Practice Nurse articles from April 2002

Practice Nurse archives from April 2002

Nurse prescribing paper welcomed by profession.(News)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... THE long-awaited Government consultation paper on 'supplementary' prescribing by nurses and pharmacists has been published. This development, described as 'groundbreaking' by the Department of Health, will enable practice nurses to write...

Training scheme will help new nurses enter primary care sector.(News)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... AN INNOVATIVE scheme in east London is giving newly qualified nurses the opportunity to start their career in community and primary care. A two-year programme launched by City & Hackney Primary Care Trust in partnership with Homerton...

Survey shows satisfaction.(patients satisfied with nursing care)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... The vast majority of patients are satisfied with their nursing care and advice, shows a new survey conducted for the Royal College of Nursing. More than half of patients said a key area for improvement centred on being able to get information...

A patient guide to depression.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... The Depression Alliance has launched a new guide called Depression and Antidepressants to help patients understand various antidepressants and their possible side-effects. About one in five people will suffer from depression at some point...

Benefits of HRT.(hormone replacement therapy)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... Hormone replacement therapy can reduce the risk of developing breast artery hardening (calcification) by half and this can be detected on breast screening mammograms, says a new study. The researchers, who screened the group of 4400 women...

NICE moves to strike cost factor from child inhaler prescriptions.(News)(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... THE most comfortable inhaler rather than the cheapest should be prescribed for older children with chronic asthma, according to a new ruling from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. NICE recommends that the first choice of...

Report praises men C vaccine.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... The meningococcal C vaccine has rapidly and substantially reduced the incidence of meningitis in young people in the UK since its introduction in 1999 and the campaign is cost effective, says a report by the Public Health Laboratory Service....

Surgeries should act to become more accessible to teens.(News)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... A CAMPAIGN to make doctors' surgeries more teenage-friendly is being launched jointly by the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of General Practitioners. Practice nurses and GPs are being urged to publicise their services to...

Nurses welcome NICE go ahead on smoking cessation therapies.(News)(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... NURSES have welcomed the new recommendation from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence for the use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and bupropion (Zyban) in smokers who wish to quit. This will give practice nurses a major...

Keeping an eye on UK diabetes.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... The Scottish Executive is setting up the first national screening programme in the world for diabetic retinopathy to help prevent sight damage in Scotland's 150,000 people with diabetes. But in England the charily Diabetes UK is warning that...

COPD survey reveals nurses diagnosis lead.(News)
April 26, 2002... PRACTICE NURSES are more confident at diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than GPs and more than four in ten rein respiratory clinics, according to a new study. But the survey of 106 GPs and nurses, by the British...

Analysis: nurse practitioners can provide better care than doctors and more are needed in primary care, found a review. But it also asked if there should be a defined role and formal qualification.(Nurse Practitioners)
April 26, 2002... More nurse practitioners should work in primary care because their level of care is superior than that of doctors. This is the finding of a report in the British Medical Journal. Nurse practitioners working in general practice provide...

Recognition for practice nurses.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... Practice nurses are increasingly taking the lead in your practices' campaigns to meet government health targets, covering everything from MMR immunisation to coronary risk registers. And more and more often you are auditing the work that you...

Nursing in Scotland.(Professional Issues)
April 26, 2002... When you're a practice nurse in Scotland you could find yourself working anywhere from a remote is and community to a deprived innercity health centre. Francesca Robinson takes a closer look at what it means to work in Scotland. KEY...

A new combined oral contraceptive pill: Yasmin.(New therapies: a guide to recent advance affecting your daily practice)
April 26, 2002... In 1997, 3.6 million women in the UK used the combined oral contraceptive pill for contraception and numbers taking the combined pill are increasing. The current market leader by far is Microgynon 30, a pill containing 30mcg of...

Send safer samples.(What's in: latest products * leaflets * books and useful resources)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... Samples from surgeries or homes can be safely delivered to laboratories through a new Royal Mail scheme called Safebox. The Safebox scheme comes complete with pre-paid postage and all the necessary packing materials. It is ideal for...

