Welcome
to the College of Nurses – News Update.
No. 258 1 July 2015
From NZ media this week
Otago
Polytechnic launches new Diploma in Enrolled Nursing
Those looking to enter a nursing career now
have a new study pathway available in Dunedin, with the launch of Otago
Polytechnic’s Diploma in Enrolled Nursing this semester.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/otago-polytechnic-launches-new-diploma-enrolled-nursing/5/225216
Vaccination uptake among DHB staff 'disappointing'
Staff at Wairau Hospital
may have to wear masks if they have not had their flu vaccination.
Only 50 per cent of staff
had taken up flu vaccinations, chief executive Chris Fleming told a
meeting of the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board yesterday.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/69641130/Vaccination-uptake-among-DHB-staff-disappointing
111 shake-up: nurses to take 'non-urgent' calls
Nurses to handle all non-urgent calls to cut ambulance
callouts.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hospitals/news/article.cfm?c_id=500846&objectid=11470638
Aged care
Nurses' union wants public support for Talbot Park
A union representing nurses at Timaru's Talbot Park aged care
facility wants South Canterbury's health board to continue providing its
services.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/69657742/nurses-union-wants-public-support-for-talbot-park
DHBs and PHOs
Canterbury patients first to access hospital
records online
Patients in Canterbury will
soon be able to check their own test results and order repeat prescriptions
online.
A patient portal, set up by
the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB), will allow people to see all of
their health records. They will also be able to make appointments and send
messages to their doctor and other care specialists.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/69626652/canterbury-patients-first-to-access-hospital-records-online
Marlborough GPs opt out of free visits for under
13s
Two Marlborough medical
practices and the region's after-hours service have held off offering free
doctors' visits to children under the age of 13.
The Government announced as
part of last year's Budget that children under the age of 13 would be eligible
for free general practice visits and prescriptions from July 1.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/69690459/Marlborough-GPs-opt-out-of-free-visits-for-under-13s
Drugs, alcohol and smoking
The seedy underbelly of sports nutrition
Methamphetamine analogues,
banned psychoactive ingredients, potentially fatal stimulants, chemicals not
considered safe for use by humans and disease-causing contaminants are
regularly being ingested by Kiwis, a Herald
investigation into the fitness supplements industry revealed in February.
Now, our follow-up
investigation examines those who sell them. In December 2013 USA Today
revealed that a host of
American supplement companies were run by criminals whose offences include
dealing narcotics and performance-enhancing drugs, fraud, theft, assault,
weapons offences and money laundering. New Zealand is no different.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11472861
Mental health
Rural mental health crisis predicted
The body representing doctors in rural New
Zealand is warning low dairy prices, high debt levels, droughts and floods will
create a tsunami of mental health issues among farmers.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/rural/277073/rural-mental-health-crisis-predicted
Stress and
depression unwelcome visitors after recent weather events
Rural Women
New Zealand (RWNZ) is concerned that as rural people clean up after the
disastrous floods, and snow, their resilience and resourcefulness will be
challenged by overwhelming distress. For farming families in more remote areas
their sense of isolation will become acute resulting in anxiety and depression.
It is a problem that will go beyond the farm gate.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1506/S00143/stress-and-depression-unwelcome-visitors-after-recent-events.htm
New Auckland maternal mental health service
Health
Minister Jonathan Coleman today officially opened a new maternal mental health
respite and support service in Te Atatu South, Auckland.
"Pregnancy
and childbirth can be vulnerable times for women - at least 15 per cent will
develop depression, anxiety or other mental health issues. It is important
mothers get the support they need," says Dr Coleman.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/new-auckland-maternal-mental-health-service/5/225020
Obesity
Fire crews help shift obese
people
Timaru fire crews helped
move a 260kg woman for St John paramedics on Friday, one of about 10 such lifts
each year.
Using a bariatric sheet
with handles, fire fighters lift patients to an ambulance and again from the
ambulance into hospital.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/69691031/fire-crews-help-shift-obese-people
Patient safety
Elderly patient left on floor before death
An elderly man who was found seemingly asleep on the floor of
his room at a psychiatric hospital at 3.30am and was left there until the
following afternoon had suffered a large bleed on his brain and died that
evening.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11472925
Tips for dealing with stress, contaminants from
flooding
Massey University emergency management
specialists from the Joint Centre for Disaster Research have offered online
tips to help people deal with the psychological impact of the floods in
Whanganui and other parts of the central and lower North Island.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/tips-dealing-stress-contaminants-flooding/5/224775
New clinical
model for predicting risk of death before surgery
Surgeons and
patients will benefit from a new clinical tool that is able to predict the
likelihood of mortality before colorectal surgery according to the latest ANZ
Journal of Surgery.
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2015/june-2015/24/New-clinical-model-for-predicting-risk-of-death-before-surgery%C2%A0.aspx
Public health
Bowel cancer screening – An
interesting new US study and thoughts about the NZ situation
In this blog post we look at a new modelling
study on bowel cancer screening, published in a top US journal (JAMA). We
discuss the cost-effectiveness of such screening and consider the current NZ
context for bowel cancer screening.
https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/2015/06/29/bowel-cancer-screening-an-interesting-new-us-study-and-thoughts-about-the-nz-situation/
Climate Change - health impacts require urgent
action
The launch of the second
report of the Global Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change reveals an
opportunity to improve the health of individuals, while tackling the challenge
of climate change.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1506/S00128/climate-change-health-impacts-require-urgent-action.htm
Telemedicine
Child's sores cured by
doctor 360km away
Eight-year-old David Tautari has finally got treatment for
nasty sores on his leg, thanks to a photo emailed to a doctor 360km away.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11471127
From International
media this week
Are nurses the new doctors?
Medicine has
changed dramatically over the years with new drugs and treatments
revolutionising the way patients are cared for.
With that has
come an overhaul in the way staff work. In particular, the demarcation between
doctors and nurses.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33228697
Supply of nurses in Canada drops for first
time in 20 years: report
New report
from Canadian Institute for Health Information finds one of largest declines
was in Ontario, where over 12,000 nurses left profession
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/06/23/supply-of-nurses-in-canada-drops-for-first-time-in-20-years.html
Articles of interest
A Nurse Communication Manager reduces the
number of non-relevant contacts
The aim of this study was to reduce interruptions in nursing practice by
exploring the effects on the number of non-relevant contacts received by the
nursing staff after implementation of a Nurse Communication Manager.
THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING
VOLuME 32 ISSUE 4
http://www.ajan.com.au/Vol32/Issue4/4Wright.pdf
Online resources
NEWS: Presentations from
Dr Atul Gawande forum online
Presentations
and storyboards from the Dr Atul Gawande forum, held on Monday 18 May in
Wellington, are on the Commission’s website.
http://www.hqsc.govt.nz/publications-and-resources/publication/2189/
Reports online
RCA2: Improving Root
Cause Analyses and Actions to Prevent Harm
Root
cause analysis (RCA) is a process widely used by health professionals to learn
how and why errors occurred, but there have been inconsistencies in the success
of these initiatives. With a grant from The Doctors Company Foundation, NPSF
convened a panel of subject matter experts and stakeholders to examine best
practices around RCAs and develop guidelines to help health professionals
standardize the process and improve the way they investigate medical errors,
adverse events, and near misses.
Download the full report here.
[PDF]
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
30 June 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
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