Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHS
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Practice comment archive
'Nurses could help stop sepsis killing four patients an hour'
Sepsis – a systemic inflammatory response to a new infection – is a hidden killer. Unchecked, organ failure, shock and death ensue.
"People with rare cancers get a raw deal in research and care"
People with rarer cancers deserve the same support and information as those with more common cancers
"Beware the implications for nurses of assisted dying law"
While imminent changes to the law are unlikely, the issue of assisted dying is not going to go away
"If data isn't used, it just takes nurses away from the bedside"
Nurses need to find a balance between form filling and delivering care, and ensure that any data gathered on pressure ulcers is used to improve care
“Focus on the values of nursing to boost care – not checklists”
Nurses must ensure that ward rounds do not become tick-box exercises
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“Technology can transform the quality of clinical practice”
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"At Christmas, making a stand against routine can be enough"
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"We need to do research and shout about it - or fall behind"
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“Compulsory training would help every HCA spot moisture lesions”
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"Why do nurses believe they are management material?"
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"Extending choice will let us set standards for children"
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“Bowel screening should be made part of mainstream care”
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"We must look at our practices and attitudes about shift work"
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“Nurses should defy the deeply embedded doctor-nurse game”
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'A "Top Gear" approach to flu clinics must be quashed'
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“All nurses need to know about inherited blood disorders”
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'Practice nurses should know about diabetes in pregnancy'
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'If assisted suicide is legalised, are nurses best placed to do it?'
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'Patient stories give another view of the world we work in'
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'Pre-operative fasting guides can still fall short of the mark'
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“In the middle of a maelstrom, good nursing is everything”
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'Staff need key competencies in infection prevention and control'
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'Too much information can be dangerous, not empowering'
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Upskill support workers to meet older people’s needs
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'Members of the public can help reduce cancer mortality'
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“Person-centred care is led by learning disability nurses”
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'Those with a rare disease often know more about it than we do'
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'Respiratory strategy must be acted on if care is to improve'
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'We can consign this nasty infection to the history books'
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'A half-empty glass does not prove your patient can drink'
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'A plethora of job titles just serve to confuse our patients'
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'Depression after stroke may be missed – nurses can spot it'
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'We can read Nightingale as a credo for compassion today'
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'Cottage industry could end delayed discharge misery'
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'Despite progress, we still need to be vigilant about MRSA'
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'We must recognise that we are role models to our patients'
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'We should not dismiss the value of Nightingale wards'
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'Never accept that pain is a normal part of growing old'
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'Regrets of the dying should influence end of life care'
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'Passionate teams are needed to monitor data on catheter care'
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'Pressure ulcers will still be seen until basic care is right'
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'Stay vigilant on hand hygiene or it’s back to the last century'
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'Nutritious meals count for nothing if they are cold'
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'I can’t be the only male community nurse who gets to read the gas meter'
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‘We must be proactive if older people are to get decent care’
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‘Anger as medical and nursing boundaries blur is no surprise’
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'Caring for older people needs specific skills and knowledge'
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‘The outlook is bleak if nurses keep failing to act on frightful conduct’
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'Let's make the NHS greener and more ethically sound'
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'Adopt innovative strategies to prevent VTE in hospitals'
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'It’s time we adopted a laissez–faire approach to health promotion'
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Should we support calls to decriminalise drug use?
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'All degree nursing education must not lead to a two tier workforce'
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'A commissioning role would release nurses' creativity'
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Amid the tinsel and the trees, ‘tis also the season to be tactful
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Why are nurses failing to undertake digital rectal examinations?
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Landmark guidance puts childhood continence firmly in the spotlight
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I’m lovin’ it: would McDonald’s food encourage hospital patients to eat?
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Veterinary surgeons receive more pain relief education than nurses
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Patients with dementia deserve better diagnosis and treatment
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The NHS must support its staff to speak out against poor practice
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Don’t mistake the natural process of grief and sadness for depression
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Advance care planning ensures patient choice on place of death
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Teach students compassion by being an excellent role model
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GPs must take greater care when delegating tasks to practice nurses
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Why are we still doing so badly in treating incontinence?
