In each issue of the Journal of Community Nursing we investigate a hot topic currently affecting our readers. In this issue, as we face an obesity epidemic and growing lifestyle-related conditions such as diabetes, JCN takes a look at the community nurses’ role in health prevention and asks the question...
In the latest in JCN’s series profiling the decision-makers in UK nursing, Jason Beckford-Ball spoke to Jane Cummings, England’s chief nursing officer, about patient-centred care and moving from acute to community services.
Keeping up with your CPD requirements often means attending dull study days in uninspiring classroom blocks. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Jason Beckford-Ball took a look at a different type of education, where first-class clinical expertise is shared in luxury surroundings, free of charge.
Carers play a huge role in supporting people to live at home. In some cases, they provide around-the-clock care for people who would otherwise need to be admitted to hospital or transferred to a nursing home. Carers are crucial to home and community care and yet there is little awareness of, and support for, the important role that they play.
Alex Munro is a registered nurse, with a background in unscheduled care as a nurse practitioner. He has previously been a director of a private healthcare provider delivering a community admission avoidance service and is the co-founder and clinical director of Hallam Medical, the primary care recruitment specialist.
Atopic eczema is a frustrating and complex skin condition that has no cure. However, with good support, education and the correct application of topical treatments it can be well-controlled. Community nurses can provide patients with information about their condition, how to apply their topical treatment effectively and how to manage flares and maintain a routine that will improve the eczema and the patient’s quality of life. Any information provided should be reinforced with written information and a treatment plan, with follow-up support offered as needed.
This article aims to explore the perception that treatment of sacral pressure ulcers is costly and time-consuming, especially when faced with faecally incontinent patients with loose stool. The authors’ tissue viability service used a faecal management system to prevent faeces from coming into contact with the wound bed for 12 weeks, while simultaneously allowing a conventional dressing to perform to its maximum ability. A total cost and wound-healing comparison was carried out in two community patients who were faecally incontinent and bed-bound. One patient was managed with a faecal management system and the other with incontinence pads. The authors found that although the purchase of the faecal management system was initially costly, the frequency of dressing change was reduced, the patient felt more comfortable and fewer visits from the community nurses were necessary. Also, faster healing rates were demonstrated by reductions in wound size. This technique requires further studies with a larger sample size to ascertain its true benefits, particularly around wound healing.
