Briefs October
NZ obesity levels up but food intake down
The just-released findings from the Adult Nutrition Survey shows obesity levels have jumped but self-reported energy intake is down. The Ministry of Health-funded survey collected information from 4721 New Zealanders aged 15 and over and was a follow-up to the 1997 National Nutrition Survey. It found that obesity levels had jumped from 17 per cent of men in 1997 to 27.7 per cent and from 20.6 per cent of women to 27.8 per cent. But at the same time the reported energy intake from food and drinks had dropped since the 1997 survey, including saturated fats going down and protein, fruit and vegetable intake going up. Blood tests also found that blood cholesterol had decreased (possibly due to increased prescribing of lipid-lowering drugs) and nearly seven per cent had diabetes, with about quarter of those having previously undiagnosed diabetes. Jim Mann, University of Otago professor of human nutrition said the obesity figures were alarming and one of his biggest concerns was the lack of an overarching strategy for dealing with the obesity/diabetes epidemic. Elaine Rush, nutrition professor at Auckland’s AUT said the figures indicated that we have a “dire and worsening problem” with nutrition, particularly for people struggling to afford healthy food.
Rod King, professor of clinical epidemiology at The University of Auckland, said he believed the increase in obesity at the same time as self-reported energy intake had fallen was due to under-reporting of what people ate rather than a decrease in physical activity. He said given the huge focus on over-eating in recent years people were very likely to under-report what they ate and also the research literature “consistently demonstrated” that increased food intake rather than decreased activity is the main cause of gaining weight.
Tasmanian nursing students rally about job shortages
Nursing students rallied in Tasmania late last month to protest against a shortfall in graduate positions for 2012. The rally was organised by the Australian Nursing Federation’s Tasmanian branch after the state government announced up to 98 graduate positions for 2012 compared to 120 to 150 positions in recent years. “Over 300 students will graduate at the end of this year, and they are now being presented with very limited opportunities to work in Tasmania,” said ANF branch secretary Neroli Ellis. She said the state’s major tertiary hospital, the Royal Hobart Hospital, that employs about 1250 nurses, was offering only 38 positions in 2012, half its normal number. Ellis said the government’s workforce renewal programme, offering early retirement, had not created promised positions, with only about 10 nurses across the state choosing to retire early.
Aged-care unions present charters
More than 10,000 charters calling for the problems in the aged-care sector to be addressed were delivered to parliament late last month. The signed charters were collected by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) and Service and Food Workers Union (SWFU). The unions are highlighting issues in the sector in the lead-up to the election and calling for politicians to take action. John Ryall, SWFU national secretary, said the charter called for politicians from all parties to fix the residential aged-care sector and ensure there are “minimum safe staffing levels, fair pay, nationally consistent training and a guarantee that public funding [would be] used transparently”.
Electronic shared care plan pilots
Patients can check out their care plan electronically along with all the health professionals caring for them in pilots under way in Auckland. Under the National Shared Care Plan pilots, people with long-term health conditions – including diabetes, chronic pain and depression – have an electronic shared care plan developed for them covering their health history, goals, treatment and follow-up care. The pilots involve eight general practices in greater Auckland and several hospital specialty services, as well as pharmacies and community care services.
Helen McGrinder, heart failure nurse practitioner at Auckland DHB, said patients have been quick to appreciate the benefits of a shared care plan. She said patients like to be part of their own long-term care plan and in the same visit she can directly input information such as blood pressure, weight and heart rate into their record and make changes to their medication. “Any changes that I make while seeing the patient are shared with all the members of their care team, so each health professional has an holistic view of that patient’s overall care and the strategy for managing their condition over time.” The pilots are being funded jointly by the IT Health Board and the region’s three district health boards. Graeme Osborne, IT Health Board director, said shared care made it easier for a virtual clinical team, including specialists, to treat someone in the community. The pilots run to the end of the year and will be evaluated to decide whether to extend shared care plan programmes.
MECA voting closes and results imminent
As Nursing Review went to press, ballot results were imminent on whether district health board nurses gave the thumbs up or down to their proposed pay offer. Ballot papers were being counted in early October after the last of the series of ratification meetings were held on September 30 across the 20 district health boards by the New Zealand Nurses Union, Public Service Association and the eight other unions involved in negotiating the settlement with the DHBs covering 55,000 employees, including nurses. The proposed settlement offered by the boards included a two per cent lump sum payment (or $750, whichever was highest) at the expiry of the individual unions’ current multi-employer collective agreements (MECA) and a 2.5 per cent pay rise 12 months after that date. More details of the proposed settlement and updates are available on Nursing Review’s online newsfeed
If one of the three main unions, the NZNO, PSA or Service and Food Workers Union (SWFU), rejects the offer, the combined bargaining process comes to a halt and unions return to individual bargaining.
