News Bulletin 13 July 2011

on 13 July

From NZ media this week

 Māori nurses want their own register
The National Council of Māori Nurses is working to take control of registering Māori nurses.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/79269/m-ori-nurses-want-their-own-register

Drivers of Crime: Health services vital to changing lives
Focused, early health care for vulnerable children and their families makes a real difference to their lives.
Health Minister Tony Ryall says the public health service is providing a significant contribution to three of the four priority areas in the Drivers of Crime Initiative, updated today in a progress report Addressing the Drivers of Crime.
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/drivers-crime-health-services-vital-changing-lives

Much still to be done to reduce health inequities
Although progress has been made in reducing health inequities, an editorial in today's New Zealand Medical Journal proposes the next ten most important actions needed to further reduce significant health gaps based on ethnicity and socio-economic ...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1107/S00040/much-still-to-be-done-to-reduce-health-inequities.htm 

A poor state of health for nation's needy
Lower socio-economic groups are not only struggling to make ends meet, they are getting sicker and dying younger. Simon Collins reports on what needs to be done to redress the injustices faced by those at the bottom of the pile
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10737259

Maori health focus of plan
A health plan launched recently signals a fresh impetus to deal with inequality in health outcomes for Maori, Southern DHB Maori health general manager Donovan Clarke says.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/168569/maori-health-focus-plan

Doctor-questions-child-health-checks
A leading Taranaki doctor has questioned the usefulness of a national health policy targeting four-year-olds
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/5264351/Doctor-questions-child-health-checks

Maori-mortality-twice-as-high-as-expected
Almost twice the number of Maori in the MidCentral region died than were expected between 2000 and 2007, a MidCentral District Health Board report shows.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/5248027/Maori-mortality-twice-as-high-as-expected

Maori child abuse on the rise
RadioLIVE has obtained shocking new statistics on child abuse.
Figures released to RadioLIVE under the Official Information Act reveal Maori children are being abused at a higher rate now than ever before.
 http://www.3news.co.nz/Maori-child-abuse-on-the-rise/tabid/423/articleID/218274/Default.aspx

Cases of child abuse expected to nosedive
New Zealand's shameful child abuse rates have hit a "plateau" and will nosedive by 2014, our new Children's Commissioner says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10737661 

Hundreds-of-drunk-kids-in-our-hospitals
Children as young as seven are being admitted to hospital for drugs and alcohol overdoses.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/5264365/Hundreds-of-drunk-kids-in-our-hospitals

New guidelines to improve dementia and addiction services
Dementia sufferers and older people with mental health and addiction problems will benefit from new guidelines for treatment services says Associate Minister of Health Jonathan Coleman.
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-guidelines-improve-dementia-and-addiction-services

Health board cracks down on smoking ban breaches
A father's frustration with medical staff smoking on hospital grounds has led to a district health board…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10736844

Prison booze interventions trialled to cut crime
Prison nurses and probation officers could soon be trained in "interventions" to cut down on heavy drinking by offenders.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5246155/Prison-booze-interventions-trialled-to-cut-crime

Psych nurse guilty of sexually abusing patients
A psychiatric nurse has been found guilty of historic sex abuse offences on intellectually disabled patients living at Christchurch's Templeton Hospital.
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/9788890/psych-nurse-guilty-of-sexually-abusing-patients/

Nurse who sexually groomed girls struck off
A Whangarei Plunket nurse who was jailed for sexually grooming two girls has had his nurse's registration cancelled.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10737318

STRUCK OFF
A Northland man once lauded as the country's first male Plunket nurse has had his nursing registration cancelled after he was jailed for grooming two girls for sex.
http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/struck-off/3958827/

John Key supports euthanasia legislation review
Prime Minister John Key has indicated he supports looking at the legislation surrounding euthanasia
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5257731/John-Key-supports-euthanasia-legislation-review

One-on-one-care-blows-staff-budget
 High-needs patients are "blowing out" Taranaki Base Hospital's staffing budget.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/5253440/One-on-one-care-blows-staff-budget

Mental Health Foundation to host suicide prevention forum
Empowering people and communities with basic and practical ways of keeping their loved ones safe is one of the key aims behind the Mental Health Foundation’s annual suicide prevention forum, “How Do We Talk About Suicide
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1107/S00036/mental-health-foundation-to-host-suicide-prevention-forum.htm

