A nurse-led facility has been put into special measures. This comes after the CQC found that there were a number of issues that are in fact putting the health of patients at risk. Barnsley Hospice, in South Yorkshire have been given an inadequate rating because they did not meet the right standards when it comes to health and leadership. They were also found to not be responsive enough when it came to the needs of the community as a whole. They have come out to say that they do in fact have a brilliant team and that they are going to work together to try and tackle the issue. When they were inspected by the organisation in 2016, they got the rating of “good” across the board but if they do not improve their service offerings in the next 6 months then they do face the risk of being closed down. The report was published on Wednesday and this comes after a whistle-blower issue regarding problems at the site.
When inspectors were there, they found that staff did not have the right level of training when it came to key skills and they also had a very poor level of management too. Staff were not able to develop their skills as they should have been able to. Those who work in homecare and in private nursing also have to make sure that they meet the right expectations, but at the end of the day, it would seem that more needs to be done in this particular instance.
Nurses have worked with a large team of doctors when it comes to completing tasks and these should have all been jobs that they should have been able to do. They were not able to though, because of the issues at-hand.
Amanda Pritchard has now been confirmed as being the executive of NHS England. This is going to make her the very first woman to hold the job in the entire 70 years that the health service has been operating. She is set to take over the position when Lord Stevens stood down. He’s been in the position for 7 years and she is going to be the 9th head of the NHS. At the end of the day, there are significant pressures in the NHS right now and it is safe to say that this is a welcome change. Ms Pritchard has been in the NHS role since the year 2019 and she has held twin roles as well. She has a 25 year career in the health service industry and she has also been a leader when it comes to the oversight of track and trace as well. She was viewed as being the best one for the job. Taking over the NHS is going to be difficult as the world is still recovering from the shock of the pandemic. Her appointment can be interpreted as being seen as a commitment to the NHS and the government.
Of course, there are people who work in homecare and in private nursing who are not getting the support they need and this is something that she intends to address. Her appointment was welcomed by NHS leaders and various other representatives. The Chief nursing officer, who is known as being Ruth May has congratulated in her role and she truly believes that she has great things ahead of her in her job. This is very good news to say the least and it just goes to show how committed she is in her role.
The Royal College for Nursing have stated that they are now planning a summer of action. Ideally they are going to be protesting against the 3% pay rise that has been announced but they are also going to be focusing on a huge range of other issues too. The announcement last week was met with some disappointment. Although many people had stated that they had made some extraordinary efforts during the pandemic, they felt as though the 3% pay rise was simply not enough. They felt as though it was a bitter blow, and that things were just not acceptable. The government, so far, is not giving the NHS the money that they truly need.
The pay rise also applies to nurses who work in homecare as well as in private nursing too. The college have been doing their bit to try and campaign for a 12.5% pay rise for any nursing staff. They have also stated that the pay rise as it stands is actually a pay cut. Some say that an experienced nurse is going to drop by over £200 in their wage packet, because the inflation rate is going to be 3.7%. When you look at the contrast, you will soon see that the government have claimed the deal for staff on the Agenda for Change are going to get around £1000 per year, for a nurse who has average training. The RCN have also condemned any further revelations that the 3% pay award would not be funded and that it would have to come from the NHS budget. This has been earmarked for other services. A snap poll was even done by the college and this indicated that most of the public do agree that the pay rise was feeble and that there are simply not enough nurses to get the job done properly.
Nursing staff who have been working on the Covid-19 frontline have stated that they need much more support and consistency when it comes to healthcare. This is according to the various information that is present. The mental health support that is being offered by respiratory nurses was not good enough. In fact, in some instances it was downright inconsistent. At the end of the day, they want nurses to be able to ask for help if they truly need it, because there are many options out there.
It has been highlighted that those who work in homecare or even in private nursing were not given any additional support at all even though they were found to be working in conditions that offered extreme stress. Initial findings saw that 21% of the nurses who worked during the pandemic ended up experiencing severe symptoms of both anxiety and depression. This was during the first wave of the pandemic. Causes of stress often came down to them not having the right PPE and the general quality of care that they were able to give patients too. Meanwhile, the latest part of the study helped to highlight some of the gaps that were present in the realm of mental health support. This is especially the case when it comes to frontline healthcare worker support.
