Nurses who work at a children’s hospice have to make sure that they expand their skills so that they can then offer their skills and their expertise to children and others who might be under their care. This is a move which is going to ensure that they reduce the need to call GPs or even send kids to hospital. If you work in homecare or even in the sector of private nursing, then this is going to affect you.

Nurses at a hospice in Lancashire have tried to expand their skills and the support they can offer those under their care, as part of a move which hopes to reduce the need to call GPs in or send children to hospital. The nurses who have been care leaders over at the Derian Hospice in Chorley have now been able to complete the master’s qualification so that they can become advanced practitioners. They are now qualified to assess young people who are at the hospice and this is whether or not they are showing any signs of being unwell.

Moving forward, it would be safe to say that they are going to be working with the Lancashire Teaching Hospital. They are also going to be teaching their staff as well to ensure that everyone is up to date. Ms Ward has released a statement saying that she is truly excited about the opportunity and that she is beyond proud of what the hospice have achieved so far. They are very excited, and they believe that this service is going to really benefit those who need it the most. They have also described how they are over the moon with how things have come to pass so far. This is great news to say the least.

Research has been done and it shows that diabetes is in fact linked with someone having musculoskeletal conditions. This includes issues such as frozen shoulder. Researchers have taken the time to try and analyse the amount of health data that they have and been able to identify four different conditions that are said to be complications of diabetes. It’s said that they are now linked together, and this means that healthcare professionals have to be aware of them when they are diagnosing patients. As well as frozen shoulder, it would seem that the other conditions include carpal tunnel as well as trigger finger. It’s a known fact that these conditions are much more common to those who have diabetes.

Until now, it’s not been clear whether or not diabetes was the cause or whether there are various other factors at play. Either way, the team has been led by Harry Green and if you work in homecare or even in private nursing then this will really be interesting to you. Dr Harry Green has been using data from the UK Biobank and this is so far, one of the biggest healthcare studies in the world. Researchers have used both genetic information as well as health information to try and find out if those who have diabetes are more likely to develop common conditions or not. When you look at the link between diabetes and general health, it’s a known fact that other health conditions are often found. They have also used a technique that is called Mendelian randomisation as well. They have done this to try and find out if diabetes is playing a casual role or not. Raising awareness amongst other professionals is going to help others to say the least.

If you work in homecare or even in private nursing, then you will know that domestic abuse is on the rise. A lot of this has stemmed from lockdown, as people are having to spend more time indoors with potentially abusive partners. Senior nurses who work at the NHS England have stated that they have in fact signed a letter to try and urge staff to help women seek help if they have suffered any kind of sexual violence or abuse. This comes in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard. The amount of people who are now seeking help from sexual assault clinics has halved, not long after the first lockdown. That being said, all of the figures are showing that the amount of abuse and violence has actually increased. This is shocking to say the least and it just goes to show that people are not seeking the support they need.

With the devastating impact that violence has on women being back in the news, NHS England have released a statement saying that they are very keen to try and encourage women to use the health services that are there for them. They have stated that it is important that people share their experiences and that they do everything they can to call out for assistance when they truly need it. The open letter is designed to target trust executives as well as chief midwives. Regional chief nurses are also being targeted to try and make sure that they are able to recognise the signs of abuse and that they take the right action to ensure that they are giving the level of support required. This is the only way that people are going to be able to move past their violent experiences, and trust in the system to help them.

The head of the College of Nursing in London had called for a nurse in every single school to try and combat social inequity. Donna Kinnair has stated that this has to be implemented in order to ensure that every child is given the help and support they need to be healthy. Investing in schools and nurses can go a long way to stopping issues that may well come with life-long consequences. If you work in homecare or if you work in the industry of private nursing then you will know how important this is. The report is actually called Hope for the Future and they have set out over 12 recommendations. They range from people being able to grow their own vegetables to taking an hour of exercise every day. You also have the elderly, which are being offered alternative treatments so that they don’t have to take pills. Dame Donna’s proposal is the most clearly defined out of the lot, though. She is saying that every single school needs to have a school nurse. The nurse has to sit on the board at the school as well.

The chapter of the report has been authored by Sir Sam Everington as well. He is a GP who has worked at a lot of deprived areas in London, and he’s said that more needs to be done to ensure that kids are given the help that they need to really be healthy and feel supported. The problem is that BAME communities are being overlooked and people who live in high-deprivation areas appear to be struggling the most. This just goes to show how much inequality continues to shame the healthcare system overall and that it’s safe to say that more needs to be done to ensure that children all grow up with equal opportunities.

Health and a lot of social care organisations have marked today as being the anniversary when the UK went into their very first lockdown. They have made the effort to highlight a lot of the struggles and challenges that have been made by staff over the last 12 months. The Royal College of Nursing are amongst some of those who are going to be supporting the National Day of Reflection. They are going to be encouraging the nation to remember those who might have lost their lives during the pandemic.

A lot of people are going to be taking the time to remember those who have lost their lives as well as reflecting on the hardships that have been experienced so far. They are also going to be thinking about the future in general and the lives that people have lived. At the end of the day, at least 883 social care workers have died from Covid-19 related illnesses and this is a huge blow to those who might work in homecare or even private nursing. The National Day of Reflection has been developed by Marie Curie and they aim to try and give the nation the chance to grieve while also helping them to remember everyone who may have died during this time. At this point, the country had gone into its first lockdown and the death toll stood at 364 at the time. Now the death toll is over 126,172. The leaders at RCN have stated that they are taking this time to try and remember the people who have lost their lives as well as those who might have sacrificed endlessly to try and commit to those who need it. The nurses who have worked during this pandemic are a credit to the nation.

