Letters
Send your views by email to [email protected], the letters editor @RogerEvansE1, post on the Nursing Standard Facebook page or visit www.nursing-standard.co.uk
Please keep letters to a maximum of 200 words, and include your full name and a daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited
Invest in a system of IV training that takes place at the bedside As someone with a passion for excellent intravenous (IV) care, I am encouraged to see the increased focus on IV therapy and the need for an IV therapy lead for trusts (News August 20). This lead should be someone who supports a team of practice development nurses to make certain that staff are assessed at ward level on an ongoing basis, and by practitioners who know the patients’ needs. Due to staff turnover and the regular recruitment of newly qualified nurses, there is a high demand for training and competency assessment, which is hard to satisfy. Those who are competent with IV therapy have an increased workload while other less experienced members of their team are learning their skills. There should be investment in a system of training that enables learning to take place at the bedside, and which enables IV competency to be assessed by observing nurses with their patients. Jackie Hunt, senior lecturer, adult nursing, Oxford Brookes University
MEDI TECH TRUST SEEKS OLD MEDICAL EQUIPMENT TO SEND ABROAD Do you have any old medical equipment that is no longer being used, but could still have a useful life overseas? If so, please contact the Medi Tech Trust. The trust is a registered charity set up in 2002 and run by dedicated volunteers. We collect, inspect and repair used medical equipment. We also ensure that qualified medical staff are fully trained to operate the equipment we provide. To give one example of our work, our trust chair, consultant urologist Graham Watson, has been travelling to Sri Lanka on a regular basis since 2009 as part of a ‘stonebuster initiative’ to teach surgeons modern stone surgery.
For further information, please visit our website at www.meditechtrust.org or call me on 01323 520025. Bob Lewis, secretary and trustee, Medi Tech Trust, Eastbourne
THE PROBLEM OF OBESITY IN THE NHS ALL COMES DOWN TO COST Well done to NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens for speaking up about the sensitive issue of obese nurses and the need for NHS staff to be healthy advocates (Analysis August 13, Editorial and Letters August 20 and Wright Angle August 27). As a healthcare employer, the NHS needs to look at the food served in hospital canteens and the snacks available to staff. They could do with proper breaks, with time to enjoy a healthy meal. Subsidised gym membership and fitness facilities on site could also be introduced. The NHS also needs to offer weight management programmes to its staff. I have tried and failed to set up such a programme for the staff in my
organisation. It all comes down to cost. We need facilities and support on site for staff who work long, antisocial hours. Now is the time to stop talking about the problems and start funding the solutions. Catherine Salter, by email
TESTS FOR OVERSEAS REGISTRANTS WILL BE BASED ON UK STANDARDS As director of registration for the Nursing and Midwifery Council, I would be grateful for the opportunity to respond to recent letters (August 20). Our primary purpose is to protect the public. To do this, we use evidence to assess whether an applicant meets stated standards and requirements. The registration process for nurses and midwives who trained outside the European Economic Area can take a year. This is longer if we have to write to applicants several times to get the evidence we need, which happens with around 70 per cent of applications. Once we have all the information we need, we will make decisions
34 september :: volRCNi.com 29 no 1 ::by2014 STANDARD Downloaded3from ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 21, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Send your views by email to [email protected], the letters editor @RogerEvansE1, post on the Nursing Standard Facebook page or visit www.nursing-standard.co.uk
Please keep letters to a maximum of 200 words, and include your full name and a daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited
Invest in a system of IV training that takes place at the bedside As someone with a passion for excellent intravenous (IV) care, I am encouraged to see the increased focus on IV therapy and the need for an IV therapy lead for trusts (News August 20). This lead should be someone who supports a team of practice development nurses to make certain that staff are assessed at ward level on an ongoing basis, and by practitioners who know the patients’ needs. Due to staff turnover and the regular recruitment of newly qualified nurses, there is a high demand for training and competency assessment, which is hard to satisfy. Those who are competent with IV therapy have an increased workload while other less experienced members of their team are learning their skills. There should be investment in a system of training that enables learning to take place at the bedside, and which enables IV competency to be assessed by observing nurses with their patients. Jackie Hunt, senior lecturer, adult nursing, Oxford Brookes University
MEDI TECH TRUST SEEKS OLD MEDICAL EQUIPMENT TO SEND ABROAD Do you have any old medical equipment that is no longer being used, but could still have a useful life overseas? If so, please contact the Medi Tech Trust. The trust is a registered charity set up in 2002 and run by dedicated volunteers. We collect, inspect and repair used medical equipment. We also ensure that qualified medical staff are fully trained to operate the equipment we provide. To give one example of our work, our trust chair, consultant urologist Graham Watson, has been travelling to Sri Lanka on a regular basis since 2009 as part of a ‘stonebuster initiative’ to teach surgeons modern stone surgery.
For further information, please visit our website at www.meditechtrust.org or call me on 01323 520025. Bob Lewis, secretary and trustee, Medi Tech Trust, Eastbourne
THE PROBLEM OF OBESITY IN THE NHS ALL COMES DOWN TO COST Well done to NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens for speaking up about the sensitive issue of obese nurses and the need for NHS staff to be healthy advocates (Analysis August 13, Editorial and Letters August 20 and Wright Angle August 27). As a healthcare employer, the NHS needs to look at the food served in hospital canteens and the snacks available to staff. They could do with proper breaks, with time to enjoy a healthy meal. Subsidised gym membership and fitness facilities on site could also be introduced. The NHS also needs to offer weight management programmes to its staff. I have tried and failed to set up such a programme for the staff in my
organisation. It all comes down to cost. We need facilities and support on site for staff who work long, antisocial hours. Now is the time to stop talking about the problems and start funding the solutions. Catherine Salter, by email
TESTS FOR OVERSEAS REGISTRANTS WILL BE BASED ON UK STANDARDS As director of registration for the Nursing and Midwifery Council, I would be grateful for the opportunity to respond to recent letters (August 20). Our primary purpose is to protect the public. To do this, we use evidence to assess whether an applicant meets stated standards and requirements. The registration process for nurses and midwives who trained outside the European Economic Area can take a year. This is longer if we have to write to applicants several times to get the evidence we need, which happens with around 70 per cent of applications. Once we have all the information we need, we will make decisions
34 september :: volRCNi.com 29 no 1 ::by2014 STANDARD Downloaded3from ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 21, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
