Nursing in Practice Podcast: The ‘phenomenal role’ nurses played during Kent’s meningitis outbreak

The fifth episode of the Nursing in Practice Podcast is live and available to listen to on Spotify and Apple Music.

The latest episode of the Nursing in Practice Podcast goes into depth about the recent meningitis B outbreak in Kent which saw 13,000 antibiotics dispensed in the first week followed by 11,000 vaccinations given by nurses across several healthcare organisations.

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Listeners can also hear about the preliminary findings from Nursing in Practice’s upcoming report on general practice nurse pay, terms and conditions.

Listen to the fifth episode below.

Editor Megan Ford and senior reporter Gee Harland open the episode by recapping the meningococcal outbreak which first started in the middle of March.

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Together, they unpack how the outbreak began before introducing several members of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Kent Community Health: NHS to explain how nurses and other healthcare professionals managed the response.

Julie Yates, deputy director for immunisation programmes at the UKHSA, highlights the ‘phenomenal role’ played by nurses in the antibiotic hubs, vaccination centres and behind the scenes.

She’s joined by Louise King, an immunisation lead nurse for KCHFT, who speaks in-depth about her experience in the vaccination centre and the ‘complete collaborative effort’ of over 180 healthcare staff.

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As part of the episode, we also discuss early findings of our upcoming general practice nurse pay report. The results be uncovered at our Nursing in Practice London event, taking place on 30 April. Megan, as well as the Royal College of Nursing’s chief executive Nicola Ranger, will be speaking about the report and related issues at the event.

The Nursing in Practice Podcast is hosted on Buzzsprout and can be accessed via Spotify and Apple Music.