Resources

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a term that describes an infection anywhere within the urinary system where the commonest cause is Escherichia coli, which accounts for 80% of infections and is usually found in the urinary tract (Vasudevan, 2014). Women are more susceptible to UTIs than men as their urethra is shorter, which means that infection can easily ascend the tract (Vasudevan, 2014; John et al, 2016). However, as men age, the risk becomes equal to women (Harrington and Hooton, 2000; Rowe et al, 2014) and accurate diagnosis and management of UTIs in men using guidelines is poor (Isberg et al, 2024). This article considers the risk factors for UTI in men, how they present, and how UTI can be managed in primary care.

Patient safety can be considered similarly to safeguarding, something which is everybody’s responsibility. Indeed, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) ‘Code of Conduct’ states that risk and escalating concerns form a key part of the nurse’s role to preserve safety (NMC, 2018). Nurses have the most regular contact with patients and therefore play an important role in the identification, recognition and reporting of risk and incidents, the response and escalation of potential harm, and the ongoing patient support throughout and post incident. This article discusses the importance of being familiar with the ‘NHS Patient Safety Strategy’ and how it incorporates risk, incidents and education. And essentially, how it relates to nursing and the need for all nursing interactions to be considered from a patient safety perspective. The topics covered include incident reporting, risk management,  learning from harm, quality improvement, and information sharing. The piece also highlights the significance of record-keeping.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a rare, chronic, inflammatory, subepidermal, blistering disease that primarily affects older people (Chan, 2020). The blisters are usually filled with clear fluid and the surrounding skin is often red and inflamed. These blisters can appear anywhere on the body but are typically found on the lower abdomen, groin, upper thighs and arms.
The prevalence of BP has doubled in 20 years, due to population ageing and other factors (Persson et al, 2021a). This article provides details of the latest guidelines, explains what can trigger BP, and how it is diagnosed and treated.

This article critically analyses the process of clinical decision-making (CDM) and associated theories that contribute to safe clinical judgement, allowing trainee advanced clinical practitioners (tACPs) to expand their knowledge, skills and attitude to CDM at an advanced level. The case included is from the author’s own clinical practice and is a reflective
piece involving CDM which embraces the four pillars of advanced practice. The relevant professional, legal and ethical issues that assist tACPs to follow the ‘Code of Conduct’ (Nursing and Midwifery Council [NMC], 2018) are also discussed in relation to this complex CDM case.

I’ve overheard several people say that was the fastest summer yet — I am not sure what makes a summer pass faster than most, but I do agree it passed at lightning speed. As I try and settle into a routine for the autumn, I find myself busy reviewing our long-term condition lists, planning quality improvement projects and mentoring the nurses who are newer to our team but developing fast. The opportunities in general practice nursing are widening all the time and it’s a privilege to be supporting some nurses through their long-term condition modules and others to develop advanced practice skills, such as prescribing and clinical examination and assessment. Like the summer, everything seems to happen much faster these days. It is always stimulating to work with new nurses, it helps keep me up to date and to seek better ways of managing our increasingly busy GPN role.

Whenever scientists try and imagine what the future will look like, they invariably get a little carried away. If past predictions were anything to go by, by this point in the 21st century
we should all be whizzing about in driverless cars, feasting on laboratory grown meat and living to improbable ages, our life expectancy artificially extended by stem-cell implants.

At NHS Charities Together, we want everyone in the UK to experience the best healthcare possible.

Right now, the NHS is facing immense challenges. Pressures continue to grow, NHS resources are stretched, the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic is still starkly felt and budgets are squeezed so only the crucial elements of care are delivered. Patients’ needs
are changing — the population is growing and more people are living longer, often with more or multiple long-term conditions. We depend more on technology. Staff must be properly supported to provide a positive, personal experience to patients.

Here, Laura King, senior children and young people’s asthma practitioner for North-East London, explores the core themes for good asthma education, often called the ‘brilliant basics’. No matter how severe a patient’s asthma is, this is key learning that patients and their families/carers need to understand if they are going to manage their asthma effectively.

In the second part of our Monitoring matters series, Callum Metcalfe-O’Shea, advanced nurse practitioner and UK professional lead for long-term conditions with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), discusses the role of weight management in relation to long-term conditions. For the purpose of this article, again the term long-term conditions will cover type 2 diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), autoimmune
rheumatic diseases and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s/colitis). With advances and changes in how weight is addressed in general practice, this article highlights key issues faced and helps general practice nurses (GPNs) to recognise the value they play in supporting patients in their healthcare journey. Treatment options are also considered when appropriate in condition-related areas only.

The national influenza vaccination programme of the United Kingdom is highly successful, changeable and progressive and can feel relentless in its delivery. When the national flu immunisation programme plan for 2024 to 2025 (as known as ‘the annual letter’) was published on 12th March 2024, initially it seemed that this year would have very few changes to the programme, when compared to those of the last few years (UK Health Security Agency [UKHSA], 2024). However, since then there have been two versions of a statement of amendment, the second due to loss of a valuable vaccine type (UKHSA, 2024), and a pertinent letter from NHS England concerning the start dates for the programme (NHS England, 2024). These changes should not be a surprise to any immuniser, especially those who have been involved in the flu vaccination programmes in previous years. Changes often happen in the lead up to, and even after, the start of the
programme. Our national immunisation programmes (NIPs) are never static for long. They are changeable due to such things as changing epidemiology, differing vaccine types or supply, new evidence, national advice or recommendations being implemented and shared with the field regularly.