The Heart to Heart Blog

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It Couldn't Happen Here - Could It?

by John - 12:37 on 13 October 2011

Today, in a damning report, the Care Quality Commission condemned a large number of hospitals within the English NHS for falling woefully short in the levels of basic nursing care being offered to frail and elderly patients.   (source: BBC)

This couldn't happen here in Scotland - could it?

Well, as a patient, I would have to argue that the first signs are already beginning to show...

For example, NHS Ayrshire and Arran are already trialling a new scheme whereby volunteers come in to feed frail and elderly patients.  (source: The Herald)

Fiona McQueen, executive nurse director of NHS Ayrshire and Arran, has had to admit that concerns have been raised over this scheme.   She is reported as saying -
“A lot of people are a bit uneasy about it, saying what are nurses doing if they are not feeding patients and is this the health service on the cheap?”
Nursing unions have equally said that volunteers should not be used to provide patient care “on the cheap” while nursing posts were being cut.

But why should such schemes be necessary?

- Is it because financial pressures are forcing administrators to cut the numbers of front line nursing staff, and are now looking for a cheaper alternative, the no-cost volunteer?

- Or, is it because front line nursing staff are too busy managing their 'case loads' and submitting 'administrative reports', for to have time to undertake the basic care of their patients?

No doubt there are individual instances of nurses who still manage to perform outstanding examples of patient care, but there does appear to be within the NHS, this rather worrying trend for change.   Which to the patient only seems to provide something that falls short of their expectations of good nursing care.

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