Teen beauty spot drinkers are ramblers, not rebels
- Dave Burrows
Leader: David Cameron’s timely call on NHS ward action
Friday 6th January 2012, 12:30PM GMT.
Things in the NHS have come to a pretty pass when it takes the Prime Minister himself to call for the most obvious and basic procedures in safeguarding the welfare of patients.
In saying that nurses will be told to undertake hourly ward rounds, David Cameron obviously has in mind recent reports showing appalling standards of care for the old in some hospitals.
Behind the misdirection of statistics and performance tables there are terrible anecdotes of what life is really like for patients.
“Patients Before Paperwork” is another headline-friendly slogan being promoted by Mr Cameron, who says he is going to strip away the “stifling bureaucracy” and allow nurses to do what they do best.
In the huge and bloated NHS there will be plenty of scope for more efficiencies, but it will be interesting to see if Mr Cameron comes up with specifics about exactly what sort of paperwork he wants to see ditched.
Somebody has to record the patients’ details and progress. Somebody has to administer the appointments system. Somebody has to organise tests and deliver the results.
Mr Cameron also wants to see more leadership on the wards, with there being a figure of authority. This mirrors calls that have been made for some time for there to be some sort of modern matron figure.
The Prime Minister’s plans all sound good and all sound obvious, which is why he felt on safe ground, while showing a less sure touch in facing up to the fundamental challenge of how to fund and run the NHS when costs and patient numbers are spiralling and taxpayers’ cash is finite. Here, Mr Cameron ran for cover when the Government’s far-reaching reforms ran into heavy flak.
His pronouncements today are crowd-pleasing tinkering which does not address the really big questions for the future.
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I am a student and like all nurses I have entered the profession because I want to help people. I am only in my second year and the paperwork that the nurses have to do is incredible, it takes up so much of their time and takes them off the ward. While on shift I am lucky to have the time to talk to patients and when I qualify I know that like my mentors a lot of that time will have to set aside for paperwork. I understand that it is important for every aspect of a patients illness needs to be reported and paper is vital but I am feeling disheartened that job I am working so hard to get will be taken over by paperwork.
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I have noticed D.C. is very good at telling us what we already know without offering specifics or the finances with which to implement change.
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Level of medical care in the uk is high personal care by nurses “not all” is a national disgrace.
NO room for excuses standing in groups chit chatting yes ok they do have and should have the odd break but they are chit chatting to much , ignoring patients, in my case walking towards me and going errrrrrrrrrrr weekends hate working them and listing to this lot moaning .
I am afraid the nurse needs a good kick up the backside and told to up their game .And i think it is time if a relative sees a poor response from a nurse they need to be able to report on the day to a higher authority.
We as a country also need to look at uk hospitals at weekends holiday periods see who is working in them and what they are doing .
I have had a DR tell me if you are taken seriously ill or break your legs crawl to another hospital because you will not come out alive over a certain age in that hospital.
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If you think nursing is that simple, why not give the job a go and see if you are still of the same opinion. Nursing is a tough profession both physically and mentally. To make a sweeping statement that nurses stand around chit chatting and only deserve the odd break is discraceful. Don’t tar us all with the same brush, i find it offensive. I am not saying that all nurses are perfect, far from it and as with all professions there are going to be those who let the side down. The majority of nurses are kind, compassionate and put the patients as the number one priority, that’s why we fight so hard to improve the quality of patient care. But, with the government forcing NHS cutbacks, our job becomes progressively more difficult as we still need to complete endless amounts of paperwork. I know many excellent nurses, me included, who pay a fee every year for the privilage of doing a job that we love and care deeply about, frequently working unpaid overtime to ensure our tasks are complete, and have had to accept a 3 year payfreeze to stop further redudancies. Maybe instead of critisising us people like yourself should actually support us in doing what we actually do best and that is NURSING, by rallying the government to stop further cutbacks.
