Background Examples of Literature Searches on Topics of Interest

A zip file of various literature searches & some resources related to our work related to exposure after the Chernobyl accident and as we began looking at helping in Semey Kazakhstan----a collection of literature reviews on various topics we were interested in... eg. establishing a registry of those exposed for longterm follow-up, what we knew about certain areas like genetics and some resources like A Guide to Environmental Resources on the Internet by Carol Briggs-Erickson and Toni Murphy which could be found on the Internet and was written to be used by researchers, environmentalists, teachers and any person who is interested in knowing and doing something about the health of our planet. See more at https://archives.library.tmc.edu/dm-ms211-012-0060

Examination of existing facilities management approaches to climate change and future directions

It is widely accepted that human activities have contributed to changing the world’s climate and that the pace of this change is ever increasing. Two approaches are being promoted by the international community to address the issue of climate change (1) Mitigation, seeking to reduce the amount of CO2; (2) Adaptation, which seeks to alter the way humankind live and work in response to the changing climate. Whilst facilities managers and their organisations have prioritised mitigation action, there is less evidence to suggest that they are addressing the implications that a changing climate may have on the demands being placed on their organisation’s hard and soft facilities (adaptation). This paper reports findings from a case study and questionnaire survey to ascertain the present approach taken by facilities managers to address mitigation and adaptation, their respective drivers, their view on climate change and their environmental inclination. It concludes that the facilities manager's approach to climate change is derived by a combination of factors; namely a) Organisation approach to climate change b) Legislation and c) the facilities mangers perception of the risks posed by future climate change and of the use of risk assessment methods and climate change projection data. The study concludes that the prevailing measure for addressing climate change impacts is reactive in nature, taking the form of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning. The practical implication of the work is in the realization that mitigation, being quantifiable and legislative driven, is viewed as a strategic issue and of importance to an organisations Corporate Social Responsibility agenda which can be planned over the longer term (10-20 yrs). Adaptation on the other hand is measured through successful survival, increased resilience and adaptive capacity (absence of quantitative performance target), each of which are viewed as short term operational issues and as such adaptation struggles to find strategic importance. If organisations are to adapt to inevitable climate change then this situation needs to change

Acute oncology service = Acute palliative service? Early palliative care assessment results from a pilot project in South Wales

Background: The National Chemotherapy Advisory Group report 2009 recommends an acute oncology service (AOS) in every UK hospital with an emergency department. Patients discussed in Acute Oncology Service settings are often very unwell, at the start of their cancer journey, and may have multiple challenging symptoms. Aims: Will earlier palliative care intervention in AOS meetings result in an increase in palliative care involvement? As a comparative baseline we used data from Royal Sussex County Hospital, where an acute admission AOS data collection was carried out: in 53 patients with cancer, palliative care were involved in four cases (7.5%). Methods: As part of this project, our palliative care team started to attend AOS meetings at Velindre Cancer Hospital on a daily basis. After initial embedding, a strategy to collect data was designed and an audit cycle was carried out. Results: Through integration of the palliative care team into Acute Oncology Service meetings, key areas of advance care planning were addressed and discussions with patients were planned. Of 100 patients assessed during the AOS reporting period, 80% were not known to a palliative care team/provider. Of all patients analysed, 28% required no palliative input, 29% were signposted to another palliative care team, 27% received same day face to face palliative care review and 16% required verbal advice only to a generalist team member. Advance care planning discussions in the sample of patients who needed some palliative care input were held within a two week time frame in 61% of cases. Discussion: Significant findings included large population (80%) unknown to palliative care services at AOS entry point, but with high level of unmet need. 72% had palliative care needs. 29% had received their cancer diagnosis within the last month. Conclusion: AOS meetings appear to be a valid entry point for referral to palliative services, despite many AOS patients being at the start of their cancer diagnosis