The chief and general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives has been awarded a prestigious honorary degree. It’s been awarded by the University of West London and it’s safe to say that it’s well-deserved. Gill Walton has dedicated most of her life to trying to transform care for women. She first qualified as a midwife in the year 1987. She’s stated that this award isn’t just for her, and that really, it’s for everyone who works in the profession. Gill Walton Throughout her entire career, Gill Walton has been engaged in a lot of different clinical practices. She has also been through midwifery education and professional leadership too. She has been ultimately recognised for all of her achievements by a London university. The ceremony was held at the stadium in Twickenham and a lot of people believe that she is an inspiration. If you work in homecare or in the sector of private nursing, then you will know how important it is to work hard for the people who you look after, and Gill Walton really is a testament to that. She stated that she is absolutely delighted at being able to receive the award and that she has had an amazing career. She’s said that she loved being able to support people through parenthood and through pregnancy too. She wants all women and midwives to be recognised for the work that they have done over the years and she truly believes that the industry that she works in is incredible. A lot of people would agree because without industries like this and the NHS, people would be in a much worse situation and they wouldn’t be able to get the healthcare that they need.

A paediatric nurse who works at a local hospital in Shropshire has stated that she is going to do everything she can to make surgery seem far less alien. Young patients often struggle because they are scared and because they don’t understand what is going on around them. If you work in homecare or even in private nursing, then you will understand this more than anyone. Rachel Harris Rachel Harris has managed to secure some brightly coloured surgical gowns. Children who are staying on the Alice Ward at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt hospital are easily able to hand-pick the gowns that they want to wear when the time comes for them to undergo the operation. They have been donated by a UK charity who refer to themselves as being the Pyjama Fairies. The gowns actually come in a huge range of colours and they are designed to try and minimise the discomfort that children experience as much as possible. Ms Harris has stated that having any kind of operation can be a really scary and anxious experience, but if they are able to pick their own gown then this will provide them with a much more exciting experience. The bright colours make everything seem less hospitalised and it’s much like something that they would wear at home. Any stay can also be stressful for families too, but luckily, services like this are trying to make everything much more comfortable. The Garments The garments are made entirely out of cotton and they don’t have any metal in them either. This means that it is easier than ever for them to wear them during a scan or even during an x-ray. A lot of people are thankful for the service and they believe that it’s going to serve as a great resource for kids.

A major nursing conference was going to take place in Belfast. It has however been cancelled and a lot of this is due to the ongoing pay disputes that are happening in the north of Ireland. Those who work in the industry of private nursing will understand more than anyone how important it is for nurses to get a fair level of pay and this is especially the case when you look at how much work they put in. That being said, not enough is being done to help those who really need it. The same concept can be applied to those who work in homecare too.

A charity has warned that the UK are now short of 115 nurses for the treatment of MS. The UK need to do this if they want to try and meet the needs of the people who are being diagnosed with the condition. Some believe that there is somewhat of a postcode lottery going on right now and that not everyone is getting the treatment they need. Those who are in the field of private nursing or even in homecare will know more than anyone how important it is to give people who have been diagnosed with the condition the support that they need but this is becoming harder and harder to do.

The government has warned that vaccinations for school children could actually become mandatory in the future. Matt Hancock, who works in the health and social care industry has stated that he is in fact looking seriously at the future and that he believes this could be a good move. The main reason for this is because he is worried about the rate of vaccinations, especially with things like measles. He spoke at a Conservative conference and he has also stated that he had undertaken legal advice on how to make any kind of mandatory vaccinations happen. Of course, he is also concerned because measles is a serious problem and right now it is unbelievable that Britain has now lost its measles-free status. He has also warned that parents who decide not to vaccinate their children are actually putting other children at risk. This includes children who are not able to get vaccinated for medical reasons. Of course, when the state provide a service, Mr. Hancock believes that it should in fact be a two-way street and that people have their responsibilities too. The minister added that he has received advice from the inside government this week on how they should go about implementing the right measures and that they are also trying to look into everything very seriously. This could mean great things for those who are advocates for vaccinations but right now it appears that there are a lot of people who have a problem with it. Of course, it's important to know that those who work in private nursing or even in homecare need to be given support too because if vaccinations need to be given then there needs to be enough for the staff so that they can give them confidently.

Nurses from a Southampton Children’s Hospital have had an interview with Nursing Times. They have all talked about the benefits of having therapy dogs for patients and they also believe that it has an impact on them too. The dogs on the ward happen to brighten up the nurses on the ward and they also make it much easier for them to enjoy the rest of their day. They have also come out to say that they distract some of the younger patients, which makes their job way easier. It has been reported on previously and studies have shown that therapy dogs are 100% recommended by staff and that most people believe that AAI should actually be implemented across the UK. This is a surprising statistic to say the least but it does go to show how much traction this is gaining. Of course, only time will tell if more and more people are going to be voicing their support of therapy dogs or not but right now, it looks to be making a huge difference to patient’s lives. This is especially the case when you look at patients who have been in hospital for a long period of time. It’s important to know that therapy dogs are trained and that they know how to behave in a hospital too. Certain breeds are also chosen because of their temperament, and this goes a long way when it comes to those who are ill or unable to move very much. Gentle breeds such as the Labrador are favoured because they are loving and most of all, patient around children. Homecare and even private nursing staff are calling for more therapy dogs to be used in hospitals up and down the UK.

