News bulletin 8 July

on 8 July

Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.

No. 502 Wednesday 8 July 2020

Weekly news round-up of nursing and health information in New Zealand and internationally

NATIONAL NEWS

Waitematā DHB Māori Nurse of the Year announced

Waitematā District Health Board Māori Nurse of the Year Chloe Maeva didn't let a worldwide pandemic, motherhood, study or being pregnant get in the way of her work and commitment to Māori mental health. Read more

 

Over 3000 nurses, healthcare workers to stop work across NZ at the end of this month

It comes after eight months of negotiations. New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) industrial advisor Chris Wilson says it has not happened before in ...

 

'I wanted better for my children': From gangs, violence and abuse to being a nurse

Seeing nurses care for and save her son’s life inspired Dalyce Poulson​ to enter the profession.

After having a difficult upbringing – she told TVNZ’s Te Karere she was “brought up around gangs and violence and abuse” – she moved to Auckland to start a new life.

 

Auckland nurse denies failing to give sick children medication

A nurse who allegedly failed to give sick children medicines they needed “strongly denies” the claims. The Auckland woman, who has interim name ...

 

Psychotic patient involved in stabbing transferred from emergency department

A psychotic patient who was involved in a stabbing and assault at Middlemore Hospital may have been transferred from the emergency department to a general ward due to capacity and resource constraints, according to a report.

 

Deputy Chief Midwife role created at CM Health | Counties Manukau Health
Counties Manukau Health’s new Deputy Chief Midwife comes to the role with 20 years’ experience as a lead maternity carer (LMC).
Sarah Nicholson says her experience, mostly in Counties Manukau, puts her in good stead for the newly established role which will focus on leadership and developing strategy and structure within midwifery.

 

CANCER

Cervical cancer - smearing smears

A prominent women's health expert says women are needlessly getting cervical cancer.  Professor Bev Lawton from Victoria University of Wellington's Faculty of Health says the cervical screening programme is failing women,  and a less invasive test should have been introduced three years ago.  Professor Lawton's team has received funding to trial DIY HPV screening in partnership with Hawke's Bay iwi Ngāti Pāhauwera. Twice as many Māori women register as having cervical cancer as non-Māori. Professor Lawton says the home HPV test,  coupled with technology that delivers almost instant results,  will make a big difference to wahine presenting for screening, especially in rural areas.  

 

CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19

COVID-19 and the law in Aotearoa NZ

Health and emergency laws have played a critical role in this country’s successful elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog details key aspects of the legislation and comments on issues around testing, payments by incoming travellers for quarantine costs, and mask use.

 

Coronavirus: NZ could use localised Covid-19 lockdowns like Australia, says Ashley Bloomfield

A second round of stay at home orders will kick in Wednesday for parts of Melbourne hit by Covid-19, and the Director-General of Health says similar measures could be used here if needed.

 

Coronavirus: The 'troubling' attitude towards Covid 19 risk among Baby Boomers

Elderly people are most at risk of becoming seriously ill if infected with the coronavirus, and mortality rates spike after a particular age.

But new research into attitudes towards public health messaging shows Baby Boomers aren't getting the message about the need to take greater precautions

 

Coronavirus: Government to test sewage at managed isolation facilities

Scientists at ESR, the Crown Research Institute that has led New Zealand's Covid-19 testing response, have plans to test sewage from managed isolation and quarantine facilities for Covid-19.

 

Coronavirus: New Zealand joins global alliance to share costs to pre-purchase Covid-19 vaccine

New Zealand has joined a global facility to ensure Kiwis are not left trailing in the race for a Covid-19 vaccine.

 

Use masks to avoid another lockdown if quarantine breached, say experts

Mask use should feature in an alert level redesign, say Otago University public health experts Nick Wilson and Michael Baker.

 

Specialists develop new ventilator hood

A Dunedin-made ventilator hood that could be a major support for hospitals managing Covid-19 outbreaks is now being manufactured.

 

Coronavirus: 'Hundreds of thousands of people will need treatment for life', experts warn

Dr Ron Daniels is one of Britain's leading intensive care doctors. A consultant at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, he was on the front line when the coronavirus pandemic first peaked and, with colleagues, saved many lives.

 

CULTURAL SAFETY

The haka: Wonderful bonding, sending a challenge in a global crisis or merely cultural appropriation?.

Wilson, D. (2020),

 J Clin Nurs. doi:10.1111/jocn.15319

I want to begin by acknowledging the tremendous work nurses are undertaking at the front line of health care throughout the world currently. I also want to pay my respects to those nurses and their families and friends who have sadly lost their lives from COVID‐19 emphasising the risks our workplaces present. The work of all nurses globally reinforces their pivotal role in health care during this time of crisis precipitated by the COVID‐19 pandemic—something I never thought we would see to this scale in our lifetime.

