Cardiac Arrest Vs Heart Attack

Guide on relieving distress in patients with dementia

The National Council for Palliative Care has published guidance on helping alleviate pain and stress in people with dementia.

The How would I know? What Can I do? guide provides tips to healthcare professionals and carers on identifying whether someone with dementia is in distress and what might be causing it.

It also provides a range of possible solutions. Tips include:

Needle injuries at work doubled in past decade

The number of health professionals who have been pierced by needles at work has doubled in the last 10 years, leaving medical staff vulnerable to viruses transmitted through blood.

In 2011, 541 incidents of needle stick injuries which exposed staff to blood-borne viruses were recorded, compared to 271 in 2002. And it is likely that the figures are much smaller than the real number of incidents in which health workers were injured by needles while doing their jobs.