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Consultation seeks views on new criteria for heart services Latest proposals suggest setting up a three-tier network of specialist centres that will cover adults and children specialist care. It is also vital for patients and their families to have access to children’s cardiac specialist nurses who will provide as much support as possible closer to home.’ A review of children’s cardiology services was originally launched in 2008, however it was halted last year after health secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the review’s proposals to reform children’s cardiac surgery in England were based on a ‘flawed’ analysis. The review proposed concentrating surgery in seven specialist centres, but the plans stalled when they were opposed by NHS trusts that faced losing their services. NHS England has now begun a fresh review and broadened the scope to include adult services. The new standards cover 13 areas, including communication with patients and their families, and transition for children moving from child to adult services, and every stage of a patient’s care, from early diagnosis during pregnancy to adult life and family planning. A series of drop-in events to discuss the standards will be run by NHS England between October 14 and November 13. The consultation closes on December 8. The draft standards are available at tinyurl. com/nhse-new-chd-review or email england. [email protected] for consultation details.
Better engagement with South Asian communities will improve asthma care TAILORED TREATMENT PLANS should be developed with families to help children with asthma from South Asian backgrounds in the UK, a study has concluded. University College London, De Montfort University Leicester and University of Leicester explored the barriers this group of children face in managing their asthma because they present more frequently to emergency department than their white counterparts. Researchers concluded that diagnosis and treatment can be managed more effectively by working with families and community leaders, to ensure cultural and linguistic sensitivity. A related video is available at https://vimeo.com/105418355 NURSING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Alamy
By Jennifer Sprinks FRESH PROPOSALS for reorganising children’s heart surgery have been published for consultation just over a year after the government described the proposed reforms arising from a previous review as ‘flawed’. NHS England has launched a consultation on standards to improve the care of children and adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) regardless of where they live. The proposals involve a three-level network for hospitals providing care for CHD, to bring together fetal, children’s and adult services. Each network will have at least one specialist surgical centre (level 1), specialist adult CHD centres and children’s cardiology centres (level 2) and provide ongoing outpatient care (level 3). The consultation emphasises the importance of transition nurses to aid young people’s move to adult services and says it expects an increase in some staff groups, such as specialist nurses. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said: ‘The NHS must ensure better outcomes for children with congenital heart disease, which concentrating surgical and nursing expertise in specialist units can help achieve. ‘Children with complex heart problems have the best results when they receive top quality
In brief A leading children’s nurse has taken the helm at the doctors’ organisation the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). Judith Ellis (pictured), a former nursing director at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital and deputy chair of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, becomes chief executive just as RCPCH members prepared to vote on establishing a multiprofessional Foundation of Child Health. ‘Joining the RCPCH fills me with excitement and, as with every new job, a degree of trepidation, but with the strong motivation to ensure the organisation is “leading the way in children’s health”,’ she said. Public Health England is holding a week of action from November 17, with the aim of celebrating the contribution of nurses, midwives, health visitors and allied health professionals to the health and wellbeing of children. To get involved with a range of interactive activities including Twitter chats, webinars and blogs, follow @VivJBennett on Twitter or visit https://vivbennett. blog.gov.uk There are good examples of nurses engaging children and young people in health care but the information needs to be used effectively to transform services for the better. That was the message from Kath Evans, NHS England’s head of patient experience, maternity, newborn, children and young people, who was speaking at the University of Hertfordshire children’s conference last month. ‘We can’t just think that just because we are in children and young people’s nursing that we have got [patient] experience sorted. As children’s nurses, we have still got a long way to travel.’ She added: ‘One of the challenges is to ask: what have we done with the information, what transformation has happened and what has changed?’ October 2014 | Volume 26 | Number 8
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Consultation seeks views on new criteria for heart services Latest proposals suggest setting up a three-tier network of specialist centres that will cover adults and children specialist care. It is also vital for patients and their families to have access to children’s cardiac specialist nurses who will provide as much support as possible closer to home.’ A review of children’s cardiology services was originally launched in 2008, however it was halted last year after health secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the review’s proposals to reform children’s cardiac surgery in England were based on a ‘flawed’ analysis. The review proposed concentrating surgery in seven specialist centres, but the plans stalled when they were opposed by NHS trusts that faced losing their services. NHS England has now begun a fresh review and broadened the scope to include adult services. The new standards cover 13 areas, including communication with patients and their families, and transition for children moving from child to adult services, and every stage of a patient’s care, from early diagnosis during pregnancy to adult life and family planning. A series of drop-in events to discuss the standards will be run by NHS England between October 14 and November 13. The consultation closes on December 8. The draft standards are available at tinyurl. com/nhse-new-chd-review or email england. [email protected] for consultation details.
Better engagement with South Asian communities will improve asthma care TAILORED TREATMENT PLANS should be developed with families to help children with asthma from South Asian backgrounds in the UK, a study has concluded. University College London, De Montfort University Leicester and University of Leicester explored the barriers this group of children face in managing their asthma because they present more frequently to emergency department than their white counterparts. Researchers concluded that diagnosis and treatment can be managed more effectively by working with families and community leaders, to ensure cultural and linguistic sensitivity. A related video is available at https://vimeo.com/105418355 NURSING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Alamy
By Jennifer Sprinks FRESH PROPOSALS for reorganising children’s heart surgery have been published for consultation just over a year after the government described the proposed reforms arising from a previous review as ‘flawed’. NHS England has launched a consultation on standards to improve the care of children and adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) regardless of where they live. The proposals involve a three-level network for hospitals providing care for CHD, to bring together fetal, children’s and adult services. Each network will have at least one specialist surgical centre (level 1), specialist adult CHD centres and children’s cardiology centres (level 2) and provide ongoing outpatient care (level 3). The consultation emphasises the importance of transition nurses to aid young people’s move to adult services and says it expects an increase in some staff groups, such as specialist nurses. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said: ‘The NHS must ensure better outcomes for children with congenital heart disease, which concentrating surgical and nursing expertise in specialist units can help achieve. ‘Children with complex heart problems have the best results when they receive top quality
In brief A leading children’s nurse has taken the helm at the doctors’ organisation the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). Judith Ellis (pictured), a former nursing director at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital and deputy chair of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, becomes chief executive just as RCPCH members prepared to vote on establishing a multiprofessional Foundation of Child Health. ‘Joining the RCPCH fills me with excitement and, as with every new job, a degree of trepidation, but with the strong motivation to ensure the organisation is “leading the way in children’s health”,’ she said. Public Health England is holding a week of action from November 17, with the aim of celebrating the contribution of nurses, midwives, health visitors and allied health professionals to the health and wellbeing of children. To get involved with a range of interactive activities including Twitter chats, webinars and blogs, follow @VivJBennett on Twitter or visit https://vivbennett. blog.gov.uk There are good examples of nurses engaging children and young people in health care but the information needs to be used effectively to transform services for the better. That was the message from Kath Evans, NHS England’s head of patient experience, maternity, newborn, children and young people, who was speaking at the University of Hertfordshire children’s conference last month. ‘We can’t just think that just because we are in children and young people’s nursing that we have got [patient] experience sorted. As children’s nurses, we have still got a long way to travel.’ She added: ‘One of the challenges is to ask: what have we done with the information, what transformation has happened and what has changed?’ October 2014 | Volume 26 | Number 8
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Feb 02, 2016. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2016 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
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