Will the nursing profession take any notice ?

[EDDIE51]

Interesting artical in today's Telegraph

http://www.telegraph....d-Cameron-to-say.html
How do you think the nurses will react to actually being expected to 'Nurse' rather than playing doctors ?

[craft1948]

I had to stay overnight in hospital about 5 years ago whilst awaiting the results of some tests, but I wasn't actually feeling ill.
The night was dreadful, the poor woman in the next bed was recovering from surgery and for some reason ske kept dislodging a drain............the 3 nurses who were gathered chatting and reading magazines at the nursing station kept ignoring her pressing the buzzer until I got out of bed to have a go at them, and even then they moaned about being interrupted.
I couldn't sleep so simply put my coat on and kept going outside for a cigarette, I don't even think they noticed I was missing.

[tinkerbell23]

There are good & bad in all jobs and i think people are quick to slate the NHS-

There are definately people who do not do the job properley- ive seen it myself, no time management and no people skills

However i HAVE to say ive been fortunate enough to work on wards where i feel care was given. Paperwork is a massive massive chunk of the day hower some can be done when in with patient having a wee chat.... That includes ensuring they have eaten and drank. This also extends to the fact that in the hospital near me at meal times ALL staff down tools abd administer bfast/ lunch / dinner...not domestics and not just clinical support. Even the senior charge nurse.....

But there is NOT enough staff. I dont know if this is local but domestics dont clean body fluids so nurses do that, cleaning rotas, basic patient care, ward rounds, drug rounds, mrsa screens, must tool waterlow tool mobility tool falls risk, all to be completed, twice daily obs at a minimum, toilet checks, buzzers, referrals, sick patients, patients who require "specialed" as in a chair and sit next to them 24h a day......and that is daily and not exhaustive....i LOVE what i do but no one is super human!!

[EDDIE51]

There is a bit more about it on the TV news, apparently they are going to 'reduce paper work' and that will be equivalent to a 20% staff increase .
I await the result with intrest. Next will be the 'patients suffer because of poor record keeping' type reports.

[boxtops]

As rowan says, you don't need to be a registered nurse (costing thousands to train) to deliver personal care and to undertake fundamental care - a well-trained HCA can do all of those things. I do object to the expression "playing doctors" - my experience of working with nurse practitioners (who ARE trained to the next level, of advanced clinical nursing practice) is that may are more up to date and skilled than some of the doctors - but they are not pretending to be medically trained, they are highly skilled nursing clinicians.

[EvianBaby]

I spent 5 days in hospital last year. Without going into every boring detail, the nurses were clearly pushed beyond their limits. There was simply not enough of them to go round. This was proven when my boyfriend came to pick me up and was greeted by the site of the head nurse breaking down in tears on the ward desk because there was too much to cope with. The government needs to help them if they are expected to help us more.