Thursday 13 December 2012

Nursing our national heroes: nurses

Last week was National Nurse Bashing Week in the UK, which ended in the tragic loss of a pivotal member of society- Indian nurse Jacinta Saldanha.

The CNO has come out with a Compassion in Practice guide, a three year initiative aimed "to build the culture of compassionate care in all areas of practice" for nurses and healthcare workers, as nurses it seems now have the compassion of a stone cold heart. They now need to be reminded and taught how to look after people.

Recently listeners to Radio 4 You&Yours had some audio pleasure as they tuned in to disgruntled callers bemoaning their health fate at the hands of nurses.

Being a nurse, I was tremendously saddened to hear the public lambast nurses.

Nurses are the nucleus of the healthcare system whose actions are like soldier ants, working all year round the clock to ensure the Queen( patients) is well fed and taken of. The public appear to be in dark oblivion about the hard work and pressure of this overworked, overstretched and underpaid individuals. Vilified beyond belief, the negative press received was tantamount to virtual bullying.

How about we have a Nurse Appreciation Week for these individuals who:

· Clean up your sick when you are well...sick
· Look after your elderly relations as you are too busy to do so
· Provide personal care in your must vulnerable state
· Soothe your pain when in agony
· Empathise with your situation, encouraging positivity
The list is infinite. Too often we remember the negatives, forgetting to stop and pause for a moment on the positives.

No nurse goes into nursing with the intention of abusing individuals in their care. On the contrary and which may come as a great surprise to the appreciative British public, they are driven by compassion and care.

What a shocker.