21 December 2018

Why should general practice nurses (GPNs) be concerned about psychological care? It is relevant in two key ways: identifying and addressing mental health in consultations with patients; and identifying and addressing psychological distress (which may be temporary, e.g. coping with stress) in patients.

05 March 2024

A new report on palliative and end-of-life care in the community has been published by the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) and Marie Curie.

The report by the two charities is based on a national survey of health and care staff undertaken in 2023. The majority of survey respondents were community nurses. The findings reflect how palliative and end-of-life care is delivered today, and shines a light on the challenges being faced by nurses. People at end of life need highquality
holistic care and support but worryingly, 9 out of ten respondents to the survey reported being unable to meet the needs of the people they care for, or those close to them, at least
in part.

09 July 2015

Currently in the UK there are almost seven million carers — that is one in ten people (Carer’s Trust, http://bit.ly/1QNAWZZ) — who perform a vital role in enabling people to lead independent lives in their own homes. To help nurses in primary care support these carers, the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) has launched two new resources (online educational modules to help nurses support carers). These new resources are one of the main results of the QNI’s ‘Carers project’, which ran throughout 2014 with support from the Department of Health (DH).

15 May 2015

Standing up for general practice nurses

23 November 2016

For the first time, the Queen’s Nursing Institute’s (QNI’s) annual conference was a two-day event, with a range of speakers on the twin themes of inspiring quality and success in nursing and on shaping the future of the nursing workforce. The speakers — from England, Wales and Northern Ireland — spoke about the various challenges facing the nursing workforce and some of the new initiatives that are being introduced to address them.

21 December 2018

Like many new ideas within the NHS, success relies heavily on a mixture of collaboration, grit determination and timing. This was very much the case with the Somerset dietetic-led gastroenterology clinic, which was established in 2012.

04 June 2025

Allergy UK launched a powerful campaign, ‘I Wish I Knew…’ in April, developed in response to rising allergy cases; with one in two people in Europe estimated to be living with an allergy by 2026 according to the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

29 March 2023

When our son Jack told my husband and I that he was gambling, we had no idea his life was at risk. As parents, we thought we knew all the dangers to warn our children about — drinking, drugs, smoking, road safety, sexual predators.

02 October 2017

Why reading can support patients' health and wellbeing.

The number of people in the UK living with long-term health conditions is rising, increasing the pressure on primary care services and staff as well as impacting on the quality of life of those affected. Primary care professionals, such as general practice nurses (GPNs), are responsible for a huge amount of the day-to-day care and management planning for these patients. Providing quality-assured information and support is an important part of this role, as is helping people to develop the right skills and knowledge to support self-care and self-management. 

National charity, The Reading Agency, works in partnership with public libraries to provide Reading Well Books on Prescription, i.e. carefully curated book lists of qualityassured health information and support, to help people to understand and manage a range of health conditions. This includes a new strand, launched in July 2017, which supports those living with long-term conditions, such as arthritis, bowel conditions, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

01 December 2021

Management of venous leg ulcers and use of compression therapy as early as possible have been identified as a priority (Atkin et al, 2021). However, selecting the correct wound dressing to use under compression therapy has not received the same attention, despite being crucial in the application of correct levels of pressure on the limb. This article reviews venous leg ulcers, how and why we use compression therapy, and the assessment needed before treatment starts. It also explores the attributes of dressings used under compression and the decision-making process for selecting correct dressings for each individual patient, while considering opportunities for promoting supported self-care.