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The white paper offers infection control nurses new opportunities
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Costs can be cut by providing high quality training in leg ulcer care
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Ongoing education would boost competency in drug calculations
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Nurses need to be at the heart of commissioning if NHS reforms are to meet patient needs
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Use clinical practice to generate research ideas and transform care
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Do you provide equal care to people with learning disabilities?
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Employers need to recognise the benefits of supporting their staff
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It’s a triumph that degree nurses are no longer viewed as alien stock
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TV dramas must tune in to the truth to prevent misconceptions
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National guidance on last offices would prevent family distress
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GP practices must ensure nurses are trained to do spirometry
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Join us to show your commitment to the eight high impact actions
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Continence care is going down the pan as costs are cut and prices rise
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Support innovative products and devices to avoid a funding crisis
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Calling all nurses to action: local changes can transform healthcare
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Nurses need national guidance to standardise last offices care
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Direct entry now means no exit from the midwifery profession
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Moving to an all graduate profession is a necessity
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The ice cream that changed my approach to nursing
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The profession should oppose calls to legalise assisted suicide
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How do we deliver best practice?
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Reawaken your sense of vocation by remembering nursing’s history
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Health visitors must demonstrate their worth to protect services
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Do your patients need help to access the ballot box?
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The COPD strategy can only fulfil its potential if nurses are trained
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Nursing by numbers: nurses must use clinical judgement to assess risk
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Locally designed products and devices can transform patient care
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If data collection were managed, nurses could focus on caregiving
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Mental health professionals need to end tensions and work together
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Nurses should not let themselves be defined by their uniform
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Poor numeracy skills must be tackled to cut medication errors
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Nurse intuition will be restricted if technology dominates care
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Problem solving skills can be used to overcome single room concerns
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Using general nurses to fill health visitor gaps puts children at risk
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Surgery waiting list targets remove choice and penalise services
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Good mental health is rooted in social cohesion, not the individual
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It is the education system that leads students to reject basic care
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Health promotion could help us all to grow old gracefully
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Managers must support nurses to boost their commitment to care
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Why can't we see what is right in front of us?
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Metrics enable the profession to take control of nursing quality
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There is no middle ground regarding assisted suicide
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Involving nurses in the complaints process leads to more effective care
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Student nurses should not underestimate the value of delivering hands-on, personal care
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Nurses need more training to ensure effective compression therapy for venous leg ulcers
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Putting patients at the heart of care delivery is key to nurse leadership
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We must tackle unsafe hospital discharge for homeless patients
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Trusts must tackle all forms of negative behaviour between staff
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Nurses should consider training in CBT to support COPD patients
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Organisational culture is the key to improving patient safety
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NICE guidance on low back pain should be revised urgently
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Nurses hold the key to self-care success by supporting patients
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Better training is needed to provide the support that people with dementia and their carers need
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Skilled dementia care must not become the preserve of specialists
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Nurses are key to ensuring that patients are assessed for VTE risk
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Maintaining enthusiasm is crucial in the drive to prevent HCAIs
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Nurses must ensure patients are weighed on admission to hospital
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Decisions on bedrails must not be made through emotive arguments
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Patients need to be provided with real choice in end-of-life care
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Good communication helps to build a therapeutic relationship
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Different grades of nurses should be reintroduced to improve care
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We can improve patient care by encouraging staff to be innovative
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Nurses are vital in implementing the osteoporosis care manifesto
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We must act to stop the recession from damaging men’s health
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Current ward manager roles do not reflect nurses' career ambitions
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The government's health checks must include respiratory disease
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Current standards of effective oral care provision are unacceptable
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Nurses need to take more control of patients' nutritional needs
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Nurses need critical appraisal skills when reading research
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The new health checks must not be allowed to increase inequalities
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We must not forget acute pain when improving pain services
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We must take action to address the barriers to bowel screening
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Does access to contraception raise teenage pregnancy rates?
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Women must be given better breast cancer screening advice
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Nurses should welcome the non-prescription obesity drug
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The real test of society is how it deals with dying people
