Long Covid

A framework for nursing, midwifery, and care staff

This framework supports nurses, midwives and care staff in ensuring care remains at a high standard, as well as demonstrating the contribution to the long Covid response. It aims to give the opportunity to embrace collective leadership in supporting people and communities served and showcase good practice as it emerges across England.

Nursing and Midwifery Council

Internationally trained professionals joining the NMC register: 1 April 2021–31 March 2022

This analysis reveals that the profile of international professionals registered in 2021–2022 is very different from UK joiners and the register they joined. They’re more likely to be men and they’re much more likely to be ethnically diverse. The NMC is calling on health and care employers to fully support internationally trained professionals into UK practice – and join with UK-trained nurses and midwives to create the most inclusive environment possible.

To find out more click here.

United Nations Population Fund

The state of the world’s midwifery 2021

Source: The King’s Fund Health Management and Policy Alert

This report presents findings on the Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Adolescent Health (SRMNAH) workforce from 194 countries and identifies the barriers and challenges to future advancement. It finds that there is a a global shortage of 1.1 million SRMNAH workers, the largest shortage (900,000) being midwives.

Communications Toolkit

Improving communication with black, Asian and minority ethnic women and local maternity teams

Source: The King’s Fund; Health Management and Policy Alert

This toolkit aims to provide helpful suggestions about how to communicate with women of different backgrounds, about the extra support that is available to them, as well as signposting to currently available publications, messaging, insights and templates.

EBSCO Nurse of the Year 2020

Nominations open

To celebrate the Nurse of the Year, EBSCO are asking for nominations for nurses from their organisations.

The EBSCO Nurse of the Year Award winner should exemplify the WHO’s Year of the Nurse and Midwife key directives including a drive to strengthen nursing and midwifery, to achieve health care for all, and encourage fellow nurses and midwives to be change leaders influencing improvements in health care. Two winners will be selected, and the winners will each receive a $1,000 (USD) scholarship to be used for the continuing education opportunity of their choosing.

To nominate someone click here. Deadline; 16th November 2020

Evidence updates

Recommendations for continued care and support of people who are clinically extremely vulnerable
Royal College of Physicians (RCP); 2020.
(Statement from the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, National Voices and specialist societies highlighting the challenges faced by both doctors and patients in identifying and reducing the risks associated with COVID-19 for the most clinically vulnerable people.)

Expanding the primary care workforce in 2020/21 .
NHS England & NHS Improvement; 2020.
(Actions for CCGs, PCNs and STPs resulting from People Plan and Third phase of NHS response to covid-19.)

Reintroduction of NHS continuing healthcare.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2020.
(Sets out how clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will restart NHS continuing healthcare (CHC) assessment processes from 1 September 2020.Published 21 August 2020.)

Virtual training for midwives during a pandemic.
Abramson P. British Journal of Midwifery 2020;28(8):502–503.
(When a baby dies, it is a tragedy at any time but during the COVID-19 pandemic, bereaved families and the professionals supporting them have been faced with additional and often distressing challenges. Restrictions have made access to hospitals difficult for partners and other family members, while support services that would normally be provided for bereaved parents have been unavailable or severely limited.)

Ketamine as a mental health treatment: Are acute psychoactive effects associated with outcomes? A systematic review.
Grabski M. Behavioural Brain Research 2020;392:112629.
(The databases Medline, Embase and PsycInfo were searched. The studies reviewed displayed great variability in methodology and quality of reporting. The most commonly assessed effect was dissociation, measured by the CADSS. Our results suggest that the CADSS total is not consistently associated with antidepressant outcomes. Apart from this, the current literature is too limited to draw definite conclusions on an association between acute psychoactive effects and mental health outcomes.)


GPs and Nurses new to practice programme

Operational guidance 2020/2021

This guidance supports Integrated Care Systems and Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships, Primary Care Networks, training hubs and other local partners to understand and continue delivery of the General Practice Fellowship programme, supporting newly-qualified GPs and nurses working in primary care.