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News Archive
The Department for Health has published the UK’s five-year plan for tackling antimicrobial resistance. Antibiotics are the only really effective treatment for sepsis and globally, there are 30 million cases of sepsis each year. If antibiotics run out that bacteria are not resistant to, it may well tip the scales of population growth.
The NMC have launched a new, online referral service for employers who wish to raise concerns about a nurse or midwife. This online service can also be used by senior managers within the NHS who may wish to refer an agency nurse or midwife. The NMC appreciates that employers are very busy and it can be difficult to submit key supporting information in tight time-frames so this new service allows supporting material to be uploaded and progress saved so it can be returned to at a later date.
The Chief Medical Officer is among a group of leading doctors and nurses who have written to NHS staff urging them to get vaccinated as soon as possible to help reduce the spread of flu. The letter reminds healthcare workers of the key role they play ‘in protecting the health of the public’. It states their ‘shared professional responsibility’ to protect patients.
Across the NHS, 59% of staff have had the vaccine but in some Trusts less than 3 in 10 staff are protected.
The dementia ward in Wales which was the subject of The Ockenden Review into alleged patient abuse could soon be demolished. Ysbyty Glan Clwyd’s Tawel Fan shut in 2013 amid mistreatment allegations and could now be knocked down as part of a planned £25m revamp of inpatient mental health services in north Wales.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have arranged a series of workshops on their new approach to fitness to practise. This approach encourages openness, learning and compassionate care. The workshops provide an opportunity to discuss how working together with the NMC can help to promote the shared goals of patient safety, professionalism and accountability.
Matt Hancock, the Health and Social Care Secretary, has set the NHS in England a target to cut the amount of antibiotics it uses by 15% by 2024, as well as reducing the overall number of hospital-acquired infections by 15,000 and the number of treatment-resistant infections – both those acquired inside and outside hospitals – by 5,000. It is part of The national action plan and 20-year vision.
Findings from the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) national survey of more than 17,600 women who gave birth in February last year show that many had a good experience, particularly in relation to interactions with staff, access to midwives and emotional support during pregnancy. However, for some women the care they received fell short of expectations with issues highlighted around continuity of care, choice in antenatal and postnatal services and access to help, information and support after giving birth.
The NMC welcomes a new Chief Executive and Registrar; Andrea Sutcliffe CBE. Andrea has over 30 years’ experience in health and social care and joins from the Care Quality Commission where she was Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care. Andrea said: “I’m thrilled to finally join the NMC. It’s a privilege to take on this role at such an important time, not only for the organisation, but for health and social care in the UK.”
In January, the Nursing and Midwifery Council welcomed the very first nursing associates onto the professional register in a landmark moment for health and social care in England. It is the result of a tremendous amount of hard work by teams across the NMC; partners at national and local level in the NHS, social care and education; and the pioneer nursing associates themselves. The government has a target for 7,500 nursing associates to start training in 2019.
An article in the Heath Service Journal reports that a Care Quality Commission (CQC) briefing note has warned providers not to consider nursing associates as nurses. The note says that the CQC will expect to see evidence demonstrating the new role is being used safely and would demand assurance from providers that they were applying a “systematic approach” when deploying nursing associates.
A recent report by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA),‘Telling patients the truth when something has gone wrong’ has been published. It looks at duty of candour among healthcare professionals in the UK and examines the reasons why healthcare professionals avoided reporting mistakes or concerns.