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News
Read all the latest news from the Care Campaign here.
ANALYSIS
A nursing alliance with a firm and simple message: Numbers matter
Senior figures have joined forces as part of Nursing Standard's Care campaign to demand minimum staffing levels that ensure quality care.
Nursing Standard, January 2013
Staff sign up to show support
Nurse leaders are backing a drive to focus on the most fundamental of healthcare.
Nursing Management, February 2012, Volume 18, Number 9
Survey results
Today's nurses believe they are doing a reasonable job despite the odds stacked against them, according to an exclusive Nursing Standard survey.
Nursing Standard, January 4th, vol 26 no 18, 2012
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Poor quality care based on workload
Concerns about poor care top the list of complaints to the Patients Association's helpline. The association says there are four types of poor care that patients and relatives continually report.
Nursing Standard, January 4th, vol 26 no 18, 2012
ARTICLES
Making time for that personal touch
Two trusts that signed up to the Care campaign have transformed their wards with simple patient-centred initiatives.
Nursing Standard, January 16 2013, Vol 27 No 20
A nursing alliance with a firm and simple message: Numbers matter
Senior figures have joined forces as part of Nursing Standard's Care campaign to demand minimum staffing levels that ensure quality care.
Nursing Standard, January 2013
One year on: the campaign for better care
Nurses have been inspired by our Care campaign to improve their patients' experience, says Clare Lomas
Nursing Standard, November 2012
A solid base to build on
When Mark Hill first heard of the Care campaign, its aims and values instantly struck a chord with him. 'I believe the fundamental role of the nurse is to treat patients with compassion, dignity and respect. I was impressed with the campaign's aims to put patients at the heart of care,' he says.
Nursing Standard, October 2012
Experts agree a consensus statement on staffing
Over the past 20 years there has been a wealth of evidence that demonstrates a link between nurse staffing levels and good patient outcomes. So why do nurses have to fight so hard for safe staffing levels?
Nursing Standard, August 15 2012, vol 26 no 50
Home-cooked care
Some hospitals encourage visitors to bring in food for their relatives, but others ban the practice.
Nursing Standard, July 18 2012, vol 26 no 46
Angela Rippon flags up the Care campaign
Angela Rippon CBE, Vice Chair of the Patients Association, appeared at a University Campus Suffolk (UCS) conference, focusing on the quality of care giving to patients; a topic regularly in the headlines.
May 3rd 2012
Leading by example
Promoting support for nurse leaders is one of the ten priorities for action identified by Nursing Standard's Care campaign.
Nursing Standard, May 2, vol 26, no 35, 2012
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Ready for action
In response to concerns about nurse education, some universities are changing the emphasis of the curriculum.
Nursing Standard, April 25, vol 26, no 34, 2012
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Building resilience
The nature of nurses' work can take a heavy physical and emotional toll which, if left unchecked, can have a detrimental effect on patient care.
Nursing Standard, April 11, vol 26 no 32, 2012
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Getting ratios right for the patients' sake
Good staffing is one of the ten priorities for action identified by Nursing Standard's Care campaign.
Nursing Standard, April 4, vol 26 no 31, 2012
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The burden of bureaucracy
This article looks at how some organisations are revolutionising how nurses handle bureaucratic tasks, releasing them to improve their practice and spend more time at the bedside.
Nursing Standard, March 28, vol 26 no 30, 2012
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Free to lead, free to care
Ward managers need supernumerary status to lead nursing care effectively.
Nursing Standard, March 21, vol 26 no 29, 2012
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Strategic thinking
Nurse managers explain how they are dealing with the requirement to cut costs while ensuring safe staffing levels at all times.
Nursing Standard, March 14, vol 26 no 28, 2012
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All eyes on the patient
This article looks at how some hospitals are already seeking to achieve this objective and what is being done to make patient care the top priority everywhere.
