World of Health

Any workplace should have an office health and safety plan and a set of regulations that are supposed to be followed in order to keep working conditions safe for all employees.  However, sometimes even the most regulated office can be a work accident site if things are not taken care of correctly due to the fact that accidents are unpredictable.  After all, if you could predict when an accident was going to occur then you would know for a fact how to prevent it, but unfortunately this is not something that anyone has the power to control.

Therefore, the best way to promote office health and safety is simply to attempt to adhere to a set of guidelines that is devised with your specific office needs in mind.  In order to accomplish this the best thing to do is to sit back and take a look at your office layout, demands, and the employees that work there to judge what special situations may be a concern for your workers.  At the same time, you will also want to consider heading online to consult other office set guidelines to help stimulate your thought process and guide you through the brainstorming process.

Devising a guidebook is not the only thing that you need to do in order to promote office health and safety however; as you need to make sure that you put the regulations in place before they can actually be helpful.  In order to do this you need to make your employees aware of the regulations and laws to help make sure that the office maintains a safe environment for all workers.  The best way to do this is to make sure that they are well informed about your guidelines and have their own copies of the worker’s manual to consult.

The best way to handle this task is by calling your employees together for a training meeting in which you go over your new safety guidelines as well as the guidelines for how an accident should be treated should it occur noting the proper documentation for the event.  After your general workforce is aware of the new regulations and process in the future you can simply include time in each new employee’s orientation to give a brief overview of the safety regulations and then offer them a copy of the guidelines with their signatures at the bottom to prove they have understood the enforced code.

Article published for The Accidents at Work Site

The problem of childhood obesity looms (literally) over Britain’s youth and appears to have a direct correlation with obesity in the adult population.  Studies have proven that children who are overweight have a greater risk of growing into overweight and/or obese adults, with the accompanying higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

NHS Lincolnshire is trying a new approach to combat the tendency; and each child in reception class in schools all across Lincolnshire will be given a free ‘me size plate’ intended to help insure that they receive and eat child-size portions of the proper foods.  The plates are designed to get kids interested in what and how much they eat.  They also serve to remind parents that young children are not meant to eat adult portions, and to emphasize the importance of different food groups.

The Lincolnshire Research Observatory recently published figures indicating that well over 11% of Boston pupils in reception classes last year, and at least 18.5% of year 6 students, were classified as overweight.  In the county the average figures were even higher, at more than 14% for Reception pupils and 19% in year 6.

Lynne McNiven, consultant in public health for NHS Lincolnshire, said that the ‘me plates’ are just one step in raising awareness in both parents and children about the benefits of a healthy diet.  Exercise is also crucial for healthy growth, and children should get at least an hour of it every day, whether playing outdoors, just walking to and from school, or any physical activity more strenuous than sitting in a classroom or on a couch at home.

A report has revealed that half of all NHS hospitals and nursing homes are failing in their objective of giving their patients safe and effective treatments. The CQC, Care and Quality Commission, has found that only 51% of all nursing homes, and the same percentage of nursing homes, were completely compliant with the standard that calls for safe, appropriate and effective care for the patients.

.The watchdog for health and social care are moderately concerned about 26 % of hospitals in the NHS, and had major concerns about 7%. In the analysis it made of care in the year 2011/12, the regulator found that 61% of nursing homes and 62% of hospitals were meeting the required standards for safely handling medicines. However, 29% of the former and 28% of the latter where failing to meet the nutritional needs of their patients.

It did say though that the NHS has made significant progress in reducing the mixed sex wards and also praised their efforts in tackling the superbugs. Dame Jo Williams, the chairwoman of CQC, has said that this report paints a valuable picture of the access people have to the care services, the control and choices they have when using these services and also the quality of care that’s provided.

She also said that in the next few years we would all see that the landscape of care was changing, and that they were committed to maintain the focus in the compliance of NHS hospitals and nursing homes in meeting the essential standards set for both quality and safety.

Meningitis Awareness Week

Meningitis Awareness Week will this year take place between the 19^th and 25^th September. To tie in with this, a new video has been launched online which supports the MRF, Meningitis Research Foundation, campaign called ‘Counting the Cost of Meningitis’, which calls for support for vaccinations against both meningitis and septicaemia, (meningitis.org/sign)

The MRF is petitioning the Government to ensure that widespread and preventative treatments of these diseases are implemented at the first possible opportunity, which will reduce the lifelong impact of suffering from meningitis and septicaemia.  This new video explains how valuable every signature is, and encourages people to sign up to the MRF petition. The goal is to achieve 10,000 signatures, and only takes a second.

