Nursing Times
Simon Lewis

Simon Lewis is a Nursing Times and HSJ reporter. Simon's focus for Nursing Times is on learning disability, mental health and substance misuse, while on HSJ he covers primary care trusts and mental health.

Southern Cross takeover boss vows to invest in staff

15-Nov-2011
The boss of the company taking over the largest number of Southern Cross care homes has pledged to win back the confidence of staff.
CQC still has concerns over care at the Pilgrim Hospital

3-Nov-2011
There is still a risk of patients “being exposed to poor care” at the Pilgrim Hospital in Lincolnshire, according to the Care Quality Commission.
10,000 plus nurses have joined social enterprises

1 November 2011
More than 10,000 community nurses have been transferred from the NHS to social enterprise schemes under a major government programme, an investigation by Nursing Times can reveal.
Seventeen cases of poisoning at Stepping Hill

17-Oct-2011
Seventeen patients at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport were affected by saline poisoning, police have revealed.
Data highlights concerns over community mental health teams

17-Oct-2011
Workload pressures on community psychiatric nurses have been blamed for a dramatic rise in the number of people with serious mental illness being recalled to hospital.
Personal budgets policy could lead to 'top ups', RCN warns

10-Oct-2011
A flagship government policy to give patients control of health budgets could exacerbate health inequalities, the Royal College of Nursing has warned.
Report reveals failings at 'risky' nurse led practice

4-Oct-2011
Failures at a Norfolk health centre highlight the need to understand the “significant risk” of nurse-led primary care practices, according to the author of a damning report into care failings.
Community nursing transfer held up by legal threat in Gloucestershire

30-Sep-2011
The transfer of community services in Gloucestershire to a social enterprise is expected to be delayed following a legal challenge.
Hospital must improve nutrition, says CQC

26-Sep-2011
James Paget University Hospitals Foundation Trust has been told it must make “urgent improvements” to how it meets the nutritional needs of older patients after it failed to demonstrate improvements.
Learning disability academic warns of 'more Castlebecks'

13 September 2011
There will be “more Castlebecks” unless action is taken to halt the “mass exodus” of learning disability nurses, the author of a government commissioned report has warned.
NMC to decide on Rebecca Leighton order this week

9-Sep-2011
The Nursing and Midwifery Council has announced that an order banning Stepping Hill nurse Rebecca Leighton from practising is to be reviewed this week.
Rebecca Leighton must still face NMC panel before she can be reinstated

7-Sep-2011
The nurse cleared of charges relating to deaths in Stepping Hill Hospital will have to face a Nursing and Midwifery Council panel before she can return to nursing.
Service takeovers give staff 'nasty surprises'

6-Sep-2011
Nurses have been advised to be “proactive” during takeovers of NHS services or risk seeing jobs lost or downgraded and the quality of services fall.
Substance abuse nursing body resignations down to 'lack of recognition'

6-Sep-2011
“A decade of dilution” of the role of specialist substance abuse nurses left the board of the body representing them so disillusioned that it decided to resign en masse, its former chair has revealed.
DH in talks for 'international players' to take on struggling hospitals

5-Sep-2011
The Department of Health has held discussions about “international players” running up to 20 NHS hospitals, according to confidential emails.
Case dropped against Stepping Hill nurse linked to saline deaths

2-Sep-2011
The case has been dropped against the nurse charged in connection with four deaths at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, the Crown Prosecution Service has announced.
Substance misuse body rocked by nurse resignations

22-Aug-2011
The board of the body representing substance misuse nurses has resigned en masse after issuing a warning that government policy and financial constraints were leading to “uncertainty” in the jobs of its members.
Trust holds back pay rise from lowest band staff

18-Aug-2011
Southend University Hospital Foundation Trust has held back a £250 pay rise for low paid staff in a plan to save over £400,000.
Another Castlebeck home closed

17-Aug-2011
A third care home run by scandal-hit Castlebeck Care is to close.
Posts and beds to go at Princess Alexandra

17-Aug-2011
Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust in Essex will cut 250 staff posts and 60 beds to meet a £17m savings target in the current financial year.
Call for nurses to help mental health service users find work

15-Aug-2011
A survey revealing community mental health service users’ demands for greater support with obtaining work and accommodation has prompted a call for nurses to play a greater role in these areas.
NHS sees equality duty as 'box ticking'

2-Aug-2011
Concern has been expressed that nurses who are disabled or from ethnic minorities could face discrimination after a report claimed most NHS bodies treated duties to reduce inequalities as a “box ticking exercise”.
NMC widens Castlebeck investigation

28-Jul-2011
The conduct of nurses at care homes owned by the Castlebeck Group is to be investigated.
Eight NHS services open to private firms

