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New dads need better mental health support so they can take ‘pressure’ off mums, NHS bosses say

by www.dailymail.co.uk Leave a Comment

New fathers should get better mental health support so they can help take the ‘pressure’ off mothers, NHS chiefs have said.

The NHS in England is expanding support services for partners of women who have had a baby, with options being trialled including face-to-face counselling, organised ‘dad-and-kids’ pram walks and Zoom games nights.

Research shows around one in four women experience mental health issues during pregnancy or in the postnatal period.

Up to half of partners of mothers with postnatal depression also have depression themselves.

In a blog post, NHS England’s associate national clinical director for perinatal mental health, Dr Giles Berrisford, and chief midwifery officer, Professor Jaqueline Dunkley-Bent, praised new services which were supporting ‘fathers who are scared and overwhelmed or unsure how to support their partners’.

The NHS in England is expanding support services for partners of women who have had a baby, with options being trialled including face-to-face counselling, organised ‘dad-and-kids’ pram walks and Zoom games nights

They wrote: ‘Through [these] activities, new dads can gain confidence as parents and talk about their mental health – and this makes a real difference to how they can then support mothers.’

They also raised concerns the image of mothers as ‘our modern times superheroes’ was heaping pressure on pregnant women and new mothers.

‘Mothers are often seen as the pillars of family life. This comes with a lot of pressure and can negatively impact women,’ they wrote.

‘Pregnancy and becoming a mother can be extremely challenging…

‘We need to take the pressure off and support mothers, especially those who face depression, anxiety, psychosis and/or trauma.’

The plans to increase mental health support for fathers is part of a raft of measures aimed at preventing suicides in new parents.

Other plans include extending the period within which women can access postnatal mental health support to two years after birth, up from 12 months, and rolling out dedicated Maternal Mental Health Services which combine services for women experiencing pregnancy and postnatal mental health conditions, as well as those dealing with infertility, baby loss and birth trauma.

Pregnancy and postnatal mental health problems cost the NHS an estimated £1.2 billion every year, while costing the wider economy around £8.1billion – largely due to the impact of mothers’ mental health problems on their children.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in the UK, with the latest figures showing suicide rates during or up to six weeks from the end of pregnancy tripled in 2020, compared to 2017 to 2019.

There are thought to be just four perinatal mental health services in the country which offer support to partners – in Leeds, Cornwall, Nottingham and Southampton.

In Leeds – the first NHS trust to introduce a service for fathers – partners of women who are under the perinatal mental health team are able to access support including a monthly Zoom general knowledge quiz.

The quiz is designed to encourage fathers to bond so they ultimately end up sharing their experiences.

Peer support worker Errol Murray said: ‘It’s a bit of fun but it helps them feel distracted from whatever is happening at home and helps to lighten the load.

‘It’s a way of getting men to bond and feel confident talking with other people. Unless you have got that, no one is going to share how they’re feeling.’

The service also offers face-to-face group sessions – which offer more in-depth discussions of issues like how to bond with babies – and monthly ‘dad and kids’ park walks.

Fathers are also able to attend baby sensory classes within NHS premises, which are specifically aimed at encouraging fathers to bond with their babies.

‘By supporting partners we are able to help mums in their recovery [from perinatal mental health conditions],’ Murray added.

Health focus must shift from plans to action to address surgery wait times

by www.stuff.co.nz Leave a Comment

STUFF
Health Minister Andrew Little talks to Stuff health reporter Rachel Thomas about pressures on the health system, nurses’ pay and how he intends to fix workforce shortages. Video first published July 14 2022.

Michael Hundleby is a health system advisor and a former senior Ministry of Health official whose role included oversight of elective surgery.

OPINION: In July 2020 all the DHBs in New Zealand were merged into Te Whatu Ora.

Having 20 DHBs for a population of 5 million probably didn’t make much sense, and there was strong support to move to regional DHBs. The Heather Simpson-led health review recommended DHBs be merged into four to six regional DHBs. The Minister of Health at the time, Andrew Little, ignored this and decided on a mega-merger .

A widespread concern was this mega-merger would mean the health system would be totally focused on the merger, rather than on things that matter to people. Things like how long people have to wait at EDs , can people get a GP appointment and how long people have to wait for elective surgery.

The new prime minister, Chris Hipkins, has made it clear he is interested in action on bread and butter issues like these rather than on unnecessary policy initiatives. Unfortunately, the legislation which created Te Whatu Ora has a focus on plans not action.