Lax license.(What's in: latest products * leaflets * books and useful resources)(Movicol)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... The laxative Movicol has now been licensed for extended use in chronic constipation. Long-term use of laxative drugs may be required for many patients who suffer from chronic constipation as a result of a primary disease or as a side-effect...

Asthma cards.(What's in: latest products * leaflets * books and useful resources)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... Asthma sufferers could benefit from the launch of a new wallet-sized card that carries the National Asthma Campaign's helpline number and notes on what to do in an emergency. The card also shows what the criteria are for an emergency in case...

NRTC booklet.(What's In)(National Respiratory Training Centre)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... A booklet outlining the impact of respiratory disease for primary care organisations has been published by the National Respiratory Training Centre (NRTC). The booklet helps assess the burden of respiratory illness within a primary care...

Constipation: constipation can be acute or chronic, affecting patients for days or years. Mike Mead explains how to assess and manage this condition.(Common Conditions In General Practice)
April 26, 2002... Constipation is a poorly defined term. It usually means infrequent bowel motions, although some patients use the term to describe hard, small-volume faeces. The most common causes of constipation are poor diet, particularly lack of...

Pelvic floor exercises: urinary incontinence affects women of all ages and many problems start during pregnancy. Exercising the pelvic floor muscles is a simple and effective way of helping with this problem.(Continence)(Cover Story)
April 26, 2002... KEY POINTS * Women are often unaware of the link between childbirth and incontinence and starting exercises early may prevent problems after the birth * Pelvic floor exercises are often poorly taught and ineffectively carried out...

Tissue viability: learning to support practice.(PN plus)
April 26, 2002... Introduction The importance of effective infection control has been increasingly recognised over the past five years. In particular, hospital acquired infection (HAD is a significant problem for the NHS as it leads to increased patient...

Hypertension needs more preventive work.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... We need better primary prevention strategies to tackle hypertension, a study has shown. Researchers examined 1298 people aged 55 to 65 without high blood pressure at baseline every two years between 1976 and 1998. It was found that nine out...

Oats safe in coeliac diease.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... We can advise patients with coeliac disease that it is safe to eat oats after a five-year study found no harmful effects. A trial of 45 subjects and 47 controls, all with coeliac disease, was made. Subjects were allowed to eat oats as part of...

Assisted conception techniques can raise risk of birth defects.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... Subfertile couples should be advised that children conceived through assisted reproductive technology are at double the risk of developing major birth defects--but the risk is still very low. Researchers looked at data on births, assisted...

NSAID linked to fatal allergic reaction.(celecoxib)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... Patients should be asked about previous allergic reactions before being given the NSAID celecoxib, after it was linked to a fatal allergic reaction in a 52-year-old man. The man was given a daily dose of 200rag celecoxib for cervicobrachial...

Health website accuracy.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... Credible websites do not necessarily contain accurate information on health, a research study has revealed. Researchers looked at the content of 121 websites that had information on five common health topics (chronic obstructive pulmonary...

Alcohol seems to help eradicate Helicobacter.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... Drinking alcohol appears to help with eradication of Helicobacter pylori (HP), a study has suggested. The study included 156 patients with either peptic ulcers or chronic gastritis who tested positive for HP. They were given a combination of...

Home visits for elderly can help cut admissions to nursing home.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... Preventative home visits for older people can help to prevent nursing home admission and functional decline, researchers have found. They looked at 18 trials of in-home interventions in 13,447 people aged 70 or over across five European...

Snoring linked to hyperactivity.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2002... Snoring has been linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a study has suggested. Parents of 866 children aged between 2 and 14 years were given a questionnaire asking them about their child's snoring severity and sleepiness, and...

