Paediatric nursing
-
The Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health report published in 2008 recommended that there should be a standardised monitoring system with embedded early identification systems for children at risk of critical illness or deterioration. Recent studies have demonstrated improvement in patient outcomes following the implementation of paediatric early warning scores and response teams in children's units and hospitals. ⋯ Lessons can be learnt from the adult experience of implementing early warning systems. A national, multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to the development, implementation and evaluation of paediatric early warning systems is recommended.
-
Comparative Study
Post-operative pain: the impact of prescribing patterns on nurses' administration of analgesia.
In the past 30 years, significant improvements have been made in the management of children's pain, with most children receiving analgesia post-operatively. However, the amount of analgesia administered to children after surgery varies depending on a number of factors. ⋯ Nurses need to be more responsive to children in pain and acknowledge the value of prn prescribing of analgesics for children post-operatively. There is a need to increase nurses' confidence in assessing and responding to children's pain.
-
Comparative Study
Evaluation of dressings used with local anaesthetic cream and for peripheral venous cannulation.
To compare four polyurethane dressings manufactured by two different companies for use in children. ⋯ There was little difference between the two brands, including costs.
-
Little is known about the working practices of community children's nurses and how they manage the complexities of working with children and young people with life-limiting, life-threatening and chronic ill-health conditions and their families. This action research project aimed to find ways of managing community children's nursing caseloads that would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of services and inform negotiations with service commissioners. ⋯ The nursing input framework supports monthly caseload monitoring by community children's nurses and informs reports to the service commissioners as part of activity monitoring data. The mechanism will be tested in comparable services in the UK to gauge its transferability.