The health service needs to undergo a huge cultural transformation if they want to become more inclusive for staff and they also need to tackle more diverse backgrounds too. This is especially the case when you look at the people who are in charge of the programme. An exclusive interview has been done and Yvonne Coghill has been facing ongoing challenges with discrimination and that senior NHS leaders are more than committed. She has highlighted the process and she even stated that it is the best time ever for people who are from a black background to become a nurse or even a doctor in the UK. The fact is that they only have 10 BME chief nurses in the country though and this could indicate that there is still a lot of work to be done. The creation of the WRES happened to be sparked by a seminal report. This was published in the year 2014 by the Middlesex University. Roger Kline suggested that the NHS was being institutionally racist. At the end of the day, if you work in homecare or in private nursing, you need to remember that the percentage of BME staff who were experiencing harassment, abuse or even bullying rose from a total of 26% in the year 2017 to 28% in the year 2018. 15% of staff also reported personal instances of discrimination from either a work colleague or even a manager. This is up 14% from the previous year. Of course, this may be even worse if you take into account the results from the Nursing Times. They suggest that two-thirds of nurses have observed some kind of racial abuse and that this cannot be stood for at all.

Increased staff numbers boost the safety of the patients as well as protecting healthcare workers from harm. Those who work in private nursing or homecare will understand this more than anyone. It has also come to light that more healthcare workers happen to improve retention too. This is according to UK research. They have found an association between the number of nurses who are registered on a shift and the presence of adverse events. This can include harassment or even violence. Of course, some people are saying that this isn’t a case of there being bodies on the ground, rather it being to do with the attributes that registered nurses have. The findings come from Birmingham City University and they are also being presented at the Patient and Safety Learning Conference. They are due to be published in the Health Informatics Journal later on this month. Officials have studied over three years of data and they have also taken into account the NHS mental trust too. The researchers there have found staff safety and even patient safety correlate with one another. The study also found that clinically required staff reported an adverse impact on their mental health when they do not have enough support in the room. Of course, the risk of adverse events was highest when the clinical demand for staff was low. For example, this is especially the case when you look at night staff. The authors of the study have stated that their findings do not point to a limitation of judgement from a clinical point of view, but it does indicate that the staffing level required to deliver care may be less than what it means to keep staff safe. This could be disastrous for the future of the NHS.

If you work in private nursing or even in homecare, then you will know that the primary care industry doesn’t always get the care that it deserves. This is especially the case when you look at vaccinations or even long-term conditions. The voice of primary care is still being dominated by GPS and the main reason for this is because the structure of the sector has changed by a significant amount. Practices tend to be small businesses who are actually run by self-employed GPS and when you look at the rest of the NHS you will see that a lot of them work in isolation. They may work in small teams at times but that ultimately means that in secondary care, the hierarchy is slowly disappearing. The structure of primary care is helping to influence the perception of the public and it is also helping to reinforce any views that might be outdated. Patients are getting worked up over whether or not they see a nurse or a doctor, but they don’t really care in other settings. People believe that they are being short-changed if they do not get the chance to see a doctor and this is not good to say the least. Nurses who work in primary care are not getting the same level of representation either, and this is especially the case when you compare it to nurses who happen to work in other sectors. The simple message here is that those who work in primary care really do deserve a lot more recognition for their work and if the sector is going to change to meet the patient needs then they need to be given a much greater influence of how the services are going to evolve in general.

A lot of people welcome even more investments in the NHS but it’s important that equal attention is paid to the workforce crisis. This is especially the case when you look at the team leaders and their profession. Their caution is welcome and even Boris Johnson revealed that the 20 areas in England are going to receive a share of a huge pot of money. He has announced this so that they can try and improve their hospital and even their equipment. In his first policy announcement, Mr. Johnson stated that the money is going to provide life-saving equipment and that it is also going to provide new wards too. New beds are also going to be added, and this could mean great things for the future, especially for those who work in private nursing or even in homecare.

A Queen’s Nurse has been selected to stand as an MP for the next election. She has stated that she wants to get into parliament and that she also wants to try and tackle a level of social injustice too. She has seen a lot of this in her time in care nursing. If you are part of the private nursing industry or even the homecare industry, then you will also understand how important this is to be tackled. Ellie Nicholson who works at the Nursing Times has stated that she feels powerless to try and help her patients and that she is currently dealing with a huge range of wider challenges that go onto affect the health of the patients. It’s her aim to see the profile of general practices and even nurses go up. She believes that when you are working in nursery care or even in primary care, that you can easily treat the health side of things in patients, but you can’t do much more than that. She has seen a lot of problems and she believes that sometimes nurses are helpless when it comes to solving them.

The government have finally announced that they are going to setup a service that will help people to access the urgent medications that they need within 1-4 days. This is part of their contingency plan if a no-deal Brexit does go ahead and it also ensures that people are not left waiting for their medication. If you work in private nursing then you will know how important it is for people to get the medication they need and you will also know that sometimes delays happen. With Brexit well underway, it is important that measures are put into place to try and stop things like this from becoming a major issue and it’s good to see some positive movement on the horizon.