 

DENTAL CARE

Water Fluoridation Saves Poorest Children From Hospitalisation

Research from the University of Canterbury (UC) GeoHealth Laboratory shows that children in our most deprived areas benefit from better dental health if water is fluoridated. 

 

23 children and teens a day hospitalised for dental care, as water fluoridation bill flounders

When Dr Rob Beaglehole moved from Wellington to Nelson, he was shocked at the number of children with tooth decay.

The primary difference: Wellington had fluoridated water; Nelson did not.

 

DHBs

Taranaki District Health Board part of resuable PPE trial

Taranaki District Health Board is taking part in a trial which would enable personal protective equipment to be disinfected and reused.

 

DHB overspends now a 'feature of the system' - auditor-general

Health board deficits have increased so much they are now a “feature of the system” instead of a budget issue for individual boards to solve.

 

Covid takes toll on SDHB balance sheet

Fighting Covid-19 has cost the cash-strapped Southern District Health Board more than $7 million so far, on top of an estimated $6.85 million in lost revenue.

 

Whakaari/White Island: Volcano eruption's multi-million dollar strain on hospitals

The immediate fallout of the Whakaari/White Island eruption cost the country’s burns service at least $4 million – but the true cost could be much higher.

 

FOOD. DIET AND NUTRITION

Food taxes and fruit and vege subsidies would bring major health gains - Study

A consumer tax on the saturated fat, salt and sugar content of food, accompanied by a 20 per cent subsidy on fruit and vegetables, would bring major benefits for the health sector, researchers from Otago, Auckland and Melbourne Universities say.

 

HOUSING

Māori children will end up in hospital due to cold, mouldy homes - advocates

Thousands of whānau are living through winter in cold, damp and mouldy homes. Read more

 

INFECTION CONTROL

Canterbury DHB the first in NZ to use the ElectroClave

Canterbury DHB’s Information Services Group (ISG) is now able to safely disinfect devices such as tablets and cell phones when they are returned to ISG from wards and clinical units.

 

TOBACCO, DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

Reducing harm, 'systemic racism' and overseas comparisons: The experts on legalising cannabis

Illegal cannabis has led to a cascade of health and social harms that could potentially be addressed through legalisation, an expert panel has found - but whether that would transpire is unknown.

 

WELLBEING

Burn Out and How to Recover Faster

How tired are you? I ask because even if you practice the best self-care, set boundaries with your time, and manage your exposure to the inevitable conflicts and stress of working with people, you get tired. Performers, leaders, and managers who want to succeed and win will inevitably have tired days. The problem with tired is that it can also go too far. Are you so tired you are burned out?  Read more

 

MINISTRY OF HEALTH REPORTS

Indicator of potentially avoidable hospitalisations for the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy: A brief report on methodology

Potentially avoidable hospitalisations (PAH) is an indicator of health-related outcomes under the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy (the Strategy). The Ministry of Health is required to provide PAH data as a part of ongoing annual reporting for the Strategy. 

 

ONLINE JOURNALS

Journal of Primary Health Care

Volume 12 Number 2 2020

Table of Contents available here (full text of articles via this link)

 

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

A multifaceted approach to tackling nurse turnover,

Kester, Kelly M. MSN, RN, CCRN, NE-BC 

Nursing Management (Springhouse): June 2020 - Volume 51 - Issue 6 - p 22-28 doi: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000662652.32499.22

Nurse managers face many challenging daily responsibilities, including strategic management of staffing, quality improvement, and finances. Clinical nurse retention is a priority for nursing leaders that requires short- and long-term planning. US hospitals experience 17.2% RN turnover on average; overall, 55.3% of hospitals have an RN vacancy rate of over 7.5%.1 In addition to clinical nurse retention, nurse managers must focus on optimizing hiring, training, and onboarding processes because the hiring pool has an average of less than 2 years' experience. Newly created positions are also on the rise, due in large part to the aging population.

 

Wording of vaccination messaging influences behavior

Washington State University researchers conducted an experiment that studied how differences in messages influenced participants’ attitudes about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

Nearly 200 participants between the ages of 18 and 29 were studied. Different groups of participants received different messages about the HPV vaccine. Some messages were negatively worded and the others were positively worded.   The negatively worded messages stated, for instance, that 3 out of 10 people missed out on the vaccine, while the positively worded messages stated that 7 out of 10 people did get the vaccine.

 

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 of Tuesday 6 June 2020

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