Unsafe working conditions.

[Sali]

Night Owl,

I am appalled that you find yourself in such a situation. After Margaret Haywood's treatment by the NMC, it's a wonder that any nurse raises her head above the parapet.

This must be a tough one for you. I admire you for making a stand but you must be torn between doing what is right and compromising patient care further. I'm not criticising you for this; you seem to have tried endlessly to highlight and deal with the issues. Part of me wonders why your colleagues are not standing with you in solidarity. It would certainly focus management attention and make the public (rightly so) aware of the issue.

It will be interesting to see what the whistle-blowing policy is post-Margaret Hawyood.

Me. Well, it's easy for me to say, but I would think about how I would feel if it was my loved one in the bed. After following the official line, I would resort to sub-version if necessary, alerting MP/press. The public would applaud you for it. However, you risk your career.

Please let us know how things progress. I wish you well. It's probably of little consolation, but I'm on your side.

[Sali]

I have a question. Is there an accurate record kept of who is on duty for each shift, including a breakdown of personnel - viz. trained nurses, bank nurses, HCAs etc? How long is this information kept and is it available via Freedom of Information?

 

Do hospitals have policies which state the preferred ratio of trained nurses to patients on particular wards? I'm assuming there is no legal obligation to ensure that a minimum number of trained nurses need to be present on a shift?

 

Many thanks.

[Sali]

Yes, good luck Night Owl. I am not in your field but whatever job I did, if I was left with nobody to accompany me as my witness and for support, I would cancel the meeting and no amount of sweet talk would change my mind.

 

Let us know how things go.

[Sali]

There will be many non-nurses following this post with interest and fully supporting the actions of Night Owl.

 

NurseAnne is wrong. The public are not fools. Lots of us who see our relatives suffer and die at the hands of the NHS do not blame the nursing staff directly and we do complain to management and see it as their responsibility to ensure that staffing levels are sufficient. The management's response seems always to be that they have 'changed procedures' or some such nonsense....and then the same failures recur, because ultimately the root causes (understaffing being one) are not addressed.

 

I have read parts of the blog and I found it quite offensive; slamming the Daily Mail, (believe me it is not the only newspaper reporting negatively on the NHS), bitching about 'over concerned' visitors and whinging about the pay of other professionals. Do you really expect family to stand by and say nothing when they can see their loved ones in pain? I hope you are never on the other side of the fence. In a service industry, it will be always those in the front-line that come under attack. This is not exclusive to the NHS.

 

Night Owl has encouraged visitors where appropriate to complain to PALS. The current complaints system favours management cover-up and evasion. It is not in the management's interests (personally) to expose the truth. Look how many months Mid-Staff and Essex were a problem before becoming public. The CEO of Staffs walked away with six months pay I understand. Believe me, many of us are wondering why he was not prosecuted.

 

I completely understand the frustration that Night Owl must feel and what a tough decision she has made in taking this stand. It is not only the nurses who feel that they are banging their heads against a brick wall trying to change things for the better - the 'concerned' public feel this too. Perhaps, together, we will succeed.

[Sali]

I have never been abusive to any member of the medical profession whilst visiting my relatives, although I have been shouted at by a nurse when I asked for a bedpan for a relative. I have also never witnessed, in over two years of daily visits, seen any other relative shouting abuse or going beserk. I'm sure it happens, but I wonder how long the fuse has been burning.

 

People generally do not formally complain because they feel they or their relative may suffer as a result (and it can), they don't want to make a fuss or they simply do not think that it will make the slightest bit of difference. It is a sorry state of affairs.

[Sali]

I reply to Zippygbr's comments from the 22 December.

 

so the 10 + years of direct , personalised , abuse and agressive behaviour i have witnessed or experienced was all fantasy?

 

the public do blame Nursing Staff - FACT!

