With reference to the JCN’s editorial on the ‘ticking public health time bomb’ and the role of nurses in tackling unhealthy lifestyles (www.jcn.co.uk/journal/04-2014), our research investigated the effect of professional football clubs in delivering health improvement in a traditionally hard-to reach but huge population — namely, men (Pringle et al, 2014).
Summer just seems to have got underway, but already practice nurses and GPs across the UK are dreading the onset of autumn as it can only mean one thing — flu vaccination. Flu vaccinations, and the associated clinics set up to deliver them, undoubtedly increase the already busy workload of practice nurses, however, they do represent a valuable service to all those who are eligible.
Following on from the ‘Community matters’ feature in the last issue of JCN (28[3]: pp. 8–9), Katerina Kolyva from the NMC has been in touch to clarify its position over patient involvement in the new
code of conduct.
The relationship between smoking and respiratory disease has long been established and smoking is recognised as a risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Fletcher and Peto, 1977), lung cancer (Doll et al, 2004) and interstitial lung diseases (Bradley et al, 2008), as well as contributing to the symptoms of asthma (Siroux et al, 2000). However, when working with patients who have lived with their disease for some time, or who may feel it is too late to benefit from change, it is important to do more than simply reiterate the risks. The link between continued smoking, progression of respiratory disease, exacerbation of the condition and the detrimental effects of continued smoking on the efficacy of some treatments should also be communicated. This article looks at the risks of smoking, as well as providing guidance for community nurses on how to bring up the topic with their patients in a non-confrontational manner.
Many community nurses will have encountered atopic eczema, a widespread skin condition resulting in itchy, red, dry and cracked skin and which has a serious effect on patients’ quality of life. When atopic eczema becomes infected with Staphylococcus aureus, however, these symptoms can intensify, resulting in outbreaks of folliculitis and widespread infected eczematous lesions. These can be painful and distressing and community nurses need to be aware of the symptoms and treatments in order to deal with the problem themselves or refer on. This article looks at the background to infected atopic eczema as well as the main treatments, including oral antibiotics, antiseptics, combination topical therapies and good hygiene.
Simply trying to cope can be a challenge for the many people in the UK who have a stoma — this can include issues such as how to clean and maintain the appliance and what to do if there is a complication once they have been discharged home into the community. The community nurse is often the first point of contact when there are problems with a stoma in the patient’s home and may have to advise on how to change a stoma appliance as well as how to deal with issues such as skin stripping and leaking.
JCN talks to those working in the community.
Faye Jeffries is a district nurse team leader at Bristol Community Health.
JCN talks to those working in the community.
Amanda Munday, Community Nursing Sister, and Jane Jennion, Community Staff Nurse are both community nurses who work for Berkshire Healthcare. They work in West Berkshire, which is a large rural area with a spread out population. They aim to deliver care that enables people to stay in their homes, rather than going into hospital.
JCN talks to those working in the community.
Kate Arkley is a community RGN in Connemara, Ireland specialising in tissue viability and wound management. She has recently enrolled as a doctoral student.
JCN talks to those working in the community.
Nicky Darby and her health visiting team at Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust.
