NEWS
Vital role of specialist MS nurses recognised in proposed guideline By Alistair Kleebauer Specialist multiple sclerosis nurses should form part of a co-ordinated, multidisciplinary approach to the care of patients together with neurologists, GPs and physiotherapists, according to draft guidance. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing clinical practice guidelines for use in the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Aimed at primary and secondary care services for adults with MS and adults suspected of having the disease, the guideline says provision of care should be ‘adequately co-ordinated’, alongside other key recommendations. It can be difficult for people with MS to get the right treatment and support at the right time, the guideline concludes. It was developed by a group of healthcare professionals that included Noreen Baker, an MS specialist nurse at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, and Richard Warner, an MS
nurse consultant at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust. A 2005 study considered by the group found that patients valued contact with a specialist nurse during relapse and a close working relationship between specialist nurses and the neurologist. A 2006 study also considered by the group compared a multidisciplinary MS care protocol to ‘traditional’ care and found participants in the
‘WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO SEE THAT A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH IS A KEY PRIORITY’ multidisciplinary group experienced better quality of life at ten months, in terms of feeling more energetic and vibrant. Multiple Sclerosis Trust director of service development Amy Bowen said: ‘We are very pleased to see that a multidisciplinary approach is recognised as a key priority and that within the multidisciplinary team, the essential role of MS specialist nurses is highlighted.’
But both the MS Trust and the MS Society criticised NICE for not recommending two medicines, Fampyra and Sativex, which they say help people with MS to walk more easily and manage painful muscle spasms. MS Society’s director of policy and research Nick Rijke said: ‘We are frustrated that this guideline proposes blocking access to treatments that we know can significantly improve quality of life for people with MS.’ NICE Centre for Clinical Practice director Mark Baker said: ‘A detailed analysis of the evidence of costs and benefits of these drugs led us to conclude that neither should be recommended as they do not currently represent cost-effectiveness for the NHS.’ Registered stakeholders for the guideline can comment on the recommendations until June 10. NICE plans to publish the final guideline, which will replace the 2003 version, in October. To view the document and details of the consultation, go to tinyurl.com/kyjauc6
Nurses hoping to follow in the footsteps of award-winning nurse novelist Nathan Filer can enrol on a new creative writing course for healthcare workers. Birmingham City University has launched an online writing for health course to give healthcare professionals a creative outlet for coping with everyday pressure at work. The distance learning course can be completed in six to eight months and includes exercises such as writing from another person’s point of view. The launch of the course comes three months after mental health nurse Mr Filer was awarded the prestigious Costa book of the year
NURSING STANDARD
for his debut novel The Shock of the Fall. The bestseller drew on his experiences working on psychiatric wards in Bristol. Course tutor and novelist Jackie Gay said there was a long tradition of medical professionals turning their experiences into prose. She added that writing can help build relationships with patients and their families by composing stories from another perspective. ‘Medicine is on the front line of life, death, birth and illness and it is inevitable that the situations and characters encountered by health workers will lead to some seeking a creative outlet for their experiences,’ she added.
REX FEATURES
Become a future literary winner
Award-winning nurse novelist Nathan Filer
may 7 :: vol 28 no 36 :: 2014 11
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 15, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
010-011designw36.indd 11
02/05/2014 16:03
Vital role of specialist MS nurses recognised in proposed guideline By Alistair Kleebauer Specialist multiple sclerosis nurses should form part of a co-ordinated, multidisciplinary approach to the care of patients together with neurologists, GPs and physiotherapists, according to draft guidance. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing clinical practice guidelines for use in the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Aimed at primary and secondary care services for adults with MS and adults suspected of having the disease, the guideline says provision of care should be ‘adequately co-ordinated’, alongside other key recommendations. It can be difficult for people with MS to get the right treatment and support at the right time, the guideline concludes. It was developed by a group of healthcare professionals that included Noreen Baker, an MS specialist nurse at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, and Richard Warner, an MS
nurse consultant at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust. A 2005 study considered by the group found that patients valued contact with a specialist nurse during relapse and a close working relationship between specialist nurses and the neurologist. A 2006 study also considered by the group compared a multidisciplinary MS care protocol to ‘traditional’ care and found participants in the
‘WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO SEE THAT A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH IS A KEY PRIORITY’ multidisciplinary group experienced better quality of life at ten months, in terms of feeling more energetic and vibrant. Multiple Sclerosis Trust director of service development Amy Bowen said: ‘We are very pleased to see that a multidisciplinary approach is recognised as a key priority and that within the multidisciplinary team, the essential role of MS specialist nurses is highlighted.’
But both the MS Trust and the MS Society criticised NICE for not recommending two medicines, Fampyra and Sativex, which they say help people with MS to walk more easily and manage painful muscle spasms. MS Society’s director of policy and research Nick Rijke said: ‘We are frustrated that this guideline proposes blocking access to treatments that we know can significantly improve quality of life for people with MS.’ NICE Centre for Clinical Practice director Mark Baker said: ‘A detailed analysis of the evidence of costs and benefits of these drugs led us to conclude that neither should be recommended as they do not currently represent cost-effectiveness for the NHS.’ Registered stakeholders for the guideline can comment on the recommendations until June 10. NICE plans to publish the final guideline, which will replace the 2003 version, in October. To view the document and details of the consultation, go to tinyurl.com/kyjauc6
Nurses hoping to follow in the footsteps of award-winning nurse novelist Nathan Filer can enrol on a new creative writing course for healthcare workers. Birmingham City University has launched an online writing for health course to give healthcare professionals a creative outlet for coping with everyday pressure at work. The distance learning course can be completed in six to eight months and includes exercises such as writing from another person’s point of view. The launch of the course comes three months after mental health nurse Mr Filer was awarded the prestigious Costa book of the year
NURSING STANDARD
for his debut novel The Shock of the Fall. The bestseller drew on his experiences working on psychiatric wards in Bristol. Course tutor and novelist Jackie Gay said there was a long tradition of medical professionals turning their experiences into prose. She added that writing can help build relationships with patients and their families by composing stories from another perspective. ‘Medicine is on the front line of life, death, birth and illness and it is inevitable that the situations and characters encountered by health workers will lead to some seeking a creative outlet for their experiences,’ she added.
REX FEATURES
Become a future literary winner
Award-winning nurse novelist Nathan Filer
may 7 :: vol 28 no 36 :: 2014 11
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 15, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
010-011designw36.indd 11
02/05/2014 16:03