I don't think you could have read my comment fully. I said I had never witnessed abuse or attacks on my two years of visiting. I didn't say it did not happen. I have a close relative who is a nurse, who has worked on various wards in various parts of the country, and she has never been attacked or abused. I'm sure A&E on a Friday and Saturday night can be hell.

 

it does not need a nurse to refill a water jug when the jug is there and there is a clearly signed chilled water fountain and clearly marked ' this tap is drinking water' above the cold tap on many of the sinks ... an empty jug at the beginning of afternoon visiting is a good sign ! - it shows that he patient has drunk at least a litre so far today ...

is it beyond the abilities of a mere mortal to spread out a blanket which is folded at the foot of the bed ?

Yes, it does if the person laying in the bed is not able to assist themselves. An empty jug is not a sign that a patient has drunk a litre! There were many occasions when I visited and there was either no jug or no glass...and the fluid chart was blank too. I became so fearful and anxious about the neglect of my relative that for two weeks I sat for six hour stints without moving from the bedside. Not one time outside of meal times (and even then it was not consistent) did any member of staff assist any patient (in need of help) with fluids.

One time I arrived to find my relative shaking with cold beside an open window . I often fetched extra blankets when I saw my relative was cold because there were too few nursing staff to notice individual's needs.

 

the difference is that t other professionals are not expected by the public and the press to stand there and be a punchbag

How self-obsessed are you? How about fireman, ambulance crew, police, teachers?

Feeling so embittered must surely have an impact on your patients.

Night Owl is trying to take positive action to change things for the better. I don't think Nurse Anne's blog will have the same effect?

Edited January 4, 2010 by Sali

[Sali]

NurseAnne

 

I have consistently commented in my posts that I recognise understaffing to be a major, (but not the only cause), of declining standards of care in our NHS and I rest the blame on this stupid Government and those that manage our hospitals.

 

I'm sorry to hear that your husband has a chronic illness and that your son has special needs. I'm sure you have enormous empathy with your patients. I'm not questioning how tough your job is or how hard you work.

 

I am intrigued to know how you think your blog will help? As a member of the public I found it alienated me from the nurses' plight.

 

I desperately want things to change for you and the patients - one of which I may be one day.

 

I note you mention that in the States there is a legal requirement for a trained nurse to patient ratio. This is something I previously considered when my relatives were in hospital. It would be a way of making the management accountable.

 

Perhaps the NHS should be dismantled? It was a great idea of Mr Bevan's, but the world has changed. The NHS seems to be so heavily abused and no organisation that the government has a finger in seems to be well-run.

[Sali]

Night Owl

I think many people who make a stand against what they see as unfair or unjust or plain wrong, get slowly worn down by officialdom and eventually give up. This would be exactly what they want. I can only imagine how frustrating this must be for you. I hope you don't give in. Good luck.

Edited January 13, 2010 by Sali

[Sali]

Congratulations Night Owl. A small victory. Let's hope that it is not a temporary measure to quell the staff disquiet. Keep us posted.

[Sali]

I hope things continue to improve Night Owl. Let us know either way. I have mailed your link to friends who are nurses. I'm sure they will forward on to their colleagues.

[Sali]

NightOwl

 

If I wanted specifically to know who was on duty on any particular shift during one year how would I word a Freedom of Information request? I want to know what the trained nurse to patient ratio was - I do not want HCAs, matrons or any other members of staff included in the statistics.

 

For how long would you think such records would be kept?

 

Also are you actively encouraged to raise incident forms when you are understaffed or is there another method that allows you to raise your concerns in a formal way that is recorded?

 

Many thanks.

[Sali]

Yes, thank you Night Owl, it does help.

 

I think it is wrong that the management should decide on the minimum number of trained nurses to patient ratio. I'm presuming that this can change from Trust to Trust.

 

Rather than the pledge of allegiance for nurses that has been tabled, (you have to wonder at the dullards that came up with this idea), I would like to see a legal obligation on the trained nurse to patient ratio (and this I would like to be proposed by the existing trained nurses) across the NHS, with management held accountable if it fell below.