Five a day for Health and Hapiness - Five Ways to Well Being

A briefing/planning session is being held on Wednesday 28th April at the Media Centre, Stonehills, Shields Road, Gateshead, NE10 0HW starting at 12 noon until 2pm.

Is your hubby a couch potatoe? Get him signed up now for a new weight management course at the Lyndhurst Centre, Wednesdays 6-8pm. Enrol now!

Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health has published Briefing 41:
Commissioning what works: the economic and financial case for supported employment
which shows that Individual Placement and Support (IPS), which helps people into paid competitive work, is effective, is good value for money and is affordable to the NHS.
Read the briefing here

A report presented to the Foresight Project on communicating the evidence base for improving people's well being.
Connect....Be active.....Take notice....Keep learning......Give........

Five a Day - nef.pdf

Mental Health Needs Assessment of the Population of NHS South of Tyne and Wear: Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland - 2009
MHNA Final.doc

An information flyer giving advice on what to do if you are having housing problems such as problems paying the rent or mortgage, anti social behaviour, needing home repairs, security of your home, problems with energy bills.

For copies of the flyer order online at
or telephone the Public Health Improvement Information Team on 283 1124 / 1125 or 1126.

Housing pdf.pdf

An information flyer explaining what can affect your mental well being at work such as organisational change, job insecurity, relationships, workload, bullying and the working environment. Work Doc_(finallow).pdfAlso gives tips on what you can do.

Copies available to order online go to:- www.mopil.sunderland.nhs.ukor telephone the Public Health Improvement Information Team on 283 1124 / 1125 / 1126.

World Mental Health Day 2009

We would like to invite you to a briefing session being held on Wednesday 10th June at the Quality Hotel, Boldon starting at 12 noon until 1.30pm. Lunch will be provided. This session will be an opportunity for you to find out about the background to this year's campaign, and will enable you to liase with colleagues and other interested individuals/organisations in your area.

This year we have arranged to have the briefing session much earlier in the year, to enable you to start planning your activities and events now. We hope this will also assist you in getting any support you need, and will ensure a well coordinated approach in Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland. It will also be an opportunity for you to give your views and help shape this year's plan of activities etc.

Please note lunch will be provided 12 noon until 12.30 pm, the briefing session will begin after this.
If you would like to come along please contact the:-
Public Health Improvement Information Team on 283 1124 / 283 1125 / 283 1126
to book a place.
or email healthinfo@sotw.nhs.uk

The May 2009 newsletter is now available on the NHS Evidence national library for public health website

Archived newsletters are now at:
http://www.library.nhs.uk/publichealth/page.aspx?pagename=NEWSLETTER

Annual Evidence Update on Schizophrenia (Mental Health Specialist Library)
http://www.library.nhs.uk/mentalhealth

The Mental Health Specialist Library has produced an Annual Evidence Update on Schizophrenia. The section on the Mental Health Specialist Library site brings together the latest evidence-based guidelines, systematic reviews, important primary research, service development literature and patient information.

The symptoms and experience of schizophrenia are often distressing and the effects of the illness are pervasive, with a significant number of people continuing to experience long-term disability. Schizophrenia can have a major detrimental effect on people's personal, social and occupational lives, placing a heavy burden on individuals and their carers, as well as potentially large demands on the healthcare system.

Thanks to everyone who participated so enthusiastically at the workshop on Wed 19th November 2008. The aim of the "Health Needs Assessment" section was to give participants some practical tools which they can use to carry out an effective needs assessment. The following resources were used:
Learning Objectives
Health Needs Assessment Grid
Health Needs Assessment grid with examples of sources of evidence
NICE Model of the Health Needs Assessment cycle
Model of supply, demand and need for health care applied to Urgent Care

If you need any further information about Needs Assessment contact andy.billett@sotw.nhs.uk.

Mind the Gap: A new exhibition exploring the history of mental health issues in the North East
Until 15 January 2009
Discovery Museum
A new exhibition exploring the history of mental health issues in the North East is now open in the People's Gallery at Discovery Museum. The exhibition, named Mind the Gap, aims to inform, enlighten and dispel myths surrounding mental health.

Public health intervention guidance 16
NICE, October 2008

Download quick reference guide

For the full guidance, in pdf and Word versions, patient information, background and asociated documents, see the NICE web site

Launched on World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2008 - a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) which maps out huge differences in mental health services and practice.

The report by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, co-funded by the European Commission and launched today at a meeting hosted by the Department of Health in London, provides data not hitherto available on mental health policy and practice across the WHO European Region. It also highlights important information gaps.

Policies and practices for mental health in Europe allows for country-to-country comparisons on indicators such as numbers of psychiatrists, financing, community services, training of workforce, prescription of antidepressants, and representation of users and carers. The data were obtained from ministries of health.

Download the full report (212 pages)

Download the briefing (summary of the main findings of the report) (2 pages)

Link to WHO website for reports, factsheet, key points, Powerpoint presentation and press release

Link to Department of Health for response from Health Secretary Alan Johnson

Depression (Mental Health Specialist Library)
http://www.library.nhs.uk/mentalhealth

The Mental Health Specialist Library has searched the four major databases (Cinahl, Embase, Medline and PsycInfo) for the latest evidence on depression published between January 2007 and the end of August 2008. This search retrieved over 2,000 hits (information overload for all but the most hardcore evidence lovers!).

We have sifted the evidence and just retained the high quality research (guidelines, systematic reviews), which we've organised into categories and presented so that you can quickly and easily see what's new, reliable and relevant to you.

The Update also features an audio podcast of interviews with leading experts in the field and will cover the following topics:
1. Incidence and Prevalence
2. Diagnosis
3. Treatment
4. Populations

This monthly bulletin covers national, regional and local (St Helens & Halton) news, events and other relevant information which relate to the six key areas of the 'Choosing Health' white paper, and some wider public health information.

Read the August 2008 bulletin here

The bulletin is produced collaboratively by the Health Improvement Library, the Primary Care Library, St Helens Health Partnership and Halton Health Promotion Service.