Viewpoints Resources

The pandemic has undoubtedly had catastrophic effects on the health and wellbeing of
the population. This will continue to unravel for years to come, so it is understandable that health and social care staff are still trying to unpack, unpick and attempting to make sense
of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The impact of the menopause, particularly in the workplace, has only recently been given
the attention it deserves. Seventyfive percent of the NHS’s workforce are women, and for nurses working in the community the figure is even higher (NHS England, 2021). ‘Women’
includes transgender, non-binary and intersex staff. The NHS and clinical leaders have responded to concerns and the menopause guidance for the NHS workforce managers was launched in November 2022 (NHS England, 2022).

Many people across the UK live with poor bowel health, suffering with chronic constipation and/or faecal incontinence, which can be debilitating and prevent those suffering from enjoying their best life possible. The ‘Cost of Constipation Report’ (2020), published by the Bowel Interest Group, documents that in fact one in seven adults are affected by constipation at any one time; while many people suffer in silence (Bowel Interest Group, 2020).

Malnutrition affects at least three million people in the UK, with 93% of these living in the community (BAPEN, 2018). Conversely, managing malnutrition can result in improvements in patients’ physical function, such as strength, quality of life and clinical outcomes, and reductions in healthcare use (such as hospital stays and admissions) (Stratton et al, 2018). Identifying and managing malnutrition can therefore improve lives and save money (Stratton et al, 2018).

There are estimated to be 900,000 people with dementia in the UK and indications are that this will increase to one million people by 2025 and two million by 2051 (Wittenberg et al, 2019). The majority of people diagnosed with dementia live in a community setting, whether that is in their own home, sheltered accommodation, hospice or a care home; indeed, there are few health and social care services where people with dementia are not to be found, and, as such, dementia is everybody’s business.

Now more than ever, those with an interest or specialism in continence care need to be able to access professional development, as well as share knowledge and experiences with colleagues. Covid-19 has rapidly altered service provision and specialist professionals working across different geographical areas have not yet had sufficient opportunity to come together in person and process what these changes mean for their practice and patients. This upheaval has, of course, affected everyone whose work touches on bladder and bowel issues.

Although it may not attract as much attention as other medical areas, the pandemic has had a huge impact on wound care services with many traditional routes of practice compromised during life in lockdown. But, while this continues to add pressure on the nursing community, it also offers an opportunity to retain the recent step change in innovation to tackle backlogs and build back stronger.

Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is a real issue for many people. It is also sadly in places in our communities and life spaces. During the pandemic, the evidence seems to say things have got worse (https://commonslibrary. parliament.uk/domestic-abuseand-covid-19-a-year-into-thepandemic/). Indeed, victims were suddenly trapped at home with their abuser, with no options of respite or relief (Chambers et al, 2021).

It’s not news to JCN readers, but when we talk to people about the fact that urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the second most common kind of infection after chest infections, they are amazed.

Of course, one of the reasons for that is that a UTI is not a condition that people tend to talk about...

When the Prime Minister announced his plan to fix social care once and for all in September, the sector hoped that a major second part of this would be revealed at the Spending Review in October. Unfortunately, we were  left disappointed.

The September paper had underlined concerns about the quality of care, lack of choice, and the burden of care costs to the person in need of care and support. But, there was a fundamental resourcing issue which received no attention: sufficiency of funding to ensure that local authorities can meet their basic statutory obligations...