Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 298 4 May 2016

From NZ media this week

Record number of Registered Nurse Graduates at Southern DHB
Record number of Registered Nurse Graduates participate in nursing programmes within Southern DHB.
Southern DHB has reached an all-time record with 79 Registered Nurse (RNs) graduates participating in two structured integration nursing programmes this year. These programmes have been designed specifically to guide and assist nursing graduates as they embark on their new careers as registered nurses.
Read more here

South Canterbury nurses receive extra training ahead of new obesity target
South Canterbury Health Board bosses expect more obese children to be referred for help after a health programme fell short of a soon-to-be-introduced target.
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New Zealand needs a clear and informed debate about cannabis, psychiatrists say
New Zealanders need to have an informed debate about cannabis, distinguishing recreational use from the drug's potential medical application, psychiatrists say.
In the latest issue of the New Zealand Medical Journal, which includes studies on self-reported medicinal use of cannabis and the effect of law changes on synthetic cannabinoid use, an editorial argues for clear public debate.
Read more here

Obesity/ sugar

Bulk of Kiwi doctors back sugary drinks tax
Kiwi doctors are getting behind growing calls for a sugar tax in New Zealand.
A new poll by NZ Doctor magazine has found more than 84 per cent of doctors back a sugar tax.
Nearly 70 per cent of the 146 doctors polled also rejected health minister Jonathan Cole­man's view there was no evidence a tax would cut sugary drink consumption.
Read more here

Public health

Raising awareness of rheumatic fever
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman welcomes the start of the 2016 rheumatic fever awareness campaign.
"Rheumatic fever is a serious disease which usually starts with a sore throat and can lead to lifelong heart problems," says Dr Coleman.
Read more here

Anti-Vax Sentiment - Brian Deer
It's World Immunization Week. And Vaccination is still the best way at preventing a disease or illness. Despite gains in vaccination coverage in some regions and countries the past year, global vaccination targets are proving difficult to meet. Here in New Zealand one of the barriers to vaccination is the persistant belief that it can cause autism in children. The origin of this myth was a paper by Andrew Wakefield in 1998 which claimed to have found a link. The evidence in the paper was later found to be falsified and Wakefield was struck off the medical register. The man responsible for uncovering the fraudulent research was Brian Deer.
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Social health

Insulating houses keeps children out of hospital
A new study from the University of Otago, Wellington has found that retrofitting insulation to current 2008 standards in existing houses reduces hospitalisation rates for all children by six percent. Department of Public Health researchers analysed data from the Warm Up New Zealand programme and found that hospitalisation rates for children in households where any member carried a Community Services Card were reduced by 12 per cent.
Read more here

From International media this week

A Battle Brews Over Nurse Licensing in the Digital Age
Hospitals and some nursing groups want to do away with requirements that nurses be licensed in each state but opponents see risks to patient safety
Read more here

Nurses’ safety is paramount
WHEN we go to work, we expect to be come home again at the end of the day safe and uninjured.
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NY lawmakers consider tighter regulation of nurses
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- State legislators are considering tightening regulation of nurses after a ProPublica investigation found New York does less than other states to check nurses' criminal backgrounds and is often slow to discipline nurses for lapses in care.
Read more here

Nurses ask for names, salaries on disclosure list to be removed
TRURO – Publicly shaming a nurse for making more than $100,000 a year shouldn’t happen, according to the province’s health and wellness minister.
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Nurse managed care not sustainable, says Manitoba Nurses Union
Doctor shortages mean nurses get short end of the stick
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Should Nursing Rules and Regulations Be Universal?
Should nurses be required to have state-by-state licensing?
There are two sides to the issue. Some feel that having nurses follow rules and regulations depending on the state could be difficult, especially with telemedicine continuing to grow more. 
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Housing costs 'to drive 40% of nurses out of London'
Four in 10 London nurses expect to leave the capital by 2021 because housing costs are so high, according to a survey by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
Nearly four-fifths of the RCN members surveyed were worried about the cost of their accommodation.
Read more here

Workplace violence against health-care workers under-reported, largely ignored
No nurse should expect to go to work and be assaulted, says Canadian nursing official
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Return visits to the ER more likely for patients with limited English
(Reuters Health) - Patients in the emergency room who don't speak English well are slightly more likely to return within days, suggesting their care the first time was not as good as it could have been, researchers say.
Read more here

From the Ministry of Health

’Ala Mo’ui Progress Report: December 2015
ʼAla Mo’ui: Pathways to Pacific Health and Wellbeing 2014–18 ( ̛Ala Mo’ui ) is a four-year plan that provides an outcomes framework to deliver high-quality health services that meet the needs of Pacific peoples.
This is the second six-monthly progress report on the implementation of  ̛Ala Mo’ui. It covers the period from July to December 2015. It presents results to December 2015 for the 21 quantitative indicator measures monitored in ̛Ala Mo’ui. The indicator results are presented at a national level (total New Zealand population and total Pacific population) and at a district health board level (by the eight Pacific priority DHBs).
This report shows areas where the health sector is performing well for Pacific peoples and where further improvement is needed. The ̛Ala Mo’ui supports the Ministry of Health, district health boards and the wider health sector to identify and prioritise areas for national and local improvement in the provision of health services to Pacific peoples in New Zealand.
http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/ala-moui-progress-report-december-2015

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 3 May 2016.

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