Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 392, Wednesday 11 April 2018
NATIONAL NEWS
Nurses speak out about culture of bullying in profession
The nursing profession is facing a crisis with low pay and low staff numbers, and now low self-esteem can be added to the list of problems.
Read more here
READER REPORT: Nurses are forced to put paperwork before patients
The care that goes into one bed-bound patient goes far beyond the mere notes that can determine your future as a nurse. But sadly nurses are spending more times in front of a computer than ever before, and when you do so, patients suffer.
Read more here
Nurses feel 'undervalued, underpaid, unsafe, and unsupported'
There is a growing dissatisfaction and disgruntlement that is being shouted from the mouths of our nurses - silently.
Read more here
Nurses rally in Wellington to highlight pay, staffing issues
The first of many rallies over nurses' pay was held in Wellington this morning.Nurses last month voted to reject the latest pay offer from DHBs around the country and may consider strike action.
Read more here
'It's at breaking point' - nurses begin protest action
A group of nurses took to the streets of Wellington today to rally public support for their 'health-needs-nursing' campaign to raise wages.
Read more here
Political Roundup: Something is rotten in the state of NZ's healthcare
Something is rotten in the state of New Zealand's hospitals — literally. And the source of that rot lies in the state of governance in health and politics.
How else to explain recent revelations about the state of Middlemore Hospital buildings in South Auckland?
Read more here
National hui on Maori health issues to be held in Te Arawa
About 150 MÄori medical practitioners, doctors, nurses, medical graduates and others will converge on Rotorua this weekend to attend a National Hui to discuss MÄori Health issues as a part of the Health Services and Outcomes Inquiry currently before the Waitangi Tribunal
Read more here
Whānau Ora to undergo review
Māori health initiative Whānau Ora will undergo a review by an independent panel to see how the model can be grown and improved.
Read more here
Kiwis helping to re-establish war-ravaged nursing school
Bougainville is training nurses once again, with the support of VSA and Kiwi nurses.
Read more here
Nurse not told of suicidal woman's access to drugs
Police did not pass on to mental health nurses critical information about a suicidal woman's access to drugs, a coroner was told yesterday.
Read more here
National Portrait: David Clark, Health Minister
The man at the top of New Zealand's health system didn't make it into medical school.It wasn't for lack of trying, even if David Clark already had an inkling during his first year at Otago University that he wouldn't get there.
Read more here
CANCER ISSUES
Southern DHB prepares to launch National Bowel Screening Programme
The countdown to the Southern launch of the National Bowel Screening Programme is well and truly underway.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1804/S00004/southern-dhb-prepares-to-launch-national-bowel-screening.htm
Non-melanoma type skin cancers on the rise
New Zealand already has the highest rates of melanoma globally, and now we are seeing other skin cancer rates skyrocket as well.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/102894453/nonmelanoma-type-skin-cancers-on-the-rise
DHBs
DHBs post $189m deficit forecast, warning it could rise
Health officials are warning that district health board deficits could hit $225 million if nurses accept a proposed deal.
Read more here
DHB vacancies likely even higher than 400
A senior doctors representative says the number of district health board vacancies could be even higher than official figures.
Read more here
Too costly: Waikato DHB says online doctor service won't be renewed
A controversial virtual health app that failed to attract enough users and drew consults for penis enlargements has been canned, with critics slamming it as a waste of $18.8 million of taxpayer money.
Read more here
'Impossible task': DHBs warn underfunding means care could be unethical
A new regime for treating addicts is so underfunded it risks unethical "revolving door" treatment that could lead to chronic homelessness, seizures and death, DHBs have warned the Government.
Read more here
Mouldy Middlemore: DHB spent $8m on learning hub but Kidz First reclad got nothing
Leaked documents reveal Counties Manukau DHB has prioritised spending on new lecture theatres and event spaces over the remediation of leaky, mouldy buildings.
Read more here
Simon Bridges: Govt has money to deal with Middlemore
The National Party leader says the government has the money to deal with issues like Middlemore Hospital.Simon Bridges said what had happened at Middlemore was not good enough, but former health minister Jonathan Coleman did not know about the issues.
Read more here
Former Health Minister Jonathan Coleman hits back over Middlemore problems
Former Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has hit back at claims he knew about problems with buildings at Middlemore Hospital, where some buildings contain toxic mould and others have leaking sewerage pipes.
Read more here
DISABILITY
Ministry launches five year Maori Disability Action Plan
The Ministry of Health has published WhÄia Te Ao MÄrama 2018 to 2022: the MÄori Disability Action Plan, setting out how it will guide the health and disability sectors and communities to support tÄ?ngata whaikaha MÄori (MÄori with disabilities) and their whÄnau during the next five years.
Read more here
HEALTH FUNDING AND RESEARCH
Underfunding behind DHBs budget blowout - senior doctors
Senior doctors are blaming under-funding for a big blowout in district health boards debts. Latest Health Ministry figures show DHBs will be in the red to the tune of $189 million by the end of the financial year, on June 30. And that total could hit $225 million when a pay claim by nurses is factored in. Ian Powell is the executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. He told our health correspondent Karen Brown the reason for the growing deficit is simple.
Read more here
Public health system in crisis: Government builds case for big spend budget
New Zealand's public health system is in full blown crisis, says the Government. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made the admission alongside her Finance Minister Grant Robertson as the Government begins to build a case for big spending in some areas at the Budget, while lowering expectations in other key areas.
Read more here
Do we put enough money into the health system?
