Comment Resources

In 2024, the Alzheimer’s Society reported that one in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime. Its report shows that around a million people in the UK have a form of dementia. This is projected to rise to 1.4 million people by 2040. Alzheimer’s
disease and dementia are becoming a major burden on health and social care resources, as well as a financial and social cost to families who struggle to care for their loved ones. The report commissioned by the Alzheimer’s Society in 2024 revealed that dementia costs in the UK equal £42 billion per year. This is set to rise sharply to £90 billion by 2040. Here, Annette Duck, retired interstitial lung disease specialist nurse, gives a personal account of how she and her family were let down by health and social care services with regards to their father’s care and discusses the evidence and guidelines to see what might have helped and supported them to care for their father.

Here, Professor Michelle Howarth, professor in health and social care, associate director CSR (Centre for Social Responsibility), Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine, Edge Hill University, Rhian Last, nurse educator, Self-Care Forum self-care champion and Libby Whittaker, Self-Care Forum manager, explore the findings of a project undertaken last year on self-care, highlighting ways that community nurses can support self-care both in their day-to-day role and more strategically across primary care populations.

Constipation is not much talked about, but it affects one in three children and will not go away by itself. ERIC, The Children’s Bowel and Bladder Charity, is the only UK-wide charity dedicated to children’s continence services. It provides online resources on all things wee and poo, webinars for healthcare professionals and parents/carers, and a free Helpline — on which the most common call is about constipation. Here, Sunni Liston, ERIC nurse, discusses constipation and how to help treat it.

A virtual cow’s milk allergy group has been helping families in Kent get faster access to advice and support. As parents and carers can be seen together, rather than waiting for individual appointments, the initiative has reduced waiting times, meaning quicker access to vital feeding and weaning advice during a baby’s first few months. This also means that parents spend less time worrying. As well as increasing capacity in the clinical nutrition and dietetics team at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT), the virtual group has won national recognition — winning the sustainability award in the Clinical Nutrition Magazine Awards 2023, as families do not have to travel for appointments and fewer letters need to be sent out, making healthcare more sustainable and reducing its impact on the environment. Here, highly specialist paediatric dietitian and team leader, Elaine Greenman, shares how and why the group was set up, what the group sessions involve, and the challenges the team has found along the way.

Here, Nicki Haywood, founder and director, The Honeycomb Foundation community interest company (CIC), shines a spotlight on loneliness and social isolation in the workplace and explains why acknowledging it, both as a common experience and health concern, is a way to start tackling it. Please note that personal information about bereavement is included that some readers might find difficult.

Here, Carole Young, professional nurse advocate, independent tissue viability nurse consultant and associate lecturer, Anglia Ruskin University, reflects on the impact of the pandemic on specialist nurses in the last two years and considers what is needed next in terms of support and recovery of self and service. The role of compassionate leadership and professional nurse advocacy (PNA) will be discussed to share an understanding of how restorative clinical supervision (RCS) can be used to support emotional recovery and plan for future development. Models including A-EQUIP and the GROW coaching model used by PNAs to guide RCS will be explained as tools which can support personal reflection and recovery through personal actions for quality improvement.

The Covid-19 pandemic prompted changes in the ways that individuals access healthcare services and accelerated the transition to digital methods of care. For some, this opened doors for easier and more convenient access. For people already experiencing exclusion and marginalisation however, digital access can create additional barriers for accessing health care.

Here, the authors, who all work at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust (see below), look at the definition, data and principles of recognising and supporting victims of domestic abuse among service users. They also explore how staff in their trust are equipped not only to address issues of domestic abuse and violence with patients, but also to support employees who themselves are going through these experiences.   

Here, Davina Richardson, children’s specialist nurse, Bladder & Bowel UK, looks at the guidance available for school leaders, proprietors, governors, staff and practitioners to help them better support children and young people with bladder and bowel issues as they return to school.

Here, Samantha Dorney-Smith, homeless health programme lead, Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI); nursing fellow, Pathway; outreach nurse, Doctors of the World; secretary, London Network of Nurses and Midwives Homelessness Groups, looks at inclusion health, the groups and numbers involved, morbidity within those groups and the lack of access to services. She also explores the impact that the pandemic has had on health inequalities and introduces some nurse-led interventions which have enabled better access to services during Covid-19.