Welcome to the seventh edition of the monthly CNO bulletin.
These bulletins aim to provide you with updated information about relevant
issues in the NHS which will be of specific interest to nurses, midwives
and health visitors. They also enable you to obtain further detail about
particular issues through hypertext links.
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Nurse recruitment
The key NHS Plan target of having 20,000 more nurses and midwives
in the health service by 2004 has already been achieved, according
to figures released this month.
The NHS Plan pledged that between September 1999 and September 2004
there would be 20,000 more nurses working in the NHS. Between September
1999 and September 2001 there was a net increase of 20,740. The total
headcount of qualified nurses working in the NHS rose by 4.3% last
year - the biggest increase of qualified nurses on record - by 14,400
to 350,400.
Health Secretary Alan Milburn announced the news at a summit of nurses
and nursing leaders in London, held to discuss further ways to retain
staff and improve their working lives. Mr Milburn said the success
of the Return to Practice initiative contributed to the increase in
nurses, along with better pay, improved childcare and more flexible
working. The 10,000th nurse returner - Karen Gronhaug,
from Barnet Hospital - was among the group of nurses, midwives and
health visitors contributing to the summit.
NHS workforce statistics can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/public/NHSWorkforce.htm
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New recruitment campaign
Building on the success of the previous NHS recruitment campaign,
the new advertisement, launched on 13 February, focuses on the care
of a young woman with a facial injury - 'It took 74 people to put
a smile back on my face.'
NHS Careers - tel: 0845 60 60 655
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Transcultural nursing & healthcare
Health care delivery that demonstrates respect for patients' race,
religion, ethnicity and culture will be the subject of a conference
next month. Practitioners, educators and researchers will share their
experiences of implementing culturally competent care at the event,
jointly organised by the Transcultural Nursing & Health Care Association,
the Research Centre for Transcultural Studies in Health, Middlesex
University and the Foundation of Nursing Studies.
Date: March 5th 2002
Venue: The Commonwealth Conference & Events Centre, Commonwealth Institute,
Kensington High Street, London.
Further details: http://www.fons.org/networks/tcnha
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Immunisation and vaccination
A professional letter was issued on 4 January advising that Group
C conjugate Meningococcal vaccine should be made available for people
aged 20 to 24. The letter also advised that pneumococcal vaccine should
be given to at-risk children under 2 years old. The letter can be
found at www.doh.gov.uk/cmo
Health Promotion England has a range of information resources on
immunisation and vaccination www.immunisation.org.uk
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Infectious Disease Strategy
The Chief Medical Officer's Infectious Disease Strategy, 'Getting
Ahead of the Curve', was published on 10 January. The strategy describes
the formation of the new National Infection Control and Health Protection
Agency.
The strategy recommends that intensified action is required to control:
- health care associated infection
- tuberculosis
- antimicrobial resistance
- blood-borne and sexually transmitted viruses.
Other recommendations include a programme of new vaccine development,
a strengthened, integrated approach to infection in childhood and
enhanced programmes of professional development. See www.doh.gov.uk/cmo/idstrategy
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Patient involvement
Plans to fully involve patients in their care and to give them the
support to manage their own day-to-day health were discussed by Health
Minister Hazel Blears, academics, professionals and patient groups
at the Supporting Self-Care conference at the Lowry Gallery in Salford
on 29 January.
The discussion informed initiatives already announced by the Department
of Health to support self-care, such as NHS Direct, the new Patient
Advice and Liaison Service, and an Expert Patients Programme for patients
with chronic conditions
Further information on the Government's proposals for patient and
public involvement in the NHS can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/involvingpatients.
The Expert Patient - A new approach to chronic disease management
for the 21st
Century, published in September 2001, is available at www.doh.gov.uk/healthinequalities/ep_report.pdf
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Nurse advisors
Innovative new posts have been created to ensure quality nursing
advice is available to policymakers in the Department of Health.
The aim is to ensure NHS policy is developed and implemented with
the contribution of nurses who have a real understanding of the opportunities
and difficulties of implementing change on the ground in primary care.
The nine new advisors bring a great deal of experience of nursing
in primary care, with a track record of innovation and leadership,
and a commitment to improving services for the public.
Initially the nurse advisers will contribute to the key policy priorities
of PCTs, expanding PMS pilots, improving access to services and developing
new ways of working in primary care and public health.
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NHS Direct developments
The National Audit Office published the report of its investigation
into NHS Direct in England on 25 January. The report is generally
positive and praises the way in which the nurse-led service was implemented.
It highlights:
- the high public satisfaction enjoyed by NHS Direct
- the service's good safety record
- the positive impact which the service is beginning to have on
demand in other parts of the NHS - in particular GP out-of-hours
services
NHS Direct activity hit highest-ever levels in December, taking over
511,000 calls. To date NHS Direct has taken over 9,000,000 calls and
is averaging 120,000 calls per week.
The National Audit Office report is at www.nao.gov.uk/publications/nao_reports
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Care home standards
The National Care Standards Commission has issued new guidance for
care homes which focuses on issues of room size, lifts, baths and
shared rooms.
The guidance has been welcomed by the major associations representing
care homes: the Registered Nursing Homes Association, the National
Care Homes Association and the Independent Health Care Association.
The Department of Health is currently publishing the first-ever set
of national minimum standards for social care services and private
health care. The standards will be used from 1 April by the NCSC to
register and inspect 40,000 care services including care homes, children's
homes and private hospitals.
The guidance is available on www.doh.gov.uk/ncsc
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NHS-funded nursing care in nursing homes
The implementation of NHS-funded nursing care in Nursing Homes is
now under way for all existing self-funded residents.
A website will be available next month to act as an interactive exchange
and information source for practitioners across England. In response
to audit issues raised with lead nurses, a suggested audit record
is already available at www.doh.gov.uk/jointaudit/freenursingcare.
The early spring will see an evaluation of this phase of implementation,
to inform roll-out of the policy for all residents by April 2003.
A census of self-funders is currently under way (for return by 22
February) which will inform financial allocations for 2002/3. PCTs
and Social Services partners should begin planning now towards full
implementation in April 2003. A working group has been set up to develop
practice guidance for these stages, which will be placed on the website.
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Delayed Discharge
In October 2001 the government announced an extra £300 million for
this year and next as "cash for change" to end delayed discharge.
This has been allocated to councils as the Building Care Capacity
grant.
In December an additional £425m was earmarked for 2002/3 to enable
capacity to be built up across the health and social care system.
This will be used partly to commission extra activity and pay for
the resulting additional costs of community health and social care.
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Care Trusts
Fifteen local partnerships have expressed an interest in becoming
Care Trusts during the next year. Nine of these are based on PCTs,
commissioning and providing a range of adult services, and six on
NHS Trusts, providing mental health services. More information
can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/caretrusts
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Single Assessment Process
Guidance on the Single Assessment Process (SAP) was published on
28 January. The guidance complements the details on SAP already given
in the National Service Framework for Older People. When implemented
by local NHS bodies and councils, it will help to ensure a person-centred
approach to the assessment and care management of older people's needs,
and more effective and appropriate outcomes. It will also reduce duplication
of assessment and related paperwork for practitioners, and improve
the quality of information that is shared between them.
The guidance is available at www.doh.gov.uk/scg/sap.
First reports on implementation progress should reach the Department
of Health in September. Full implementation should be achieved by
April 2004.
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