Cosi came round. We opened a bottle of champagne and toasted Mum.

Later on, soon after Ned and his household had gone, I went in to see her. She looked stunning in death. Lying on her side, she was dealing with the setting sun which was now flooding into the room and bathing her encounter in gentle pink light. It sounds as although I am more than-romanticising, but this was the actuality.

There was a desperation of grief in me and I felt an instinctive need to have to be close to Mum, but much more than that, to touch her. I lowered the side of her bed, place my arms all around her and place my face against hers. Her skin felt smooth and soft. I cuddled her for some time. I wasn’t bothered by the truth she was dead. All I desired was to hug her. I was a kid needing comfort, just like when I was four years outdated and had fallen more than and grazed my knee.

I also knew that she would soon be taken away. Weeks before, I’d considered about the concept of “laying her out”, though I did not genuinely know what that meant. Now though, instinct kicked in, and I located myself knowing what to do. At a really basic degree, I needed to wash her, to remove filth-traces of her mortality, and prepare her for what ever came following. I also did not want any person else performing the job.

I got some baby wipes and began to clean her face, and then the rest of her body. The repetitive action was soothing, and I realised that in washing her, I was in fact stroking her. It was immensely comforting. I washed her entire entire body, realizing that this was my final chance to actually be with her, and desperately needing that physical get in touch with.

I had a beautiful white cotton gown with ruffles that I wanted to dress her in. This meant I had to eliminate the a single she was wearing, which was hard. I had to lower it, and then manhandle her entire body to get the nightdress off. Although it felt a bit odd to force her shoulder and arm out of the garment – as all I felt was gentleness in the direction of her – I knew I had to do it. Once accomplished, there she was, in white, looking as stunning as on her christening and wedding ceremony days.

Her eyes have been almost closed and I gently pushed down her eyelids so her eyes had been totally shut. The final task was to brush her hair, and put on some of her favourite scent. I then sat by her, holding her hand, being aware of that tomorrow she would be taken to the undertakers and I would in no way see her once again.

Relating this expertise might look morbid, even macabre. Some men and women to whom I have advised this story have located it hard to understand how I was ready, so simply, to interact with my mother’s dead physique: to touch, to cuddle, wash and dress it. I suppose the solution is, that to me, it wasn’t about a “dead body”. It was about my mom. Though she was no longer alive, her physique remained, and it was all I had of her. I felt no fear of her corpse, in reality I embraced her corpse, literally. And the rest of my family were quite content that her last care had not been supplied by a stranger.

In theory at least, with the advent of what is officially called “advance care planning”, we are being encouraged to select where we wish to devote our last days. Maybe, as much more folks pick to die at property, their households grow to be less fearful of death and much more inclined to take on the final offices, rather than letting a stranger, even so expert, do the work. The phrase “last offices” could sound off-placing, but it is all fairly easy and normal. Later on, when I spoke to Mum’s funeral director, he stated that I had completed all that was required to prepare her for the funeral.

As the first anniversary of my mother’s death approaches, I realise it was achievable for me to lay out her body due to the fact I was fortunate ample to have a shut, loving partnership with her. I believe the approach profoundly assisted my grieving the physical reality of laying her out helped to counter the organic sense of disbelief that she had died. To be with my mom on her deathbed, to be in a position to devote some time with her physique, and to cleanse it and put together it for her funeral, gave me great comfort. It gave me privacy to say goodbye to her for the last time.

Time with my mother that aided me learn how to grieve

Check Your DNA – Learn Well being Clues & Trace Your Ancestry

By Sarah Barendse

Posted Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at 07:29pm EDT

Search phrases: DNA, DNA mapping, DNA testing, genes, genetic profile, well being, indicators, mutations, SNP

Thanks to advances in science we are now able to find trace our ancestry by analyzing our DNA. In current many years this has turn out to be offered by means of the World wide web to the standard public. Organizations like www.23andme.com, www.dnaancestryproject.com, and www.dna.ancestry.com.

How do they operate?

When you signal up on line they send you a collection kit in the mail. It is primarily a modest plastic check tube with a cap. You submit a saliva sample, near up the tube and it punctures the cap and mixes with a liquid that was previously sealed. It is then returned to the firm for processing by means of postage paid US Mail. When acquired it can take up to eight weeks.

These web sites will give you a total genetic profile as properly as analyze information on heritage and lineage. At 23andme.com they give you access to your data as it is prepared. It begins with the analysis of your maternal line (mother’s side), providing you the Halpogroup your DNA is related with. This traces your historical past back forty,000 many years in the past. It also will let you to see if you have any percentage of Neanderthal in your DNA. Most non-Africans have among one-4%. You can opt to share this info with other individuals or preserve it personal.

They are no longer giving medical and wellness data in buy to comply with the U.S. Foods and Drug Administration’s directive to discontinue new customer access in the course of our regulatory evaluation procedure. There is, nonetheless, a way close to that.

After you have your final results, you can download the raw information files and go to http://geneticgenie.org/ to get your free methylation and /or detoxification profile. This web site is free and operates solely on donations.

These secondary reports, although they have some explanation, are nonetheless in pretty raw information form for the common individual. I discovered that by poking about on line just carrying out Google.com searches on individual SNP’s (Single-nucleotide polymorphism DNA sequences) you can decipher some of it, but you really want a geneticist for an precise read through.

