IN BRIEF NHS England has set aside £190 million for new anti-viral drugs to treat thousands of patients with cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C. The funding is on top of the £40 million allocated for this treatment area last year. Hepatitis C – contracted most commonly as a result of using infected needles – affects liver function. The new drugs can treat the virus and prevent further liver damage. Travel scholarships of up to £5,000 each are on offer to nurses and midwives to undertake study on an aspect of practice and/or education in the UK or overseas. The Florence Nightingale Foundation awards are open to nurses of all disciplines, but the organisation especially aims to support work looking at long-term conditions (including dementia), end of life care, clinical leadership and enhancing patient dignity and wellbeing. To apply go to tinyurl.com/qbh8zyd Foundation trust regulator Monitor has ordered a trust to report infection rates monthly instead of quarterly after it failed to reduce the number of Clostridium difficile cases. South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was told in July 2014 that it should have no more than 49 cases of C. difficile in 2014/15, but the trust recorded 76 cases. Monitor will now advise the trust on developing a new plan for reducing infection rates. To read the trust’s inspection report go to tinyurl.com/ntphrar Nurses should educate parents and young people about the risks of a sedentary lifestyle, the RCN says, following research linking screen time with poor bone mineral density in adolescent boys. RCN professional lead in children and young people Fiona Smith said nursing staff have a responsibility to educate parents, teachers and children about the effects of long hours of inactivity on the body. New UK-wide competencies must be devised for district nurses because existing standards have not been updated for 21 years, a charity argues. The Queen’s Nursing Institute has drafted its own education standards following advice from experts across the UK, and has published a consultation to gather the views of nurses and other interest groups. Go to tinyurl.com/pucczfe Nursing students at the University of West London helped to raise money for the UK’s first billboard campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM). The campaign is being led by a group called Vavengers, which is working to raise awareness of FGM and help those affected. Students helped raise £11,000 from an art auction and comedy night. The first billboard is located in Greenford, west London. Wet wipes are ineffective in defeating hospital infections – and even spread bugs from one surface to another, a study has found. Researchers from Cardiff University tested the effectiveness of seven common detergent wipes in tackling hospital infections. The products’ effectiveness during a ten-second wipe was variable. More worrying, all wipes tested spread bacteria over three consecutive surfaces.

PRESSURE ULCER GOOD PRACTICE PUBLISHED Patients admitted to hospital or a nursing home should have a pressure ulcer risk assessment within six hours of admission, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has said. This is one of nine NICE ‘quality statements’ on good practice relating to the prevention, assessment and management of pressure ulcers published this week. It is also good practice for community nursing services to assess people at a first face-to-face visit if they have a risk factor for developing pressure ulcers, says NICE. In addition, people at high risk of developing pressure ulcers must be given a skin assessment and should be provided with pressure redistribution devices such as special mattresses. University of Leeds community nursing lecturer Una Adderley said: ‘The statements represent sound clinical practice. However, regarding the six-hour target, there may be exceptions when patients have other clinical needs that should be prioritised. For example, if they need emergency surgery on admission.’ Go to www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs89

NMC considers action against overseas unregistered nurses The Nursing and Midwifery Council is considering whether to take action against three unregistered practitioners from overseas who were discovered working as nurses at a UK trust. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) alerted the NMC following an inspection at Broomfield Hospital, part of Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, in November. Inspectors came across the unregistered nurses carrying out ‘advanced nursing tasks’, the CQC said. The staff had trained as nurses overseas and were awaiting registration with the NMC. CQC inspectors ordered the immediate removal of the nurses from nursing duties. The trust said it was ‘wholly unacceptable’ but would not give details about how or why the unregistered practitioners were allowed to work. It is not an offence to impersonate a regulated health or care professional and an NMC spokesperson said it is working with third parties to determine whether any fitness to practise cases will be opened.

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