Letters
Send your views by email to [email protected], the letters editor @RogerEvansE1, post on the Nursing Standard Facebook page or visit www.nursing-standard.co.uk
Please keep letters to a maximum of 200 words, and include your full name and a daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited
Professionals who feel valued by their managers deliver better care I agree with guest editor Paul Jebb, NHS England’s experience of care professional lead, that it is important to obtain feedback from patients (Editorial and Features February 25). But it is also important that this goes hand in hand with compassionate and caring managers at all levels who value their workforce. Workers who feel valued by their managers deliver better care. There remain unacceptable levels of bullying and harassment of staff by managers that result in high levels of distress and illness. This has been a serious problem for far too long. A culture change is necessary. Patients need to be given the importance they are due. They and their caregivers, whether nurse, doctor or other healthcare provider, should be listened to and their views acted on. If staff feel any criticism of their care is going to be used by managers in a negative way, they will not embrace the transformation of the patient experience of care. We need better training and supervision of managers at all levels for these ideas to work properly. Perhaps more articles in Nursing Standard on management are needed. A management category in the Nurse of the Year award might also help. Michael Owen, Bolton
SHIFTING THE FINANCIAL BURDEN OF HEALTH CARE HAS A HEAVY PRICE Not content with dismantling the NHS with the Health and Social Care Act, the coalition government is unveiling ‘joined-up’ health and social care in Manchester without proper consultation with professionals or public. Joining health care and social services makes some sense, but only
if properly thought-through, trialled and funded. The government is introducing this at a time when 40 per cent of district nurse posts have gone since 2010, and our hospital beds have been cut to 2.95 per 1,000 of the population. What is being done looks like an attempt to shift the financial burden from central to local government, not to mention blame when things go wrong. The NHS is underfunded and social care budgets have been cut. It therefore seems likely the Manchester plan will divert NHS funds from an already overstretched health service to fill gaps in social care funding. Crucially, social care is means-tested and privatised. A merger could therefore lead to an erosion of health care that is free at the point of need. It is likely it will transfer even more public money from direct patient care to private companies that make a profit by cutting staff
and pay and conditions. This is bad for patients and for nurses. Karen Chilver, by email
I AM PUZZLED THAT STAFFING RATIOS CONTINUE TO BE CONTROVERSIAL As a retired director of nursing and member of the Safe Staffing Alliance, I find it puzzling that the issue of staffing ratios (News March 11) continues to be controversial. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recently published guidance that includes specific ratios for A&Es. Intensive care units have used staffing ratios for years. Yet there is still nervousness when applying ratios to acute wards. I still find it extraordinary we insist on national staff-to-child ratios in nurseries, yet do not seem to think the same safeguards necessary for our most vulnerable and frail older people in acute hospital care. Evidence shows that if boards allow ratios to fall below one nurse to eight
32 march 18 :: vol 29RCNi.com no 29 :: 2015 STANDARD Downloaded from by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Send your views by email to [email protected], the letters editor @RogerEvansE1, post on the Nursing Standard Facebook page or visit www.nursing-standard.co.uk
Please keep letters to a maximum of 200 words, and include your full name and a daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited
Professionals who feel valued by their managers deliver better care I agree with guest editor Paul Jebb, NHS England’s experience of care professional lead, that it is important to obtain feedback from patients (Editorial and Features February 25). But it is also important that this goes hand in hand with compassionate and caring managers at all levels who value their workforce. Workers who feel valued by their managers deliver better care. There remain unacceptable levels of bullying and harassment of staff by managers that result in high levels of distress and illness. This has been a serious problem for far too long. A culture change is necessary. Patients need to be given the importance they are due. They and their caregivers, whether nurse, doctor or other healthcare provider, should be listened to and their views acted on. If staff feel any criticism of their care is going to be used by managers in a negative way, they will not embrace the transformation of the patient experience of care. We need better training and supervision of managers at all levels for these ideas to work properly. Perhaps more articles in Nursing Standard on management are needed. A management category in the Nurse of the Year award might also help. Michael Owen, Bolton
SHIFTING THE FINANCIAL BURDEN OF HEALTH CARE HAS A HEAVY PRICE Not content with dismantling the NHS with the Health and Social Care Act, the coalition government is unveiling ‘joined-up’ health and social care in Manchester without proper consultation with professionals or public. Joining health care and social services makes some sense, but only
if properly thought-through, trialled and funded. The government is introducing this at a time when 40 per cent of district nurse posts have gone since 2010, and our hospital beds have been cut to 2.95 per 1,000 of the population. What is being done looks like an attempt to shift the financial burden from central to local government, not to mention blame when things go wrong. The NHS is underfunded and social care budgets have been cut. It therefore seems likely the Manchester plan will divert NHS funds from an already overstretched health service to fill gaps in social care funding. Crucially, social care is means-tested and privatised. A merger could therefore lead to an erosion of health care that is free at the point of need. It is likely it will transfer even more public money from direct patient care to private companies that make a profit by cutting staff
and pay and conditions. This is bad for patients and for nurses. Karen Chilver, by email
I AM PUZZLED THAT STAFFING RATIOS CONTINUE TO BE CONTROVERSIAL As a retired director of nursing and member of the Safe Staffing Alliance, I find it puzzling that the issue of staffing ratios (News March 11) continues to be controversial. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recently published guidance that includes specific ratios for A&Es. Intensive care units have used staffing ratios for years. Yet there is still nervousness when applying ratios to acute wards. I still find it extraordinary we insist on national staff-to-child ratios in nurseries, yet do not seem to think the same safeguards necessary for our most vulnerable and frail older people in acute hospital care. Evidence shows that if boards allow ratios to fall below one nurse to eight
32 march 18 :: vol 29RCNi.com no 29 :: 2015 STANDARD Downloaded from by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
