With family and friends going away for Christmas, many older people find that they lose their support networks at this time of year. Coupled with an increased difficulty in going outside because of adverse weather conditions and reduced public transport, older people can feel a greater sense of loneliness and isolation during the festive season.
Reaching out to the 12 million people in the UK who are living with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a major challenge for The IBS Network. Set up over 26 years ago, the charity provides information, advice and support for people with IBS and
those who care for them, working alongside healthcare professionals to facilitate self-management. This is achieved via a small core office team, supported by a wider voluntary advisory board of medical and healthcare professionals who are
specialists in IBS.
Talk Lipoedema is a lipoedema patient support group operating within the third sector across the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2014 with the simple ethos of supporting and empowering those affected by lipoedema. From small
beginnings, it now supports upwards of 2,000 individuals across the UK and further afield. Talk Lipoedema also has a
network of nationwide representatives who work with the local community, therapists and medical world in their area.
Thanks to everyone who entered the JCN/GPN Outstanding Practice in Wound Care Award 2017. We received a huge number of entries that demonstrated all the excellent wound care being delivered in the community around the UK. We asked for entries that showed evidence of making a real difference in wound care, according to the entry criteria, and are pleased to announce that the winner did just that.
This paper looks at an audit which compared the clinical outcomes of patients with lower limb oedema, who were either treated in a designated leg ulcer clinic or in their own homes. From exploring the findings, the author identified areas for service improvement such as staff training, staff allocation for clinics/home visits and completion and documentation of leg assessments. The piece of work forms part of a wider review of lower limb management within the author’s locality. The findings have facilitated greater discussion with senior management within the organisation around service provision for this patient group and gained valuable support for service and staff development.
In each issue we investigate a hot topic currently affecting you and your community practice. Here, we look at the current state of wound care formularies and ask the question
In partnership with Health Education England, we held a conference focusing on dementia care. The evidence shows that dementia is now one of the leading causes of death, having overtaken heart disease (Public Health England, 2017), and the number of those experiencing the condition is projected to rise rapidly over the next decades. The conference hosted a range of speakers dedicated to improving the lives of those living with dementia, who covered best practice in care, raising awareness and lived experiences from a carer’s perspective.
The MS Trust is a national charity which works to make a positive difference for people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Receiving a diagnosis of MS is life-changing; there is no cure and the disease is characterised by uncertainty and often progressively worsening disability, with between 30–40% of people in the UK will develop advanced MS (Roberts et al, 2016).
The Bladder & Bowel Community has recently launched a number of new services aimed at improving the welfare of those who use this hub of information and advice. Most significantly, the Bladder & Bowel home delivery service marks a significant leap forward in the organisation’s tangible offerings to a community directly affected by bladder and/or bowel conditions.
It has been argued by psychologists and other professionals for many years that quite often the outcomes of situations can be influenced simply by our attitudes.
