Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 323 2 November 2016
National
news
Global honours for
nursing students
Two
School of Nursing students head to Ireland next week, as honoured winners in
the annual international Undergraduate Awards.
Talitha
Claassens, from New Plymouth, and Rosana Hare, from Feilding, have been cited
as the ultimate champions of high-potential undergraduates at the awards
referred to as “junior Nobel Prizes”, which recognise excellent research and
original work in sciences, humanities, business or creative arts.
Read more here
Too stretched to train more specialist nurses
Gaining more
specialist nurses in public hospital eye clinics is crucial to clearing the
backlog of southern patients waiting for appointments and to saving eyesight.
Southern nurses are reporting they don’t have the capacity to train new staff
while they are stretched to the limit with current demands. NZNO has alerted
DHB management about this issue for two years.
Read more here
Patients have 'severe loss of vision' in long
wait for treatment
The condition of 30
people who are losing their eyesight has worsened because of significant delays
in treatment at Dunedin and Southland hospitals.
Read more here
NCHIP to back load
health milestones for 8,000 Taranaki children
Taranaki’s
new National Child Health Information Platform (NCHIP) and Child and Youth
Coordination Service (CaY-C) will begin back loading key health milestone
information for approximately 8,000 Taranaki children onto the NCHIP system
this week.
Read more here
National enrolment
service roll-out on target
Health
Minister Jonathan Coleman says the roll-out of the new national enrolment
service in general practices across the country is on target.
Read more here
Aged
care
NZ aged care trust
wins for robotic baby fur seal 'colony'
A New Zealand aged care trust has been lauded for
its use of a robotic fur seal 'colony' that helps dementia patients.
Read more here
Kiwis increasingly hitting 100 year milestone
Recently
turned-100-year-old Wattie Thomas said luck and good living was his secret to
reaching a century of life.
Thomas lives at Rowena
Jackson retirement village in Invercargill.
"I never thought
in my wildest dreams that I would be one of the ones that would reach
100."
Read more here
Asthma
and allergy
Fragranced products:
risks for people and profits?
A
University of Melbourne researcher has found that over one-third of Americans
report health problems—from asthma attacks to migraine headaches—when exposed
to common fragranced consumer products such as air fresheners, cleaning
supplies, laundry products, scented candles, cologne, and personal care
products.
Read more here
Cancer
issues
Major treatment
delays for women with some types cancer
Some
women with cancer of the reproductive organs have experienced waiting times far
longer than the Government's new target, putting them at risk of worse
outcomes.
Read more here
Why are some preventable cancer deaths in
Māori and Pacific peoples increasing?
Work we just
published shows some adverse trends in cancer deaths by ethnic group, as well
as some favourable trends. In this blog we discuss some of the key findings of
this research and what the options are for NZ society to address the harmful
trends for obesity-related cancers, tobacco-related cancers and
infection-related cancers.
Read more here
DHBs
Community Health Council to ensure patient
perspectives are heard
The ‘voice of the
patient’ has long had an important role in health care, and now Southern DHB
and WellSouth (working in partnership as Alliance South) are establishing a
Community Health Council to ensure patient perspectives are embedded across the
health service.
Read more here
Health
funding and research
Study to examine
traditional Māori herbal medicines for anti-diabetic properties
Plant and
food biologist Dr Jonni Koia (Tainui, Ngati Whawhākia) is
returning to New Zealand after many years across the ditch to investigate the
potential of traditional Māori herbal medicines to help combat type-2 diabetes.
Read more here
Mental
health
New research shows gaps widening for Māori
Wai-Research today
launches two important publications that look into Māori child wellbeing and
the widening gaps in Māori Mental Health, as well as announcing Emeritus
Professor Sir Mason Durie as Pou (Patron) of the research unit.
Read more here
Help on way for rural residents struggling to
access mental health services
Help is on the way for
rural Southlanders struggling to access mental health services in the
remote areas they live, experts say.
Southern District
Health Board medical director of mental health Brad Strong has made the
statement after a judge said a man's assault on his children could be explained
by his depression, and his difficulty finding help.
Read more here
Mental health workers clock up big hours
There have been 60
occasions over the past financial year where staffers at Capital and Coast
DHB's acute mental health unit worked more than 60 hours in a week.
Read more here
A day in the life of a mental health nurse in
New Zealand
This blog was sent to
us by a NZNO member who works in mental health. We are choosing to keep their
details anonymous because of the intense scrutiny that mental health services
are currently under. This blog is a personal reflection on their own
experience, rather than NZNO’s view, but we are sure it resonates with many of
you who work in the sector. We really appreciate them sharing their story, and
hope it gives some context to the recent media coverage of our mental health
services.
Read more here
More resources
needed to curb high Māori suicide rates
The
suicide rate among Māori is nearly twice that of any other ethnicity and a
researcher says disconnection from culture is a factor.
