Editorial Resources

General practice nursing has adapted and evolved many times in the two decades I have been one. I have developed many new skills in this time and I now practice at a level way
beyond what I would have imagined when I started my nurse training in 1986. I probably wouldn’t have believed you then if you had told me I would be diagnosing, investigating,
prescribing, and referring in the same way my medical colleagues do 37 years later. We were not even able to take blood or give paracetamol in 1986. Times have changed and
continue to change.

I had a eureka moment reading the ‘Practice matters’ piece, ‘What do GPNs need to know about GDPR’ and a sensation of various burdens lifting off my shoulders. Now I had found a reason to have a different approach to writing up my consultations and this would be better for patients

Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) is a treatment, often referred to as non-invasive ventilation (NIV), which provides breathing support for patients with respiratory insufficiency outside of the traditional hospital setting. This type of treatment was first used to treat those affected during the Polio pandemic in the mid-20th century, and has been used in the community setting since the 1980s.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Across the UK over 47,500 men are diagnosed each year with a 10-year survivorship of approximately 80% (Prostate Cancer
UK, 2022). It is estimated that more than 400,000 men in the UK are living with and beyond prostate cancer (Prostate Cancer UK, 2022).

Professional networking is a valuable tool to build advantageous professional support systems of people who will advise, encourage and enhance healthcare practice (Donelan, 2014). Networking benefits include increased engagement and insight
into healthcare policy and subsequent changes and trends in the professions, along with better opportunities for career advancement (Meiring, 2018).

Dermatological conditions are notoriously difficult to spell! Psoriasis with its silent ‘P’ and eczema without an ‘X’. But how about hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)? Hard to spell, hard to pronounce but, more importantly, really hard to be a patient with the condition.

The Asthma+Lung UK helpline takes more than 1,000 calls a month from people who are struggling with their asthma and need advice and support to manage their symptoms. Asthma is a common lung condition affecting 5.4 million people in the UK, and is more prevalent among women than men (https://ukdataservice.ac.uk). The charity’s recent analysis finds that women are, shockingly, almost twice as likely to die from an asthma attack than men (Asthma+Lung UK, 2022).

#AskAboutAsthma is an annual awareness campaign that takes place in September. Now in its sixth year, the campaign is about making simple changes to children and young people’s care that will make a big difference to how they experience their asthma. Primary care clinicians are critical to making these changes, with general practice nurses (GPNs) playing a vital role.

The National Paediatric Respiratory and Allergy Nurses Group (NPRANG) was formed 27 years ago as an asthma group for nurse specialists, with the first meeting taking place at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool. The group met annually before becoming part of the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) Respiratory Group when they had independent learning groups. However, when the learning groups within the RCN merged, NPRANG became an independent group with members from all fields of respiratory and allergy medicine.

Heart Failure (HF) already affects a million people in the UK. With 200,000 new cases annually, it is the fastest rising cardiovascular disease in the country (British Heart Foundation, 2022). And yet, the public and politicians are barely aware of this condition and the huge impact it has on people’s lives. At Pumping Marvellous, the UK’s only dedicated patient-led heart failure charity, we know too well what can happen when people are blindsided by HF, and how poorly understood it is. We also know how much can be achieved when people are educated and supported to manage their care.