Christchurch mental health services get boost
Christchurch mental health services have received a much needed boost.
http://www.starcanterbury.co.nz/local/news/christchurch-mental-health-services-get-boost/3958683/ 

University-nursing programme mooted
It is time a nursing programme was offered at the University of Otago, visiting New Jersey psychiatric nurse and academic Dr Shirley Smoyak says.
http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/cricket/168568/university-nursing-programme-mooted 

Group's report slams hospital
A vision for Dunedin Hospital is promoted in a hard-hitting internal report expressing serious concerns about the state of the hospital which, it says, offers many patients a "very poor service".
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/168574/groups-report-slams-hospital 

Silence on suicide questionedSilence about suicide is a hindrance not a help in lowering the suicide rate, United Kingdom mental health nurse and academic Prof Dawn Freshwater says.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/168529/silence-suicide-questioned 
Kronic users abusing medical staff, say doctors
More high-level doctors have joined a chorus of clinicians calling for Kronic to be taken off store shelves, saying hospital staff are being abused and threatened by patients stoned on legal highs
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10737663 

Kronic cases regular at ED
A dozen people suffering ill effects after taking Kronic have been seen in Dunedin Hospital's emergency department in recent weeks.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/168251/kronic-cases-regular-ed 

Doc-warns-about-drug-dangers
A Christchurch doctor has spoken out about the "severe dangers" of party drugs. Christchurch Hospital emergency physician Dr Paul Gee spoke at the winter symposium of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine in Queenstown at the weekend.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/5264395/Doc-warns-about-drug-dangers 

Lack-of-testing-leads-to-Kronic-problem-emergency-doctor
An emergency physician believes people are using party drugs, including Kronic, under the misguided belief they have been rigorously tested by authorities.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/5264514/Lack-of-testing-leads-to-Kronic-problem-emergency-doctor 

Carers tell of assaults by disabled loved ones 
One-third of people who care for ill or disabled loved ones suffer injuries and abuse from the people…
 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10736795  



From international media sources

 New Growth Needed In Supply Of Physicians, Physician Assistants And Advance Practice Nurses To Meet Demands Of Health-Care Reform
One consequence of the expanded access to health care facilitated by health care reform will be a shortfall in the necessary numbers of physicians and other advanced medical professionals...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/230638.php 

EU Rules Force Regulators To Register Doctors And Nurses Who Don't Meet UK Standards Says General Medical Council And Nursing And Midwifery Council
In evidence yesterday to the Lords EU Social Policies and Consumer Protection Sub-Committee, Chief Executive and Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Professor Dickon Weir Hughes, said that as a result of...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/230254.php 

Intensive Care Nurses Have Doubts About Method For Establishing Brain Death
More than half of Sweden's intensive care nurses doubt that a clinical neurological examination can establish that a patient is brain dead. Intensive care nurses also perceive that this uncertainty can affect relatives when the question of organ donation is raised, is reveiled in a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/229891.php 

Transforming Nursing Practice through Technology & Informatics
The HIMSS Board of Directors approved this position statement describing how to transform nursing practice through technology and informatics
http://press.himss.org/article_display.cfm?article_id=5334  

Help New Nurses Become Part of the Interprofessional Team
Lindsay Schwartz and colleagues investigated the experiences of 10 new nurses who had already worked between 3 and 18 months in interprofessional healthcare teams in a mental health organisation in Canada. Their qualitative descriptive study, which was published in the June issue of Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, attempts to ascertain nurses' experiences as they enter the workforce, especially those working in the psychiatric and mental health fields.
http://bit.ly/pM8wOc Older adults with cognitive impairment need better healthcare in ED

More needs to be done to improve the care that older adults with cognitive impairment
- including dementia and delirium - receive when they visit hospital emergency departments, according to a research review in the July issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.
http://bit.ly/oSECzF 

Study: Nurse-to-Patient Calls Reduce Surgery Center Cancellations by 53%
The cancellation rate at a North Carolina ambulatory surgery center dropped 53% after preoperative nurses called patients three days before surgery, researchers reported in the AORN journal. http://bit.ly/pkH5hL 

