Sunday 28th February 2016- BBC News: Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey discharged from hospital

‘Scots nurse Pauline Cafferkey has been discharged from a London hospital after being treated there for a third time since contracting Ebola.

The 40-year-old from South Lanarkshire was flown to the Royal Free Hospital on Tuesday after being admitted to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The Royal Free said she had been discharged and was “not infectious”.

Ms Cafferkey was treated there twice in 2015 after contracting Ebola in Sierra Leone the previous year.

A spokesman for the Royal Free Hospital said: “Pauline Cafferkey has today been discharged from the care of the Royal Free Hospital following her admission due to a complication related to her previous infection by the Ebola virus.

“We can confirm that Pauline is not infectious. The Ebola virus can only be transmitted by direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person while they are symptomatic.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt later tweeted: “It’s fantastic news that Pauline Cafferkey has been discharged from hospital. Outstanding care again from @RoyalFreeNHS #NHSheroes.”

The nurse, from Halfway, Cambuslang, contracted the virus while working as part of a British team at the Kerry Town Ebola treatment centre.

She spent almost a month in isolation at the Royal Free at the beginning of 2015 after the virus was detected when she arrived back in the UK.

Ms Cafferkey was later discharged after apparently making a full recovery, and in March 2015 returned to work as a public health nurse at Blantyre Health Centre in South Lanarkshire.

In October last year it was discovered that Ebola was still present in her body, with health officials later confirming she had been diagnosed with meningitis caused by the virus.’

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Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey discharged from hospital

Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey discharged from hospital- The Telegraph

Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey discharged from hospital- The Guardian

Saturday 9th January 2016- BBC News: Student nurses and midwives protest over grants cut

‘Student nurses and midwives have marched in protest at the government’s decision to scrap their bursaries in England and replace them with loans.

Demonstrations against the move, announced in the chancellor’s Spending Review in November, took place in London, Manchester and Newcastle.

The government says it will allow more nurses and midwives to be trained and give them more financial support.

The Royal College of Nursing said fear of debt would put people off training.’

‘Currently student nurses and midwives receive an annual bursary from the NHS while they study – which they do not have to pay back. They also do not have to pay tuition fees.’

‘However, the government argues that because the NHS can spend only a finite amount of money on bursaries each year, it limits the number of places available for students.

“We need more home-grown nurses in the NHS because they do an amazing job caring for patients, but currently two-thirds of people who apply to become a nurse aren’t accepted for training,” a spokesman for the Department of Health told BBC News.

“Our plans mean up to 10,000 more training places by the end of this parliament, with student nurses getting around 25% more financial support whilst they study.”‘

‘Bursaries can amount to between £1,000 and more than £4,000 a year depending on where the student lives, and are means-tested.

Changing bursaries to loans would bring studying nursing and midwifery in line with other university courses and save £800m a year, ministers have said.

But the Royal College of Nursing said scrapping bursaries would be “a big loss to our society”, as talented would-be nurses and midwives choose different career paths.

The college also argues that nursing is not like other courses, as students spend a lot of their time on placements in hospitals doing clinical work, and do not have the time to earn money doing different jobs in the way other students can.’

Related Articles:

Student nurses and midwives protest over grants cut

Student nurses and midwives vow to ‘defend our NHS’ as health workers prepare to march on Downing Street following bursary scrap- The Independent

Student nurses and midwives protest over NHS bursary plans- The Guardian

Wednesday 25th November 2015- The Independent: Autumn Statement: Plans to force nurses to pay tuition fees will ‘saddle future generations with even more debt’

‘Nurses will be forced to pay tuition fees and living costs as George Osborne scrapped public funding for students in a move to create 10,000 extra training places.

The Chancellor set out plans to “modernise” nurse training by removing the “self-defeating cap” on student nurses which he said meant at least half of all applicants are turned away.’

‘Bursaries used to pay for tuition and living costs will be replaced by direct loans freeing up around £800m a year currently used to fund 60,000 students through their three year degree courses. Mr Osborne said the changes would stop NHS hospitals relying so much on expensive agency staff and having to recruit thousands more nurses from abroad.

The Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing said the move would saddle nurses with enormous debt. Students who pay up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees typically graduate with debts of around £50,000.

