The Northern Ireland executive has backed plans to reimburse nurses in Northern Ireland who were docked pay during the strike action at the end of last year and early this year.   The nurses voted to accept staffing and pay parity proposals from the Northern Ireland Department of Health in February, after going on strike in December 2019 and January…
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This month is the 16th anniversary of when I joined my GP practice and it sometimes feels as if those years have been marked out in flu vaccination seasons. Each summer the email comes round asking for volunteers for our late September, Saturday morning flu session and each time I wonder how another year can have…
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Pregnant women with Covid-19 are less likely to have symptoms, but more likely to need intensive care, and give birth early, a study has shown. Being older, overweight, and having other medical conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, also increase their risk of experiencing more serious disease. The research, published in the BMJ, found that pregnant women seen in…
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The Nursing in Practice ‘picture quizzes’ aim to test your knowledge through photo presentations of symptoms. Work your way through them to understand the key clinical problems faced by patients, and how to correctly identify them. Press ‘start’ below to begin the quiz. This 24-year-old man has come to see you, concerned about some lumps…
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The Government has formally adopted recommendations made by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which will see a ‘majority’ of children removed from the Covid-19 shielding list. The college drew up guidance last month which recommended that children and young people whose condition is being managed in primary care can probably be removed from…
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There are extremely vulnerable patients with cancer who have yet to receive a letter advising them to shield from coronavirus, according an NHS clinical director.

Viral respiratory tract infections are self-limiting and do not require antibiotic treatment. If a child’s symptoms are associated with a cough this will resolve within three weeks in most cases.

Coughs and colds in children are common, self-limiting and generally uncomplicated. Yet anxious parents or carers frequently seek advice from nurses in primary care about symptoms and management, and some request treatment with antibiotics.

Key learning points: Bronchiolitis is a clinical diagnosis and investigations are rarely indicated The majority of patients with bronchiolitis can be safely cared for at home No pharmacological treatments have been proven to be of benefit and treatment is largely supportive Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection in infants, affecting almost one-third…
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Sexual health is an important area of public health as most of the adult population are sexually active within the United Kingdom