Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 405, Wednesday 11 July 2018
Weekly news round-up of nursing and health information in New Zealand and internationally
NATIONAL NEWS
Middlemore Hospital emergency department nurses wearing safety alarms as violent assaults rise
Nurses at Middlemore Hospital's emergency department are being issued personal emergency alarms for their safety after a spike in violent assaults on staff.
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'Staff accept aggression': nurses under attack aren't reporting incidents
Nurses in an Auckland hospital are arming themselves with safety alarms as attacks against hospital staff are on the rise.
At the Counties Manukau District Health Board meeting last week, a Middlemore Hospital nurse said only about one in 50 nurses was very confident in dealing with aggressive patients.
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Notification to Nursing Council not a breach of settlement
The Employment Court recently held that parties in a health context could not contract out of mandatory reporting duties through a settlement agreement, and that notifying the Nursing Council did not breach the confidentiality, non-disparagement or full and final settlement provisions in the agreement.
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NZNO welcomes Nga Poutama Oranga Hinengaro
NZNO is encouraging its members to participate in the Health Quality and Safety Commission’s mental health workforce safety survey - Nga Poutama Oranga Hinengaro that will be available at the end of next month.
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Nurses reject pay offer, strike will go ahead
Nurses will strike on Thursday after rejecting the latest pay offer from their district health board employers.
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Acting PM Winston Peters comments on nurses' strike
Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters spoke in Wellington today regarding nurses' decision to reject the Government's pay offer and instead strike. / Video by Mark Mitchell
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Government hoping for last-minute breakthrough in talks to avert nurses' strike
The Government is hoping that last-minute talks between district health boards and nurses will avert strike action on Thursday.
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Practice nurses in shorter supply than GPs
The shortage of practice nurses is greater than that of GPs.Almost half of general practices had a vacancy for a practice nurse in the past year, compared to 39 per cent facing a GP vacancy, according to a report from the Royal New Zealand College of General Practice (RNZCGP) annual 2017 survey of members.
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Otago report highlights lack of progress in clinical governance in NZ’s health system
Eight years after the Government called for more clinical governance in the health system to help improve patient care and safety, University of Otago researchers have found little has changed.
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CANCER ISSUES
New Online TV Series Explores the Difficult Topics for Cancer Patients
Canopy TV, a new online video series that explores difficult subjects such as sex during cancer treatment and telling your children that you have cancer, was launched yesterday.
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Counties Manukau DHB joins the NBSP
Another 65,000 New Zealanders will have access to free bowel screening from today with Counties Manukau District Health Board joining the National Bowel Screening Programme (NBSP).
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DHBs
Hospital buildings still in use despite safety warnings
South Auckland health chiefs were warned 18 years ago that an earthquake-prone building should not have patients in it, but it still does.
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Documents reveal 'weak' financial position of Counties Manukau DHB
A confidential briefing from the former chairman of Counties Manukau District Health Board has revealed the scale of concern about management practices that led to the board grappling with a "very weak" financial position and an acute cash flow problem.
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Middlemore Hospital opens "winter ward" as it deals with record patient numbers
Staff are welcoming the addition of beds at one of the country's biggest hospitals after it hit a new record for patient capacity.
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ETHICAL ISSUES
Hospices say no to euthanasia
The group which represents the 35 hospices in New Zealand says a new bill could require it to host physician-assisted deaths even if it philosophically opposes them.
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Is assisted dying a Pākehā issue?
In the latest of Newsroom's series analysing major themes in public submissions on the proposed euthanasia bill, Jeremy Rees looks at ethnic and cultural considerations.
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HEALTH FUNDING AND RESEARCH
Government's 'shocking' $6.5 million funding cut to cochlear implants
The Government has quietly cancelled extra funding for cochlear implants, despite a successful campaign for publicly-funded devices for every Kiwi who needed one.
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HEALTH INEQUALITY
Major fundamental changes required to achieve health equity
In comparing efforts to address health inequities, researchers in Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ) and the United States (US) have found that both countries are failing to align policy with evidence-based approaches that could help achieve equity.