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BEG TO DIFFER evidence is clear for all to see from numerous departments, no i do not wish to be a nurse thank you.
The nurse is not always the caring angel they are portrayed , we have massive issues with attitude,and idleness .
I for one will not support poor staff, the nurses need a shake up and it is long over due.
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Be like Prince Philip, just call a helicopter and by the time you get to the hospital a full range of consultants will be waiting your arrival then, straight to the operating theatre, even over the Christmas holidays. ” We are all equal”??????
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All very good, however, how’s it going to be possible with the cuts the government is forcing the NHS to make???
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Staff work harder and manage their time better, and an “on ward manager” or yes the old chestnut matron is brought back to crack the whip, anyone not up to scratch moved on.
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Another load of bull from Cameron,he said he would cut the paper work for the Police all he is doing is cutting the number of policemen,look out you nurses.
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Let’s see through this for what it is: anti-NHS propaganda to pave the way for full privatisation.
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the thing is the key bit of any quality management system is record keeping, its no good nurses spending all day checking on people and empyting bed pans if they dont keep a note of it, or else they could fake it and be sat with their feet up all day, you have to be able to verify things for quality management systems or it just wont work, somone has to check on it
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In the days of the matron there was not acres of paperwork. There was not the culture of potentially being sued which is what has created this back covering climate.
There were far less really critically ill people in hospital, partly as more people obviously died, treatments around now not having been developed and also lengthy convalescence was part of the hospital stay. Now that has to be done at home so turnover of patients is incredibly high.
Certainly consultants and matrons or sister did daily ward rounds where often a patients fate was sealed, particularly if elderly ie: over sixty! by a withdrawal of antibiotics.
You would not see that nowadays. Consultants and matrons could not be challenged and hospitals had an archaic hierarchy. Being expected to walk six paces behind a sister for example.
We have a hugely increasing elderly population for whom family care is no longer an option as it more often was in the past.
We have and continue to employ nurses from abroad as the job is so under valued and pressurising today and a lot of students seem drop out of the training.
I have observed appalling behaviour from both patients and their relatives when visiting which I do not remember being the case all those years ago. I recall feeling proud to serve the NHS and most folk were supportative and very grateful which was often quite humbling.
I think this still happens today but not as often and the job has become less appealing and poorer as a result.
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Some good points Eve, however nurses from abroad ? reason the younger generation of the uk today struggle with being told what to do and yes taking orders they also fail to have the ability do things which they clearly see as beneath them or have any form of commitment.
The threat of being sued is tiny within the NHS they block and cover many serious issues tell me how many people successfully sued the NHS?.
Yes we need more nurses but those we have need to do the job they are paid to do properly with out complaint .
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Nurses from overseas do seem more prepared to put up the abuse and criticism.
This may stem from a more determined attitude but they need to be thick skinned especially in Shropshire with the type of comments that are constantly seen on the letter page of this paper for instance.
The sums involved when the NHS are sued tend to run into millions so the result is more and more paperwork.
It is easy to criticize but no one has suggested any solutions to the hugely expensive and time consuming care required by the elderly that we are presently expecting our NHS to accomodate.
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Eve do you honestly believe they should be immune to criticism , a little pathetic if a comment on line or letter upsets them to the point of being unable to do ones job properly .
Verbal and physical abuse on a 1-1 basis in the work place is unacceptable .
I am afraid the suing of the NHS by a mere mortal is rather rare as the big boys at the nhs make it so difficult and draw it out process over many years.
Question whether abuse is problem on the wards, possible frustration from lack of attention as we have seen on such programs as tonight and panorama, however drunks on a fri-sat night in casualty are a problem .
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There is a believe that what you cannot measure you cannot control or improve? hence the obsession with measures and performance! in the old days the line Managers did this but they have been superseded by omputerised stats and this is half the reason the NHS staff have lost the personal touch! they are more preoccupied with shifting patients along the production line than caring for them.
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