THE Department of Health released its ten-year health plan “Fit for the Future” recently.
This is the latest in a series of announcements about supporting, modernising and improving healthcare in the UK. And this got me thinking about a comment from one of our regular customers who feels that “The library is as important to the village as the doctors and pharmacy.”
This rings true for me as I travel round our libraries in York and observe how people benefit from them.
York has a vast network of voluntary organisations that carry out amazing work in health.
I attend The York Health Care Collaborative, part of the York Health Care Partnership, which works together to improve health in York, so everyone can live longer, healthier lives by tackling the things that affect our wellbeing.
The more meetings I attend, the more I appreciate the complexity of the healthcare system and the passion of people who work in it to do more to help people.
I have been given the opportunity to talk about the work that Explore does and to advocate for libraries to be part of the solution. We’re now working with NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), and HealthCheck Services.
Health checks in your local library. Image supplied
Libraries are a great starting point for a health care system more focused on prevention and greater community and digital provision.
One example is the arrival last month of NHS Health Check Kiosks at our Explore Centres in York, Clifton and Tang Hall. With over half a million visits to these three Explore Centres each year, our accessible settings make us a perfect partner for the kiosk service.
The kiosks – free and simple to use – measure height, weight, BMI, blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. You can use the results as a guide to making healthy lifestyle changes. Or you may be advised to speak to a local pharmacist or book an appointment with your GP.
The kiosk service aims to identify potential concerns early and prevent more serious illness. For example – high blood pressure (hypertension), which often goes undiagnosed due to its lack of symptoms, can be detected when using the kiosk. In Humber and North Yorkshire, around 157,000 people are estimated to have undiagnosed high blood pressure – a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which remains one of the leading causes of death and health inequality in England.
Libraries also do a great deal to support health and wellbeing through our core reading and information services.
Reading Well book collections help people understand and manage their health and wellbeing. Reading Well books are all recommended by health experts, people with lived experience, their relatives and carers. They cover conditions including dementia and poor mental health as well as physical problems. There are also titles specifically written to support children and young people with a range of issues.
Everyone who loves libraries knows that simply taking some time out with a good book does wonders for wellbeing and mental health. The simple act of sharing a story with a child is transformative, and has been measured by neuroscientists.
Reading with children is good for your wellbeing as well as theirs .Image from Explore York
The physical closeness of reading shapes our body rhythms. When we are close to one another, breathing pattern, heart rate and movements tune in to the other person’s. For babies and young children sharing a story can help establish rhythms. This, in turn, brings calmness and sustained concentration, which means that babies who are soothed by being read to have a head start in being able to focus, concentrate and learn.
Volunteering at a library is an activity we know improves wellbeing by supporting people to engage positively with their local community. We provide 69 different activities each month which offer people the chance to meet, chat and have fun. All this is a cornerstone of mental wellbeing and reduces the destructive impact of loneliness.
Many people still lack confidence with digital technology, so Explore supports people to access and use digital tools, such the NHS app, with support and advice available at any library.
We provide high quality information that supports people to manage their health, by working in partnership with Public Health and other expert organisations, bringing pop-up stands and sessions to our libraries.
Finally, I want to mention one partner in particular – Healthwatch York. Healthwatch provides regular sessions at our Explore Centres, listening to the views and concerns of users of healthcare services. Their guides to mental health, living with dementia, and wellbeing support are trusted resources that our team can use to help even more people. This brilliant organisation is now at risk due to the government announcement that the Healthwatch Network is to close. We hope that common sense prevails, and that this outstanding source of knowledge and experience is allowed to continue to thrive and support York residents.
Jenny Layfield is the chief executive of Explore York Libraries and Archives