TUS: Midlands Nursing and Health Blog

Friday, April 17, 2015

Alarm over use of security staff to restrain patients

Inspector’s report says restraint should only be carried out by health professionals

Inspectors have expressed alarm that a mental health unit has been using security staff to physically restrain residents.

In a report into the acute psychiatric unit of the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis, Co Clare, the Inspector of Mental Health Services found two security staff were engaged in ordering and initiating the restraint of patients in some instances.

While this practice was originally introduced for the management of one individual, the 39-bed unit had since used security personnel in restraint of other residents.

Facilities for patients with acute psychiatric difficulties in Waterford University Hospital remain unsuitable despite a recent €1.2 million upgrade, according to a new report.

The Inspector of Mental Health Services reports for 2014 also outlined concerns over the admission of children to adult facilities as well as “careless” prescription practices in certain centres.

Despite being largely compliant across various categories the Waterford hospital came in for particular criticism, and inspectors concluded that attempted improvements to the acute unit at the Department of Psychology failed to address issues of design, layout and care facilities.

As a result, residents of the 10-person unit were left without dining facilities or adequate seating area
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Psychiatric nurses reject calls for increased productivity

Union says psychiatric nurses want ‘unfettered’ return of pay lost during recession

The Psychiatric Nurses’ Association has become the latest union to reject calls by Government ministers for increased productivity in return for pay increases.

PNA general secretary Des Kavanagh said his members wanted forthcoming talks between Government and unions to result in a reinstatement of previous pay levels without any strings attached.

INMO survey finds rise in bullying of nurses and midwives

A large-scale survey of more than 2,000 nurses and midwives in Ireland suggests 6% of respondents are being bullied on a daily basis.
The last survey on the incidence of workplace among nurses and midwives was carried out in 2010 and according to this latest study the problem has worsened significantly since then.

The survey of 2,400 members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation found that almost 6% of respondents reported being bullied on an almost daily
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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

HSE failed to act on Portlaoise safety risks – Hiqa

The Government “determined” Portlaoise hospital should have 24-hour surgery and critical care but did not ensure it was safely resourced to provide this level of service, according to a controversial draft report by the State’s health regulator.
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Thursday, April 2, 2015

3 Steps to Heal Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal fatigue is estimated to affect around 80% of people in the world! According to James Wilson (author of “Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome”) chronic stress and lifestyle affects the body’s ability to recuperate from physical, mental or emotional stress.

Whether for a short time, or a chronic condition, most people will struggle with adrenal fatigue at some point in their life.

Do you sometimes have:

body aches
trouble concentrating
racing thoughts
moodiness and irritability
constant tiredness
feeling overwhelmed
hormone imbalance
cravings for sweet and salty foods

These symptoms can be indicative of a few different disorders, and are often overlooked by doctors, but more and more people are starting to realize that a combination of these could indicate the onset of adrenal fatigue also known as adrenal insufficiency.

WebMD

Hep C patients clear virus after 'transformative' treatment

Around 80 patients with the Hepatitis C virus who were seriously ill with advanced liver disease, have cleared the virus from their blood after receiving new treatment under an early access programme introduced in December.

Of the patients who received the treatment, 95% have been found to have no evidence of the Hepatitis C virus in their blood.

Dr Suzanne Norris, Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, TCD and St James's Hospital described the results as "transformative".

A drugs firm has been accused of trying to block access to what some doctors believe is a cheap, safe and effective drug to treat a common eye condition.

The British Medical Journal claims it has revealed a campaign to derail research into the cancer drug Avastin.

The claim has been denied by Novartis, the firm which markets the officially licensed drug, Lucentis, in the UK.

Many doctors use Avastin as a cheaper but unlicensed alternative to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

AMD affects at least 26,000 people each year in the UK and if left untreated can cause blindness.

The latest research puts the number at around 40,000, of which around two-thirds are likely to need treatment.

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Portlaoise hospital criticised in new report

Fewer than one in six patient complaints to the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise, is dealt with in the target time of 30 days, according to an unpublished HSE report.

Concerns over the hospital’s inability to deal with complaints and requests for information were identified by the hospital manager on 16 separate occasions between 2011 and 2014, but there was little evidence of any “purposeful action”, it says

A HSE-run care unit for people with disabilities was told to cease admissions and transfer residents that it was unable to care for following a highly critical inspection report.

Inspectors from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) conducted an unannounced inspection of St Peter’s Services in Castlepollard, Co Westmeath last December following concerns over the safety and welfare of residents.

Half of young Irish may have mental disorder

MORE than half young people may have a form of mental health disorder before the age of 25, according to a new study. The conditions are mostly mood disorders, anxiety, abnormal eating habits and alcohol abuse, said the research published in the 'Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine'.
The study involved a representative sample of 212 young people from schools in north Dublin, interviewing them at aged 12-15 and following them up when they were 19-24 years old.
The research found 28.4pc had mood disorders, 27.1pc suffered anxiety and 22.7pc had substance abuse disorders. One in four had more than one problem..
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Plan under review to tackle hospital overcrowding

Reform of funding arrangements for Fair Deal nursing home scheme a key element. ealth service chiefs and Government officials are working on a multimillion euro plan aimed at tackling hospital overcrowding and delayed discharges.

Highly placed sources said a key element of the initiative would be reforming funding for the Fair Deal nursing home scheme. The move may involve ending the annual funding cap for Fair Deal and making the scheme “demand-led