Back to student life ... Julie Lawrie is confident that completing the extended nurse prescribing module will allow her to offer a complete service for her patients, with no delays ...(Prescriber's diary: a practice nurse view of nurse prescribing training)
April 26, 2002... My name is Julie Lawrie and I have been a practice nurse for the past eleven and a half years. I work with a team of four doctors and four nurses in a busy training practice that has a patient population of about six and a half thousand. ...

Making a difference.
April 26, 2002... You know that you make a real difference to your patients' lives by offering them the best possible care. You might say that it's 'just part of the job', but we want to give you the recognition that you deserve. Enter the Practice Nurse...

Travel immunization & malaria prevention: April-June 2002.
April 26, 2002... Travel APRIL-JUNE 2002 VACCINATIONS ADVISED COUNTRY POLIO TET TYPH HePA A AFGHANISTAN R R R R ALBANIA S R...

Nurses urged to be on guard for tuberculosis as cases in Britain rise.(News)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... PRACTICE nurses are being warned to be on the alert for the symptoms of tuberculosis following concern about a worldwide resurgence of the disease. The Government has launched a campaign TB--Be Aware that highlights the symptoms and...

Nurses set to play key role in plans to modernise Scottish primary care.(News)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... PRIMARY care health workers in Scotland are welcoming proposals to modernise primary health care. The first report of the Scottish Executive's Primary Care Modernisation Group reccommends significant investment in primary care and a...

Government must boost staff morale in NHS.(National Health Service)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... The Government must boost morale among NHS staff, according to a new report by the King's Fund. Counting the Smiles by Belinda Finlayson, finds that morale is low in the NHS, putting the Government's modernisation plans at risk. The two...

Survey reveals teenage drinking and drug habits.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... A national survey of secondary schoolchildren aged 11-15 years published by the Department of Health has found that 12% had used drugs in the previous month and 20% had used drugs in the past year. Ten per cent were regular smokers, the same...

Patients lack diabetes skills.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... Many people with diabetes lack self-management skills and an understanding of their condition, according to research presented at a Diabetes UK conference. The study found that half of patients had a flawed technique for injecting, blood...

A study of good staff relations.(report on job conditions in medical practices)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... GPs are being told that good employment practice will ensure the well being of practice nurses' and lead to job satisfaction. In a new report called Working Well: a call to employers the RCN says a good employer should provide well designed...

FPA defends use of Pill despite new link with cervical cancer.(News)(Family Planning Association)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... WOMEN should be reassured that the benefits of the contraceptive pill still outweigh its risks despite a study showing long term use of the Pill can cause cervical cancer, say the Family Planning Association (FPA). Research recently...

Guidelines on air travel for patients with lung disease.(News)
April 12, 2002... THE first air travel guidelines for patients with lung disease have been issued by the British Thoracic Society. The recommendations highlight potential complications for air travellers with a wide range of different lung diseases such as...

Belfast Conference: 19th National Practice Nurse Conference: 26-28 March 2002.
April 12, 2002... Help patients quit smoking MEDICALISING smoking can help patients to quit, Dr Chris Steele suggested to practice nurses. He said that by doing this nurses can encourage patients to ackknowledge the risks they are taking. Care urged...

Ban on the cards for tobacco ads.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... The Government is backing a Private Members Bill to ban tobacco advertising. The proposed legislation would ban press, billboard and Internet advertising of tobacco products. It would also prohibit the promotion of smoking through free...

Costly cancer drug approved.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... Herceptin, an expensive drug used to treat women with advanced breast cancer, is to be made available on the NHS following a recommendation by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. It is estimated that the drug, which costs more...

New home role for NHS Direct.(National Health Services)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... NHS Direct is to play a new role in supporting patients with chronic conditions to live at home. This will enable people with conditions such as diabetes and asthma to be discharged earlier from hospital, Health Secretary Nan Milburn has...

DoH warns breast cancer drug may increase risk of blood clots.(News)
April 12, 2002... AN URGENT warning has been issued by the Department of Health that tamoxifen, the so-called wonder drug for breast cancer, may cause dangerous blood clots. Dr Sheila Adam, director of policy at the Department of Health, has sent out an...

