Reunion
Former staff of Waimarino Hospital near Whanganui are being invited to a reunion of the hospital that closed in 1994. The reunion is being held on April 4-6 and more information is available by contacting reunion organiser, Noeline Pikari, on 06 35 3158.
Surprise extra rural health funding
An extra $9 million over four years for rural general practices has been welcomed by the Rural General Practice Network, which represents rural GPs and nurses.
Network chair Dr Jo Scott-Jones said the announcement by associate health minister Jo Goodhew in late October was a “welcome surprise”.
“I am surprised because we have been in discussions with the Ministry of Health and DHBs over the rural sector’s funding formula – the Rural Ranking Score - during the past two years and were given the impression that there was no more money. However, more money has been made available to support rural communities and that has got to be a good thing,” said Scott-Jones.
The extra funding will roll out from April 1 and Goodhew said it would require local alliances of DHBs, primary health organisations, and practices working together to agree on funding and services.
Scott-Jones said the main challenge for rural practices would be finding the time and developing the expertise to enter into these discussions and the challenge for DHBs and PHOs was to empower their rural providers and to be ‘open and accessible’.
He said the new funding was on top of the $13 million a year already earmarked for rural general practice support through the Rural Bonus and Rural Premium funding streams.
Goodhew said the aim of the additional funding was to help general practice better retain clinical staff and services.
NP’s “sugar babies” success
Groundbreaking research, undertaken by the country’s first nurse practitioner, on using sugar gel to prevent brain damage in neDraft Sitewborns was published in The Lancet recently.
Neonatal nurse practitioner, Dr Deborah Harris – working under research leader Professor Jane Harding from the University of Auckland’s Liggin Institute – recruited families at Waikato Hospital for the “sugar babies” study for her PhD research.
The research investigated treatment for babies suffering from low blood sugar, (neonatal hypoglycaemia) that is a common problem affecting up to 15 per cent of otherwise health babies and is a preventable cause of brain damage.
The research findings showed that the simple use of dextrose gel rubbed into the inside of the baby’s mouth meant that the babies were more likely to remain with their mothers rather than being admitted to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for treatment. It also meant that they were more likely to be successfully breast fed after discharge.
Dr Harris said the researchers were grateful to the families involved in the Sugar Babies study.
The abstract of The Lancet article can be viewed at: www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)61645-1/abstract
Sore throat drop-in clinics open
Nurse-led sore throat drop-in clinics officially launched by the Health Minister are the next step of a $45 million rheumatic fever prevention programme.
Health Minister Tony Ryall said eight drop-in clinics had recently opened across the Auckland region, and at least 60 more were to open in greater Auckland and Porirua over the next few months. The free clinics are for children who don’t attend schools with throat-swabbing services or for children who get a sore throat outside of the school term.
In Budget 2013, the Government invested an additional $21.3 million to fight rheumatic fever, including $11.25 million over four years for sore throat drop-in clinics.
“Smiley nurse” doesn’t equal “excellent care”
Healthcare is “not a popularity contest” and requires sustainable funding and adequate staffing, not “hotel-style patient ratings”.
This was the response by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation to the announcement of a new national patient survey being rolled out across public hospitals next year.
Health Minister Tony Ryall and Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew announced the new quality initiative in late October, saying patient feedback was a “vital indicator of how well health services were working for patients and their families”.
The ministers said the Health Quality & Safety Commission and the Ministry of Health were still developing the survey. Consultation with health professionals was to follow in the coming months and pilots of the survey were to be held before the national roll out from mid next year.
Goodhew said similar surveys had been introduced in Britain, and the New Zealand survey would look at four key areas communication, partnership, coordination, and physical and emotional needs. Patients will be given a 10-point scale to rate their response to each survey question.
NZNO said it did not believe such surveys were the way to measure quality health care. Lesley Harry, NZNO industrial advisor, said there were several issues with the proposed “hospital ratings plan”.
“If our members are working in a situation where they are pressured, where there is inadequate staffing and inadequate resources, they are less likely to be able to provide the level of care the nursing team wants to provide,” said Harry.
“Systemic failures should not result in individual staff being targeted.
“Similarly, a smiley nurse or friendly doctor doesn’t necessarily equate with excellent care.”
She said NZNO was not sure how the information gathered would be used and the money spent on a survey system might be better spent on ensuring sufficient staff levels and professional development.
“Hospital services are far too complex to be ranked in the same way as the hospitality industry.”
Some upcoming events
6-8 Nov 2013 NZ Urological Nurses Society Conference, Bay of Islands
7 Nov 2013 College of Nurses’ Nurses in Business Seminar, Wellington
16 Nov 2013 College of Nurses’ Professional Portfolio Workshop, Auckland
28 Nov 2013 College of Nurses’ Professional Portfolio Workshop, Wellington
29 Nov 2013 College of Nurses’ Professional Portfolio Workshop, Christchurch
6 Dec 2013 College of Nurses’ Professional Boundaries Workshop, Christchurch
12 Dec 2013 College of Nurses’ Professional Portfolio Workshop, Auckland
