Training Nurses

Training nurses

Times of London 03-07-2008

Training nurses
Edition: Final 1
Section: Features
Type: Letter

Sir, I write in support of Lord Mancroft's comments on his nursing care while in hospital (report, March 1). I was the head of a large nurse training school until I retired in 1989 and had the misfortune to be admitted for nearly a month to a medical ward. I could not believe the poor personal care I received. It was so bad that after a week I made a formal complaint, and things improved somewhat. When discharged I made a further formal complaint and received an apology.

However, this did not address the root cause - the absence of qualified nurses giving personal care, and the total absence of senior nurses with management titles such as "quality control" in clinical areas. In addition, trainee nurses are placed on wards and left to work with nursing assistants with no one teaching them the art of nursing. Nursing is a practice-based discipline and cannot be taught in institutes of higher education by teachers who never go near clinical areas, and haven't for years.
What is required is an inquiry by the Department of Health and the statutory body with input from the Royal College of Nursing into the current model of nurse management of patient care in hospital and a suitable replacement.

B.E. Hume
Formby, Liverpool
Keywords: Letter
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