IN BRIEF
HEALTH MOTs ADDRESS PREMATURE DEATHS Lifestyle checks including blood pressure, glucose levels and weight are being carried out by mental health nurses among patients with illnesses such as schizophrenia, in new measures introduced by NHS England. The health MOTs are part of a bid to cut the number of premature deaths from conditions such as lung and liver disease among patients with serious mental illness. On average such patients die 15 years earlier than the rest of the population and have the same life expectancy as someone living in the 1950s, says NHS England, Trusts will be financially rewarded by NHS England for carrying out the tests. A report, Twenty Years Too Young, by charity Rethink Mental Illness said the physical health of mental health patients was being neglected with just 29 per cent having received a full physical check. RCN mental health adviser Ian Hulatt said: ‘We have a situation here where mentally ill people are spending a lot of time with health professionals, but physically they are doing rather badly.’ ‘This is excellent news from NHS England and I am pleased to see they have taken such action,’ he added.
NICE issues standards to combat childhood constipation A quality standard aimed at reducing the number of children who attend A&E with severe constipation has been issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Up to 30 per cent of children and young people in England experience a bowel problem and of those who end up in hospital almost 80 per cent are admitted via A&E. Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust specialist health visitor Lynne Watson, a member of the expert group behind the standard, said: ‘Constipation is extremely common, but is often seen as trivial. We have put together six statements to provide health professionals with a clear framework.’ Included among the statements is the need to fully assess a patient by taking a detailed history, performing a physical examination, prescribing laxatives that can be administered easily at home and arranging timely reviews. To read the full standard go to tinyurl.com/lxzlfnx
Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman will answer questions about her life to raise funds for the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal. Campaigners plan to erect a memorial to the pioneering black nurse who cared for soldiers during the Crimean War. The event is at Clapham Library, London SW4 7DB, on May 29, 7-9pm. Tickets cost £15. tinyurl.com/pz9p26d Nurses can benefit from a new app that helps to work out whether patients are at low, medium or high risk of malnutrition. The Managing Adult Malnutrition in the Community app advises on management according to risk-based evidence and shared best practice, and was launched by a multiprofessional panel. To download it for free, go to www.malnutritionpathway.co.uk A successful campaign to cut the number of pressure ulcers in hospitals in England could now be introduced in other countries. Stop the Pressure is the brainchild of Ruth May, chief nurse for NHS England Midlands and East. Ms May is in talks with healthcare professionals from India and Ethiopia. See nhs.stopthepressure.co.uk The Heatwave Plan for 2014, guidelines for healthcare professionals on managing the potentially life-threatening effects of this year’s predicted heatwave, has been released. The guidance is a joint venture between government bodies including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health. The PHE said: ‘It is important that health and social care organisations, councils and those who work with vulnerable people consider the potential impacts hot weather can have and plan carefully around that.’ Schools in England will be legally required to provide high-quality care for children with medical conditions from September this year. In an amendment to the Children and Families Act, the government states that schools will be expected to draw up individual healthcare plans, work with parents and offer extra training to staff members. Diabetes UK chief executive Barbara Young said: ‘Some children face discrimination in relation to school trips and extra-curricular activities, which means they are effectively excluded from leading a full and active school life.’ Testing for clostridium difficile infection in hospitals must improve to tackle the increasing number of infections in Europe, according to a study led by the University of Leeds. Data from 482 European hospitals reveal that in a single day, an average of 109 cases of c. difficile are missed due to a lack of clinical suspicion or inadequate laboratory testing, potentially leading to more than 39,000 missed cases in Europe each year. More people should be taking vitamin D supplements and they should be free for those most at risk of deficiency, states the latest National Institute for Health and Care Excellence draft guidance. Vitamin D is essential for skeletal growth and low levels can lead to weaker bones in adults and rickets in children. The draft guidance, currently out for consultation, also calls for a national campaign to raise awareness. Go to guidance.nice.org.uk/PHG/71
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HEALTH MOTs ADDRESS PREMATURE DEATHS Lifestyle checks including blood pressure, glucose levels and weight are being carried out by mental health nurses among patients with illnesses such as schizophrenia, in new measures introduced by NHS England. The health MOTs are part of a bid to cut the number of premature deaths from conditions such as lung and liver disease among patients with serious mental illness. On average such patients die 15 years earlier than the rest of the population and have the same life expectancy as someone living in the 1950s, says NHS England, Trusts will be financially rewarded by NHS England for carrying out the tests. A report, Twenty Years Too Young, by charity Rethink Mental Illness said the physical health of mental health patients was being neglected with just 29 per cent having received a full physical check. RCN mental health adviser Ian Hulatt said: ‘We have a situation here where mentally ill people are spending a lot of time with health professionals, but physically they are doing rather badly.’ ‘This is excellent news from NHS England and I am pleased to see they have taken such action,’ he added.