READ MORE: Leading surgeon calls on prime minister to intervene over Christchurch surgery crisis Te Whatu Ora reviewing all health data after ED mistake Millions of dollars’ worth of measles vaccines among expired doses last year

The law requires the preparation of a health strategy, a hauora Māori strategy, a Pacific health strategy, a disability health strategy, a women’s health strategy and a rural health strategy. Not to mention a government policy statement on health, a health plan, a health charter, and a code of consumer participation. And 80 or so locality plans.

Once all of these are drafted, consulted on, redrafted and approved we will have a fine set of documents. Policy wonks will be very proud. And then we can focus on the things that matter – like waiting times for elective surgery.

New Zealand used to have a very opaque system of managing wait lists. It was very unclear to patients – and health professionals – how long people would wait. The Helen Clark government sensibly put some rules around this.

The John Key government increased the focus on providing certainty to patients and reducing waiting times for elective surgery. DHBs were told when patients were referred to hospitals for assessments by hospital specialists, they must be seen within six months, then within four months . And once a patient was eligible for surgery, the surgery also needed to be done within six months, then within four months. At one stage, the then Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, was able to tell a select committee there were only 12 people waiting over the target time.

Constant pressure was applied to DHBs by the minister and Ministry of Health to ensure they met this target. And every quarter the ministry published in newspapers elective wait time statistics, so communities would know how their DHB was performing.

The current Labour government ditched health targets. Following this, surgical wait lists have ballooned out, with at least 30,000 waiting more than four months . Sure, some of the increase was as a result of disruptions caused by Covid lockdowns and Covid hospital staff illness. But in the three years leading up to Covid, there were clear signs of an emerging waiting list crisis. And now, we cannot even be sure the figures are accurate . The Government admits Emergency Department wait time figures are inaccurate, and Christchurch surgical leaders say surgical figures are also wrong .

A panel was established to look at the crisis, led by well-respected Dr Andrew Connolly. The ideas they are pursuing all make sense. But from experience, if this issue is not a key priority issue for the minister, limited progress will be made.

The new minister, Dr Ayesha Verrall understands medicine and hospitals . Hopefully elective waiting lists will be a priority for her, and the waitlists will drop. But it will require less focus on the myriad of plans current legislation requires. And a renewed focus on providing necessary staff, facilities and better management.

When the current crisis is over, it might be time to put in place a nationwide system which guarantees surgery to patients who meet a set clinical threshold. This would be much better than the current system, which artificially adjusts these thresholds, meaning often people don’t get surgery even when doctors have assessed them as needing it.

Sadly, with the dysfunction surrounding the health restructure, along with the need to also address other emerging issues, such as lengthening Emergency Department waiting times, and people unable to enrol with a GP or get quick GP appointments, it is likely to be a long time before the surgery waitlist crisis is solved.

Govt plans central recruitment system to plug faculty shortage across AIIMS

by government.economictimes.indiatimes.com Leave a Comment

AIIMS (All India Institutes of Medical Sciences), the Union health ministry is working on a proposal to introduce a centralised recruitment system for faculty and non-faculty at various AIIMS across India.

The Union health ministry is reported to have formed a committee comprising Dr VK Paul, Member (Health) NITI Aayog; Additional Secretary, PMSSY, Ministry of Health; and Director, AIIMS, New Delhi in this regard.

“Following the Central Institute Body (CIB) meeting held on January 8 at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, with a view to strengthen the process of recruitment of faculty and non-faculty in various AIIMS, including examining the possibility of introducing centralised recruitment, the committee is constituted,” an order issued on February 28 said.

The move comes ahead of government plan to establish more AIIMS across different geographies to remove pressure from the already burdened health infrastructure in the country. According to government data, around 44% of the AIIMS faculty posts are currently lying vacant in 18 new AIIMS. The AIIMS Rajkot has the lowest 40 posts lying vacant out of the sanctioned 183 posts.

AIIMS Rajkot is followed by AIIMS Vijaypur and AIIMS Gorakhpur having the lowest number of faculties as against the number of sanctioned posts. Adequate faculty posts have been sanctioned by the government for all newly-created AIIMS for teaching MBBS students, the Union health ministry told Lok Sabha.

