News A team of nurses has reduced the number of emergency admissions at their trust by monitoring adult patients in their homes at night. Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust’s integrated crisis response service has prevented 42 admissions since its launch in September last year. Nurses look after patients at home between 10pm and 7.30am, and can call on a team of more experienced nurses if specific interventions are deemed necessary. Clinical lead Jo Beeching said: ‘We have seen benefits for patients who have become confused because of infections. We also take people who have had falls but who do not require hospital treatment.’ Patients with acute heart failure should have their blood-sugar levels tested if they present to emergency departments (EDs), Canadian research suggests. Researchers studied the records of 16,524 people with acute heart failure who presented to an ED in Toronto between 2004 and 2007. They found that patients with high glucose levels were more likely to develop diabetes. Further details at tinyurl.com/q3q8uzn Unsafe hospital discharge is one of the issues that puts homeless people at most risk according to the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI). Last autumn, QNI researchers surveyed 184 community nurses and other healthcare professionals to identify the main problems they face when trying to deliver effective patient care. Problems relating to discharge include poor communication between different services, clinically inappropriate or unsafe discharge, and lack of suitable accommodation for discharged patients. The QNI’s report, What Community Nurses Say about Hospital Discharge for People who are Homeless, is available at tinyurl.com/q7ocfqo 6
February 2015 | Volume 22 | Number 9
Call handlers get more time to help cut wasted ambulance journeys THE NHS has announced the launch of a pilot scheme at two ambulance services to reduce the number of wasted ambulance journeys. If call handlers at the two participating services, in London and the South West, are uncertain about whether the people calling them have life-threatening conditions, they will be allowed as part of the scheme to take up to two additional minutes to obtain the information they need to respond appropriately. The pilot begins at the first site this month. Although ambulance services categorise about 40% of callers’ conditions as life threatening, evidence suggests that fewer than 10% of them genuinely are. One reason for this disparity is that call handlers have only 60 seconds to gather information they need before ambulances must be sent. GMB union officer for ambulance services in London and the East of England
New practice standards spell out requirements for ‘good Samaritan’ acts FRESH PROFESSIONAL standards that nurses must uphold to be fit to practise have been published by the nursing regulator and will come into effect on March 31. The Nursing and Midwifery Council revised code of practice contains 25 standards that nurses must meet if they are to be judged fit to remain on the register. The standards spell out, for example, a duty of candour that requires nurses to speak up when things go wrong and disclose all relevant information. They also include a requirement to offer help if emergencies arise, but only within the limits of registrants’ knowledge and competence. The current code, which was published in 2008, requires nurses who have provided such help merely to demonstrate that they have acted in the best interests of the people concerned. The new code also includes a standard on upholding the reputation of the profession
Tony Hughes warned that, as a result of the pilot: ‘We will see more people die from conditions that can be treated if the right resources are got to them in good time. ‘The run up to the general election is clearly a factor. The Tories [want to] show that ambulance services are meeting their targets.’ However, NHS England national director for acute care Keith Willett said of the pilot: ‘It is not about relaxing standards. By acting on the calls with slightly less haste, we can get to more patients with more speed. Some conditions will be upgraded to ‘Red 1’ status, requiring a more urgent response than is currently the case.’ South Western Ambulance Service
In brief
Less than 10% of 999 calls involve life-threatening conditions
when using all forms of communication, including social media and networking sites. Find out more For more details, visit the Nursing Standard Revalidation Zone, at revalidation.zone
Government introduces action plan to reduce deaths from sepsis TACKLING SEPSIS should be given the same priority as reducing Clostridium difficile and MRSA infections, the government has said. The Department of Health announced last month a set of measures for combating the condition. Meanwhile, health secretary Jeremy Hunt said that hospitals will be rewarded financially for helping to reduce the number of deaths from sepsis in England, which is estimated to be 31,000 each year. The incentives will be similar to those offered to improve blood clot prevention, whereby hospitals were paid to assess the risk of thrombosis formation in 95% of admitted patients. 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.
February 2015 | Volume 22 | Number 9
Call handlers get more time to help cut wasted ambulance journeys THE NHS has announced the launch of a pilot scheme at two ambulance services to reduce the number of wasted ambulance journeys. If call handlers at the two participating services, in London and the South West, are uncertain about whether the people calling them have life-threatening conditions, they will be allowed as part of the scheme to take up to two additional minutes to obtain the information they need to respond appropriately. The pilot begins at the first site this month. Although ambulance services categorise about 40% of callers’ conditions as life threatening, evidence suggests that fewer than 10% of them genuinely are. One reason for this disparity is that call handlers have only 60 seconds to gather information they need before ambulances must be sent. GMB union officer for ambulance services in London and the East of England
New practice standards spell out requirements for ‘good Samaritan’ acts FRESH PROFESSIONAL standards that nurses must uphold to be fit to practise have been published by the nursing regulator and will come into effect on March 31. The Nursing and Midwifery Council revised code of practice contains 25 standards that nurses must meet if they are to be judged fit to remain on the register. The standards spell out, for example, a duty of candour that requires nurses to speak up when things go wrong and disclose all relevant information. They also include a requirement to offer help if emergencies arise, but only within the limits of registrants’ knowledge and competence. The current code, which was published in 2008, requires nurses who have provided such help merely to demonstrate that they have acted in the best interests of the people concerned. The new code also includes a standard on upholding the reputation of the profession
Tony Hughes warned that, as a result of the pilot: ‘We will see more people die from conditions that can be treated if the right resources are got to them in good time. ‘The run up to the general election is clearly a factor. The Tories [want to] show that ambulance services are meeting their targets.’ However, NHS England national director for acute care Keith Willett said of the pilot: ‘It is not about relaxing standards. By acting on the calls with slightly less haste, we can get to more patients with more speed. Some conditions will be upgraded to ‘Red 1’ status, requiring a more urgent response than is currently the case.’ South Western Ambulance Service
In brief
Less than 10% of 999 calls involve life-threatening conditions
when using all forms of communication, including social media and networking sites. Find out more For more details, visit the Nursing Standard Revalidation Zone, at revalidation.zone
Government introduces action plan to reduce deaths from sepsis TACKLING SEPSIS should be given the same priority as reducing Clostridium difficile and MRSA infections, the government has said. The Department of Health announced last month a set of measures for combating the condition. Meanwhile, health secretary Jeremy Hunt said that hospitals will be rewarded financially for helping to reduce the number of deaths from sepsis in England, which is estimated to be 31,000 each year. The incentives will be similar to those offered to improve blood clot prevention, whereby hospitals were paid to assess the risk of thrombosis formation in 95% of admitted patients. 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.
