New nursing approach wins praise

A FRESH approach to nursing has been welcomed by teams across the Lothians, six months on from its introduction.

The Releasing Time to Care - which was aimed at community nurses spending more quality time with patients - is now in full swing.

Despite initial scepticism from nurses, members have now said the initiative was progressing well, adding that it had helped them become more efficient in their day-to-day duties.

The RTC strategy is part of Holyrood's commitment to improve patient care.

NHS Lothian district nurse Caroline Brown said: "Over the past few years, community nursing has become more challenging as we deal with patients with more complex and long-term conditions, particularly in areas of high deprivation.

"However, we are all aware of the need to streamline our processes and make the best use of our resources and skills.

"I think it has helped people appreciate the programme when they realised they were doing all the right things already and it was just a case of fine-tuning them to become more efficient."