29 May 2024

Our garden is in full bloom, and we have had a lovely spell of sunny weather. We were even treated to the northern lights above our house last week— worth being woken up for at 1.00am! It’s not just the garden and the weather I feel excited about, the first in our podcast series is now live, ‘Heart failure in primary care — role of GPNs’ (www.journalofpracticenursing. co.uk/course/heart-failure-in-primary- care-role-of-gpns/details) and you can join my colleague Susan and I as we sit down for a ‘coffee break’ chat about heart failure, admittedly half an hour is more than I normally get for a coffee break! However, making this time to sit and talk was hugely beneficial, and I learnt so much that now helps in practice. I hope you can make the time to watch it and please share what you found useful and any ideas for future discussion on this GPN community platform.

05 December 2023

Wound care in the UK has long been overlooked, often treated as a consequence of underlying health conditions rather than a distinct medical concern. However, as the prevalence of chronic wounds continues to rise, it is becoming increasingly evident that this perspective is unsustainable. Chronic wounds impact around 7% of the UK population, imposing a substantial burden on both patients and the healthcare system, with the NHS spending over £8.3 billion annually to manage the issue (Making wound care work: 9). Despite these alarming figures, wound care services remain understaffed and undervalued, straining to meet the rising demand for their expertise (Making wound care work: 4).

05 December 2023

Shingles infection remains a risk in the UK for those who are immunocompetent or immunocompromised. One in five people in the UK will contract shingles in their lifetime and the risks of a more severe illness and longer term sequelae increase with age (NHS England, 2023). Uptake of the vaccine has been generally poor since it was first introduced in 2013–2014 (UK Health Security Agency [UKHSA], 2023a). Reasons for this may include an opinion that shingles is not severe, or a lack of information that a free vaccine is available, as well as poor accessibility and myths around the vaccine (Bricout et al, 2019). The change in the national immunisation programme for shingles from 1st September this year, with a more structured addition of additional groups up until 2030 and a good selection of vaccines and manageable intervals will hopefully help with this (UK Health Security Agency [UKHSA], 2023a).

29 November 2024

Sjögren’s syndrome. Never heard of it? No, neither had I. In fact, a nurse I spoke to only a few weeks ago hadn’t either.

Sjögren’s syndrome (hereafter known as Sjögren’s) is a chronic autoimmune disorder of unknown origin (Carsons and Patel, 2023), which attacks the secretory glands that produce fluid for the eyes, mouth, skin, gastrointestinal and genital tract resulting in decreased 
fluid production (Lackner et al, 2017). Essentially however, the condition has the potential to affect virtually any organ system leading to extreme clinical symptoms (Negrini et al, 2022), the impact of which can be severely debilitating.

23 November 2016

What is fascinating since the launch of the Journal of General Practice Nursing in May 2015, is that we have become increasingly aware of the demands that delivering skin and wound care places on community- and practice-based nurses.

25 March 2019

Skin tears are a common type of tissue injury, which often go unrecognised and misdiagnosed. Furthermore, classification and documentation of skin is often poor, resulting in chronic wounds with associated adverse patient outcomes. The International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP) recently updated the International Best Practice Guidelines and definition of a skin tear based on emerging evidence and expert discussion and consensus. This article presents a discussion of the epidemiology, risk factors and causes of skin tears. In addition, the most recent best practice recommendations for the prevention, assessment, and management of skin tears is summarised.

11 September 2023

Moisture-associated skin damage (MASD) is an umbrella term to describe the trauma that occurs when there is prolonged exposure to moisture. Incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) is an MASD condition caused by urinary and/or faecal incontinence. It often causes significant pain and has a negative impact on an individual’s quality of life. Prompt diagnosis of IAD is key to successful management, but the early symptoms of erythema and redness may not be obvious in those with a dark skin tone. Delays in assessment and treatment mean that maceration, infection and the development of pressure ulcers become more of a risk. This is compounded by the lack of education and awareness of the significance of skin tone in relation to wound care. This article is based on published research, together with the practical experience of healthcare professionals at the Complex Wound Clinic (CWC) in North West London. The aim is to highlight the importance of considering skin tone when managing IAD. This can be achieved by using a validated skin tone assessment tool which shows a range of six skin tones. The importance of skin tone is a critical subject as the latest 2021 Census data shows that in England and Wales, 18% belong to a black, Asian, mixed or other ethnic group (Gov.UK, 2021 Census data).

14 March 2017

With wound and skin care taking up a considerable part of general practice nursing time, the new GPN ‘nurse consultation’ series follows the therapy chain for the management of patients with venous leg ulcers and looks at the skills needed to ensure safe, competent and professional consultations with patients.

Here, Kimberley Socrates, tissue viability nurse specialist, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, looks at the first link, i.e. the importance of accurate wound assessment aided by skin/ wound cleansing and debridement, and offers a simple, clinical and cost-effective method of debridement.

01 December 2021

Despite the recommendations of the original Marmot Report in 2010 (Marmot, 2010) and the subsequent Marmot review (2020), the widening gap causing health inequalities has impacted on life expectancy, particularly in areas with elevated levels of multiple deprivation. The gap has resulted in those living in the least deprived areas living longer than those in the most deprived areas. Moreover, the past 18 months has witnessed an exponential rise in the numbers of people developing significant health issues, such
as mental ill-health and obesity because of the Covid-19 pandemic (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). Here, Michelle Howarth, senior lecturer in nursing, Salford, Jo Ward, change maker, North West strategic lead for social prescribing, Cheshire and Merseyside Women and Children’s Partnership Museum Development Yorkshire consultant, and Daisy Jackson, North West regional mentor for care coordination and lead care coordinator, explore why there is an increased precedent to support communities to reduce this gap and address the wider determinants of health for citizens.

14 March 2016

Getting patients to access the care they need is not always easy, here Jason Beckford-Ball spoke to Laura Westwick about a project in east London that is connecting cancer patients with local services.

Too often in health care we are guilty of working alone and not utilising colleagues and services around us, even though they may have expertise and experience that might help us do our jobs better.