How can all nurses support parenting?

Although it is recognised that community healthcare practitioners are often the professionals who are at the forefront of community interventions that support parenting, all healthcare workers will at...

Children and young people in care

There are several terms used to identify children and young people who are, or have experience of being, in care. In England, the term used in clinical practice is ‘looked after child’ abbreviated to...

Developing the advanced nurse practitioner role in a memory service

‘Ensure that the person has a timely diagnosis delivered compassionately and taking into account their personal needs and circumstances.’ Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions Policy...

Pulse oximetry and the enduring neglect of respiratory rate assessment: a commentary on patient surveillance

Respiration, the process of breathing in and out, is the primary function of the lungs. The purpose of this process is to bring oxygen into the body for delivery to the cells, and to remove carbon...

Nursing in NHS Blood and Transplant: an overview

NHSBT is an ‘arm's-length body’ to the NHS. It is classed as a ‘special health authority’ responsible for saving and improving lives by providing blood and supporting the provision of organs and...

Dilemmas faced by health professionals surrounding life-sustaining treatment

The quest to improve the quality of hospital food for patients

One of my earliest memories as a student nurse in the late 1960s was helping to serve lunch to patients on an orthopaedic ward. The dinner trolley always arrived from the hospital kitchen at 12 noon....

Getting lost in the maze of NHS patient safety publications and initiatives

What is worrying is that when we look at patient safety policy developments and initiatives such as World Patient Safety Day the general public does not seem to know much about the problem. This is...

Fraud in the NHS

In its NHS fraud benchmarking report the audit provider RSM found fraud in the NHS increasing by 17% a year. Some 16% of fraudulent activity in 2016 concerned staff working while on sick leave with a...

Assaults on staff: clear policies needed

Central venous access device-related sheaths: a predictor of infective and thrombotic incidence?

The development of catheter-related sheaths was first documented by Motin and colleagues (1964). In early animal studies clinicians sought to identify the composition of the sheath phenomenon. Xiang...

Cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive: a new tool for the vascular access toolbox

There are several complications associated with PIVCs, including: Phlebitis When standardised phlebitis scales (Jackson, 1998) are used, mean rates of 14.7% and 16.1% have been reported (Helm et al,...

Are care bundles still relevant?

A prospective audit evaluating use of urokinase in oncology patients with occluded central venous access devices

The aim of this audit was to evaluate safety and outcome following use of urokinase (Syner-Kinase®) using a push lock or dwell lock technique; followed by high-dose infusion if the lock was...

Reflections on leading an IV team: strategies and impact

When I first started as lead IV practitioner, there were limited policies and guidelines for the trust in place. There was only a peripheral cannula guideline for insertion and a poster on how to...