Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Nurse'.
Found 172 results
-
Content Article
-
Content Article
-
Content Article
Medication safety: go beyond the basics
Claire Cox posted an article in Medication including labelling
-
Content Article
Further serious patient safety incidents: why are staff still not being listened to when concerns are raised?
Anonymous posted an article in Whistle blowing
Complaints from staff are not being heeded. Why is it that healthcare staff's opinions and pleas for their safety and the safety of patients do not matter? Here are just some examples of where safety has been compromised: Disposable gowns are being reused by keeping them in a room and then reusing after 3 days. There were no fit tests. Staff were informed by management that "one size fits all, no testers or kits available and no other trusts are doing it anyway". Only when the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced recently that fit tests were a legal requirement, then fit tests were given. I queried about fit checks only to discover that it was not part of the training and, therefore, staff were wearing masks without seals for three months before fit tests were introduced and even after fit tests! I taught my colleagues how to do fit checks via telephone. There was no processes in place at the hospital to aid staff navigation through the pandemic (no red or green areas, no donning or doffing stations, no system for ordering PPE if it ran out); it was very much carry on as normal. A hospital pathway was made one week ago, unsigned and not referenced by governance, and with no instructions on how to don and doff. Guidelines from the Association for Perioperative Practice (AFPP) and Public Health England (PHE) for induction and extubation are not being followed – only 5 minutes instead of 20 minutes. Guidelines state 5 minutes is only for laminar flow theatres. None of the theatres in this hospital have laminar flow. One of my colleagues said she was not happy to cover an ENT list because she is BAME and at moderate/high risk with underlying conditions. She had not been risk assessed and she felt that someone with lower or no risk could do the list. She was removed from the ENT list, told she would be reprimanded on return to work and asked to write a report on her unwillingness to help in treating patients. The list had delays and she was told if she had done the list it would not have suffered from delays. Just goes to show, management only care about the work and not the staff. It was only after the list, she was then risk assessed. Diathermy smoke evacuation is not being used as recommended. Diathermy is a surgical technique which uses heat from an electric current to cut tissue or seal bleeding vessels. Diathermy emissions can contain numerous toxic gases, particles and vapours and are usually invisible to the naked eye. Inhalation can adversely affect surgeons’ and theatre staff’s respiratory system. If staff get COVID-19 and die, they become a statistic and work goes on as usual. The examples listed above are all safety issues for patients and staff but, like me, my colleagues are being ignored and informed "it's a business!" when these safety concerns are raised at the hospital. The only difference is they are permanent staff and their shifts cannot be blocked whereas I was a locum nurse who found my shifts blocked after I spoke up. Why has it been allowed to carry on? Why is there no Freedom To Speak Up Guardian at the hospital? Why has nothing been done? We can all learn from each other and we all have a voice. Sir Francis said we need to "Speak Up For Change", but management continues to be reactive when we try to be proactive and initiate change. This has to stop! Actions needed We need unannounced inspections from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and HSE when we make reports to them. Every private hospital must have an infection control team and Freedom To Speak Up Guardian in post. -
News Article
Coronavirus: Nurses' leaders urge 'care for those who caring'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Nurses' leaders want all healthcare employers - including the NHS - to "care for those who have been caring" during the coronavirus crisis. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is calling for better risk assessments; working patterns and mental health care for those on the front line. It warns many may be suffering from exhaustion, anxiety and other psychological problems. The Department of Health and Social Care said support was a "top priority". The RCN has released an eight-point plan of commitments it wants to see enforced to mark the 100 days since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic. Amongst its suggestions are a better COVID-19 testing regime for healthcare workers and more attention paid to the risks posed to ethnic minority nurses. It says employers and ministers "must tackle the underlying causes which have contributed to worse outcomes for Bame staff". Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 June 2020 -
Content Article
Experiences from a shielding frontline worker
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Coronavirus (COVID-19)
-
News ArticleAmid warnings that BAME nursing staff may be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a Royal College of Nursing (RCN) survey reveals that they are more likely to struggle to secure adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) while at work. The latest RCN member-wide survey shows that for nursing staff working in high-risk environments (including intensive and critical care units), only 43% of respondents from a BAME background said they had enough eye and face protection equipment. This is in stark contrast to 66% of white British nursing staff. There were also disparities in access to fluid-repellent gowns and in cases of nursing staff being asked to re-use single-use PPE items. The survey found similar gaps for those working in non-high-risk environments. Meanwhile, staff reported differences in PPE training, with 40% of BAME respondents saying they had not had training compared with just 31% of white British respondents. Nearly a quarter of BAME nursing staff said they had no confidence that their employer is doing enough to protect them from COVID-19, compared with only 11% of white British respondents. Dame Donna Kinnair, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, said: “It is simply unacceptable that we are in a situation where BAME nursing staff are less protected than other nursing staff. Read full story Source: Royal College of Nursing, 27 May 2020
-
Content ArticleKey findings Over a third of respondents felt pressure to care for individuals with possible or confirmed COVID-19 without adequate protection. This is significantly worse for BAME nursing staff where over half (56%) felt pressure to work without the correct PPE. One in five respondents in non-high-risk areas are concerned about the supply of eye/face protection, with a further 12% concerned there are not currently enough for them to use. The situation is worse for BAME respondents where one in four said there was not enough eye/face protection or enough fluid-repellent surgical masks for them to use during their shift Twice as many BAME respondents said there were not enough surgical masks, disposable plastic aprons and disposable gloves than white British respondents. A third of respondents have not received training on what standard PPE to wear and when they should wear it. Training is more prevalent in hospital settings, than care home and community settings. Those working in a care homes were most likely to report that they felt pressured to care for individuals with possible or confirmed COVID-19 without adequate protection (41%) than those working in a hospital (38%) or the community (24%).
