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Oak Springs: Third fatality at Liverpool care home where 52 have symptoms

On any normal day the Oak Springs Care home in Liverpool is a hive of activity, laughter ringing out as its elderly residents enjoy dancing, creative crafts and bingo.

Yesterday it was quiet, the inhabitants confined to their bedrooms and stark notices on the door warning visitors against entering, as word spread that a third resident had died in hospital that morning after a corona-virus diagnosis. Of the 66 remaining residents, 52 are exhibiting symptoms.

Four were put on end-of-life care plans this week, a situation described by Andrea Lyons, the general manager, as “our absolute worst nightmare”.

She said: “These are people who we love, who we spend more time with than our families. It has been difficult beyond the worst you can imagine”.

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Source: The Times, 2 April 2020

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O2 Academy Brixton crush: Claims of not enough medical cover

Only half the recommended number of medical staff were on duty at the O2 Brixton Academy on the night of a crush at the south-west London venue.

Industry guidelines suggest there should have been medical cover of at least 10 people, including a paramedic and a nurse, but no paramedics or nurses were present.

Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, and security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, died in hospital following the crowd surge on 15 December 2022 at the concert.

The medical provider, Collingwood Services Ltd, said it was "fully confident" its team had "responded speedily, efficiently and with best practice".

Two whistleblowers who regularly work for Collingwood Services Ltd at Brixton told BBC Radio 4's File on 4 programme that medical cover at the south London gig had been "inadequate".

Neither of them was there when the crush happened, but one said he had spoken to colleagues who were.

"[They] had two student paramedics, so they're basically unqualified," said one whistleblower. "They have to be supervised by a paramedic, not by anybody of a lower grade. They didn't have appropriate supervision."

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Source: BBC News, 23 February 2023

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Nursing watchdog to miss target to cut soaring complaints backlog

The nursing watchdog will miss its target to tackle a 5,500-case backlog of complaints as referrals hit a record high.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council NMC has admitted it won’t hit its pledge to cut the number of unresolved complaints against nurses and midwives to 4,000 by March 2024.

The news comes as it faces questions over the way it handles complaints after The Independent revealed a number of serious allegations, including poor investigations that have led to fears of rouge nursing going unchecked. The newspaper exposes have prompted two independent reviews.

Details of the first two reviews have been revealed for the first time and will look at:

  • The NMC’s response to whistleblower concerns, including whether they were treated fairly and whether it acted fairly and reasonably.
  • Any evidence of cultural issues which may have impacted the NMC’s response to whistleblowing.
  • Whether concerns raised are substantiated and indicate a decision-making process by the NMC which is insufficient in protecting the public.
  • Evidence of shortcomings in guidance and training.

The senior whistleblower whose evidence prompted the review said: “The NMC has refused to change its approach to the investigations into my whistleblowing concerns to allow me to share and explain my evidence without fear of reprisal. I don’t think it is possible to draw safe conclusions about either how I have been treated or the impact of our culture on case work from reviewing only 13 of our current 5,500 open cases, and 6 closed cases and a selection of my emails.”

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Source: The Independent, 16 November 2023

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Nursing shortages in surgery increase risk of patient death

Surgery patients have a roughly 10% higher chance of dying on a ward with low nursing staffing levels, a new study has suggested.

The study, published by Oxford University Press and conducted by University of Southampton researchers, analysed data from 213,910 NHS hospital admissions of surgical patients between April 2015 and February 2020, to see the relationship between nurse staffing and adverse outcomes.

It found that both registered nursing and nursing support worker shortages on the surgery ward strongly correlated with increased risks of longer hospital stays, readmissions, hospital-developed conditions such as pressure ulcers and death.

According to the research, the relative risk of a surgical patient dying was increased by 9% for each day where registered nursing shortages were reported.

The study found evidence that registered nursing shortages correlated with a 5% increased risk of deep vein thrombosis, 6% for pneumonia and 6% for pressure ulcers.

Paul Meredith, lead author and senior researcher at the University of Southampton, said the research would act as a “timely reminder” about the impact of workload on patients outcomes.

“The safety of patients undergoing surgery is paramount and there is rightly a considerable emphasis on appropriate systems, policies, and procedures,” said Mr Meredith.

