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Committee NewsIf you are a UKMSSNA member and have any issues which you would like the committee to discuss, please contact your Regional representative (see Committee page).
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NewsOn this page:Nursing Roadmap for QualityChief Nursing Officer Dame Christine Beasley launched the Nursing Roadmap for Quality at a meeting with Directors of Nursing in the West Midlands on 4th March. The Nursing Roadmap for Quality has been designed help nurses and their teams understand the elements of the quality framework that relate to nursing practice. The purpose of the document is to: • inform nurses and their teams of their role in supporting quality improvements against the seven elements of the quality framework In launching this work, Dame Christine Beasley said “Nurses are passionate about delivering high quality care. This Nursing Roadmap for Quality is an essential reference guide with over 40 key resources to support nurses’ delivery quality. It will help them have the key tools, resources and approaches in one useful place. It aims to help them further improve the excellent care nurses gave day in day out, and assist them in telling the story on how nurses continually contribute to high quality patient care and experience.“ The Roadmap will be available to all as a reference guide supporting good quality care across the NHS and in social care. The document is available on the Department of Health website The 2010 Multiple Sclerosis Annual Evidence UpdateThe 2010 Multiple Sclerosis Annual Evidence Update highlights knowledge published in systematic reviews and guidelines in the past twelve months on the diagnosis, treatment and management of MS. This information is presented in an easily accessible format and with additional expert commentary and will provide busy healthcare professionals with the information they need to keep up to date. The most robust evidence-based systematic reviews from the period under review were selected by topic advisors after review of almost 500 articles. The evidence has been split into the following sections: •Aetiology and epidemiology NHS Evidence - neurological conditions Making a Difference Award 2010This year's winner of the Making a Difference Award, for the nurse who has made a significant contribution to MS nursing, is Gail Hayes, from the Mardon Neuro-rehabilitation Centre, Exeter. Nominated by Carol Turner, she was up against stiff competition from Karen Vernon, Nikki Embrey and Rhona MacLean. Carol said in her nomination that Gail "is an inspiration. From my roots (and those of other new recruits) in MS nursing some 6 ½ yrs ago she has always been patient, confident and cheerful with us fledglings! If we need facts face on, Gail gives them to us. She works hard in local MS nursing practice and continues to do so nationally and she enjoyed her time representing South West nurses with the UKMSSNA. Most importantly, she deserves the award because she is such a nice person and our work would be more difficult without nice people." Gail says "May I sincerely thank the committee of the UKMSSNA and members for the surprise that I received at MS Trust conference last week. I feel very honoured to have been presented with the 'Making a Difference ' Award. We all work so hard and hope to support those who are new or struggling along their time as MS Nurses so that we can better support and advise those living with MS. UKMSSNA's new Chairperson
Denise Winterbottom has taken over from Kerry as representative for the North East Region and Sam Colhoun has taken over from Nikki Embrey as the representative for the West Midlands. The Committee co-opted Phyllis Scullion to the Committee at their January meeting. Phyllis will represent Eastern England. Kerry attended her last meeting as a committee member on January 28th. She says: "Well, the end of another era; I hope I have done UKMSSNA proud over the last 3 years. I certainly have enjoyed my role and thank everbody for their support. I genuinely believe we are the best group of nurses and there is so much work going on and I do feel honoured that hopefully I have made some contribution towards this. I would like to welcome Sam, Phyllis and Denise to the [committee] and I know they will become valuable assets in continuing to move UKMSSNA forward. It was lovely to see the ideas Huseyin has and I think he will upgrade technology within the group, alongside Del with her enthusiam. I know you will all continue your support, although I suspect (and hope) I will get dragged in at times Good luck with all future activities. Thanks again, Kerry European Medicines Agency - TysabriThe European Medicines Agency issued a press release on 21st January which calls for additional measures to improve the management of the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) with Tysabri. Their recommendations are:
Go to the EMA website to read the full document . Also Q&A on the review of Tysabri There is also a link to the European Public Assessment Report on Tsyabri ACNR publishes "The Year in MS Research 2009ACNR (Advances in Clinical Neuroscience & Rehabilitation) published a supplement to their Jan/Feb issue, called The Year in MS Research 2009 which was produced by our Co-Editor, Alasdair Coles, and his colleagues. This may be of interest to MS Nurses and there are spare copies available. If you would like a copy please contact Rachael Hansford at the ACNR; Tel: 01747 860168 Neurological Health Services Clinical Standards for ScotlandThe new clinical guidelines for Neurological Services in Scotland were published in October 2009. download them here ABN Guidelines November 2009The Association of British Neurologists (ABN) has recently published their revised guidelines for prescribing in MS. You can download the new guidelines from the ABN website Vacancy for Full-Time MS Specialist Nurse – SurreyThe Quintiles MS Support Team currently has a vacancy for a registered nurse to assist with the management and development of services for people with multiple sclerosis and set up a new neurology service for Richmond PCT.You will have the opportunity to work on a new set up within the PCT, manage a caseload of patients within primary care; delivering a high quality of care and professionalism for these patients with complex healthcare needs, and assisting with the provision of disease modifying treatments and providing the necessary monitoring and support. You will be working with a multidisciplinary team including Neurologists, District Nurses and other professionals across primary care as well as health and social care workers and voluntary organisations. This is an exciting opportunity, with an excellent benefits package and career development opportunities. Skills & Experience Required:
