According to the Nursingtimes :
“A trial into “task-shifting” from doctors to nurses in HIV care has proved a success, according to an article in the medical journal Lancet.
Researchers on the study found that antiretroviral therapy (ART) by trained nurses in primary health care was just as safe and effective as doctor monitored care.”
Business leaders have renewed their demand for a review of nurses’ and other public sector pensions, calling for a shift from “unsustainable” final salary schemes.
A report by the CBI says a more affordable system is needed if the “trillion pound burden” on the taxpayer is to be contained.
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With the UK’s government trying to claw money back and plug leaking holes, many are concerned that the NHS and other public services could be an easy target. Many British Nurses are concerned about their overtime and the care of patients may suffer as a result. With stories such as THIS ONE which Alistair Darling has asked for a 2.3 billion to be saved in 2010-2010 spending plans on the NHS, we will just have to see how the year unfolds.
Nurses in Ireland are unhappy with the news of pay cuts to public servants that was announced earlier this month.
“The Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, in his budget delivered yesterday, declared his intention to cut the pay of public servants by 5% on the first €30,000 of income, 7.5% on the next €40,000 and 10% on the next €55,000. The table below estimates the reductions in income for nurses and midwives which will occur from the 1st of January 2010 should these cuts be implemented.”
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The UK’s NHS announced yesterday that it is to push the Swine Flu vaccine for infants and young children through. The NHS has failed to reach the an agreement with family doctor representatives. The programme will begin after christmas, after talks have broken down.
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“NORTH ADAMS — Unionized health care workers at North Adams Regional Hospital voted to authorize a strike in 10 days unless a contract is reached beforehand.Service Employees International Union 1199 will present their notice to hospital executives this morning when contract negotiations resume.
Of the chapter’s 174 members, 152 cast ballots Monday with 134, or 88 percent, voting for the strike.
“We’re sending a strong message to management and the Board of Trustees that we are to be taken seriously and that we want these negotiations to be over with,” Michael O’Brien, local chapter chairman, said Monday.
“Our membership voted in favor of the strike because they want to have some control over their work lives. With our current contract, they have that. What management wants to do is to take control out of our hands totally. We want to get back to working with the hospital’s administration and get out of the financial hole it’s in.”"
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While screaming, throwing things, backstabbing and gossip may sound like schoolyard antics, a new survey of more than 2,100 physicians and nurses found these and other examples of bad behavior occur frequently on the front lines of health care — in our nation’s hospitals.
Barry Silbaugh, MD, chief executive officer of the American College of Physician Executives, hopes his organization can take a leading role in eliminating bad behavior in the health care industry.
“We were surprised this doesn’t seem to be getting better, despite talking about it for years,” said Barry Silbaugh, M.D., chief executive officer of the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE), which conducted the survey. “Our goal is to have zero tolerance for disruptive communication and behavior, because that affects the safety of the patients. And it presents problems in the workforce.”
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The Australian Nursing Federation says they are worried about patients who are left in corridors or waiting areas without monitors or other equipment.
“Nurses have told us they have cried at the end of their shifts,” said union official Elizabeth Dabars.
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A kind of fun story this! A hospital in Florida, Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System, is planning to replace the audible alarms with Iphones. It hopes that it will bring quieter and more precise communication among the nurses in the hospital! “On the floor where the iPods were deployed, the hospital reduced overhead pages from 172 in eight hours to 38. The 25 deployed iPods were receiving 4,000 messages per day.”
To read more on this story please click on this link
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With the front line staff of the UK’s NHS receiving their jabs against Swine Flu, and it now being given to high risk patients I wonder how many of you are dealing with it on a daily basis?
47 percent of nurses aren’t going to have the Jab according to a Nursing Times poll. Are these numbers surprising to you, what are the policies of the hospital that you are practicing in?
Please feel free to talk about it in the Nursing-Chat.com forums
Well, it’s hard to not know about the massive shortage of nurses in the USA right now. Even a quick search of any terms like “us nursing shortage 2009″ shows the frankly worrying numbers. Quite simply, there isn’t enough nurses per hospital in the United States.
So what’s the US goverment doing about it? All they can right now. More funding to train nurses, improve the wages and so on. They are also trying to lure more nurses from other countries in to the United States to help fill the positions.
So, I’m interested if any of you have been affected by it at all? Do you work in the USA and feel patient care is suffering, or do you work in a different country and want to become a nurse in the USA? As always feel free to talk about it in length in the forums, which can be accessed via the links at the top and right of the site.