“This research is a timely reminder that workload is also a major driver of risk and that risks to surgical patients persist beyond the immediate operative period.

“Adequate nurse staffing on wards is vital to ensure the safety of patients undergoing and recovering from surgery.”

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Source: The Nursing Times, 24 September 2024

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Nursing shortages forcing NHS to rely on less qualified staff

The NHS is relying on less qualified staff to plug workforce gaps because of a huge shortage of nurses, according to a new report.

Support staff, such as healthcare assistants and nursing associates, have been used to shore up staffing numbers, said the Health Foundation charity.

The NHS has relied upon overseas recruitment, but a lack of EU nurses because of Brexit means it is now taking more nurses from countries such as India and the Philippines.

At present, there are almost 44,000 nursing vacancies across the NHS (12% of the nursing workforce), but this could hit 100,000 in a decade, the report said.

The report said most changes to the skill mix – meaning the ratio of fully qualified to less qualified staff – are implemented well and led by evidence, but added: “It is important that quality and safety are at the forefront of any skill mix change.”

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Source: The Guardian, 28 November 2019

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Nursing shortages are delaying spinal operations

Nursing shortages are contributing to children waiting up to three times longer for spinal surgery than pre-pandemic, a top surgeon has claimed.

Chris Adams says up to one in four operations are cancelled at NHS Lothian, with staffing the main reason.

Mr Adams also claims that some children are not being put on waiting lists as early as they should be.

NHS Lothian disputes some of Mr Adams' statements but says "significant pressures" are affecting waiting times.

The senior clinician, one of Scotland's three paediatric spinal surgeons, said he was speaking out of behalf of spinal patients and their families

The surgeon's claims appear in a new BBC Disclosure investigation into Scotland's NHS, which reveals that some children are waiting up to three times longer than pre-pandemic for spinal surgery, with some waiting more than a year. At least 51 out of a possible 190 planned spinal surgeries at RHCYP were cancelled at short notice in 2022, with nursing shortages understood to be the main cause

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Source: BBC News, 7 March 2023

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Nursing leaders point to ‘untenable’ health and care conditions in England

Nursing leaders have highlighted 10 pressures on health and social care services which they say have created “unsustainable, untenable” conditions.

A report from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said members working across health and social care in England dispute statements that the current situation in health and care is sustainable.

NHS hospital waiting times is listed as one of the 10 indicators with the report referring to this issue as “clearly a symptom of an unsustainable system”.

The report, 10 Unsustainable Pressures on the Health and Care System in England, refers to “corridor care” – time spent on trolleys in hospital corridors before being admitted to a hospital bed.

“We are clear that delivery of care within inadequate environments such as that frequently referred to as ‘corridor care’ or ‘corridor nursing’ is fundamentally unsafe and must not be normalised,” the report says.

The 10 pressures also include high COVID-19 infection rates, NHS nursing workforce vacancy rate, social care workforce vacancies and NHS elective/community waiting times.

The report says: “Action needs to be taken to retain as many nursing staff as possible in light of serious staffing vacancies, as well as high levels of exhaustion and burnout.

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Source: The Guardian, 15 November 2021

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Nursing crisis sweeps wards as NHS battles to find recruits

Ministers are being warned of a mounting workforce crisis in England’s hospitals as they struggle to recruit staff for tens of thousands of nursing vacancies, with one in five nursing posts on some wards now unfilled.

Hospital leaders say the nursing shortfall has been worsened by a collapse in the numbers of recruits from Europe, including Spain and Italy.

The most recent NHS figures reveal there are about 39,000 vacancies for registered nurses in England, with one in 10 nursing posts unfilled on acute wards in London and one in five nursing posts empty on mental health wards in the south-east.

Thousands of nursing shifts each week cannot be filled because of staff shortages, according to hospital safe staffing reports seen by the Observer.

Patricia Marquis, England director for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said: “There just aren’t enough staff to deliver the care that is needed, and we now have a nursing workforce crisis. We should never have got into a position where we were so dependent on international nurses. We are on a knife-edge.”

