Welcome
to the College of Nurses – News Update.
No. 248 22 April 2015
From NZ media this week
Hutt educator takes palliative care practices to
India
For Raelee Jensen, offering what help she can in India is
such a meaningful role that she has devoted what times she has been able to
over the last 12 years as a volunteer.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/hutt-news/67831681/hutt-educator-takes-palliative-care-practices-to-india
Teen died after post-surgery monitoring stopped
A nurse faces a possible discliplinary hearing over her care
of a 15-year-old boy who died while recovering from surgery done at the
Greymouth's public hospital.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11435617
Wellington Hospital
alarmed by spate of patients gone 'nuts' on fake acid
Police
and medical authorities are warning about a new LSD-like drug that can turn
users so violent it takes four or five people to subdue them.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/67867839/Wellington-Hospital-alarmed-by-spate-of-patients-gone-nuts-on-fake-acid
No privacy breaches since patient record sharing
introduced
Nearly 500 instances of Canterbury health professionals
accessing patient medical records have been reviewed since the country's first
online health database was launched, but all were found to be legitimate
queries.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/67802440/no-privacy-breaches-since-patient-record-sharing-introduced
No free GP visits for all children - Government
The Government will not be paying for all primary aged
children to attend the doctor for free, documents have revealed
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11435942
From International media this week
Lawmaker Pushes Bill Allowing Nurses to Prescribe
Schedule II Drugs
It takes a while to see a
doctor when you go to the emergency room, and it could take just as long to be
released.
"Now, they are having
to wait on the doctor to be able to do those prescriptions. It means that the
checkout is less efficient. It is going to take longer, which means higher
stress on the patient,” Kat Hinson with the Texas Nurses Association said.
http://www.twcnews.com/tx/austin/politics/2015/04/15/lawmaker-pushes-bill-allowing-nurses-to-prescribe-.html
Bill to allow tougher sanctions for nurses stalls
COLUMBIA - A bill that would allow a nurse's license to be
revoked if the nurse misreads a doctor's order and causes a medication error is
done for the year.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/16/bill-allow-tougher-sanctions-nurses-stalls/25874067/
Nurse-led
innovations at 42 hospitals nationwide improve patient outcomes, save more than
$28 million annually
Results of
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ leadership and innovation
training program underscore influence of direct care nurses
ALISO VIEJO,
Calif. — April
14, 2015 — Critical care nurses at 42 hospitals nationwide developed
patient care initiatives that substantially improved clinical outcomes while
demonstrating anticipated financial savings of more than $28 million annually.
http://www.aacn.org/wd/publishing/content/pressroom/pressreleases/2015/apr/csi-academy-overview.content?menu=AboutUs
NY nurses push
legislature for staffing ratio limits
Hundreds
of nurses from around New York state have come to the Capitol to urge lawmakers
to require hospitals to meet minimum staffing requirements.
Members of the New York State Nurses Association say Tuesday that limiting how
many patients a nurse can handle at once would improve patient outcomes,
prevent burnout and ultimately reduce overall medical costs.
http://www.uticaod.com/article/20150421/NEWS/150429802/1994/NEWS
Cancer
Cancer patient survival rates on the rise in New
Zealand
Patients diagnosed with
cancer are fighting off the silent killer with more success than those in the
past.
But ultimately it is the
type of cancer that determines how long and how effectively a patient can beat
the disease.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/67784104/cancer-patient-survival-rates-on-the-rise-in-new-zealand
DHBs and PHOs
Waikato
DHB restructure: coming soon
A restructure will take place at the Waikato
District Health Board soon, with the organisation's boss expected to go public
with the details in the next few weeks.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/67790625/waikato-dhb-restructure-coming-soon
Southern DHB expects $42m deficit
The Southern District Health Board expects its
financial deficit to blow out to more than $40 million next year, according to
a leaked report.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/271450/southern-dhb-expects-$42m-deficit
Public health
Vaccination warning ahead of potential whooping
cough epidemic
Parents are being warned to vaccinate themselves and their
children ahead of a potential whooping cough epidemic.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11435156
Pediatrician stresses need for whooping cough vaccinations
Medical experts are warning parents to immunise themselves
and their children ahead of a potential pertussis (whooping cough) outbreak
predicted in the next two years, but a Waikato pediatrician says the disease
will never be eradicated because "there are too many reservoirs for
infection".
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/67878698/pediatrician-stresses-need-for-whooping-cough-vaccinations
Social health
Nelson group works to identify child abuse and
neglect
A group of chatting over coffee has led to an innovative
approach to protect vulnerable children, including sending a Nelson teacher to
prison.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/67714181/nelson-group-works-to-identify-child-abuse-and-neglect
Obesity
Govt takes aim at
childhood obesity
As
a government programme aimed at honing the waistlines of chubby children kicks
off, leading health experts are questioning whether it will be enough to stem
the rising tide of obesity and
related illnesses.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/67809440/govt-takes-aim-at-childhood-obesity
Is government being gutless over obesity
inititive?
Originally aired
on Nine To Noon, Friday 17 April 2015
The government is
rolling out a plan to tackle obesity and other health problems. But public
health experts are skeptical about whether it will work. Otago University
Associate Professor of Public Health, Nick Wilson.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/20175107/is-government-being-gutless-over-obesity-inititive
Obese people fall into six distinct categories -
study
Obese people fall into six distinct categories, a study
suggests, leading scientists to call for a new style of bespoke treatment
rather than a "one size fits all" approach to tackling the epidemic.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11435478
Work and management
4 areas of focus for preventing bullying in the OR
Members of the 2012 Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows program have developed a free toolkit to
help stop and prevent bullying in the operating room among perioperative team
members.
http://bit.ly/1EscPIS
Articles of interest
Meet the cancer patient in Room 52: His name is
Joseph, but call him Joe
Hooked up to machines and a breathing tube, Joseph Mox, 55,
can’t talk to the doctors and nurses bustling around a Johns Hopkins intensive
care unit. But they know he likes to be called Joe, enjoys “NCIS” and relied on
his Catholic faith through bouts of colon and esophageal cancer. And they
jokingly ask him for a good deal on brakes because they know he used to manage
a truck-parts company.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/effort-to-reduce-harm-in-hospitals-centers-on-seeing-patient-as-a-person/2015/04/08/13c7a814-da16-11e4-b3f2-607bd612aeac_story.html
Online resources
RESOURCES: Additions to our high-risk medicine poster
series
We’ve
added warfarin and opioids to our series of posters on reducing harm from
high-risk medicines. These contain key messages and advice for health
professionals who prescribe or administer these medicines.
http://www.open.hqsc.govt.nz/medication/publications-and-resources/
From the Ministry of Health
New Infographic and
Report Now Available...
The
Ministry of Health has now released a new infographic and
report - 'Understanding excess body weight: New Zealand Health
Survey'.
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/understanding-excess-body-weight-new-zealand-health-survey
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
21 April 2015
If you have any feedback about content - what parts
are most useful or what you would like added - please email admin@nurse.org.nz
For more up to date news and information follow SNIPS at:
Facebook: Snips Info
twitter: @SnipsInfo
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