The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is currently developing a set of overarching standards for nursing practice that describe characteristics that underpin good practice in all nursing care.

This online survey is the second phase in a consultation that is seeking the views of a broad range of stakeholders, including patients, carers, user groups, health care professionals and the public.

Hurry! This survey will be available here until Friday 12th March 2010.
https://web.questback.com/royalcollegeofnursing/flgc0ec6ds/

  Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2010 Jason D.

Happy Birthday Ostomyland! We are 12 today, and without the support of our wonderful members and readers we would never have made it this far. So, thank you very, very much everyone.

As promised today is the day I’m launching v2.0 of the wiki. The links on the menu on the left hand side have been updated, and you can also click here to go to it. As with all wiki’s this is a project that is a continual work in progress, it isnt an exhaustaive Ostomy encyclodpaedia… yet. And also like other wiki’s YOU (yes you, the one reading this!) can add and edit pages. Full instructions are on the wiki homepage. If you do create a page, dont worry over the formatting, I’ll tidy it all up if anything goes wrong. Just have fun playing with it.

v2.0 of the wiki contains almost 250 pages of ostomy related health and product related information. Thats over 100 pages more than it’s previous incarnation.

On January 21st 2010, Ostomyland will be celebrating it’s 12th birthday. To celebrate this event, I’ll be launching version 2 of the Ostomyland Wicked Wiki. The original Ostomyland wiki launched approximately 3 years ago, and was the first and only wiki dedicated to Ostomy subjects (I believe this is still the only one!), and just like all wiki’s content could be added and edited by you, the Oland readers.

Version 2 of the Wiki brings a software upgrade with lots of new features and ease of use-updates included, and  a brand new graphical design which makes the whole wiki far more appealing to look at, and less clinical than the current one. Also, there is a major content update which will see v2 of the wiki launching with over 250 pages of ostomy-related material which is an increase of approximately 75 pages over the current wiki.

The new wiki is now in final testing and the last few pages of new content is being added and edited. But even with the launch, the wiki will be an ever evolving feature with new content forever being added to it. In the meantime you can find the existing wiki here, and as a sneak peak of the new wiki, here’s a few screen shots to whet your appetite…

Fig1	Fig2

Fig3

Key:
Fig. 1 = The new wiki’s homepage
Fig. 2 = A sample page from the new wiki
Fig. 3 = The content categories covered in the wiki

I’d just like to take this opportunity to wish all our members and visitors a very Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous and a hopefully as-healthy-as-possible New Year.

As a special thank you to all our members for their support and friendship over the last year, I’d like to offer you this Christmas gift of an Ostomyland Christmas screensaver. It’s a 1.15MB download, and works on Windows (unfortunately I dont have the system or software to create Linux or Mac screensavers). It comes with an uninstall system too if you should wish to remove it after it’s been installed, and it also has a built in RSS Reader to bring you the latest Oland website and board postings direct to your screensaver.

You can download the screensaver from here:
http://www.ostomyland.org/xmas2009ss/oland_xmas2009.exe

And if you wish to preview the SS before downloading you can see a video of it running here:
http://www.screentoaster.com/watch/stU0NdREBIR19fQ1pfWV9dU1ZX

Merry Christmas one and all. I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Best Christmas Wishes,

Jason.

I’ve just added a new page to the Ostomyland website. It’s in the Manufacturers: Ostomy Products category, and it’s for BAGBAG Ostomy Pouch Covers.

Stephen Carmichael, from BAGBAG Ostomy Pouch Covers says:
“Ever felt a little embarrassed because your ostomy bag was on show and looked a little clinical. We at BAGBAG have designed a range of covers to exactly fit your ostomy pouch. Handmade from a range of quality fabrics, and made to order using the latest technology, a BAGBAG ostomy cover can help make you that little bit more confident.”

For more details about BAGBAG Ostomy Pouch Covers please check out their new page on Ostomyland, or visit their website.

Useful Links:
BAGBAG Ostomy Pouch Covers Website
BAGBAG’s page on Ostomyland

NB: Ostomyland is not responsible for content or services outside of it’s own domain name, and any services/products featured on Ostomyland are listed for informational purposes only and is not being endorsed by Ostomyland.