ANALYSIS: Has our health system been underfunded?
Revelations about toxic mould and sewage in the walls of Middlemore Hospital have re-ignited debate.
The Labour-led Government say National did not put enough money into health during their nine years in power.
Read more here
MENTAL HEALTH
Mental health pilot underway in Auckland general practices
A pilot programme that places mental health clinicians – including a new US-influenced role – directly into general practices is underway.
Read more here
OBESITY / SUGAR TAX
Income inequality impacts obesity in children - new research
National income and income inequality impacts on body size of children and adolescents according to new research from the University of Auckland.
A study of over 200,000 children in 36 countries including New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom has found rates of obesity can be affected by the income levels, with adolescent girls showing higher rates of obesity in wealthier countries.
Read more here
PATIENT SAFETY
Falls prevention in hospital shows benefits as broken hips reduced
New data from the Health Quality & Safety Commission show the number of people falling in hospital and breaking their hip continues to reduce. Between September 2014 and the end of September 2017, there have been 107 fewer in-hospital falls resulting in fractured hips compared to historic trends.
Read more here
PUBLIC HEALTH
Get flu vaccine early this year, experts say
The latest flu vaccine has arrived in the country from Europe and experts are encouraging people to have their annual flu jab early.
Read more here
Busy flu season expected to put pressure on health system
This year's flu season could be three times worse than last year, with deaths likely, following trends from the northern hemisphere.
Read more here
Flu vaccine's here but sickest patients should hold off getting the shot
A vaccine to fight this season's set of deadly influenza strains has arrived in New Zealand - but people with poor immune systems should wait as long as possible before getting their shots.
Read more here
RURAL HEALTH
NZRGPN eyes stronger rural nurse representation
Fourteen rural nurses and nurse academics from around New Zealand gathered in Wellington recently to discuss ways to better support and represent nurses in the rural sector.
Read more here
Funding for rural health group hangs in the balance
A nationwide rural health organisation will move to shut down if it does not receive government funding on Thursday.The Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand has agreed that it will cease operating should the government not provide some core funding support.
Read more here
TOBACCO, DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
Stop smoking services called upon to support switch to vaping
Government funded stop smoking services will keep losing customers if they refuse to help people who want to try vaping, new research has found. The services are in a bind however because the legality of selling nicotine vaping products in New Zealand remains in doubt.
Read more here
WORKFORCE
Health workforce matters too – not just physical assets that need urgent attention
“The Health Minister’s annual ‘letter of expectations’ to the country’s district health boards needs to spell out the importance of fixing longstanding workforce shortages as well as the run-down state of our public hospitals,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS).
Read more here
Globalised nursing and poaching: lessons for all
Dr Mark Jones discusses the implications for global health of wealthy countries ‘poaching’ nurses from poorer countries.
Read more here
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Nurses can play greater role in improving public health, new study says
Nurses can play an important role in improving the general health of a specific population, but changes in nursing education and practice, including population-focused competencies, leadership and data management, must occur, according to a study commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and performed at Loma Linda University Health.
Read more here
Nurse practitioners in B.C. can now prescribe opioid substitutes
Nurse practitioners in B.C. will now be able to prescribe opioid substitute medications to those experiencing addiction, the province announced Wednesday. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Judy Darcy, said the expansion is about providing more tools for those on the front lines of the escalating crisis, when addressing health professionals and nursing students at the University of Victoria.
Read more here
Direct care takes up only 35% of nurses' time
Registered nurses spent only 35 per cent of their time on direct patient care activities, such as patient assessment and medication and procedures, a study by Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) found.
Read more here
Nurses unions look to leverage California's new workplace violence law as a model for federal legislation
The largest nurses union in the U.S. called for more robust federal workplace safety rules this week as one of the strongest workplace violence prevention rules in the nation went into effect in California.
Read more here
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Systematic review methodology in graduate nursing education
JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports
March 2018, Volume :16 Number 3 , page 587 - 588 [Free]
Nursing educators have a responsibility to teach students how to apply current best practice principles to everyday clinical practice. However, this is a difficult challenge. In 2009, the number of published scholarly journal articles surpassed 50 million.1 The increase in available information makes it difficult to keep up with research translation to clinical practice. As healthcare consumers expect providers to use the best evidence when providing care and treatments, rapid dissemination of medical information increases the demand for excellent health care, hence updates and advancement in nursing education are required.2,3
Read more here
Perceptions of perioperative nursing competence: a cross-country comparison
Brigid M. Gillespie … et al
BMC Nursing BMC series – open, inclusive and trusted 2018 17:12
Throughout many countries, professional bodies rely on yearly self-assessment of competence for ongoing registration; therefore, nursing competence is pivotal to safe clinical practice. Our aim was to describe and compare perioperative nurses’ perceptions of competence in four countries, while examining the effect of specialist education and years of experience in the operating room.
Read more here
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
Where I Live; How I Live – Disability Support Services Community Residential Support Services Strategy 2018 to 2020
Where I Live; How I Live is about optimising the independence and self-determination of disabled people. It is in line with the Enabling Good Lives (EGL) principles that support people with a disability to make decisions about the kind of life they want.
This strategy guides the Ministry’s Disability Support Services, disabled people and their families/whānau, and residential service providers, in achieving the following outcomes:
greater choice, control and flexibility over where and how disabled people live
access to information and support to enable well-considered choices about where and how disabled people choose to live and receive support
increasing independence and choice fostered by service providers.
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 10 April 2018
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
Back to blog entries
Menu