I've been meaning to write ni this for a while now. Thank you MMW for your comment, it was a kick up the arse, I'm sorry it's taken so long to write since then.
Since I last wrote I have completed my nurse training, started working a staff nurse in a busy SW London hospital, ended a 4.5 year relationship and began a new one.
I've wanted to write so often recently, but this has usually been following a bad day at work where the madness of the NHS boils my blood! I still LOVE my job and it's partly for this reason that I've not written. I don't want this to become a negative "The NHS is Bad" blog.
However, I suspect many of my posts will remark upon the state of the NHS and nursing today. I will endeavour to include something positive, because the job is not all bad and there is still a lot of reward in it.
I was recently asked a question about the current NHS, red tape and political correctness. I've decided for my first post I shall copy my reply in here.
Sometimes I feel that the paperwork that has sprung up from politically correct government think tanks and public inquiries impedes nursing care. It detracts from what is important; caring for the patient, not just doing tasks, but caring for them, being with them and supporting them. I wonder why a paitent's ethnic origin is important to document, as far as I'm concerned everyone should receive the same high level of care and be treated individually. 4 hourly waiting time in A&E, if a patient isn't transferred/discharged within 4 hours they "breech" and this is a terrible thing. I think they explode or something like that. I frequently run (literally) down to the A&E department to collect patients before they breech and at the cost of my own patients on the ward: their pain relief has to wait, their dressing change has to wait, their feed has to be late. I'm sure as far as the governemnt is concerned this is good nursing: the patient in A&E isn't waiting more than 4 hours, but would an extra 15 minutes really make a difference?
But then I think about Victoria Climbie (if you've not read the Laming Report I sincerely reccomend you do, it's not pleasant reading but I believe awareness is the start of prevention). That child suffered terribly and was failed by so many people and services. A lot of systems and paperwork have been put in place since then with the aim of protecting children and preventing the reccurence of such a tragedy. Surely this a good thing. Yes, it's a pain in the arse when you have 5 different referrals and telephone calls to make, but if it can prevent a child's death or maltreatment then it's worth it in my eyes. Whether it would have actually made a difference in Victoria's case I don't know, personal accountability has to come into it at some point, beyond whether you ticked boxes and filled in a referral form. But we're trying.
So, after that long-winded and off track response I agree with Doc: Too much red tape is a bad thing, not enough is worse. The difficutly is trying to find the balance. In the NHS most red tape is aimed at improving patient care. Or am I being naive? Perhaps it's aimed at improving the hospitals bank balance. Whether in reality patient care is improved, I think you'd need to look at that on a case by case basis.
I'm going to leave it there for now, though this is something I will come back to.
MMW: Please give me time to catch up with you blogs! I'm incredibly out of the loop, I can only apologise.
6 comments:
Yippeee! Yahoooo! Wahayyy! Yeehaahhhh! Wooohooo!
Angela is back!
It's so great to see you posting again! No apologies necessary, I'm just glad you're ok. :o)
Oh. In all my excitement I actually forgot to comment on the post! (And I somehow managed to eat a bag of chocolate raisins without noticing!)
So the training is finished now? Forgive my ignorance but I don't even know what a staff nurse is - maybe you could post about nursing "levels"?
I agree about red tape - too much, too little, too late - whatever you do you can't win.
But I am also irritated by the ethnic origin question. I think it's there to make sure that people from all ethnic origins are being treated - for example in mental health services in our county it was recognised that certain ethnic groups were not being treated at all because there was so much stigma in that particular community that they just weren't coming forward. This discovery led to an awareness campaign designed for people specifically from that ethnic group, with literature in their own language. So I suppose sometimes it is necessary, but I'm still tempted to write "what difference does it make?" whenever I get asked that on a form!
:D It's good to be back :)
Did you inhale the bag of chocoalte raisins? I sometimes do that, seem to inhale a whole bag of crisps without actually realising it.
A post on nursing levels is a good idea, I think I shall do one of those tomorrow as a little explanation of modern nursing!
But, a staff nurse is just a nurse permanently employed by a hospital. We come in different bands(levels), which I shall post more about, but I'm bottom of the bunch as a newly qualified person!
I know that the ethnic data can be useful, in targetting certain groups who aren't accessing healthcare, like the example you suggested in mental health. Or the example I was given was that certain diseases have higher rates in certain ethnic groups e.g. Cickle Cell in African and Carribean people in Britain. If you identify that you have a large Afro-Caribbean community you may need to ivest in Sickle Cell services.
But I still resent being asked, and doing the asking! Another one that bugs me is my sexual "preference", why would a job application need to know that?
Oh my goodness, really? I've never been asked that one before! Is it multiple choice or do you just fill in the blank?
"What is your sexual preference?"
"I'd rather have some than not"
Hehehe :o)
Hehehehe
It's a tick box thing usually, and I've never seen that as one of the options! Clearly the people who write these forms have no sense of humour!
nice to have you back - I was worried!
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