District nurses setting 'rubbish' example on public health
District nurses often set a “rubbish” example to patients about healthy lifestyles, according to the head of community services in Leicester.
http://mail.nursingtimes.net/a/hBOFtQIB7gYBnB8VhXWNshWWRsZ/new3 

'Non-hurried approach' essential consultation style for nurse prescribers
A non-hurried approach, care and rapport, approachability and continuity are key aspects of a successful consultation style for nurse prescribers, according to UK researchers.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/5032307.article?referrer=e1 

Toolkit launched to improve patient handover safety
Doctors can learn from nurses’ greater experience of patient handover, according to latest guidance.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/5031969.article?referrer=e1 

5 Ways to Retain New Graduate Nurses
Fresh nursing graduates can find it hard to make the transition from school to practice, and hospitals that help them are rewarded with confidence and competence. This article recommends nurse residency programs, competency-based orientation and mentorships, as well as efforts to make sure nurses are in the hands of good managers and to recognize and support new nurses' achievements.
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/NRS-268201/5-Ways-to-Retain-New-Graduate-Nurses

 'Cuts to university places will harm the profession
'While many nurses have been concerned about the job cuts that the NHS efficiency drive may bring about, at the other end of the scale, academics and those in charge of workforce planning fear that a shortage of student nurses could jeopardise the profession.
http://mail.nursingtimes.net/a/hBOEnA8B7gYBnB8VhI$NshWWRiB/hig15 

Post-registration training cuts revealed
Nurses working in specialist areas, mental health and schools are bearing the brunt of training cuts, figures obtained by Nursing Times reveal.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/5032014.article?referrer=e26  

ANA says Medicaid must recognize APRNs
The American Nurses Association has endorsed the Medicaid Advanced Practice Nurses and Physicians Assistants Act (H.R. 2134/S. 56), which would promote greater access to quality primary healthcare for lower-income individuals, especially in provider shortage areas, by recognizing advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants as qualified providers.
http://news.nurse.com/article/20110627/NATIONAL02/107040018/1003 

Australia sees low nurse demand
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Filipino nurses eyeing job opportunities in Australia will have to wait for at least two years as the Australian government announced it will hold off applications for foreign nurses beginning this year until 2013
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/325831/australia-sees-low-nurse-demand 

Emergency nurse practitioners practicing in most Scottish A&E units
Emergency nurse practitioners are now practising in the majority of emergency and urgent care settings in Scotland, according to researchers.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/5032255.article?referrer=e1 

Scottish nursing workforce being 'chipped away'
The loss of nursing posts in Scotland is accelerating, latest workforce figures reveal.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/5031928.article?referrer=e26 

Picture book improves patient communication
Staff at a West Midlands hospital trust have developed a new picture book to help patients with verbal communication difficulties.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/5032254.article?referrer=e1


Public health

Measles-outbreak-increases-to-50
Auckland's measles outbreak is worsening with 50 people now confirmed with the disease.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/5240183/Measles-outbreak-increases-to-50

Startling-rise-in-levels-of-obesity
An unwillingness to confront obesity is costing the country dearly. Imogen Neale reports.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/5261735/Startling-rise-in-levels-of-obesity

NZ women promiscuous - doctor
A Timaru gynaecologist wants a campaign against promiscuity after encountering a shocking number of pregnant patients who cannot remember whom they had sex with.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10737380


Health and wellbeing

Coping with earthquake trauma
Psychologist Suzanne Pitama presents questions that will help whānau deal with earthquake trauma.
http://www.tekaraka.co.nz/Blog/?page_id=2951

Work-related burnout studied
The risk of feeling run-down and “burnt out” is increased when you work more than 40 hours a week, reports the Daily Mail.The Daily Telegraph adds that simply “having a boring job can leave you just as vulnerable to experiencing ‘burnout’”.
http://www.nursingtimes.net/5031999.article?referrer=e7 

Helpguide’s improved emotional skills toolkit
We’ve been getting positive feedback from readers about our emotional skill-building toolkit. They tell us that it’s helping them overcome stress, anxiety, and depression and experience more control in their lives.
Our readers have also given us some good suggestions, which we’ve incorporated. Our hope is that these changes will make it easier for you to use the toolkit and get the most out of it.
http://www.helpguide.org/toolkit/bring_your_life_into_balance.htm?source=newsletter_06_2011

