‘Sister reminded me of Stalin with her unwavering discipline and wavy moustache’Nursing Times - this week's issue
Practice, news and opinion from the current issue of Nursing Times print edition
News analysis
Primary care urged to implement new end-of-life guidelines
Primary care services will face an ‘avalanche of need’ among dying patients if they do not act now to improve end-of-life care, a leading expert in end-of-life care has warned.
Defining quality in end of life care
This month sees the launch of two major new documents on end-of-life care that could affect the majority of nurses at some point in their career. Clare Lomas reports on the Department of Health’s new core competences and principles for working with adults at the end of life and the Gold Standards Framework Centre’s updated guidelines on end-of-life care.
Opinion
Scotland is using teamwork to tackle swine flu
Nicola Sturgeon on how Scotland has responded to swine flu
News
Lack of progress against violence towards NHS staff
A report has criticised a lack of progress tackling violence and aggression against NHS staff in Wales.
Sir Michael Parkinson promotes dignity in care campaign
National dignity ambassador Sir Michael Parkinson and care services minister Phil Hope are hosting a ‘Question Time’ event today in Leeds to promote the government’s Dignity in Care campaign.
Plenty of room for improvement, suggest early nurse metric results
Ward sisters should be prepared for initial disappointment over compliance with nursing indicators, suggest early results from trusts that have just started using them.
Picture cards improve nutrition among dementia patients
Providing older people with visual aids at mealtimes can significantly improve quality of life for people with dementia, suggests an initiative at a specialist day centre for older people in Manchester.
Matrons on the march over infection control
University Hospital Aintree is the latest hospital to employ cardboard cut-outs of senior nursing staff in its efforts to combat healthcare-associated infections.
Research nurses takes arthritis prize
A research nurse has won a national prize in recognition of his work with arthritis patients.
Welsh nurses complete Nursing Times Leadership Challenge
More than 150 Welsh nurses competed in the inaugural Nursing Times Leadership Challenge Cymru earlier this week.
Frank Bruno thanks nurses who helped him recover from mental illness
Former boxer Frank Bruno has thanked the nursing staff who helped him recover after he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act in 2003.
Scotland to scrap generic community nurse plans
The Scottish Government is to scrap controversial plans to create a generic community nurse role following consultations with nursing unions.
Call for NHS pay to be linked to productivity
Unions have suggested that nurse pay rises could be linked to increases in efficiency in the NHS.
Review investigates whether KSF can be simplified
A review of the Knowledge and Skills Framework NHS staff training scheme will investigate whether or not it can be simplified.
Indicators produced to help transform community services
A total of 76 proposed clinical indicators to measure the standard of care provided in the community are to be introduced as part of the Transforming Community Services programme, the latest stage of the Darzi Next Stage Review of the NHS.
Student nurse funding to get radical reform
Changes in pre-registration nurse training could see the funding of nurse education facing a radical overhaul.
Hospital ward closes after C diff death
A ward in a Scottish hospital has been closed to new patients after C diff infection was implicated in the death of one patient being treated on the ward, and five others were diagnosed with the virus.
West Midlands considers swine flu contingency plans
NHS West Midlands has revealed that it is considering using contingency plans in the event of a large number of staff being absent from work with swine flu.
Mark Radcliffe
Our students’ dedication is a credit to the profession
Despite our occasional tendency to romanticise the past, being a student nurse has never been easy. It may have been fun in a ‘Sister reminded me of Stalin with her unwavering discipline, her gulags and the wavy moustache but I learnt a lot polishing that sluice’ sort of way, and we may have found ways to turn the experience into something useful, but that doesn’t mean it was ever easy.
Nursing practice
Communicating with nurses: patients’ views on effective support while on haemodialysis
Nurses were found to concentrate on technical aspects of care which prevented the development of the supportive relationship that patients on dialysis wanted
Implementing quality care indicators and presenting results to engage frontline staff
This article describes the implementation of seven quality care indicators – or metrics – and the way data was presented to frontline staff
Patients need to be provided with real choice in end-of-life care
As the government publishes palliative care competences, Jacqueline Pooler highlights the importance of choice over place of death – and the right kinds of bed to enable this
Exploring NICE guidance on how to manage gastroenteritis in young children under five
A member of the NICE guideline development group highlights the important issues from the latest evidence-based guideline for readers of Nursing Times
Sitting and pressure ulcers 2: ensuring good posture and other preventive techniques
Looking at posture and exploring the range of techniques and equipment that nurses can use to help prevent pressure ulcers in vulnerable seated patients