Frameless IUD found to offer few advantages over standard copper contraceptive devices.(News)(intrauterine device)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... A NEW flexible frameless contraceptive intra-uterine device offers no real advantage over a standard framed copper T contraceptive device, according to the Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin. Gynefix, which is approved for up to five years'...

Analysis: an estimated 470,000 people use homeopathic remedies in England every year but, as Francesca Robinson reports, two new papers have cast doubt on the treatments' effectiveness.(Complementary Medicine)
April 12, 2002... A review of research studies has concluded that there is currently insufficient evidence of effectiveness either to recommend homeopathy as a treatment for any specific condition or to warrant significant changes in its current provision. ...

GPs and nurses should grab our opportunities.
April 12, 2002... There aren't enough of us, and there aren't enough of you. So the future is going to be very interesting. There is no doubt that a strong primary care service is essential--90% of patient contacts in the NHS happen in primary care. We...

Your role: there is much evidence to suggest that early identification and intervention in the care of drug misusers by primary healthcare teams can be beneficial Kate Speechly suggests how a practice might manage this patient group.(Drug Misuse)
April 12, 2002... For many of those working in primary healthcare, undertaking the management of a patient in the throes of a full-blown drug addiction may seem a daunting and possibly somewhat unattractive proposition. Traditionally, care of this patient...

Nurse prescribing: the first batch of nurses to take on full independent extended prescribing rights will receive their prescription pads by spring of this year. Jason Hall and Judith Cantrill discuss the issues for any nurses who fancy putting pen to prescription.(Professional Issue)
April 12, 2002... KEY POINTS * Independent nurse prescribers, under the new proposals, will be professionally responsible for their own actions * Although the legislation will permit nurses to prescribe any of the drugs listed, their own professional...

Diarrhoea: in acute diarrhoea the nurse's main management concern is to assess the degree of dehydration. Patients with chronic diarrhoea need to be fully investigated to determine the cause.(Minor illness: common conditions in general practice)
April 12, 2002... Diarrhoea is an increased frequency and fluidity of the stools. Acute cases can be caused by a variety of factors including viral, bacterial or protozoal infection, dietary indiscretion, irritable bowel syndrome, food intolerance,...

Bowel cancer & nutrition: this cancer is the second most common cancer killer in England yet research shows it may be easily preventable with a healthy lifestyle and the right choice of food.(GI Disease)
April 12, 2002... KEY POINTS * Bowel cancer is the second most common cancer killer in England. The only cancer that kills more people is lung cancer (1) * Bowel cancer is curable if caught early enough. (1) * There is convincing evidence that...

Disabled travellers: holidays for the disabled or elderly traveller should be carefully planned. Nick Jones offers suggestions on how to advise this patient group.(Travel Health)
April 12, 2002... KEY POINTS * People with a disability should be encouraged to adopt a realistic attitude to their destination. * Make sure that patients have a contact telephone number or email address for the surgery in case their medical details...

Women often unaware of link between smoking and cervical cancer.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... Women are still unaware of the link between smoking and cervical cancer. A questionnaire was given to 722 women aged between 20 and 64 years. Thirty-six per cent of respondents were smokers. This group perceived their relative risk of heart...

Grapefruit juice ill-advised for men using Viagra.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... A study has suggested that men taking sildenafil should not drink grapefruit juice. In this randomised crossover trial, 24 healthy men were given one dose of sildenafil (Viagra) and two doses of 250ml of grapefruit juice, one with the...

We need systematic collection of data on CHD risk factors.(coronary heart disease)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... There needs to be have systematic collection of information on the risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD), researchers have suggested. 18 GPs and 18 practice nurses were asked to assess whether 110 people were at high or low risk...

