Posted 18 December 2018 - 16:14
Posted 18 December 2018 - 16:14
Features
Top 15: The most popular articles of 2018
As the new year begins, we look back at the 15 most popular articles from the past 12 months
The lifting of the seven-year pay cap for nurses and resulting controversy over the Royal College of Nursing’s communication of the deal were the hottest topics of 2018.
False job titles also continued to concern the profession, along with nurses brought before the regulator over patient care, record-keeping and revalidation inaccuracies.
Revisit our most popular stories of the year below.
1. Mental health nurse is struck off the NMC register over patient’s death
A mental health nurse who chose to work four shifts in a row and failed adequately to monitor a patient, who was later found dead, was struck off the register, but the Nursing and Midwifery Council pointed to ‘systematic failures’ as mitigating factors.
2. NHS pay deal: RCN general secretary issues extraordinary personal apology
RCN general secretary Janet Davies took the extraordinary step of issuing a personal apology to members after it emerged some in the NHS would not receive a 3% pay uplift this summer, as had been promised.
3. Pay to finally increase – if deal is agreed across England
After seven years of pay restraint, the proposals to pick up previous commitments to reform the Agenda for Change pay system, were welcomed by nurses at a press conference in London in March.
4. Bereaved mother of nursing student says nurses need better mental healthcare
4. Bereaved mother of nursing student says nurses need better mental healthcareLiz de Oliveira, mother of Lucy, a nursing student who took her own life in February last year after experiencing depression, called for universities, the NHS, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and government to work together to help avoid such tragedies.
5. Suspended: nurse who was 'out of his depth' at time of Connor Sparrowhawk’s death
5. Suspended: nurse who was 'out of his depth' at time of Connor Sparrowhawk’s deathA learning disabilities nurse involved in the death of 18-year-old Connor Sparrowhawk was suspended from practice for 12 months.
6. Identifying and treating urinary tract infections: new NICE guidelines
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common infections that affect different parts of the urinary tract, including the bladder (cystitis), urethra and kidneys. New guidance intended to help combat drug-resistant UTIs was published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in June.
7. Nine month suspension for nurse who falsified end of life patient's notes
A nurse who admitted deliberately falsifying the notes of an end of life patient who was left in soiled clothing in bed, was suspended for nine months.
8. Two nurses sentenced for defrauding NHS
Two nurses admitted defrauding the NHS in separate incidents that saw trusts in England lose a total of around £80,000.
9. Nurse among seven sentenced for defrauding NHS of £73,000 with false time sheets
A nurse was given a suspended prison sentence after helping defraud the NHS of almost £73,000 by recording 'ghost shifts' with an employment agency.
10. Nurses to be offered 6.5% pay rise, but must give up a day’s holiday – report
A report in the Guardian based on a leaked document revealed that the government was prepared to increase salaries for the 1.3 million workers on the Agenda for Change contract.
11. NHS nurses in England to get their biggest pay rise for a decade
In June it was revealed that 77% of RCN members voted in a ballot accepting the NHS pay offer. The RCN and 11 other unions formally backed the pay deal negotiated with the government, following a six-week ballot of members.
12. Vote now on the NHS pay deal
RCN members in England were allowed to formally accept or reject the proposed NHS pay deal, as voting opened in April.
13. Exclusive: The false job titles that are undermining trust in nurses
Thousands of unregistered NHS support staff have the word ‘nurse’ in their job titles, misleading patients and raising safety concerns, a Nursing Standard investigation revealed.
14. Band 7 nurse is removed from the register over revalidation inaccuracy
A band 7 community nurse was removed from the register for incorrectly stating she had fulfilled revalidation requirements.
15. Revalidation: sharp rise in NMC registrants failing to meet CPD requirements
The number of nurses who did not meet continued professional training (CPD) requirements for revalidation went up by almost 50% in 2017-18.
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