Around the Globe

UNITED KINGDOM

NZ nurse who cared for COVID+ UK PM quits in protest over wages and conditions

A nurse credited with helping to save the life of British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has quit the UK’s National Health Service due to his lack of “respect” for frontline staff. Jenny McGee was one of two intensive-care nurses who cared for the PM round-the-clock at St Thomas’ Hospital, central London, when he contracted COVID-19. Mr Johnson said he only pulled through thanks to their care and made a video thanking them personally, but is facing fury from nurses after offering a one per cent pay rise.

Ms McGee refused to take part in a

Downing Street photo opportunity in July as nurses struggled under terrible COVID conditions noting:

“Lots of nurses felt the government hadn’t led very effectively, the indecisiveness, so many mixed messages. It was just very upsetting.

At that point, I didn’t know how to describe the horrendousness of what we were going through.” 

INDIA

Chennai nurse braves fire to save newborns

A nurse has received high honour for bravery in fighting a fire threatening a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at one of Chennai’s busiest maternity hospitals. Indian news reported scrub nurse, P Jayakumar, had finished his shift and single-handedly responded to the fire at the Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children. “I was only thinking of the babies because if it entered the NICU, it would have created a big disaster because neonates can’t tolerate that type of hazardous fog. They will collapse in ten seconds,” he recalled. It was reported – “When he found the source of the fire his anxiety gripped him more. The floor below the source of the fire was the manifold room where additional oxygen cylinders were stored due to COVID-19. This was a second potential disaster. The NICU staff had locked themselves from the inside, switched off all power and oxygen lines and began manual hyperinflation and ventilation for the babies.” “36 infants, 11 children, who were kept in incubators and their mothers were saved due to Mr Jayakumar’s actions,” an official statement said. 

UNITED KINGDOM

Scientists prove bat-like echolocation benefits blind

A UK study has found people can be taught to echolocate like bats and dolphins, paving the way for the visually-impaired to navigate with a click of their tongue. Researchers found the technique could be taught in 10 weeks saying patients with sight loss should be prescribed the training to improve mobility and independence. Clicking sounds are used with echoes activating the brain to create three-dimensional ‘images’ in the mind. Researchers at Durham University looked into factors of learning the technique with 12 blind and 14 sighted participants aged between 21 and 79.

The researchers found participants improved considerably on all measures, and in some cases performed comparatively with expert echolocators after training. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, is described as one of the most significant in improving mobility and independence for the visually impaired. 

USA

Forensic nursing breakthrough to aid sexual assault cases

Skin cells left behind by perpetrators of groping can be used to build DNA profiles and successfully prosecute cases, according to a Brigham Young University (BYU) nursing professor. Dr Julie Valentine, who is also a certified sexual assault examiner, had research published in the latest edition of the Journal of Forensic Nursing. “What is new about this is we have really found that we can utilize (sic) touch DNA in sexual assault cases and that’s a big deal,” she said. “That really opens up a whole avenue for achieving more justice in these cases.”

A breakthrough case in Utah from 2011 got her invested in the science. “The nurse knew about touch DNA in theory but what we didn’t know is in practise would it actually work,” Valentine said. The nurse collected skin cells from a victim of groping which allowed a lab to develop DNA profile leading to successful prosecution. 

Don’t ignore persistent cold and flu symptoms

Especially if you’ve had exposure to asbestos or industrial dust through your work, home or community

The Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia Inc is urging all Australians to be aware that early symptoms of asbestos diseases often present like a cold or flu.

What are the warning signs?

• shortness of breath • persistent coughs • rapid weight loss • chest or abdominal pains • blood in the sputum • multiple antibiotic treatments For a screening appointment, call (08) 9344 4077. For any workplace or community concerns, contact WorkSafe on 1300 307 877.

dedicated to community support and public health since 1979

mesothelioma • asbestosis • silicosis • lung cancer