IN BRIEF Do you have the skills, passion and knowledge to help shape the future of nurses’ continuing professional development? RCNi, formerly RCN Publishing, is seeking a chair for its editorial advisory board, who will help make sure all RCNi products, including its journals, are relevant to all readers, from healthcare assistants to managers. The role requires a commitment of up to 30 days a year, paying an honorarium of £25,000. The closing date is April 30. For further information see page 96. Quality standards to reduce the number of falls and manage medicines safely in care homes have been published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The standards address inconsistencies in the care people received in these areas, says NICE deputy chief executive and director of health and social care Gillian Leng. Any older person visiting hospital after a fall should be given a risk assessment by a healthcare professional, the new guidance states. Measures to help reduce harm from alcohol, smoking and physical inactivity have been welcomed by the RCN. Three quality standards issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence aim to tackle these main causes of early death. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said: ‘Healthcare professionals will be pleased to see a focus on promoting healthy behaviour from an early age. Nurses working in schools and the community can play a vital role in this preventative work.’ Go to www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs82, www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs83 and www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs84 Former nurse and health minister Anne Milton has been appointed to the Privy Council. The Conservative MP said: ‘It is a huge honour to be appointed to the Privy Council, particularly as this is a title I will hold for life. As a former nurse and having worked in the NHS for 25 years, it is truly wonderful to be recognised in such a way by Her Majesty.’ England’s chief nursing officer Jane Cummings and the Florence Nightingale Foundation are offering scholarships worth up to £15,000 to black or minority ethnic nurses and midwives. The scholarships will help recipients work on a patient care improvement project, develop their leadership skills and help define long-term career objectives. It is hoped the scholarships will increase the number of black or minority ethnic nurses in senior posts. The deadline for 2015/16 applications is September 23. Visit tinyurl.com/qzwc2az Four outstanding nurses have been shortlisted in the Patient’s Choice category of the Nursing Standard Awards 2015. To find out more about the nurses in the running and why they have been nominated, see page 22. Voting is open until April 29. The winner, along with those in the other categories, will be announced at the Nursing Standard Nurse Awards ceremony, which will be held at The Savoy hotel in London on May 1.

TRUSTS ASKED TO ACT ON FLEXIBLE VISITING Care services minister Norman Lamb has written to hospitals in England asking them to give the families of patients with dementia the option to visit outside normal visiting times and to stay overnight. Mr Lamb has asked the trusts to adopt a flexible approach to visiting as part of an attempt to make them more dementia-friendly. Last month, prime minister David Cameron announced Challenge on Dementia 2020, which says all health and care environments should be dementia-friendly and relatives should be able to stay with a person who has dementia when they are nearing the end of life. Mr Lamb asks trusts to go further by allowing carers to stay with their loved one during any hospital stay. His letter to trusts said: ‘We are aware the removal of restrictions on visiting hours is not an action we could mandate but we encourage you to take account of the wishes of carers and people with dementia… as part of a cultural shift towards the practice of acknowledging the carers of people with dementia as partners in care.’ A number of hospitals in England have already introduced open visiting.

RCN fellow to chair review of English maternity services Former health minister and honorary RCN fellow Julia Cumberlege will chair a major review of maternity services. She has been appointed by NHS England to lead the England-wide review that will modernise care for women and babies. Baroness Cumberlege said: ‘I see this review as an opportunity for parents to shape services. I will welcome the ideas of parents and healthcare providers alike.’ Royal College of Midwives chief executive Cathy Warwick is one of the review panel members. ‘This is a great opportunity to shape our maternity services so they are fit for the future,’ she said. NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: ‘We need this review to independently assess the evidence on how we can improve care for women, babies and their families.’ The review team will report its findings by the end of the year.

10 april 1 :: vol 29 noRCNi.com 31 :: 2015by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 07, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING STANDARD Downloaded from other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.