The guidelines recommend minimum ratios based on the seriousness of a patient's condition and/or the level of care needed. For example, they recommend two registered nurses to one patient in cases of major trauma or cardiac arrest and one registered nurse to four cubicles in either ‘majors’ or ‘minors’.
An information and research blog for health professionals, compiled by the staff of District Library Services - MNCLHD
MNCLHD
![MNCLHD](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityKGTIG_QGdETriPsjOg4UIZxgbjCQiT6s4-FBwpvtde3oV0KcDnutlT4vohceZpihd8FEipHqdE2MCAiBB6CGqdaRjDxD9Encax3lqFiITmGtp7N0wATKuPllWX97DbUVSksUw4vA5k/s1600/2020+MNCLHD+Logo.png)
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
NICE Guideline for safe staffing of Emergency Departments
Draft guidelines for Safe staffing for nursing in A&E Departments have been released for consultation by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK. The aim is to ensure that A&E departments have the capacity to provide all necessary emergency care, including specialist input for children, older people or those with mental health needs.
The guidelines recommend minimum ratios based on the seriousness of a patient's condition and/or the level of care needed. For example, they recommend two registered nurses to one patient in cases of major trauma or cardiac arrest and one registered nurse to four cubicles in either ‘majors’ or ‘minors’.
The guidelines recommend minimum ratios based on the seriousness of a patient's condition and/or the level of care needed. For example, they recommend two registered nurses to one patient in cases of major trauma or cardiac arrest and one registered nurse to four cubicles in either ‘majors’ or ‘minors’.
What are incident reports telling us? Australian study
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6bEdj7NZp8RAG9sbnEqWALKgABQm9QMf3XutsHxBZXk6CRYzN6oISA4GSIyWhTqN-MXXXSVGFUMKd3sudwgVeMh2MYGdhnTAqwKnFuVa2IYw4zYaExaPKJqZzniRnzyMxpR2iIwirVo/s1600/6_cover-source_2.jpg)
The authors of the paper, "What are incident reports telling us? A comparative study at two Australian hospitals of medication errors identified at audit, detected by staff and reported to an incident system", conclude that there are inaccuracies inherent in the practice of using incident frequency to compare patient risk or quality performance within or across hospitals. They suggest that there are new approaches, such as data mining, which are needed to support better control of medication errors.
Westbrook JI, Li L, Lehnbom EC, Baysari MT, Braithwaite J, Burke R, I International Journal for Quality in Health Care. First published online, January 2015. ttp://dx.doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzu098
Improving the quality and safety of care on the medical ward
The medical ward is at the heart of inpatient care in hospital, but the evidence base for the organisation of care here is disjointed. This paper, "Improving the quality and safety of care on the medical ward: a review and synthesis of the evidence base"is the first review of the literature on this subject. The authors found five common themes where interventions could be targeted: staffing levels and team composition; interdisciplinary communication
and collaboration; standardisation of care; early recognition and treatment of
the deteriorating patient; and local safety climate. The authors emphasise that clinicians should be open to incorporating evidence based practice at the ward level.
Ask your health librarian for a full-text copy of the article:
Ask your health librarian for a full-text copy of the article:
Pannick S, Beveridge I, Wachter RM, Sevdalis N. European Journal of Internal Medicine. 2014;25(10):874-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2014.10.013
Labels:
Evidence based practice,
Hospitals,
Patient Care
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Ask for Evidence
Do you want to query a claim about promises of detox diets, super-foods and high-tech work out plans? Before you pay out for them, take a moment to consider whether the claims are based on solid science, or if they are just seductive marketing claims designed to part you from your pennies. With support from the Wellcome Trust, the charity Sense About Science has launched a new interactive website, that lets you ask individuals and companies directly for evidence behind claims they make. Although this is a British website, it does make for relevant reading and is more than suitable for Australians.
Ask for Evidence website: http://www.askforevidence.org/index
Atrial Fibrillation Epidemic?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27L0_sjxZGZjzkW_bLrMZt6v4dsXH21pNP2-n2E7-MkZ63kLFHPk8uz5wKbpcdUixzE2L5IwZiWFTD8_MaOcRLDK1UHXuMnF6UAl4h1Y5fpGMTDQ8FdFmCESeouVIUHtwSLskfrM9IwM/s1600/heart-scan-img.jpg)
This recent study from the Australian Catholic University's Mary MacKillop Institute of Health Research in Melbourne lays out the facts quite clearly. Professor Simon Stewart, co-author of the paper in the MJA says, "We need to start making some inroads with things like high blood pressure and weight levels, we can't afford not to."
