Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987)
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The recent news that seven policemen in Pakistan were killed while guarding polio vaccination workers in Karachi was tragic, especially when we are close to eradicating polio from the only two remaining countries where the virus is considered endemic - Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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Polypharmacy refers to the prescribing of many medicines for one individual. Polypharmacy is increasingly common as a result of the rise in multimorbidity, use of evidence-based clinical guidelines and care pathways, and a focus on disease prevention. Polypharmacy can be justified and appropriate, but it may also be inappropriate and associated with suboptimal health outcomes and mortality. ⋯ Older people, and particularly those who are frail, are susceptible to the adverse effects of polypharmacy. Medication reviews should be undertaken regularly in older people with polypharmacy. Medicines management systems, research, and education are essential to improve safe practice in the management of polypharmacy.
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Essential facts According to data gathered by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, the NHS in England completed 10.6 million operations in 2012/13, compared with 6.61 million a decade before - a rise of 60%. Over the same period, pre-operative assessment has changed radically, with most people seen well in advance of their surgery in a pre-operative assessment unit. While the number of routine tests for young, healthy people having minor surgery has reduced significantly, there remains a concern that some unnecessary tests continue to be requested, says the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
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