NICE issues standards to combat childhood constipation A quality standard aimed at reducing the number of children who attend A&E with severe constipation has been issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Up to 30 per cent of children and young people in England experience a bowel problem and of those who end up in hospital almost 80 per cent are admitted via A&E. Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust specialist health visitor Lynne Watson, a member of the expert group behind the standard, said: ‘Constipation is extremely common, but is often seen as trivial. We have put together six statements to provide health professionals with a clear framework.’ Included among the statements is the need to fully assess a patient by taking a detailed history, performing a physical examination, prescribing laxatives that can be administered easily at home and arranging timely reviews. To read the full standard go to tinyurl.com/lxzlfnx
Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman will answer questions about her life to raise funds for the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal. Campaigners plan to erect a memorial to the pioneering black nurse who cared for soldiers during the Crimean War. The event is at Clapham Library, London SW4 7DB, on May 29, 7-9pm. Tickets cost £15. tinyurl.com/pz9p26d Nurses can benefit from a new app that helps to work out whether patients are at low, medium or high risk of malnutrition. The Managing Adult Malnutrition in the Community app advises on management according to risk-based evidence and shared best practice, and was launched by a multiprofessional panel. To download it for free, go to www.malnutritionpathway.co.uk A successful campaign to cut the number of pressure ulcers in hospitals in England could now be introduced in other countries. Stop the Pressure is the brainchild of Ruth May, chief nurse for NHS England Midlands and East. Ms May is in talks with healthcare professionals from India and Ethiopia. See nhs.stopthepressure.co.uk The Heatwave Plan for 2014, guidelines for healthcare professionals on managing the potentially life-threatening effects of this year’s predicted heatwave, has been released. The guidance is a joint venture between government bodies including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health. The PHE said: ‘It is important that health and social care organisations, councils and those who work with vulnerable people consider the potential impacts hot weather can have and plan carefully around that.’ Schools in England will be legally required to provide high-quality care for children with medical conditions from September this year. In an amendment to the Children and Families Act, the government states that schools will be expected to draw up individual healthcare plans, work with parents and offer extra training to staff members. Diabetes UK chief executive Barbara Young said: ‘Some children face discrimination in relation to school trips and extra-curricular activities, which means they are effectively excluded from leading a full and active school life.’ Testing for clostridium difficile infection in hospitals must improve to tackle the increasing number of infections in Europe, according to a study led by the University of Leeds. Data from 482 European hospitals reveal that in a single day, an average of 109 cases of c. difficile are missed due to a lack of clinical suspicion or inadequate laboratory testing, potentially leading to more than 39,000 missed cases in Europe each year. More people should be taking vitamin D supplements and they should be free for those most at risk of deficiency, states the latest National Institute for Health and Care Excellence draft guidance. Vitamin D is essential for skeletal growth and low levels can lead to weaker bones in adults and rickets in children. The draft guidance, currently out for consultation, also calls for a national campaign to raise awareness. Go to guidance.nice.org.uk/PHG/71
NURSING STANDARD may 21 :: vol 28 no 38 :: 2014 11 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 22, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