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High need Auckland patients to pay less for after-hours care
Aucklanders seeking urgent after-hours care could be paying less.In a bid to reduce inequalities and provide affordable after-hours and overnight urgent healthcare, Waitemata and Auckland District Boards are lowering costs at selected clinics.
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MENTAL HEALTH
Occupancy at Hillmorton Hospital's acute inpatient service 'unsustainable'
Seclusion of "distressed" patients at Hillmorton Hospital's acute inpatient unit spiked in May as occupancy at the already-strained service reached "unsustainable" levels.
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How Nelson developed a pioneering mental health service for children and adolescents
As controversial changes are being made at Nelson Marlborough Health's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Samantha Gee looks at the origins of the pioneering specialist service.
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Changes still to be made after multiple failings in care of mental health patient
Desperately-needed changes to mental health services prompted by failings in the care of a patient with complex needs, have yet to be implemented.
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OBESITY / SUGAR TAX
Two million New Zealanders will be obese by the 2030s - study
A new study is predicting two million New Zealanders could be considered clinically obese in the next 20 years.
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Maori community groups lead by example in tackling obesity
New research by the University of Otago has highlighted the dominance of unhealthy food at sporting venues in New Zealand. Two thirds of food sold at netball and rugby venues is considered unhealthy, with sugary beverages, chocolate, potato crisps and fried food the most commonly available. Researchers suggest this undermines the positive impact of physical activity and that the benefits of sports participation could be "undone by a diet of junk food."
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New Zealand's worrying fast-food trends revealed in new study
Alarming research shows New Zealand fast food chains have been increasing their serving sizes.A University of Auckland study looked at almost 5500 fast food products across 12 food groups at 10 major fast-food chains between 2012 and 2016.
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Urgent need for sugary drinks tax: Health boards
DHBs want a tax on sugary drinks - warning the obesity epidemic could result in Kiwi kids living shorter lives than their parents.
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PUBLIC HEALTH
Town promises to do more to tackle air pollution, now linked to diabetes
Wellington region's worst town for air pollution promises to do better as new research links airborne particulates, even at levels deemed safe, to an increased risk of diabetes.
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FluTracking proves popular
The Ministry of Health’s online FluTracking initiative is boosting our understanding of influenza.“I’m thrilled that more than 3500 people have signed up to New Zealand’s first online campaign to monitor influenza since it launched two months ago
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Kiwi flu vaccination doses at an all time high
The number of New Zealanders vaccinated against influenza is at an all time high.
Health Minister David Clark announced this morning that around 100,000 more doses had been given this year, compared to last.
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Samoan infants died after MMR vaccine. Here's why an expert says Kiwis shouldn't fear for their kids
Samoa's Government has seized supplies of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, following the deaths of two infants - but Kiwi parents should not panic, an expert says.
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Government lays groundwork for safe drinking water
The Government is amending the Health Act to allow for significant improvements to the safety of drinking-water in New Zealand, the Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced.
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Health Minister David Clark admits safe drinking water may be costly
Early estimates of the cost of improving the safety of the country's drinking water supplies are "a bit frightening", Health Minister David Clark has admitted.
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SOCIAL HEALTH
Māori health researcher says culture more important than losing weight
There's no point shaming Māori for not going to the gym, because it's not helping, a researcher has found.
AUT exercise physiologist Dr Isaac Warbrick's study into Māori men's attitudes towards exercise has revealed better messaging is needed to encourage people into fitness.
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Three quarters of Pasifika family and sexual violence goes unreported due to cultural barriers - ACC
New Zealand's first national violence prevention programme for Pasifika young people has been launched. Atu-Mai, launched by Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio and ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway in Auckland on Wednesday, aims to equip Pasifika young people and their families with the right knowledge and tools to live free from violence and sexual harm.