It should be noted that most of the nurses who chose to take part in the survey did in fact know that mental health services were available to them, but they did not get the support they needed from the management team or even from the people who worked above the,. This helped them to feel isolated and it also stopped them from seeking the help and support they required at the time, so this was a very important factor to take into consideration.
Saj Javid has stated that he’s signed a Memorandum of Understanding. This is going to be done for healthcare and Uhuru Kenyatta is going to attend as well. Right now, it would seem that unemployed nurses who are in Kenya are going to be offered work in the UK. This is going to be done as part of a brand-new arrangement. The deal which is backed by Kenyan president is going to see both nurses and healthcare workers in the country that do not have jobs, a special route that will permit them to work in the UK. If you work in homecare or private nursing will also be able to take advantage of this deal.
The deal is currently being backed by the Kenyan president and this will see nurses and also healthcare workers being given the chance to work without having to worry about a thing. More details are set to come out in the coming months but ministers have said that both countries are going to reap the benefits. They are going to be talking about the shared experience of the arrangement and this is going to be done with knowledge across health services.
The latest collaboration between the UK government and Kenya comes at the time when the Memorandum of Understanding was signed. Sajid Javid has released a statement, saying that the healthcare agreement is going to make the most out of the agreement. This is going to benefit both countries and the exchange is going to really make sure that everyone is going to be able to access world-class healthcare. This is going to be a gamechanger for the NHS as well as the Kenyan employment rate. There are certainly exciting things ahead.
A weightlifter who has been inspired to become a nurse thanks to all of the support he received when he chose to seek asylum. He is set to compete over at Cameroon. Cyrille Tchatchet II who is a physical health nurse and he has participated in the Olympic Refugee Team. He’s going to be taking place in the 96kg category for weightlifting on Saturday. He knew that he wanted to work in the mental health profession. He’s said that what he has been through is very scary and he doesn’t want other people to go through the same.
He’s said that he finds it very difficult to talk about but he essentially took what he had with him after the competition and then he fled from the Cameroon’s base to Brighton. He was just 19 years of age at the time and he was also very suicidal. He’s said that those who work in homecare and private nursing are under immense pressures every day, and he still thinks about the time that he lived under a bridge. He saw the sign for a Samaritans helpline and he asked them for help. He was then taken into custody, and that is when he begun his case to remain in the UK. Two years later, he then received his own leave to remain status and this means that he is in fact able to stay in the UK.
During the two years that he was kept waiting, he was advised by his GP to stay busy and he was also given some antidepressants too. This helped him to return back to weightlifting. He went on to break a lot of British records and he became a British champion. He did this in the 94KG class and then the 96KG class. As well as taking part in weightlifting, he said that he is also thankful for the support of healthcare professionals.
Nurses across the UK have all reacted with disappointment and anger regarding the latest pay deal. This comes months after delays and it is way below the levels that are actively being campaigned for. Unions and various other representatives have told the Nursing Times that a 3% pay rise will make absolutely no difference to them and that it will not affect the recruitment or the retention struggles that are being faced right now. Governments that are in the two countries have announced that they have accepted the new recommendation that has been set by the Pay Review Body and that this Agenda For Change contract isn’t good enough, especially for those who work homecare or in private nursing.
Governments in two different countries have announced lats month that they have gone and accepted the latest recommendations that have been made. They have been forced to wait many months as a result of the delays because of the coronavirus pandemic. The appetite to strike is certainly there and people are now very angry for the future. Even though the latest pay deal was above the 1% that was proposed, many people are angry because it is simply not enough. When you take inflation into account, you will soon see that things need to be changed, and drastically. When you look at the contrast in statements, you will soon see that a lot of staff are angry because not a lot is being done to ensure that staff are happy in their roles. This is especially the case when you look at the fact that the coronavirus infection rates are going to spike even more in the coming months. The NHS staff are going to be put under huge amounts of pressure during this time and this is not going to be doing anyone any good.