If you are interested please contact the Resourcing Department or call Quintiles & Innovex Resourcing – 01344 601550. Specialist Nurse Opportunities at the National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, UCLH.Do you have post registration experience in neurology, oncology, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, or palliative care nursing?Do you enjoy teamwork and have excellent interpersonal skills?Have you ever thought about becoming a clinical nurse specialist?Band 7 CNS in Multiple Sclerosis; Band 7 CNS in Spasticity (one permanent CNS post in MS; two short term contracts in MS and Spasticity: 6-months in the first instance) Full Time - Monday – Friday 9am-5pm. We can provide an opportunity to explore this exciting career pathway within small friendly teams offering both permanent and short term positions, delivering care to people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and people with Spasticity within a specialist centre. Treatment in both areas has advanced hugely in the last few years and now includes a broad range of drug treatments including injection, intravenous and intra-thecal forms of drug therapies, including cytotoxic drug infusions. In addition to disease modifying therapies, improvements have been made in complex symptom management and palliative care. Our vision is to establish specialist nurses within multi-disciplinary teams to deliver expert care across the specialist areas of MS and spasticity. Experience in neurology, oncology, MS, spasticity or palliative care nursing would be welcomed. Clinical responsibilities range from tele-triage, nurse led clinics, co-ordination treatment pathways, multidisciplinary clinics and patient education programmes. The post holder will benefit from excellent mentorship and support from the Nurse Consultant and Clinical Neurology team members. The short term contracts offers the opportunity to explore whether a clinical nurse specialist post is right for you. Excellent opportunities for personal and professional development exist. For an informal discussion or to arrange a visit please contact Bernadette Porter, Nurse Consultant, 0207 6762083 or Susan Hourihan, MS Clinical Team Lead on 0845 155 5000 ext 723515/ 72 3722 or bleep 8105 or Liz Keenan, CNS in Spasticity on ext 72 3439. 2009 AGM at Chesford Grange
Members of the UKMSSNA enjoying a drink and reading the Annual Report.
Speaker Avril Carson presented a session on "Recharging your Batteries" Multiple Sclerosis: Answers at your Fingertipsby Dr David Rog, Megan Burgess, Dr John Mottershead & Dr Paul TalbotThis is the 2nd edition of this book, fully revised and updated. It has answers to over 300 questions asked by people with MS and their families and provides up-to-date and medically accurate information on treatments as well as practical help and advice on a range of topics. Published by Class Publishing, price £17.99 Freepost 16705, Macmillan Distribution, Basingstoke RG21 6ZZ, Tel: 01256 302 699 Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Nurses: Adding value and delivering NHS targetsWritten at a time of great change within the NHS, this document is targeted at commissioners, PCT fund holders, Directors of Nursing, service managers and others involved in the provision of health services. The document identifies the value and benefits of employing MSSNs in terms of cost effectiveness as well as clinical efficiency. Adding value and delivering NHS targets ISSCR Guidelines for the Clinical Translation of Stem CellsThe International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has released Guidelines for the Clinical Translation of Stem Cells that examine the scientific, clinical, regulatory, ethical and societal issues that must be addressed to ensure that basic stem cell research is responsibly transitioned into appropriate clinical applications. The guidelines call for rigorous standards in the development of stem cell therapies including stringent evaluation and oversight, a thorough informed consent process and transparency in operations and reporting. The ISSCR acknowledges the evolving state of scientific and clinical knowledge of stem cell-based products, and places responsibility on clinical investigators to work alongside regulators in refining standards of pre-clinical and clinical evaluation. The Guidelines will be reviewed and revised as needed to incorporate new scientific advances and to address specific translational research issues. The ISSCR also recognizes an urgent need to address the problem of unproven stem cell therapies being marketed directly to patients. While stem cell research holds tremendous promise for the development of new treatments for many serious diseases, nearly all stem cell therapies are new and highly experimental. The ISSCR has also published a Patient Handbook on Stem Cell Therapies World Atlas of MS
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Huseyin Huseyin, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in MS at Luton & Dunstable NHS Foundation Trust, is the new Chairperson for the UKMSSNA, taking over from Kerry Mutch who retired at the AGM held in November. Jane Ware, MS Specialist Nurse at the Wessex Neurological Centre in Southampton remains as Vice-Chair, to be joined by Del Thomas, MS Specialist Nurse with Herefordshire PCT. Samantha Colhoun MS Specialist Nurse in Birmingham, will take over from Huseyin as Treasurer.