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Source: The Guardian, 9 October 2021

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Nursing and medical director failed to act on suicide risks, court told

A trust’s nursing director and associate medical director should have reduced risk on a mental health inpatient ward by ensuring bin liners were removed, a court has heard.

North East London Foundation Trust and its ward manager Benjamin Aninakwa have been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence concerning the death by suicide of mental health inpatient Alice Figueiredo, who died aged 22 on a NELFT ward in 2015.

Both the trust and the ward manager deny the charges.

Mr Aninakwa failed to remove bin bags from a communal toilet on Hepworth Ward at Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford, jurors heard on Monday, as the prosecution began to make its case. Prosecutors said this meant Ms Figueiredo was repeatedly able to access the plastic bin liners, which she had used in 18 earlier suicide attempts.

Giving the prosecution’s opening statement, Mr Duncan Atkinson KC said: “The failure in the completion and analysis of Datix records, and the failure to issue appropriate guidance to make plastic bags — a recognised means of self-harm generally; and a clear means by which Alice had herself self-harmed — inaccessible to patients like Alice, can be attributed to the senior management through the director of nursing and the associate medical director, amongst others.”

He added: “These failings by the trust and by its senior management were so truly exceptionally bad as to amount to gross negligence.”

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Source: HSJ, 4 November 2024

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Nurses’ well-being: ‘burnout’ too gentle a term for mental distress

Burnout is not a strong enough term to describe the severe mental distress nurses and other NHS staff are experiencing, says a doctor who has led efforts to improve care for health professionals.

Medical director of the NHS Practitioner Health service Dame Clare Gerada told MPs radical action was needed to improve the mental well-being of NHS staff.

She said nurses and other healthcare staff should be entitled to one hour of paid reflective time per month to be written into NHS employees’ contracts, alongside mentoring, careers advice and leadership training built in throughout people’s careers.

Dr Gerada was among senior clinicians who gave evidence this week to the Health and Social Care Committee, which is looking at issues around recruitment and retention of staff.

She told the committee the term ‘burnout’ simply did not cover the level of stress and mental anguish experienced by NHS workers. ‘Burnout is too gentle a term for the mental distress that is going on amongst our workforce,’ she said.

High suicide rates among nurses and doctors, high levels of bullying and staff being sacked because they have long-COVID are all signs the health service is failing to look after its employees, she said.

‘The symptoms we have got are the symptoms of an organisation that is unable to care for its workforce in the way that it should be caring,’ she said.

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Source: Nursing Standard, 25 March 2022

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Nurses’ strike: what’s at stake and how will it affect patients?

Ministers have offered about 1 million NHS staff in England – everyone bar doctors and dentists – a pay rise of at least £1,400 for 2022-23. That represents a rise of between 4% and 5% for staff covered by the longstanding Agenda for Change negotiating framework.

Health unions have rejected the £1,400. They want a rise that would at least match inflation – which is currently 10.1% – while the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is seeking inflation plus 5%. Without inflation-proof rises, staff will suffer a real-terms cut in their take-home pay, unions say.

“Our members will no longer tolerate a financial knife-edge at home and a raw deal at work”, said the RCN general secretary, Pat Cullen. Sara Gorton, head of health at Unison, added: “Inflation has already wiped out this year’s 72p-an-hour increase. The government must put pay right to spare the NHS, its staff and all those relying on its care from a dispute no one wants to see.”

The RCN has balloted its members across the UK. The results, published on Wednesday, show that a majority of nurses in most but not all hospitals and other NHS services across the four home nations have rejected the government’s offer and decided to strike in pursuit of better pay.

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, has condemned as “unacceptable” the fact that strikes will disrupt services and affect patients’ care. While he has not criticised nurses or any health union, he has blamed ministers for not negotiating with the RCN to try to avert strike action.

“I’m concerned, I think lots of people are concerned about the impact of disruption”, he told LBC’s Tonight with Andrew Marr on Monday. “That’s still a disruption to patients, which I think is unacceptable.”

If he were the health secretary he would see patients as his “first and foremost” responsibility, he said. “That’s why I think the government have to get a grip on this and get the unions around the table because there is a deal there to be done.”

