Those of you who can’t get through the day without at least some human-canine interaction, can now rest assured that there are finally three slideshows of Oscar, Dudley and Mabel on Vimeo. Phew!
Ambitious new Emotional Wellbeing website launched by the NHS
I had a very interesting meeting today with Professor David Kingdon from the University of Southampton. He’s the brains behind a new website that was launched late last year called Emotional Wellbeing.
The site is aimed at a broad range of users including patients, carers, clinicians, managers, providers, commissioners and the third sector.
It’s a portal to national and local mental health guidance, pathways and service information, and includes sections on self-diagnosis and self-help, web based therapy, quality standards, populations needs and contracts.
It’s still a bit rough around the edges, but considering it’s lofty aims I think it’s well worth keeping an eye on.
National Elf Service just around the corner
I’m really excited about our plans for the National Elf Service.
We have been working on four health evidence blogs since early 2011 and they are all developing well:
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The new Mental Elf design will go live in a few weeks
The WELD blog (Working with Evidence on Learning Disabilities) is run by John Northfield and was the first website to launch in Feb 2011,
- I am the Mental Elf,
- The Dental Elf site is in the very capable hands of Derek Richards,
- And our own Douglas Badenoch is doing a grand job as the Diabetes Elf.
We have two new sites in the pipeline (the Commissioning Elf and the Women’s Elf) and we’re on the look out for more clinicians, information scientists and subject experts to take on further topics. Drop me a line if you feel that you have an elf inside you, ready to burst out.
We’ll be launching a brand new web design and mobile phone apps in the coming weeks, all under the umbrella brand of the National Elf Service.
DJ Andy Smith – Document 4
DJ Andy Smith, yes the fella that made all those annoying scratchy nosies in Portishead, has only gone and put out his Document 4 mix on Mixcloud.
I’m a massive fan of the rest of this series (imaginatively title Document 1, Document 2 and Document 3) being a lover of eclecticism that involves bumping classic funk, soul and jazz into underground hip hop and other contemporary treats.
Check out the tracklist:
- Dj Andy Smith – Intro
- L L Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out
- Keith Lawrence – D Bwoy Skank
- Redman – Time For Some Aksion
- Frank White – Not Fade Away
- Common – The Game
- Beck – Hell Yes
- Public Enemy – Don’t Believe The Hype
- Vicki Anderson – Answer To Mother Popcorn
- Ray Bryant – Up Above The Rock
- Sir Ibu The Peacemaker – I’m The Peacemaker
- The Bar-Kays – Holy Ghost
- Young Black Teenagers – Tap The Bottle
- Nino Ferrer – Mao Et Moa
- Kool & The Gang – Let The Music Take Your Mind
- Nas – Hip Hop Is Dead
- Ben Branch – Higher Higher
- Busta Rhymes – Dont Touch Me (Throw Water On ‘Em)
- Give It Up Or Turn It Loose – James Brown
- Twistin Kings – Congo Twist
- Dusty Springfield – Love Power
- The Mighty Mervelows – Talkin‘ Bout Ya, Baby
- Ray Charles - My Baby Don’t Dig Me
- Billy Wade & The Third Degrees - Tear It Up
- Joe Cocker – Feelin’ Alright
Choice!
Astonishing really that Universal Records decided not to put this out in 2008 when Mr Smith handed it over to them.
It’s time to follow the Mental Elf
Cor blimey guvnor! Strike a light! I’ve gone and started a new blog called ‘The Mental Elf’.
As you may know, Elves are capricious little creatures (clearly no immediate resemblance to yours truly) who have magical powers (ditto). The Mental Elf (odd to be talking about him in the third person) uses his powers to find interesting and reliable mental health research and guidance and present it in a simple digestible form, so that busy health professionals can keep up to date with all the good stuff, without having to wade through dozens of websites. You know the deal.
The project is building on the work we’ve been doing for the NHS for the last decade, which has gone south since the last round of changes at NHS Evidence. There’s definitely a huge demand out there for this kind of service from doctors, nurses, community staff, students etc. People want to keep their finger on the pulse of latest research, but they don’t have the time or the skill to find it and read it.
I’m surprised that NICE have decided not to offer subject specific email alerts to health and social care staff. They’ve gone down a different route, for the time being at least. We will be offering email alerts, as well as the usual social media gubbins and probably a few mobile apps before too long.
Check out The Mental Elf and let me know what you think.