NEWS

Ebola nurse Cafferkey subject of NMC investigation Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who made a complete recovery from the Ebola virus, is being investigated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council over her screening at Heathrow Airport. Ms Cafferkey was diagnosed with the virus after caring for patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone and was admitted to hospital in December. Public Health England (PHE) said that following a recent assessment of the screening of some returning healthcare workers at Heathrow on December 28, ‘information emerged which needed to be passed to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the General Medical Council (GMC)’. The NMC has confirmed that it is investigating allegations about the conduct of three nurses and the GMC is investigating two doctors.

‘Incredibly brave’: Pauline Cafferkey

Prime minister David Cameron recommended this month that medals be awarded to ‘incredibly brave’ volunteers, such as Ms Cafferkey and other healthcare workers, who went to west Africa as part of the fight against Ebola. In January, health secretary Jeremy Hunt announced more robust checks on returning healthcare workers for Ebola

FAMILY WINS SUPPORT OF RCN IN CALL FOR BETTER COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CARE The RCN and the Mental Health Foundation are backing the family of a man who took his own life in their campaign for better community mental health care and earlier intervention. Figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics show the number of suicides by males aged 15 and over in 2013 (the most recent year for which data is available) was 3,684, the highest figure since 2001.

‘WE NEED TO ASK WHAT STEPS CAN BE TAKEN TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM REACHING MENTAL HEALTH CRISES’ Martin Strain committed suicide last year, having experienced severe depression for several years. His family has been calling for better access to treatment that could save lives. His father, Adrian Strain, said: ‘It is my contention that while no one can say with confidence that Martin’s depression would ever have been

cured, if a community-based nurse as well as a co-ordinated care plan had been made available to Martin through a GP, we would at least be able to satisfy ourselves that he was as well supported as possible.’ The family wants to see closer working between GPs and mental health services to help recognise suicide warning signs. They are also calling for more community-based mental health staff and a lower threshold for implementing co-ordinated care plans for people with moderate or severe depression. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said: ‘We must listen to families like the Strains. Without the extra support of nurses and other staff, many people are growing increasingly desperate while waiting for care.’ Mental Health Foundation chief executive Jenny Edwards said: ‘We need to ask what reasonable steps can be taken to prevent people from reaching mental health crises.’

after Ms Cafferkey was cleared to travel from London to Glasgow despite her own concerns that she might have a fever. Her temperature was checked seven times, but the results came back as normal. She was admitted to hospital in Glasgow after becoming unwell before spending three weeks in the specialist isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London. The new rules announced by Mr Hunt mean that higher risk groups, including healthcare professionals, returning from west Africa will be reassessed if they feel unwell and advice will be sought from an infectious diseases specialist. Both the NMC and the GMC said it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time. A PHE spokesperson said: ‘The risk to the general public from Ebola remains very low.’

WEARABLE CCTV KIT INITIATIVE AIMS TO QUELL A&E VIOLENCE Nursing staff at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board have welcomed the introduction of body-worn security cameras in the emergency department. Security staff have been issued with CCTV devices worn in their uniforms in a bid to protect front line staff from violent or abusive patients. Junior sister Jacqui Westmoreland said: ‘We welcome the cameras. I have been verbally abused, physically abused with kicks and punches and have been spat at. There is no excuse for violence, be it verbal or physical.’ Cardiff and Vale is the first health board in Wales to introduce the measure that, it says, has already had an effect. More than one quarter of all such incidents in Wales occur there, a board spokesperson said. Evidence has shown that if people are aware of the cameras their behaviour is often less extreme, the spokesperson added.

NURSING STANDARD Nursing Standard 2015.29:8-8. Downloaded from journals.rcni.com by National University of Singapore on 11/25/15. For personal use only.

8 february 25 :: vol 29 no 26 :: 2015

Ebola nurse Cafferkey subject of NMC investigation.

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