Nursing

To ensure continuity, all children's wards should have an identifiable senior lead nurse with authority to whom all other nurses report. The lead nurse should understand the care plan relating …

The accountable nurse should, insofar as is possible, attend at every interaction between a doctor and child patient.

HSC Trusts should ensure that all nurses caring for children have facilitated access to e-learning on paediatric fluid management and hyponatraemia.

Health Boards should ensure that there is a clear and effective line of professional responsibility between the ward and the Board.

Health Boards should ensure that the nurse in charge of each ward audits compliance with the duty to keep clear and contemporaneous patient records.

Health Boards should ensure that nursing staff caring for a patient with CDI keep accurate records of patient observations including temperature, pulse, respiration.

Health Boards should ensure that the nurse in charge of each ward reports suspected outbreaks of CDI (as defined in local guidance) to the Infection Control Team.

Health Boards should ensure that where there is risk of cross infection, the nurse in charge of a ward has ultimate responsibility for admission of patients to the ward or …

Health Boards should ensure that there is an agreed system of care planning in use in every ward with the appropriate documentation available to nursing staff.

Health Boards should ensure that where Infection Control Nurses provide instructions on the management of patients those instructions are recorded in patient notes.

Health Boards should ensure that where a patient has, or is suspected of having, C.difficile diarrhoea a proper record of the patient's stools is kept.

Health Boards should ensure that a member of nursing staff is available to deal with questions from relatives during visiting periods.

Health Boards should ensure that any discussion between a member of nursing staff and a relative about a patient which is relevant to the patient's continuing care is recorded.

Health Boards should ensure that a nurse appointed as Tissue Viability Nurse (TVN) is appropriately trained and possesses, or is working towards, a recognised specialist post-registration qualification.

Health Boards should ensure that where a TVN is involved in caring for a patient there is a clear record in the patient notes and care plan of the instructions …

Health Boards should ensure that every patient is assessed for risk of pressure damage on admission to hospital using a recognised tool such as the Waterlow Score.

Health Boards should ensure that where a patient has a wound or pressure damage there is clear documentation of the nature of the wound or damage in accordance with best …

Health Boards should ensure that where a patient requires positional changes nursing staff clearly record this on a turning chart or equivalent.

Health Boards should ensure that all patients have their nutritional status screened on admission to a ward using a recognised nutritional screening tool.

Health Boards should ensure that there is appropriate equipment in each ward to weigh all patients. Patients should be weighed on admission and at least weekly thereafter.

Health Boards should ensure that where patients require fluid monitoring as part of their critical care, nursing staff complete fluid balance charts as accurately as possible.

Health Boards should ensure that the staffing and skills mix is appropriate for each ward, and that it is reviewed in response to increases in the level of activity/patient acuity.

Health Boards should ensure that there is straightforward and timely escalation process for nurses to report concerns about staffing numbers/skill mix.

Health Boards should ensure that where a complaint is made about nursing practice on a ward this complaint is investigated by an independent senior member of Nursing Management.

Health Boards should ensure that, where a local Link Nurse system is in place as part of the IPS system, the Link Nurses have specific training for that role.

There should be an increased focus in nurse training, education and professional development on the practical requirements of delivering compassionate care in addition to the theory. A system which ensures …

Nursing training should be reviewed so that sufficient practical elements are incorporated to ensure that a consistent standard is achieved by all trainees throughout the country. This requires national standards.

There should be a national entry-level requirement that student nurses spend a minimum period of time, at least three months, working on the direct care of patients under the supervision …

The Nursing and Midwifery Council, working with universities, should consider the introduction of an aptitude test to be undertaken by aspirant registered nurses at entry into the profession, exploring, in …

The Nursing and Midwifery Council and other professional and academic bodies should work towards a common qualification assessment/examination.

There should be national training standards for qualification as a registered nurse to ensure that newly qualified nurses are competent to deliver a consistent standard of the fundamental aspects of …

Healthcare employers recruiting nursing staff, whether qualified or unqualified, should assess candidates' values, attitudes and behaviours towards the well-being of patients and their basic care needs, and care providers should …

The Department of Health and Nursing and Midwifery Council should introduce the concept of a Responsible Officer for nursing, appointed by and accountable to, the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Without introducing a revalidation scheme immediately, the Nursing and Midwifery Council should introduce common minimum standards for appraisal and support with which responsible officers would be obliged to comply. They …

As part of a mandatory annual performance appraisal, each Nurse, regardless of workplace setting, should be required to demonstrate in their annual learning portfolio an up-to-date knowledge of nursing practice …

Ward nurse managers should operate in a supervisory capacity, and not be office-bound or expected to double up, except in emergencies as part of the nursing provision on the ward. …

The Knowledge and Skills Framework should be reviewed with a view to giving explicit recognition to nurses' demonstrations of commitment to patient care and, in particular, to the priority to …

Training and continuing professional development for nurses should include leadership training at every level from student to director. A resource for nurse leadership training should be made available for all …

Healthcare providers should be encouraged by incentives to develop and deploy reliable and transparent measures of the cultural health of front-line nursing workplaces and teams, which build on the experience …

Each patient should be allocated for each shift a named key nurse responsible for coordinating the provision of the care needs for each allocated patient. The named key nurse on …

Consideration should be given to the creation of a status of Registered Older Person's Nurse.

The Royal College of Nursing should consider whether it should formally divide its "Royal College" functions and its employee representative/trade union functions between two bodies rather than behind internal "Chinese …

Recognition of the importance of nursing representation at provider level should be given by ensuring that adequate time is allowed for staff to undertake this role, and employers and unions …

A forum for all directors of nursing from both NHS and independent sector organisations should be formed to provide a means of coordinating the leadership of the nursing profession.

All healthcare providers and commissioning organisations should be required to have at least one executive director who is a registered nurse, and should be encouraged to consider recruiting nurses as …

Commissioning arrangements should require the boards of provider organisations to seek and record the advice of its nursing director on the impact on the quality of care and patient safety …

The effectiveness of the newly positioned office of Chief Nursing Officer should be kept under review to ensure the maintenance of a recognised leading representative of the nursing profession as …

There should be a uniform description of healthcare support workers, with the relationship with currently registered nurses made clear by the title.

Commissioning arrangements should require provider organisations to ensure by means of identity labels and uniforms that a healthcare support worker is easily distinguishable from that of a registered nurse.

It is highly desirable that the Nursing and Midwifery Council introduces a system of revalidation similar to that of the General Medical Council, as a means of reinforcing the status …

The measures formulated by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence should include measures not only of clinical outcomes, but of the suitability and competence of staff, and the …

The Nursing and Midwifery Council could consider a concept of employment liaison officers, similar to that of the General Medical Council, to provide support to directors of nursing. If this …

In the absence of automatic checking and prompting, the process of the administration of medication needs to be overseen by the nurse in charge of the ward, or his/her nominated …

We recommend that for all those seeking entry to the nursing profession, in addition to routine references the most recent employer or place of study should be asked to provide …

We recommend that no candidate for nursing in whom there is evidence of major personality disorder should be employed in this profession (para 5.4.11)

We recommend that nurses should undergo formal health screening when they obtain their first posts after qualifying (para 5.5.13).

We recommend that the possibility be reviewed of making available to Occupational Health departments any records of absence through sickness from any institution which an applicant for a nursing post …