-
News Article
Italy's medical workers: 'We became heroes but they've already forgotten us'
Clive Flashman posted a news article in News
"I'm not sure I want to be a nurse anymore," she tells me. "I've seen more people die in the past two months than in the whole six years." Some 70% of health workers dealing with COVID-19 in Italy's hardest-hit areas are suffering from burnout, a recent study shows. "This is actually the hardest moment for doctors and nurses," says Serena Barello, the author of the study. Read story Source: BBC News, 26 May 2020 -
Content Article
-
Content Article
-
Content Article
-
News ArticleDelays in diagnosing and treating people with cancer could lead to more years of lost life than with COVID-19, according to a leading cancer expert. A drop-off in screening and referrals means roughly 2,700 fewer people are being diagnosed every week, Cancer Research UK says. Cancer screening has paused in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with few invitations sent out in England. People are still advised to contact their GP with worrying symptoms. But Richard Sullivan, professor of cancer and global health at King's College London, said there was more fear of Covid-19 than of having cancer at the moment. With GPs more difficult to contact than normal, this was resulting in a "dramatic drop-off" in referrals to specialists, he said. "Most modellers in the UK estimate excess of deaths is going to be way greater than we are going to see with Covid-19," he said. Read full story Source: 22 April 2020, BBC News
-
News Article
Nurse shortage causes Nightingale hospital to turn away patients
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Dozens of patients with Covid-19 have been turned away from the NHS Nightingale hospital in London because it has too few nurses to treat them, the Guardian can reveal. The hospital has been unable to admit about 50 people with the disease and needing “life or death” care since its first patient arrived at the site, in the ExCeL exhibition centre, in London’s Docklands, on 7 April. Thirty of these people were rejected because of a lack of staff. The planned transfer of more than 30 patients from established London hospitals to the Nightingale was “cancelled due to staffing issues”, according to NHS documents seen by the Guardian. The revelation raises questions about the role and future of the hospital, which up until Monday had only treated 41 patients, despite being designed to include almost 4,000 beds. One member of staff said: “There are plenty of people working here, including plenty of doctors. But there aren’t enough critical care nurses. They’re already working in other hospitals and being run ragged there. There aren’t spare people [specialist nurses] around to do this. That’s the problem. That leads to patients having to be rejected, because there aren’t enough critical care nurses.” Read full story Source: The Guardian. 21 April 2020 -
Content Article
-
Content Article
Standard Operating Procedure for ICU/HDU Handover
Claire Cox posted an article in Transfers of care
-
Content Article
BBC Radio 4: The NHS Frontline
Claire Cox posted an article in Good practice and useful resources
Listen to various audio sessions by BBC Radio 4 as Bradford Royal Infirmary cares for patients with COVID 19 in their hospital. -
News Article
One in 10 hospital nurses absent due to coronavirus
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
One in 10 nurses working in acute hospitals are off work due to coronavirus, according to internal NHS figures seen by HSJ. Internal NHS figures from the COVID-19 national operational dashboard state that, on Saturday, English acute trusts reported that 41,038 nurses and midwives were absent . 28,063 (68%) were COVID-19 related. The total nursing and midwifery headcount in acute trusts is about 280,000 — meaning roughly 10% are off on covid-related absence. There are ongoing complaints from staff about their access to COVID-19 tests — which, it is hoped, will hope reduce the absence rates from suspected cases — while national officials say these are now being made available. Read full story Source: HSJ, 14 April 2020 -
Content Article
-
Content Article
COVID-19: a guide to the big issues for nurses
Claire Cox posted an article in Good practice and useful resources
-
Content Article
-
Content Article
-
Content Article
Covid-19 Resource Centre: Critical Care
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Coronavirus (COVID-19)
.jpg.37f72dfe344f79ad2921be035bfde84f.jpg)
🚩 Latest: ICS: Guidance for prone positioning of the conscious COVID patient 2020 National Patient Safety Alert Interruption of high flow nasal oxygen during transfer British Association of Critical Care Nurses (BACCN): COVID-19 nurse educational resource centre National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE): COVID-19 rapid guideline: critical care in adults COVID-19 guidance on DNACPR and verification of death Resuscitation Council (UK): COVID-19 Resources: Healthcare Settings NHS England: Specialty guides: Coronavirus treatment Royal College of Nursing (RCN): Frequently asked questions about COVID-19 and work Guidance on redeployment - COVID-19 World Health Organization (WHO): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) technical guidance: Infection prevention and control / WASH (including PPE guidance) West Middlesex Hospital: Talking to relatives: a guide to compassionate phone communication during Covid-19 Share your #safetystories Have you noticed things that aren't working well, or seem unsafe? Help us raise awareness of safety issues by sharing your story here. Or perhaps you have introduced an initiative in your hospital to help improve safety for staff or patients during the pandemic? Like the nurse who introduced a PPE Safety Officer Role to reassure staff and prioritise their safety. Share your good practice and safety tips.
