NEWS WORLD IN BRIEF
New nurse role The Supreme Council of Health in Qatar has created a job category of nurse practitioner to address a shortage of doctors. The nurse practitioners will perform some of the tasks of doctors, such as diagnosing diseases and prescribing medicines ‘in certain clinical settings’, according to an official of the Qatar Council of Healthcare Practitioners (QCHP), which is responsible for licensing and monitoring healthcare workers. The nurse practitioners will also be able to prescribe physical therapies and provide prenatal care and family planning services. One of their greatest responsibilities will be acting as a patient advocate, according to a QCHP circular. To qualify, nurses will have to complete a clinically focused master’s degree or approved doctoral programme and have four years’ experience in a specific area of practice. Worker attacked The Ministry of Labour in Ontario, Canada, is investigating after a nurse working at a mental health centre was attacked by a patient. The patient at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto repeatedly hit the nurse on the head, according to Linda Haslam-Stroud of the Ontario Nurses’ Association. The nurse was taken to hospital and has not yet returned to work, according to Ms Haslam-Stroud. The ministry has conducted a site visit and police are investigating. The ministry had already laid charges against the centre over worker safety violations following a separate assault last year.
JANE PHILPOTT
Sedation law A change that allows nurses in New Mexico, under the guidance of doctors, to administer deep sedating drugs has been criticised for compromising patient safety. The New Mexico Society of Anesthesiologists has warned it gives a power to nurses that ‘goes well beyond the scope of their practice and beyond the periphery of their capabilities’. But the change is supported by the American College of Emergency Medicine, which says it formalises what nurses have been doing safely for years.
The Burger King concession in Southampton
Patients campaign to save burger outlet By Katie Osborne
@ns_reporter
A hospital that has ended its contract with a fast-food outlet in a bid to introduce healthier food on site has received complaints from patients. University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) announced it will not be renewing the Burger King concession at the city’s general hospital next year because it is inappropriate for a ‘modern healthcare environment’. But patients launched a campaign to save the burger outlet, claiming the quality of its food is higher than that offered by the hospital. A UHS spokesperson said: ‘The trust, as with all NHS hospitals, is regularly assessed by a variety of independent bodies on all aspects of care, including the quality of patient food. In the most recent of these inspections, the trust scored highly on food quality (92 per cent), according to panel members from the national patient-led assessment team, and is fully compliant with all the Care Quality Commission’s essential standards, which incorporate quality of food and drink.’
Meanwhile, the Whittington Hospital in London has come under fire from NHS staff after it allowed a fast-food-style fried chicken bar to open. The Yardbird counter sells fried chicken, onion rings and chips and, according to Unison representative Claire Dixon, is heavily advertised in the hospital. According to Ms Dixon, there have been numerous complaints about the outlet run by Sodexo, which has agreed a £2.2 million five-year catering contract with the hospital. Ms Dixon said: ‘The quality of the food is awful. I find it offensive that an NHS hospital is promoting unhealthy food. As a health worker, I know that diabetes and other illnesses are endemic in society because of our lifestyles. The hospital seems to be giving a green light for this to continue.’ A spokesperson for Whittington hospital said: ‘Our trust dietitians and specialist nurses are working closely with Sodexo to support people to eat healthier. We will soon be offering roast chicken and low-fat alternatives.’ Calorie information is displayed for all hot food, added the spokesperson.
NURSING :: voluses 29 no 19 :: permission. 2015 13 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 21, 2015. For personal usejanuary only. No7other without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
New nurse role The Supreme Council of Health in Qatar has created a job category of nurse practitioner to address a shortage of doctors. The nurse practitioners will perform some of the tasks of doctors, such as diagnosing diseases and prescribing medicines ‘in certain clinical settings’, according to an official of the Qatar Council of Healthcare Practitioners (QCHP), which is responsible for licensing and monitoring healthcare workers. The nurse practitioners will also be able to prescribe physical therapies and provide prenatal care and family planning services. One of their greatest responsibilities will be acting as a patient advocate, according to a QCHP circular. To qualify, nurses will have to complete a clinically focused master’s degree or approved doctoral programme and have four years’ experience in a specific area of practice. Worker attacked The Ministry of Labour in Ontario, Canada, is investigating after a nurse working at a mental health centre was attacked by a patient. The patient at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto repeatedly hit the nurse on the head, according to Linda Haslam-Stroud of the Ontario Nurses’ Association. The nurse was taken to hospital and has not yet returned to work, according to Ms Haslam-Stroud. The ministry has conducted a site visit and police are investigating. The ministry had already laid charges against the centre over worker safety violations following a separate assault last year.
JANE PHILPOTT
Sedation law A change that allows nurses in New Mexico, under the guidance of doctors, to administer deep sedating drugs has been criticised for compromising patient safety. The New Mexico Society of Anesthesiologists has warned it gives a power to nurses that ‘goes well beyond the scope of their practice and beyond the periphery of their capabilities’. But the change is supported by the American College of Emergency Medicine, which says it formalises what nurses have been doing safely for years.
The Burger King concession in Southampton
Patients campaign to save burger outlet By Katie Osborne
@ns_reporter
A hospital that has ended its contract with a fast-food outlet in a bid to introduce healthier food on site has received complaints from patients. University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) announced it will not be renewing the Burger King concession at the city’s general hospital next year because it is inappropriate for a ‘modern healthcare environment’. But patients launched a campaign to save the burger outlet, claiming the quality of its food is higher than that offered by the hospital. A UHS spokesperson said: ‘The trust, as with all NHS hospitals, is regularly assessed by a variety of independent bodies on all aspects of care, including the quality of patient food. In the most recent of these inspections, the trust scored highly on food quality (92 per cent), according to panel members from the national patient-led assessment team, and is fully compliant with all the Care Quality Commission’s essential standards, which incorporate quality of food and drink.’
Meanwhile, the Whittington Hospital in London has come under fire from NHS staff after it allowed a fast-food-style fried chicken bar to open. The Yardbird counter sells fried chicken, onion rings and chips and, according to Unison representative Claire Dixon, is heavily advertised in the hospital. According to Ms Dixon, there have been numerous complaints about the outlet run by Sodexo, which has agreed a £2.2 million five-year catering contract with the hospital. Ms Dixon said: ‘The quality of the food is awful. I find it offensive that an NHS hospital is promoting unhealthy food. As a health worker, I know that diabetes and other illnesses are endemic in society because of our lifestyles. The hospital seems to be giving a green light for this to continue.’ A spokesperson for Whittington hospital said: ‘Our trust dietitians and specialist nurses are working closely with Sodexo to support people to eat healthier. We will soon be offering roast chicken and low-fat alternatives.’ Calorie information is displayed for all hot food, added the spokesperson.
NURSING :: voluses 29 no 19 :: permission. 2015 13 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 21, 2015. For personal usejanuary only. No7other without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