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Source: The Guardian, 9 November 2022

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Nurses’ strike over May bank holiday presents ‘serious challenge’ to NHS, health leader warns

An all-out nurses’ strike over the May bank holiday will present “serious risks and challenges” to the NHS, a health leader has warned.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said the “unprecedented” strike action – which will involve staff in emergency departments, intensive care units and cancer care for the first time – was “extremely worrying”.

He also said the threat of coordinated industrial action with junior doctors could result in the “most difficult challenge” for the NHS to date.

Sir Julian told BBC Breakfast: “If this takes place in the way that it’s been described, then it would be the first time that we’ve seen nurses not working in those key areas, which of course would present serious risks and challenges for trusts to manage and mitigate that.”

Nick Hulme, chief executive of Ipswich and Colchester hospitals, told Radio 4 the latest round of nurses’ strikes will “significantly increase the risk to patients”, adding cancer patients will face greater risks as care could be delayed.

He said: “If there is a delay to cancer care, some delays won’t cause significant effects, but there are many people who have been waiting far too long for care and this will only exacerbate that risk."

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Source: The Independent, 16 April 2023

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Nurses' strike: New dates as union escalates dispute

Two new nurses' strikes will be held on 6 and 7 February in England and Wales - unless there is movement on pay, the Royal College of Nursing says.

The walkouts will be the biggest so far, with more than a third of NHS trusts in England and all but one Welsh health board affected.

It comes as nurses prepare to walk out on Wednesday and Thursday, following the two strike days before Christmas.

As required under trade union laws, emergency care will be covered.

Most of the 73 NHS trusts involved in the new set of strike dates are hospitals.

It means the biggest disruption is likely to be in pre-booked treatment such as hernia repair, hip replacements or outpatient clinics.

Services such as chemotherapy, kidney dialysis and intensive care will be staffed, however, as part of the emergency cover.

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Source: BBC News, 16 January 2023

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Nurses' strike in Northern Ireland: RCN confirms January strike dates

Nurses in Northern Ireland have announced their plans for further strike action in the new year.

Earlier this month, more than 15,000 nurses took to the picket lines over pay and staffing levels. It was the first time in the 103-year history of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) that its members had taken such action.

It has announced nurses will strike on 8 January and 10 January 2020, unless a resolution is reached.

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Source: BBC News, 24 December 2019

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Nurses' strike in England to be cut short after court ruling

A 48-hour strike by nurses in England over the Bank Holiday weekend will be cut short by a day after a High Court judge ruled it was partly unlawful.

The walkout in a row over pay by the Royal College of Nursing, due to start on Sunday, will now end on Monday.

RCN chief Pat Cullen said this was "the darkest day" of the dispute so far and the government needed to negotiate.

Downing Street said it was "regrettable" the government had to go to court and it had tried to avoid it.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay took legal action after NHS Employers said the last day of the planned strike was not covered by the mandate as the ballots closed on 2 November at midday.

The judge Mr Justice Linden ordered the RCN to pay the costs of the hearing, saying the union had showed "a high degree of unreasonableness", the outcome was "inevitable" and "instead of grasping the nettle and conceding" it had forced the case to court.

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Source: BBC News, 27 April 2023

 

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Nurses treating coronavirus spat at and called ‘disease spreaders’

Nurses caring for patients in the community have been spat at and called ‘disease spreaders’ by members of the public, according to England’s chief nurse and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

The nursing union urged members of the public to support the UK’s “socially critical” nursing workforce during the coronavirus outbreak.

The RCN said it had received anecdotal reports of community nurses receiving abuse while working in uniform. Separately, England’s Chief Nurse Ruth May said she had heard reports of nurses being spat at.

Susan Masters, the RCN’s director of policy, said abuse of nurses was “abhorrent behaviour”. She said a number of nurses had raised concerns about abuse on forums used by members to talk confidentially.

Describing one incident she told The Independent: “These were community nurses who had to go into people’s homes and were in uniform. Members of the public who saw them called out to them and said they were ‘disease spreaders’.”

She added: “We don’t know how big this problem is, it is anecdotal, but it is absolutely unacceptable.

