just a quick word on nurses 'sitting on their butts' at computers- where i work is set to become a paperless system so we dont just have to write up care plans but to put everything on computers too. new computers have just been installed so yes i think a lot of nurses may be seen 'on their butts' but unfortunately thats now a part of their role and considering the amount of people who complain or try to sue the nhs its important that everything we do is documented and put on computer just to protect ourselves.

I wasn't saying nobody else paid huge taxes I was saying I did in reply to someone saying you get what you pay for when I can only speak for myself personally , I know I pay more than enough in taxes if only to be entitled to a clean hospital room.

I have been using my own private healthcare now for years because of the state of the NHS.  Useless at the moment.  I get fed up people always defending the nurses also, whilst there are a lot who work hard with my own eyes I see loads sitting on their butts at stations around PCs these days.  A private company would never put up with it. 

I tell you put me in charge for a year ;-)

Whatever state the NHS is in I myself am very thankful that I live in a country where at least there is health care, available to all whatever their financial status, unlike some other countries where there is either little or no health care or it is provided only for those who can afford to pay for it.

It might be struggling but at least it is there. 

Very true Harley :) 

We should be grateful and I think in the main people are - it's easy to complain about a service of any kind being poor than to remember to acknowledge the greater number of successes behind it :)

Our family do now have private health care in place but I realise that even with that privilege, sometimes certain procedures need to be taken over by the NHS or some of their facilities used!

Many years ago my father had excellent care in a large Scottish hospital for a serious heart problem.  The standard of care he received was excellent however it was decided that his operation would be better done by a specialist based in Brompton hospital in London.  They flew my dad by air ambulance from here - no quibbles, nothing but the best of care, treatment, respect for him and providing ongoing support and comfort for the rest of the family.

We are very lucky to have an NHS - it's the current running of it which is at fault, not the principle and certainly not MOST of the staff by any means!

regards, Teri :)

Last year my mother (aged 90) fell breaking her hip and had to be admitted to hospital. I was really worried because she already had MRSA (in an ulcer on her leg) and was having to undergo a major surgical procedure. She survived and actually left hospital with the MRSA having been cleared up :)

Daisy

Ok Blue you get my vote

Just wanted to say my Brother had to have an op a few weeks ago, and Consultant told him that the he wasn't worried about doing the op
But did worry about infections he could get while in the Hospital

BLUE I recommend before you judge like that you try a shift or two.....Doing what they do with what resources they have, maybe then you entitle yourself to such an opinion!
Never mind put you in charge...thats a lot of the problem to many want to be in charge....not enough want to actually do.
Karen

A girl after me own heart.....

Well said Karen !!!!

From Gabrielle (a neo natal ICU nurse who wishes she had time on a shift to sit on her butt around a station using a PC....) :rolleyes:

Karen,

Wished I could put you to the challenge. I would happily just to prove a point get my sleeves up and do the job for 6 months , I can assure you 100% that the hosptial I personally dealt with for 6 months I could improve they  wards without any hesitation. I am not in the habit of making sweeping generalisations that I don't think I can't back up.

and I have worked HARD all my days, working full time for 18 years and acheived 2 degrees at the same time. When I was first a full time student many years ago I worked in a Private nursing home believe me I know what a hard shift is within the care environment.

My father was in the hospital for 2 different spells of 6 month for 2 amputations, well 3 actually as the cocked up the 1st one so for 6 months I visited for approx 2-3 hours per day and took part in his rehabilitation and although I can honestly say of the nurses I became familar with approx 50% were very hard workers the other 50% were lazy sods.  Yes it can be a hard job but a job that needs the right people.   

Ah, Blue hats of to you for having worked any length of time in a care setting.
You say as a full time student many years ago, so I guess that means you can remember how physically demanding these jobs are( I  am assuming you did a nursing assistant type of role?)
Currently I work in a rehab area which covers all things amputations/strokes included and I would still argue that 5o% lazy nurses would be too hard a burden for the rest to carry.
I do agree there are always some,  but not most, nor yet half.
I have been several times on the 'other side' as a patient and a visitor to my father who also spent many months in an orthopaedic ward, I found myself like you a lot less sympathetic towards the staff, simply couldn't be objective enough as it was to close.
Again as teachers it does need the right people but there are easier options as a career, it's a vocation not enough feel the call......
Karen

Sara1bee, do you know anything about animals hosting the MRSA bug.  One of my friends in nursing was told by a professor that all dogs cary MRSA - any idea if this is true?

all i know about dogs and mrsa is what i have read in dogs today mags- not much! a dog was supposed to have died of mrsa- i havent known a person die from the bug alone. it cant be the same strain  that humans get- you cant catch it from a dog- as far as i know.

Just a quick update.
The op went well but the outcome won't be known until Mon when they check the wound. The doc says he is hopeful that they've caught all of the infection.
She is keeping positive and has admiration for the nurses and their hard work, but is struggling to understand quite what is happening to the NHS.
None of this is the staff's fault - just cutbacks I guess - but today, when her antibiotic drip (I think that's what my friend said) ran out, there was a wait of four hours before it could be replaced. Only one person was available to carry the task out - and I'm talking about a huge, nearly new, all singing, all dancing hospital.
Lying in her bed, to the side was a vase of dead flowers, presumably from the previous patient. Anyway, when a cleaning lady came into the ward she asked if she could move them as they looked so unwelcoming, only to be told by the cleaner that it wasn't her job. My friend got rid of them when she visited.
Also, I remember years ago I had a minor op. The meals were bought to me by catering ladies. I'm suprised to hear now that they are handed out by the same nurses who treat the patients. Surely, not the best idea - don't they have enough to do ?.

val

> I'm suprised to hear now that they are handed out by the same nurses who treat the patients

I don't think that that is particularly the problem - I spent four months in hospital when I was 13 - nearly 40 years ago. The food was always dished out by the nurses :) It can be very important for nurses to monitor what/how much patients are eating. The main problem is just the lack of spending on proper cleaning - with proper supervision of the cleaners (not agency staff left to their devices :( ) When I was in hospital there were two dedicated cleaners who took a pride in keeping 'their' ward clean. Two lovely West Indian ladies, who also made my stay (as a 13 year old in a women's orthopaedic ward) bearable :)

Daisy

We have a lot of experience with the NHS on the patient side and attend 5 different hospitals, four in our own area and a specialist hospital in London. My OH has a terminal illness and I can only say that, despite the difficulties, we have always been given the care required at those times when it has been most needed.

Yes sometimes the wards aren't as clean as they could be, we have spent many a time still waiting to be seen long after our appointment time has come and gone, we have missed meals because he has not been on the ward when the trolley has arrived with the food. We have spent  whole days waiting for ambulances to turn up that  have been forgotten to be booked - many times the system has gone wrong BUT at the end of the day if we did not have the NHS he wouldn't have made it past the first hurdle.

And on most of those occasions when things haven't gone to plan it has been because someone else's need for care was greater than his at the time.

Yes it certainly isn't a perfect system but it is far and away better than any other health scheme we could belong to - private health schemes don't want to know and we couldn't afford it anyway.

So the NHS gets my vote - warts and all :)