As per ministry data, of the sanctioned posts of 4,026, only 2,259 posts have been filled in the 18 new AIIMS. A Standing Selection Committee (SSC) has been constituted in each new AIIMS to facilitate expeditious filling up of vacancies and the upper age limit for direct recruitment against the posts of Professor and Additional Professor has been raised from 50 years to 58 years.

Permission has also been granted for taking serving faculty from government medical colleges/institutes on deputation basis, contractual engagement of retired faculty of government medical colleges/institutes up to 70 years of age has also been allowed and overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders have been allowed to be appointed on faculty positions.

Under the visiting faculty scheme, new AIIMS allow national and international faculty to work in the newly set up AIIMS for teaching and academic purposes. Besides, AIIMS Delhi, six new AIIMS – Bihar (Patna), Chhattisgarh (Raipur), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal), Odisha (Bhubaneswar), Rajasthan (Jodhpur) and Uttarakhand (Rishikesh) — were approved under phase 1 of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) and are fully functional.

Out of the 16 AIIMS established between 2015 and 2022, MBBS classes and outpatient department services have been started in 10 institutes, while only MBBS classes have been started in another two. The remaining four institutes are at different stages of development.

3 ways food can help promote heart health: Set a diet goal & indulge in clean eating

by economictimes.indiatimes.com Leave a Comment

Synopsis

Having a Mediterranean diet can help lower heart disease risk.

Your diet – the foods and drinks you eat, not short-term restrictive programmes – can impact your heart disease risk . Evidence-based approaches to eating are used by dietitians and physicians to prevent and treat cardiovascular (heart) disease.

National Nutrition Month, with its 2023 theme of Unlock the Potential of Food, is an ideal opportunity to learn more about these approaches and adopt more heart-friendly behaviours.

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend three main dietary patterns for lowering heart disease risk: the Mediterranean Diet , Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and the Portfolio Diet.

The Mediterranean Diet is rich in colourful vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, olive oil and seafood. Research studies have shown that this diet reduces risk of having a heart attack or stroke, even if you already have heart disease, and provides several other health benefits. Dietitians of Canada has created a resource that summarizes the details of this approach to eating.

The DASH Diet focuses on eating plenty of vegetables, fruit, low-fat dairy, whole grains and nuts, while limiting red and processed meats, foods with added sugar, and sodium.

Originally developed to treat high blood pressure, this diet can also lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C – the unhealthy type of cholesterol) and provides several other health benefits. Heart & Stroke has several resources on this approach to eating.

The Portfolio Diet was originally developed in Canada to treat high cholesterol. It emphasises plant proteins (for example, soy and other legumes); nuts; viscous (or “sticky”) fibre sources such as oats, barley and psyllium; plant sterols; and healthy oils like olive oil, canola oil and avocado.

Many research studies have shown that this diet can lower LDL-C, and provides several other health benefits. Research shows that even small additions of Portfolio Diet heart-healthy foods can make a difference; the more you consume of these recommended foods, the greater your reductions in LDL-C and heart disease risk.

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society has an infographic on how to follow the Portfolio Diet.

A common theme among these three approaches to eating is that they are all considered plant-based, and small changes can make a difference in your overall heart disease risk.

“Plant-based” does not necessarily mean you have to be 100 per cent vegan or vegetarian to get their benefits. Plant-based diets can range from entirely vegan to diets that include small to moderate amounts of animal products.

Knowledge of healthy eating approaches is key, but behaviours unlock the power of food . Below are three strategies to use to apply the potential of food to promote heart health . They show that by combining the power of nutrition and psychology, you can improve your chances of making long-term changes.

You don’t need to do this alone. We recommend requesting a referral from your physician (this helps with getting the appointment covered by your insurance) to work with a registered dietitian and/or psychologist (behaviourist) to co-create your own ways to unlock the potential of food.

3 ways to unlock the power of food

Master and conquer the 90 per cent goal
Pick a goal you’re 90 per cent sure you can succeed at, while creating a plan to meet larger and harder goals in the future. This approach will help you build confidence in your skills and give you valuable information about what does and does not work for you.

Research shows starting with 90 per cent of goals makes it more likely we meet future goals. A 90 per cent goal could be swapping out animal protein for plant protein – such as tofu or beans – at lunch on Mondays (Meatless Mondays).

Another example: use a meal delivery service that provides measured ingredients with plant-based recipes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so you can get some new ideas about how to incorporate more plants into your meals.

