MVH119

Oh come on. People are only human. God knows the worst job in the world is the dread Elderly care. Small wonder folk turn to life.

News Politics Health policy Anger over peer's 'sex and booze' nurses slur Matthew Taylor The Guardian, Saturday March 1 2008 Article history - Contact us A Tory peer who branded nurses as "grubby, drunken and promiscuous" during a Lords debate was facing a backlash yesterday, with nurses' leaders describing his comments as grossly unfair and calling for him to produce evidence to back up his claims. Lord Mancroft told peers it was a miracle he was alive after his experience of filthy wards and "slipshod and lazy" nurses at the Royal United hospital, Bath. During the debate on Thursday night he claimed the nurses had openly chatted to one another about their sex lives and alcohol intake in front of patients, some of whom they regarded as "a nuisance". "The nurses who looked after me were mostly grubby - we are talking about dirty fingernails and hair - and were slipshod and lazy. Worst of all, they were drunken and promiscuous," he said, adding that the nurses were "an accurate reflection of many young women in Britain today". The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said his comments were an attack on nurses across the UK and amounted to a "sexist insult" against all British women. The RCN general secretary and chief executive, Peter Carter, said: "If any patient has an issue with their treatment by staff they should raise this with the healthcare provider, rather than make sweeping generalisations about nurses and sexist insults about the behaviour of British women." The peer, who lives in Badminton, Gloucester, was admitted to the Royal United for a week last August, with what is believed to have been an intestinal infection. During the debate he described the experience as appalling. "If you are a patient and lying in a bed and being nursed from either side, they talk across you as if you're not there. So I know what they got up to the night before, how much they drank and what they were planning to do the next night. I can tell you it's pretty horrifying. I can only tell you that it is a miracle that I am still alive. The wards were filthy." Francesca Thompson, director of nursing at the hospital, said: "We excel at our job and his comments have devastated our staff. He's made serious allegations in a forum where we had no chance to respond." James Scott, chief executive of the RUH, revealed he had quizzed Lord Mancroft about his claims and demanded evidence of any wrongdoing. "I hope Lord Mancroft will now reflect on the damage he has done to the general reputation and moral standing of the nursing profession." Don Foster, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, demanded Lord Mancroft withdraw his claims if he could not back them up. The health minister, Ann Keen, said: "The country holds nurses in the highest regard. People will want to know what action David Cameron is taking on this matter or if he shares his views." larger| smaller More on Politics Health policy Society NHS - Public sector careers - Health Printable version Send to a friend | Share | Clip this Contact us Article history

What interests me is why anyone thinks nursing holds the moral high ground, Why would it? It is just a job. A dirty one at that. It does not give you moral superiority for liking it. I nursed for 12 years.

I am well-qualified enough to teach, having a Masters degree.. But I do not want to teach about a job I hated myself.

What is awesome about nursing? It's a nasty job that I was daft enough to do. No more.

After losing my chosen job in Plastics because my ward got shut down and trying other surgical posts I got a relevation of sorts last night. I was emptying a bedpan at the time and the thought struck me that why the hell do I need a degree to deal with ****?. I have had enough of this poorly-paid dirty job. I'm fed up with rude and nasty patients and I cannot stand whining relatives. I'm fed up with sub-standard nursing care because of cost restrictions. I'm basically disenchanted with nursing. I want out.

As a long-standing Plastics trained nurse one favorite joke of the plastic surgeons was: Q: What is the definition of a holistic orthopod? A: He considers the WHOLE bone.

The end of this sorry episode is as follows. I was moved back to the surgical wards at the new site. I'm doing fine there as I love surgical nursing and it really does not matter which speciality it is I can handle it. Management concedes that I never should have been put on ITU. I do not have the detail-orientated nature to tolerate the futile fiddling with numbers. My ethical concerns were also well-taken/ Kudos to the Trust. They did right by me.

It is a month now and if anything I dislike the job more as time goes on. I am in fact very seriously considering quitting nursing completely.

