NEWS
MOTHER IN ‘HOME ALONE’ CASE SHOULD BE SCOTLAND AIMS TO FREE TO PURSUE NURSING CAREER, SAYS MP IMPROVE CARE OF An MP is backing a woman who claims she was rejected by two universities for a place on a nursing degree course because of a police caution. Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley John Hemming said it was ‘nonsensical’ that the woman, known only as Joan, had struggled to get on a course. He is campaigning to have the caution removed from Joan’s record. Joan claims she has been turned down by Wolverhampton and Worcester universities because she received a caution eight years ago when she left her six-year-old son at home to go on a 45-minute driving lesson. She was cautioned under the 1933 Children and Young Persons Act for committing an act of cruelty after a health visitor telephoned the house to find the boy alone. Under the act, any adult who leaves a child under 16 unsupervised ‘in a manner likely to
cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health’ can be prosecuted for neglect. Neither university would comment. Mr Hemming told Nursing Standard that Joan has now been offered a place. Last week, he tabled a parliamentary question on whether the government
WHAT IS THERE TO SAY SHE WOULD NOT MAKE A GOOD MENTAL HEALTH NURSE? will issue guidance on an age threshold for leaving a child alone. Children’s minister Edward Timpson said the government had no plans to publish guidance. He referred Mr Hemming to NSPCC guidance that says children aged under five should never be left alone. Mr Hemming told Nursing Standard: ‘What is there to say this woman would not make a perfectly good mental health nurse?’
DYING PATIENTS
New guidelines designed to improve end of life care have been issued by the Scottish Government. The interim guidance will replace the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway, which will be phased out in Scotland by the end of this year. The guidelines say the psychological, social and spiritual needs of a dying patient should be considered alongside any physical symptoms. Sensitive communication around nutrition and hydration at the end of life is crucial. RCN Scotland’s associate director Ellen Hudson, who has been involved in drawing up the new guidance, said: ‘The care of dying people is an extremely sensitive subject and we fully support the need to have clear guidance for staff on good practice in supporting people in the last days and hours of life.’ Go to www.palliativecareguidelines. scot.nhs.uk
Nurses at Great Ormond Street Hospital have been told they must work extra hours after an accounting error meant they were overpaid by six and a half hours over a year. The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust says an error in the rostering system caused staff to be paid an extra 30 minutes for every four weeks worked. Trust chief nurse Liz Morgan wrote to around 600 affected staff members earlier this month, asking them to work an extra half-shift between January and March next year or else deduct time from their annual leave allowance. According to the trust, implementing the proposals will claw back around £85,000 a year. But the RCN has branded the move ‘farcical’, as nurses already work unpaid hours every week. RCN London operational manager Sue Tarr called on the trust to withdraw
PA IMAGES
Great Ormond Street pay error will cost staff time
Many nurses at the hospital work unpaid overtime
the ‘unreasonable’ proposal, claiming it would severely damage staff morale. ‘The nurses at Great Ormond Street Hospital are furious,’ Ms Tarr said. ‘This is a management error and it should not be down to individual staff members to fix it. ‘Great Ormond Street says that without these savings they would need to cut posts. It is pretty offensive to ask staff to pick between the two. It should be down to the management to ensure
safe staffing levels within budget, as well as having a roster that reflects the hours people actually work.’ Figures from the 2013 NHS Staff Survey reveal that 66 per cent of Great Ormond Street staff were working at least some unpaid overtime every week. Of that number, 13 per cent said they worked between six and ten hours unpaid a week, with a further 5 per cent working 11 hours or more. The RCN said it has received several complaints from members about the proposals, while the trust has received one formal complaint to date. Ms Morgan said: ‘Our nurses work extremely hard and we are in no way suggesting they should “work for free”. We are simply asking that they work the hours they are contracted and paid for. ‘This is about fairness and equity for all staff. All we are asking is that the nurses work the hours they have agreed in their contracts.’
