Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 530, Wednesday 10 February 2021
Weekly news round-up of nursing and health information in New Zealand and internationally
NATIONAL NEWS
New Chief Nurse And Midwifery Officer For Northland DHB
Maree still holds an honorary role as Colonel Commandant of the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps, the Chief of Army's advisor for nursing ...
Covid 19 coronavirus: Stressed MIQ nurses warn they're 'going to get sloppy'
MIQ nurses fear there will be another Covid-19 community outbreak if staffing numbers aren't boosted at isolation facilities across the country.
'No evidence' of nurses working 24-hour shifts at MIQ facilities - Hipkins
MIQ nurses insist they are sometimes working around the clock, despite the Covid-19 Response Minister saying there is no evidence of that.
Christchurch Hospital's new acute unit still without key services, nurses say
“It's one of the areas that wasn't funded as a way of kind of belt tightening," says the nurse 1 NEWS interviewed. "They need about 15 extra nursing or ...
ED security boost after assaults rise
Unacceptable assaults on doctors and nurses are being taken seriously and security has been bolstered at Lakes District Hospital.
CANCER NEWS
Health Minister Andrew Little hints at more funding for cancer, but makes no promises
Health Minister Andrew Little has suggested more money could be on the way for cancer treatment, after a highly critical report into cancer treatment in New Zealand.
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Cutting Unneeded CT Scans, Radiation For Kids With Head Injuries
New medical guidelines may reduce unnecessary CT scans, and the associated radiation, for children with head injuries.
COVID-19 / CORONAVIRUS
Can your boss call the shots on Covid-19 vaccination?
“No jab, no job” policies are likely to become an issue in New Zealand as Covid-19 vaccines become available, according to an employment lawyer.
Retirement village operator Arvida Group adopts strict new Covid jab hiring policy
One of New Zealand's largest retirement village and aged-care providers is making it compulsory for new staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Covid-19: Medsafe grants Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine conditional approval for use in New Zealand
Medsafe has granted provisional approval for the first Covid-19 vaccine likely to arrive in New Zealand.
Robust Assessment Ahead Of Medsafe Approval Of Vaccine
The decision by medicines regulator Medsafe to provisionally approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (Comirnaty) to be used in New Zealand follows a robust assessment of the safety, effectiveness and quality of the vaccine.
Covid-19 coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern reveals vaccine timeline as experts approve Pfizer jab
Medsafe has conditionally approved the Pfizer vaccine for use in New Zealand and the first Kiwis to get it will be MIQ workers and their families.
Covid-19: What happens if frontline workers refuse the vaccine?
Glenda Alexander from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation said redeploying staff to non-contact roles would be the most likely solution. She said ...
Normalise testing approach, board told
Covid-19 testing has to become a standard part of healthcare work to keep the South safe from the pandemic disease, the region’s health board has been warned.
Employers to get $350 payments for staff awaiting Covid test results, but unable to work from home
A new government fund for employees who need to self-isolate after a Covid-19 test is being celebrated as a valuable safety tool.
New variants raise worry about Covid-19 virus reinfections
Evidence is mounting that having Covid-19 may not protect against getting infected again with some of the new variants.
Covid-19: Sore throat, fatigue, and myalgia are more common with new UK variant
Mahase Elisabeth.
BMJ 2021; 372 :n288
People infected with the new variant of covid-19 discovered in the South East of England (known as B.1.1.7 or VUI 202012/01) are more likely to have a cough, sore throat, fatigue, or myalgia than those infected with other variants, the Office for National Statistics has reported.1
Covid-19: Novavax vaccine efficacy is 86% against UK variant and 60% against South African variant
Mahase Elisabeth.
BMJ 2021; 372 :n296
The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine produced by the US biotechnology company Novavax is 95.6% effective against the original variant of SARS-CoV-2 but also provides protection against the newer variants B.1.1.7 (85.6%) and B.1.351 (60%), preliminary data from clinical trials show.
ETHICAL ISSUES
Concern money used to sway doctors to euthanasia
An Otago doctor believes the Ministry of Health is trying to use money to entice medical professionals into offering euthanasia services.
MAORI HEALTH
Māori Health Authority a step closer
After recent strong Māori calls for an independent Māori Health Authority, it's looking as if it could soon be a reality.
MENTAL HEALTH
Depression, anxiety and panic attacks: Students' demand for mental health support rising
Concerns over exam results, job uncertainty and the ongoing impact of Covid-19 will result in more young people seeking help for a range of mental health issues, a New Zealand support service says.
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
More rural hospital doctors & more funding needed
The country's only dedicated rural hospital training course is delivering doctors where they're needed, but is crying out for more funding. A fifth of the population rely on rural health services, and the Rural Hospital Medicine Training Programme was set up in 2008 to address shortages in the field.
Federation Has A Plan To Improve Primary Health With 'Locality Networks'
“The locality networks concept as outlined in the Federations Discussion Paper, May 2020, can greatly improve health care for all New Zealanders”, says Hon. Steve Chadwick, Chair of the Federation of Primary Health Aotearoa.
RESPIRATORY
Sharp rise in smoking linked to loneliness in lockdown
People who felt distressed and lonely during the country's lockdown last autumn were three times more likely to smoke more, a new study has found.
WELLBEING
Promoting nurse mental health
Nurses are experiencing an unprecedented amount of burnout, depression, and anxiety.
Stressful work environments, workplace bullying, and workplace cultures unsupportive of personal well-being play a role in the nurse mental health crisis.
System-level mental health promotion can reduce the mental health burden on nurses.
WORKPLACE
Cross-training: Preparing for disasters beyond the pandemic
A three-phase approach addressed immediate needs and enhanced nurses’ skills and confidence.
REPORTS AND NEW PUBLICATIONS
The Impact of COVID-19 on the Nursing Profession in the U.S.
Now more than ever is the time to reflect on nursing’s role in addressing the issues heightened by COVID-19 and to inform a progressive path forward where nurses are well-positioned and prepared to meet the evolving needs of our patients, communities and health care system.
AONL joined the American Nurses Association and Johnson & Johnson to commission a market research study to understand the current state of the nursing profession amid the pandemic.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Psychometric properties of instruments used to measure the cultural competence of nurses: A systematic review,
- Osmancevic, D. Schoberer, C. Lohrmann, F. Großschädl,
International Journal of Nursing Studies, Volume 113, 2021, 103789,
ISSN 0020-7489,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103789.
Cultural competence is a key component of culturally congruent nursing care. In order to reduce healthcare inequalities and to identify potentials for improvement in nursing practice, researchers need to be able to assess cultural competence properly. Although many instruments for the assessment of cultural competence have been developed, their measurement properties have not yet been reviewed systematically. Such an overview of existing instruments, however, would allow researchers to identify the most valid and reliable instrument for nursing practice.
Objective
The purpose of conducting this review is to identify and critically appraise the psychometric properties of instruments used to measure the cultural competence of nurses.
Nursing during the COVID‐19 outbreak: A phenomenological study.
Arcadi, P, Simonetti, V, Ambrosca, R, et al.
J Nurs Manag. 2021; 00: 1– 9. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13249
The aim of this study was to explore the experience of Italian nurses engaged in caring for patients with COVID‐19.
Background
COVID‐19 found the health care world unprepared to face an emergency of such magnitude. Italy was one of the most affected European countries, with more than 250,000 cases. Understanding the impact of events of this magnitude on nurses provides a framework of knowledge on which educational training could be based to face similar situations in the future to prevent further breakdown.
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 of 92 February 2021
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