The Future for Nurses

Name: Penny 24/1
Comments: I am a Health Visitor manager at present and have worked in the community for 15 years in many different roles. Before that I was a Theatre sister and a trauma ward staff nurse and spent a small time in the private sector. I have always worked and have loved all my nursing jobs, and believe that the qualified nurse is a very important and over worked part of the NHS.

I have seen the service slowly eroded by the need to meet impossible and bizarre targets that appear to have no relevance to the needs of the community that the service should support. I have worked as an agency nurse for a period of time, and in troubled times there is a place for this service, but hospitals and communities should be able to man their own services adequately, allowing for some sickness and annual leave.

Nurses are constantly expected to continue improving and increases their service without the necessary funding, a service built on a shoe string will not be the best that can be given. In my own area we were a no star PCT and have had to cut corners and freeze posts in an attempt to save money. Last year through hard work and a commitment from all levels of staff we achieved three star status. Now we should be riding high, but no. Again our budgets are cut and again we need to save money. Frozen posts have now disappeared and new post are frozen.
 
When I trained every ward had a ward sister responsible for the running of the ward, supported by a team of at least five other qualified staff. Now you are lucky to see a qualified nurse as she is covering a number of wards, ordering equipment and trying the balance her budgets. Now the patients are often cared for by unqualified support staff. This need to change: put the nurse back on the ward doing the job she is good at.

Also put the students back on the ward, make them part of the ward environment. This is where you begin to learn to truly care for you patient. Developing the skills in assessing the patient when giving them their daily care, with simple actives such as washing, bathing and feeding. When I trained anyone developing a ward based infection, or a bed sore was seen as a reflection of the care of those staff on that ward and not acceptable. Now everyone is quick to blame the nursing staff for not washing their hands correctly without seeing how her role has changed away from the hands on care of her patient. Please put nurse training back on the ward, bring back the apprentice type training where the nurse develops the correct skills to cope with people.

To encourage top level nursing students the Government is going to have to pay good salaries to encourage young people into the profession, as well as having jobs when people qualify. In a local training school this year all the new staff nurses have been encouraged to apply over seas as there are no jobs in this country and they will get more respect and better pay aborad. I feel that there is definitely a serious problem, and a waste of taxpayers money. Where I work there would be jobs if front line clinical work had not been cut to save money over the past few years  
 
Maybe it is time for the doctors to really work within the NHS, rather that as consultants to the service. They are not out for the good of the service, but for there own needs. The recent pay awards only highlights this as their increase is swallowing a great percentage of the increase spending the government gave the service. So make them become true members of the NHS managed and supported by the same management structure as all the other staff, and bring their pay inline with other NHS staff. After all, the nurses have had their pay eroded away over the years by every Government 
 
Make the GP's come inline as well. Like the dentists either they work within the PCT, or they go private. The public will be less supportive of them when they realise they working ethos and the money they earn. If they became part of the PCT/NHS they would have to offer some of those things that they used to offer such as evening call, and weekend opening. In fact offering the service the public would really like..! People use their hospital A&I departments because they are confused with the service that they can receive from their local GP practice and the confusion around the out of hours service. And things like the NHS Direct have not worked as people need to reassurance from a person they trust and recognise.