Jocasta Ball, David R Thompson, Chantal F Ski, Melinda J
Carrington, Tracey Gerber and Simon Stewart (2015). Estimating the current and future prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the Australian adult population, Med J Aust ; 202 (1): 32-35. (open access)
Global Status Report on Noncommunicable Diseases
The World Health
Organization (WHO) has just released its Global Status Report on
Noncommunicable Diseases, the second in a series tracking
worldwide progress in the prevention and control of cancers, lung disease,
diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Non-communicable diseases,
which are sometimes called “lifestyle” or “chronic diseases”, are caused by
common risk factors. The good news is that they can also be prevented by largely
shared strategies. Tobacco control, for example, helps reduce cancers, heart
disease, stroke and lung diseases – all of which are non-communicable diseases.
Improving the diet of populations will help avoid obesity, cancer, diabetes and
heart attacks – also all non-communicable disease.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTxwUQloICz45uxIYXaJEKULFlbjPQFdq2VjLD-QCF_YYCtoOrAzZVBSnEgU6ZJATNMk-lAhEOTknxUI-gmILgTPxW3oqJv8EmXpmmcMP8sYp4emoLQO-27ZJw1FWB5QKAJXtMbUcrLU/s1600/global.bmp)
Global status report on noncommunicable diseases 2014
Labels:
Cancer,
Chronic Disease,
Diabetes,
Obesity,
Statistics
Friday, January 16, 2015
Review on Antimicrobial Resistance
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPgA1OH3ltlMKjvScnpr02lnTSrC6tc9ccT_xgGE8AB1yiRL-kmOHliQ7YDPGcWQ26aoF6jOTyDM8bL-LCBR47XMurXKjLHeRGUB9gomX_C3ImzXBpSV-KFtz8Ktf2V1r2cF8LqAFtwA/s1600/rmr.png)
The Review has now published its first paper, Antimicrobial resistance: tackling a crisis for the health and wealth of nations. In the paper you can read a description of the problems of antimicrobial resistance and its primary and secondary health effects with details on current research. There is also a description of the economic cost to the world of this problem, and a call for an optimistic approach to the future.
Patient safety risks associated with telecare
A recent open access article in BMC Health Services Research examined the literature on telecare for patients at home and identified eleven types of risks to patient safety. Risks included lack of patient or staff knowledge and understanding, technology issues, changes to staff workload, accessibility problems, lack of clear guidelines, poor patient compliance and the nature of the homecare environment.
The authors concluded that there is a need to better identify risks and thus avoid potential harm to patients utilising telecare services. They offer some suggestions as to how this could be done.
The authors concluded that there is a need to better identify risks and thus avoid potential harm to patients utilising telecare services. They offer some suggestions as to how this could be done.
Patient safety risks associated with telecare:a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the literature Guise V, Anderson J, Wiig S. BMC Health Services Research. 2014 Nov 25;14(1):588.
Cancer Information website from Macquarie University
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7v_ElO0NhF2kUekU4tiC_KO10860HzFH1sOc9WAfhxL9ctnVEvc-aT2CmgOP4Ge05tf1eyfXKpwEbyEs2_sxXf1zKFmwM0dweLKXKFndwCKXuiQognjkYRsTDP3wk5zHdvOrcU73aVw/s1600/logo.png)
Labels:
Cancer,
Directories; Cancer,
Patient information
Rural training encourages doctors move to regional areas?
A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia this month looks at how doctors' rural background and years of rural clinical school training affect their decisions to take up subsequent rural clinical practice. Determinants of rural practice: positive interaction between rural background and rural undergraduate training reports on a cohort study of medical graduates from the University of Queensland between 2002 and 2011. The results showed a significant correlation between rural background and rural clinical school exposure with current rural practice. The authors believe this has strengthened the argument for enhancing the efficacy of Australia's rural clinical
school programs.
Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan, Diann S Eley, et al. MJA Online First doi: 10.5694/mja14.00236
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
The Economics of Preventing Hospital Falls
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNtagjx8-6SxvikN8zRYGrgYQoHLwBqMOEnx-ZGSSLinkYjIjiSAZ9Te5DyymAxdPIyHqRHf3o3NzKHN3eVGfOX-SOFflZDdKFE0hjZDTUyMBCxIRtxtoyiaaijhRVzqrkAgjQPuurIk/s1600/Jona.jpg)
Hospital rating programs often report fall rates, and performance-based payment systems force hospitals to bear the costs of treating patients after falls. Some interventions have been demonstrated as effective for falls prevention. Often net costs are calculated for implementing a falls-prevention program as compared with not making improvements in patient fall rates and the results showed that falls-prevention programs can reduce the cost of treatment. But in many scenarios, the costs of falls-prevention programs were shown to be greater than potential cost savings.
