NEWS
Teenage Cancer Trust launches £80m nationwide holistic outreach service
TEENAGE CANCER TRUST
A new nursing support service for teenagers and young people with cancer was launched at the Houses of Parliament in London last week by the Teenage Cancer Trust. Following the success of a two-year pilot scheme in Manchester, the Teenage Cancer Trust Nursing & Support Service will be rolled out across the UK over the next five years, at an estimated cost of £80 million.
Louise Pennington: ‘The service will be vital’
The outreach service, which aims to ensure that all teenagers and young people with cancer in the UK get the support they need, is an extension of the 28 dedicated units in the NHS for teenagers and young people with cancer, funded by the charity. Clinical nurse specialist for teenagers and young adults with cancer Louise Pennington, whose role is funded by the Teenage Cancer Trust, said the holistic support service will be vital in bridging the gap in young people’s cancer care. ‘Young people will have their disease-specific nurse specialist helping them to understand their diagnosis, but we have the time and independence to get to know them,’ she says. ‘This is essential in getting them to open up about how they are coping, and in helping them to comply with their treatment. They also need a lot of support at the end of treatment to get back to normal. The service will be vital in this area of care.’
RCN TAKES ISSUE WITH MIGRATION COMMITTEE VERDICT
The RCN has accused the Migration Advisory Committee of ‘significant misrepresentation’ after the body said adult nursing would not be included on the Home Office Shortage Occupation List. The committee was asked to carry out a partial review of the Shortage Occupation List in September, published this week. It said its decision not to include nurses was because it ‘did not receive evidence of a national shortage’. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said: ‘We are deeply disappointed that the committee has significantly misrepresented the position of the RCN to claim that there is no shortage of staff in the nursing profession. ‘Nurses who are stretched to breaking point will be utterly bemused as to how this conclusion has been reached, which reflects none of the realities of delivering daily care to patients.’ Dr Carter said the RCN had urged the committee to reconsider.
Stress at work affecting nurses’ health, survey finds More than 40 per cent of nurses and midwives have experienced work-related stress over the past 12 months and nearly a third have felt pressured into attending work when unwell, a national survey of NHS staff has revealed. The 12th annual survey, published last week, also revealed that nearly a quarter of nurses and midwives had experienced physical violence from patients, relatives or the public during the previous 12 months and 13 per cent felt they had been discriminated against. Up to 44 per cent of nurses and midwives witnessed potentially harmful errors, near misses or incidents during the month prior to filling in the survey, but a quarter would not feel secure raising concerns, the survey showed. Also, 82 per cent of nurses and midwives work extra hours, but less than half feel their employer values their work.
Ninety-three per cent of nurses felt their role made a real difference to patients, but a significantly lower proportion believed their organisation put patient care as a top priority. However, more than 60 per cent of nurses and midwives were satisfied with the level of their pay compared with 37 per cent of the NHS workforce overall. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said the results demonstrated a ‘crisis of
Nurses and midwives results secure raising concerns 75% feel about unsafe clinical practice. satisfied with the level 62% feel of their pay. be happy for a relative 64% would or friend to be treated by their organisation.
morale’ among nurses, who feel ‘underpaid, undervalued and under pressure’. ‘These are clear signs that the hard work of staff is papering over deep cracks in our NHS,’ he said. ‘If 39 per cent of staff have been made unwell by work-related stress during the last 12 months, it is no surprise that many have real concerns about the care their workplace can provide. We are asking whoever wins the next election to listen to staff, act on what they say and deliver real change. Chief executive of NHS Employers Danny Mortimer said: ‘Anyone exploring these findings will appreciate the tremendous resilience of NHS organisations and their staff. But the results show staff reporting increased pressure.’ More than 624,000 NHS staff across 287 organisations were sent a postal questionnaire. There was a response rate of 42 per cent, about 255,000 staff.
