NEWS

organist pulls out all the stops to honour edith cavell TIM GEORGE

Sheila Inwards rehearses for an eight-hour ‘organ day’ to raise money to honour her childhood inspiration, first world war nurse Edith Cavell. Miss Cavell, who had been nursing in  occupied Belgium, was executed in 1915  by a German fi ring squad for aiding the  escape of 200 allied soldiers. ‘I have always looked on Edith Cavell  as a hero,’ says Ms Inwards (pictured).  ‘What she did was absolutely sacrifi cial.  She must have known if she was caught  she would be shot and she still did it.’ Proceeds from the event will go to the  Cavell Nurses’ Trust. The day marks the organist’s 50th  anniversary as director of music at  Emmanuel Church in Bungay, Suffolk. 

Small increase in nurse numbers, but downward trend continues By Kat Keogh The number of NHS nurses in England is expected to continue falling over the next few years despite official figures revealing a small increase over recent months. latest workforce statistics from the health and social care information centre reveal the number of nurses working in england’s nhs rose by 686 between may 2012 and February 2013. but the overall trend is still downwards, as there are 4,137 fewer nurses now than there were when the coalition government came to power in may 2010 (see table). national nursing research Unit deputy director Jane ball, a member of the safe staffing alliance, warned that the recent increase should be seen in the context of rising patient numbers. Queen margaret University edinburgh workforce expert James buchan said figures can fluctuate due to nursing students completing training but said there is an overall trend of decline.

NURSING STANDARD 

Full-time-equivalent posts* May 2010

281,431 



May 2011

279,253 

 2,178

May 2012

276,608

 4,823

Feb 2013

277,294

 4,137

*england only. Figures exclude midwives, school nurses and health visitors source: health and social care information centre

a government-commissioned report by the centre for Workforce intelligence is expected to predict that nurse numbers in england will drop by between 3,480 and 63,800 within three years. the report was due to be published in February, but still has not been released by the department of health. last week the University hospitals of morecambe bay nhs Foundation trust began consulting on proposals that would result in the loss of 80-100 inpatient beds, as well as 170 nursing posts. the cuts would save £30 million.

data obtained by nursing standard shows there are 6,063 fewer nurse training places in the Uk for 2013/14 than in 2009/10, despite an extra 313 training places being commissioned for the coming academic year. health minister dan poulter said: ‘nursing leaders have been clear that hospitals should publish staffing details and the evidence to show that staff numbers are right for the care needs of the patients that they look after.’ last week, Wrightington, Wigan and leigh nhs Foundation trust became the latest organisation to agree to publish the number of nurses on duty on each ward. ■ new workforce data from the information services division scotland shows the wage bill for bank and agency nursing and midwifery staff rose by £14 million between 2011/12 and 2012/13. rcn scotland associate director norman provan said the increase shows nhs boards had been mistaken to cut 1,500 nursing posts since 2009. june 5 :: vol 27 no 40 :: 2013  9 

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Small increase in nurse numbers, but downward trend continues.

NEWS organist pulls out all the stops to honour edith cavell TIM GEORGE Sheila Inwards rehearses for an eight-hour ‘organ day’ to raise money to hon...
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