Why eliminate and restrict, when you can substitute?
Pick a “do instead” goal or work with a registered dietitian to substitute healthier choices for your current foods and drinks. Avoid setting goals that may make you focus MORE on the foods you’re trying to avoid (for example, “stop eating sugar”).

Instead, the substitution approach can include things like choosing lower-sodium soup or purchasing pre-cut vegetables with the aim of reducing your starch portion at meals by half. Canada’s Food Guide, Diabetes Canada and Heart & Stroke recommend that half your plate be vegetables.

Set value-based goals
Connect your goal to something that deeply matters to you. While long-term outcomes (such as heart disease) may be the impetus for change, research shows that things that matter to us right now motivate us most. Picking personal and meaningful reasons for change will help with sustained change.

For example, choose to cook one meal that incorporates a vegetable with a close friend or family member, so you can share the experience and spend time together. This example may be rooted in the following values: kindness, relational values, cultural values, empathy, courage.

Pick a goal you’re 90 per cent sure you can succeed at.

Unlock the power of food
Research shows a key to changing diet is focusing on changing eating habits and food behaviours, one at a time.

The support of a nutrition professional, such as a registered dietitian and/or a psychologist, can help you make informed choices and plans, tailored to your unique needs, situation, preferences, traditions, abilities and capacity.

(The article has been shared by PTI via The Conversation)

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Health ministry plans to introduce central recruitment at all AIIMS to fill vacant faculty posts

by indianexpress.com Leave a Comment

The Union health ministry is examining the possibility of introducing a centralised recruitment for faculty and non faculty at various AIIMS across India to address the shortage of personnel at these premier health institutes.

A committee comprising Dr V K Paul, Member (Health) NITI Aayog; Additional Secretary, PMSSY, Ministry of Health; and Director, AIIMS, New Delhi has been constituted in this regard.

“Following the Central Institute Body (CIB) meeting held on January 8 at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, with a view to strengthen the process of recruitment of faculty and non-faculty in various AIIMS, including examining the possibility of introducing centralised recruitment, the committee is constituted,” an order issued on February 28 said.

Around 44 per cent of the faculty posts are lying vacant in 18 new AIIMS, with AIIMS Rajkot having the lowest with just 40 faculties out of the sanctioned 183 posts, the ministry had told the Lok Sabha last year.

AIIMS Rajkot is followed by AIIMS Vijaypur and AIIMS Gorakhpur having the lowest number of faculties as against the number of sanctioned posts.

Adequate faculty posts have been sanctioned by the government for all newly-created All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for teaching MBBS students, the ministry had said.hea

“The central recruitment system will make the appointment process of faculties and non-faculties more transparent and smooth. Besides, it will also facilitate their easy transfer from one AIIMS to another. Currently, these individual AIIMS recruit their own personnel. It has been seen that talented doctors are reluctant for positions outside their states where they are based or in hard to reach areas,” an official source explained.

According to the ministry’s data, of the sanctioned posts of 4,026, only 2,259 posts have been filled in the 18 new AIIMS.

Listing the provisions which have been facilitated for augmenting faculty strength in the newly set up AIIMS, the ministry in its reply had stated that a Standing Selection Committee (SSC) has been constituted in each new AIIMS to facilitate expeditious filling up of vacancies and the upper age limit for direct recruitment against the posts of Professor and Additional Professor has been raised from 50 years to 58 years.

Permission has also been granted for taking serving faculty from government medical colleges/institutes on deputation basis, contractual engagement of retired faculty of government medical colleges/institutes up to 70 years of age has also been allowed and overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders have been allowed to be appointed on faculty positions.

Besides, a visiting faculty scheme has been formulated to allow national and international faculty to work in the newly set up AIIMS for teaching and academic purposes. Temporary diversion of faculty posts has been allowed on loan basis from one department to another, which can be filled up on contractual basis and advertisement for recruitment with one-year validity has been put in place to fast track the process of filling up vacancies.

Besides, AIIMS Delhi , six new AIIMS — Bihar (Patna), Chhattisgarh ( Raipur ), Madhya Pradesh ( Bhopal ), Odisha (Bhubaneswar), Rajasthan (Jodhpur) and Uttarakhand (Rishikesh) — were approved under phase 1 of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) and are fully functional.

Out of the 16 AIIMS established between 2015 and 2022, MBBS classes and outpatient department services have been started in 10 institutes, while only MBBS classes have been started in another two. The remaining four institutes are at different stages of development.