Some hospitals force unsafe nursing care!

Morning, my dear Coffee (and Tea) friend☕🍵,

Yes, I have been off the radar, and I must apologise for my silence. In analysing why I was silent, I initially thought of many excuses, and then I had to accept the real reason.

I have a pressing feeling in my heart to address a very serious topic in this post today, and I had to digest my views on this before I could post it.

My Statement: SOME HOSPITALS FORCE NURSES TO PROVIDE POOR AND UNSAFE NURSING CARE.

When was the last time you, the healthcare leader, did the work you expected of your nurses? For a whole week, that is!

Because our biggest aim is keeping the shareholders happy (and I do understand the importance of shareholders), some hospitals where I worked expect the impossible from staff.

It is impossible if you are an ICU nurse with two patients who are both very ill with lots of infusions and other procedures to provide excellent care, help your neighbor wash their two patients, do your own blood glucose and urine tests, and nurse the papers to perfection. This happens at some hospitals in Pretoria because the management decided that having an enrolled nurse assistant in the ICU wastes money. Can one person do all the above, help your buddy, engage the patient and family, and provide excellent nursing care? In my view, it's impossible!!

Do you really respect the knowledge and years of experience of your ICU-trained and experienced registered and enrolled nurses? If you expect them to do all of the above, and when the patient has been discharged, do terminal cleaning of the room by washing everything three times, then I doubt whether you respect their knowledge and experience.

Suppose you are one sister in a ward with four enrolled nurses and 24 patients. Is it possible to get to everything, think out of the box on what else must be done, ensure excellent patient care, nurse your papers, and keep patient safety in mind. The system forces the nurses to give poor patient care, as long as the profits are good and the shareholders are happy.

I dare you, healthcare leaders who decide on (or support) all the cost-saving methods, to do what your team does every day and still have job satisfaction.

When was the last time you spent a day (or a week) in the shoes of your team doing what they do?

In closing, there are good stories. There are hospitals with excellent staff and excellent care. There are leadership teams that genuinely care for their team, resulting in the staff providing exceptional nursing care to their patients.

Get into someone else's shoes this week! Appreciate them and make a real difference.
Enjoy your CUPPA,☕🍵my lovely friend, and remember that you are the difference.