There are currently over 800,000 people in the UK living with dementia, including 40,000 younger people. By 2021, the total number of people in the UK living with dementia will exceed one million. Only one-third of people with dementia are living in care homes, with the remaining two-thirds living in their own homes and communities (Alzheimer’s Society, 2017a). A recent report by the Alzheimer’s Society (Alzheimer’s Society, 2017b) found that 83% of respondents (people with dementia or their carers) said that enabling the person with dementia to stay at home was critical, and 59% said that being an active part of the community was important to the person with dementia.
Sometimes it is just so busy in day-to-day practice, that it is hard to find time to reflect or discuss what you really think about a range of issues — perhaps you are inhibited by your colleagues’ knowledge and experience, find speaking out difficult, or are just not confident in your knowledge base.
However, when it comes to caring for patients with respiratory disorders, being able to openly discuss a patient’s treatment pathway with others, as well as seeking out new knowledge and skills, might make all the difference to the level of care you deliver.
The first article in this two-part series on skin cancer highlighted the importance of educating the general public about the causes of skin cancer, as well as outlining preventative measures to reduce its incidence and help them respond appropriately to the initial signs (Alexander, 2016). This second article focuses on individuals who are at higher risk of developing skin cancer and looks at how education can help them to make informed choices about their exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation to reduce their chances of developing skin cancer.
The aim of this two-part article is to highlight an area of cancer which holds promise in the form of overall reduction in incidence and mortality rates dependent on a few factors. These factors include education of the general public about the causes of skin cancer and preventative measures to reduce skin cancer, identification of high risk groups, and finally how to respond appropriately to the first signs of skin cancer. This first part identifies known causes and highlights signs and symptoms of skin cancer and why early detection and treatment is essential for improving overall survival outcomes. The second part in the series will focus on individuals within the population who are at higher risk of developing skin cancer and look at how education can enable people to make informed choices about their exposure
to ultraviolet (UV) radiation to reduce their chances of developing skin cancer.
Celebrating 30 years of improving lives
Welcome to this issue of GPN. We are delighted to share the latest news in the world of Education for Health, especially at the start of this very special year — we are celebrating our 30th anniversary!
This is an important milestone in our charity’s history and one we are looking forward to celebrating in 2017. During the year we will thank those who have contributed to our success, reflect on our achievements and make ambitious plans for the future. We plan to mark our anniversary with a number of activities in May and June.
In each issue of the Journal of General Practice Nursing we investigate a topic currently affecting our readers. Here, Binkie Mais, considers patient care and asks...
Toby Capstick highlights why healthcare professionals and patients need the new UK Inhaler Group standards.
Teaching correct inhaler technique has long been known to be key in the management of respiratory conditions; the British Thoracic Society (BTS) and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network asthma (BTS/SIGN, 2016) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (NICE, 2010) guidelines give almost identical advice to healthcare professionals; namely, that inhalers should be prescribed only after patients have received training in the use of the device, and have demonstrated satisfactory technique, which is repeated regularly thereafter. This recommendation is emphasised in the NICE asthma and COPD quality standards (NICE, 2013; 2016).
Kathryn Evans gives her views on what needs to be done to provide high value wound care.
I have always been passionate about wound care and, as a practising district nurse, I learnt by experience and training to measure wounds, take photographs and undertake Doppler assessments (a noninvasive method to identify arterial insufficiency in the leg). This helped me to establish the treatment that each wound needed.
What I did not know was the effectiveness of my prescribed care and how my healing rates compared with another nurse’s care. I also could not say with any accuracy how quickly a patient could expect their wound to heal. I wish I had known…
So, my questions to you would be: Do you know? And, why is it important?
Malnutrition (undernutrition) affects three million people in the UK (Brotherton et al, 2010) and is responsible for health and social care costs exceeding £19 billion annually in England alone, half of which is due to people over 65 (Elia, 2015). While it is accepted that good nutrition is important to maintain health, there is a general lack of responsibility and ownership around the problem of undernutrition in primary care. Lack of understanding, including how to identify and treat it is also widespread. Despite National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines stating that all healthcare professionals should be involved in nutritional screening and treatment (NICE, 2006), there are barriers stopping primary care nurses from screening, i.e. challenges of organisational culture and competing priorities (Green and James, 2013; Green et al, 2014).
