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Menampilkan postingan dari Desember, 2016

Our Alternative Christmas

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For the last few years our December team meeting has morphed into a pre-Christmas mini-binge – turkey and nut roast sandwiches, warmed mince pies, mulled grape juice…. And Havin’ a Laugh. This year – in the spirit of recognising that Christmas isn’t always an easy time for some of us – we decided to try something completely different. We thought about surfing at Borth … climbing to the source of the Severn… exploring the sculpture park at Lake Vyrnwy… or kayaking the rapids of the River Wye… In the end we went to Rock Park in Llandrindod Wells (home to a former spa centre established in the Victorian era) and spent 2 hours litter picking and leaf collecting. It was wet. A bit muddy. But also exhilarating. We laughed a lot. We learnt stuff. It was genuinely team building. And the best December team meeting ever. Amongst other things, we discovered that the leaves of the park’s ginkgo tree contain ginkgolides, which could improve blood circulation to the brain …. And that a lithium we...

Active Monitoring - Mind working with Powys GPs

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Just last month at the PAVO Conference, which focused on Prevention and Early Intervention, we found out more about a new initiative at Brecon and District Mind when Service Director Val Walker spoke at the Mental Health Conversation.   Active Monitoring provides support to people who visit their GP with symptoms of common emotional health needs including stress, anxiety and depression. The service aims to increase wellbeing, self-esteem and confidence, and reduce the likelihood of needing to access further support relating to a person's emotional wellbeing. The mental health charity Mind describes Active Monitoring as: "a psycho-educational programme designed to provide early intervention provision within the Primary Care arena. With growing demands on Therapeutic Services resulting in increasing waiting lists it is getting more difficult for people to access the help they need in time. This role involves working directly from a GP surgery delivering the Active Monitorin...

How is telehealth working in Mid Wales?

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Clare Clark & Owen Hughes from the Pain & Fatigue Management Service Over the past few weeks I have attended a number of events where a familiar theme has emerged – the increasing importance of using digital technology to deliver and receive support for people in Powys accessing NHS services, particularly around their mental health. We have already heard the latest about the pilot computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy project run by Mastermind in conjunction with Powys Teaching Health Board – so this seemed like a good opportunity to share information about other telehealth initiatives in the county. On November 10 I attended the Powys Research, Therapies and Health Sciences Conference, where I found out how staff at the Pain & Fatigue Management Centre in Bronllys near Brecon deliver condition management groups by Skype. The team at Bronllys provide help to people who want to live life more fully but are hindered in doing so by symptoms of long term health condition...