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Source: The Independent, 21 March 2020

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Nurses to walk out of emergency departments for 48 hours

Nurses will walk out of emergency departments, intensive care units and cancer care services for the first time in the next wave of strike action.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced its members will strike for 48 hours, from 6am on 1 March until 6am on 3 March and that a range of derogations will be removed, including emergency care cover. 

More than 120 NHS organisations — covering all types of providers, integrated care systems and national organisations (see map below) — will be affected by the RCN’s walkout next month as it represents the most significant escalation of strike action yet by nurses.

Previously, quite extensive exemptions (known as “derogations”) have been agreed, but the RCN has this time indicated they will be much more limited. 

HSJ asked the RCN what services will remain subject to national derogations, but a spokesman said discussions are continuing at a national level as part of a commitment to “life and limb care”.

He added services will be reduced to an “absolute minimum” and hospitals will be asked to rely on members of other unions and clinical professions instead.

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Source: HSJ, 16 February 2023

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Nurses to vote on strikes in Royal College of Nursing’s first ever UK-wide ballot

Nurses will start voting on Thursday on whether to strike over pay amid warnings that record numbers are leaving the profession.

Around 300,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are being asked if they want to mount a campaign of industrial action in the union’s first UK-wide ballot.

The RCN said new analysis by London Economics to coincide with the ballot launch showed that pay for nurses has declined at twice the rate of the private sector in the last decade.

It is the first time in its 106-year history that the RCN has balloted members across the UK on strike action and it is urging them to vote in favour. 

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said in a message to those being balloted: “This is a once-in-a-generation chance to improve your pay and combat the staff shortages that put patients at risk.

“Governments have repeatedly neglected the NHS and the value of nursing. We can change this if together we say ‘enough is enough’.

“Record numbers are feeling no alternative but to quit and patients pay a heavy price. We are doing this for them too."

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Source: The Independent, 6 October 2022

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Nurses to retrain as doctors ‘more quickly’ without EU red tape

Leaving the EU means the UK has greater control over the training of healthcare professionals. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that nurses and other allied healthcare professionals will be able to retrain as doctors ‘more quickly’ now the UK has left the EU.

Under training standards set by the EU, existing healthcare professionals wishing to move into another area would have to complete a set standard of training, regardless of any existing health background or qualifications. Under the potential new system, a nurse who has been in the job for 10 years could benefit from training standards based upon experience and qualifications, rather than strict time-frames.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Our incredible NHS is full of highly-qualified and dedicated professionals – and I want to do everything I can to help them fulfil their ambitions and provide the best possible care for patients. Without being bound by EU regulations, we can focus on ensuring our workforce has the necessary training which is best suited to them and their experience, without ever compromising on our high standards of care or on patient safety. The plans we are setting out today mean that we can retrain healthcare workers and get them back to the frontline faster. This is good for patients, and good for our NHS."

Nursing leaders warn that the move needs to come without compromising patient care. Andrea Sutcliffe CBE, Chief Executive and Registrar at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said: “Having enough health and care professionals with the right knowledge, skills and values is vital to meet the individual needs of people across all four countries of the UK now and in the future."

“The NMC supports the wish to explore how education and training for registered nurses and midwives may be achieved in more flexible ways while ensuring our high standards are maintained and not compromised. Every nursing and midwifery professional must be safe and competent to provide the best care and support possible."

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Source: Nursing Notes, 9 February 2020

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Nurses to carry out surgery under NHS plans to slash waiting times

Nurses will be trained to perform surgery under new NHS measures to cut waiting times.

Nursing staff will be urged to undertake a two year course to become “surgical care practitioners” as part of the drive to slash waiting times but critics have warned it will worsen the nursing shortage. Nurses who qualify will be tasked with removing hernias, benign cysts and some skin cancers, according to the Daily Mail.

They will also assist during major surgeries such as heart bypasses and hip and knee replacements. The re-trained nurses will be tasked with closing up incisions after operations. 

The proposals are contained within the NHS’s People Plan, due to be unveiled next month. 

Lib Dem health spokesman Munira Wilson said: "This is a sticking plaster solution to very serious staffing crisis across our NHS workforce.'"

However the proposals were backed by Professor Michael Griffin, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He said: "We are totally supportive of this. We have very little anxiety about this.”