8 november 26 from :: volRCNi.com 29 no 13 by :: 2014 STANDARD Downloaded ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 29, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
MOTHER IN ‘HOME ALONE’ CASE SHOULD BE SCOTLAND AIMS TO FREE TO PURSUE NURSING CAREER, SAYS MP IMPROVE CARE OF An MP is backing a woman who claims she was rejected by two universities for a place on a nursing degree course because of a police caution. Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley John Hemming said it was ‘nonsensical’ that the woman, known only as Joan, had struggled to get on a course. He is campaigning to have the caution removed from Joan’s record. Joan claims she has been turned down by Wolverhampton and Worcester universities because she received a caution eight years ago when she left her six-year-old son at home to go on a 45-minute driving lesson. She was cautioned under the 1933 Children and Young Persons Act for committing an act of cruelty after a health visitor telephoned the house to find the boy alone. Under the act, any adult who leaves a child under 16 unsupervised ‘in a manner likely to
cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health’ can be prosecuted for neglect. Neither university would comment. Mr Hemming told Nursing Standard that Joan has now been offered a place. Last week, he tabled a parliamentary question on whether the government
WHAT IS THERE TO SAY SHE WOULD NOT MAKE A GOOD MENTAL HEALTH NURSE? will issue guidance on an age threshold for leaving a child alone. Children’s minister Edward Timpson said the government had no plans to publish guidance. He referred Mr Hemming to NSPCC guidance that says children aged under five should never be left alone. Mr Hemming told Nursing Standard: ‘What is there to say this woman would not make a perfectly good mental health nurse?’
DYING PATIENTS
New guidelines designed to improve end of life care have been issued by the Scottish Government. The interim guidance will replace the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway, which will be phased out in Scotland by the end of this year. The guidelines say the psychological, social and spiritual needs of a dying patient should be considered alongside any physical symptoms. Sensitive communication around nutrition and hydration at the end of life is crucial. RCN Scotland’s associate director Ellen Hudson, who has been involved in drawing up the new guidance, said: ‘The care of dying people is an extremely sensitive subject and we fully support the need to have clear guidance for staff on good practice in supporting people in the last days and hours of life.’ Go to www.palliativecareguidelines. scot.nhs.uk
Nurses at Great Ormond Street Hospital have been told they must work extra hours after an accounting error meant they were overpaid by six and a half hours over a year. The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust says an error in the rostering system caused staff to be paid an extra 30 minutes for every four weeks worked. Trust chief nurse Liz Morgan wrote to around 600 affected staff members earlier this month, asking them to work an extra half-shift between January and March next year or else deduct time from their annual leave allowance. According to the trust, implementing the proposals will claw back around £85,000 a year. But the RCN has branded the move ‘farcical’, as nurses already work unpaid hours every week. RCN London operational manager Sue Tarr called on the trust to withdraw
PA IMAGES
Great Ormond Street pay error will cost staff time
Many nurses at the hospital work unpaid overtime
the ‘unreasonable’ proposal, claiming it would severely damage staff morale. ‘The nurses at Great Ormond Street Hospital are furious,’ Ms Tarr said. ‘This is a management error and it should not be down to individual staff members to fix it. ‘Great Ormond Street says that without these savings they would need to cut posts. It is pretty offensive to ask staff to pick between the two. It should be down to the management to ensure
safe staffing levels within budget, as well as having a roster that reflects the hours people actually work.’ Figures from the 2013 NHS Staff Survey reveal that 66 per cent of Great Ormond Street staff were working at least some unpaid overtime every week. Of that number, 13 per cent said they worked between six and ten hours unpaid a week, with a further 5 per cent working 11 hours or more. The RCN said it has received several complaints from members about the proposals, while the trust has received one formal complaint to date. Ms Morgan said: ‘Our nurses work extremely hard and we are in no way suggesting they should “work for free”. We are simply asking that they work the hours they are contracted and paid for. ‘This is about fairness and equity for all staff. All we are asking is that the nurses work the hours they have agreed in their contracts.’
8 november 26 from :: volRCNi.com 29 no 13 by :: 2014 STANDARD Downloaded ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 29, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
