IN BRIEF
£100m CASH INJECTION TO REDUCE PRESSURE The Scottish Government has announced funding of £100 million to help reduce the number of delayed discharges from hospitals. The money will be invested in increasing social care capacity. A target of discharging patients within 72 hours of clinical readiness was agreed in November last year by members of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). The funding, announced last week, will allow a COSLA task force to roll out plans supporting delayed discharge improvement. RCN Scotland director Theresa Fyffe said funding extra social care capacity is the first step towards relieving pressure on hospitals. ‘It is, however, only one element of the pressure on beds,’ she said. ‘It will be interesting to see if, over the first year of this additional funding for social care, we can see where the money has been spent and how many patients are supported to leave hospital at the right time as a result of this money.’
CQC’s inadequate care rating for Hinchingbrooke challenged The first private company to run a NHS hospital will appeal an inadequate rating given by the Care Quality Commission after branding the regulator’s report ‘unbalanced and misleading’. Circle recently pulled out of its ten-year contract to run Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire, on the same day the Care Quality Commission (CQC) recommended the hospital be placed into special measures. Hinchingbrooke is the first hospital to be rated inadequate for its care. A CQC inspection report criticised emergency and medical care, but Circle says it has now told the regulator it will appeal the hospital’s rating. A spokesperson said: ‘The report contradicts three years of official data on our performance.’ Circle continues to manage Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust while transitional arrangements are planned with the NHS Trust Development Authority. The CQC said: ‘We stand fully behind our assessment that safety, caring and leadership were inadequate.’
Candy McCabe, pictured, a nurse expert in chronic unexplained pain, has been appointed to the newly created post of Florence Nightingale Foundation chair in clinical nursing practice research. Professor McCabe works for the University of the West of England, Bristol. She also leads the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS Foundation Trust’s complex regional pain syndrome service. A postgraduate course in advanced practice skills in child welfare and protection has been introduced at the University of Stirling. The course, designed for professionals working with children, has been developed in collaboration with the NSPCC. The first cohort of eight students includes a nurse practitioner and a child protection nurse adviser. Midwives should ask women if they have had chickenpox or shingles when they book for antenatal care, say new guidelines. Chickenpox complicates three in every 1,000 pregnancies. Royal College of Midwives director Louise Silverton said: ‘Women who are uncertain if they have had chickenpox must avoid anyone with the infection. Midwives will need to discuss this with all women.’ Go to tinyurl.com/pw3f3uq Scientists in Canada have developed a pill that resets the body clock. The tablets, which contain glucocorticoids, can reset the biological clocks in white blood cells. Disruptions to the circadian rhythm can lead to health problems including some cancers and heart problems. The pills were developed at McGill University and have been tested on 16 volunteers. Women prescribed valproate medications for bipolar and epilepsy must be warned that if they become pregnant their unborn child could be at risk of developmental disorders. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is urging healthcare professionals to make women aware of the risks. However, the MHRA is warning patients they should not stop taking the drug without consulting a doctor. Side effects can be reported to www.yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk New guidelines are being developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to encourage uptake of HIV testing among at-risk groups. Commissioners of HIV testing services and practitioners offering HIV testing are being canvassed on the best and most cost effective ways to increase uptake. Stakeholders must register at www.nice.org.uk. The consultation closes on February 10. Staff at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust are trialling a mobile training device that allows them to evaluate their hand hygiene techniques. SID, which stands for successful innovative demonstration, tracks their movements using video measurement technology and lets them know if they are doing it correctly. Lead nurse for infection prevention Viv Duncanson and deputy chief nurse Tara Filby pitched for SID at a Dragons’ Den event held at the trust.
NURSING january 28other :: voluses 29 no 22 ::permission. 2015 11 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 22, 2015. For personal use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
£100m CASH INJECTION TO REDUCE PRESSURE The Scottish Government has announced funding of £100 million to help reduce the number of delayed discharges from hospitals. The money will be invested in increasing social care capacity. A target of discharging patients within 72 hours of clinical readiness was agreed in November last year by members of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). The funding, announced last week, will allow a COSLA task force to roll out plans supporting delayed discharge improvement. RCN Scotland director Theresa Fyffe said funding extra social care capacity is the first step towards relieving pressure on hospitals. ‘It is, however, only one element of the pressure on beds,’ she said. ‘It will be interesting to see if, over the first year of this additional funding for social care, we can see where the money has been spent and how many patients are supported to leave hospital at the right time as a result of this money.’
CQC’s inadequate care rating for Hinchingbrooke challenged The first private company to run a NHS hospital will appeal an inadequate rating given by the Care Quality Commission after branding the regulator’s report ‘unbalanced and misleading’. Circle recently pulled out of its ten-year contract to run Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire, on the same day the Care Quality Commission (CQC) recommended the hospital be placed into special measures. Hinchingbrooke is the first hospital to be rated inadequate for its care. A CQC inspection report criticised emergency and medical care, but Circle says it has now told the regulator it will appeal the hospital’s rating. A spokesperson said: ‘The report contradicts three years of official data on our performance.’ Circle continues to manage Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust while transitional arrangements are planned with the NHS Trust Development Authority. The CQC said: ‘We stand fully behind our assessment that safety, caring and leadership were inadequate.’
Candy McCabe, pictured, a nurse expert in chronic unexplained pain, has been appointed to the newly created post of Florence Nightingale Foundation chair in clinical nursing practice research. Professor McCabe works for the University of the West of England, Bristol. She also leads the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS Foundation Trust’s complex regional pain syndrome service. A postgraduate course in advanced practice skills in child welfare and protection has been introduced at the University of Stirling. The course, designed for professionals working with children, has been developed in collaboration with the NSPCC. The first cohort of eight students includes a nurse practitioner and a child protection nurse adviser. Midwives should ask women if they have had chickenpox or shingles when they book for antenatal care, say new guidelines. Chickenpox complicates three in every 1,000 pregnancies. Royal College of Midwives director Louise Silverton said: ‘Women who are uncertain if they have had chickenpox must avoid anyone with the infection. Midwives will need to discuss this with all women.’ Go to tinyurl.com/pw3f3uq Scientists in Canada have developed a pill that resets the body clock. The tablets, which contain glucocorticoids, can reset the biological clocks in white blood cells. Disruptions to the circadian rhythm can lead to health problems including some cancers and heart problems. The pills were developed at McGill University and have been tested on 16 volunteers. Women prescribed valproate medications for bipolar and epilepsy must be warned that if they become pregnant their unborn child could be at risk of developmental disorders. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is urging healthcare professionals to make women aware of the risks. However, the MHRA is warning patients they should not stop taking the drug without consulting a doctor. Side effects can be reported to www.yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk New guidelines are being developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to encourage uptake of HIV testing among at-risk groups. Commissioners of HIV testing services and practitioners offering HIV testing are being canvassed on the best and most cost effective ways to increase uptake. Stakeholders must register at www.nice.org.uk. The consultation closes on February 10. Staff at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust are trialling a mobile training device that allows them to evaluate their hand hygiene techniques. SID, which stands for successful innovative demonstration, tracks their movements using video measurement technology and lets them know if they are doing it correctly. Lead nurse for infection prevention Viv Duncanson and deputy chief nurse Tara Filby pitched for SID at a Dragons’ Den event held at the trust.
NURSING january 28other :: voluses 29 no 22 ::permission. 2015 11 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 22, 2015. For personal use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
