IN BRIEF Patients should continue taking statins as the benefits outweigh the risks, the UK medicines regulator has said. Responding to concerns raised by doctors about side effects, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said statins saved lives by reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes and the need for heart surgery. Mid Staffs inquiry chair Robert Francis QC has been appointed a non-executive director of the Care Quality Commission. The regulator’s chair David Prior said: ‘The appointment of Robert Francis makes a clear statement – the interests of patients, all those who receive care and their relatives will be at the heart of everything that the Care Quality Commission does.’ Mental health nurses are being put under intolerable strain because of bed shortages, the RCN warns. A survey by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found that some patients are being sent home because of a lack of a bed – or being sectioned with the purpose of securing one. Almost one in five of the 576 junior doctors questioned for the survey said they had detained someone under the Mental Health Act because the patient would be more likely to be given a bed. More than 100 Care Quality Commission inspectors are taking part in national care home open day on June 20. Care homes in England are opening their doors to the public by organising a range of events such as cream teas, and staff will be on hand with inspectors to answer questions. CQC chief inspector of adult social care Andrea Sutcliffe said: ‘People can see what goes on, get involved and gain an important understanding of services.’ An investigation is taking place after a newborn baby, Yousef Al-Kharboush, died and 17 other infants contracted blood poisoning after being infected by a contaminated batch of liquid food distributed to intensive care units in London and south east England. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and Public Health England are investigating food supplies company ITH Pharma. The London-based company said that it was co-operating fully. A nurse has been made chief executive of a healthcare provider that serves more than 70,000 people. Jonathan Williams will head up 900 staff at East Coast Community Healthcare, a social enterprise that provides community-based NHS services in Norfolk and Suffolk, including school nursing, palliative care and sexual health services. Health professionals, including health visitors and nurses, should have better training in how to spot depression among mothers, says a briefing by the Mental Health Network. The network, says around one in ten women experience mental health problems during pregnancy and the first year after birth. Go to tinyurl.com/phlpxfb 10 june 11 :: vol 28 no 41 :: 2014
‘STAFF NEED TO BOOST MUMS’ BODY IMAGE’ Health visitors and midwives should not refer to high-calorie foods such as biscuits as ‘naughty’ when talking to expectant and new mothers in case they damage the women’s body image, says a study. The report on the psychological effects on body image during pregnancy and following birth, published last week, advises healthcare professionals to talk to women about their bodies. Report authors Susie Orbach and Holli Ruben warn that if women are preoccupied with eating and body image, the bond with their child can be damaged. Yet midwives and health visitors receive little training on the effect of eating problems, they say. Images of a diverse range of women, including plus-size celebrities, should also be displayed in health visitors’ and midwives’ workplaces, says the report. Royal College of Midwives chief executive Cathy Warwick said new mothers are often under great pressure and feelings about their bodies can be a source of shame or failure. ‘Midwives will want to reflect on the implications of this report,’ she added. Go to the report tinyurl.com/l2ytzzp
Breast cancer pledge helps to improve services Specialist nurses at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are providing one-to-one support to patients with secondary breast cancer, in co-operation with two charities. The trust has signed up to a ‘secondary breast cancer pledge’ to allocate a named key worker to patients whose cancer has spread. Secondary breast cancer cannot be cured but it can be treated and controlled. As part of the initiative with Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Care, nurses will sit in on the consultations or contact the patient within five working days of diagnosis to answer questions about the treatment plan. The pledge was developed after patients said they wanted a single point of contact following diagnosis. York Hospital breast clinical nurse specialist Jackie Frazer said: ‘The development of the pledge has allowed us to get a fuller picture not only of what we are doing well, but also how we can improve our service.’
NURSING STANDARD
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‘STAFF NEED TO BOOST MUMS’ BODY IMAGE’ Health visitors and midwives should not refer to high-calorie foods such as biscuits as ‘naughty’ when talking to expectant and new mothers in case they damage the women’s body image, says a study. The report on the psychological effects on body image during pregnancy and following birth, published last week, advises healthcare professionals to talk to women about their bodies. Report authors Susie Orbach and Holli Ruben warn that if women are preoccupied with eating and body image, the bond with their child can be damaged. Yet midwives and health visitors receive little training on the effect of eating problems, they say. Images of a diverse range of women, including plus-size celebrities, should also be displayed in health visitors’ and midwives’ workplaces, says the report. Royal College of Midwives chief executive Cathy Warwick said new mothers are often under great pressure and feelings about their bodies can be a source of shame or failure. ‘Midwives will want to reflect on the implications of this report,’ she added. Go to the report tinyurl.com/l2ytzzp
Breast cancer pledge helps to improve services Specialist nurses at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are providing one-to-one support to patients with secondary breast cancer, in co-operation with two charities. The trust has signed up to a ‘secondary breast cancer pledge’ to allocate a named key worker to patients whose cancer has spread. Secondary breast cancer cannot be cured but it can be treated and controlled. As part of the initiative with Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Care, nurses will sit in on the consultations or contact the patient within five working days of diagnosis to answer questions about the treatment plan. The pledge was developed after patients said they wanted a single point of contact following diagnosis. York Hospital breast clinical nurse specialist Jackie Frazer said: ‘The development of the pledge has allowed us to get a fuller picture not only of what we are doing well, but also how we can improve our service.’
NURSING STANDARD
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 21, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
