News Archive

June 2020

North Wales’ health board still in special measures five years on

On the anniversary of the move to special measures, Deeside.com looks at what has happened over the course of five years, speaking to the author of the Ockenden Report into the Tawel Fan mental health ward who also carried out a subsequent study highlighting flaws in board governance. Donna Ockenden said : “It is five years since my first report was published and almost two years since the completion of my Governance review. I sincerely hope in the intervening time BCUHB can show the significant improvements they would have made as a result of the recommendations in these two reports.”

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June 2020

Deaths linked to learning disabilities and autism soar during Covid-19 crisis

The Care Quality Commission has revealed that there has been a 134 per cent increase in deaths of people with learning disabilities or autism in care settings. The regulator looked at figures for a period spanning April and part of May this year and compared the numbers with the same period last year.

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June 2020

Ethnic minorities face double the risk of death from Covid-19

A report by Public Health England has revealed that the risk to people from Asian, Caribbean and black ethnicities from coronavirus is “disproportionate” but it is as yet unclear why this is. Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the report as “troubling” but “timely” due to current anger about racial injustice. He added that “much more work” needed to be done to understand the reason for the disparities.

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June 2020

Huge decline in overseas nurse registrations

Data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council reveals that overseas nurse registrations have plummeted by more than 1,300 in a month. The decline has been attributed mainly to travel restrictions and other measures put in place in the UK and abroad in response to Covid-19, laying bare the full scale of the pandemic on international recruitment.

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June 2020

SANDS : Awareness month in June

The stillbirth and neonatal death support group SANDS has an Awareness month throughout June with a special focus on what the charity has to offer the NHS. SANDS wants to spread the word about the support it provides to those working on the frontline, helping equip them with skills to care for families facing loss. The charity has adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic by offering a range of on-line learning resources for NHS staff, including free webinars advising how best to support parents and families when a baby dies, as well as two e-learning modules focusing on best practice in relation to bereavement

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June 2020

Death toll for Covid-19 passes 40,000 in England and Wales

The latest analysis by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows 41,220 deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. 11 thousand of these were in care homes. The northwest has had the highest number of virus-related deaths for the second week in a row, with a total of 620.

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May 2020

Poll suggests PPE shortage is worse for BAME nurses

Nurses from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are experiencing more problems accessing protective equipment than non BAME nurses, according to a new poll carried out by The Royal College of Nursing. NMC Chief Executive and Registrar, Andrea Sutcliffe said “The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed deep seated inequalities for ethnic minority nursing and midwifery professionals. Their experiences cannot be ignored.”

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May 2020

RCM Challenge NMC as they fail to appoint a midwife onto its governing Council

The RCM are to challenge the NMC and call for a change in the law as they failed to appoint a midwife to its governing Council.  Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the RCM expressed her disappointment and said it “does not allow for the expertise of midwifery on the Council to keep midwives and the public safe.”

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May 2020

Midwifery students volunteer for care roles 

1000 nursing and midwifery students from Napier University volunteer to join the NHS emergency response to Covid-19, taking up care roles in hospitals and homes across Scotland.

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May 2020

New nursing degree and apprenticeships to be offered 

The dedication of our nations nurses has never been more evident than in the past few months and it was great to learn that the Nottingham Trent University will be offering new nursing degrees and degree apprenticeships reports the Nottingham Post, to “educate the next generation of nurses”. 

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May 2020

Hopes of immigration health surcharge being scrapped are dashed

Priti Patel dashed hopes of cutting the immigrations health surcharge sparking anger across the board.  The British Medical Association said the decision “beggars belief” with Labour calling it “unconscionable” and the Royal College of Nursing saying; “this charge must be stopped” reports The Independent. 

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May 2020

Unions come together to draw up 9-point blueprint on returning to work 

As the NHS sets out to resume normal services after lockdown 16 health Unions, including Unison, Unite, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives draw up a 9-point blueprint outlining the measures and conditions that need to be met for NHS to “be opened up safely”, reports the Nursing Times.

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