Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 372
Wednesday 1 November 2017
NATIONAL NEWS
Dannevirke nurse first to achieve rural speciality
A Dannevirke nurse's desire to improve the lives of those in her community has resulted in her becoming the first in New Zealand to achieve a rural nursing specialty.
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New Government’s health policy details revealed
Confused about whose health policy is whose and what is new? Nursing Review gives you a quick guide to what has been agreed to by the incoming Government.
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Mental Health Commission, drug policy on govt agenda
Five years after the Mental Health Commission closed shop, New Zealand First has secured plans for its reestablishment. Alongside that, the Greens have also committed to a Government that acknowledges and treats drug-use as a genuine health issue. Teuila Fuatai reports.
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Healing the fractured CDHB and ministry relationship a priority, new Health Minister says
New Minister of Health David Clark says he will prioritise mending the broken relationship between the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) and the ministry.
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New Health Minister wants answers on slow surgical mesh injuries response
New Minister of Health David Clark wants an explanation on the slow progress on surgical mesh injury prevention.
"I will want to be briefed on it, but I've said in the past I can't understand why there hasn't been a [surgical mesh] registry formed and if there is a good reason I haven't heard it, so I would like to hear from the ministry," he said.
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CANCER ISSUES
Environmental factors likely behind our breast cancer rates
New research suggests environmental, rather than genetic, factors are behind New Zealand's high rates of breast cancer.Doctors from the University of Auckland undertook gene expression profiles, which measure tumour biology, and found there is no clear difference between breast tumours found in Kiwi patients and those from patients overseas.
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DIABETES
Diabetes Action Month highlights different types of diabetes
This November is Diabetes Action Month in New Zealand. This annual campaign aims to educate the public around diabetes as a major health issue that affects almost a quarter of a million New Zealanders.
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MENTAL HEALTH
Kiwis more likely to see a psychologist in prison than in mental health system
New Zealanders are more likely to see a psychologist in prison than in the mental health system.The correction department pays psychologists tens of thousands of dollars more than District Health Boards (DHBs), leading to shortages in the health system, with 50 unfilled positions around the country's DHBs.
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Review underway to stop assaults at mental health unit in Christchurch
A health and safety review is underway on a high-needs mental health unit at Hillmorton Hospital after staff have been bitten, hit, and injured while restraining patients.
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PUBLIC HEALTH
Climate change: five ways it could harm us
We think of climate change as a gargantuan global crisis that will transform our environment in ways we can barely begin to imagine.
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TELEHEALTH AND E-HEALTH
Humans better than robots for surgery - surgeon
With hospitals spending millions on robots and new technology, studies have found that machines don’t reduce side effects and take longer to operate.
They found highly-trained surgeons armed with a scalpel perform procedures faster than machines, at a lower cost - and do not make more mistakes.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Nurses' depression tied to increased likelihood of medical errors
Depression is common among nurses and is linked to a higher likelihood they'll make medical errors, new research suggests.
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Millennials Embrace Nursing Profession — Just In Time To Replace Baby Boomers
The days are long past when the only career doors that readily opened to young women were those marked teacher, secretary or nurse. Yet young adults who are part of the millennial generation are nearly twice as likely as baby boomers were to choose the nursing profession, according to a recent study.
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ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Identifying nurse-sensitive indicators for stand-alone high acuity areas: A systematic review
Collegian, In Press, Sept 2017
Background
Nurse-sensitive patient outcomes that are suitable for general medical and surgical settings are well developed. Indicators developed for general ward settings may not be suitable for stand-alone high acuity areas; therefore, a different set of indicators is required.
Aim
The aim of this review was to identify suitable indicators for measuring the impact of nurse staffing and nurse skill mix variations on patient outcomes in stand-alone high acuity areas.
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FROM THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH
Special Patients and Restricted Patients: Guidelines for Regional Forensic Mental Health Services
Regional forensic mental health services are responsible for the care and treatment of special patients and restricted patients within the legislative framework of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 and the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003.
New Zealand legislation specifically allows for people who have been charged with or convicted of an offence, and who meet certain criteria in terms of their mental illness, to be treated for that condition in hospital. Treatment of mental illness can be an important step in helping an individual to acknowledge and address the reasons for their offending, and in doing so reduce the chances of future offending and significantly improve their wellbeing.
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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 31 October 2017
If you have any feedback about content - what parts are most useful or what you would like added - please email admin@nurse.org.nz
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