I have always been passionate about wound care and, as a practising district nurse, I learnt by experience and training to measure wounds, take photographs and undertake Doppler assessments (a non-invasive method to identify arterial insufficiency in the leg). This helped me to establish the treatment that each wound needed.
What I did not know was the effectiveness of my prescribed care and how my healing rates compared with another nurse’s care. I also could not say with any accuracy how quickly a patient could expect their wound to heal. I wish I had known…
So, my questions to you would be: Do you know? And, why is it important?
The Colostomy Association is a national charity that provides support, reassurance and practical advice to anyone in the UK who has, or is about to have, a colostomy. We are here to help and support patients, their families and carers. Our helpline is manned 24 hours a day by volunteers who all have a stoma. Our wide range of leaflets, quarterly magazine Tidings and closed Facebook group offer information and support to anyone affected by life-changing stoma surgery.
Far from seeking attention for their own work, many nurses actually shy away from the media. Here, Mariama Barrie explains how she used publishing to spread the word — and why you should be doing the same...
The team of Eczema Outreach Scotland (EOS) has been working with families dealing with the day-to-day struggle of childhood eczema for over five years. Magali Redding, a West Lothian mother of three and voluntary sector professional, set up the group when her daughter asked tearfully: ‘why am I the only scratchy girl in the world?’ In between their precious clinic appointments, the family had been feeling increasingly frustrated and isolated in their battle with the impact of eczema on life.
As primary and community care look set to play an even bigger role in the future of the NHS, do we know what changes we can expect, how these changes will be delivered and how they will affect the way we work?
The 2015 NMC Code of Conduct promotes four key themes: prioritising people; practising effectively; preserving safety; and promoting professionalism and trust. Each of these four themes is designed to help nurses embody the Code, but if they are to adhere to it fully, a clear understanding of the duty of candour is essential, particularly when applied to nursing practice.
Research from national charity Contact the Elderly has found that nine out of 10 people feel concerned for a lonely older person within their community or neighbourhood, while four in 10 people do not feel they can offer appropriate help to older people who might be lonely or isolated.
Many of us work for the NHS and experience first-hand its challenges both as nurses on the frontline and as users of the service. With the population living longer and therefore presenting with more complex conditions, this is adding to the pressure being placed on both the NHS and the staff working within it. This situation is not unique to a particular area; in fact the whole of the UK, and indeed the world, is experiencing the same pressures. Undoubtedly, one of the answers would be to recruit more experienced and skilled staff, but what if there was a simpler solution?
I recently attended the annual Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) conference in London and came away feeling inspired, both because I am a nurse, but most importantly because after the conference I felt that things can and will improve and everyone (not just frontline NHS staff) can do their bit to help.
Primary care has been thrust centre stage recently with services moving closer to home. Jason Beckford-Ball speaks to Kathryn Evans of NHS England about what the future holds for community nurses...
In the UK, 330 million tons of domestic waste is produced every year, most of which is either burned or sent to landfill sites. This seems to be a trait common to wealthy societies and in the fast-paced world in which we live time is at a premium — we want products to serve their purpose and, once used, they are thrown away. Mobile phones for example, a must-have commodity in our society, are only designed to work for approximately three years, forcing the user to upgrade on a regular basis, both to drive sales and improve the user experience.
