Letters
We welcome all readers’ letters, but reserve the right to edit them or withhold names and addresses. Please email: [email protected]
Please keep letters to a maximum of 150 words, and include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number
Care would have improved long ago if nurse’s warnings had been heeded We owe much to nursing hero Graham Pink (Features November 20, Letters December 4), and to all the whistleblowers who have put their careers and lives on the line to highlight poor standards of patient care. Mr Pink’s book, A Time to Speak – Diary of an NHS Whistleblower, should be required reading for all who hold management positions in the NHS. If managers and politicians had taken on board and acted upon what Mr Pink was saying about the plight of older people 25 years ago, perhaps there would have been a significant improvement in care. Sadly, it was not until a brave group of relatives at Stafford Hospital spoke out that the government decided enough was enough. All concerns raised by nurses at every level of service should be taken seriously, and health service managers should be regulated and their competence more rigorously evaluated. Hopefully the days are gone when incompetent clinicians were promoted out of the way into management posts. Mr Pink writes: ‘I feel what happened to me was a gross injustice. I lost my job, the friendship of my colleagues, my salary and a chunk of my pension. I would still like to clear my name fully.’ The managers of Stepping Hill Hospital should apologise to Mr Pink for his dismissal, and I would like to see NHS leaders applaud his integrity and candour in speaking out on behalf of his patients. Michael Owen, Bolton
PATIENTS WOULD BENEFIT FROM HAVING TWO TYPES OF NURSES Responding to the ‘I love hands-on care’ feature about the way enrolled nurses are thriving in Australia and New Zealand (November 27), RCN head of policy and international Howard Catton claims that there is
‘no appetite’ for second-level nurses in the UK. He adds: ‘We do not want a two-tier nursing workforce. Instead, we need to do more on the education, training and regulation of healthcare assistants.’ What is that if not a two-tier workforce? We need to get our heads around the fact that some people do not have the desire, aptitude or time to study for a degree, but would make wonderful nurses. What is wrong with two types of nurses – a bedside nurse and a management nurse? The bedside nurse does not want to do drug rounds, doctors’ rounds, workforce planning, complaints handling or staff management. They want to ensure their patients are washed, fed, comfortable and pain-free, have good mouth and pressure area care, are given drinks regularly and commodes quickly – and hold their patient’s hand when they are afraid. Ursula Arnold, Swansea
THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF NURSES AND HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTS Robert Francis recommended that each patient should be allocated a named nurse for each shift to take responsibility for co-ordinating that person’s care needs (News November 27). But have we not been here before? Sarah Byrd (Letters July 3) points out that named nursing was big in the 1990s, but then seemed to disappear. She adds: ‘In theory, it was probably a good idea. In practice, I am not so sure.’ As for healthcare assistants (HCAs), who is going to develop a care certificate for them? Who will lead on this and carry out the assessment? How will it work in primary care, where there are not enough nurses and HCAs? As a practice nurse, I am particularly concerned. We seem to be getting thinner on the ground by the day. Healthcare practitioners have to jump through so many hoops to maintain their registration, yet the government
32 december 11from :: volRCNi.com 28 no 15by:: 2013 STANDARD Downloaded ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 26, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
has rejected mandatory registration for HCAs. They are not really answerable. I do not think this is right. Sorry if I sound exasperated with it all.
The NHS is the visible tip of the very large iceberg that is older people’s care. The most vulnerable people in society deserve better from us.
Gill Johnson, by email
Malcolm Harrison, Derby
WE NEED SAFE STAFFING IN CARE HOMES AS WELL AS HOSPITALS It is not only hospitals that need safe staffing levels (News, Analysis and Letters December 4). Nursing homes need them too. Staffing must be linked to levels of dependency and provide for dignity in care. Dignified care takes time. We are able to provide basic care for residents, but not a personal service. The care of older people is woefully underfunded. And why do we pay more to NHS staff than to those working in nursing homes? Many care home residents have decided that they do not want hospital treatment, preferring ongoing care in the home. This necessitates skilled nursing interventions – and time. Pay rates in care homes should be commensurate with those in hospitals. We say we want the care of older people to be person-centred rather than institutional, but if we continue to fund care at the minimal level, we will again find ourselves with problems similar to those at Mid Staffs.
PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO LOBBY YOUR MP ABOUT THE CARE BILL A new clause on hospital reconfiguration added to the Care bill has a second reading on Monday December 16 in the House of Commons. Please lobby your MP to vote against this measure. With this clause, health secretary Jeremy Hunt is planning to take powers to make centralised decisions about the future of hospitals in England. Following his defeat in the high court and the court of appeal in the judicial review brought by the people of Lewisham, he is now taking steps to give himself the powers the court ruled he did not have under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. If this extra clause in the Care bill goes through, the health secretary will have the power to direct a trust special administrator to include other hospitals in the plans to make changes in the case of a failing hospital – and local people will have no rights to stop this. If there is a case for reconfiguration, it needs to be argued through locally, and the decisions taken locally. Mr Hunt should present his case through a proper bill devoted to this issue, rather than as an add-on to a bill that is primarily about something else.
