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Welcome to the tenth edition of the monthly CNO bulletin.

Contents this month:

1. NSF for older people: one year on
2. NHS-funded nursing care in nursing homes
3. Supplementary prescribing
4. Duty of care
5. Equality, social inclusion and fair treatment
6. New online midwife portal
7. Introducing the new Mental Health Nursing Director - Rachel Munton
8. This month's mental health news
9. National Institute for Mental Health in England [NIMHE]

1. NSF for older people: one year on

   • Database: Building on the success of the nurse consultant network for older people and intermediate care, Deborah Sturdy (Nurse Advisor Older People) is developing a database of modern matrons, nurse specialists and lead nurses for older people. The 2002 April NSF milestone requires hospitals to have identified a lead nurse for older people for their trust. PCT's may also have identified nurses in this role, and contact details will be useful. A meeting for post-holders is being planned and will provide an important networking opportunity, as well as assisting Deborah in her work within the Department of Health. Please send details, including name and contact address, to Deborah Sturdy, Nurse Advisor Older People, Department of Health Room G33,Wellington House,133-155 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8UG, or to Deborah.Sturdy@doh.gsi.gov.uk

   • Website update: The following sites will assist practitioners in finding information about older people policy initiatives:

     NSF older people: www.doh.gov.uk/nsf/olderpeople.htm (which includes a new website discussion forum for NSF older people champions)

     Free nursing care: www.doh.gov.uk/jointunit/freenursingcare

     Single assessment process www.doh.gov.uk/scg/sap

     Intermediate care www.doh.gov.uk/intermediatecare

   • Nurse consultant network: Deborah Sturdy has been meeting quarterly with nurse consultants across the speciality for a year. The network provides support to Deborah's work and acts as a peer group for nurses working in the field. Contact Deborah for more information at Deborah.sturdy@doh.gov.gsi.uk

2. NHS-funded nursing care in nursing homes

   The DH is commissioning a first stage evaluation of the implementation of NHS-funded nursing care in nursing homes. Full implementation of this policy will be required for all LA-funded and self-funded residents by April 2003.

   At the moment, self-funding residents have to have their registered nursing needs determined before they are admitted to a nursing home, whether the nursing home is an acute hospital intermediate care service or a home. PCT nurse co-ordinators should monitor this carefully to ensure that eligible people are receiving determinations. Contact Deborah at Deborah.sturdy@doh.gov.gsi.uk

3. Supplementary prescribing

   A twelve-week public consultation on the introduction of supplementary prescribing for nurses and pharmacists began on 16 April 2002. The consultation document, which seeks views on a definition of supplementary prescribing and a description of how it would work in practice, proposes that there should be no limit on the medical conditions to which supplementary prescribing could apply, and no limit to the medicines (excluding controlled drugs) that can be prescribed, other than the limits of the individual clinical management plan.

   The consultation document can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/supplementaryprescribing

   The deadline for responses is 9 July 2002.

4. Duty of care

   Please note that the following guidance on patients' property has been withdrawn:

   'patients in all hospitals should be warned that the hospital authority cannot accept responsibility for cash or valuables not deposited for safe custody.'

   (paragraph 25 H.M.(71)90 'hospital memorandum on patients' moneys')

   Notices warning patients that the trust will not accept liability for property and cash not deposited for safe custody are widely used. However, sometimes such disclaimers may be inappropriate in a care setting. Following Shifting The Balance of Power, the decision whether to display disclaimers is now a matter for local determination.

   The absence of disclaimers does not automatically mean that the trust will accept all liability for missing property, just as the presence of disclaimers does not automatically mean that trusts will not accept liability for property missing from patients.

   Trusts have a duty of care to patients of diminished responsibility. Trusts may find it is appropriate to issue more positive notices encouraging vulnerable patients or those who care for them to deposit cash and valuables with the trust for safekeeping, and to update local guidance.

5. Equality, social inclusion and fair treatment

   Are you briefed on the new positive duty to promote race equality in all aspects of service delivery and employment? Are you and those who work in your organisation on target to deliver the race equality scheme by May 2002?

   Last December the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) consulted widely on the draft Statutory Code of Practice on the Duty to promote Race Equality, with the consultation ending on 25 February 2002. Specific requirements of the scheme require public authorities including NHS trusts and PCTs to prepare and publish a race equality scheme by 31 May 2002. More information can be accessed at www.cre.gov.uk

   This important new duty, deriving from the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, requires NHS organisations to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and good race relations between persons of different racial groups. The detailed requirements are wide-ranging and necessitate action by lead nurses & nurse directors. The provisions will lead to more effective services and improved patient care.

   A commitment to equality, social inclusion and fair treatment for all lies at the heart of the Government's plans to modernise the NHS. For board-level guidance on delivering equality and fair treatment - why it is important for communities, patients and staff, and a summary of the legal requirements - see 'Promoting Equality and Diversity in the NHS: A Guide for Board Members' at www.doh.gov.uk/equality/compliance.htm

   For further information on the RRA and race equality schemes, see http://www.doh.gov.uk/race_equality/

6. New online midwife portal

   MIDIRS and the National electronic Library for Health ( NeLH) are pleased to announce the launch of an exciting new partnership. The organisations are combining their information expertise in an online resource which promises to benefit midwives and the mothers and babies in their care.

