Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1993, 18, 1512-1514

NEWS

I N T E R N A T I O N A L N U R S I N G LEADERS F O C U S O N Q U A L I T Y CARE AT ICN C O N G R E S S IN M A D R I D , SPAIN

How to maintain quality health care in the fast-changing health-care systems with limited finances is an urgent issue world- wide and was a major topic covered by nurses from all regions at the 20th Quadrennial Congress of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in Madrid, Spain, 20--25 June 1993. At this major event, international nursing leaders from all health-care settings addressed these and other issues and invited dialogue with nurses from countries worldwide, includ- ing the former East European and Soviet countries.

The keynote speaker at the ICN con- gress was Ms Kirsten Stallknecht, presi- dent of the Danish Nurses' Organization for 23 years, president of the Northern Nurses' Federation and president of the Standing Committee of Nurses of the European Community. Ms Stallknecht was ICN 2nd Vice President from 1985 to 1989.

Nursing students from around the world were also given a chance to express their opinion on issues affecting their profession and health care. A day was set aside at the congress for nursing students to report on the priority concerns of col- leagues in their respective countries and to debate on such issues as working con- ditions, personal and professional devel- opment in nursing education, their rights and responsibilities, ethics, nursing's image and other priority concerns.

The students then prepared a report for presentation to the delegates of the Council of National Representatives, ICN's governing body, at its meeting on 22 June 1993. A full report of the con- gress proceedings has been prepared by Professor James P. Smith, editor of the Journal of Advanced Nursing. It will be pub-

lished in the January 1994 issue of the Journal.

C A N C E R NURSING: C H A N G I N G F R O N T I E R S

The proceedings of the Seventh Inter- national Conference on Cancer Nursing, held in Vienna, 16-21 August 1992, edited by Christopher D. Bailey, have now been published (ISBN 1-85650-002-0) by Rapid Communications of Oxford, The Old Malthouse, Paradise Street, Oxford OX1 1LD, England.

N U R S I N G RESEARCH CONFERENCE IN OSLO, N O R W A Y

The Seventh Biennial Nursing Research Conference of the Workgroup of European Nurse Researchers will take place in Oslo, Norway, 3--6 July 1994. The main theme of the conference is 'The Continuation of Nursing Research Pas t - -P re sen t - - Future'. Further information is available from the Norwegian Nurses' Association, PO Box 2633, St Hanshaugen, N-0131 Oslo, Norway.

S C O T T I S H NURSE A W A R D E D ICN FELLOWSHIP

A Scottish nurse, Hazel MacKenzie, has won a fellowship from the International Council of Nurses (ICN) which is spon- sored by the ICN in conjunction with 3M. Ms MacKenzie, 32, a nurse at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, Scotland, is using her US$ 7500 bursary to study for an MSc in Nursing and Health Studies at Edinburgh University.

H U M B E R S I D E COLLEGE OF H E A L T H A N D U N I V E R S I T Y P A R T N E R S H I P

The two institutions have signed a Memorandum of Affiliation which will

enable health and social care staff to gain academic credit for their studies under- taken at one of the college's four centres within the county. This means that college courses can count towards a degree or postgraduate qualification awarded by the University of Humberside.

By using the university's Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS), thousands of staff working in the health and personal social services will now have better access to a university education. The agreement will open up access to the university to a new group of students from across Humberside.

ENGLISH N A T I O N A L B O A R D PUBLISHES REVIEW OF THE YEAR 1991-1992

The English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (ENB) has published its Review of the Year 1991-1992 and has distributed it widely. The review highlights the wide range of continuing work and new developments that the board has initiated in the past year. In par- ticular, the board emphasizes the neecl for a firm foundation for future work relating to quality assurance initiatives, developing overviews of nursing and midwifery prac- tice and introducing the new preparation for community practice.

The foundations for the ENB's work in the future are identified. The board will continue to develop high-quality edu- cational provision to ensure that nurses, midwives and health visitors can develop further their skills to meet changing health care needs.

C O N S E N S U S S T A T E M E N T O N B R I T I S H M A T E R N I T Y SERVICES

At the invitation of the King's Fund Centre, London, an independent panel, made up of midwives, doctors and lay consumers, took evidence from 20 experts

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in maternity care during a 2-day confer- ence attended by 300 people, at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, in March 1993. The panel pro- vided a consensus statement which draws together evidence on four crucial questions.

What sort of choices are important to women and are there proper limits to women's choice as a result of clinical, organizational or financial constraints7 How can you enhance the ability of women and their partners to make choices? Women's preference is often for continuity of care and carer. Can this be described, what are the implications and how can it best be organized? What are the priority actions for bringing about these changes?

The statement recommends that the British government ensures national stan- dards of maternity care are established, that its policies affecting pregnant women and babies are consistent across all government departments (including those of social security and employment) and that it commissions more research.