Sue Funnell, by email
THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN SOCIETY DESERVE BETTER FROM US Am I the only one getting fed up with all this talk of safe staffing levels in NHS hospitals (News, Analysis and Letters December 4)? It is not that I disagree with it. But why is the focus on hospitals? Why is no one speaking about unsafe staffing levels, inappropriate staff skill mixes and poor training in care homes? When things go wrong in care homes, many of the problems transfer to the NHS. Many care homes are shutting down and hospitals are closing wards for older patients with complex conditions such as dementia. Costs and services are being reduced to win contracts.
Gay Lee, by email
HELP ME PLAN A REUNION OF THE MAY 1984 GUY’S HOSPITAL SET I am planning a 30-year reunion for the May 1984 Guy’s Hospital set. Please email me at [email protected] or call 01306 743363. Judy Foster (née Hayden), by email
REUNIONS Are you planning a reunion or trying to trace former colleagues? Email [email protected] with the details and we will post them at www.nursing-standard.co.uk
TWEETS OF THE WEEK #NScomment The idea of a named nurse for every patient was popular some time ago, but fell out of fashion. Was it impractical? @RogerEvansE1
@RogerEvansE1 The named nurse system needs nurse-patient contact. Tricky on three 12-hour shifts per week. It’ll become a token gesture @nursehels
@nursehels @RogerEvansE1 Indeed – and @nursingpolicy are going to be looking at the issues around 12-hour shifts @alisonleary1
@RogerEvansE1 Was ‘named nurse’ ever evaluated? Not as I recall. But that is not sufficient reason not to try this approach. O’wise condoning deficiencies @PublicInvolve
Named nurse is not viable. What happens if you are pulled to another ward for cover? @BeeNiBee
Reports of nurses working overtime unpaid shows how dedicated they are to their profession. Doesn’t match with apparent ‘uncaring’ culture @StudentNHSnurse
Fondly remembering #Mandela telling Labour conference in 2000 that he was ‘just an unemployed pensioner with a criminal record’ @TomHarrisMP
Follow Nursing Standard @NScomment and join the #NScomment chat on Thursdays at 12.30pm
NURSING 11 other :: voluses 28 no 15 :: permission. 2013 33 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 26, 2015. For personaldecember use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
We welcome all readers’ letters, but reserve the right to edit them or withhold names and addresses. Please email: [email protected]
Please keep letters to a maximum of 150 words, and include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number
Care would have improved long ago if nurse’s warnings had been heeded We owe much to nursing hero Graham Pink (Features November 20, Letters December 4), and to all the whistleblowers who have put their careers and lives on the line to highlight poor standards of patient care. Mr Pink’s book, A Time to Speak – Diary of an NHS Whistleblower, should be required reading for all who hold management positions in the NHS. If managers and politicians had taken on board and acted upon what Mr Pink was saying about the plight of older people 25 years ago, perhaps there would have been a significant improvement in care. Sadly, it was not until a brave group of relatives at Stafford Hospital spoke out that the government decided enough was enough. All concerns raised by nurses at every level of service should be taken seriously, and health service managers should be regulated and their competence more rigorously evaluated. Hopefully the days are gone when incompetent clinicians were promoted out of the way into management posts. Mr Pink writes: ‘I feel what happened to me was a gross injustice. I lost my job, the friendship of my colleagues, my salary and a chunk of my pension. I would still like to clear my name fully.’ The managers of Stepping Hill Hospital should apologise to Mr Pink for his dismissal, and I would like to see NHS leaders applaud his integrity and candour in speaking out on behalf of his patients. Michael Owen, Bolton
PATIENTS WOULD BENEFIT FROM HAVING TWO TYPES OF NURSES Responding to the ‘I love hands-on care’ feature about the way enrolled nurses are thriving in Australia and New Zealand (November 27), RCN head of policy and international Howard Catton claims that there is
‘no appetite’ for second-level nurses in the UK. He adds: ‘We do not want a two-tier nursing workforce. Instead, we need to do more on the education, training and regulation of healthcare assistants.’ What is that if not a two-tier workforce? We need to get our heads around the fact that some people do not have the desire, aptitude or time to study for a degree, but would make wonderful nurses. What is wrong with two types of nurses – a bedside nurse and a management nurse? The bedside nurse does not want to do drug rounds, doctors’ rounds, workforce planning, complaints handling or staff management. They want to ensure their patients are washed, fed, comfortable and pain-free, have good mouth and pressure area care, are given drinks regularly and commodes quickly – and hold their patient’s hand when they are afraid. Ursula Arnold, Swansea
THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF NURSES AND HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTS Robert Francis recommended that each patient should be allocated a named nurse for each shift to take responsibility for co-ordinating that person’s care needs (News November 27). But have we not been here before? Sarah Byrd (Letters July 3) points out that named nursing was big in the 1990s, but then seemed to disappear. She adds: ‘In theory, it was probably a good idea. In practice, I am not so sure.’ As for healthcare assistants (HCAs), who is going to develop a care certificate for them? Who will lead on this and carry out the assessment? How will it work in primary care, where there are not enough nurses and HCAs? As a practice nurse, I am particularly concerned. We seem to be getting thinner on the ground by the day. Healthcare practitioners have to jump through so many hoops to maintain their registration, yet the government
32 december 11from :: volRCNi.com 28 no 15by:: 2013 STANDARD Downloaded ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 26, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
has rejected mandatory registration for HCAs. They are not really answerable. I do not think this is right. Sorry if I sound exasperated with it all.
