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Welcome to the 14th edition of the monthly CNO bulletin. This bulletin aims to provide you with updated information about relevant issues in the NHS, which will be of specific interest to nurses, midwives and health visitors. It will also enable you to obtain further detail about particular issues through hypertext links. Contents this month: 1. Improving working lives
1. Improving working lives: achieving IWL targets
The national training programme for improving working lives assessors has now been rolling out across the NHS for the last nine months, and over 630 assessors have now been trained. Further training has been commissioned to bring in trained assessors from PCTs so that a wide pool of trained assessors is available to support the on-going assessment and accreditation process.
IWL assessors play a critical role in the implementation of the IWL standard by committing their time and energy to helping organisations consolidate modern employment practices. Despite the number of trained assessors already available, those setting up the assessments are finding it increasingly difficult to get assessors to commit to assessment dates. It is essential that trained assessors are released so that they can take part in the assessment and accreditation process, thereby enabling organisations to achieve the IWL standard.
WL is a central theme of The NHS plan and HR in the NHS Plan (launched in July). This is a pioneering project and IWL assessors have a crucial role to play in helping the NHS forward. For further information please contact your IWL lead – details are available on the IWL web site at www.doh.gov.uk/iwl 2. Childcare strategy and funding The NHS childcare strategy is increasingly playing a key role in the recruitment and retention of staff in the NHS. The childcare strategy centres on providing good quality, accessible and affordable childcare. Currently the main focus of the strategy is the development of on-site nurseries. We anticipate that a further 7,500 places will be created by 2004. For further information go to www.doh.gov.uk/hrinthenhs/childcarestrategy.htm
The second NHS childcare toolkit, Beyond workplace nurseries, was launched in July this year by health secretary Alan Milburn. This toolkit has been developed to help the service meet other childcare needs and responds to the second phase of the NHS childcare strategy. To find out more visit www.doh.gov.uk/iwl/newnhschildcaretoolkit.pdf For further information please contact Nicki Nutter on 0113 2545779, or email 3. Leadership through effective HR management A new 18-month programme has been established to help participants to apply the latest and best practice in HR management and to deliver real improvements in patient care. It is delivered by a consortium of world class organisations supported by the very best leaders and opinion shapers from the DH and the NHS. The programme is designed for all NHS leaders from a variety of professional backgrounds, for example general administration, finance, nursing and clinical as well as HR. Applicants are reminded that entry forms should be completed as soon as possible. Information on how to apply and further details can be found at www.hrmdev.com
4. Clinical supervision in prison nursing The guide Clinical Supervision in Prison Nursing - Getting Started has been designed to help nursing teams develop robust systems for clinical supervision in the prison environment, in collaboration with NHS partners. It has been produced following a detailed study commissioned by the prison health policy unit, between the United Kingdom Central Council and the Foundation of Nursing Studies. For further information please contact Beverly Anderson on 0207 972 1302 or go to http://www.doh.gov.uk/prisonhealth/clinicalsupervision.pdf Hard copies can be ordered from the NHS Responseline on 08701 555455. . Many trusts are experiencing difficulties because of the widely publicised delays in processing applications for disclosures by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The Department of Health is in negotiation with the Home Office and CRB over measures to improve or alleviate the situation. Meanwhile guidance has been prepared to assist trusts in dealing with these problems and can be accessed at www.doh.gov.uk/crb/index.htm If there are particular problems in dealing with the CRB, please contact Karen Lea at karen.lea@doh.gsi.gov.uk, 0113 254 7351 or Gordon Fleck at gordon.fleck@doh.gsi.gov.uk, 0113 254 6575. Gordon or Karen may be able to help with particularly urgent cases or other problems that cannot be resolved locally. 6. Launch of National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England England’s first ever National Suicide Prevention Strategy was launched on 16 September by health minister Jacqui Smith. The strategy has been developed under the direction of the national director for mental health Professor Louis Appleby. It will ensure that steps are being taken to meet the target of reducing the death rate from suicide and undetermined injury by at least a fifth by 2010 as laid out in Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation. It follows a three-month consultation period during which over 300 comments were received. The factors associated with suicide are many and varied. A coherent, co-ordinated strategy will therefore need the collaboration of a wide range of organisations and individuals. It is intended to be an evolving strategy which will develop in light of progress and emerging evidence. Implementation of the strategy will be taken forward by the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) as one of its core programmes of work. The National Suicide Prevention Strategy can be found on the Department of Health website www.doh.gov.uk/mentalhealth/suicideprevention.htm and on the NIMHE website www.nimhe.org.uk
