Welcome to the Right Decision Service (RDS) newsletter for April 2024.
Tactuum has been working hard to address the issues experienced during the last week. They have identified a series of three mitigation measures and put the first of these in place on Friday 3rd May. If this does not resolve the problems, the second mitigation will be actioned, and then the third if necessary.
Please keep a lookout for any slowing down of the system or getting locked out. Please email myself, mbuchner@tactuum.com and onivarova@tactuum.com if you experience any problems, and also please raise an urgent support ticket via the Support Portal.
Thank you for your patience and understanding while we achieve a full resolution.
A rotating carousel presenting some of the key RDS tools and capabilities, and an editable slideset, are now available in the Resources for RDS providers section of the Learning and Support toolkit.
The redesign of RDS Search and Browse is still on-track for delivery by mid-June 2024. We then plan to have a 3-week user acceptance testing phase before release to live. All editors and toolkit owners on this mailing list will be invited to participate in the UAT.
The archiving and version control functionality is also progressing well and we will advise on timescales for user acceptance testing shortly.
Tactuum is also progressing with the deep linking to individual toolkits within the mobile RDS app. There are several unknowns around the time and effort required for this work, which will only become clear as the work progresses. So we need to be careful to protect budget for this purpose.
These have all been compiled and effort estimated. Once the redesign work is complete, these will be prioritised in line with the remaining budget. We expect this to take place around late June.
Many thanks to those of you completed the value and impact survey we distributed in February. Here are some key findings from the 65 responses we received.
Figure 1: Impact of RDS on direct delivery of care
Key figures
Figure 2 shows RDS impact to date on delivery of health and care services
Key figures
These data show how RDS is already contributing to NHS reform priorities and supporting delivery of more sustainable care.
Saving time and money
Quality assurance and governance
Service innovation and workforce development
A few examples of toolkits published to live in the last month:
Some of the toolkits the RDS team is currently working on:
Please contact his.decisionsupport@nhs.scot if you would like to learn more about a toolkit. The RDS team will put you in touch with the relevant toolkit lead.
Thanks to all of you who have responded to the retrospective quality audit survey and to the follow up questions. We still have some following up to do, and to work with owners of a further 23 toolkits to complete responses. An interim report is being presented to the HIS Quality and Performance Committee.
Eight clinical services and two public library services are undertaking tests of change to implement the Being a partner in my care app. This app aims to support patients and the public to become active participants in Realistic Medicine. It has a strong focus on personalised, person-centred care and a library of shared decision aids, as well as simple explanations and videoclips to help the public to understand the aims of Realistic Medicine. The tests of change will inform guidance and an implementation model around wider adoption and spread of the app.
With kind regards
Right Decision Service team
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear. It is normal to experience some anxiety, worry or stress around times of change or when a significant life event happens, such as pregnancy or childbirth. Anxiety becomes a mental health issue when the thoughts and worries spiral, perhaps feeling out of control, and when it affects your ability to manage everyday life. Anxiety disorders can be common in the perinatal period. It is estimated that 15-20% of women have an anxiety disorder during pregnancy, and 10% may develop anxiety after their baby has been born.
If you have anxiety and are planning a pregnancy, see the planning a pregnancy section for further information.
If you are struggling with anxiety during your pregnancy, or after your baby is born, it is important to talk to your midwife, health visitor or family nurse. Getting support when you need it will help your and your baby’s wellbeing.
If you feel anxious during your pregnancy or after having your baby, your healthcare professional will discuss your feelings to check if what you are feeling is normal or if you may need help. Your health professional may also use a screening questionnaire that asks about anxiety.
See the section on Identifying when I need support for further information on screening.
A panic attack is a feeling of sudden and intense anxiety. Panic attacks can also have physical symptoms, including:
The symptoms of a panic attack are not dangerous, but can be frightening. They normally last between 5 and 30 minutes.
Intrusive thoughts come to everyone at some point in their life. They may be distressing, senseless, unwanted thoughts, images or urges that suddenly pop into your mind.
Examples include:
Worries and self-doubt: ‘What if my baby stopped breathing?’
Thoughts: ‘I must wash my hands five times before I cook’, ‘The baby’s milk has germs in it’, ‘Everything in the cupboard must be arranged neatly before I go to bed.’
During pregnancy or after the baby has been born parents may have upsetting, intrusive thoughts about the baby. Sometimes they are about harm coming to the baby. These cause a lot of distress and often make parents question their ability to be a good parent.
Although these thoughts tend to reduce naturally over time, they can be more common when new parents are under stress and have little support.
Many new parents have intrusive thoughts which tend to disappear naturally over time. But sometimes these thoughts are the symptom of a mental health condition that needs professional treatment, for example:
In these situations the thoughts tend to happen more often, cause intense distress, and sometimes interfere with being able to look after your baby. If you are concerned it is essential to seek professional help as soon as possible.
If you need to talk to someone immediately, you can call:
, tel: 0300 304 7000, open 4pm to 10pm every day.If you feel you are struggling to look after your child, you can contact Parentline Scotland.
Obsessions are unwanted and unpleasant thoughts, images or urges that keep coming into your mind. They may make you feel you need to do things repeatedly to get rid of the unpleasant feelings; for example, repeatedly washing your hands or repeatedly checking that doors are locked.
Further information:
Success Stories – Maternal OCD
While it is common to feel anxious or afraid of giving birth, extreme fear of childbirth is a rare but recognised mental health condition. It can make women or birthing parents so frightened of giving birth, they don’t want to go through with the pregnancy.
The medical term for this is tokophobia or tocophobia. It is more likely to happen if someone:
Talking to a healthcare professional about your fears can help ease tokophobia. For example, this could be someone who will be supporting you while giving birth, such as a midwife, obstetrician or anaesthetist or a perinatal mental health specialist, often a psychologist in a maternity and neonatal psychological intervention service (MNPI).
Mental health in pregnancy and after birth (SIGN)