The Welsh Assembly Health, Wellbeing & Local Government committee will undertake a review of the community Mental Health Services. As 1 in 4 will experience a Mental Health issue at some point. The committee will examine the weaknesses in current provision of community services for adults and poor integration of health and social care in some community mental health teams. Also the problems for 16-18 year olds in accessing mental health services.

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Clean Living a Way to Beat Cancer

It has been stated that over 40 % cancer are preventable through diet, physical activity and weight control alone.

This can be achieved by doing simple exercise such as walking or cycling. You can also cut down on fatty foods by swaping them for fruit or other items with less sugar.

It is estimated by world cancer research fund that there are millions of preventable cancer cases.It recommends in its report that people should use the "clean living" Policies. It states that after smoking, diet, physical activity and weight are the most important areas people can work on to reduce cancer.

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Treating offenders with mental health issues would save 700m

The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH) report for Mental Health claims the goverment can save
£700m a year by diverting offenders with mental health issues from jail to mental health services according to research. This report is the first to put a figure on how much could be saved if health departments worked together to direct offenders with mental health issues. Mental health diversion services in England and Wales have an annual budget of £20m and are jointly funded by the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). According to the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, an increased investment of £10m would translate to a £700m saving per year in trial, unnecessary imprisonment and other costs. It would also reduce the risk of reoffending if treatment was made available in the community as early as possible for offenders.

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Staying calm prevents dementia

A study has found that poeple who are more relaxed and laid back can reduce their chances of developing dementiain their old age. The research published in the journal Neurology asked 500 healthy elderly people to fill out questionnaires about their personalities. Those who were calm and relaxed had a 50% lower risk of developing dementia during the six years of the study. There are number of experts who said that this was the evidence that eveyone needs to be socially active throughout their life. There are 700,000 people with dementia in the UK. That number is expected to rise to over one million by 2025 and 1.7 million by 2051.

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Child Protection Campaign Launched in Wales

A new campaign called 'Stop it Now!' which is launched by the campaigning arm of the child protection charity called The Lucy Faithfull Foundation. This campaign starts in Wales in April 2009. The campaign aims to prevent the sexual abuse of children by enabling a social environment whereby Welsh adults can safely and comfortably discuss and debate the issue of child sexual abuse, removing fear, doubt and uncertainty and by increasing knowledge and awareness of child sexual abuse as a psychological, emotional, and physical health issue. Visit the website at http://www.lucyfaithfull.org/

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New smoking cessation initiative launched by NHS

A new initiative to help patients quit smoking before
their operation has been launched. NHS Trust staff
are trained to offer advice and refer smokers waiting
for planned surgery to a specialist behavioural support
programme run by Stop Smoking Wales. Read more on

NHS website by clicking here.

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Future of Community Health Councils (CHCs)

The Assembly has recently issued a consultation document on the number and functions of Community Health Councils. The 19 CHC which will then be dissolved and 7 new CHC established to cover those areas as the proposed seven new Local Health Bodies. The new CHCs will be responsible for setting up area associations to cover the same areas as the local authorities within their boundaries. These new proposals will start from 1 October 2009. The closing date for comments on the consultation is 24 April 2009.

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Aspirin Cuts Stomach Cancer Risk

A recent study by the british journal of cancer has suggested that using aspirin could reduce the risk of developing stomach cancer by a third. It found that those who took aspirin in the last year had reduced chance of developing cancer in the middle or lower stomach. It is already understood that taking aspirin can reduce the chance of developing bowel cancer. But aspirin can have side effects such as causing bleeds in the abdomen. These side effects are the reason why doctors usually advise against usual aspirin use.

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Rise in use of secure hospitals

New figures produced have shown record number of prisoners are being held in secure hospitals. The figures for England and Wales show the number of restricted patients rose to 3,906 at the end of 2007 which has been the largest increase for a decade. These figures also showed that 75 % of these patients had a mental illness and 13 % were diagnosed with a psychopathic disorder. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures also showed the number of those detained in hospital following transfer from prison was up 21% to 968.

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Rise in Measles is Very Worrying

Parents are being urged to make sure their children get the MMR Jab. As the number of measles cases rose 36 % in 2008. The number in 2007 was just 960 cases but last year they rose to 1,348. The highest figure since 1995 when the reporting scheme first began. Most of these cases could have been prevented if they had the MMR Jab.

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