Spetz, J., Brown, Diane S., Aydin, C. (2015). The Economics of Preventing Hospital Falls: Demonstrating ROI Through a Simple Model. Journal of Nursing Administration, 45(1), 50-57.
Providing care after stillbirth
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-nEdcttU85ulYEoP4ZQBDHsGCh5ouRxRbE_g8-1t4FDZr20gkuYK0RQJDdYjZ77CtnuRJJCNW6mWNIM_zijK5PWD7tR2HWTIkgiubnevxoJe8gSA_QPqN4WbK3KtBtqYaYdJACZCGtPc/s1600/stillbirth.bmp)
1. Evidence-based guidance for healthcare professionals providing care for parents from diagnosis to birth
2. Evidence-based guidance for healthcare professionals providing care for parents immediately after birth
3. Providing care for families who have experienced stillbirth: a comprehensive systematic review
Electronic Cigarettes: getting the science right and communicating it accurately
Electronic cigarettes are being used by millions of people
worldwide, mostly in an attempt to reduce smoking or stop altogether. Policy
makers, smokers, clinicians and the public in general need accurate information
on their safety and potential for reducing smoking rates. Unfortunately in some
notable cases the science is being misused, with findings being distorted,
misinterpreted or
misrepresented.
The journal Addiction, presents 19 articles
in a free virtual issue in an attempt to clarify the debate over e-cigarettes. The title of the virtual issue is Electronic cigarettes: getting the science right and communicating it accurately.
Anatomy and Neurophysiology of Cough: CHEST Guideline
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTv3GHyXRI1JpGjKoaNXWJ_pEFZ75yGHOin7xv3pYnfE4qzrfofKdUi4gJkErNh99mRkuo2BHFeRdJSKDKAx8GhP0o7UojDdIQ8BxOEu80p3VO00s6PiyPYSllkr8XSj0RiPDx2fYzLhU/s1600/cough.png)
Brendan J. Canning, PhD;
Anne B. Chang, MBBS, PhD, MPH; Donald C. Bolser, PhD; Jaclyn A. Smith, MBChB,
PhD; Stuart B. Mazzone, PhD, FCCP; Lorcan McGarvey, MD, Anatomy and Neurophysiology of
Cough: CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report. Chest. 2014;146(6):1633-1648.
doi:10.1378/chest.14-1481
Daily sitting time among a sample of Australian office-based employees
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfELcdsf0HxcbJc2DuOz6eubPtAimwZhrTUYvqi78FUD1tRxsaAc5I3J_SUy-XkiE1URbTfT1wCLlA1_luM9WtF1G5M1vdd-tjx8g9pCao_RzKBOQeiWx6atimJkIJ3bffD0uMakSZ0E/s1600/cover.gif)
This study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health aims to examine prevalence estimates of total and domain-specific sitting time among Australian desk-based employees, and to help inform who is most at risk of extended sitting time, and in which domain this occurs. Public health strategies to reduce daily sitting levels in desk-based workers should particularly focus on younger, overweight/obese and insufficiently active individuals, as it seems that they are at the highest risk of this health-risk behaviour. The article is on open access.
Bennie, J. A., Pedisic, Z., Timperio, A., Crawford, D., Dunstan,
D., Bauman, A., van Uffelen, J. and Salmon, J. (2014), Total and domain-specific sitting time among employees in desk-based work settings in Australia.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.
doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12293
Cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease-Australian facts: Morbidity
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDohHdoCccQwB_G5s5RmeSk5H87VctoutWMoS2As-MPfRr1H1ydEIv_FDTmWgqlaYd81ZxCrz5WUYSMic9L33Nybym1b677kn4g0ST3OLdMGRpHFYmb9x6mXMvxVGdp5bgD0qfXHBFRk/s1600/18032-cover.png)
This report on Morbidity presents up-to-date statistics as well as
trends on hospitalisations from these chronic diseases. It examines age and sex
characteristics, and variations across population groups, including among
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by geographical location, and by
socioeconomic disadvantage.
Download the report here.
Labels:
Chronic Disease,
Diabetes,
Kidney disease,
Statistics,
Stroke
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