Janet Davies said: “Whilst today’s commitment is positive, student nurses shouldn’t be the ones having to pay for it.Student nurses aren’t like other students. Half of their time is spent in clinical practice working directly with patients and their families and they have a longer academic year.

“These proposals will saddle future generations of these student nurses with even more debt and financial pressures and unless nurses pay improves, many graduates will never be in a position to pay their loans back.”

The 10,000 new places will not be solely for nursing, but also midwifery and “other allied health subjects”, according to Autumn Statement documents.’

See:

Autumn Statement: Plans to force nurses to pay tuition fees will ‘saddle future generations with even more debt’

Monday 2nd November 2015- BBC News: Jack Adcock trial: Nurse guilty of six-year old’s manslaughter

‘A nurse has been found guilty of the manslaughter of a six-year-old boy whose resuscitation was mistakenly called off.

Jack Adcock, who had Down’s syndrome, died of a cardiac arrest at Leicester Royal Infirmary in February 2011.

Portuguese-born agency nurse Isabel Amaro, 47, was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence.

The jury is deliberating on the same charge for two other medics – Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba and nurse Theresa Taylor.

Jack, who had a heart condition, was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and died from a cardiac arrest after sepsis was triggered by a bacterial infection about 11 hours later.

The trial has heard the boy’s death was caused by “serious neglect on the part of the doctor and the two nurses”.

They failed to recognise his body was “shutting down” due to sepsis and close to death, the prosecution claimed.’

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Jack Adcock trial: Nurse guilty of six-year old’s manslaughter

Doctor ‘called off’ attempts to save six-year-old boy after mistaking him for another patient- The Independent

Monday 19th October 2015- BBC News: Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey’s condition ‘has improved’

‘The condition of a Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola while working in West Africa has improved, according to the hospital where she is being treated.

Pauline Cafferkey was readmitted to a specialist isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London this month.

She was being treated for complications after tests showed the infection was still present in her system.

Last week her condition was described as “critical”, but the hospital said she was now “serious but stable”.

Ms Cafferkey, 39, from Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, contracted Ebola while working at a treatment centre in Sierra Leone last year.

She spent almost a month in isolation at the Royal Free at the beginning of the year after the virus was detected when she arrived back in the UK.

She was later discharged after apparently making a full recovery.’

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Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey’s condition ‘has improved’

Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey has ‘made a significant improvement’- The Independent

Friday 16th October 2015- The Independent: Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey’s rapid decline after being ‘cured’ leaves experts staggered

‘A British nurse who was apparently cured of Ebola earlier this year is now in a critical condition, doctors have said, with experts expressing astonishment at the deterioration of her condition.

Pauline Cafferkey was admitted to the specialist treatment isolation unit at Royal Free Hospital in London on 9 October. She had been treated for Ebola at the same hospital earlier this year, and was discharged in good health in January.’

‘Doctors have said she is suffering an “unusual late complication” of her previous infection. Ebola virus can linger for months in survivors without causing serious ill effects or infection risk and  is also known to cause long-term health problems in many patients.

However, medical understanding of the disease’s after-effect is limited due to the relatively low number of historic cases. ‘

‘The exact nature of Ms Cafferkey’s illness is not known, but experts have expressed shock at the severity of her condition.

Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said the news was “frankly staggering.”’

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Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey’s rapid decline after being ‘cured’ leaves experts staggered

Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey now ‘critically ill’- BBC News

Sunday 21st June 2015- BBC News: Nurse cuts ‘put 7-day plan at risk’

Nurses are the backbone of the NHS and their absence would greatly jeoprodise the quality of NHS healthcare.

‘Plans to create more seven-day services across the NHS in England are being put in jeopardy because of cuts to senior nurse posts, union leaders have warned.

Official data shows the number of nurses employed in the two most senior grades have fallen by 3% since 2010.

The Royal College of Nursing said senior nursing roles would be vital in the proposed seven-day drive.

The Department of Health said extra money was being provided to train up a “new generation” of nursing leaders.

The senior posts cover roles such as ward sisters and senior positions such as nurse consultants that lead teams.

The government has promised to recruit 5,000 new GPs and another 5,000 support staff, including practice nurses, to pave the way for the weekend opening of GP surgeries.’

See:

Nurse cuts ‘put 7-day plan at risk’