Trainee Nurses To Look After Patients On Wards

[Gromit]

// Nurses will spend a year on wards feeding and washing patients before they can qualify, under plans to be announced on Tuesday to ensure compassion in hospitals.

Ministers believe that a return to basic nursing is crucial following the Mid Staffordshire scandal and criticism that some graduate nurses are “too posh to wash”.

In future, trainees will have to pass a year as a health care assistant, looking after patients’ basic needs, rather than medical treatment.
On Monday night, Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, said: “Frontline, hands-on caring experience and values need to be equal with academic training. //

The Mid-Staff Scandal was caused by chasing targets and 'qualified' nurses not having time to 'care'.

I am sure that the answer to the poor quality of care at Mid Staffs is not to replace nurses with unqualified students.

Call me cynical, but this looks like just an opportunity to get some cheap labour into hospitals (i am assuming the students will not get the same pay as a proper nurse). Will there be extra money to train them? I doubt it. A cynical way of saving money and not addressing the real scandal of the hundreds of premature deaths of patients badly cared for.

Anyone think this is a good idea?

[mushroom25]

just the next logical step.

my son recently started as an "apprentice porter" at a hospital in the midlands. the majority of the porters there are apprentices and when their training is completed, they are sent on their way, to be replaced by a fresh set of "trainees". whilst in training they receive less than the minimum wage. thus the hospital trust gets their portering service very much on the cheap.

[Connemmara]

I don't usually get into politics of things here but a friend of mine has been in hospital one has been 12 times in 3 years and she has no complaints - she actually called the sister and told her she received excellent treatment. Now I am stupid in saying with the cut backs but if they are talking about basic treatment/training etc then bring the basic matron where work was really done. again that's just my opinion. I have just got to the stage that while the NHS has went down the hill we are still not in the dungeon yet compared to other poor countries in the world and in many states of America they have to pay for every single thing if they are not insured. 50/50 for me

[TheOtherHalf]

we have lots of student nurses at our hospital and they can hardly afford their meals ! In some ways, I do think that some of the nurses should go back to basics and SOME havnt got a caring bone in their body. We are often short staffed and they need to be prepared to do anything but at the moment, some often think they are too posh to wash ! Nurses have to start somewhere, samwe as any job

[Svejk]

Sounds like an excellent idea to me.
I suspect that the policy of sending everyone to university, and hence making it the criteria for many jobs,has attracted some people who aren't suited to nursing. And conversely excluded many who would be suited.

[ummmm]

It does sound like a good idea and hopefully weed out nurses that really aren't suited to the job.

[Boto]

I think it is a good idea. I can't see there is a problem with anyone starting at the lowest rung and learning basics. Having been a visitor in hospital many times and seen the staff chatting for ages it is apparant that not all nurses are caring. Of course many are and I have no complaints about them but to say that all nurses are 'angels' is stretching the truth by miles.

[EvianBaby]

I think it's an excellent idea. Although to be honest I thought they already had to do that sort of work when they start.

[RATTER15]

Brilliant idea, also the nurses will learn weather it really is the right job for them instead of "just a job"

[B00]

Yes, however I was shocked to see this on the news earlier. I naively thought basic care of patients was part of being a nurse to begin with!

[Gromit]

I am honestly surprised by people being in favour of this. 1000 people died at Mid Staffs blamed on poor care. Yet replacing nurses with unqualified students id getting the thumbs up from you all. I find that odd.

[mrs_overall]

This is a great idea. There are too many newly qualified nurses who think that the basics are beneath them.

[mazie]

It's not B00. Seems a lot of the nurses now are graduates and believe they are above the menial tasks. I heard a programme on Radio 4 last week about nursing standards. One nurse was heard to say to a patient's relative "I'm a Graduate, I don't do vomit". Beyond belief really.

[cazzz1975]

I think the problem is that nursing care has changed over the years, its become more complicated and detailed leaving little room for feeding and washing. I dont think nurses think basic care is beneath them, I think that the job has become more medically complex

[Gromit]

This also seems to pre-empt the Inquiy findings into Mid Staffs. If the report does not blame nurses and does not recommend replacing qualified nurses with students, then what was the point of having an inquiry in the first place?

It feels like this has been rushed out because the report makes no such recommendation. We will have to wait and see.

[friedgreentomato]

Brilliant idea, I thought nurses were there to care and look after the patients if their not they should be - implement this as soon as possible.

As for being untrained - that is what they are there for!

[EvianBaby]

I don't see how it's replacing nurses with unqualified workers.

There are already care assistants who do the basic things, they just back up the nursing staff.

I'm sure everyone who goes into nursing does so with good intentions, because they care and want to help people. But perhaps there are some that have a blinkered view of what that really means. And the reality of what's involved. Making them get started on the absolute basics (and probably unpleasant) aspects of care can only be a good thing.

[vakayu]

A step in the right direction IMO too much emphasis on graduation qualifications now and not enough "hands on" and it will hopefully remind them what "nursing" at a basic level is all about.It is just a pity this realisation has cost so many mistakes and cost lives!!!

[youngmafbog]

It's not odd at all Gromit. A degree does not equal a good carer, nor one that will whistle blow for the good of the patients in fact, far from it.

And just out of interest are you aware how doctors get trained? I suspect not from your comments.

We need a return to a route into many jobs without a degree. For some reason Blair and New labour thought this the route for all, but all it did was exclude many from doing a job they would be perfectly capable of, and a good proportion strangely from poorer backgrounds that labour are supposed to represent.

Nursing is one example, IT is another. And dont get me started on they myriad of useless degrees such as dance!

[mrs_overall]

Trust me, basic care IS beneath a lot of the younger nurses.
I've had two stays in hospital this year and can speak from bitter experience.

[daisya]

Caring nurses et al have mostly long gone IMO so it can't come soon enough for me for them all to be trained how to do the basics and actually care for those in need in what used to be a caring profession.