Welfare Reform on the Web (April 2010): National Health Service - primary and community care
Communicating with patients of South Asian origin: problems and solutions in the context of rheumatoid arthritis
K. Kumar and others
Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care, vol. 2, Dec. 2009, p.22-26
Rheumatoid arthritis is a common chronic disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Highly effective therapies are now available for the disease, but they do not offer a cure and have to be taken long term. Many patients of South Asian origin have beliefs about disease causation and the utility of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments that differ from those held by other groups. Communication problems can make it difficult for professionals to address these issues. This article discusses strategies to encourage South Asian patients to cooperate with treatment regimes, including linguistically appropriate educational material, peer support and telephone helplines.
Delivering quality and High Impact Actions
C. Dowsett and R. White
British Journal of Healthcare Management, vol. 16, 2010, p. 92-93
Under the new care quality improvement agenda in the NHS, pressure ulcers have been identified as a key focus for measuring nursing outcomes. This article presents a case study of how the tissue viability service of NHS Newham reduced the number of hospital admissions of nursing home residents with pressure ulcers through a combination of training events and close monitoring of patients in local nursing homes.
Evaluation of a return to practice health visiting scheme
M. Amin and others
Community Practitioner, vol.83, Mar. 2010, p. 25-28
A scheme was set up in Leicestershire to increase the health visiting workforce by providing a route back into practice for health visitors whose registration had lapsed. Offers of financial and placement support were used to encourage students to enrol. The scheme provided an inexpensive and rapid way of returning already trained health visitors to practice.
A qualified service
K. Ly
Community Practitioner, vol.83, Mar. 2010, p. 10-11
Primary care trusts and strategic health authorities have failed to meet the Department of Health's goal of providing every secondary and every cluster of primary schools with a qualified school nurse by 2010, despite funds being allocated for this. This paper looks at how to improve recruitment and training.
Nursing shortfall threatens right to die at home
D. Rose
The Times, Mar. 1st 2010, p. 14
The charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, has suggested that a lack of 24-hour nursing cover and poor planning by doctors is threatening government plans to give terminally ill patients the right to die at home. Just one in five deaths occurs in the home, although two thirds of people say that their home is where they would prefer to die. Doctors were criticised for failing to discuss plans for death with patients nearing the end of their lives.
Where did all the GPs go? Increasing supply and geographical equity in England and Scotland
M. Goddard and others
Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, vol. 15, 2010, p.28-35
In the UK, geographical differences in the supply of GPs per head of the population have existed since the foundation of the NHS in 1948. Three policy approaches can be used to reduce differences in GP supply across areas: regulation of entry, targeted initiatives to encourage GPs to locate in under-doctored areas, and general increases in supply. This paper uses recent experience in the NHS to discuss the effects of two of these levers. Between 2002 and 2005 there was an increase in the total supply of GPs and entry restrictions were abolished in 2002. However analysis suggests that neither of these approaches was effective in reducing geographical inequity and that targeted initiatives are needed to increase supply in under-doctored areas.