Nursing Standard, March 7, vol 26 no 27, 2012
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Nutritional benefits
In the final article in our four-part series examining four strands of fundamental care, we examine why failure to support adequate nutrition is a common complaint against hospital staff.
Nursing Standard, February 29, vol 26 no 26, 2012
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Listening and learning to make care better
Volunteers are talking to patients and suggesting how care could be improved as part of an innovative scheme.
Nursing Standard, February 29, vol 26 no 26, 2012
Relieve pain effectively
In the third of our four-part series examining the four strands of fundamental care, we look at how competing demands can affect effective pain relief and how some organisations have made improvements.
Nursing Standard, February 22nd, vol 26, no 25, 2012
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Assistance with toileting
In the second article of our series analysing four fundamental elements of nursing, we look at steps being taken to improve continence care.
Nursing Standard, February 15th, vol 26 no 24, 2012
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Communication with compassion
Communication has always been the cornerstone of nursing care, so much so that it is almost impossible to describe what nursing is or what nurses do without reference to terms such as listening, communicating, reporting and observing.
Nursing Standard, February 8th, vol 26 no 23, 2012
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More than a checklist
With the government calling for hourly patient checks, intentional rounding could soon be widespread in hospitals.
Nursing Standard, 18th January 2012
Hear the clarion call
The profession, from its leaders to its students, is united in backing our Care campaign.
Nursing Standard, December 7th 2011
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Reputation on the line
Alison Whyte tracks the recent history of care failings that have put nurses' image in the spotlight.
Nursing Standard, November 23, vol 26, no 12, 2011
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Strategy for change
What causes poor care and what can be done to stop it?
Nursing Standard, November 16, vol 26 no 11 :: 2011
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CAREERS
Keep compassion alive
Effective role models can help nursing students deliver compassionate care under pressure
Nursing Standard, July 4 2012, vol 26, no 44
Taking action
Researchers have identified how organisations can support better care, write Yvonne Sawbridge and Alistair Hewison.
Nursing Standard, March 28, vol 26 no 30, 2012
When a sense of duty calls
Blowing the whistle on poor care is encouraged, but what happens after employees do just that? Sarah Wray investigates.
Nursing Standard, February 15th, vol 26 no 24, 2012
Made to measure
Kath Sharples explains how NMC education standards help equip nursing students to care compassionately.
Nursing Standard, Feb 8, vol 26 no 23, 2012
EDITORIAL
Evidence proves poor care is about numbers
2012 will not go down as one of the finest in nursing history, with reports of poor care outweighing those praising the profession.
Nursing Standard, January 2nd 2013 | Volume 27 No 18
A lack of staff is so often at the root of poor care
Another round of negative reports on the care being provided in hospitals and care homes has made for salutary reading this week.
November 28th 2012 | Volume 27 no 13
Timely action essential to prevent care scandals
It is easy to despair of reports about poor care that results in patients enduring an unacceptance experience.
Nursing Standard, July 18 2012, vol 26 no 46
Organisations line up to join our Care campaign
The Care campaign launched by Nursing Standard and the Patients Association six months ago had a clear objective to refocus the priorities of healthcare organisations on patients' four prinicpal concerns.
Nursing Standard, June 6th 2012, vol 26 no 40
Building resilience in the nursing workforce
As nurses, you routinely encounter things that the rest of society would rather forget about - terrible wounds, mental suffering, pain and distress, even death and dying. So how do you cope?
Nursing Standard, April 11, vol 26 no 32, 2012
Using innovation to make care a priority
There are various strands to the Care campaign being run by Nursing Standard, but foremost is its aim to ensure that high-quality care is the top priority in every healthcare organisation.
Nursing Standard, March 7, vol 26 no 27, 2012
Three challenges for care staff
It is heartening to see that emergency nurses are supporting the Care campaign, launched by Emergency Nurse's sister journal, Nursing Standard, and the Patients Association to help healthcare professionals improve patient care.