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Pasifika youth at risk of problem gambling if their mothers gamble, new research shows
Pacific mothers who gamble are helping shape a new generation of addicts - their children, new research has found. A study by Auckland University of Technology (AUT) looking at Pacific 14-year-old children and their mothers found two-thirds of youth surveyed worried about the time or money they spent gambling.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Nurses take on expanded roles to provide access to health care in rural, underserved areas
To help address access to health care for rural and underserved areas, registered nurses can take on expanded roles in primary care delivery.
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More Nurse Practitioners Are Pursuing Residency Training To Hone Skills
The patient at the clinic was in his 40s and had lost both his legs to Type 1 diabetes. He had mental health and substance abuse problems and was taking large amounts of opioids to manage pain.
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Care provided by specialist cancer nurses helps improve life expectancy of patients with lung cancer
A new study looking at the picture of lung cancer care in England finds that patients with lung cancer experience significantly better outcomes in terms of life expectancy, avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions and managing the effects of treatment when cared for by specialist lung cancer nurses.
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Nurses Play Integral Role in Newly Issued Colorectal Screening Guidelines
The American Cancer Society (ACS) recently updated its guidelines to lower the age to start colorectal cancer screening to 45. Nurses will play a vital role in implementing this important change.
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Australian Government begins fining parents who don't vaccinate their kids
Australia's Government will crack down on parents who refuse to vaccinate their children by holding back on family support payments.
Under the government's "No Jab, No Pay" programme that started on Sunday, Family Tax Benefit Part A payments will be reduced fortnightly by A$28 (NZ$30) for each unvaccinated child the parent has.
Read more here
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Managing gaps in the continuity of nursing care to enhance patient safety
Angela Jones, Megan-Jane Johnstone
Background
Gaps in the continuity of patient care increase the risk of preventable adverse events. This paper reports findings from the first Australian study to explore the role and expertise of nurses in identifying and managing gaps.
Aim
To describe the processes nurses used to (i) identify potentially harmful gaps in the continuity of patient care and (ii) manage the gaps identified as a key aspect of safe care.
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Beuthin R, Bruce A, Scaia M. Medical assistance in dying (MAiD): Canadian nurses’ experiences. Nurs Forum. 2018;1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12280
Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) represents a historic change in Canadian society and the provision of end‐of‐life care. In this descriptive narrative inquiry, 17 nurses were interviewed during the first 6 months of assisted dying becoming a legal option for patients in Canada. Nurses’ experiences of either providing care for a patient who had chosen MAiD, or declining to participate in MAiD, were explored. Findings describe three themes and eight storylines of the impact of MAiD on nurses’ view of the profession, clinical practice, and personally. While most nurses perceived MAiD as an extension of the profession and their nursing practice, a small number also expressed moral distress as they grappled with assisted dying. Narratives illustrated an ongoing sensemaking process and spectrum of emotions. These findings offer insight and provide direction for nurses and managers in this new clinical and legal reality. Further research is needed to understand more fully the moral distress of some nurses, as well as the importance of communicating openly and nonjudgmentally with patients, families, and the health‐care team.
Read more here
REPORTS ONLINE
An economic analysis of flu vaccination
This report presents findings from a new economic model on cost-benefit analyses for differing uptake and efficacy scenarios for the English flu vaccination programme.
Seasonal influenza remains a potent public health concern around the globe. Those with underlying health conditions are exposed to serious and even fatal consequences if they catch the flu. The flu continues to impose a serious burden on health services, as well as resulting in “productivity losses” due to poor health and premature mortality.
Read more here
NEW PUBLICATIONS
A new Aotearoa New Zealand Addiction Specialty Nursing Competency Framework has been published. Revised by Drug and Alcohol Nurses of Australasia, this publication is a knowledge and skills framework for nurses working in the addiction treatment specialty.
The updated framework reflects changes that have occurred in legislation, policy, service provision, workforce development and nursing practice since the original Aotearoa New Zealand Addiction Specialty Nursing Competency Framework was published in 2012.
The New Zealand Addiction Specialty Nursing Group has developed the framework with funding support from Matua Raki, the addiction workforce development team within Te Pou o te Whakaaro Nui.
Download the Aotearoa New Zealand addiction specialty nursing competency framework (2018).
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 July 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
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