New publications

Preventing Nurse Bullying
July 1, 2011 - At first the concept of nurse bullying seems oxymoronic. The thought of caring professionals acting aggressively toward their peers seems counterintuitive. However, studies show more than a quarter of nurses surveyed report being bullied at work, by supervisors as well as peers.
http://www.nursezone.com/Nursing-News-Events/more-news/Preventing-Nurse-Bullying_37282.aspx

Reports online

Our invisible addicts
First Report of the Older Persons' Substance Misuse. Working Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. College Report CR165 ...
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/media/689621/invisible%20addicts.pdf

Websites of interest

JoJo’s Place
 A website which was specifically created for Christchurch children and youth, to help them cope with earthquake related stress. There are separate sections for use by children 10 years and younger and young people 11 years and older, and a downloadable information booklet for parents.
http://www.jojosplace.org/

Fiji Nursing Association of NZ
Welcome to the Fiji Nursing Association New Zealand
 The Fiji Nurses Association New Zealand Inc is a not for profit professional organisation.
http://www.fijinursingassociation.org.nz/


 Resources online

Developing emotional intelligence, resilience and skills for maintaining personal wellbeing in students of health and social care
(2011). London: Mental Health in Higher Education project (mhhe), in conjunction with the Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy.  (Information sheets)
It aims to raise awareness of the need for a focus on: developing emotional intelligence, enhancing resilience and those qualities that underpin it, and maintaining personal wellbeing for students who will become practitioners in health and social care. It outlines the rationale for highlighting these issues across the disciplines, and provides some pointers to examples of current practice and resources.
http://bit.ly/nt5psF


Articles of interest

Principles for a New Philosophy
Florence Nightingale laid the foundation for today's holistic nursing practice. In the inhumane conditions of the Crimean War, Nightingale practiced what later would be called holistic nursing - the concept that patients required a healthy mental, emotional, physical and spiritual environment to raise their odds of recovery.
http://news.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011110623002

The value of te reo in primary care
Suzanne Pitama, Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll, Tania Huria, Cameron Lacey, Paul Robertson
http://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/assets/documents/Publications/JPHC/June-2011/JPHCOSPPitamaJune2011.pdf

Patients’ and health professionals’ perceptions of teamwork in primary care
Susan Pullon, Eileen McKinlay, Maria Stubbe, Lindsay Todd, Christopher Badenhorst
http://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/assets/documents/Publications/JPHC/June-2011/JPHCOSPPullonJune2011.pdf


From the Ministry of Health

Mental Health and Addiction Services for Older People and Dementia Services: Guideline for District Health Boards
This guideline provides a means to achieve an integrated system for users and providers of mental health and addiction services for older people, and dementia services for people of any age. The guideline includes guiding service principles, an evidence-based seven-tiered service model, and recommendations for achieving the vision.

The document discusses the requirements of the proposed framework for the following services: services for Māori, Mental health prevention and promotion, primary health care, specialist services for mental health, addiction and dementia, support services in home and residential care, alcohol and drug services, intellectual disability, and long-term conditions. The guideline also discusses and makes recommendations on workforce requirements and clinical leadership.
http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/mental-health-addiction-services-older-people-and-dementia

Response to Major Fires: Guideline for Public Health Units
Date of publication (online): July 2011

Summary of publication
The purpose of these guidelines is to assist the public health response to major fires to minimise their public health risk. In cases of major fires, public health units are involved if the public health may be put at risk. The focus is on industrial fires, but some of the content is also relevant to large scrub or forest fires, such as the 2010 Mt Allan forest fire in Dunedin.

These guidelines provide an overview of the types of contaminants that can be released during fires and the information that needs to be collected to inform decisions on sampling and analysis. They also include advice on evacuaiton versus sheltering in relaiton to fire incidents, health monitoring and communication. They do not replace hazardous substance incident protocols that have been developed by a public health unit for use in its own region.
http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/response-to-major-fires-guidelines-for-public-health-units

Follow Snips on Twitterwww.twitter.com @SnipsInfo will find us. 
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 Wednesday 29 June 2011If 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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