If you are wondering why you should sign, you should really be asking yourself why shouldn’t you. The lifelong costs of surviving septicaemia and meningitis have been closely examined by the MRF as part of their ‘Counting the Cost of Meningitis’ campaign, which is a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the lifelong impact of both diseases using two case studies which are fictional.

Prevention is an awful lot more cost effective than treatments, so the MRF are urging the Government to start persuing the earliest implementation possible of the vaccines that will prevent the diseases developing.

Peter, who was 18 months old when he was struck down with septicaemia which left him with multiple amputations and behavioural difficulties. Total lifelong costs of supporting Peter up to age 70 are £2,833,374.

Emma, who was three years old when she became ill with meningitis which left her brain damaged, deaf and partially blind. Total lifelong costs of supporting Emma up to age 50 are £3,507,664.

These illnesses have far-reaching consequences with survivors facing an on-going need for specialist medical care as well as additional educational and financial support running into millions of pounds.

Christopher Head, Chief Executive of MRF said: “’Counting the Cost of Meningitis’ shows how those who survive can struggle to come to terms with the impact of these horrific diseases which change lives forever. Our campaign makes practical recommendations to Government to reduce the burden of disease through vaccination in the UK. Vaccination provides peace of mind across the country and we are urging everyone across the UK to sign our online petition at www.meningitis.org/sign.”

Worrying about turning 30 should no longer be an issue in the UK as new figures suggest that  in 2066 over a half million people with be 100 years old or more. Women lead the way in the race for longevity, with 33% reckoned to be in with a chance of making it to 100, while men have only a 25% chance of making it to triple figures.

Young people in their 20s have three times the chance of seeing 100 than their grandmothers and they are 50% more likely to make it to 100 than their parents in their fifties. These comparisons highlight the great differences between life expectancy rates between the different generations, says Steve Webb the Pensions Minister. The high speed at which life expectancy is rising makes most of us have to have a radical rethink about what we can change in our lives to live longer.

Public spending, however, is facing disaster with the aging population with workers already being told by Government they must delay their retirement until they reach their 70s as part of the state pension shake up. The law forcing retirement at age 65 is being changed by the Coalition Government, giving those in employment the option of working into to their 70s and possibly even their 80s.

In a recent study scientists have found, in the brains of cocaine addicts, significant abnormalities which may help explain the compulsive behavior that accompanies using the narcotic. It also hints to why people that use the drug are prone to getting addicted.

Scans on the brain revealed that those that use cocaine had large decreases in grey matter in the frontal lobes and that affects key functions and included memory and attention, decision making, while other parts of their brains were larger. One finding was the longer the use the poorer their attention became and they started to use the drug more compulsively.

This they say is the benchmark for cocaine use – that many are intelligent individuals who go to great lengths to purchase the drug, to get additional amounts and to put their livelihood on the line, risk their families and all the time feeling they need to use more.

On Tuesday in the journal Brain, the results were published. The brains of 60 addicts of cocaine were scanned and compared with scans from 60 people that did not have any history of taking drugs. There were a significant amount of abnormalities in users of cocaine. Most pointedly the amount of grey matter on the frontal cortex was smaller in those that were cocaine addicted.

Other areas that were affected included the part of the brain known as insula an area involved in processing, feedback, feelings of cravings and learning. In the anterior cingulated the grey matter involved in being attentive and emotional processing also decreased.

By contrast the region in the deepest part of the brain that was associated with attention, reward processing and motor movement – the chordate nucleus – was bigger in those who were cocaine addicts. This explains why these people had more of a probability to addiction but the scientists could not determine the reason for the enlargement and did not know if it was related to the drug use.

Laurence John Reed from Imperial College London and a clinical senior lecturer said the most impressive results were the comparisons of stimulant uses and control users and show how the brain can remodel itself in response to narcotics. This is a visual and striking example how stimulant use can affect the very important systems in the brain that correlates directly to behavior – and most specifically to compulsivity, impulsivity and inattention.

It could be mistaken as a luxury perfume with is stylish brand name and glossy appearance but the pearly white elegant Vogue Perle package conceals fashion cigarettes that are clearly targeted to young women say campaigners. British American Tobacco created it in Paris and has been condemned for trying to make it fashionable to smoke.

The Vogue brand is already sold by the company in 55 countries, nevertheless the Vogue Perle released locally has been described as their first demi-slim. It is taller and more slender than the king size yet broader and shorter than the super thin ones.

Critics say smoking is made to look elegant, classy and sexy because of the white filter tip and design of the pack. One marketing expert said the cigarettes looked like things found in Selfridges behind the counter.