26 July 2011
Plans to open up £1.2bn of NHS services to competition - including ulcer and wound care and continence services - could cause long-term uncertainty for nurses.
Key role in suicide strategy

26 July 2011
A Department of Health consultation was launched last week on its suicide strategy, which calls for the views of the public and NHS staff on six “areas of action”.
Post cuts 'accelerating' in England, warns RCN

20-Jul-2011
The rate at which NHS trusts in England are announcing cuts to nursing posts is “accelerating” while the rate has slowed in the rest of the UK, according to the Royal College of Nursing.
Fears 'shameful' incontinence ruling could set example

12 July 2011
Community nurses may increasingly find their patients left to sleep in their own urine after the Supreme Court backed a council decision to deny a stroke patient social care at night.
Minorities 'targeted' by NHS fraud squad

5 July 2011
Scores of immigrant nurses have been investigated by NHS anti-fraud investigators amid claims black staff members have been unfairly “targeted”.
Nurses caught out by NHS Protect

5 July 2011
Zimbabwean mental health nurse Richman Matinyadze was jailed for seven months in December 2010 after admitting charges of possessing false documentation, following an NHS Protect investigation.
Government creates 'flexibility' over nurse commissioning role

20-Jun-2011
Key changes to the NHS reforms to widen clinical involvement in commissioning to nursing and hospital doctors will be included in NHS regulations but not be written into legislation, the government has said.
Trust decides against nursing pay freeze

13-Jun-2011
A foundation trust that had proposed freezing increases in nurses’ pay has backed down on the plan.
CNO spends £1m on consultants

7 June 2011
The chief nursing officer spent nearly £1million on consultants last year, according to data from the Department of Health.
Show commissioning skills, says deputy CNO

11-May-2011
Deputy chief nursing officer for England Viv Bennett has called on nurses to demonstrate why they should be involved in decisions on commissioning NHS services.
No 'token' nurses says Future Forum nurse

10 May 2011
Commissioning consortia boards should not contain “token” nurses but must involve the profession in relevant decision making, a senior nursing figure on the NHS Future Forum has told Nursing Times.
Nurses missing out on commissioning board roles

26-Apr-2011
Fewer than a third of the emerging GP consortia in England have nurses in decision making positions, a Nursing Times investigation has found.
RCN congress threatens ballot for industrial action if employers attack national pay deal

19-Apr-2011
Did Andrew Lansley do enough at congress to reassure nurses about his reforms?
Nurses debate annual staff MOTs

15-Apr-2011
Nurses are less well looked after than wheelchairs, the Royal College of Nursing congress was told yesterday.
GP consortia 'not in best interest of patients', says RCN congress

14-Apr-2011
The Royal College of Nursing members have passed a motion that the government’s changes to how NHS services are commissioned are not in patients’ interests.
Nurses back industrial action to combat pay increment freezing

14-Apr-2011
The Royal College of Nursing members have voted in favour of a ballot for industrial action if any trust attempts to impose a local increment freeze.
Lansley apologises to nurses following 'rebuke' over reforms

13-Apr-2011
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has sought to emphasise the role nurses should play in commissioning, after being “rebuked” in a no confidence vote by the Royal College of Nursing.
Lansley responds to no confidence vote by claiming RCN supported health bill

13-Apr-2011
Andrew Lansley has responded to a “no confidence” vote from the Royal College of Nursing Congress by claiming the college had supported his reforms.
RCN passes vote of 'no confidence' in Lansley and reforms

13-Apr-2011
Royal College of Nursing members have overwelmingly passed a vote of no confidence in health secretary Andrew Lansley’s management of the NHS reforms.
MPs want nurses on commissioning boards

5-Apr-2011
Government legislation should be amended so it is compulsory for GP consortia to have a nurse on their board, according to MPs.
Nurses must make the case for involvement

30-Mar-2011
More primary care nurses should seek to become partners in GP practices to ensure the profession is listened to under the government’s health reforms, a senior nurse has told Nursing Times.
Nurse protester of 74 to march again on Saturday

25-Mar-2011
A nurse who appeared on the cover of Nursing Times over 35 years ago protesting for better pay is set to march again this weekend – this time against the public sector cuts.
Carter defends visit to Mid Staffs

15 March 2011
The head of the Royal College of Nursing has defended his decision to praise Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust after visiting the trust while it was being investigated over suspected care failings.
Inquiry hears of 'embryonic' nurse management at Mid Staffs

14-Mar-2011
Nurse management at Stafford Hospital was “embryonic”, according to a nursing director who arrived at the trust after reports exposed high death rates linked to care failings there.
New Zealand nurses join earthquake effort

