Welcome
to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 283 13 January 2016
From NZ media this week
Patients unaware of staff prying in their files
More than 70 upper North Island health workers
have been disciplined for snooping into patients' records in the past three
years, and not all of the patients have been told.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11568355&ref=rss
Nurses in classrooms to
target rheumatic fever
A scheme for putting nurses in classrooms to
check for early signs of rheumatic fever has the support of health researchers.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/293701/nurses-in-classrooms-to-target-rheumatic-fever
Deceased organ donors reach the greatest number yet
Organ donation officials are hailing the
increase in deceased donors last year to 53, as the greatest number yet.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=11570522&ref=rss
Maori, Pasifika respiratory
disease rates a scandal - doctors
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation medical
director and Wellington Hospital respiratory physician Kyle Perrin said
respiratory disease was the country's third biggest killer and the government
needed to make it a priority.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/293637/maori,-pasifika-respiratory-disease-rates-a-scandal-doctors
'Human scandal' as
Christchurch elderly refused access to surgeries
Colleen
Beaton spent three years unable to use her left arm, battling with the
Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) to prove she was in enough agony to
receive the surgery she had been referred for.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/75696751/human-scandal-as-christchurch-elderly-refused-access-to-surgeries
Holiday drunks clog
Waikato emergency department, 90 per cent of staff assaulted
A
Waikato doctor is fed up with the number of drunks who turn up at his emergency
department. They're not just diverting attention from truly sick people,
they're assaulting his staff.
We
get vomited on, occasionally hit, frequently verbally abused - there's a lot of
swearing," Waikato Hospital Emergency Department head John Bonning
said
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/75432920/holiday-drunks-clog-waikato-emergency-department-90-per-cent-of-staff-assaulted
More money, better conditions in private sector
Public hospital staff are
bearing the brunt of governmental "belt tightening", both in terms of
pay and working conditions, union representatives say.
Those staff have had
their pay increase at a rate slower than inflation in the past five
years, while working conditions also pushed some staff to the private
sector.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/75768611/more-money-better-conditions-in-private-sector
Grotesque' pay gap at
hospitals - union
The pay gap between public hospital staff and
their chief executives has been described as 'grotesque' by the senior doctor's
union.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/293880/'grotesque'-pay-gap-at-hospitals-union
Drugs, alcohol and smoking
Govt urged to loosen e-cigarette rules
Some New Zealand tobacco researchers are
calling for the government to allow e-cigarettes containing small amounts of
nicotine to be sold here, in the same way nicotine patches ar
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/293434/govt-urged-to-loosen-e-cigarette-rules
E-cigarette rule hurting NZ's poorest
Strict restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes
containing nicotine are preventing some of New Zealand's poorest from giving up
tobacco, academics say.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/293473/e-cigarette-rule-hurting-nz's-poorest
Government failing to adequately address
tobacco-related harm for Māori
Māori smoking rates have
barely changed since 2011, and the Government is not doing enough to address
tobacco-related harm amongst Māori, say leading tobacco researchers and public
health advocates.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1601/S00019/government-failing-to-address-tobacco-related-harm-for-maori.htm
Ethical issues
Auckland researcher to
speak at international euthanasia conference
An
Auckland researcher facing an ethics complaint around research on euthanasia is
due to speak at an international euthanasia conference in Amsterdam.
Dr
Pam Oliver and fellow researcher Dr Phillipa Malpas from Auckland University's
School of Medicine distributed a survey to New Zealand doctors and nurses
in 2015 asking for their experience and opinions on euthanasia.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/75661239/auckland-researcher-to-speak-at-international-euthanasia-conference
Social health
Bay patients can no longer afford prescriptions
Bay people could be jeopardising their health
by not collecting prescriptions or only picking up some of their medication
because of cost, professionals warn.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11569332
From International media this week
Tele-ICU systems provide nurses opportunity to improve patient care
Telemedicine is changing the way patient care
is provided in a growing number of intensive care units (ICUs) across the
country, and tele-ICU nurses - who see its impact firsthand - say it provides
an opportunity to improve care, according to results of a national survey
published in the American Journal of Critical Care (AJCC).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20160104/Tele-ICU-systems-provide-nurses-opportunity-to-improve-patient-care.aspx
Nurse Jobs Shift
From The Hospital To The Community
An increasing number of nurses are getting their
first jobs outside of the hospital as the healthcare system moves from
fee-for-service medicine to population health that focuses on outreach and
tries to keep patients well.
http://onforb.es/1O27UBM
OECD
Report: India Biggest Exporter of Doctors and Nurses to Europe
A recent study by the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) has made some interesting findings about the
pedigrees of doctors and nurses in Europe. As it turns out, a great number of
these medical professionals came from India. In fact, India has been identified
as the largest exporter of doctors and nurses to Europe.
http://www.economywatch.com/news/OECD-Report-India-Biggest-Exporter-of-Doctors-and-Nurses-to-Europe1229.html
Using the Chronic Care Model to prevent, treat obesity: 3 tips
Combating obesity and other chronic diseases
requires more than just clinical interventions, it requires both clinical and
community systems to integrate, according to an article published in the
September issue of Health Affairs.
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/population-health/using-the-chronic-care-model-to-prevent-treat-obesity-3-tips.html
Patients
leaving hospitals often don’t understand care plans
(Reuters Health) - Many patients leaving the hospital don’t
understand follow-up care plans because the instructions are tailored to people
with higher reading levels and more education, a recent U.S. study suggests.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-literacy-surgery-idUSKBN0UK1YS20160106?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Placement system ‘too weak’ to support hoped
for rise in student places
Suggestions that thousands more nurses would be
trained under plans to scrap bursaries are misplaced due a lack of placements
and mentors to support students, it has been claimed.
http://tinyurl.com/hjrnm5k
Quebec nurses can prescribe some laboratory
tests, medications
Nurses have the authority to prescribe certain tests and some
medicines to better manage treatment, thanks to a regulation that came into
force Monday.
http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/quebec-nurses-can-prescribe-some-laboratory-tests-medications
Reports online
How sharp are we on safety?
An assessment of safer sharps adoption in UK hospitals
“In order to build a
picture of the current level of adoption and compliance in UK acute (and other)
healthcare institutions in respect of EU Council Directive 2010/32/EU and
Health and Safety (Sharps Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013, MindMetre
conducted research into actual purchasing volumes of safer sharps across the UK
NHS acute sector. The results reveal that, although progress has been made, the
proportion of safer sharp devices is still nowhere near what would be
reasonably expected in order to be fully compliant.” Source: MindMetre
http://www.mindmetreresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Sharps_H1_2015_Report-FINAL1.pdf
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
12 January 2016.
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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