News

Job Vacancy: Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Nurse - Stornaway, Isle of Lewis

STORNOWAY HEALTH CENTRE, SPRINGFIELD ROAD, STORNOWAY, ISLE OF LEWIS, HS1 2PS

Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Nurse (Development Opportunity)

Band 6 - £25,528 - £34,189 plus Distant Islands Allowance £937
37.5 hours per week

We seek to recruit a Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Nurse to join our Community Nursing Team. In conjunction with the MS Society you will provide a comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Nursing Service to patients with MS throughout the Western Isles.

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual, who will be based in the community, and work closely with patients and carers, general practitioners, secondary care and community staff. This post offers an opportunity for the individual to set up a new service developing and implementing an evidence-based patient management programme.

The post holder will be an RGN with several years post registration experience. You will be educated to degree level and hold an MS Diploma or be willing to achieve this within two years of appointment. You will have excellent communication skills, be able to organise and prioritise work effectively.

The successful applicant will be required to register with the Disclosure Scotland PVG Scheme (Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme)

Applicants must have a full UK driving licence.

For informal discussion or further information about this exciting opportunity please contact: Finella Morrison on 01851 763307

NHS Scotland Recruitment website link:  https://jobs.scot.nhs.uk/_Details.aspx?vacNo=357660 www.jobs.scot.nhs.uk

An application form and job description can be obtained from the Human Resources Department, Western Isles Hospital, Macaulay Road, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS1 2AF. Tel: 01851 708278 wi-hb.recruit@nhs.net

Closing Date: 18th November 2011   Ref: WI535a
Interview Date: 20th December 2011 (am)

Ready to Work? - Meeting the employment and career needs of people with MS

Report of research carried out by the Work Foundation

This report highlights the problems faced by people of working age in the UK who have multiple sclerosis (MS) and what more can be done to support them to live full and meaningful working lives. Work opens doors for people and can provide income, a sense of purpose, dignity and social connectivity. The authors argue that, with more co-ordinated action, the majority of people with MS who want to work can be kept in fulfilling employment.

Download Full Report    Download Executive Summary and Recommendations

Improving end of life care in neurological disease: a framework for implementation

National End of Life Care Programme / National Council for Palliative Care / the Neurological Alliance

This document aims to set out an End of Life Care framework for implementation that specifically meets the needs of those with neurological conditions.

It covers:

•Strategic context
•End of life care tools
•End of life care in neurological disease
•Communication and advance care planning
•Co-ordination and multidisciplinary approach to care
•Management of physical symptoms
•Holistic care – psychosocial and spiritual aspects
•Care at the end of life
•Carers
•Workforce, education and training
•Commissioning health and social care services

Go to the National End of Life Care Programme website to download the full Framework and an Executive Summary.

Medical Rehabilitation in 2011 and beyond

A Report of the Royal College of Physicians and the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine

"This report will help health professionals in accessing rehabilitative care for patients by improving understanding of clinical pathways, the field of competence and the role of rehabilitation specialists within teams"   Professor Amanda Howe, RCGP

The report revises the definitions around rehabilitation medicine in line with current practice. It also places rehabilitation in the broader context of acute illness management, arguing that commissioning - in the format newly proposed by the coalition government - should support interdisciplinary practice and clinical pathways which reflect the widespread overlap with other areas of medicine.  Standards of practice are also discussed in the context of the National Service Framework for long-term-neurological conditions.

The report argues that, while shorter-term programmes are functioning well, longer-term pathways need to integrate high-intensity treatments, greater consideration of the individual's participation in life, vocational needs, family relationships, and the need to return to as normal a life as possible.

This document draws on evidence from a wide range of papers, reviews and Cochrane collaborations, to support the argument for increased investment in rehabilitation medicine for the future, embracing technological innovations and providing high-quality, personalised care.

Download the Report from the RCP website

Thousands of people will be diagnosed with a chronic fluctuating condition this year. The WorkLife website provides the information and support they need to remain in or return to work, as well as information for managers and employers and healthcare professionals. 

RCN's Frontline First Initiative

The RCN has launched the Frontline First initiative, a UK-wide campaign designed to empower nursing staff to protect patient care and find the genuine savings that they know the NHS can make.  Frontline First will give nursing staff the power to inform them about the cuts that you see affecting patient care, the waste in the system that is diverting resources from the frontline and the innovations and new ideas that are helping to deliver cost effective high quality care.

The RCN will continue to campaign for the protection of frontline services on which so many depend.  As nurses you will already be familiar with the huge difference that you make to the lives of so many people and the RCN is determined that history does not repeat itself and that these frontline services do not become victims of ‘efficiency savings’ in the NHS.

In order for Frontline First to be effective, The RCN are asking for your support.  You know, perhaps better than anyone, the power and importance of excellent nursing care, and this campaign will be the primary channel for information and engagement between yourselves, The RCN and the DoH.

Nursing Roadmap for Quality

The Nursing Roadmap for Quality has been designed to 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
• provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for key resources, which nursing teams can use to further demonstrate their added contribution to quality
• reinforce the need for nurses to identify ways to reduce waste and repetition, by contributing to the quality and productivity challenge.

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

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 UKMSSNA Publication: Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Nurses: Adding value and delivering NHS targets

Written 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

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ISSCR Guidelines for the Clinical Translation of Stem Cells  

   The 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

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World Atlas of MS

The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have published a World Atlas of MS, which is the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of the occurrence of MS around the world and the availability of resources to provide services and support to people with MS.

The Atlas is the result of three years of research coordinated by the WHO and MSIF. More than 100 countries participated in the study, replacing impressions and opinions with facts and figures. Topics covered by the Atlas include:

• Epidemiology – prevalence, incidence and total numbers
• Epidemiology – average age of onset and male/female ratio
• MS organisations
• Diagnosis
• Information
• Support and services
• Drugs and treatment
• Human resources
• Disability entitlements, legislation and social insurance
• Major issues

For more information and to download the Atlas Report go to the MSIF website here

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MS Society Information Services

The newsletter from the MS National Centre (MSNC) Information Services team is a simple way to keep up to date with new resources, information events and examples of good practice from around the country.

The info team is there to support people affected by MS to access up-to-date evidence based information and to signpost to other sources of expertise.  Through working with colleagues at MS National Centre and locally we can together meet the information needs of everyone affected by MS.

Contact the MS Society Information Team at or phone 020 8438 0799.

The MS Trust Information Service

Whatever your question about MS, the MS Trust’s Information Team is here to help you try and find the information you need.   Using our collection of medical papers, textbooks and other resources, they will find information to match your particular questions, whether it be symptoms or treatments or literature searches to help with service development.

Contact the MS Trust Information Team or phone 01462 476700

Long Term Neurological Conditions

A good practice guide to the development of the multidisciplinary team and the value of the specialist nurse

This is a publication by the Department of Health in collaboration with the RCN, Epilepsy Action, the MS Society, Parkinson's Disease Society and NHS National Workforce Projects.  It is aimed at commissioners and providers of services for people with long term neurological conditions to help them offer the right service, delivered by an appropriate workforce, to meet the needs of a vulnerable group of patients.  It outlines why services for neurological conditions are important, demonstrates the value of the MDT and clarifies the contribution of specialist nurses.

Link to NHS National Workforce Projects website to download the document

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