Homeopathy not proven effective in asthma.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... Homeopathy is not effective in treatment of asthma, researchers have discovered. 42 people with asthma and allergies to house dust mite were included in this double blind trial. They were either given homeopathic immunotherapy or placebo...

Head lice developing resistance to many OTC insecticides.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... Head lice are becoming resistant to many OTC products, a study has shown. Lice were collected from children in six different areas of the UK and tested with the insecticides permethrin, phenothrin, malathion and cart)awl. The...

Healthy lifestyle beats drug in preventing onset of type 2 diabetes.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... Losing weight and taking more exercise have been shown to be more effective than metformin in reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Researchers recruited 3,234 people who were not diabetic but had high fasting and post-load blood...

Low fish intake in early pregnancy linked to poor outcome.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... We should encourage women to eat fish during early pregnancy as it seems to reduce the risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight, investigators have found. 8729 pregnant women were all given questionnaires between weeks 16 and 30 of...

Erectile dysfunction clinics: erectile dysfunction is a serious medical condition that impairs the quality of life of many men. Suzan Shepherd explains how nurses can set up their own clinics and use effective modern treatments in the management of this condition.(Men's Health)
April 12, 2002... KEY POINTS * ED is a common medical condition that seriously impairs quality of life of patient and partner. * ED is relatively straightforward to diagnose in primary care. Only a minority of men need specialist referral. * Many...

Marathon diet tips: if you have ever been inspired to run a marathon you will know that training for this kind of event is tough enough but it will be tougher if your diet is not supporting all your hard work and effort.(Nutrition)
April 12, 2002... So you think you're ready to run? Don't forget: * Drink loads of liquids * Vary your food groups * Pack in the carbs * Aim for five portions of fruit and veg each day * Eat high-fibre foods to maintain a healthy...

Walk this way.(What's in: latest products * leaflets * books and useful resources)(Step-O-Meter campaign)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... The British Heart Foundation and the Countryside Agency have a launched a joint health campaign to get the nation on its feet and walking. The Step-O-Meter campaign aims to encourage more people to make walking part of their everyday lives....

Acne gel.(What's in: latest products * leaflets * books and useful resources)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... The first once-daily topical antibiotic for acne has been launched. Zindaclin, which combines zinc with the antibiotic clindamycin, is a new formulation from the Strakan Group. It comes in the form of a gel which, Straken claims, improves the...

Insulin mix.(What's in: latest products * leaflets * books and useful resources)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... Nova Nordisk has launched a new insulin mix and pen to administer it. NovoMix 30 and the disposable FlexPen have been designed to make using insulin convenient and discreet. The FlexPen has a simple, single-step dose setting and easy dose...

Migraine doses.(What's in: latest products * leaflets * books and useful resources)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... A new oral treatment for migraine has been developed by Pfizer. Relpax (eletriptan)is effective across its dose range in the acute treatment of the headache phase of migraine with or without aura and its associated symptoms of photophobia,...

Psoriasis guide.(What's in: latest products * leaflets * books and useful resources)(Brief Article)
April 12, 2002... There is now a clear primary care guide for nurses to use when they manage patients with psoriasis. A Guide to Psoriasis Care aims to provide step-by-step, up-to-date and practical guidance for assessing and managing psoriatic patients more...

I feel like a novice again ... Embarking on the Extended Independent Nurse Prescribing course, Diane Searle's hope is that in the future she will be able to complete her consultations without the need to interrupt GP ...(Prescriber's diary: a Practice Nurse view of nurse prescribing training)
April 12, 2002... I have been a practice nurse for about five years. I work in a large forward-thinking, dynamic training practice in Harlow that serves about 11,300 patients. The practice team includes seven GPs, one registrar, five nurses and a nursing...

Eczema in the home.(Eczema treatment)
April 12, 2002... clinical overview Eczema, or dermatitis, is a common skin condition that affects 1 in 5 children and 1 in 10 adults in the UK. (1) There are many different types of eczema but all cause a dry itchy rash. (2,3) In severe cases the eczema...