The NHS is the visible tip of the very large iceberg that is older people’s care. The most vulnerable people in society deserve better from us.
Gill Johnson, by email
Malcolm Harrison, Derby
WE NEED SAFE STAFFING IN CARE HOMES AS WELL AS HOSPITALS It is not only hospitals that need safe staffing levels (News, Analysis and Letters December 4). Nursing homes need them too. Staffing must be linked to levels of dependency and provide for dignity in care. Dignified care takes time. We are able to provide basic care for residents, but not a personal service. The care of older people is woefully underfunded. And why do we pay more to NHS staff than to those working in nursing homes? Many care home residents have decided that they do not want hospital treatment, preferring ongoing care in the home. This necessitates skilled nursing interventions – and time. Pay rates in care homes should be commensurate with those in hospitals. We say we want the care of older people to be person-centred rather than institutional, but if we continue to fund care at the minimal level, we will again find ourselves with problems similar to those at Mid Staffs.
PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO LOBBY YOUR MP ABOUT THE CARE BILL A new clause on hospital reconfiguration added to the Care bill has a second reading on Monday December 16 in the House of Commons. Please lobby your MP to vote against this measure. With this clause, health secretary Jeremy Hunt is planning to take powers to make centralised decisions about the future of hospitals in England. Following his defeat in the high court and the court of appeal in the judicial review brought by the people of Lewisham, he is now taking steps to give himself the powers the court ruled he did not have under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. If this extra clause in the Care bill goes through, the health secretary will have the power to direct a trust special administrator to include other hospitals in the plans to make changes in the case of a failing hospital – and local people will have no rights to stop this. If there is a case for reconfiguration, it needs to be argued through locally, and the decisions taken locally. Mr Hunt should present his case through a proper bill devoted to this issue, rather than as an add-on to a bill that is primarily about something else.
Sue Funnell, by email
THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN SOCIETY DESERVE BETTER FROM US Am I the only one getting fed up with all this talk of safe staffing levels in NHS hospitals (News, Analysis and Letters December 4)? It is not that I disagree with it. But why is the focus on hospitals? Why is no one speaking about unsafe staffing levels, inappropriate staff skill mixes and poor training in care homes? When things go wrong in care homes, many of the problems transfer to the NHS. Many care homes are shutting down and hospitals are closing wards for older patients with complex conditions such as dementia. Costs and services are being reduced to win contracts.
Gay Lee, by email
HELP ME PLAN A REUNION OF THE MAY 1984 GUY’S HOSPITAL SET I am planning a 30-year reunion for the May 1984 Guy’s Hospital set. Please email me at [email protected] or call 01306 743363. Judy Foster (née Hayden), by email
REUNIONS Are you planning a reunion or trying to trace former colleagues? Email [email protected] with the details and we will post them at www.nursing-standard.co.uk
TWEETS OF THE WEEK #NScomment The idea of a named nurse for every patient was popular some time ago, but fell out of fashion. Was it impractical? @RogerEvansE1
@RogerEvansE1 The named nurse system needs nurse-patient contact. Tricky on three 12-hour shifts per week. It’ll become a token gesture @nursehels
@nursehels @RogerEvansE1 Indeed – and @nursingpolicy are going to be looking at the issues around 12-hour shifts @alisonleary1
@RogerEvansE1 Was ‘named nurse’ ever evaluated? Not as I recall. But that is not sufficient reason not to try this approach. O’wise condoning deficiencies @PublicInvolve
Named nurse is not viable. What happens if you are pulled to another ward for cover? @BeeNiBee
Reports of nurses working overtime unpaid shows how dedicated they are to their profession. Doesn’t match with apparent ‘uncaring’ culture @StudentNHSnurse
Fondly remembering #Mandela telling Labour conference in 2000 that he was ‘just an unemployed pensioner with a criminal record’ @TomHarrisMP
Follow Nursing Standard @NScomment and join the #NScomment chat on Thursdays at 12.30pm
NURSING 11 other :: voluses 28 no 15 :: permission. 2013 33 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 26, 2015. For personaldecember use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