It’s now a year-on from the very first Covid-19 outbreak that happened in the UK and it would seem that one of the worst-hit hospitals are now recovering. Nurses are saying how they feel about the crisis as things look to be settling down. They are also being given the chance to reflect on their general experiences to this date. There was a nurse who was at the ICU at the Ealing Hospital and she explained that it was actually her second day on the unit. A senior nurse had joined her, and they discussed the four patients who they had lying in isolated rooms. They had tested positive for the virus and they were all on ventilators. Their voices were somewhat muffled behind the masks and even though the stillness of the unit was harrowing, it’s safe to say that it was hard for people to hear one another. You have all of the PPE and the layers, not to mention that the visors steamed up after just five minutes. The three-bed unit actually saw five patients being treat there just a few weeks ago. If you have experience working in private nursing or in homecare, then you will know how daunting this can be.

The nine-bed unit that they had set up had once been used to treat 17 patients at once. This was at the first wave of the pandemic. Nurses explained when they had to squeeze five beds into one spot and that they had to care for people in theatres too. Some patients have been there for over three weeks. It’s hard to imagine that, given the amount of medication and treatments that the person was taking, that it was even possible to care for so many people at any given time.

A care home nurse that is in Shropshire has created a song and they have posted it online so that they can pay homage to those who might have lost their lives during the frontline of Covid-19. Jon Breese who happens to work at the Morris Care’s Corbrook Park has stated that he is going to sing and play guitar on the track. The song is called Frontline Heroes. Of course, the song is going to feature lyrics that happen to describe what the last year has been like and they are going to look at what the last year has been like for those who work in care homes too. The song also happens to touch on those who might have experienced a devastating and isolating impact of the social distancing measures that are in place. This is especially the case for older people or those who might be suffering from dementia. If you work in homecare or if you work in the industry of private nursing then you will know more than anyone how important it is for people like this to get a huge amount of support.

Mr. Breese has worked at Corbrook Park and they have given a high level of nursing care. They also have a very specialised care unit as well. The dementia unit has been in operation for over three and a half years as well. He is fully registered and he has also spent quite a long time working in dementia care. He is going to be the clinical manager at the home. Song for the Frontline Heroes came about after one of the colleagues suggested that he detail all of the challenges that people are facing right now so this is going to play a huge part to say the least.

The government have provided much greater clarity for those who might be struggling with accountability. The Department of Health and Social Care have published a white paper. This is going to pave the way for a new Health and Care Bill which is being brought in 2022. One of the proposals to seek and address concerns that might have come from the Royal College of Nursing. They are doing this about a lack of accountability. Right now it’s not clear that there is a high level of clear or effective staffing. As part of the consultation in the bill, which launched in 2019, it would seem that there are widespread nurse shortages and the college have stated that it has to be clearer where the responsibility sat for this. This is especially the case when it comes to planning and supply. The college have been backing their demands and right now there are over 10,000 people who have put their names forward as well. The white paper has been published and they are going to propose and impose a new duty which will help those who work in health and social care. They are going to publish a report and this is going to be done once every 5 years. They are going to set out roles and even responsibilities which will help the workforce planning in England. Of course, this move is going to ensure that there’s much greater clarity when it comes to workforce responsibilities and this is of course, going to reflect on all of the concerns that are being raised by the Royal College of Nursing. This is going to support way greater clarity and it’s going to really make a difference to the industry as we know it.

A children’s hospice have stepped up to try and alleviate any pressure from the NHS. They are trying to double the working force that they have so they can meet the growing demands of the people. Noah’s Ark, a charity have stated that they have been struggling to recruit nurses ahead of the inpatient services over at the hospice in Barnet. When Covid hit, the hospice was contacted by the NHS to see if some of the pressure could be taken off the beds and they decided to open much earlier than planned. A year after, the hospice was then seen to be appealing for more nurses. They want to have 9 nurses join their workforce as they have experienced a doubled level of demand in the catchment area. If you work in homecare or even in private nursing then you will know more than anyone how important it is to ensure that people are given the support they need, when they need it and that is why this work is so good.

This year the hospice was expecting over 400 children and they have hopes to grow over the next 3 years. They are doing this so that they can meet more of a demand. The motto is that no child is going to be left behind, and they know that in this climate, that’s more important than ever. They have stated that they know of a single hospice that had 12 nurses off at one point due to Covid. They have stated that they are tired and they would like to have more support, but at the end of the day, this is easier said than done. That’s why they are working so hard to ensure that everyone is satisfied with the general staffing levels they have.

The UK is reaching its latest milestone in the vaccination scheme and a nurse academic has chosen to step up the programme. She has looked back on her experiences and she is also very proud to be part of this moment in history. On the very first shift, she had to dig the vaccination centre out of the snow and she was also able to reunite with a student who she managed to teach over 20 years ago. Dr. Sarah Burden has stated that although the work she has done is very different to that of homecare support or private nursing, it’s all been very positive so far. The UK government have stated that they have in fact met their target of being able to offer everyone in the top priority groups a vaccine. They have also stated that they have vaccinated any frontline workers as well as social care staff. They have given them the first jab and 15 million people across the UK have now been given their dose. There are concerns that there will be a low uptake rate in those who are from the younger groups but this is understandable.

Dr. Burden has been discussing with her GP husband and she has stated that the sheer scale of the vaccination program is incredible and that she is going to do everything she can to try and help the rollout if possible. At the start of January she happened to complete the online modules for learning which would help her to vaccinate those in her local area. The community centre is currently being used as a small vaccination hub but she has volunteered as a marshal as well during her spare time. Her dedication cannot be matched, and it has helped the industry without a shadow of a doubt.