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Why can't the NHS get basic care right? | Why can't the NHS get basic care right? |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Article written by Nick Triggle Health correspondent | Article written by Nick Triggle Health correspondent |
Reading the 53-page dossier on poor patient care put together by the Patients Association, you cannot help but be moved by the harrowing stories. | Reading the 53-page dossier on poor patient care put together by the Patients Association, you cannot help but be moved by the harrowing stories. |
There is the case of a man placed in a dementia-friendly ward with staff, who were given strict instructions to check on him because he had a history of going walkabout, but was able to escape and subsequently drowned in a nearby river. | |
There are tales of patients left in soiled sheets, their dignity stripped from them, and others being left for hours in pain, their cries for help ignored. | |
It is not the first time we have heard such accounts - and probably not the last. | |
Of course, in an organisation the size of the NHS - it sees 1m people every 36 hours - there will always be cases where standards have slipped. | Of course, in an organisation the size of the NHS - it sees 1m people every 36 hours - there will always be cases where standards have slipped. |
But what is clear from this report - and others that have been published previously - is that it is still happening far too often. | But what is clear from this report - and others that have been published previously - is that it is still happening far too often. |
Organisations, including professional bodies and the government, have been quick to call on staff within the NHS to blow the whistle on poor practice. | Organisations, including professional bodies and the government, have been quick to call on staff within the NHS to blow the whistle on poor practice. |
'Suffering' | 'Suffering' |
But it begs the question: why is it allowed to happen in the first place? | But it begs the question: why is it allowed to happen in the first place? |
Some have argued the move to degree-level training for nurses - from next year all nurses entering training will have to complete a three-year course - has meant they have lost some of the ability to empathise and show compassion. | Some have argued the move to degree-level training for nurses - from next year all nurses entering training will have to complete a three-year course - has meant they have lost some of the ability to empathise and show compassion. |
But this theory was rejected by the Willis Commission in its comprehensive report a few weeks ago. | But this theory was rejected by the Willis Commission in its comprehensive report a few weeks ago. |
Others have said resources are being stretched too thinly. But how much time does it take to place a glass of water within reach? | Others have said resources are being stretched too thinly. But how much time does it take to place a glass of water within reach? |
I recently asked a senior nurse working in a large hospital what she thought had gone wrong. | I recently asked a senior nurse working in a large hospital what she thought had gone wrong. |
Her answer was quite clear. She told me: "We have had to become immune, desensitised, to cope with what we do. Every day we see suffering and we can't always help. | Her answer was quite clear. She told me: "We have had to become immune, desensitised, to cope with what we do. Every day we see suffering and we can't always help. |
"That does not explain or excuse some of the clear examples of neglect we have heard about. But it has created a culture that means these things can happen." | "That does not explain or excuse some of the clear examples of neglect we have heard about. But it has created a culture that means these things can happen." |
She went on to say that at the heart of the problem was the fact that there were many people in hospital that should not be there. | She went on to say that at the heart of the problem was the fact that there were many people in hospital that should not be there. |
It is an often-quoted fact that two-thirds of emergency admissions are among people with long-term conditions, which covers everything from heart disease to dementia. | It is an often-quoted fact that two-thirds of emergency admissions are among people with long-term conditions, which covers everything from heart disease to dementia. |
With better care and support in the community, many of these could be avoided. | With better care and support in the community, many of these could be avoided. |
But that requires a re-think in how the NHS - and the social care provided by councils - is organised. | But that requires a re-think in how the NHS - and the social care provided by councils - is organised. |
Mike Farrar, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, has perhaps put it most succinctly in the talks he has given on the topic. | Mike Farrar, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, has perhaps put it most succinctly in the talks he has given on the topic. |
He describes it as a refocusing of what the health service is there for, saying the NHS of the future "will need to move from a medicinal service with a care dimension to a care service with a medicinal dimension". | He describes it as a refocusing of what the health service is there for, saying the NHS of the future "will need to move from a medicinal service with a care dimension to a care service with a medicinal dimension". |