Welcome to the College of Nurses – News Update.
No. 94 – 29 February 2012
From NZ media this week
Frontline-health-jobs-on-the-line-as-cuts-bite
Frontline jobs in the health sector are on the line as Government's squeeze on the public sector continues.
http://bit.ly/yUefvG
Don't-cut-frontline-hospital-jobs-union
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation has joined growing calls for frontline staff to be spared from any planned job cuts by the Waikato District Health Board.
http://bit.ly/zc4e2y
Nurses slam job cuts news as ‘scare tactics’
The timing for the announcement of potential budget cuts to district health boards to coincide with pay negotiations is "provocative", nurses say. http://bit.ly/xtLyGy
Personal Health Data Better Protected By ISO Standard
A new Standard for Health informatics – Classification of purposes for processing personal health information, ISO/TS 14265:2011, will increase protection of personal health information used by clinicians and others in healthcare organisations. The Standard defines a set of high-level categories of purposes for which such personal health information can be processed.
http://bit.ly/ynBcga
DHB programme keeps staff heatlhy
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board is offering a Healthy Living Programme to its employees in an effort to keep them healthy.
http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/22333-dhb-programme-keeps-staff-heatlhy.html
Proposal to reduce services at Isis centre
Bed numbers and nursing staff at Wakari Hospital's specialist rehabilitation service (Isis) will be cut to deal with a funding shortfall, a Southern District Health Board staff consultation document says
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/199310/proposal-reduce-services-isis-centre
Pharmac money-saving plans alarm diabetics
A Pharmac proposal to limit diabetics' access to subsidised glucose-testing equipment would save $10 million a year but has sparked fears among patients.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6489930/Pharmac-money-saving-plans-alarm-diabetics/
Aged-care workers preparing to strike
Workers earning close to minimum wage at the country's largest rest home operator are preparing for a series of strikes, saying the company does not care about them.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10788247
Rest home residents back workers' strike
ome residents at New Zealand's largest rest home chain are backing workers going on strike on Thursday morning.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/rest-home-residents-back-workers-strike-4742932
Funds cut for medical aid to 'at-risk' families
Midlands healthcare provider says it is 'unfair' not all can have access to mobile service
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/6472987/Funds-cut-for-medical-aid-to-at-risk-families
Government gets big bucks for bad habits
It is not something it wants to boast about, but tobacco is a cash cow for the Government.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10788044
International media
RCN comments on EU Directive on professional qualifications (UK)
The Royal College of Nursing has said that individual health professionals have every right to seek recognition and employment in another EU country.
http://bit.ly/wqcSG4
Shift From Nursing Homes to Managed Care at Home (USA)
Faced with soaring health care costs and shrinking
Medicare and
Medicaid financing, nursing home operators are closing some facilities and embracing an emerging model of care that allows many elderly patients to remain in their homes and still receive the medical and social services available in institutions
http://nyti.ms/w5uliQ
Health ministry to review nurses’ salaries (S’pore)
The
Ministry of Health (MOH) is reviewing salaries for nurses in order to see whether more Singaporeans can be attracted to the nursing profession.
http://bit.ly/nZ0GK6
Third of hospital nurses in London are foreign as training is cut (UK)
As many as a third of nurses recruited to London hospitals are from abroad, amid a shortage of "home-grown" staff.
http://bit.ly/ymVdqD
Public health
The Neglect of Mental Illness Exacts a Huge Toll, Human and Economic
By letting mental afflictions go untreated, we consign millions of Americans to misery and put a drag on our economy
http://bit.ly/wyTzos
Less-booze-to-buy-but-we-re-drinking-more
Kiwis had access to less booze last year than in 2010 but we put away more beer, wine and spirits.
http://bit.ly/ynnkvE
Fat List: 49 foods to avoid
A blacklist of foods heavy on calories but light on nutrition has been drawn up to help combat obesity - and honey, muesli bars, whole milk and frozen yoghurt are all included.
http://bit.ly/xXmuGF
Work and management
Who's the boss?
Nurse manager roles hard to fillNursing leaders and researchers say there's no question it's tough to find and keep nurse managers.
http://news.nurse.com/article/20120206/NATIONAL01/102060013
Keeping the peace: Conflict management strategies for nurse managers
Handling conflicts in an efficient and effective manner results in improved quality, patient safety, and staff morale, and limits work stress for the caregiver.
http://bit.ly/x5QdKk
Articles of interest
Alleviating "Second Victim" Syndrome: How We Should Handle Patient Harm
Most experienced nurses, physicians, and other clinicians have been associated, in some way, with health care-associated harm. Adverse events in health care occur far too often. A recent study1 by the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, determined that about 1 in 7 Medicare fee-for-service patients experienced a serious adverse event, and that an additional 1 in 7 experienced a less serious adverse event (
Table). On the basis of our best estimates of the incidence of adverse events, it is reasonable to assume that the majority of experienced clinicians have been near one. And yet, at that moment that an event occurs, the clinician closest to it feels alone. How does one feel after patient harm occurs? Responsible? Guilty? Inadequate? Defensive? Angry?
http://www.ahrq.gov/news/commentaries/comvictim.htm
Do you know your professional boundaries?
One of the crucial lessons that nurses begin to recognize early in their education is that professional boundaries in nursing describe a different and more complex type of relationship that we're priviledged to share with patients. This affiliation is much broader than professional relationships experienced by those in other careers. By virtue of our profession, there are many situations in which our designated boundaries allow for intimate entry into another person's life experiences.
http://bit.ly/zZsJw8
Online resources
A manual on assisting the development of a respite service in your area
(2011). U.S.: Miccio in collaboration with Peter Ashenden at OptumHealth.
Free download
A free manual to guide the process of creating a peer-run crisis respite service.
http://bit.ly/zj51Gk
From King’s Fund
Is your ward dementia-friendly?
Hospital stays can have a detrimental effect on people with dementia, yet relatively straightforward and inexpensive changes to the design of the care environment can have a positive impact on their wellbeing. We've produced two new resources to help clinical staff and organisations develop more supportive design for people with dementia.
http://bit.ly/y1PHYL
New publications
Socio-cultural Perspective on Patient Safety. Rowley E, Waring J, eds. Farnham Surrey, UK: Ashgate Publishing Limited; 2011. ISBN: 9781409408628. This book explores social and organizational factors that affect patient safety.Links from this page lead to table of contents and introduction in pdf format.
http://psnet.ahrq.gov/resource.aspx?resourceID=23884&sourceID=1&emailID
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 28 February 2012 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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