Latest news with #JaneDavies
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Glasgow Times
Motherwell nurses praised for person-centred care
The team was announced as the runner-up in the national Jane Davies Award for person-centred care, organised by Healthcare Improvement Scotland. This recognition was based on their compassionate care for a local family during an especially challenging period. (Image: Supplied) The award was established in honour of Jane Davies, a pioneer in Scottish healthcare engagement, who dedicated her career to promoting the significance of kindness, respect, and listening in the delivery of care. Marie Harvey nominated the team for the award, commending their ability to prioritise the patient and family while caring for her father, Peter. Read more: 'Enough is enough': Residents fed-up with works causing traffic gridlock Ms Harvey praised the clinical skills, emotional support, humour, and dignity shown by the team, from team leader Monica Sheen's initial visit, to the ongoing support offered by nurses Gillian Moore and Charlotte Macnamara. Ms Moore, a community nurse at University [[Health]] & Social Care North Lanarkshire, said: "As a team this award means a lot to us, and we're honoured we were nominated by Peter's family. "We didn't feel like we were working when we were with Peter, and we quickly established a great relationship with his family. "Peter called me 'gaffer', and we were all made to feel like part of the family. "Showing compassion and caring for him the way he told us was important to him was something we were all committed to. "We got to really know Peter and talked about what mattered to him; we both support the football team but didn't always agree on our favourite players." Evelyn Ryan, service manager at University [[Health]] & Social Care North Lanarkshire, said: "Being named runner-up in this award is testament to the compassion and professionalism of Motherwell's district nursing team. "The team's ability to connect, support, and empower families during such vulnerable times reflects the very best of what nursing, and healthcare more broadly, is about. 'They placed a lot of importance on ensuring Peter's family were involved in his care. This approach meant Peter was able to remain at home, surrounded by his family, and retain control over his care in his final days.' Clare Morrison, director of engagement and change at Healthcare Improvement Scotland, said: "I would like to congratulate the Motherwell District Nursing team on their success in the Jane Davies Award. "They have done an incredible job, going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that Peter and his family were given the most compassionate care through a very difficult time. "They epitomise everything that the Jane Davies Award is about."
Leader Live
5 days ago
- General
- Leader Live
Flintshire social services highlight urgent need for new foster carers
The issue came up as Flintshire's Social and Health Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the mid-term review of the Council Plan 2025-30 on Thursday. There are around 260 children in foster care in Flintshire looked after by 83 foster families. Some of those foster families are 'connected persons' – people with a family link to the children in their care like grandparents. Others are 'general foster carers'. These are people who take in any children in need of stability and care on behalf of Flintshire County Council. The authority has a strong track record of providing high quality support for children in foster care, but is facing difficulty recruiting new families. In 2024/25 Flintshire's recruitment target was 12 new families to meet demand. It approved just three general foster carers and two connected persons. Concerned about the low recruitment level, Brynford and Halkyn councillor Fran Lister asked: 'Is there a good retention of foster carers? Since Covid lots of people may be using spare rooms to work in and I'm just wondering whether the foster care market has declined since then and if we need to take that into account. 'The target was 12, there was five this year which is obviously nowhere near what we need. Is there any more we can do to recruit foster carers that are so desperately needed?' Outreach work is ongoing according to Jane Davies, Senior Manager for Safeguarding and Commissioning in Flintshire Social Services. But low numbers of applicants and the challenge of approving those suitable to foster has posed difficulties for Flintshire's fostering team. 'The demographic has changed – some existing foster carers have got older and have retired or are now looking after their own grandchildren so that has had an impact,' she said. 'We have also had less people coming forward as new foster carers. Part of that is lifestyle and expectations since Covid. 'It's not for everybody, it's a really difficult role and you have to be a certain sort of person to be a foster carer.' Ms Davies added that Flintshire was actively reaching out to promote its in-house foster care service to attract more applicants. 'We have policies to encourage our own council staff to become foster carers and supportive mechanisms to assist with that, we offer council tax discretion as in other North Wales authorities and we have a dedicated officer within the fostering team who supports promoting the service through social media and advertising. 'The fostering team, which is based in Flint, will have a presence at the Eisteddfod in Wrexham in three weeks. They will also have a presence at the Royal Welsh Show. 'There people will be able to go and learn more about becoming foster carers, understand better what it entails. 'It's important we get into lots of places and there is lots of activity around this to promote fostering.'