Copies can also be ordered from Department of Health Publications, PO Box 777, London SE1 6XH. For further information contact Keith Foster on 0113 2543817 or at keith.foster@doh.gsi.gov.uk
7. Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs): How to buy a PPC from October 2002 People who have to pay for more than five prescriptions in four months or 14 items in 12 months may find it cheaper to buy a prescription charge pre-payment certificate (PPC). A new poster is now available for display in libraries and other internal or external local authority information points. The poster can be viewed at http://www.doh.gov.uk/nhscharges/hc20poster.pdf Posters are available free of charge from: Department of Health, PO Box 777, London, SE1 6XH Fax: 01623 724 524 NHS Responseline: 08701 555 455. For further information on prescription charges contact Veena Kavia on 0207 210 5925 or at veena.kavia@doh.gsi.gov.uk 8. Good practice guidelines for renal dialysis/transplantation units: Prevention and control of blood-borne virus infection These guidelines, published in September, are based on the recommendations of a working group set up for the Department of Health by the public health laboratory service. They replace those issued in 1972 by the Rosenheim advisory group on preventing hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission in renal dialysis and renal transplantation units. Since then, new blood-borne viruses (BBVs) including HIV and hepatitis C have been identified. The new guidelines describe the precautions that should be taken by renal units to prevent the transmission of BBVs generally. The guidance is available at www.doh.gov.uk/cmo/renalguide/index.htm Hard copies are available from Department of Health PO Box 777, London SE1 6XH. Tel 08701 555 455. Fax: 01623 724524 (Quote ref:29117). For further information contact Ruth Hickson on 0207 9726506 or ruth.hickson@doh.gsi.gov.uk 9. Dealing with Harassment by NHS Service Users On 5 September, John Hutton launched a new campaign to tackle harassment of NHS staff by service users. As part of the zero tolerance campaign all NHS HR Directors have been issued with copies of campaign posters and the new guidance 'Dealing With Harassment by NHS Service Users - A guide for NHS Managers' to support NHS managers and staff to deal effectively with all forms of harassment. The new guidance applies to all grades and levels of staff working in the NHS, and explains to managers and staff how to recognise harassment and the steps that can be taken to both prevent and address it in the NHS workplace The guidance and posters are available at http://www.nhs.uk/zerotolerance or from the NHS Responseline telephone: 08701 555455 For further information contact: Meena Paterson or Eileen Calline, NHS Employment Polic e-mail: meena.paterson@doh.gsi.gov.uk
or eileen.calline@doh.gsi.gov.uk
10. Road traffic accidents: Taking blood specimens The Police Reform Act 2002 contains new powers for taking blood specimens from those involved in road traffic accidents, who are unable to consent, to test for levels of alcohol or drugs. The new powers come into force on 1 October 2002. NHS trusts should ensure that medical staff who may be responsible for the care of those involved in road traffic accidents, in particular accident & emergency staff, are aware of the new provisions. Guidance from the Department of Health is available at http://www.doh.gov.uk/consent/praguidance/index.htm For further information contact Hugh Whittall on 020 7972 1435 or hugh.whittall@doh.gsi.gov.uk
11. NHS international nurses advice line A telephone advice line has been set up to provide advice and assistance to internationally recruited nurses who may have been exploited by unscrupulous recruitment agencies or who find they are unable to enter a supervised practice programme. The service is available during office hours. The line expects to handle three main types of caller:
The telephone line is one part of a programme of work being carried out by a stakeholder group to identify and tackle the loopholes and system failures which can result in the exploitation of vulnerable nurses recruited from overseas. For further information contact Liz Kidd on 0113 2545844. International nurses advice line: 08458 505888 12. Ghana – international recruitment to cease The Ghanaian minister of health Dr Afryie met Debbie Mellor in June to ask the UK to stop recruiting nurses from his country. It is possible that the recruits are destined for the private healthcare sector, as the NHS now has the code of practice in place, as well as a network of international recruitment co-ordinators who monitor and support NHS organisations in ethical recruitment and workforce expansion methods. Ghana is a developing country that is facing many great challenges such as AIDS/HIV, malnutrition and severe health care personnel shortfalls. If your organisation was considering actively recruiting from Ghana using an agent then please reconsider and contact your regional international recruitment co-ordinator for advice. The code of practice and list of local international recruitment co-ordinators is available from www.doh.gov.uk/international-recruitment and from the NHS Responseline on 08701 555 455. 