Nursing in Practice May/June 2020 (issue 114) | Page 28

Low
Some 42%
practitione
nurses wh
or ‘very lo
d
84%
of practice nurses
said burnout and
stress had
affected patient
care
better pay, terms and conditions. Helen Lewis, an ANP in
a practice in the South Wales valleys, said: ‘GPNs have every
right to request a pay rise. They have without question shown
resolve in caring for patients in what for many is new ground.’
Louise Brady, a clinical development lead in Manchester,
said there were ‘strong public health arguments for practice
nurses to get more financial recognition in the wake of the
pandemic’. ‘Practice nurses are still undertaking patientfacing
services, the key role being immunisation with risks to
themselves and their families,’ she said. But Rhona Aikman,
a practice nurse near Glasgow, said she would ‘not be
comfortable’ using coronavirus as a reason for a pay rise.
She felt practice nurses needed to become ‘more confident’
in asking for a pay rise, or better working conditions, without
the need to use coronavirus as an argument.
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Triaging and vaccinations
The survey confirmed triaging is not in widespread use.
Some 34% of nurses in the survey said their practice did not
offer a triage service (214 of 617). A further 34% had run the
triage service for over five years while one in 10 had provided
it for under a year. In March, NHS England advised practices
to take on a ‘total triage’ model and carry out care remotely
where they could during the pandemic. Many practices have
had to suddenly implement the technology to do this.
The Royal College of Nursing professional lead for general
practice nursing Marie Therese-Massey told Nursing in
Practice there is ‘no going back’ for nurses now they have
this experience of remote ways of working (see cover feature,
p10). ‘Many practice nurses have stepped up to the mark
and moved swiftly to implement the new ways of working,’
she said. ‘However, new skills are required to conduct
remote consultations safely so appropriate learning packages
and adequate supervision are essential to upskill the
workforce in such a short time frame.’
Elia Monteiro, a practice nurse in London (see
p30 and p31), said her workplace had moved to
a ‘total triage system’ and she was undergoing
telephone triage training. ‘Nurses still have
a high rate of face-to-face appointments
because of the care provided but we triage
the patients to ensure there are no household
viral symptoms.’ Claire Carmichael, a practice
nurse in Portsmouth, said her admin and
reception staff ‘always’ ran a triage service but
nurses have received training since the outbreak.
Nurses
continued
outbreak.
vaccinatio
749 surve
compulso
opposed
(65%) of n
increase u
district nu
and 67%
media is t
66%
of all respondents an
67% of nurses think
‘anti-vax’ messaging o
social media is the
main cause of poor
vaccination
uptake