British journal of community nursing
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The Government wants to empower nurses to speak out to protect their patients without fear of being victimized or dismissed and are looking to amend the NHS Constitution to strengthen protection for staff who blow the whistle on poor practice. Currently whistleblowers are protected by the provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996 as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. This allows a whistleblower to appeal to an Employment Tribunal for reinstatement if they are dismissed or victimized as a result of their actions. The protection currently offered under the 1996 Act is not absolute and a nurse who wishes to pass on information about bad practice in the interests of their patients must be sure to follow the requirements of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and their employer's whistleblowing policy before their disclosure qualifies for protection.
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With the increasing prominence of the patients' involvement in the care they receive, the assessment of outcomes based on the patient's perspective using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), are increasingly accompanying the traditional clinical ways of measuring health and the effects of treatment on the patient. This article provides an overview as to what PROMs are and the different health constructs they are purported to measure. ⋯ Examples of the application of PROMs are given together with some of the methodological approaches to interpreting PROM data. Finally, issues on maximizing the benefits of using PROMs are briefly discussed.