News bulletin 4 June

Welcome to the College of Nurses – News Update.
No. 205 Wednesday 4 Jun 2014

 

From NZ media this week

Nurses to work together with churches and communities to improve Pacific health
Three full time nurses will soon be working with west Auckland and North Shore churches and community trusts to improve the health and wellbeing of our Pacific communities.
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2014/may-2014/30/nurses-to-work-together-with-churches-and-communities-to-improve-pacific-health.aspx

Community-driven plan to improve Pacific health
A new community-driven plan aims to help significantly improve the health of the Pacific population in Auckland.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1405/S00153/community-driven-plan-to-improve-pacific-health.htm

Nurse's snooping 'flagrant' breach
A nurse who snooped through multiple patient files has "destroyed" the family of one of her victims, a disciplinary hearing has heard.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10101671/Nurses-snooping-flagrant-breach

Nurse suspended for hanging up on patients
A registered nurse working for Healthline, who regularly cut off callers seeking advice and surfed the internet during calls, has been found guilty of professional misconduct and suspended.
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/news/2014/may-2014/28/nurse-suspended-for-hanging-up-on-patients.aspx

Ryall grilled over health funding
Health Minister Tony Ryall has faced a grilling at Parliament over funding for health announced in the Budget.
It occurred at a wide-ranging Health select committee session on Wednesday focused on health spending generally
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/245698/ryall-grilled-over-health-funding

Health Excellence seminar series to be streamed live
Accelerating performance improvement by learning from the nation’s leading healthcare professionals is the vision of a seminar series being streamed live for the first time. 
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2014/may-2014/30/health-excellence-seminar-series-to-be-streamed-live.aspx

International media

National Nurses United Slams Health IT as 'Unproven' Technology
National Nurses United has announced a campaign that aims to highlight the dangers of using "unproven" medical technology,Healthcare IT News reports.
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2014/5/27/national-nurses-united-slams-health-it-as-unproven-technology

Study: School nurses save districts money
LIBERTY, Ill. (WGEM) -Cash strapped school districts are often forced to make tough budget decisions. A new study shows that the school nurse position is often one of the first things to go.  
http://www.wgem.com/story/25638051/2014/05/29/school-nurse-save-districts-money

Mass. Considering Allowing Nurse Practitioners To Practice Primary Care
There’s a doctor shortage in Massachusetts. The traditional ‘family doctors’—the primary care physicians people go to for annual checkups or when they get injured or sick—there just aren’t enough of them. It’s actually a national problem. And with so few doctors, some states are looking to nurses for help.
http://wgbhnews.org/post/mass-considering-allowing-nurse-practitioners-practice-primary-care

Implications of mandatory flu vaccinations for health-care workers
Vaccination rates among health care workers are less than 50%, well below the level necessary for herd immunity. Employers planning to implement mandatory influenza vaccination policies for health-care workers need to understand the implications, according to experts. In Canada, condition-of-service policies must comply with employment law, provincial human rights codes and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Condition-of-service policies that apply to unionized employees must be consistent with collective labour agreements, and vaccination policies should allow exemptions for religious beliefs and practices.
http://bit.ly/1tCsiN2

Nurses can't find jobs
Up to three thousand graduate nurses haven't managed to get jobs in hospitals and unions are blaming a rise in the number of foreign nurses being brought into the country on 457 working visas.
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2014/s4011254.htm

DHB specific

Safety award for Mercy Hospital
Mercy Hospital, in Dunedin, has received a national occupational safety award for eliminating toxic smoke plumes in operating theatres.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/304109/safety-award-mercy-hospital

Hospital departure lounge frees up beds
Patients being released from care will soon be putting their feet up in comfort with the opening of a specialised waiting area.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10092811/Hospital-departure-lounge-frees-up-beds

New DHB boss to face hard issues
Whoever the incoming chief executive of Waikato District Health Board turns out to be - their first day will be less about being shown the toilets and more about dealing with the stink left by a damning report from the Ministry of Health.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/10101773/New-DHB-boss-to-face-hard-issues

DHB quiet on Ministry criticisms
There was a great big grey elephant sitting in the boardroom inside the Hockin Building at Waikato Hospital yesterday afternoon.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/10095305/DHB-quiet-on-Ministry-criticisms

Gore Hospital's funding level frozen says CEO
Rural hospitals funded by the Southern District Health Board will not receive any extra funding in the next financial year, the head of Gore Health says.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/10095235/Gore-Hospitals-funding-level-frozen-says-CEO

New $3m surgical robot arrives in Tauranga
A $3 million surgical robot has finally arrived at Grace Hospital.
The hospital announced the arrival of the da Vinci Si robot today after nearly two years fighting for funding to make it possible.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11263394

Glowing review funded by board
The Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) is under fire after revelations it paid $186,000 for a glowing review claimed to be "independent".
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10111603/Glowing-review-funded-by-board

Hospital rebuild crisis warning
Christchurch Hospital is gearing up for a multimillion-dollar redevelopment it admits will heighten risks for patients and be a ‘‘clinical team’s"worst nightmare’’.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10105819/Hospital-rebuild-crisis-warning

Keep acute surgery 24/7
Round-the-clock acute surgical services should be retained at Wairau Hospital, a long-awaited report released yesterday recommends.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/10102845/Keep-acute-surgery-24-7

Mental health

Millions for kids' mental health study
Briscoes chief Rod Duke helps Cure Kids search for ‘chair’ to delve into child and teenage disorders.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11265873

Pharmacy

E-scripts first stage in record sharing
Plan to share patients’ medical data between healthcare providers makes successful start with electronic prescription service
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11264891

