News bulletin 8 July

on 8 July

 

Welcome to the College of Nurses – News Update.
No. 259 8 July 2015

 

From NZ media this week

Student Nurse Awarded National Scholarship
EIT nursing student Kathy Kupenga was stunned to open an email telling her she was to receive the prestigious Te Apa Māreikura scholarship, one of only two made nationwide by the Ministry of Health.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1507/S00041/student-nurse-awarded-national-scholarship.htm

Nursing Council boss awaits approval for more registered nurses to prescribe
The nurses’ regulatory authority expects a paper from Cabinet by December detailing a possible new regulation allowing more primary healthcare nurses prescribing – but the Ministry of Health is tight-lipped on it.
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/news/2015/july-2015/07/nursing-council-boss-awaits-approval-for-more-registered-nurses-to-prescribe.aspx

Hutt Valley District Health Board nurses lag behind other staff for flu shots
Nurses need to taste their own medicine as numbers getting flu jabs lag behind other medical staff.
Figures provided by the Hutt Valley District Health Board to Fairfax reveal  Hutt nurses had the lowest vaccination rate with just 51 per cent taking on the needle compared to administration, management and hospital support staff who sat on top at 75 per cent.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/69863809/hutt-valley-district-health-board-nurses-lag-behind-other-staff-for-flu-shots

DHBs and PHOs

New approach aims to reduce Emergency Department wait times
Wairarapa DHB is piloting a new system that aims to reduce the amount of time patients spend waiting to see a doctor.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1507/S00023/new-approach-aims-to-reduce-emergency-department-wait-times.htm

Drugs, alcohol and smoking

Alcohol during pregnancy: the alarming stats
Large-scale study on drinking habits of pregnant women
• Shows "alarmingly high rate of alcohol consumption"
• Single women who smoke most susceptible to drinking during pregnancy
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11476953

Expert warns Maori at risk
After a history of oppression it is no wonder many Maori struggle with alcohol-related issues, says a leader in Maori health.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11476319

Annemarie Quill: Women and the dark side of wine
A woman turns to her husband and says, "I don't ever want to be kept alive, hooked up to a machine and dependent on fluids."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11475844

Society's serious alcohol problem
A Whangarei GP says she sees at least one person a day who has a quite a significant issue with alcohol.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11475546

Mental health

Stigma persists when key to mental healing is inclusion
New Zealanders hold the mental health of many of their fellow Kiwis in their hands. Mental illness is still shunned by many in the community; old attitudes to mental health die hard - fear, misunderstanding and discrimination are still common.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11476700

Obesity

Junk food advertising ban best way to fight childhood obesity
Junk food advertising is "powerful, pervasive and predatory" – and must be regulated, says a new Medical Journal article.
Children needed protection from the sophisticated marketing of food and drinks that were making them fat, said Stefanie Vandevijvere and Boyd Swinburn from the Auckland University school of population health.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/69901032/junk-food-advertising-ban-best-way-to-fight-childhood-obesity

Global food restrictions needed to fight obesity, says study
Drastic restrictions on food marketing, ingredients and prices are needed to fight the flab, a new global study says.
A study, by researchers at the University of Auckland, and published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation on Wednesday, examines rising global obesity and has put the blame squarely on our food supply.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/69859687/global-food-restrictions-needed-to-fight-obesity-says-study.html

Public health

Consultation on next steps for bowel screening programme
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says the Government will be consulting with the health sector to inform the next steps towards the potential roll out of a national bowel screening programme.
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2015/july-2015/06/Consultation-on-next-steps-for-bowel-screening-programme-.aspx

Social health

Concern over lack of funding for NGOs
Wanganui's non-profit health and social organisations are struggling for money, according to a health board member, with two groups closing and another cutting its service by 40 per cent.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503426&objectid=11475576

Money the sad fact about doctor visits
Sophie Marshall-Makaea says she feels like a terrible mum for saying money is a factor on whether she takes her daughter to the doctors, but it is the sad reality.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503438&objectid=11476348

From International media this week

Government ‘to relax rules for taking nurse test’
The health ministry will likely reduce the number of years of experience required for assistant nurses (see below) to take correspondence courses in preparation for the national examination for certified nurses from the current minimum of 10 years to about five years, ministry sources said.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002267428

Nurses partner with pregnant women in East Texas
An area program that pairs nurses with pregnant women through their children’s second birthday is showing how much more can be done for kids when the grown-ups team up.
http://www.news-journal.com/news/2015/jul/05/nurses-partner-pregnant-women-east-texas/

Men topple nursing walls in Nevada and nationwide
Health care field becoming more popular, especially for those changing careers
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/jul/05/men-breaking-down-walls-nursing/

New program to get nurses in rural areas
Rural and remote communities are set to get more nurses under a new federal government program to bolster frontline health services.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/07/03/new-program-get-nurses-rural-areas

Work and management

15 body language gaffes for leaders to avoid
Body language is an important component of people's personalities that is often overlooked, most likely because it is not something we often think about or are aware of. However, your body language could be sending people the wrong signals, impeding your ability to influence and lead.
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/15-body-language-gaffes-for-leaders-to-avoid.html

From the Ministry of Health

Implementing Medicines New Zealand 2015 to 2020
Medicines play a significant role in helping New Zealanders get well, stay well and live well. We have already made positive changes in this area, but there are substantial challenges ahead of us.
We need to buy, use and manage medicines wisely. We need to meet the needs of our ageing population and meet the needs of the increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic
conditions. And we need to meet these needs in a way that is more efficient, more coordinated and achieves the most from our limited health dollars.
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/implementing-medicines-new-zealand-2015-2020

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 8 July 2015

If you have any feedback about content - what parts are most useful or what you would like added - please email admin@nurse.org.nz

For more up to date news and information follow SNIPS at:

Facebook:  Snips Info

twitter: @SnipsInfo

                        

Back to blog entries

Areas of Interest