Work related stress adversely affects personal performance, organizational efficiency and patient care as well as costing the NHS millions of pounds each year. Reducing the effects of work related stress is a legal duty for all employers. There are a number of resources available to help both employees and employers, such as the Health and Safety Executive stress management standards. Personal life coaching is one approach to reducing work-related stress which is well established amongst business and management executives as well as some public sector organizations.
This paper describes a two-stage review relating to the family-centred public health role of health visitors and the child-centred public health role of school nurses. During the first stage, literature was searched using CINAHL and Medline databases and two models were used to frame the literature analysis. The findings of this analysis were, however, disappointing. Although many policy documents advocate development of the family-centred public health role of health visitors and the child-centred public health role of school nurses, there was no overwhelming evidence of reports of these approaches in health visiting and school nursing practice. The second stage of the review comprised a content analysis of West Midlands community trusts’ strategic development plans. Seventeen plans were analysed. Of these, only two were ‘formal’ plans, the remainder being fragmented documentation related to plans for the development of health visiting and school nursing services. It may be concluded from the analysis that NHS trusts are beginning to adopt ideas from the rhetoric of national policy documents. Additionally, public health practice initiatives form an integrated part of most of the trust strategic development plans that the researchers examined.
Single teenage mothers may be at increased risk of not maximising their own or their children’s health potential. In the current climate of change in the National Health Service (NHS), and the move to a primary care led service, targeting services for single teenage mothers may prove to be a more effective use of community based resources. This paper attempts to examine ways in which community nurses may enhance personal and family life, and which of these options may be possible within existing resources.
An exploratory study was undertaken to gain insights into general practitioners’ (GPs’) perceptions of the practice nurse's role and the education and training needed to undertake the role. An interpretative methodology was used to facilitate the participation of the GPs. The information gained was then used to help providers focus activities effectively, to ensure purchasers greater access to appropriate education and training for practice nurses. Three main themes emerged: perceptions of role, education and training and working relationship. Respondents identified that special education and training is necessary to undertake the role of practice nurse, although the education and training considered appropriate was predominantly task orientated.
In the year that health visiting celebrates its 100th anniversary, Barbara Hawksley traces the development of the eyes and ears of the primary health care team.
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