8 march 4 :: vol from 29 no 27 :: 2015 STANDARD Downloaded RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Teenage Cancer Trust launches £80m nationwide holistic outreach service
TEENAGE CANCER TRUST
A new nursing support service for teenagers and young people with cancer was launched at the Houses of Parliament in London last week by the Teenage Cancer Trust. Following the success of a two-year pilot scheme in Manchester, the Teenage Cancer Trust Nursing & Support Service will be rolled out across the UK over the next five years, at an estimated cost of £80 million.
Louise Pennington: ‘The service will be vital’
The outreach service, which aims to ensure that all teenagers and young people with cancer in the UK get the support they need, is an extension of the 28 dedicated units in the NHS for teenagers and young people with cancer, funded by the charity. Clinical nurse specialist for teenagers and young adults with cancer Louise Pennington, whose role is funded by the Teenage Cancer Trust, said the holistic support service will be vital in bridging the gap in young people’s cancer care. ‘Young people will have their disease-specific nurse specialist helping them to understand their diagnosis, but we have the time and independence to get to know them,’ she says. ‘This is essential in getting them to open up about how they are coping, and in helping them to comply with their treatment. They also need a lot of support at the end of treatment to get back to normal. The service will be vital in this area of care.’
RCN TAKES ISSUE WITH MIGRATION COMMITTEE VERDICT
The RCN has accused the Migration Advisory Committee of ‘significant misrepresentation’ after the body said adult nursing would not be included on the Home Office Shortage Occupation List. The committee was asked to carry out a partial review of the Shortage Occupation List in September, published this week. It said its decision not to include nurses was because it ‘did not receive evidence of a national shortage’. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said: ‘We are deeply disappointed that the committee has significantly misrepresented the position of the RCN to claim that there is no shortage of staff in the nursing profession. ‘Nurses who are stretched to breaking point will be utterly bemused as to how this conclusion has been reached, which reflects none of the realities of delivering daily care to patients.’ Dr Carter said the RCN had urged the committee to reconsider.
Stress at work affecting nurses’ health, survey finds More than 40 per cent of nurses and midwives have experienced work-related stress over the past 12 months and nearly a third have felt pressured into attending work when unwell, a national survey of NHS staff has revealed. The 12th annual survey, published last week, also revealed that nearly a quarter of nurses and midwives had experienced physical violence from patients, relatives or the public during the previous 12 months and 13 per cent felt they had been discriminated against. Up to 44 per cent of nurses and midwives witnessed potentially harmful errors, near misses or incidents during the month prior to filling in the survey, but a quarter would not feel secure raising concerns, the survey showed. Also, 82 per cent of nurses and midwives work extra hours, but less than half feel their employer values their work.
Ninety-three per cent of nurses felt their role made a real difference to patients, but a significantly lower proportion believed their organisation put patient care as a top priority. However, more than 60 per cent of nurses and midwives were satisfied with the level of their pay compared with 37 per cent of the NHS workforce overall. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said the results demonstrated a ‘crisis of
Nurses and midwives results secure raising concerns 75% feel about unsafe clinical practice. satisfied with the level 62% feel of their pay. be happy for a relative 64% would or friend to be treated by their organisation.
morale’ among nurses, who feel ‘underpaid, undervalued and under pressure’. ‘These are clear signs that the hard work of staff is papering over deep cracks in our NHS,’ he said. ‘If 39 per cent of staff have been made unwell by work-related stress during the last 12 months, it is no surprise that many have real concerns about the care their workplace can provide. We are asking whoever wins the next election to listen to staff, act on what they say and deliver real change. Chief executive of NHS Employers Danny Mortimer said: ‘Anyone exploring these findings will appreciate the tremendous resilience of NHS organisations and their staff. But the results show staff reporting increased pressure.’ More than 624,000 NHS staff across 287 organisations were sent a postal questionnaire. There was a response rate of 42 per cent, about 255,000 staff.
8 march 4 :: vol from 29 no 27 :: 2015 STANDARD Downloaded RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
