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When I first created #EndPJparalysis, little did I know it would be adopted globally - and particularly across the UK - as a vehicle for enabling patients to get up, dressed and moving while in hospital.

The recent earthquake in New Zealand tested emergency services. But thanks to good disaster planning, survivors got the care needed.

This article describes a recent evaluation of the work of nurse practitioners across a range of A&E departments and minor treatment centres in west London. Questionnaires, face-to-face interviews and focus groups were used to collect the data. The authors found that across the sites in the study, the provision of nurse practitioner services varied in scope but were well received by staff and patients. Issues surrounding training remained unresolved, but the role appeared to be developing in response to the reduction in junior doctors' hours and improved and extended opportunities in pre- and post-registration nurse education. The authors recommend that the cost effectiveness of nurse practitioners should be evaluated. The accompanying commentary suggests the nurse practitioner role should be explicitly defined.

Nurse practitioners in the UK should learn from the mistakes of their American counterparts, the RCN A&E Association's annual conference was told.

Seniority and experience do not necessarily mean a nurse is better at triage, a recent A&E conference heard.

'In Sweden we prepare for war, but are always ready for disasters.' It is a comment that encapsulates the Swedish philosophy towards emergency planning. That provision is soon to take a significant leap into the future with the opening of the Disaster and Emergency Medical and Training Centre (D & EMTC) in Stockholm.