13. NHS prescription charges: Maternity exemption certificates and applications for maternity exemptions Pregnant women or women who have had a baby in the last 12 months can get free prescriptions if they have a valid prescription charge exemption certificate. To get a certificate the patient needs to complete an application form (FW8) and have it countersigned by their GP, midwife or health visitor. From 1 October 2002, responsibility for issuing these certificates will transfer to the Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA). Midwives or health visitors (and doctors) should therefore use the new version of application form FW8 from 1 October 2002. Completed FW8s should be sent to the PPA in the envelope code number PPAEXENV. Supplies of the new FW8 and envelope will be distributed to all GP practices in September 2002. If you are not attached to a GP practice and cannot access supplies of forms or envelopes via this route, you will need to obtain them from the form supply unit at your PCT or its agency (normally the same unit which supplies prescriptions forms). When you receive the new application forms, you should destroy any existing ones. If you have any queries regarding the new arrangements, please telephone 0191 203 5050 or go to www.ppa.org.uk 14. New MMR website provides ‘one-stop-shop’ for MMR information The Department of Health’s immunisation information team has launched a new website to help parents in their decisions about MMR. www.mmrthefacts.nhs.uk provides a single, comprehensive, credible information source on the vaccine and the three diseases. Included are frequently asked questions, a news section and literature references to enable parents to examine scientific research papers on MMR dating from February 1998. Any questions parents can’t find answers to can be submitted through the site to the DH immunisation information team who aim to reply within a week. 15. Mental health in primary care: NHS Direct and walk-in centres A generic mental health resource has been established within NHS Direct in response to the implementation of the National Service Framework for Mental Health. Progress to date includes:
The NHS Direct mental health team is supporting walk-in centres to run pilot schemes developing mental health resources in primary care. This will be achieved by extending the NHS Direct mental health achievements to walk in centres. The NHS Direct mental health team is also working with helplines through a mental health helplines partnership forum. Co-ordinated by the telephone helpline association, this initiative aims to increase the capacity, capability and quality of helpline provision. Partnership with voluntary sector organisations and consultation with service users remains central to current and future developments. Further information is available from: Carolyn Steele, NHS Direct national lead on 020 7972 4154 or carolyn.steele@doh.gsi.gov.uk George Askoorum, NHS Direct regional mental health manager, North on 01924 889 889 or george.askoorum@wyorkshire.nhsdirect.nhs.uk Jacqui Jedrzejewski, NHS Direct regional mental health manager, South on 0188 3335 560 or Leon@jedrzejewski.fsnet.co.uk 16. Message from Rachel Munton, mental health nursing director There is always a lot going on for mental health nurses, and this summer has been no exception! Capturing responses to the draft mental health bill has been critical and this has been achieved through a range of nursing workshops, numerous e-mails, conference presentations and articles in the nursing press. Mental health nurses’ response to the consultation document has been varied with some important points being made. A full report capturing these will be available soon. A couple of upcoming events will also underline that mental health issues are every nurse’s business! A joint mental health workshop organised with the nursing and midwifery council will be the ‘first’ of its kind. And a mental health nursing update at the autumn round of the CNO business meetings will review these issues with nurse executive directors on a national basis. This month, I am delighted a colleague from NHS Direct has prepared an update on mental health issues – I hope you find it interesting! Mental health nursing advisory & development group within NIMHE The first meeting of the mental health nursing advisory and development group within NIMHE was such a success it will be followed by a further meeting in the future. This group aims to develop a work programme that responds to, and anticipates, the nursing contribution to policy developments and implementation. It will provide expert consultation, commentary and communication on all matters relating to mental health nursing. The group should become an accessible focal point for anyone looking for a mental health nursing perspective with a clear focus on implementation and outcome. As always, please contact me direct to raise any queries or ask for further information. Rachel Munton
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