IN BRIEF Nurses in the north of England have helped to develop a booklet to advise patients with chronic kidney options. The nurses joined forces disease on treatment options. with other health professionals as well as researchers and scientists from the Sheffi eld Kidney Institute and University of Leeds to produce the publication. The booklet provides comprehensive information on different dialysis treatments and transplant options. www.kidneyresearchuk.org/DialysisDecisionAid Under new government proposals nurses from the European Union will have their English tested before they are allowed to work in the UK. The Department of Health is consulting on plans that would allow the Nursing and Midwifery Council to check language profi ciency before registering EU nurses. The consultation runs until December 15. Go to tiny.cc/language_controls Around half of people who have hepatitis C are unaware they have the infection, according to Public Health England (PHE). A publication released last week says 13,570 hepatitis C infections were diagnosed in the UK in 2013, around 90 per cent of which were acquired through drug misuse. PHE says more needs to be done to increase diagnosis rates. Go to tiny.cc/infection_from_injection Nursing students are drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol, according to research. A study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, found that 43 per cent had drunk to a hazardous level, while 18 per cent regularly did so and could be regarded as hazardous drinkers. Researchers assessed 1,060 nursing degree students at the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain in 2012/13. The authors conclude there should be more focus on alcohol-prevention strategies in universities. The Commons health committee has launched an inquiry into end of life care. It will look at issues including the impact of the withdrawal of the Liverpool Care Pathway; the reasons why so many people die in hospital when most want to die at home or in a hospice; and the experience of those caring for a loved one at the end of their life. Written evidence should be submitted by December 15. Go to tiny.cc/eol_submissions A school nurse-led scheme has been helping students cope with stress and anxiety during exam time. Isle of Man school nurse Jennifer Fong visits fi ve secondary schools to teach pupils how to manage anxiety, cope with exam stress, and promote self-resilience. The number of admissions to hospital via emergency departments shot up in England by 72 per cent between 2001/02 and 2010/11, according to figures published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Lead author Thomas Cowling said the trend could be partly explained by there now being lower thresholds for admitting patients in A&E and changes in patients’ health-seeking behaviour.
TACKLING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE A PRIORITY Targets for cutting the use of antibiotics must be introduced as a matter of urgency to stop them becoming ineffective, clinicians have said. The call came as nurses and doctors gathered at a summit in London last week to discuss ways of tackling the threat of antibiotic resistance, which could lead to patients dying from simple infections. National measures should include a return to 2010 levels of antibiotic prescriptions, they say. Last month Public Health England (PHE) published fi gures showing that in the period 2010-2013 there was a 6 per cent increase in antibiotic prescribing by GPs and hospitals. The event was attended by organisations including the RCN, Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of General Practitioners and PHE. RCN adviser for infection and prevention control Rose Gallagher said: ‘It is worrying that many antibiotics could become ineffective if we do not get to grips with the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance.’
Cognitive function could be affected by shift work Working shifts can cause long-term memory problems, according to research published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Researchers studied 1,484 people who had worked shifts, comparing them with 1,635 who had not. By carrying out a series of tests of speed and memory they found that those who had done shift work performed more poorly. They also found that the effect on cognitive functioning was reversed five years after people stopped working shifts. The researchers from the universities of Toulouse and Swansea concluded that shift work chronically impairs cognition. Philip Tucker, part of Swansea University’s research team, said that shift workers should have regular check-ups that include cognitive performance tests to monitor danger signs. RCN head of employment relations Josie Irwin said: ‘This study is further evidence that staff need adequate breaks and preventive health checks. Nursing staff cannot avoid working shifts and their employers should do everything possible to protect them by minimising the risks to their health.’
10 november 12 :: vol 29 no 11 :: 2014 STANDARD Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 10, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
TACKLING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE A PRIORITY Targets for cutting the use of antibiotics must be introduced as a matter of urgency to stop them becoming ineffective, clinicians have said. The call came as nurses and doctors gathered at a summit in London last week to discuss ways of tackling the threat of antibiotic resistance, which could lead to patients dying from simple infections. National measures should include a return to 2010 levels of antibiotic prescriptions, they say. Last month Public Health England (PHE) published fi gures showing that in the period 2010-2013 there was a 6 per cent increase in antibiotic prescribing by GPs and hospitals. The event was attended by organisations including the RCN, Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of General Practitioners and PHE. RCN adviser for infection and prevention control Rose Gallagher said: ‘It is worrying that many antibiotics could become ineffective if we do not get to grips with the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance.’
Cognitive function could be affected by shift work Working shifts can cause long-term memory problems, according to research published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Researchers studied 1,484 people who had worked shifts, comparing them with 1,635 who had not. By carrying out a series of tests of speed and memory they found that those who had done shift work performed more poorly. They also found that the effect on cognitive functioning was reversed five years after people stopped working shifts. The researchers from the universities of Toulouse and Swansea concluded that shift work chronically impairs cognition. Philip Tucker, part of Swansea University’s research team, said that shift workers should have regular check-ups that include cognitive performance tests to monitor danger signs. RCN head of employment relations Josie Irwin said: ‘This study is further evidence that staff need adequate breaks and preventive health checks. Nursing staff cannot avoid working shifts and their employers should do everything possible to protect them by minimising the risks to their health.’
10 november 12 :: vol 29 no 11 :: 2014 STANDARD Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 10, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
