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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Care of people who are dying is an emotive topic, and there is only one chance to get it right for each individual approaching death. Failure to do so can hinder and complicate the grieving process of those left behind. ⋯ The Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People examined criticism of the Liverpool Care Pathway and formulated a new proposal, introducing five priorities for end of life care. Organisations, teams and individuals should consider how they can use these priorities to achieve high quality end of life care for all, at the time and in the way that each individual needs it.