Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 538, Wednesday 7 April 2021
Weekly news round-up of nursing and health information in New Zealand and internationally
NATIONAL NEWS
Waikato wound care expert Julie Betts retires
Julie Betts achieved Nurse Practitioner status in 2003, one of the first 10 NPs in NZ and ... This service provided education and training for district nurses so they could ... In fact, it is the first and only Wound Care team in New Zealand.
New scholarships enable MÄori health professionals to earn while they learn
Six MÄori psychiatric assistants are now studying their way to a degree-level nursing qualification at Wintec that will progress their careers and create potential for better MÄori mental health support. Read more
Vital pathway for thousands of Filipino nurses coming to NZ for work in doubt
Its New Zealand embassy is issuing an advisory for nurses in the Philippines against the pathway and advised training providers to stop recruiting ...
Operations postponed due to nursing shortage at Waitematā DHB
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation's perioperative nurses chairperson Juliet Asbery said there were shortages in many parts of the country.
Latest DHB pay offer felt like April Fools' joke - nurses
And I think nurses have had enough," says registered nurse Alice McKenzie. Related News. Stock image of surgery.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NMC approves first ever further education college for nursing associate training
Find out more about the approval
We are proud to confirm that South Devon College has been approved to provide the nursing associate programme. It means the college is the first further education (FE) institution in England to be directly approved to help aspiring professionals achieve the qualification.
Wisconsin hospital replaces anesthesiologists with CRNAs
Watertown (Wis.) Regional Medical Center has replaced its anesthesiologists with certified registered nurse anesthetists, and some physicians aren't happy about the change, according to Medscape Medical News.
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
New fund encourages tamariki and rangatahi Maori to participate in physical activity
Today tamariki and rangatahi from kura throughout Åtautahi gathered to celebrate the launch of Te KÄ«wai, a new fund that provides direct financial support to help children and young people stay active. Read more
Government announces $7.4 million for youth impacted by Covid-19
Nearly two dozen youth organisations across the country will receive more than $7.4 million following a government announcement in Rotorua today. Read more
Health Minister Andrew Little praises new Māori-led service for at-risk mothers in Whanganui
Minister of Health Andrew Little was in Whanganui on Thursday, meeting with Māori and iwi health practitioners tasked with delivering a new programme for at-risk mothers and their whānau. Read more
COVID-19 / CORONAVIRUS
Covid 19 coronavirus: Where are NZ's most vulnerable places?
New Zealand's vulnerability to Covid-19 has been laid out in maps showing major cities - but also remote communities - among the most threatened spots.
In a just-published study, Dr Jesse Wiki and Canterbury University colleagues pulled together a mix of risk factors to get an unprecedented picture of our susceptibility.
Covid-19: Superspreaders responsible for 85 per cent of transmission, study shows
One in five adults with Covid-19 in New Zealand caused up to 85 per cent of the virus’s transmission during the first outbreak, a new study shows.
How comorbidities increase risks for COVID patients
Comorbidities such as heart disease, respiratory disease, renal disease and cancer lead to an increased risk of death from COVID-19, according to new research.
Covid-19 vaccines could be ineffective within the year due to virus mutations
Current Covid-19 vaccines could become ineffective against virus mutations within the next year, NBC News reports.
DENTAL CARE
More Than Half Of Kiwis Are Neglecting Their Teeth, Says New Research
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, March 31, 2021 – New research commissioned by leading telehealth company SmileDirectClub has revealed more than half of Kiwis (55%) have not had a dental health check or procedure in the last 12 months.
DHBS
Waikato DHB equity report 'puts pressure on' health board to improve health of Māori and Pacific people
Double the rate of diabetes and seven fewer years of life: it’s not news that Māori fare worse in the health system, but a Waikato DHB report aims to pinpoint where.
EMERGENCY HEALTH CARE
Jump in number of patients waiting more than 6 hours at EDs since Govt scrapped health targets in 2017
An increasing number of patients who turn up at Emergency Departments (ED) around the country are forced to wait more than six hours to be either admitted to a hospital ward or discharged.
Wellington hospital has longest ED wait times in the country
Wellington Regional Hospital’s emergency department has the worst wait times in the country, rising sharply after the Government stopped publicly reporting of the measure in January 2018.
MENTAL HEALTH
Government announces mental health and addiction support in Hawke's Bay
Those struggling with mental health or addiction issues in Hawke’s Bay will have access to a new support service.
Minister of Health, Andrew Little said the service was a “priority” for the government. Read more
Government failing to tackle mental health crisis - Foundation
The head of the Mental Health Foundation says the government is failing to tackle the crisis facing the sector. Read more
Huge growth in use of 'last resort' seclusion indicates mental health system in crisis, and in worse shape than when Labour elected in 2017
A years-late mental health report has revealed a huge growth in mental health patients being locked in rooms alone. Read more
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
ED Pressures Are The Result Of A Vicious Circle Faced Daily By General Practice
Latest Emergency Department pressures are the result of a vicious circle being faced on a daily basis by general practices across the country.
College Of GPs Releases Latest Workforce Survey Data
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners has today released the results of its biennial Workforce Survey showing that changes need to be made at a Government level to ensure the sustainability of community medicine in New Zealand. See the Workforce Survey: https://tinyurl.com/2020WorkforceSurvey
PUBLIC HEALTH
NZ is virtually flu-free - but here's why you still need your jab
New Zealand may see little of the flu again this season, after the virus was all but wiped out here by last year's dramatic Covid-19 interventions. Read more
Flu vaccine roll-out set to start for over 65s, rest of NZ to wait longer than usual
The country's influenza vaccine roll-out will begin in mid-April for those 65 and older, with record amounts of flu jab secured.
Ministry revises timeframe for this year's influenza immunisation rollout
The Ministry of Health has revised the timeframe for this year's rollout of the influenza immunisation programme, due to begin in two weeks.
Flu jabs could be complicated this year - sector
Getting the flu vaccine this year could be complicated by the Covid-19 vaccine, says an immunisation specialist. Read more
ONLINE JOURNALS
Māori Health Review
Issue 90
Welcome to Issue 90 of Māori Health Review.
In this issue, we feature a convincing paper showing that human papilloma virus self-testing significantly increases screening rates in Māori women compared with conventional smear testing.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The article below is not freely available but may be accessed through databases and libraries to which readers have access
Describing precisely what nurses do.
Halloran, EJ, Halloran, DC.
Nursing Forum. 2021; 1– 4. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12569
Numerous important papers written by nurses and other scientists to improve nursing practice are not read by many nurses because two of the common ways authors use to describe what nurses do obscures the applicability of studies to nurses in general. Interventions (aka, procedures, skills, tasks) used and populations studied, including diseases, are less robust indicators of research results than are tests of nursing theory. Further, some of these important papers are not stored in or retrieved by accessing the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature database. We believe many research papers by nurses and those who study nursing would benefit from an explicit rather than implicit test of nursing theory and we advise authors use Henderson's theoretical textbook because of its link to research and expert opinion professional literature. Significant papers should be reversely cited in her textbook to place them in the context of the knowledge of nursing she recorded for much of the 20th century.
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 6 April 2021
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