News bulletin 19 July

on 19 July

Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 357 19 July 2017

NATIONAL NEWS

Nurse staffing levels under scrutiny at Southland Hospital
Patient beds at Southland Hospital have been "beyond 100 per cent capacity" at times this winter, with some patients having to wait longer for surgery.
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Speedy ward changes wins award for charge nurse manager
Quick changes in a very short time in the job has won Timaru charge nurse manager Olivia Pearson a leadership award.
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South Canterbury nurses benefit from foundation funding
Prostate Cancer sufferers and survivors across South Canterbury could be set to benefit from the financial help being given to two nurses at Timaru Hospital.
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Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital faces 'acute' shortage of mental health nurses
Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital is asking nurses on the brink of burn out to work extra shifts as it faces an "acute" shortage of mental health staff.
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Voices to lead - balance of mind, body and spirit
Waikato DHB community mental health nurses chose to focus on good health and wellbeing (Sustainable Development Goal three), to celebrate International Nurse’s Day on Friday, 12 May 2017. 
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Māori representation in health sector allegedly under threat
Maori representation in the health sector is allegedly under threat following the disestablishment of its Māori policy team.A recent study has revealed the Ministry disestablished the Te Kete Hauora policy team last year. It also revoked Maori health plans and reporting from mandatory DHBs, and has scaled back the requirements of DHBs to consult with Maori.
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Peter McKenzie Project will fund $15million worth of good ideas for 20 years
Bright ideas can step into reality after a trust announced it will fund the good ones for 20 years to the tune of $15 million.
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NZ health sector ‘data rich, information poor’
New Zealand faces a critical shortage of skilled practitioners able to analyse, interpret and disseminate data needed to inform and improve health services for New Zealanders.
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Papers expose doctors' bullying at Auckland City Hospital
Bullying at Auckland City Hospital included yelling and abuse, and "arrogant" specialists taught trainees how to "say no" to patient admission requests, according to official documents.
Nurses also challenged the behaviour of certain specialists for years but were intimidated in response, the Herald can now reveal after two years of trying to get the information.
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CANCER ISSUES

Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs first to roll out national bowel cancer screening
The Hutt Valley and Wairarapa are the first two regions to get free screening for bowel cancer, as the initiative starts to be rolled out across the country.
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NZ Herald editorial: Bowel cancer initiative will be closely followed
Every year more than 3000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with bowel cancer and 1200 die from the disease. That is 100 deaths a month from this pernicious disease, about the same as the number who die from breast and prostate cancer combined.
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Breast Screening Booklet Demystifies Mammograms
A newly released booklet guiding Northland women who have an intellectual disability through the breast cancer screening process is hoped to help patients nationwide.
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CHILD AND MATERNAL HEALTH

A traditional Maori approach to child rearing
Traditional Māori approaches to child rearing are steeped in collective responsibility, rather than conventionally promoted individual approaches.
Associate Professor Leonie Pihama, Dr Naomi Simmonds and Dr Waikaremoana Waitoki at the University of Waikato have been awarded $350,000 funding for A Better Start National Science Challenge in conjunction with Curekids to further investigate the place of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledges) as a practice to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young Māori.
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MENTAL HEALTH

Community mental health services 'heading into a crisis'
The government is being warned of a potential crisis in mental health as community workers leave for higher pay in the aged care and disability sectors.
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Break The Silence: Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says current approach to tackling youth suicide isn't working
Warning: This article is about youth suicide and may be distressing for some readers.Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says he accepts the Government's current approach to teen and youth suicide isn't working and that it's time "to do things differently".
New Zealand has the worst teen suicide rate in the world and the second worst youth rate.
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Suicide reduction goal dropped over fear of Govt accountability
Warning: This article is about suicide and may be distressing for some readers.A goal of reducing New Zealand's total suicide rate by 20 per cent over 10 years was rejected over fears the Government would be held accountable if the rate didn't drop.
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OBESITY / SUGAR TAX

First kids breath-tested in obesity study
A ground-breaking obesity study that will breath-test thousands of Kiwi schoolchildren is off to a promising start, its leaders say.
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PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

Campaign calls for investment in GPs as doctors predict grim future of health
The shortage of GPs is nothing new, but doctors across the country are overworked and they've had enough. Reporter Jennifer Eder gets a glimpse into the future as a national campaign is announced.
If you thought it was hard to get a doctor's appointment now, imagine how difficult it could be in 10 years' time.
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RURAL HEALTH

Review heralds new era for rural PRIME service
A wide-ranging review of New Zealand’s Primary Response in Medical Emergency (PRIME) service has been successfully completed and work will soon begin to implement its recommendations, says New Zealand Rural General Practice Network Chief Executive Dalton Kelly. "After a very professional and totally comprehensive, year-long process involving numerous stakeholders, the review outcomes have been accepted and we can now get on with the work plan. It will be great to work with our colleagues including St John and NASO during the next phase."
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Common traits of successful high-need patient care models
High-need patients account for a disproportionate share of costs in the healthcare system, making their care an area of focus for budget-conscious providers.
Nearly half of healthcare costs in the United States go toward care for a mere 5% of the patient population, according to a special publication from the National Academy of Medicine. These “high-need” patient populations require more time and resources, which drives providers’ and policymakers’ interest in managing the care of this population more efficiently.
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Oregon nurse practitioners can now perform vasectomies
Vasectomies are generally safe, but complications happen in an estimated 1 to 2 percent of cases. When they do, Dr. Andrew Neeb, a urologist with Urology Specialists of Oregon in Bend, said it's important that the provider knows how to fix the problem, especially if it requires emergency surgery.
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Applications open for apprenticeship program to build nursing workforce
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — Applications are open for an apprenticeship program to recruit and train workers to fill some of the most-needed jobs in healthcare. Lutheran Medical Center and SCL Health collaborated with the U.S. Department of Labor to offer the Success Through Apprenticeship Readiness (STAR) program.
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WORKPLACE

When a Nurse is Stretched Too Thin
Nurses are strong and resilient, but everyone has a breaking point.Like an elastic band stretched beyond its limits, nurses’ endurance can be challenged and pushed to the edge.
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ARTICLES OF INTEREST

Managing medical service delivery gaps in a socially disadvantaged rural community: a Nurse Practitioner led clinic
THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING
VOLUME 34 ISSUE 4
The aim of this pilot project was to investigate how Nurse Practitioners (NP) manage medical service delivery gaps in a socio-disadvantaged rural Victorian region.
Jo Kelly, MN (NP); Grad Dip Palliative Care; Grad Dip Gerontics; BN; Cert Skin Cancer Medicine; Lymphoedema (Level 1)
Download Article

Kodama Y, Fukahori H. Nurse managers’ attributes to promote change in their wards: a qualitative study. Nursing Open. 2017;00:1–9.
The aim of this study was to explore the processes that nurse managers use to promote change in their wards.
Read more here

The above information has been collated for the College of Nurses Aotearoa (NZ) Inc by Linda Stopforth, SNIPS and is provided on a weekly basis.  It is current as at Tuesday 18 July 2017.

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