Julie and Rach are organising next year’s BreakAway, which will consist of two main weekends and an Xmas party. They need some help to reach the new families.

Can you help them by printing off their poster and handing it to your hospital or giving it to your stoma nurse please?

(If you’re not in the UK but know anyone who is and could help, please give them the link).

Not only will Julie and Rach appreciate your help, but so will any little kiddies and their families who see the poster.

Thank you!

The poster can be downloaded here:
Poster

Ostomy pouch covers can be quite useful at times. They can be used to help prevent chaffing during hot days, or used to hide the pouch during intimate moments, and they can also be useful to help children adjust to their pouches appearance by using fabric featuring their favourite cartoon characters.

Little Green Monster is a small UK company that specialises in making bespoke, custom made pouch covers to jazz up your pouch. And unlike most pouch covers which are made in a general “one size fits all” format that’s usually too big, the Little Green Monster covers are made using your own pouch style as the template.

For more information on their pouch covers service check out their page in our manufacturers/ostomy companies section.

Useful Links:
Little Green Monster Website
Little Green Monster’s Feature Page on Ostomyland

NB: Ostomyland is not responsible for content or services outside of it’s own domain name, and any services/products featured on Ostomyland is listed for informational purposes only and is not necessarily a recommendation of their services/products.

Hi everyone, Fuzzbutt here again. I’m Ostomyland’s furry mascot and I often like to bring you my ostomy top tips, and my pick of the message board posts. And now, I’m pleased to be able to say I’ve got a whole new feature – my favourite member blogs! Although the blogs have only been active for a couple of weeks now, we already have some excellent Ostomy related blogs developing, and there’s one in particular I’d like to tell you about.

Janet Mitchell is posting a blog about her daughter Charlene’s journey through Crohns and her new diverting Ileostomy that was performed on September 11th 2009. To date their blog has featured stories about dealing with the highs such as successful showering; positive appointments with doctors; her first journey on the school bus for many years, and more … But she also talks about the lows too such as nighttime nausea and so on.

12 year old Charlene is an inspiration to us all, but her Mom is equally as important in this story, as the blog also focuses on the trials and tribulations of being a parent to a child with an Ileostomy.

Useful Links:
Janet & Charlene’s Blog
Ostomyland Member Blogs Section
How to create your own blog on the board
NB: You need to be logged into our message board to access the blogs. If you aren’t already a member registration is free and easy.

Read the rest of this entry »

No, not the movie with Julia Roberts, but the “Pelican Brief” newsletter published by Pelican Healthcare UK and distributed free to it’s mailing list members and customers.

In the latest issue – #17 – Oland receives a nice feature in the “Web Watch” section. Other features in this 4 page, A4 newsletter is a Q&A session with Specialist Care Nurse Jane Cadogan from University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff (theres lovely now…), as well as a feature on World Ostomy Day 2009, the latest products from Pelican, and a list of some local Ostomy support groups or Open Days for various locations including Southend-on-Sea, Wythenshawe (Manchester), Newcastle, Merthyr Tydfil, Ipswich, Harrogate, Newport, Norfolk and Birmingham.

For your free copy of the Pelican Brief give Pelican Healthcare a call on 0800 052 7471. Please note that although Pelican’s products are now available worldwide thanks to a deal with Eakin, I think their newsletter is distributed to UK only residents.

Pelican Healthcare have been in touch and have told us that their products are now available worldwide thanks to a new distrubution deal with it’s parent company Eakin! So if you are interested in their products but live outside the UK, don’t worry, as you can now get hold of them too!

Pelican also has a new ostomy product available. The Pelican Perform Solidifying Agent is designed for those with high output stomas and can help minimise the risk of leaks, especially at night, reduces odour and improves filter performance for ostomates.

Samples are available by phoning them down in Cardiff on Freephone 0800 052 7471 and I’ve updated their page on Ostomyland to include the new product and the great news that their products are now available worldwide instead of UK Only.

Useful Links:
Pelican Healthcare Website
Eakin Website
Oland’s Pelican Page