Whatever

Well our legal code of conduct allows the delegation of some tasks "as long as the practioner is satisied as to the competence of the delagatee". I am so satisfied, I do not suggest that the HCA dispenses and checks the drug, that is my job. Once I have done that I see no problem with the HCA giving the drug to the patient. What can go amiss?

What a lot of nonsense! Funny how all Europe does not run around with infected memberes at all turns. Circumcision is a superstition. No more and no less. It is an entirely unnecasary mutilation.

And I suggest you are slightly less snotty. All the HCA"S of my exprience can not only read but see as well. They are no more likely to confuse Mr Smith with Mr Jones than I am. It is pefectly legal to delegate this task if you are confident that your delegatee is competent. I'm confident of that.The notes might bear my name but when the day comes that I cannot let a trusted HCA give a paracetamol tablet in my name then that is the day I quit nursing.

What the hell is NCLEX????

it is not even an issue in Europe. We expect your average bloke to have a foreskin and are mildly disconcerted if he dosen't unless he is Jewish or Muslim.

Come on folks share your scary haunting stories

It now occurs to me that the HCA is miles away from an untrained aide. HCA's in the UK do everything including taking bloods, putting in Venflons, taking obs and doing BM's Perhaps you mean the untrained.

And how exactly does the paracetamol tablet change from your putting it in a pot and telling the HCA to give it to Mr Smith?. It is perfectly safe to do so. As long as you can read a drug chart and your HCA can SEE and HEAR you are perfectly safe.

It is totally unindicated surgically, All Europe is aghast at this mutilation carried out on baby boys. Funny thing but compare the infection rates..

Rubbish. I often give routine oral meds to our HCA's If you have done your job properly are 100% sure that your practice is safe then what harm can come from it? A HCA giving a Paracetamol tablet hardly threatens your registation.

This happened about three months ago.. On night duty I often carry the emergency bleep as the senior nurse on duty. One night one of the Oncology wards called me urgently needing an antibiotic (Tazocin) that they did not stock and they needed this drug ASAP. As my own surgical ward carried this drug routinely I offered to take a supply over to Ward 9. The three Oncology wards are located in the oldest part of the hospital. They all lead off the same corridor. As i was walking down the corridor that leads to Ward9 I distinctly heard footsteps close behind me. I stopped and looked around but there was no-one to be seen. The corridor was empty. A bit spooked by this I hurried into Ward 9 and delivered the Tazocin. I mentioned the footsteps to the Sister of the ward, thinking we might have an intruder as commonly happens and thinking of calling the night porters .To my very great surprise the Sister of Ward 9 shook her head and said "There will be a soul passing over tonight". She told me that the footsteps were heard when a patient was due to die. Not believing a word of this I went back to my own ward. All was peaceful until 4AM when my bleep went off summoning me to an ultimately fatal cardiac arrest on yes....Ward 9. A coincidence? What odd stories do you have?

I see no reason at all why a HCA cannot administer a medicine properly checked by a staff nurse. If you, as a qualified nurse have not correctly checked the contraindications, interactions and safety of the medication then don't ask a HCA to give it. If you HAVE checked all that then I see no reason why you should not delegate this task.

Nurset1981 is talking rubbish. I'd trust our wonderful, indispensable HCA's with anything short of a intubation. HCA's aren't stupid. As a student I learned more from them than I did from the qualified staff.

One of our most memorable was from the father of a young patient who owned an Indian resturant. The day after the patient was discharged two taxis arrived and six people began unloading vast amounts of indian food on to the ward. You could have fed a hundred people on the quantity of curries we got, there were piles of freshly-baked breads, tons of tandoori-baked chickens, prawns, lamb, vegetables. We all stuffed ourselves stupid and it was a thank-you we never forgot.

Circumcision except for religious reasons is unheard-of in the UK unless there is a definite surgical indication for this operation. My two sons are uncircumsised and perfectly healthy although I do not inspect the nether regions of my 17 and 13-year old on a regular basis!! :):):)