World news, August 11 2015

Barbados

Barbados is tightening its rules on re-registration and from next year will require nurses to present evidence that their training and skills are up to date.

Health minister John Boyce said the country’s Nursing Council was finalising requirements for the new regulations, which should be in place by January.

He said: ‘Support for renewal of registration for nurses and midwives in Barbados on presentation of evidence of continuing professional education activities is predicated on the fact that lifelong learning is an essential component of continued professional competence.’

Australia

A hospital in Australia is being sued by a nurse who claims she developed serious neck injuries because she had to lift patients and oxygen cylinders during times of staff shortages.

The nurse says she was supposed to spend only 5% of her time on clinical work at Ipswich Hospital in Queensland, but was regularly ordered to do much more than that.  

She says she repeatedly submitted requests to her bosses for extra staff, and is seeking damages. West Moreton Hospital and Health, which manages the hospital, said it was unable to comment because legal proceedings were ongoing. 

Sweden

Nurses in Sweden have expressed concern about maternity services after it took ambulance workers 90 minutes to find a hospital that would take a woman who was in labour.

Paramedics in Söderhamn contacted six maternity units in neighbouring regions, all of which were full, before they eventually found a unit able to take the woman.

Anders Olsson, a journalist for the Vårdförbundet union, which represents nurses and midwives, said that staffing shortages were a factor. ‘In an open letter to a newspaper, midwives have said they feel angry, powerless, sad and aggrieved,’ he said. ‘They explain that they called last spring for a meeting to make management aware of upcoming staffing problems.’