The Nursing Week News


Hundreds of Scottish nursing posts face axe


Nearly 400 NHS nursing posts are set to be cut in Scotland during 2012-13, unions have calculated. The Scottish government


said last week that an estimated 325 whole-time equivalent nursing and midwifery posts would be lost between March 2012 and March 2013. This rep- resents a workforce reduction of 0.6%, from 56,435 to 56,110. However, the picture is com-


plicated by several factors. For example, the government’s fig- ures include nursing interns, who are not a core part of the nurse workforce, and nursing staff who have been transferred from the NHS to a local council. The Royal College of


Nursing believes the true number of WTE nursing and midwifery posts cut during 2012-13 will total 390. RCN Scotland associate


director Norman Provan said: “The figures show that the number of nursing staff in post in Scotland is still being cut and is at its lowest point since 2005. “Health boards need to be


clear about how they are going to manage these cuts, invest in community services and still provide a quality service.”


EDITORIAL: 020 7728 3703 fax: 020 7728 3700


email: nt@emap.com or 1st name.2nd name@emap.com


NEWS: 020 7728 3713; fax: 020 7728 3700 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: 020 7728 3806; fax: 020 7728 3866


Please note some of the calls made to our advertising teams are recorded for training purposes


DISPLAY ADVERTISING: 020 7728 5238; fax: 020 7728 3866


SUBSCRIPTIONS UK: Enquiry line: 0844 848 8858; order line: 0844 848 8859


SUBSCRIPTIONS OVERSEAS: Enquiry line: 01858 438847; order line: 01858 438804


customer service adviser: 020 7874 4651


Resist “temptation” of using your phone at work, says RCN


Shaun Lintern shaun.lintern@emap.com


Nurses should not be “tempted” to use their own mobile phones for work purposes, the Royal College of Nursing has said. The college also advised


nurses to be aware of the risks when using smartphone applications to make clinical decisions, or record and send patient information. It has published new


guidance in response to a growing number of members raising issues around the use of mobile devices at this year’s RCN Congress in Harrogate. The college noted that smartphones were useful tools, which allowed nurses to communicate, photograph wounds, make calculations, and access guidelines and information via the internet. However, it highlighted the


results of a 2010 survey of clinicians in which 80% of nurses and midwives who carried mobile phones admitted to using their own phone for work. The RCN said nursing staff


Editor Jenni Middleton 020 7728 3757 News editor Steve Ford 020 7728 3713 Chief reporter Dave West 020 7728 3755 Senior correspondent Crispin Dowler 020 7728 3717 Reporters Sarah Calkin 020 7728 3746; Ben Clover 020 7728 3749; David Williams 020 7728 3760; Shaun Lintern 020 7728 3718 Practice and learning editors Kathryn Godfrey, HV Cert, 020 7728 3706; Ann Shuttleworth 020 7728 3705


Nurses warned about the accuracy of health phone apps


should not “bear the brunt of costs” of work-related phone usage. It called on NHS organisations to supply mobile devices where staff routinely needed to use them. Guideline author Alison


Wallis, an e-health adviser at the RCN, said: “We are against the regular use of mobile phones for work purposes but we accept there are times when they may have to be used – in an emergency, for example.” She said the growth in


nurses having their own mobile phone had led to staff being “tempted” to use them for work. “There is a concern


Deputy practice editor Eileen Shepherd, DipN, 0115 923 1952 Production editor Sarah Hill 020 7728 3709 Art editor Jennifer Van Schoor 020 7728 3754 Online editor Nadine Woogara 020 7728 5286 Editorial assistant/book reviews editor Ibadete Fetahu 020 7728 3703 Group commercial director Fran Christofides Director of new business


that pressure would be put on nurses to use their own phone, although we aren’t saying that it is a conscious decision by employers,” she told Nursing Times. “If they need to regularly use their phones, the employer should provide them.” Ms Wallis also warned


nurses not to record or transmit patient data with their own mobile devices because there was a potential for breaching confidentiality. She added that there were also safety issues for staff if patients got hold of their personal phone number. The dramatic rise in mobile


applications – commonly known as “apps” – was a key risk highlighted in the RCN guidance. It advised nurses to make sure they could properly evaluate an app’s usefulness before using it. Ms Wallis said: “Nurses are


taking the responsibility on themselves using these apps. If they are downloading them and using them, they could be basing clinical decisions on unreliable information.”


Marie Rogers 020 7728 3778 Head of health Jason Winthrop Sales manager James Priest 020 7728 5238 Account manager Louise Collings 020 7728 4594 Production manager Laura Barretto Classified production Anthony Wright Head of marketing Fiona Farmery Senior marketing executive Katy Ewins Marketing executive Mary Chaney


Recruitment group sales manager James Frowde Sales executive Elizabeth Harris 020 7728 3803


Head of sales administration Juliet Theobald Sales and online administrator Katharine Revill Managing director Andy Baker 020 7728 3577 Chief executive Natasha Christie-Miller Top Right Group chief executive Duncan Painter


NURSING TIMES Greater London House, Hampstead Road, London NW1 7EJ Published by EMAP, a part of Top Right Group. © 2012 NURSING TIMES is published weekly by EMAP, a part of Top Right Group, and printed by Headleys. Registered as a newspaper at the UK Post Office. ISSN 0954 7762. First published on 6 May 1905.


Healthcare knowledge is constantly changing and we have taken reasonable care to ensure the content included in Nursing Times is accurate and up to date at the time of publication. Articles are published for general reference and learning purposes only: they cannot take account of individual circumstances and should not therefore be relied upon on their own in connection with administering medicines or providing treatment. We strongly advise readers to confirm that the information provided, especially with regard to drug usage, complies with all current legislation and standards of practice.


6 Nursing Times 04.09.12 / Vol 108 No 36 / www.nursingtimes.net


Alamy


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40