Patient safety

No advice to patient on painkillers
The Otago Southland coroner has recommended his finding into the death of an Invercargill woman be read by Southern District Health Board (SDHB) staff, saying the woman was not advised about the effect of strong painkillers prescribed to her after surgery.
http://www.odt.co.nz/regions/southland/304087/no-advice-patient-painkillers

Public health

Kiwis gain greater access to immunisation
New Zealanders will gain greater access to new and existing vaccines when the new National Immunisation Schedule takes effect on July 1, 2014.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1405/S00161/kiwis-gain-greater-access-to-immunisation.htm

Social health

Minimum pricing of alcohol: what does the evidence say?
As a strategy to reduce harm from alcohol, there is growing interest internationally around the setting of minimum prices on alcohol. In this blog we review a paper just published in the Lancet on this approach. We also consider the potential implications for New Zealand around combining minimum pricing with increases in alcohol excise tax.
https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/2014/05/27/minimum-pricing-of-alcohol-what-does-the-evidence-say/

Drugs and alcohol

Spike in synthetic high patients
There has been an increase in the number of people showing up at Wairau and Nelson hospital emergency departments showing withdrawal symptoms from synthetic highs since a ban on the drugs was introduced earlier this month.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/10096809/Spike-in-synthetic-high-patients

Warning as new legal highs hit shelves
A poisons expert has warned of risks to users' health from new legal highs that have appeared to replace synthetic cannabis.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10111561/Warning-as-new-legal-highs-hit-shelves

Obesity

Obesity epidemic reaching crisis levels
New Zealand's obesity epidemic has reached crisis levels, health and nutrition experts says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11263969

'It's pretty grim' - 30% of world is fat, no country immune
Almost a third of the world is now fat, and no country has been able to curb obesity rates in the last three decades, according to a new global analysis.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11263914

Obesity fight sees lollies banned at hospital
There is to be no spoonful of sugar with the medicine at Waikato Hospital.
Sweets will be banned from its vending machines around the campus from July 1.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10101772/Obesity-fight-sees-lollies-banned-at-hospital

Need surgery? Time to cut your calories
Strict low-calorie diets are standard procedure leading up to weight-loss surgery but they could become an option for all overweight surgical patients as hospitals struggle to deal with an increasing number of fat patients.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/10108179/Need-surgery-Time-to-cut-your-calories

Work and management

How to Advocate for Your Patient
One of the most important and sacred duties of the nurse is advocating for their patient. Whether you speak up for them because they don't have the education to know medical jargon or you speak up because they are unable to do so for themselves, advocating is the crucial pivot on which patient safety lies.
^{http://bit.ly/1p1N4p6}

Social media

Family Practice Nurse Practitioners Make HIT a Learning Priority
Advanced practice nurses (APNs) are in demand.  From Q1 2012 to Q1 2013, job postings for nurse practitioners (NPs) rose 15 percent, while nurse management postings increased 8 percent.  Family medicine NPs topped the list for most nurse practitioner job postings in the first quarter of 2013, according to the HealtheCareers Network and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
http://bit.ly/1pN12uL

Health and wellness

Back pain at work: Preventing pain and injury
Heavy lifting, repetitive movements and sitting at a desk all day can take a toll on your back. Get the facts about back pain at work and how to prevent it.
http://mayocl.in/1nsR44E

The effects of mindfulness training program on reducing stress and promoting well being among nurses in critical care units
This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness‑based training program in reducing stress and promoting well‑being among critical care nurses.
This study was conducted in a tertiary referral centre in Malaysia.
http://www.ajan.com.au/Vol31/Issue3/31-3.pdf

Articles of interest

Overseas qualified nurses in Australia: reflecting on the issue

The migration of international nurses is a growing phenomenon and will continue in response to global nursing shortages. Historically, nursing has been depicted as a ‘portable’ profession, or one which enables individuals to move across inter/national borders. This ‘portability’ of nursing is supporting skilled nurse migration around the world.  However,  nursing practices learned by Overseas        Qualified Nurses (OQN) in their home countries may differ to the role and expectations of the new country in relation to scope of practice, professional and legal environment, accountability, professional autonomy, health care technology and inter‑professional relationships.
http://www.ajan.com.au/Vol31/Issue3/31-3.pdf

Publications and Reports online

AHIMA launches data breach management toolkit
The American Health Information Management Association has released an online resource that could help organizations comply with HIPAA data breach notification rules. The Breach Management Toolkit covers five elements that organizations should put in a breach notification letter, including a description of compromised data, steps the organization is taking to help affected people protect themselves from potential harm as a result of the breach and a plan to prevent future breaches.
http://healthitsecurity.com/2014/05/09/ahima-offers-data-breach-toolkit-to-healthcare-providers/

http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/safestaffing/SafeStaffingGuidelines.jsp

From the Ministry of  Health

Immunisation Handbook 2014
The purpose of the Immunisation Handbook 2014 is to provide clinical guidelines for health professionals on the safest and most effective use of vaccines in their practice. 
Note: The E-book version of the Handbook will be available for download from this page from 6 June 2014.
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/immunisation-handbook-2014

Transition Planning Guidelines for Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health / Alcohol and Other Drugs Services 2014
This guideline is for district health boards (DHBs) funded infant, child and adolescent mental health (ICAMH), and youth-focused alcohol and other drug (AOD) services. It assists them to develop and implement planning processes for young people who are transitioning from their services.
It has been developed to promote consistent practice across ICAMH/AOD services nationally and to guide services to support young people to transition between services and in-and-out of services based upon their level of need at that time.
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/transition-planning-guidelines-infant-child-and-adolescent-mental-health-alcohol-and-other-drugs

Like Minds, Like Mine National Plan 2014-2019
Like Minds, Like Mine is a programme to increase social inclusion and reduce stigma and discrimination for people with experience of mental illness.
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/minds-mine-national-plan-2014-2019

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 3 Jun  2014

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