Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSPatient safety
Patient safety news, practice and analysis for all nurses
Patient safety practice and clinical research
Tackling infection in care homes
An audit involving an awards scheme, MRSA screening and staff education reduced healthcare-associated infections among care home residents
Skin reactions in radiotherapy
How a toolkit helped staff to assess and manage radiotherapy-induced skin reactions
How to prevent the spread of norovirus
Norovirus has a significant impact on healthcare resources. Nurses can help to prevent its spread by maintaining good hand hygiene and infection control measures
When should peripheral venous catheters be replaced?
Catheter insertion is an unpleasant experience for patients. This Cochrane review assessed the effects of removing catheters when clinically indicated compared with doing so routinely
Intermittent self-catheterisation in MS
A review of the literature on the use of ISC in people with multiple sclerosis found significant support and follow-up may be required to ensure long-term use of this technique
Pressure ulcer risk assessment
Early detection and preventive action are vital to reduce avoidable pressure ulcers
"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
Using the 30º tilt to reduce pressure ulcers
There is confusion over methods and frequency of repositioning needed to prevent pressure ulcers, so this study compared a specific schedule with usual care
'Education and understanding are so important in this field because blood transfusion is all about patient safety'
We talk to Bev Ward, a nurse for 31 years, with experience as an Enrolled Nurse (Mental Illness), then as a Registered General Nurse, and now as a Transfusion Practitioner for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Preparing injectable medicines safely
Advice on minimising the risks to patients when preparing injectable medicines
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Engaging staff with intentional rounding
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“Focus on the values of nursing to boost care – not checklists”
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“Technology can transform the quality of clinical practice”
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A tool to identify falling care quality
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Can failure to rescue be a key indicator of patient safety?
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Evaluating a critical care course
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How skill mix affects quality of care
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Using IT to improve out-of-hours care
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Avoiding air embolism when removing CVCs
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Nasogastric feeding tube placement: changing culture
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Air embolus
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Misidentification
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Tackling insulin maladministration
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Improving training and education in patient handling
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Policy update: never events
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Bedrail entrapment
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A multifactorial approach to falls prevention
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Are newly qualified nurses prepared for practice?
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IV therapy in the community
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The role of the research nurse
Patient safety news
Mothers and babies still at 'significant' risk at Morecambe Bay
The safety of mothers and babies at the foundation’s Furness General Hospital remains at “significant risk”, according to a new independent review commissioned by foundation trust regulator Monitor.
London hospitals told they could slash nursing bill by £421m
London hospitals have been advised by management consultants they could save £421m over the next three years through a major shake-up of nurse productivity, Nursing Times has learnt.
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CQC issues trust with urgent warning to increase A&E staffing
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Warning over fall in social care funding
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Nurses asked for ideas to improve quality and safety in care homes
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Nurses should not take all the blame for poor nutrition
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MHRA recalls batches of contaminated nasal spray
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PM's forum should look at staffing and not 'beat up' nurses, says its chair
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RCN calls on CQC to improve 'relevance and credibility'
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All hip fracture patients should be 'fast tracked' for ops
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A&E handover tool boosts patient safety awareness
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PM orders regular ward rounds, nurse leadership and reduced bureaucracy
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Nursing ratios linked to patient outcomes
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MHRA advises against PIP implant removal
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Learning disability nursing needs urgent review and recruitment drive
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Abortion 'does not raise mental health risks'
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Whistleblowers call for NHS culture change
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Sterilising gas 'could clean wards'
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Pressure ulcer care hit by red tape burden
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Public rating of care homes planned
Analysis
Risks and benefits: changing the nursing skill mix
Healthcare assistants have taken on more and more core nursing tasks in recent years. Sally Gainsbury investigates the impact of this blurring of professional boundaries in the current economic climate
Is nursing’s great challenge care of the elderly?
A recurring theme in negative reports about nursing quality in the NHS seems to be the care given to older patients. Clare Lomas investigates what can be done to meet the challenge