Read more here
Obesity
Obesity epidemic already upon us say medical
professionals
The Royal Australasian
College of Surgeons has issued a dire warning to Australians and New Zealanders
about their countries’ weight problem, as alarming statistics highlight the
prevalence of the problem in young people.
Read more here
32 per cent of Kiwi
children and teens will be overweight or obese by 2025
Almost
one third of Kiwi children aged up to 17 will be obese or overweight by the
year 2025, say medical experts who are warning an obesity epidemic may worsen.
Read more here
Does teacher know best in the obesity
epidemic?
New Zealand schools are
fast becoming battle grounds against obesity with Ministry of Health initiatives
increasingly calling for direct involvement from teachers.
Schools are implementing a range of ‘anti-obesity’ practices too including
inspecting children’s lunchboxes, banning cakes, running boot camps,
encouraging the use of fitness tracking devices and asking children to keep
eating and exercise diaries.
Read more here
Claims of a NZ
obesity epidemic are 'fearmongering', says academic
A
Manawatu academic has slammed a warning about a projected spike in
child obesity as "fearmongering".
A
dramatic jump in the number of children considered overweight or obese is
expected to hit New Zealand within the next nine years.
Read more here
Patient
safety
Cost of injuries received during medical
procedures spike
The cost of helping
people who are injured while receiving medical treatment has reached its
highest-ever point.
The treatment injury
bill broke the $100 million mark for the first time last year, with ACC
expecting it to climb even further in the coming years.
Read more here
New report shows improved patient care
The Health Quality &
Safety Commission is celebrating improved patient care as Patient Safety Week
begins, with the release of a new report –Open4Results.
Read more here
Primary
health care
Lego lodged in Etua's ear for years
His mum didn't know
how long they had been in his ear.
But a piece of
Lego and a toy battery lodged in Etua Raki's ear were affecting his hearing.
After failing a school
hearing test and struggling to keep up in class Etua's mother Tania
Raki took him to the Waitemata District Health Board mobile clinic last year.
The pieces were removed by a public health nurse
Read more here
Public
health
Young people recruited to lead new rheumatic
fever campaign
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Acting
Youth Minister Anne Tolley say young people will be recruited to help raise
awareness of rheumatic fever amongst their peers.
Read more here
Telehealth
and e-health
Success of Southern DHB diabetes telemedicine
clinic featured at health informatics conference
Eighteen months after
it was established, a Southern DHB diabetes telemedicine clinic is being held
up as an example of excellence in telemedicine delivery at a digital health
conference in Auckland this week.
Read more here
Marborough GPs consider Skype to reach rural
and disabled patients
Doctors
and medical specialists in Marlborough are being encouraged to use video calls
for patients struggling to attend regular appointments.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/85785070/marborough-gps-consider-skype-to-reach-rural-and-disabled-patients
Tobacco,
drugs and alcohol
MoH announces recommended methamphetamine
contamination guidelines
Housing New Zealand
has welcomed the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) recommended guidelines for
methamphetamine contamination.
The organisation
believes the MoH guidelines provide a clearer distinction between use and P lab
contamination.
Read more here
Govt agencies unable to agree on meth warnings
Two government
agencies are at loggerheads over the meth testing of state homes.
Read more here
Meth test misuse 'tearing families apart' - Turia
Families are being
torn apart by Housing New Zealand's deliberate misuse of methamphetamine
testing, former Māori Party co-leader Dame Tariana Turia says.
Read more here
Housing NZ ignored warnings over meth
evictions
Housing New Zealand
has ignored repeated warnings from senior government officials that the meth
testing guidelines it was using to evict its tenants were only meant for houses
where the drug had been manufactured.
Read more here
Approach to meth
control 'seriously' backwards says dapaanz
The
Addiction Practitioners’ Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (dapaanz) says New
Zealand’s approach to curbing its burgeoning methamphetamine problem is
backwards and far too focused on catching and punishing offenders. Instead it
says the focus should be on treatment, prevention and rehabilitation which, it
contends, are far more effective at reducing methamphetamine use and
drug-related crime.
Read more here
Heavy boozing
sessions half of all alcohol sales, says new research
Heavy
boozing sessions of eight or more drinks account for about half of total
alcohol sales in higher income countries like New Zealand, new research has
found.
Read more here
Profiting from the harm caused by alcohol
New research from the
International Alcohol Control study, coordinated by Massey University,
demonstrates the extent to which the alcohol industry relies on harmful use of
alcohol to make money.
Read more here
International
news
Physician
assistants can cut hospitalist program costs
Hospitalist programs have been used as a way to more efficiently deliver
healthcare in the hospital setting for decades now. But the way an organization
deploys personnel in a hospitalist program can make
a difference in terms of cost and patient outcomes.
Read
more here
Bilingual
nurses knock down language, cultural barriers
Advocates say healthcare leaders should invest in bilingual nursing staff to improve
patient safety and better prepare their organizations to meet each patient’s
needs.
Read more here
Dudley Group part of pilot for new nursing
associates
THE Dudley Group of
hospitals and its partners have secured funding to pilot the role of nursing
associates to work with registered nurses and clinical support workers.