Emergency Nurse, February 2012, Vol 19, no 9
Without the resources, quality will suffer
More than 2,500 Nursing Standard readers responded to our survey on the standard of care they are able to deliver.
Nursing Standard, January 4, vol 26 no 18, 2012
The profession has plenty to be proud of
There have been more lowlights than highlights for nurses in 2011, as the reality of getting by professionally and personally on more meagre resources has started to hit home.
Nursing Standard, December 14, vol 26 no 15-17, 2011
Join our campaign to enable the best care
2011 is destined to become an annus horribilis for nursing as a profession, a year in which a series of high-profile investigations revealed scandalous levels of care in far too many hospitals and community settings. But 2011 could yet be the year in which nurses seize the opportunity to fight back.
Nursing Standard, November 9, vol 26, no 10, 2011
NEWS
Labour signs up to staffing alliance after revealing nurse shortages
Leading nurses will raise concerns about staffing levels at 17 NHS hospitals when they meet health minister Dan Poulter later this month.
Nursing Standard, January 16 2013, Vol 27 No 20
High-profile alliance to lobby for minimum nurse staffing levels
High profile nurses have launched a new organisation and will meet with health minister Dan Poulter to call for minimum registered nurse staffing levels to protect patient safety.
Nursing Standard, January 2 2013 | Vol 27 No 18
Nursing experts add weight to campaign for safer staffing levels
A group of eminent nurse leaders and workforce experts have drawn up a consensus statement on registered nurse staffing in the hope that it will help the profession stand firm against costs.
Nursing Standard, August 15th 2012, vol 26 no 50
Every London acute trust is signed up to the Care campaign
All 29 of London's NHS acute trusts have signed up to the Care campaign.
Nursing Standard, June 20 2012, vol 26 no 42
Campaign to improve fundamental care wins backing from across UK
More than 80 per cent of NHS employers have signed up to the Care campaign.
Nursing Standard, June 13 2012, vol 26 no 41
Trust transforms ward culture after adopting Care campaign
An NHS Trust has revised its inpatient questionnaire and asked senior nurses to prioritise communication, toileting, pain management and help with eating and drinking during ward rounds after adopting Nursing Standard's Care campaign.
Nursing Standard, June 6 2012, vol 26 no 40
Enthusiasm for campaign message spreads
Nurses at an NHS trust in Kent are backing Nursing Standard's Care campaign by devoting each Friday throughout March 2012 to promoting the initiative.
Nursing Standard, March 28, vol 26 no 30, 2012
Outpatients say care is dignified but communication can be poor
Eighty three per cent of outpatients rated the care they receive as excellent or very good in a patient experience survey published last week.
Nursing Standard, February 22, vol 26 no 25, 2012
Nurses are in denial about poor care
The former chair of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust said last week that some staff are still in denial about the existence of of poor care.
Nursing Standard, February 15th, vol 26 no 24, 2012
Emergency nurses prepare to take Care challenge
Campaign sets out ten priorities for nurses to ensure that patients are treated with compassion and dignity.
Emergency Nurse, February 2012, Vol 19, Number 9
NHS employers join our campaign
Three quarters of NHS trusts and boards in the UK have signed up to the Nursing Standard's campaign to improve the quality of patient care.
Nursing Standard, February 8, vol 26 no 23, 2012
Health care assistants (HCAs) are taking on increasingly complex roles
Web exclusive, Nursing Standard, 13th January 2012
This is an extended article taken from the original news story, which was published in Nursing Standard on 11th January 2012. You can read that story by clicking the link below.
Survey reveals extent of duties undertaken by support workers
Baroness tells peers about Nursing Standard's campaign
Peers debating the regulation of support workers will be given details of the wide range of tasks that healthcare assistants are undertaking and the dangers posed to patient safety.
Nursing Standard, January 11th, vol 26 no 19, 2012
PM vows to cut bereaucracy
Nurses will receive support to enhance the care they provide for patients as part of a government drive to improve quality in the NHS.
