Letter from the editor

Published: 17 October 2011

After a tumultuous few months, it is as important as ever to share best practice, says Jenny Greenfield.

Welcome to your autumn edition of the Practice Nurse Association newsletter. The nights are drawing in, winter is fast approaching and it is that time of year again - seasonal influenza immunisation time. I am sure everyone is busy with these.

Remember, not only should we be encouraging uptake from the over 65s and those with chronic disease, but as nursing staff we should be encouraged to protect ourselves, our families and patients by having the vaccine.

 Last year, according to figures from the Department of Health, only 30 per cent of NHS nurses had the seasonal flu jab, the lowest uptake among any staff group. So please consider the importance of immunisation.

Uncertain times

It has been a tumultuous few months for all of us who work with the NHS. We were gearing up to the establishment of GP consortia by 2013 - now branded as clinical commissioning groups - but now the pace appears to have slowed following the Government’s acceptance of the NHS Future Forum’s recommendations.

This slowing down does provide us with some time to pause and remember that meeting the needs of the patients should be our first priority, and that this depends critically on the knowledge and skills of all NHS professionals. With cuts potentially being made on education and training funds, it is even more important to share best practice.

Israel tour

I have just had the privilege of coming back from a five-day tour of Israel looking at primary and secondary health care services.

 Despite the fact that Israel is very proud of its nurses and more than 70 per cent are trained to degree level, they do not appear to have the autonomy of British nurses. For example, all cervical screening is undertaken by a gynaecologist and nurses do not suture in minor injuries or plaster fractures. However, the teamwork we saw clearly had an impact on patient outcomes – their drive for change always seemed to put patients at the centre of what they were doing.

Israeli health care views cross agency-working as the norm. The multi-disciplinary teams are based together, to enable them to work together. Maybe this should be considered in Britain?

This trip was the first of its kind arranged by the Israeli embassy. I felt honored to be one of eight nurses selected from England, Ireland and Scotland to go on this trip. Hopefully it is the start of learning from each other and sharing best practice internationally as well as nationally.

 Finally

Separately, last issue I included a link to the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare website, which I thought you may find useful. It is part of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Do have a look if you missed this last time.