Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987)
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The Ebola outbreak in 2014 marked the first time that an epidemic of this viral haemorrhagic fever had occurred in West Africa. From its origin in Guinea, the outbreak rapidly increased to become a humanitarian crisis affecting all aspects of life in the three countries worst affected: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. ⋯ This article explores some of the misconceptions about Ebola as it spread into Sierra Leonean communities, and the social mobilisation response of the government of Sierra Leone. It is a reflective account of conversations with Sierra Leonean nationals during a military deployment at the International Security Advisory Team headquarters medical treatment facility in Freetown.
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Safety considerations are important when caring for a patient with a temporary tracheostomy. Early detection and resolution of problems in tracheostomy management are important to prevent serious incidents arising. Nurses working outside critical care areas need to be competent and confident in the management or detection of potential problems with tracheostomies. This article summarises the essential care of a patient with a temporary tracheostomy with reference to best practice guidelines, emphasising the importance of prompt intervention and response, if a potential problem is identified.
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Climate change has been identified as a serious threat to human health, associated with the sustainability of current practices and lifestyles. Nurses should expand their health promotion role to address current and emerging threats to health from climate change and to address ecological public health. This article briefly outlines climate change and the concept of ecological public health, and discusses a 2012 review of the role of the nurse in health promotion.