One particular source I found to do that as soon as you have your output www.GeneticGenie.org sheets, you can then have a personalized diagnosis and recommendations done via The Center for Proactive Medication http://proactivemed.org/23andme-1/.

Tracing your DNA can be fascinating or in some cases even existence shifting.

Disclaimer: Do know that if you discover some thing as a mutation of a gene it is only a notation of a chance to be aware of and look out for. It is not a last predictor of your long term well being.

Check Your DNA – Learn Well being Clues & Trace Your Ancestry

Healthcare Entrepreneurs Learn Essential Lesson From The Valley: Your Answer Is Not My Problem

The place do excellent products come from?  Are they driven by a breathtaking engineering advance, that suddenly permits you to remedy a variety of troubles in radical information methods, or do them come from listening closely to customers, figuring out precisely what they really want, and developing some thing exquisitely fit for objective?

For several – particularly in the academy – building radically new science or potent new technologies looks like the most essential path to health-related progress: figuring out what triggers cancer, or diabetes, or Alzheimer’s illness would most likely reveal crucial therapeutic options in every of these critical locations.

But reaching a scientific breakthrough or establishing a cool engineering doesn’t assure a valuable application will inevitably emerge.

In many circumstances, disappointed innovators and entrepreneurs belatedly learn that, as VC Dave McClure typically puts it (usually much more colorfully), “your solution is not my dilemma.”

Many wonderful concepts never go anywhere numerous large-potential startups fail because their resolution, although stylish, can not be matched to a problem somebody desires to fix.

I saw this vividly nearly a decade in the past, when I was asked to weigh in on a startup that created an remarkable drug delivery engineering, but could by no means figure out what medicine to in fact put in the device – they couldn’t figure out the killer app, so to speak.  It was a resolution in search of a difficulty, and it by no means located traction.

Much more just lately, I noticed this in the context of a new solution a big information startup was striving to promote even though the technological innovation was really mindblowing, the advantages the business was touting — such as a turnaround time of months vs days — didn’t resonate, due to the fact incumbent vendors supplied equivalent companies.   The new solution almost certainly had important differentiating functions, just not the ones the organization was selling.

Digital health entrepreneurs seem to be specifically vulnerable to this, frequently building classy technological offerings without having contemplating whether or not it solves a dilemma for which a client is ready to spend.  Innovators banking on the imminent arrival of value-primarily based care may possibly be particularly likely to find themselves in an awkward and uncomfortable scenario.

The require to much better recognize clients is also an important theme of Phil Rosenzweig’s just published Left Brain Proper Things  (my current WSJ review right here).   Rosenzweig explores why CEOs generally disregard decision analysis, and concludes that the highly managed conditions of experimental social science translate poorly to the true-globe, higher-stakes choices senior executives confront.   The solutions in this spot do not successfully talk to executives’ issues, major the writer to suggest researchers need to develop a greater comprehending of these messy complexities if they aspire to supply far more appropriate options.

An critical, perhaps inadequately appreciated example of the need for customer discovery comes from the pharmaceutical business, exactly where long and extremely uncertain merchandise growth cycles, mixed with a quickly changing external surroundings, has resulted in an abundance of clinical stage compounds that have grow to be efficiently stranded as the marketplace has altered.  Medication that have been initially created below 1 set of situations – with the goal of creating an enhanced hypertension drug, say, or a better diabetes drug – now seem to be much less exciting, leading the organizations that produced them to appear earnestly for new potential indications they are options in search of issues, and they are exceptionally frequent across the industry.

In response to the recurrent “your resolution is not my problem” challenge, many silicon valley specialists have been pushing an method that places far much more emphasis on customer want.

Ideo’s Kelley brothers, for instance, in their fantastic Innovative Self-assurance, continually emphasize human factors, the significance of “getting at people’s motivations and core beliefs,” and “deeply understanding human needs” – normally by going out and speaking to men and women and figuring out what these needs are.

Similarly, entrepreneurship guru Steve Blank has urged innovators to emphasis on client development, a priority he sophisticated in a latest program close to life science entrepreneurship he organized at UCSF and meticulously documented on his site.

Intriguingly, during his course, Blank asserted that customer growth represents a crucial missing hyperlink in translational study, as a lot of would-be innovators have a remarkably bad knowing of the consumers they are making an attempt to serve (articulated nicely in this Burrill Report podcast as well).   Throughout Blank’s program, group right after group of entrepreneurs had been startled by what they identified when they started to speak to customers, interactions that led numerous to revise their approaches dramatically.

Significantly, neither the Kelleys nor Blank are advocating customer advancement as a stand-alone technique, and each explicitly emphasize the worth of innovative engineering.  Their level is basically that if you want to be certain your technology is going to be beneficial to clients, you better place some hard work into thinking about who your clients actually are, and what they really want.

Great suggestions, of course – but what do you do when the moment has passed, when you’ve presently developed a promising solution, a powerful engineering, and risk-free new medication, some thing you feel has acquired to be helpful to somebody, someplace, but have no concept where the worth lies?  How do you connect merchandise with need?

Regrettably, that is a issue in search of a answer.

Healthcare Entrepreneurs Learn Essential Lesson From The Valley: Your Answer Is Not My Problem