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Source: 24 February 2020

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Nurses take to streets ahead of RaDonda Vaught sentencing

Nurses from across the country are heading to Washington, D.C., and Nashville, Tenn., this week to march for better working conditions and to show support for nurse RaDonda Vaught. 

Ms. Vaught, 38, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult for a fatal medication error she made in December 2017 after overriding an electronic medical cabinet as a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Her case has spurred a national outcry from nurses who argue the ruling sets a dangerous precedent for the profession and will discourage nurses from speaking up about errors. 

Ms. Vaught's sentencing is scheduled for 13 May in Nashville, and she faces up to eight years in prison. Hundreds of nurses are planning to march in Nashville the day of the hearing to show their support for Ms. Vaught and to fight for better protection for nurses against criminal prosecution of errors. 

"We expect a large number of people to show up … just to show our strength in numbers and hope that the judge takes this into consideration and makes it slightly better by not sentencing her to any prison time," said Erica, a Las Vegas-based hospice nurse who is attending the sentencing.

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Source: Becker's Hospital Review, 13 May 2022

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Nurses strikes to end but now senior doctors vote to walk out

Nurses strikes are set to end but the disruption for NHS patients will continue as senior doctors are the latest to vote to walk out.

The Royal College of Nursing failed to reach the threshold needed to hold further action, with just 43% of the required 50% of members returning a ballot to hold fresh walkouts.

But more than 24,000 members of the British Medical Association (BMA) backed industrial action by 86% on a turnout of 71%, well above the legal threshold of 50%, with senior doctors set to strike on 20 and 21 July. It comes after the union last week announced a five-day strike by junior doctors will be held from 13 July.

NHS leaders have said consecutive walkouts from junior doctors and now consultants presents a “huge risk” for the health service.

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Source: The Independent, 27 June 2023

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Nurses should look out for ‘COVID toe’ in patients

A website is helping healthcare professionals and the public recognise whether a rash could be a sign of COVID-19.

The covidskinsigns site carries more than 400 images of rashes collected via the COVID Symptom Study app, which was set up during the first wave of the pandemic to gather information from the public about the signs and symptoms of virus.

According to the British Association of Dermatologists, which developed the website, the most common skin rashes are urticaria (a hive-like rash), a ‘prickly heat’ or chickenpox-type rash, and redness that looks like chilblains on the fingers or toes.

Rash was added as a sign to the app, which has been downloaded by 4 million people in the UK – reports emerged last spring of rashes in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.

In August 2020, Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust vascular nurse consultant Leanne Atkin warned discoloured toes could be a sign of COVID-19. She spoke out following a rise in the number of patients presenting to vascular clinics with signs that could be attributable to arterial disease. However, Dr Atkin said these patients often go on to test positive for COVID-19.

Dubbed ‘COVID toe’, the condition can have a similar appearance to chilblains, which commonly cause swelling and redness at the ends of toes and fingers, and was first identified as a sign of COVID-19 by podiatrists in Spain in April 2020.

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Source: Nursing Standard, 29 January 2021

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Nurses set to hold biggest-ever strike

The biggest ever strike by nurses looks set to go ahead.

The Royal College of Nursing is due to unveil the results of its ballot, which ended last week, in the next few days.

The final results are being counted but RCN sources say a large majority of nurses have voted in favour of action in a dispute over pay.

The RCN had recommended to its 300,000 members that they walk out. If strikes take place, they would affect non-urgent but not emergency care.

The vote has involved a series of individual workplace-based ballots across the UK and if nurses do not back action at a local level it is possible some hospitals and services will not be involved.

The government had appealed to nurses to "carefully consider" the impact on patients.

But Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said: "Huge numbers of staff - both experienced and newer recruits - are deciding they cannot see a future in a nursing profession that is not valued nor treated fairly.

She added: "Our strike action will be as much for patients as it is for nurses. We have their support in doing this."

Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden said the government had "well-oiled contingencies in place" for dealing with any strike action by nurses.

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Dowden said essential services would be prioritised, "but of course there would be an impact as a result of a strike like that".

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Source: BBC News, 6 November 2022

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