The company is trying to take advantage of the desire a woman has to feel beautiful in order to sell their cigarettes and that is sad since they only will destroy the beauty. Cancer Research UK’s Robin Hewings said that young women being lured towards smoking and its deadly addiction through beguiling images.

The launch followed the uproar made when Kate Moss walked down the catwalk with a cigarette in Paris and even Cheryl Cole has been criticized because of her smoking.

Even if your parents are not yet in need of the specialized care that nursing homes are able to provide you may want to research the nursing homes in your area so that if the worst arises you will be prepared.  Many people do not realize that all it takes is one health problem to cause a serious decline in one’s health as an elderly person.  Therefore, even if your loved ones seem healthy you want to be prepared if they will suddenly need short term or long term care in a nursing home unexpectedly.

The easiest way to get started is to head online to compile a list of the nursing homes that are located in your area so that you have an idea of what your actual choices are.  Given the fact that you most likely will want to be able to spend time with your loved one, choosing a nursing home that is close to your home is recommended, even if it means moving your loved one into your city or area.  Having the ability to visit on a regular basis will make the transition easier for you and your parent.

Second, you will want to head to government website to check on the quality of care that is given at the nursing home to weed out any poor homes from the list.  All nursing homes are regularly checked by government agencies and assigned scores that represent how well they meet state qualifications.  With this thought in mind it will be easier to ascertain which nursing homes should make your final shortlist since you can immediately toss out any that fail to measure up to state qualifications.  At this point you can move onto the final step of visiting and seeing for yourself what the best choice for your parent would be.

During your visit you will want to meet with the nursing staff and ask to sit around the floor that you are thinking about having your parent kept at so that you can observe the activity.  This way you can see how the other residents get along and observe the different types activities that are provided and the level of medical care.  By taking the time to see for yourself you will be able feel confident in the decision that you have made the right decision when it comes time to place a parent in the care of others.

There is a new global report that claims that premature deaths are more likely in early adulthood and adolescence that in childhood. The Lancet study looked at 50 years of data from 50 countries with all the economic classes studied. Even though the mortality rate has fallen it is higher in teens and young than  in young children, the study found.

Reasons for this change are due to traffic accidents, suicide and violence. Death rates for young have dropped significantly in the past 50 years with a 90% drop in the rates for children between 1 and 9 much of that due to infectious diseases killing fewer children.

Dr. Russell Viner of University College London said that among teenagers and young adults the death rates were not dropping as fast as for young children. Young men between 15 and 24 had a mortality rate decrease of close to 45%, much less than the younger aged children.

In all regions the biggest killer among young men is injury be it suicide, traffic accidents or violence and it is also what kills the most young women in rich and eastern European countries.

All this means that the mortality rate is now higher in teenagers and young adults than for children even though the overall rate has fallen dramatically. Young men are two or three times more apt to die prematurely than a young boy that is between 1 and 4 years of age.

Dr. Viner added that life today for teenagers and young people is much more toxic with the rises in death for violence, accidents and suicide that we do not see with the younger children. Even though the teenage years once were the healthiest in one’s lifetime, that statement is no long true in today’s world.

We moan about the cost of a pint being around £4 these days, but the true cost of alcohol is much greater. We forget about the cost to society, which is estimated at a staggering £25 billion every year, made up of the cost to the health service, violence at home and on the streets, plus alcohol-related accidents.

Good news is on the horizon, the Government is about to act, with its new deal for alcohol responsibility, however, a number of key organisations and individuals are not satisfied with it. The British Medical Association (BMA) and other medical organisations have not felt themselves able to sign up to the deal.

The World Health Organisation said that any action taken on alcohol should fall into three areas – the promotion, availability and affordability of alcohol, which is a view supported by other health organisations, including the BMA. A more connected approach is called for. The BMA feels that the Government is not going far enough with its reforms, in particular that the limit for drink-driving should be lowered and the police allowed to do breath-testing randomly at the roadside.

Other organisations have a key role to play – retailers that sell alcohol and the drinks industry, for instance. Action must be taken to limit alcohol availability by changing licensing laws to reduce the number of places that are able to sell it. Public health and the prevention of street crime should be the prime considerations. Legislation must also consider the impact of price, i.e. the availability of cheap alcohol.

Better labelling also has a role to play. Most people have no real idea of the harmful effects of alcohol and improved labelling that includes the number of units in the container, the legal safe number and warnings about exceeding the limit should be prominently on display. Education and better research also can feature.

The BMA also says that the healthcare sector must be better-prepared to deal with the effects of alcohol, including cutting down waiting times and improving specialist services. Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, is making the right noises, saying that it is up to all Ministers and not just him to take action, but this needs to be backed up with firm action, legislation. We need to follow the example of France, which has taken action and the industry has not suffered as a result.