West Australian
15-07-2025
- Health
- West Australian
First Nations hepatitis B risks revealed in study
The impacts to liver health from a unique strain of chronic hepatitis B, which predominantly affects First Nations people, have been revealed in a study. Analysing the C4 hepatitis B strain among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, researchers from Menzies School of Health Research, found a severe type of liver disease among those living with the infection. "The things we worry about when people have hepatitis b as a chronic infection, if they get liver damage, which can progress to liver cirrhosis or liver failure and they are also at higher risk of liver cancer," study lead and Menzies Hepatitis B program lead Jane Davies told AAP. "This C4 sub-genotype, when we looked at it in the lab at the very detailed genetics of it, it looked like it was very aggressive with respect to these two things." The study confirmed the lab findings by analysing clinical data from more than 780 people across the Northern Territory, Professor Davies said. She said 22 per cent of people in this cohort had significant liver damage, and 16 per cent of those had cirrhosis, which is severe scarring on the liver, which can cause problems with the organ's functioning. "We've followed people over time, we've looked at different markers of the virus as part of their clinical care and have confirmed there is significantly high rates of liver damage within the population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have this very specific sub-genotype of chronic hepatitis B," Prof Davies said. Under current Australian guidelines 25 per cent of the cohort studied are receiving treatment, Prof Davies said. Researchers explored the potential impact of using World Health Organisation expanded treatment guidelines for people living with C4 hepatitis B. Prof Davies said under the expanded guidelines half of those not currently being treated would be eligible for treatment. While expanding the guidelines is a nuanced conversation, Prof Davies said, she believes it is common sense to do everything possible to support healthy liver function for those living with hepatitis B. "My personal opinion is that we should be treating as many people as we can where there is evidence that we can reduce their risk of progression to liver failure and liver cancer," she said. "That's where the really crucial question comes - is there evidence in this in this very specific sub-genotype in out setting that we should be immediately rolling out treatment to this more than roughly 50 per cent of people. "That's definitely a nuances conversation with pros and cons." The study, representing the latest findings from the Hep B PAST program, which aims to eliminate hepatitis B in the NT, was published in BMC Infectious Diseases .
Perth Now
15-07-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
First Nations hepatitis B risks revealed in study
The impacts to liver health from a unique strain of chronic hepatitis B, which predominantly affects First Nations people, have been revealed in a study. Analysing the C4 hepatitis B strain among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, researchers from Menzies School of Health Research, found a severe type of liver disease among those living with the infection. "The things we worry about when people have hepatitis b as a chronic infection, if they get liver damage, which can progress to liver cirrhosis or liver failure and they are also at higher risk of liver cancer," study lead and Menzies Hepatitis B program lead Jane Davies told AAP. "This C4 sub-genotype, when we looked at it in the lab at the very detailed genetics of it, it looked like it was very aggressive with respect to these two things." The study confirmed the lab findings by analysing clinical data from more than 780 people across the Northern Territory, Professor Davies said. She said 22 per cent of people in this cohort had significant liver damage, and 16 per cent of those had cirrhosis, which is severe scarring on the liver, which can cause problems with the organ's functioning. "We've followed people over time, we've looked at different markers of the virus as part of their clinical care and have confirmed there is significantly high rates of liver damage within the population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have this very specific sub-genotype of chronic hepatitis B," Prof Davies said. Under current Australian guidelines 25 per cent of the cohort studied are receiving treatment, Prof Davies said. Researchers explored the potential impact of using World Health Organisation expanded treatment guidelines for people living with C4 hepatitis B. Prof Davies said under the expanded guidelines half of those not currently being treated would be eligible for treatment. While expanding the guidelines is a nuanced conversation, Prof Davies said, she believes it is common sense to do everything possible to support healthy liver function for those living with hepatitis B. "My personal opinion is that we should be treating as many people as we can where there is evidence that we can reduce their risk of progression to liver failure and liver cancer," she said. "That's where the really crucial question comes - is there evidence in this in this very specific sub-genotype in out setting that we should be immediately rolling out treatment to this more than roughly 50 per cent of people. "That's definitely a nuances conversation with pros and cons." The study, representing the latest findings from the Hep B PAST program, which aims to eliminate hepatitis B in the NT, was published in BMC Infectious Diseases.