Read more here
Spiritual
Care in Nursing
Nurses' attitude towards spirituality and how it benefits their patients
Read more here
Nurses' scrubs can harbor nasty germs
The “scrubs” of
intensive care unit (ICU) nurses often pick up disease-causing germs, including
those resistant to
antibiotics, a new study reports.
Read more here
Nurses want province to clearly define
violence as workplace hazard
Nurses want more
action from government to help protect them from workplace violence
Read more here
Remote nurses face ‘constant threats’
MORE than 40 per cent
of remote area nurses have directly experienced or observed threats, bullying
or harassment in the past year and say it’s the main reason for clinicians
resigning or not extending contracts.
Read more here
Nursing shortage:
Some progress, but challenges remain
As the healthcare industry’s nursing shortage continues, progress has been made--and challenges still
remain, according to a new blog post.
Read more here
Nurses Are Caretakers, Not Scientists, Right?
Wrong
In fact, they've been
doing scientific research since the days of Florence Nightingale
Read more here
Professor titles should ‘only be given to
chief nurses judiciously’
Chief nurses who use
the honorary title of professor are causing uproar among academic colleagues
who believe it should be reserved for those with genuine research credentials,
a new study has revealed.
Read more here
Fears as apprentice nurses allowed to dispense
drugs
Apprentice nurses will be allowed to
administer controlled drugs to NHS patients, under plans criticised by experts
as a “recipe for confusion”.
Leaked documents
reveal that a new tier of “nursing associates” with as
little as two years’ experience will be entitled to measure out doses of
medicine and carry out invasive procedures without direct supervision.
Read more here
Four in 10 new nurses are from overseas, amid
warnings NHS faces 'perfect storm' post-Brexit
Four in ten new nurses
have come from overseas – the highest level in more than a decade, according to
a new report warning of a “perfect storm” about to hit the NHS
Read more here
Workplace
Rudeness in the
workplace is contagious
Yawning,
laughing, and even vomiting are contagious — I feel a lump in my throat just
writing that sentence. But a new study suggests there’s
another kind of behavior we should be wary of catching: rudeness.
Read
more here
What to Do When a
Patient Refuses Assistance
No
one should be subject to treatment that they do not wish to receive, but there
is more to the story than just refusing treatment.
As
nurses, we are taught to take every step necessary to save a life. We are also
trained to respect the patient’s wishes. Sometimes, these two tenets conflict,
and this leaves the ethical nurse in a quandary as to how to proceed.
Read more here
Articles
of interest
Care transitions at the end of life
Nursing Management:
October 2016 - Volume 47 - Issue 10 - p 20–28
Transitioning care between healthcare settings is a current
focus for accrediting agencies. According to The Joint Commission, the
transition of care denotes the “movement of patients between healthcare
practitioners, settings, and home as their condition and care needs change.”1 Transition of care as
it relates to communication of care across settings has become a core measure
for The Joint Commission in specific certification types, such as advanced
certification for Comprehensive Stroke Centers, advanced certification in heart
failure, and Primary Care Medical Home certification. And the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services has incorporated it into stage 2 of Meaningful
Use, recognizing communication as being essential for successful care
transitions between providers.2,3 Of course, nurses are
critical to effective communication at the bedside, identifying patient care
goals and supporting patients and their families as they make difficult
decisions at the end of life.4
Read more here
Doctoral
education for nurses today: the PhD or professional doctorate?
THE AUSTRALIAN
JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING
VOLUME 34 ISSUE
1
This paper
seeks to stimulate discussion and debate about the future of doctoral education
for nurses in Australia.
Download Article
From
the Ministry of Health
Review of Remediation Standards for
Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratories: Risk Assessment Recommendations for a New Zealand Standard
This report provides a
recommendation to be incorporated in a new proposed standard for
methamphetamine residues in remediated houses
previously used as clandestine
laboratories and also where methamphetamine has used, but not manufactured.
The recommendation is based
on a review by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research of published
and online literature, international health authority websites, reports, and
journal articles relating to health effects and exposures to
methamphetamine.
Read more here
National Patient Flow: Prioritisation outcome
of referrals for first specialist assessment tables (developmental)
Note: The data presented in
these tables is developmental. The Ministry advises that you should not compare
numbers between DHBs as:
some
DHBs are experiencing delays in their ability to submit corrected data, so
there are known gaps and inconsistencies
DHBs
are working towards improvements in data quality and completeness, and the
methodologies and assumptions they use to derive these measures are being
refined.
Read more here
The above information has been collated for the
College of Nurses Aotearoa (NZ) Inc by Linda Stopforth, SNIPS and is provided
on a weekly basis. It is current as at Tuesday
1 November 2016
If you have any feedback about content - what parts
are most useful or what you would like added - please email admin@nurse.org.nz
For more up
to date news and information follow SNIPS at:
Facebook: Snips Info
twitter: @SnipsInfo
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