A combined day of nursing and ambulance strikes next month has not been coordinated in advance by the two unions, despite both announcing action for the same day. Nurses will be joined by ambulance workers across eight services represented by GMB union and Unite on 6 February. This is the first time in the disputes…
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Up to 100,000 RCN members have today walked out in a second day of strike action across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, in a dispute over pay and amid concerns over patient safety. The RCN has warned the UK Government that if it fails to respond within 48 hours’ of today’s strike ending, it will…
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Jeremy Hunt has laid out a wave of new funding for the NHS and social care, with an £8bn package for the health and care system in his autumn statement today. Mr Hunt said that ‘because of difficult decisions taken elsewhere today’, the NHS budget will be increased in each of the next two years…
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Autism, more correctly termed autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), is defined by NICE as: ‘A persistent disorder, present from early childhood, which significantly limits or impairs activities of daily living… characterised by developmental impairments in social interaction and social communication.’1  Autism can present in a variety of ways, including difficulties in conversation, non-verbal communication and the…
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Jeremy Hunt, the former longest-serving health secretary, has been named as Chancellor, in a move which could have big implications for NHS spending. Mr Hunt, who is currently chair of the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, has recently been vocal about the need for an urgent long-term NHS workforce plan. Since he…
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There is a lot in health and social care for nurses to be angry about, but can there be risks for those who choose to speak out? George Coxon considers It’s a dilemma, debate, and difficulty all in one – how politically active should we be as nurses? How strongly should we be responding to…
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Flexible working must be made easier in order to stop nurses leaving the NHS or reducing their hours, says Jeremy Hunt. The former health secretary and current chair of the health and social care select committee has warned that nurses in the NHS must be offered better opportunities to pursue flexible working. This comes as…
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Dr Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, has been awarded a damehood for her services to nursing, midwifery and the NHS. Dame Ruth took over the role in 2018 following the merger of the management teams for NHS England and NHS Improvement, having previously served as executive director of nursing for the latter. She…
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Chief adult social care nurse Deborah Sturdy celebrates the sector and the investment to support social care and NHS nurses for International Nurses Day today (12 May). Nurses are the foundation of our health and care system. It’s a complex profession, one which requires the right balance of skills, knowledge and expertise but also qualities…
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Debunking common patient myths and misconceptions: ‘I’ve got my usual cough – it’s gone to my chest with green phlegm, so I need antibiotics’ This statement illustrates one of two common presentations with a cough, alongside the newly named ‘Schrödinger’s cough’ (a cough at once so bad as to need antibiotics, and so mild that…
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