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Oral health care is integral to general wellbeing, allowing people to eat, communicate verbally and socialise without discomfort or embarrassment. In relation to people being admitted to hospital, poor oral health care has been linked to longer hospital stays and increased care costs. It is also associated with an increase in hospital-acquired infections such as pneumonia and can affect nutritional intake, which is vital in supporting recovery. Assistance and encouragement with effective and daily mouth care can prevent deterioration in a patient’s oral health, and yet it remains a neglected and overlooked area of care provision. Initiatives have attempted to address this neglected area of care but the pandemic and other priorities have allowed it to be lower on the healthcare agenda. Nurses, healthcare assistants and student nurses form the largest group of the healthcare workforce, providing or supervising the personal care of patients in hospitals and the community. Therefore, oral healthcare assessment and practical skills should be embedded in education and be given a strong focus and leadership to ensure that good practice is consistently implemented across all health and care settings. Mouth care really matters and should be integral to all health and care encounters. Further research and investigation into the important but neglected area of mouth care is also required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses a refocused model of community-centric health and care provision, "Making care closer to home a reality: refocusing the system to primary and community care," revived by The King's Fund. Topics include the key components of the English healthcare system, the refocus of health and care provision in the community, and ways nurses will be fundamental to this strategic vision.

International volunteers often travel to destinations (low- and middle-income countries) that carry a greater chance of being involved in a road-related injury and a possible fatality. Within this cultural exchange, tourists move from safe roads and cars to those that are potentially unsafe. Is this all part of the adventure of volunteering or should the tourist industry take some responsibility? This paper highlights the intersection between tourism and road injury and fatality risks (as pedestrians or in vehicles) with special attention to the longer term volunteer traveller. Social science theory underpins some of the discussions around risk and travel. A brief consideration of the international road traffic death and injury crisis and the emergence of the recognition that this impacts upon tourist safety is explored as backdrop to discussions. Tourism relies upon the ability for people to travel in and around the countries they travel to, often taking on the local travel arrangements prevalent in their destination. These local travel arrangements enable leisure tourists to explore their destination and volunteer travellers to live and work as locals. Is it time to consider and further the research on road risks as a growing feature of tourism? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eating difficulties affect many older people and can be a short or long-term issue, while poor nutritional status can have a huge impact upon older people's health, wellbeing and quality of life. Nurses, carers and relatives need to identify potential problems with older patients' nutrition so that they can manage any issues successfully. Providing adequate nutrition for older people requires a multidisciplinary approach, with the aim of improving patients' nutrition by assessing any barriers to successful eating. Often, being alert to very subtle issues and addressing them is the key to success in helping older people achieve a healthy diet. This article will highlight some of the issues that may affect older people and lead to under-nutrition. It also provides some simple preventative measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]