Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 327 7 December 2016
NATIONAL NEWS
Nurses' Memorial Chapel to be saved at a cost of nearly $2 million
The historic Nurses' Memorial Chapel next to Christchurch Hospital will be repaired and reopened.
The small chapel was left precariously damaged by the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 and has been closed since.
Read more here
Call for greater investment in medical workforce
The organisations representing both medical students and senior hospital doctors are calling for a greater focus on building a sustainable future medical workforce.
Read more here
Doctors urged to rethink 'over-treatment' of patients
A campaign is being launched today aimed at reducing unnecessary medical tests and procedures.
The Council of Medical Colleges, the Health Quality and Safety Commission and Consumer New Zealand are behind the 'Choosing Wisely' campaign.
Read more here
CANCER ISSUES
New Zealanders need high quality cancer information
There is considerable demand for cancer information resources in New Zealand, with a third of women and a quarter of men deliberately searching for these over the past year, according to a new University of Otago study.
Read more here
DHBs
West Coast District Health Board denies responsibility for midwives
The West Coast District Health Board (DHB) says it's not responsible for ensuring its own birthing facility in Westport has enough midwives, or that women can contact a midwife when they need to.
Read more here
New systems to reduce patient delays at Waikato Hospital
Waikato DHB is investing in systems to improve the flow of patients through Waikato Hospital and get patients admitted to wards quickly for treatment.
Read more here
DIABETES
NZ study reveals new mechanism that could offer fresh hope for type-2 diabetes sufferers
A million-dollar Kiwi study has revealed a new mechanism in the body that could offer new hope for those with a genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes.
Read more here
EMERGENCY MEDICINE AND SERVICES
Staffing numbers to be beefed up at Waikato Hospital's emergency department
Waiting times in Waikato Hospital's emergency department are among the worst in the country, prompting hospital chiefs to go on a major hiring drive.
Doctor numbers will increase 21 percent and nurses by 18 percent in the hospital's ED.
Read more here
MENTAL HEALTH
Electroconvulsive Therapy given five times in 2015 without consent
More than 200 people were given the controversial treatment Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) in 2015 – five of them after refusing consent.
Read more here
ORGAN DONATION
Today’s unanimous cross-party support for the Compensation for Live Organ Donors Bill represents a critical step
in reducing the burgeoning waiting list for kidney donations, according to Kidney Health New Zealand chief executive Max Reid.
“The Bill effectively removes what is known to be one of the single greatest barriers to live organ donation in NZ,” Mr Reid says. “Until now the level of financial assistance (based on the sickness benefit) has been insufficient to cover even an average mortgage repayment, and the process required to access that support both cumbersome and demeaning. The two major changes that this legislation introduces – increasing compensation to 100% of lost income, and transferring responsibility for the management of that financial assistance being moved from WINZ to the Ministry of Health – will unquestionably remove two major disincentives that exist within the current regime.”
Read more here
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
Breathing life back into New Zealand's primary health system
Ask any senior GP what's going wrong in primary health care, and nine times out of 10 the response will be: 'how long have you got?'
In a nutshell, declining doctor numbers, time pressures and cost barriers are creating ever-growing strain on our primary health system.
Read more here
Stuck in a rut: the loopholes in our primary health system
Paula Kohler-Saunders didn't go to the doctor when her headache turned into back pain.
She didn't go when it turned into a fever.
The Wellingtonian had recently left university, lost the healthcare benefits, and couldn't afford a visit.
Read more here
Hawke's Bay District Health Board first to give free GP visits to under-18s
A historic decision by Hawke's Bay District Health Board will see free GP visits extended to under-18s in selected practices.
Read more here
Full-up doctors' clinics around New Zealand tell new patients to look elsewhere
More than 150 medical clinics around New Zealand have closed their doors to new
patients.People barred from joining their chosen clinic face will generally face a trek across town to another general practice that is taking patients, but earlier this year all of Marlborough's had closed their books.
Read more here
GP college launches funding appeal to train more doctors
A campaign to attract and train more GPs has been launched, amid warnings of an ageing and burnt-out workforce.
"There simply aren't enough of us," said Tim Malloy, president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, which launched its "GP - Heart of the community" campaign on Monday, to attract funding and public support to train more general practitioners.
Read more here
PUBLIC HEALTH
Concern regarding lack of conversation on the increasing number of HIV cases
Stigma and silence about sexual health has seen an increase in the number of New Zealanders contracting HIV, according to a local expert.
Read more here
Auckland DHB plans to cut sexual health specialists
At a time when the rates of HIV and Syphilis infections are rising, why is the Auckland District Health Board proposing to cut the number of sexual health specialists in the city by a third? Nine to Noon speaks to Dr Rick Franklin, a specialist with 25 experience in sexual health who says the proposal could increase the number of serious and complex cases which go untreated.
Read more here
TOBACCO, DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
Alcohol: the obnoxious villain of our hospital emergency departments
More than one in 10 patients turning up at Wellington Hospital's emergency department shows signs of hazardous drinking, new research shows.
Read more here
Trials help pregnant women quit smoking
Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has welcomed the positive results of two trial pilot programmes which have helped pregnant women quit smoking.
"Smoking cessation has immense benefits for mothers and babies. Smoke-free pregnancies will help increase survival rates of young babies and dramatically improve infant health," Mr Lotu-Iiga says.
Read more here
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
'Earn as you learn' plan for nurses with new part-time degrees
Nurses will be able to “earn as they learn” under new plans for part-time degrees. The Health Secretary said the new apprenticeships will encourage people from all backgrounds into the profession, with 1000 new places starting next year.
Read more here
Nurses to be trained for NHS chief executive roles
Jeremy Hunt will today announce that he wants more
doctors and nurses to occupy senior positions within the NHS
Read more here
New nursing apprentice role announced
Aspiring nurses can soon enrol on a new on-the-job apprenticeship role, the government says.
From September 2017, up to 1,000 NHS staff will be able to take up the training without having to go down the conventional university route to get a nursing degree.
Read more here
Where doctors are scarce, nurses and paramedics learn to work together
'Sometimes we're stepping on toes,' veteran paramedic says
Read more here
Under new legislation, advanced practice nurses signing POST forms
A law that allows highly trained nurses in West Virginia to treat patients and prescribe limited amounts of some drugs without supervision from physicians is having an effect in at least one area — end-of-life care. –
Read more here
WORKPLACE
Motivation
Discover strategies and tools to inspire and motivate your people to give their best.
Read more here
Meeting Your New Team
Learn how to get off on the right foot when you meet your new team members for the first time.
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 5 December 2016
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