   Many health professionals will be familiar with MIDIRS' Informed Choice initiative. This comprehensive series of information leaflets examines the key decisions facing expectant mothers during pregnancy and is designed to assist them in making informed, objective choices. Ten leaflets for women link to corresponding publications for professionals, aiming to help midwives as they guide their clients through decisions.

   Access to this essential resource is now available online at the NeLH website at www.nelh.nhs.uk/maternity

   The NeLH midwife portal offers access to over seventy clinical resources including clinical guidelines such as the NICE fetal monitoring, the Cochrane library for systematic reviews and the virtual branch library for screening including antenatal information.

   As well as the Informed Choice leaflets, visitors to the website can now explore:

   • News: relevant and regularly updated
   • Organisations: details of useful maternity contacts
   • Events: diary listings for those who want to find out more
   • Reference Database: a selection of 6,000 relevant evidence based references taken from MIDIRS' popular midwifery database of over 87,000 entries

   The Informed Choice initiative is based upon MIDIRS' key commitments to information access and evidence-based care. It has at its heart a belief that women have a right to information about their maternity care and should be the primary decision-makers in childbirth. Both sets of leaflets are regularly updated to reflect recent research findings, allowing health professionals to utilise them with absolute confidence.

   The leaflets are:

   • Support in labour
   • Fetal heart rate monitoring
   • Ultrasound screening
   • Alcohol and pregnancy
   • Positions in labour and delivery
   • Epidural pain relief during labour
   • Breastfeeding or bottle feeding
   • Antenatal screening
   • Breech baby presentation
   • Place of birth

   To view Informed Choice information on the NeLH website, go to www.nelh.nhs.uk/maternity

7. Introducing the new Mental Health Nursing Director - Rachel Munton

   For regular visitors to this bulletin, I introduced myself to you last month as the new Director of Mental Health Nursing at the Department of Health. I invited you to contact me directly to share your views and questions about mental health nursing issues, and many of you did!

   Thank you for this, and for your [mostly!] supportive comments about the idea of a regular monthly section about mental health issues. It is clear that mental health is of relevance to all nurses, midwives and health visitors - I have asked one person who wrote in about my first piece to send me some feedback each month on what I have written: please feel free to join in!

   I plan to cover mental health issues in primary care, and an update on nurse consultants and modern matrons in future bulletins, but would be delighted if you would set the agenda.

   I hope you will find the mental health updates on the CNO bulletin informative. Please continue to contact me direct on rachel.munton@doh.gsi.gov.uk

   Rachel Munton

   This month's mental health news

   • The Mental Health Policy Implementation Guide on acute inpatient care provision was launched on 30 April. Find it at: Adult Acute Inpatient Care Provision Guidance

   • The National Minimum Standards for General Adult Services in psychiatric intensive care units and low secure environments can be found at: National Minimum Standards for Psychiatric Intensive Care Units and Low Secure Environments

   • The Dual Diagnosis Good Practice Guidance can be found at: Dual Diagnosis Good Practice Guidance

   • Draft National Suicide Prevention Strategy: you have the opportunity to contribute to the consultation on the Draft National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England before 26 July 2002. As nurses in whatever setting, (accident & emergency nursing, mental health, child and adolescent nursing, and midwifery) your professional perspectives would really be valuable so please take a look. There are some specific consultation questions at the end of each of the six goals and details of how to respond are on page seven of the document. www.doh.gov.uk/mentalhealth/suicideprevention.htm

   • You can access electronic copies of all of these publications and more on www.doh.gov.uk/mentalhealth/

     For print copies of these publications contact:
     Department of Health Publications
     PC Box 777
     London SE1 6XH
     Tel: 08701 555 455
     Fax: 01623 724524
     E-mail doh@prolog.uk.com

   National Institute for Mental Health in England [NIMHE]

   I would also like to involve you in the National Institute for Mental Health in England [NIMHE] strategy development, and to encourage you to attend the conference between 25 and 27 June at the Civic Centre, Newcastle. You can attend one or more days, and there are concessionary rates for students and service users. NIMHE is committed to an interdisciplinary and interagency approach, so please share your nursing perspectives: now is the time!

   If you wish to receive more information about NIMHE, attend the conference, or can offer some examples of positive practice, especially involving service users and carers, Ingrid Steele would be delighted to hear from you at ingrid.steele@doh.gsi.gov.uk

   Please send your feedback to dh-test-emails@doh.gsi.gov.uk

   We also look forward to receiving contributions for future editions - please contact Beverley.Akwara@doh.gsi.gov.uk

   Click here to access CNO bulletin on the Internet: http://www.doh.gov.uk/cno/bulletinindex.htm

   If there are any changes in your email details, let us know at email-addresses@doh.gsi.gov.uk

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copyright: © | published: July, 2002