British Thoracic Society
NURSE ADVISORY GROUP NEWSLETTER
June 2015
Welcome to the June edition of the BTS Nurse Advisory Group
(NAG) newsletter. This resource is an ideal way of keeping up
to date with respiratory nursing innovations occurring across
the UK and to share and connect with the respiratory nursing
community.
UK. BTS is keen to engage with other respiratory nursing
organisations to gain a greater understanding of such issues and
the different activities undertaken by each organisation in order
to share best practice and to identify areas of synergy, overlap
and gaps.
BTS NAG members
As you know the Summer BTS Meeting is in Birmingham 25th 26th June and is well represented by respiratory nurses with lots
of excellent sessions to attend.
For further information and registration details follow the link
below
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/bts-learning-hub/btssummer-and-winter-meetings/summer-meeting-2015/
Professor Janelle Yorke, Chair NAG,
Professor of Nursing University of Manchester
Mr Joseph Annandale, Respiratory Nurse Specialist,
Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli
Mr Andrew Booth, Advanced Nurse Specialist,
The York Hospital
Mrs Sadie Clayton, Respiratory Nurse Specialist,
Paediatrics Royal Stoke University Hospital
Dr Matthew Hodson, Respiratory Nurse Consultant,
Homerton Hospital
Mrs Susan Hope, Respiratory Nurse Specialist,
Royal Stoke University Hospital
Mrs Sandra Olive Respiratory Nurse Specialist,
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
Mrs Samantha Prigmore, Respiratory Nurse Consultant,
St George’s London
Mrs Emma Vincent, Respiratory Nurse Specialist,
Glenfield Hospital Leicester
Following the NAG meeting in March it seems 2015 is shaping up
to be an exciting year. We have much to plan and organise over
the forthcoming months including plans for the 2015 BTS Winter
meeting - it comes around fast!
A number of recurrent themes were also discussed at the recent
NAG meeting including:
- Workforce demographics and a number of senior respiratory
nurses nearing retirement.
- Skill and competencies of nurses being recruited into the
specialty.
- Impact of moves towards 24 hour delivery of specialist care.
- Importance of nursing research in terms of evidence-based
care.
- Evidence of the value of specialist respiratory nursing care.
In light of such discussions, a Roundtable Meeting will be held
at BTS headquarters in June 2015. Key respiratory nursing
organisations will be attending including representatives from
ARNS, Education for Health, Asthma UK, BLF, Severe Asthma
National Network, Cystic Fibrosis Nurses Association, National
Lung Cancer Forum for Nurses, National Paediatric Respiratory
and Allergy Nurses Group, and Primary Care Respiratory Society
We are also planning the Winter BTS Meeting – renowned for its
nursing networks we are also considering ways in which we can
encourage more nurses to submit abstracts this year. If you have
any thoughts on this matter, we would love to hear from you.
The deadline for Winter meeting abstracts is 16th July 2015.
A Pulmonary Hypertension study day is planned for December 1st
(the day before the Winter Meeting) and is aimed at nursing and
allied health care professionals – please see link below for further
details
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/bts-learning-hub/shortcourses/assessment-and-management-of-patients-withpulmonary-hypertension-2015/
Hot off the breath
Members of the NAG participate and contribute to many BTS
activities see links below
• Home Oxygen Guidelines
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/document-library/clinicalinformation/oxygen/home-oxygen-guideline-(adults)/btsguidelines-for-home-oxygen-use-in-adults/
• BTS Interstitial Lung Disease registry report
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/audit-and-qualityimprovement/bts-lung-disease-registry-programme/
• Summer Meeting
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/bts-learning-hub/btssummer-and-winter-meetings/summer-meeting-2015/
• Winter Meeting
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/bts-learning-hub/btssummer-and-winter-meetings/winter-meeting-2015/
• Stop Smoking Champions
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/clinical-information/
smoking-cessation/
• COPD and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Audit
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/audit-and-qualityimprovement/national-copd-audit-2013-%E2%80%93-2016/
For more information go to: www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/about-bts/bts-committees-and-advisory-groups/nurse-advisory-group
Who would be a NAG?
Each month we would like to introduce a member of the Nurse Advisory Group – thank you Joe for being first!
Joe Annandale Respiratory Nurse Specialist, Hywel Dda University Health Board,
Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli.
“I have been working as an RNS for nearly 20 years and have developed an interest in the acute
and chronic treatment of respiratory failure. As a NAG member for 18 months I’ve represented
nursing on the Standards of Care Committee. One of the main roles is reviewing guidelines prior
to consultation and publication; a rigorous process. I was fortunate to have been part of the Home
Oxygen Guideline Development Group and followed it through the SOCC. Although a lot of work, I
did learn a great deal about guideline development and reviewing clinical papers with the knock on
effect of improving my knowledge and patient care.
I’d encourage you all to get involved and don’t worry if, like me, you have not done this type of
activity before – the BTS is very supportive.”
VANGUARD (Value Added Nursing Gains Advantages in Respiratory Disease)
As many of you will recall this is a BTS NAG project to develop and test a set of respiratory nursing sensitive outcome
indicators (RSNOI) for COPD.
The first stage of the project has been completed. This has involved undertaking four consensus meetings with people with
COPD and their carers, to identify the importance and impact of their symptoms and experiences of living
with COPD.
A consensus meeting with respiratory nurses specialists has also been undertaken to explore their views on COPD symptoms
and experiences. The results of the meetings have helped to inform the development of the RSNOI tool. We are currently
reviewing the evidence base to support that the interventions for the symptoms and experiences are sensitive to a nursing
specific intervention.
The final stage of the project involves the pilot testing of the RNSOI to establish feasibility, reliability, and content validity in
four sites in England, which we hope to start recruitment to, in early Autumn.
A further update will be included in the next newsletter.
Current vacancies on BTS Committees for nurses:
There are a number of vacancies for Nurses on the
following BTS Committees
• Education and Training Committee
• Professional and Organisational Standards
Committee
• Standards of Care Committee
For further information please follow the link below
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/about-bts/vacancieson-bts-committees/
Current vacancies on BTS Specialist Advisory Group
(SAG) for nurses:
There are a number vacancies for Nurses on the
following BTS Specialist Advisory Groups:
• Asthma SAG
• Cystic Fibrosis SAG
• Tuberculosis SAG
For further information please follow the link below
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/about-bts/vacancieson-bts-specialist-advisory-groups/
Congratulations: to Janelle Yorke who had been appointed to a Joint Professorship with Manchester University and the
Christie NHS Foundation Trust and to Matthew Hodson who had been awarded a Professional Doctorate.
Best wishes
Janelle and the NAG team
For more information go to: www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/about-bts/bts-committees-and-advisory-groups/nurse-advisory-group