24 June 2021
An extremely important issue for all healthcare professionals working within the community is the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC’s) review of post-registration qualifications in specialist community and public health nursing. This issue’s ‘community matters’ piece gives you all the information you need to have your say on the potential changes (pp. 8–10). Please take the time to read the article and voice your views.
Burnout, mental health, stress, anxiety and depression are words which are constantly being associated with health and social care professionals as a result of the burden of the pandemic. So, it is encouraging to learn how Help for Heroes, which is all too familiar with the emotional toll that any traumatic event can cause as a result of working with veterans and their families, has drawn on its experience and knowledge to develop free resources to support healthcare professionals and their families during these difficult times (p. 18). Rona Dury also offers some useful insight into the impact of stress and anxiety in relation to Covid-19 and how the pandemic has affected the role of community nursing (pp. 62–65).
With cancer survival rates increasing and the disease being more and more seen as a long-term condition, community nurses inevitably play a crucial role in caring for patients living with cancer in their own homes. Education is thus vital, as the findings from a pilot project offering bespoke education on cancer to community nurses show, as well as how developing expertise in this area can better help us support vulnerable housebound patients with complex care needs (pp. 56–60).
I also urge you to read Sara Nelson’s editorial about the #RightInhalerImage campaign and get involved and support this social movement for change to ensure that those with respiratory conditions get the right treatment, in the right way, and at the right time (pp. 12–13).
As always, I hope you enjoy reading this issue. If you have any ideas for articles, please get in touch, as it is always great to hear from our readers. And remember, the JCN Facebook Live events are continuing throughout 2021, so look out for what is coming next — www.jcn.co.uk/events/series/facebook-live.
Annette Bades, editor-in-chief, JCN