The statement says that pregnant women need more choice: flexible, responsive service is necessary to take account of differences between women. The panel believes that there are few justifiable clinical constraints on women's choice. Choice can be enhanced for women if purchasing authorities provide a range of services, produce good, unbiased information (such as leaflets, tapes and videos) and employ advocates, interpreters or link workers for women who do not share the same language and culture as the providers.

'For most women, the midwife will be the key professional in providing conti- nuity', the report says. 'Continuity of care will probably best be provided by small teams of midwives with their own case- loads working between hospital and the community and linked with community health care teams.'

In particular, the panel recommends that professionals should abandon inter- professional rivalries and review training programmes, so that they improve their communication skills (including cross- cultural communication) and midwives

and general practitioners can update their skills in examining and caring for the newborn.

C O N T I N U I T Y OF M I D W I F E R Y CARE IN S C O T L A N D

A research report Identifying the Key Features of Continuity of Care in Midwifery by Tricia Murphy-Black, has recently been published by the University of Edinburgh. The purpose of the study was to elicit key features of continuity of care in midwifery from both mothers and midwives in matemity units with and without systems of team midwifery in operation. Four maternity units, represent- ing urban and rural areas in Scotland, were chosen to participate and the directors of midwifery services nominated clinical practising midwives they considered to be expert in their role.

A convenience sample of mothers from the same hospitals was recruited through the clinical midwifery managers. Data were collected through group interviews. The midwives identified key features of both the structure and process of care.

The features based on structure depended on organization, locally based care, the provision of midwives' clinics, midwives having their own caseloads, being involved in the development of policy, and on assessment and documen- tation of care. The features concerned with process were individualized care, social visits, and the relationship between midwife and mother so they were partners in care. The mothers identified both process and outcomes of care.

The clinical implications of findings are discussed and the report concludes with recommendations for further research. Copies of the report can be obtained from the Nursing Research Unit, Department of Nursing Studies, University of Edinburgh, 12 Buccleugh Place, Edinburgh EH8 9LW, Scotland, price £3.00 (make cheques payable to the University of Edinburgh).

H O M E F R O M H O S P I T A L C H A R I T Y

The distinguished international nurse, Muriel Skeet FRCN, has agreed to become

patron of the charity Home From Hospital. Miss Skeet, who is a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing and a consultant to the World Health Organization, and other health agencies, has a long association with the charity whose work on discharge planning grew from her seminal study on the subject published in 1970.

Over 20 years on from Miss Skeet's own studies, which revealed widespread ignorance and neglect of the needs of elderly patients going home from hospi- tal, the charity still finds distressing evi- dence of unmet need in this area. Home from Hospital conducts research into good practice, campaigns for improve- ments and raises funds for practical schemes which ensure that elderly people go home to a warm, friendly welcome after a stay in hospital.

Further information is available from: Geraldine Amos, Director, Home from Hospital, 20 Westfield Road, Eclgbaston, Birmingham B15 3QG, England.

M U S I C IN H O S P I T A L S

The Council for Music in Hospitals, a registered charity founded in 1948, arranges 3000 live concerts each year in British hospitals, hospices and day centres. The council uses carefully selected musicians and tailors each concert to meet the needs of the audience. Further information can be obtained from the directors at 74 Queen's Road, Horsham, Surrey KT125LW, England, or at 10 Forth Street, Edinburgh EH1 3LD, Scotland.

A M A J O R Q U A L I T Y I N I T I A T I V E IN E D U C A T I O N A L A U D I T

The English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting has launched a major quality initiative in educational audit. It has two parts. Questionnaires have been developed so that institutions can assist the board to assess its performance and in particular the process of approval of institutions and validation of courses. And a document entitled Guidelines for Educational Audit has been published.

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Prepared by two working groups, the questionnaires and the guidelines acknowledge that quality in education is a journey not a destination and that the search for quality must be a continu- ous systematic process. Guidelines for Educational Audit is available from the Publications Section, ENB, Woodseats House, 764a Chesterfield Road, Sheffield $8 0SE, England, price £10.00.

THE D I S P O S A L OF B L O O D A N D B O D Y FLUIDS IN H O S P I T A L S

The issues surrounding the disposal of blood and body fluids in hospitals are far-

reaching and only too well known to all health care professionals. It is for these reasons that a group of professionals with a special interest in health and safety issues met in 1992 to agree a series of recommendations for the management of blood and body fluid waste disposal. A summary of these recommendations has been published as a discussion paper: The Management of Body Fluid Waste Disposal.

The recommendations discuss the merits of both reusable and disposable waste disposal systems and call for full management guidelines to be drawn up to help protect all those at potential risk of infection to ensure they have adequate

knowledge of the risks both to caters and patients. Readers can obtain copies of the booklet by writing to: Mr Yunus Jaleel, Abbott Laboratories Ltd, Abbott House, Norden Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 4XE, England.

ADVICE A B O U T AIDS A N D HIV I N F E C T I O N

The United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting in 'Registrar's Letter 12/1993' has set out revised advice on AIDS and HIV infection and anonymous testing for HIV. Copies are available from the UKCC, 23 Portland Place, London WIN 3AF, England.

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