8-Mar-2011
Nurses and health professionals from all over New Zealand were flown in within hours of the earthquake last week to provide support to struggling health services.
RCN chief was 'unaware' of failings at Mid Staffs during visit

8-Mar-2011
The head of the Royal College of Nursing has defended his decision to praise Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust after visiting the trust while it was being investigated over suspected care failings.
Mid Staffs incident reports 'seen in manager's bin'

7-Mar-2011
Incident reports made by staff about care failings at Mid Staffordshire Hospital were allegedly seen in a manager’s bin, the public inquiry into the scandal has been told.
Savings pressures mount on staff terms and conditions

2-Mar-2011
A hospital trust Bedfordshire has proposed breaching the Agenda for Change pay and conditions agreement in order to save money, while others are seeking to cut fringe benefits such as compassionate leave.
Legal challenge for criminal records disclosure

22 February 2011
The Royal College of Nursing is going to the High Court over rules that mean nurses can be denied a job simply for having attended a police station.
CQC still not satisfied with safety at Basildon and Thurrock

11-Feb-2011
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has failed to address safety and quality concerns raised 10 months ago, according to a Care Quality Commission report.
Primary care roles to expand under mental health strategy

8 February 2011
Should health visitors and school nurses have a greater mental health role?
Trusts fail to use early warning systems to identify deteriorating patients

25 January 2011
Hospitals are not using early warning systems to identify deteriorating patients, despite evidence they can help reduce hospital death rates.
Hospital staff miss danger signs in deteriorating patients

25 January 2011
More than one in five nurses lack confidence in their colleagues’ ability to spot a deteriorating patient.
Andrew Lansley silent on maternity U-turn

16-Nov-2010
The health secretary has refused to be drawn on whether the government will U-turn on its plans for maternity.
Tragedy puts skills deficit in the spotlight

2 November 2010
The case of an agency nurse mistakenly turning off a disabled patient’s ventilator is symptomatic of the increasing dilution of skills in overstretched community nurse teams, senior nurses have warned.
DH fails to untangle pledges on family nurses and health visitors

29-Oct-2010
The government has pledged to double the size of the Family Nurse Partnership but has so far failed to clarify how this will affect previous announcements on health visitor recruitment.
15,000 complaints to NHS watchdog last year

22-Oct-2010
The highest number of complaints from NHS patients are about failings in clinical care and the attitude of staff, according to an ombudsman’s report.
Spending review will lead to strain on health services, warns RCN

21-Oct-2010
The real terms rise in NHS spending “will still feel like a cut”, according to the Royal College of Nursing.
Full RCN membership for HCAs rejected

21-Oct-2010
The Royal College of Nursing has voted not to make changes to its constitution that would have allowed health care assistants to become full members of the organisation.
Nurses to retire later and pay more into pensions

21-Oct-2010
Chancellor George Osborne has announced spending plans that will force nurses and other public sector staff to pay £1.8bn a year more towards their pensions and retire later.
Community nurses have 'serious concerns' about GP commissioning

7-Oct-2010
The move to GP commissioning could exclude other clinicians from decision making while increased competition in the NHS will lead to cost cutting, reductions in quality and greater inequalities, according to the Queen’s Nursing Institute.
Midwives warn increasing competition could destabilise services

6-Oct-2010
The government’s proposals for an increasingly pro market NHS could result in the “disintegration” of the maternity care pathway, the Royal College of Midwives has warned.
Seasonal flu jab to contain swine flu vaccine

5 October 2010
The annual flu jab will this year protect against swine flu and will be offered to all pregnant women for the first time.
Trusts to be tested on dementia

29-Sep-2010
NHS organisations will have to publish details about the care they provide for people with dementia to improve local accountability, the government has announced.
Accept Agenda for Change pay increment freeze to keep your job, nurses told

28 September 2010
Nurses would be offered immunity from redundancy if they agreed to have their Agenda for Change pay increments frozen under secret foundation trust plans.
Acute trusts rely on nurses to earn quality payments

21 September 2010
Trusts are staking around £280m a year on the ability of nurses to help hit local targets, a Nursing Times investigation has revealed.
Patients benefit from quality targets

21 September 2010
There is evidence that attaching financial penalties to nursing quality targets improves patient care.
Midwives to lead on healthy pregnancies by 2020

14 September 2010
Midwives will replace GPs as the lead professionals for pregnant women by 2020, a report for the four UK chief nursing officers has said.
Students flock to nursing courses

7 September 2010
Some 23,000 students snapped up places on nursing courses within a week of their A level results being published, despite recruitment freezes in the NHS.
Dramatic decline in nursing posts fuels job fears

31 August 2010
The number of nursing vacancies has fallen by nearly 40 per cent in the last year, according to data gathered by Nursing Times.

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Nursing Times
Simon Lewis