Nursing Standard, January 11th, vol 26 no 19, 2012
Nurses give themselves seven out of ten for quality of care
Today's nurses rate the standard of care they give to patients as seven out of ten. In an exclusive Nursing Standard survey, readers were asked to rate their own care from one out of ten (bad) to ten (excellent).
Nursing Standard, January 4, vol 26 no 18, 2012
Every NHS Trust urged to take up the challenge of improving care
The first commissioning organisations and NHS trusts to sign up to the Care campaign have pledged their commitment to ensuring all patients receive the fundamentals of care.
Nursing Standard, December 14, vol 26 no 15-17, 2011
Pre-op nutrition assessments could save lives
The nutritional status of patients should be assessed carefully and improved where necessary before elective surgery, according to a major review of perioperative care.
Nursing Standard, December 14, vol 26 no 15-17, 2011
Job insecurity and staff anxiety putting standards of care at risk
Patient care is being compromised because nurses are struggling to cope with increased workloads and the ongoing threat of losing their job, the RCN warned this week.
Nursing Standard, November 23, vol 26 no 12, 2011
Campaign to raise standards of care attracts high level support
The UK's four chief nursing officers have pledged their support for a Nursing Standard campaign to improve patient care.
Nursing Standard, November 16, vol 26, no 11, 2011
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Nurse leaders create top ten objectives
A ten-point plan setting out priorities for patient care to restore public confidence in nursing has been agreed by nurse leaders and patients at an emergency summit.
Nursing Standard, November 9, vol 26, no 10, 2011
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Report highlights cases of poor care
Distressing cases of patients being denied safe and dignified treatment will be published by the Patients Association today as it joins forces with Nursing Standard to drive up the quality of care.
Nursing Standard, November 9, vol 26, no 10, 2011
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OPINION
Voices: Politicians should be accountable for staff numbers
Who should be held accountable for safe and compassionate care in the NHS? asks Jean Gray.
Nursing Standard, January 23 2013, Vol 27 No 21
Advanced solutions
Patients' increasingly complex care needs mean nurses must be well educated, says Denise Chaffer.
Nursing Standard, February 15th, vol 26 no 24, 2012
End the blame game
Finger-pointing over poor care achieves nothing - we must inspire change instead, says Ashley Brooks.
Nursing Standard, February 8, vol 26 no 23, 2012
Base decisions on fact, not instinct
Nursing Standard's Care campaign, a joint initiative with Patients Association, is striving to ensure that standards of care are raised and that the fundamental needs of patients and clients are met.
Nursing Management, February 2012, Volume 18, Number 9
Criticise care standards but not nursing standards
The tireless work of nurses is not so well documented, writes Alan Roberts, a consultant physician at The Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester.
Nursing Standard | January 25 | vol 26 no 21 | 2012
Bad press: There are two sides to each story
'Nurses are the subject of so much negative media coverage recently', a neighbour said to me. 'You are not expecting any sympathy about your pensions, are you?'
Zeba Arif, Nursing Standard, January 4, vol 26 no 18, 2012
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The RCN Publishing Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal College of Nursing, the world's largest organisation for nurses. RCN Publishing produces one weekly, eight monthly and two quarterly nursing publications. Nursing Standard, the flagship journal, is the UK's biggest selling weekly for nursing. It is produced by RCN Publishing Company along with a suite of specialist nursing journals - Cancer Nursing Practice, Mental Health Practice, Learning Disability Practice, Nursing Children and Young People, Nursing Management, Emergency Nurse, Nursing Older People, Nurse Researcher and Primary Health Care. RCN Publishing Company also produce the RCN Bulletin, a major source of up-to-the-minute information for RCN members in all specialities, grades and working environments. With the latest nurse vacancies from trusts nationwide, it has become the most cost-effective nurse recruitment magazine available.