News The King’s Fund has created a short animated video to illustrate how the urgent and emergency care system fits together, and to ‘bust some myths about what’s really going on’. According to the healthcare think tank, the underlying causes of the perceived crisis in care ‘demand a joined-up response across all services’. The video can be seen at tinyurl.com/oorpwge The NHS Confederation’s urgent and emergency care forum says that redesigning services around patients in the community and ensuring that staff can make clinical decisions to keep people at home will help ease pressures on NHS urgent and emergency care services. The recommendation is part of the forum’s response to the review of urgent and emergency care by NHS England medical director Sir Bruce Keogh. The full report, called Ripping Off the Sticking Plaster, is available at tinyurl.com/o6q269p People all over the world will show their appreciation for the nursing profession as part of Nurses’ Day on May 12. To mark the event, held on the birthday of Florence Nightingale (pictured), the RCN is collecting real-life stories that show how nurses improve the lives of millions of people around the globe. College members are encouraged to share inspirational stories about why they became nurses and are passionate about their work. Stories can be submitted at tinyurl.com/kl3hgh4 Correction The article on brain tumours in children that appears in the April issue of Emergency Nurse refers wrongly on page 36 to ‘recommendations for managing patients with suspected sepsis’. This should have read ‘recommendations for emergency nurses’. We apologise for the error. 6
May 2014 | Volume 22 | Number 2
Warning for people with asthma when air pollution levels are high ALMOST ONE third of people with asthma had attacks because of high levels of air pollution in the UK last month, Asthma UK has said. The charity asked 532 people if they had experienced asthma attacks because of air pollution. Almost one third said ‘yes’, more than four out of five said that their asthma had flared up and about half said that they had avoided going outside. The pollution was caused by a mix of local and European emissions, and dust blown from the Sahara desert. Asthma UK lead nurse Debby Waddell said: ‘We urge all people with asthma to keep a working blue reliever inhaler with them at all times and take their preventer inhalers as prescribed. They should get asthma action plans to monitor their symptoms and stay on top of their asthma.’
Regulatory authority reports on breakdown of care at Belfast hospital THE RCN has welcomed the publication of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) report into emergency care at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. Northern Ireland director Janice Smyth said: ‘The Royal College of Nursing has been raising serious concerns about emergency care for at least two years and this report articulates everything that we have been saying. ‘The problems we still see in our emergency departments reflect a much wider problem across the health and social care system.’ The RQIA paid a four-day visit to the hospital after a major incident had been declared there early this year. Its report was published ahead of a summit in Belfast organised by the College of Emergency Medicine. The event was attended by health minister Edwin Poots, and RCN Northern Ireland deputy director and former nurse consultant in emergency care Garrett Martin. Ms Smyth and Mr Martin presented oral evidence to the Northern Ireland Assembly health committee in March on issues relevant
She added: ‘You know you are having an asthma attack if your reliever is not helping, your symptoms are getting worse, you are too breathless, or if you find it difficult to speak, eat or sleep.’ Find out more Asthma actions plans can be accessed at www.asthma.org.uk Reuters
In brief
People with asthma are more at risk as air pollution increases
to emergency departments, including whether they are linked with a lack of progress in implementing the Transforming Your Care reforms. See opinion, page 13 Find out more Copies of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority report are available at tinyurl.com/qzpkute
Call for more nurses to bolster number of military reservists THE ARMED forces need more nurse reservists to cope with future conflicts and the changing face of the British military, the RCN has claimed. Speaking at an RCN defence nursing forum conference in London, college general secretary Peter Carter said that recruitment campaigns for reserve nurses must be stepped up ahead of a major restructure of the army by 2020. Under proposals for the restructure, the Army Reserve, formerly known as the Territorial Army, will grow from 19,000 to 30,000 personnel, while the regular force will be reduced by 20,000. EMERGENCY NURSE
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May 2014 | Volume 22 | Number 2
Warning for people with asthma when air pollution levels are high ALMOST ONE third of people with asthma had attacks because of high levels of air pollution in the UK last month, Asthma UK has said. The charity asked 532 people if they had experienced asthma attacks because of air pollution. Almost one third said ‘yes’, more than four out of five said that their asthma had flared up and about half said that they had avoided going outside. The pollution was caused by a mix of local and European emissions, and dust blown from the Sahara desert. Asthma UK lead nurse Debby Waddell said: ‘We urge all people with asthma to keep a working blue reliever inhaler with them at all times and take their preventer inhalers as prescribed. They should get asthma action plans to monitor their symptoms and stay on top of their asthma.’
Regulatory authority reports on breakdown of care at Belfast hospital THE RCN has welcomed the publication of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) report into emergency care at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. Northern Ireland director Janice Smyth said: ‘The Royal College of Nursing has been raising serious concerns about emergency care for at least two years and this report articulates everything that we have been saying. ‘The problems we still see in our emergency departments reflect a much wider problem across the health and social care system.’ The RQIA paid a four-day visit to the hospital after a major incident had been declared there early this year. Its report was published ahead of a summit in Belfast organised by the College of Emergency Medicine. The event was attended by health minister Edwin Poots, and RCN Northern Ireland deputy director and former nurse consultant in emergency care Garrett Martin. Ms Smyth and Mr Martin presented oral evidence to the Northern Ireland Assembly health committee in March on issues relevant
She added: ‘You know you are having an asthma attack if your reliever is not helping, your symptoms are getting worse, you are too breathless, or if you find it difficult to speak, eat or sleep.’ Find out more Asthma actions plans can be accessed at www.asthma.org.uk Reuters
In brief
People with asthma are more at risk as air pollution increases
to emergency departments, including whether they are linked with a lack of progress in implementing the Transforming Your Care reforms. See opinion, page 13 Find out more Copies of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority report are available at tinyurl.com/qzpkute
Call for more nurses to bolster number of military reservists THE ARMED forces need more nurse reservists to cope with future conflicts and the changing face of the British military, the RCN has claimed. Speaking at an RCN defence nursing forum conference in London, college general secretary Peter Carter said that recruitment campaigns for reserve nurses must be stepped up ahead of a major restructure of the army by 2020. Under proposals for the restructure, the Army Reserve, formerly known as the Territorial Army, will grow from 19,000 to 30,000 personnel, while the regular force will be reduced by 20,000. EMERGENCY NURSE
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 07, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
