The RCN and BMA have warned that abruptly ending freedom of movement could lead to serious disruption and staff shortages in the NHS. A spokesman for the RCN said: “Since the Brexit vote, far fewer EU nurses and midwives are joining the Nursing and Midwifery Council register with less than a thousand joining last year — a 90 per cent fall in numbers since 2016. There needs to be urgent clarity and assurances from the government that there will be no sharp cut off to freedom of movement and that their systems are up to the job of enabling these applications or we risk losing even more nurses at a time when we can ill afford to.” The British Medical Association has also warned of a “workforce crisis” in hospitals due to disruption caused by the immediate end of Freedom of Movement.
News Archive
Scientists hope that a blood test which can detect ovarian cancer two years earlier than current methods could be used to screen women. Researchers from Queens University in Belfast have found that measuring four proteins together can pick up cancer early, when nine in 10 women will survive. Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest because symptoms are vague or absent so it is often not diagnosed until later stages, when the chance of surviving for five years is just 22 per cent.
A review of NHS hospital catering will aim to restore public confidence in the food served to patients, visitors and NHS staff, a Department of Health report states. Every year, the NHS serves more than 140 million meals to patients across the country. The quality and nutritional value of these meals can vary substantially. Alongside this, new national standards for healthcare food for patients, staff and visitors will be developed by NHS England, NHS Improvement and Public Health England (PHE). The new standards will reflect government nutrition advice, as outlined in PHE Eatwell guide.
Health chiefs in Wales say that women who smoke during pregnancy are too ashamed to get help to quit. North Wales has one of the highest rates, at 16%, of mums-to-be who smoke throughout their pregnancy. One in five sudden infant deaths is linked to smoking, as well as long term problems in children such as learning difficulties, hyperactivity, ear, nose and throat problems, obesity and diabetes.
The homelessness situation is continuing to worsen in Chichester, says Donna Ockenden, founder of the Four Streets Project. There has been a very significant increase in homelessness and hunger on the streets since the beginning of April. The numbers are clear that in March the charity fed an average of six people per night and throughout July they saw highs of 25 with an average of 15 per night.
The NMC has responded to the announcement of an extra £1.8bn funding for the NHS. Andrea Sutcliffe, Chief Executive and Registrar welcomes the statement but also mentions how the NMC want to hear from professionals on the register who are worried about the pressures they face and that recruiting and retaining nurses must be a top priority. She also says ignore social care ‘at our peril’, but hopes the Government’s promise that social care reforms will be unveiled soon are delivered upon.
Irish News reported that Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University will amend its curriculum if any new laws about abortion terminations are introduced. Abortion could be decriminalised if a power-sharing assembly does not return by October 21 – to be bought in line with Britain’s rules. In its quote, Ulster University says students currently undertake a curriculum structured around the Person Centred Nursing Framework and the NMC’s standards for pre-registration education.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow have found that women who already live with Diabetes are more than four times likely to suffer from a stillbirth, than those without the condition. High maternal blood sugar levels and BMI are risk factors for stillbirth with babies at the lowest and highest weights being most at risk. Mothers with pre-pregnancy diabetes are at a four to five times increased risk of stillbirth – with no improvement seen over recent years, in contrast with decreasing stillbirth rates seen in the general obstetric population.
Tommy’s have launched their first pregnancy and post-birth, digital wellbeing tool. The tool, created in partnership with the Institute of Health Visitors (IHV), the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), Netmums, Public Health England (PHE) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is called: Your Baby’s Mum: A wellbeing plan for pregnancy and post birth. Join Tommy’s in coming #TogetherForChange and bringing mental health and wellbeing into the spotlight.
The Guardian reports that the number of A&E patients in England waiting on trolleys for more than four hours to be admitted has risen by over a third to the highest level since records began. There were 57,694 patients waiting more than four hours from the decision to admit to admission last month, 35% higher than July last year, according to the latest NHS performance statistics.
MAMA Academy Wellbeing Wallets are now available to expectant mums at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust and Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals. They are being distributed within over 100 NHS Trusts, as part of the government’s stillbirth strategy to reduce stillbirth by 50% by 2025. The wallets are usually given to mothers by their midwife at the booking in appointment to protect the antenatal notes and they aid discussions such as quitting smoking and reporting symptoms such as preeclampsia and reduced movements.
Mothers are regularly empowering themselves with essential pregnancy knowledge in the waiting room. This ensures that key messages such as monitoring babies’ movements become second nature to the woman as she carries the wallet with her.
The government is consulting on plans to add folic acid to flour in the UK to help prevent birth defects such as spina bifida. Pregnant women are already advised to take folic acid, but many do not take it. It is estimated fortifying flour with folic acid could prevent up to 200 birth defects a year. The charity Shine, which has campaigned for the move for 25 years, said it hoped it would not be another 25 before it happened.